[open] Engineering the Future Sociologically: a Call to Delve into Environmental Education Enhanced by Technological Innovations

2023-12-31

[PDF Version]

 

Guest Editors:

Carmine Urciuoli, University of Naples “Federico II” (carmine.urciuoli@unina.it),

Norberto Albano, University of Turin (norberto.albano@unito.it),

Sandro Brignone, University of Turin (sandro.brignone@unito.it).

 

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution stand as the primary threats our planet currently faces. This Triple Planetary Crisis demands urgent and coordinated action from the global community. Within this context, which navigates the mutual influence between environmental factors and human societies, solutions may emerge from the intersection of environmental education and advanced technologies.

From this point of view, technology is not merely a neutral tool but acts as a mediator between the individual and the environment, possessing the potential to redefine different aspects of our lives, including consumption patterns, behaviors in our everyday lives, procedures in the world of work, and more generally, our relationship with the natural world.

The theme “Connecting People, Creating Tomorrow” underscores the importance of building bridges between various disciplines, cultures, and generations. Technology, particularly artificial intelligence, and smart technologies, holds the power to transform environmental education, making it more accessible, interactive, and engaging; as a converse, this also involves new challenges for its ethical and conscious use. In this vein, smart technologies not only convey information about the environment but can also shape the way we perceive and interact with it.

With this call for papers, “Fuori Luogo” invites scholars, researchers, and professionals to share their reflections, research, and visions on how environmental education and technology can collaborate to address the challenges of our era. The aim is to enrich both academic and practical discourse, providing innovative insights and tangible solutions for a sustainable future.

The 12th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) 2024, to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, underscores the pressing need to tackle global environmental challenges, as highlighted in the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The congress acknowledges that Environmental Education (EE) is an indispensable instrument for sculpting a sustainable world. In this milieu, the role of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and intelligent technologies in environmental education is gaining paramount significance.

We solicit contributions that delve into various facets of environmental education, with a particular emphasis on the utilization and impact of AI, virtual reality, and intelligent technologies. Topics of interest encompass, but are not restricted to:

  • The integration of AI and intelligent technologies into environmental education curricula.
  • The role of virtual reality in enhancing environmental education experiences.
  • The role of media in fostering environmental education and awareness.
  • Innovative approaches and best practices in integrating intelligent technologies into environmental education, also examining their potential impacts on the world of work.
  • Socio-ecological implications of intelligent technologies in addressing environmental challenges and its implications in both helping and harming the ecosystem.
  • Role of sciences (social sciences, life sciences, data sciences…) in technologies and AI for environmental education policies

 

Submission

Please send the abstract to the email redazione@fuoriluogo.info. Please indicate in the subject or in the text of the email that the abstract is being sent for this call.

Once the abstract is approved, the paper can be submitted to the platform through the indicated procedure (http://www.serena.unina.it/index.php/fuoriluogo/about/submissions).

 

To submit your abstract:

You may have to create an account on “SHARE Riviste” if you don’t have one already

(http://www.serena.unina.it/index.php/index/user/register)

Go to http://www.serena.unina.it/index.php/fuoriluogo/submission/wizard 

Choose “Submission” and follow the wizard.

All submissions should follow the guidelines of the journal.

Please note that, based on their adherence to the Journal’s purposes and on their relevance within the national and international debate, all selected papers will be peer-reviewed by two anonymous reviewers This means that the acceptance of the abstract does not necessarily mean the paper will be accepted too.

Key Dates:

  • Abstract submission by March 30, 2024 [new deadline extended to] April 15, 2024.
  • Notification of acceptance/rejection by April 10, 2024 [new date] April 30, 2024
  • Full paper submission by July 12, 2024.
  • Notification of the peer review decision by September 14, 2024.
  • Final paper submission by October 11, 2024.
  • Anticipated publication of the issue by November 2024.

We encourage scholars, researchers, and professionals in the fields of Territorial Sociology, Technology Sociology, and Environmental Education to contribute their expertise and insights to this special issue. By exploring the confluence of these disciplines, we aim to advance knowledge and understanding in the pursuit of a sustainable future.

 

Publishing Charges

FUORI LUOGO has partnered with the FEDOA University of Naples Federico II to offer a fast and convenient way for authors to select options that can be chosen for publication and pay any author charges if relevant. Although published in open access, each author of the paper in this WEEC Abu Dabi conference special issue will have to pay a fee set in 50 $ for editing costs.

Papers of longer length or with color figures desired for the print version of the FUORI LUOGO Journal will not be published unless it is first agreed that extra charges will be paid. If it is evident that there is a strong chance that a paper’s published length will exceed 6,000-8,000 words, the paper will not be processed unless the authors guarantee that the charges will be paid. If the paper’s published length exceeds 6,000-8,000 words or more, there is a mandatory charge of $80 per page for the entire article.

 

Options may include:

Open Access - Once your manuscript has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication, the corresponding author will be sent an email to FUORI LUOGO with information on how to complete payment of any author charges. Payments should be made using bank transfer. To facilitate fast publication, please confirm your options for publication as soon as possible after receiving the email your paper has been accepted. Please note that your article cannot be published until you have sent the fee.

If you have any payment-related enquires please contact: redazione@fuoriluogo.info

 

The fee does not include open access publication, colour printing, additional hard copies or the use of specialist editorial services if required for foreign language contributions. These additional charges will be negotiated, through the Editor-in-Chief, directly with FUORI LUOGO.

 

For any information regarding editorial guidelines (text size, accepted formats, etc.), please refer to the Authors’ guidelines which can be downloaded from the following page:

http://www.serena.unina.it/index.php/fuoriluogo/files

Payment Information

payments can be made via a bank transfer to:

Fuori Luogo

IBAN IT64J0760103400001059221174

BIC/SWIFT BPPIITRRXXX

 

References:

 AI for Good (n.d.). 7 AI innovations helping to combat climate change.  Retrieved from https://aiforgood.itu.int/7-ai-innovations-helping-to-combat-climate-change/

 Climate Change AI (2021). CCAI’s comments on the EU’s proposed Harmonized Rules on AI. Retrieved from https://www.climatechange.ai/blog/2021-11-02-eu-regulation

 Columbia Climate School (2018). Artificial Intelligence—A Game Changer for Climate Change and the Environment. Retrieved from https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/06/05/artificial-intelligence-climate-environment/

 European Commission - Horizon Magazine (n.d.). AI can help us fight climate change. But it has an energy problem, too. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/ai-can-help-us-fight-climate-change-it-has-energy-problem-too

 European Journal of Risk Regulation - Cambridge University Press (n.d.). Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change and Innovative Democratic Governance. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-risk-regulation/article/artificial-intelligence-climate-change-and-innovative-democratic-governance/F1420B6A589B50D68F2644272C2A53D1

European Parliament (2021). The role of Artificial Intelligence in the European Green Deal. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/662906/IPOL_STU(2021)662906_EN.pdf

Farinella, D., & Moiso, V. (2021). Local agriculture, agri-food chains and sustainability: theoretical issues and policy indications. Fuori Luogo. Rivista Di Sociologia Del Territorio, Turismo, Tecnologia, 9(1), 14 - 29. https://doi.org/10.6093/2723-9608/7665

JHU Hub (2023). How AI can help combat climate change. Retrieved from https://hub.jhu.edu/2023/03/07/artificial-intelligence-combat-climate-change/

Monaco, S. (2021). Energy Transition and its Societal Challenges. Themes, Gaps and Possible Developments in Sociology. Fuori Luogo. Rivista Di Sociologia Del Territorio, Turismo, Tecnologia, 10(2), 137 - 147. https://doi.org/10.6093/2723-9608/8321

MIT Sloan (n.d.). Tackling climate change with machine learning. Retrieved from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/tackling-climate-change-machine-learning

Science|Business (n.d.). State of the Union: Artificial intelligence start-ups to get easier access to EU supercomputers. Retrieved from https://sciencebusiness.net/news/ai/state-union-artificial-intelligence-start-ups-get-easier-access-eu-supercomputers

 Stanford University, CA (2023). The AI Index 2023 Annual Report.

Retrieved from https://aiindex.stanford.edu/report/

 World101 (n.d.). How Can Artificial Intelligence Combat Climate Change?

Retrieved from https://world101.cfr.org/global-era-issues/climate-change/how-can-artificial-intelligence-combat-climate-change