Publications

The COST Cross-Cutting Activity (CCA) on Science Communication brings together outstanding expertise
from over 50 organisations across EU Member States and beyond. Working to raise awareness of science communication and develop best practices for policy makers to stimulate research on science communication in Europe.

For this report a selective group of CCA Members were invited to provide their perspective on the role and relevance of science communication during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Common for the contributions are their focus on new approaches to science-based communication as an essential prerequisite for addressing contemporary health challenges as they cut across disciplines and stakeholders.

COST Action ‘Citizen Science to Promote Creativity, Scientific Literacy, and Innovation throughout Europe‘. This open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientists to citizens and from policy makers to environmental organisations have been involved in its practice. In addition, many scientists also study citizen science as a research approach and as a way for science and society to interact and collaborate. This book provides a representation of the practices as well as scientific and societal outcomes in different disciplines. It reflects the contribution of citizen science to societal development, education, or innovation and provides and overview of the field of actors as well as on tools and guidelines. It serves as an introduction for anyone who wants to get involved in and learn more about the science of citizen science.

The book has been initiated within the COST Action CA16222 entitled Wider Impacts and Scenario Evaluation of Autonomous and Connected Transport (WISE-ACT).

Policy Implications of Autonomous Vehicles, Volume Five in the Advances in Transport Policy and Planning series, systematically reviews policy relevant implications of AVs and the associated possible policy responses, and discusses future avenues for policy making and research. It comprises 13 chapters discussing: (a) short-term implications of AVs for traffic flow, human-automated bus systems interaction, cyber-security and safety, cybersecurity certification and auditing, non-commuting journeys; (b) long-term implications of AVs for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy, health and well-being, data protection, ethics, governance; (c) implications of AVs for the maritime industry and urban deliveries; and (d) overall synthesis and conclusions.

Due to the changes that occur to the immunity and physiological state of women during pregnancy, they are at increased risk of suffering issues with both their physical and mental health (Liu et al., 2020). It is estimated that 1 in 5 women develop a mental health problem in the perinatal period (Hahn-Holbrook et al., 2018; World Health Organization, 2015), with depression and anxiety among the most prevalent conditions (Shorey et al., 2018). Importantly, these conditions have long lasting adverse effects on women and their babies, and place a heavy burden on families and society as a whole (Bauer et al., 2014; Gavin et al., 2005). Conditions such as extreme stress, conflict situations, emergencies, and natural disasters can increase the risk of developing specific mental illnesses (World Health Organization, 2016).

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), declared a global pandemic on March 11 by the World Health Organization, is currently cited as a significant cause of stress and anxiety for pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) around the world (Chen et al., 2020), taking into account that these women constitute one of the most vulnerable populations in the world. Although formal evidence about the perinatal aspects of COVID-19 remains scarce, recent clinical data suggest that the impact on physical health is not as negative as previously thought (Mullins et al., 2020). Pregnant women and newborns are not at increased risk of getting infected or having worse symptoms or consequences than the general population (Chen et al., 2020).

However, the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak and the imposed social confinement measures are particularly challenging for PPW and may impact their psychological well-being. In addition to the expected concerns about their own health, risk of infection and transmission of the virus to the baby, sudden changes in perinatal healthcare (e.g., modifications of scheduled appointments, restrictions on the partner’s presence during childbirth and postnatal visitation) would likely contribute to increased psychological distress.

Taking into account the aforementioned reasons, the Riseup-PPD project “Research Innovation and Sustainable Pan-European Network in Peripartum Depression Disorder” (Cost Action 18138), founded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union, decided to create the “Perinatal Mental Health and COVID-19 epidemic” task force to promote best practices in maternal mental health that may mitigate the impact of COVID-19 management on women’s mental health. Within this framework, we provide a brief review on a) impacts of the pandemic and confinement during COVID-19 lockdown on PPW and b) characteristics of the women who are most vulnerable to the psychological impact of COVID-19. Based on this review, we recommend good psychological practices and points to consider in conducting research that could be implemented to mitigate the negative consequences of such a pandemic.

Desert dust is assumed to have substantial adverse effects on human health. However, the epidemiologic evidence is still inconsistent, mainly because previous studies used different metrics for dust exposure and its corresponding epidemiologic analysis. We aim to provide a standardized approach to the methodology for evaluating the short-term health effects of desert dust.

This Open Access book is about the development of a common understanding of environmental citizenship. It conceptualizes and frames environmental citizenship taking an educational perspective. Organized in four complementary parts, the book first explains the political, economic and societal dimensions of the concept. Next, it examines environmental citizenship as a psychological concept with a specific focus on knowledge, values, beliefs and attitudes. It then explores environmental citizenship within the context of environmental education and education for sustainability. It elaborates responsible environmental behaviour, youth activism and education for sustainability through the lens of environmental citizenship. Finally, it discusses the concept within the context of different educational levels, such as primary and secondary education in formal and non-formal settings.

Environmental citizenship is a key factor in sustainability, green and cycle economy, and low-carbon society, and an important aspect in addressing global environmental problems. It has been an influential concept in many different arenas such as economy, policy, philosophy, and organizational marketing. In the field of education, the concept could be better exploited and established, however. Education and, especially, environmental discourses in science education have a great deal to contribute to the adoption and promotion of environmental citizenship.

Background

Relatively little information is available regarding the level of acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution in different educational settings in Europe. The aim of the present study is to fill this gap and provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research regarding evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of students and teachers across Europe, based on a systematic literature review.

Results

We identified 56 papers for the period 2010–2020, presenting results for 29 European countries. Both knowledge and acceptance of evolution were assessed in 17 studies. Out of 13 instruments most commonly used in the literature, five have been used in the European context so far: ACORNS, CINS, I-SEA, KEE and MATE. Thirty-one other instruments were identified of which 16 were used in studies on knowledge and 15 in studies on acceptance. The extent of knowledge was hard to compare even within groups of the same education level due to the application of different instruments and assessment of different key concepts. Our results illustrate the persistence of misconceptions through all education levels. Comparing acceptance among different education levels and countries revealed a high diversity. However, a lack of evolution in curricula tended to be associated with rejection of evolution in some countries. European studies that investigated both acceptance of evolution and knowledge about evolution varied highly concerning the existence and strength of the relationship between these factors. However, some trends are visible, such as an increase of strength of the relationship the higher the education level.

Conclusions

The present review highlights the lack of a standardized assessment of evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of evolution across Europe and, therefore, of reasonably comparable data. Moreover, the review revealed that only about one-third of all studies on acceptance and/or knowledge about evolution provided evidence for local validity and reliability. We suggest the use of assessment categories for both knowledge and acceptance instruments to allow for interpretation and comparison of sum scores among different sample groups. This, along with prospective comparative research based on similar samples, paves the way for future research aimed at overcoming current biases and inconsistencies in results.

This article is based upon work from COST Action 17127 (EuroScitizen: Building on scientific literacy in evolution towards scientifically responsible Europeans).

Since March 2020, multiple COST Actions have approached the COST Association wanting to collaborate with other Actions on COVID-19 research. In response to these requests, and to make the networking process smoother, COST produced the booklet ‘COST Actions against COVID-19, An interdisciplinary network’, with details of all of the Actions wishing to connect and collaborate

Toxigenic cyanobacteria are one of the main health risks associated with water resources. Consequently, the analysis, control, and removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins from water supplies is a high priority research area. This book presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research on water treatment methods for the removal of cyanobacteria, taste and odor compounds, and cyanotoxins.

Starting with an introduction to the subject, Water Treatment for Purification from Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins offers chapters on cyanotoxins and human health, conventional physical-chemical treatment for the removal of cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins, removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins by membrane processes, biological treatment for the destruction of cyanotoxins, and conventional disinfection and/or oxidation processes. Other chapters look at advanced oxidation processes, removal/destruction of taste and odour compounds, transformation products of cyanobacterial metabolites during treatment and integrated drinking water processes.

• Provides a comprehensive overview of key methods for treating water tainted by cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins
• Bridges the gap between basic knowledge of cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins and practical management guidelines
• Includes integrated processes case studies and real-life examples
• Developed within the frame of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)–funded CYANOCOST

A must-have resource for every water treatment plant, Water Treatment for Purification from Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins is a valuable resource for all researchers in water chemistry and engineering, environmental chemistry as well as water companies and authorities, water resource engineers and managers, environmental and public health protection organizations.

Read more about the Action