Understanding and protecting the environment remains one of the central challenges of our time. The dynamic relationship between humans and the environment is complex and fraught with difficult data, questions, and decisions. We invite papers on all aspects of environmental science, human-environment interaction, and possible interventions, remediation, and responses to environmental crises humans face and will face in the coming decades. Potential presentations could focus on the dynamics of a problem such as climate change, habitat loss, freshwater availability, or the loss of biodiversity. Another avenue might be on potential threats to the quality of the environment either through intentional and unintentional harm caused by humans. Works could investigate technological responses to these challenges through remediation of harm, the use of more sustainable practices, or other technological innovations. Though most of the topics are focused in the natural sciences, papers are very welcome from the arts and humanities as they engage, describe, portray, and provide new meaning onto these topics. Social science work in this theme can focus on the physical impacts humans put on the environment or how the environment puts humans in crisis to change and adapt for continued survival. Papers are also welcome on the challenges of developing sustainable businesses as well as papers on how particular business segments might respond under new climate conditions to create new enterprises or revise current ones.

This theme focuses on health equality and the concerns that transcend national borders. Despite considerable progress made in the prevention and treatment of many diseases, continuing disparities result in inequitable access to health care and medicines, with the poor more likely to suffer chronic health problems, reduced lifespan and high rates of infant mortality. At the same time, emerging communicable diseases such as Ebola, Zika, MERS and Crimean-Congo fever pose new threats to public health. Non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, traumatic injuries and mental health challenges also continue to pose major threats to global health. The world is facing unprecedented challenges posed by antibiotic resistant infections, exacerbated by the misuse of antibiotics in medicine and farm producers. The interrelationship between the environment and health is also now becoming evident, with air pollution, genetic modification of foods and contamination contributing to adverse health events across the globe. This theme therefore invites presentations across a range of disciplinary fields addressing these global health concerns.

This theme considers the complexity and interconnectedness of economic questions. The topics outlined on the right ask researchers to explore the complexities of trade, labor, economic policy, social safety nets and their precarious balance in our world.

This theme addresses the all-encompassing world of data, communication, and information technologies. The rising status of data and technology in societies offers a wide range of research questions from various Sciences (Data, Natural, Physical, and Social), Communication, Business, the Humanities, and Arts. Some potential areas may include data and network security procedures, issues, and their impact on individuals and the larger economy. The Internet of things and autonomous devices provide numerous conveniences for society, but raise other social and ethical questions. Social networks create new opportunities for communication and commerce in the 21st century, and we are still learning of their influence. Geo-location tools and applications have become indispensable in most of our daily lives but only a few are actually apparent. The rise of public data analysis has been a result of the availability of large public data sets along with the widespread availability of high quality data analytic and visualization tools. This has led to a wide range of data journalism of varying quality across the planet. 

This theme will consider the close associations between the social and the political, especially what shapes this symbiotic relationship on a local and/or global scale. In the last three decades, the world we currently live in has indeed seen drastic changes on many social and political levels. Some of the major events that redefined the world as we know it today include (but are not limited to) the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the events of the so-called “Arab Spring”. These events and others have slowly introduced geopolitical changes that later shaped increased competition for scarce world resources especially non-renewable sources of energy. They have ushered a new world order with with no clear world leader, new international power struggles, power vacuums and failed states in areas where international boundaries are being re-drawn. These changes have especially introduced fast-shifting political alliances, deep social changes, and a host of new social problems. The following are some examples of possible research topics that you can address under this theme.

This theme addresses creative inquiry and design in a global context. Presentations on both intra-cultural and inter-cultural creative endeavors are sought, in both performing and visual arts, with the caveat that presentations on performance will be undertaken through either oral or poster format. How are the cultural heritages of small groups, as well as nations currently preserved? How are long-standing cultural heritages and expressions transformed through global interactions, particularly in the context of population migrations and resettlements? How are artistic endeavors combining with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to create new programs of study, interdisciplinary fields, and new businesses (i.e., from STEM to STEAM)? How are design and innovation cultures and sensibilities blending with manufacturing to power the emerging “Maker” movement? How is technology transforming humanities research, through the digital humanities movement? Lastly, how are social media tools leading both to new forms of artistic and creative expression, and connecting to political movements and decision-making pathways.