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Growing inequality and socioeconomic and environmental degradation concerns forces us to think about how innovative technologies can contribute to reduce this problem. This study aims to analyze the potential of social cryptocurrencies to enhance the community development and cooperation between small businesses of the near environment. The evolution of these technology-based schemes could be key factors for generating innovative social enterprises, improving the quality of life in the community; in this way generate a conceptual model to sustainable development, while being more transparent, efficient and scalable as they are supported by technological applications.

Based on an in-depth study of the relevant literature, a conceptual model was designed. The concept of social cryptocurrency is proposed as a new approach to virtual currencies for social purposes and sustainable development.

The key findings point out that actors such as innovation and social entrepreneurship will come together in a new generation of social currencies, extending cryptocurrency technology to social business domains.

The impact of this will result in a better quality of life for society and the achievement of several sustainable development goals. However, a limitation would be that its scope depends on certain characteristics of the local environment. Furthermore, the proposed model will require validation in later phases through social experiments.

The main contribution of this paper is in structuring a formal model that, based on empirical experiences and the use of the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies, proposes a set of constituent elements and characterizes them to contribute to achievement of sustainable development.

Virtual currency is a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority. Its reliability is based on advanced cryptographic methods which provide privacy and confidence to citizens. Virtual currency and its underlying technologies such as blockchain or smart contracts trigger transformation in many areas of the society’s functioning. The way in which social relations occur and economic transactions are managed are changing forever. As a result, cryptocurrencies constitute a good example of how specific technology may lead to substantial transformation of the world. Still, virtual currencies could benefit from the versatility of collaborative communication of social media and Internet to promote and develop new commerce and business initiatives as well as new forms of financial flow managements. The objective of this chapter is to examine the role played by virtual currencies in modern societies in order to describe potential uses and applications and their impact on politics and social behavior. As a result, recommendations are inferred to address the challenges and opportunities of these new technologies.

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) practices on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), in medical staff working in specialized units. In addition, we check the mediating role of work-related well-being, understood as engagement, trust and exhaustion, in the relationship between AMO practices and OCB. Furthermore, the moderating role of service leadership is analysed in the relationship between AMO practices and work-related well-being.

Using the AMO framework under the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, and based on a sample of 214 employees from public healthcare, a time-lagged moderation-mediation model was performed.

Results provide evidence that AMO practices have a positive effect on OCB. Further, work-related well-being mediated the effect of AMO practices on OCB. In addition, service leadership exerted a moderating role between AMO practices and work-related well-being.

Building on recent research which has emphasized the knowledge gap regarding how human resource practices might positively affect both employees and organizations, this is the first study that indicates that said practices positively affect both employee well-being and OCBs in the public healthcare context.

This chapter introduces an initiative of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellows to build an online resource that engages the Library and Information Studies (LIS) community in a discussion of social justice initiatives within the field. This tool further develops a social justice framework that raises awareness of and integrates social justice methodologies into LIS curricula and library practices. This framework facilitates community building and the empowerment of the populations they serve.

Using an iterative approach to user-centered design, the Social Justice Collaboratorium (SJC) development process consists of input from a community of engaged users to inform the wireframe, prototype, testing, and development phases. This includes gathering substantial qualitative and quantitative data such as surveys of LIS faculty, practitioners and students, as well as tracking web analytics once the tool is live.

The SJC allows for the confluence of research, resources, networks, best practices, and LIS school models in a centralized medium. Designed for LIS practitioners, faculty, staff, and students, as well as those interested in project management, resource development, and collaborative work, the SJC supports different approaches to social justice in LIS.

The SJC will be accessible to a distributed community of social justice LIS scholars, practitioners, students, and activists. Contributions from the community of users throughout every stage of the development process ensures participation, stewardship, and intentionality. In this way, the SJC will be a transformative tool for the LIS community as a vehicle for promoting equity and social change.

Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.

This work presents a review of the state of the art of the present century on academic and scientific production in Latin America related to the concept of Social Innovation. The analysis is based on articles published in indexed journals, which makes it possible to understand the existing asymmetry between the conceptual and theoretical veins, of the case studies, as well as of good social innovation practices that have been published in recent years. These debates have in some cases transcended public policies, as well as business and social realities where social innovation is a mechanism and strategy for personal, social, and territorial development. Finally, a Latin American community of researchers and academics around social innovation must be consolidated, who choose to continue building theoretical-empirical bodies following the Latin American reality.