Are you keen to keep up to date on the latest breakthroughs and studies in your area of interest? Our Top Picks, handpicked by our journal editors, feature some of the most recent, high-quality research articles, all available as Open Access publications. This month’s collection includes selected articles that delve into various topics and touch on medicine, food processing, women’s rights, and digital propaganda.
1. How Can Doctors Combat Pneumonia Effectively?
Pneumonia has been a leading global medical challenge that many doctors have struggled to tackle, afflicting children and elders alike. While treatable, many doctors struggle with prescribing appropriate treatments due to the diagnostic limitations of current medical practices. However, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) could revolutionise the treatment process, as researchers highlight how RDTs can swiftly identify pneumonia-causing germs, enabling doctors to prescribe the most effective treatments sooner. By reducing guesswork and delays in diagnosis, RDTs enhance patient care, potentially saving lives and improving recovery times. This innovation not only promises to streamline healthcare delivery but also aims to tackle the global challenge of pneumonia more effectively.
Learn more about the potential of RDTs in saving the lives of millions worldwide here.
2. Is the Chocolate in Your Pantry Hiding a Fatal Secret?
Whether celebrating an anniversary, indulging in your favourite midnight treat, or nursing a broken heart, chocolate in all its forms has been a timeless staple of most households and supermarket aisles. While many have debated its health benefits, with some doctors suggesting that a little dark chocolate a day can support heart health, many overlook the process of how cocoa beans find their way in foiled packaging before lining our pantries. This study critically assesses the harvesting process of cocoa at its very foundation: the soil it grows in. The findings may come as a shock to some, as researchers uncover traces of a deadly metal in its components.
Uncover the secret ingredient found in the soil of some cocoa farms that could be harming our health here.
3. Digital Radicalisation: How to Defend Yourself from Online Propaganda?
Globalisation and the development of social technologies has brought people from the farthest corners of the planet closer together and allowed for the seamless sharing of dreams, ideas, and beliefs. While these advancements have had incredibly positive impacts on global societies, they have also given rise to the widespread dissemination of extreme ideologies on social media platforms like Twitter. While a few comments and posts may seem harmless at first, social media has been a powerful catalyst for revolution in some parts of the world, and the spread of xenophobia and scapegoating rhetoric in others. Empowering individuals to identify, analyze, and respond to harmful content is key to creating a safer digital world. This study underscores the urgent need to combat radical propaganda in cyberspace and emphasizes the pivotal role of digital literacy in prevention efforts.
Read more about how you can help tackle extremist ideologies online by improving your digital literacy here.
4. Cracking the Glass Ceiling: Are Women in the Boardroom Saving Our Economies?
Global feminist movements spent the better half of the 20th century fighting for the right of women to exist in the public sphere, increasing their political and economic power as they worked to crack the glass ceiling placed on them by patriarchal systems. However, many still debate the role of women in positions of power, questioning their capabilities due to assumptions around women’s emotional instability and commitments to their families. As a result, researchers in the field of Gender Studies are fighting tirelessly to combat these myths through quantitative studies that show women’s unique strengths, whether in the boardroom, political offices, or economic institutions.
This particular study explores the impact of placing women in positions of power within banking institutions, and finds their contributions undeniably valuable in improving economic stability across national and global systems.
5. How Sustainable is the Sustainability Movement?
Environmental accounting stands as a cornerstone in bolstering the sustainability movement, offering a structured approach to quantify and communicate the ecological impacts of economic activities. In other words, it helps us tell the real environmental story behind our actions. Through meticulous tracking of resource consumption, emissions, and associated costs, environmental accounting promotes transparency and fosters accountability. This transparency empowers stakeholders to make informed choices aimed at minimizing environmental footprints while maximizing operational efficiency. Moreover, it sparks innovation by identifying opportunities for adopting green technologies and sustainable practices, driving continuous progress toward achieving global sustainability goals.
Find out what this study can tell us about the role of environmental accounting in building greener futures here.
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