Social Sciences

Cross-national studies usually reduce women’s economic position to one or two composite indices, so it remains unclear which dimensions of gender inequality are most closely associated with long-run growth in low-income economies. Drawing on 128 sex-disaggregated indicators from the World Bank Gender Data Portal for 62 low- and lower-middle-income countries over 1960–2023, we combine principal component analysis and clustering with machine-learning models to identify the health, educational, and demographic correlates of the long-run trend in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Under repeated cross-validation, a random forest explains 38 percent of out-of-sample variation. Health indicators occupy six of the ten most influential predictors: the share of deaths among women aged 15–59 attributable to injuries dominates under two importance measures, followed by the injury share of all female deaths, deaths from communicable and maternal causes, and female primary-school enrollment. Female schooling and child survival improved fastest where they started lowest, and those countries recorded flatter GDP per capita trends. We interpret these associations, which are predictive rather than causal, through human-capital theory, and identify preventable female mortality, female schooling, and fertility-related constraints as priorities for causal evaluation rather than proven levers of growth.

Sport management has increasingly adopted a multidisciplinary approach to understanding sport and its effects on contemporary societies. Yet the relationship between sport policy and electoral decision-making remains comparatively underexplored, particularly when sport is considered as a public policy domain rather than through sporting success or specific sport-related ballot questions. This study explores the self-reported salience of sport policy in electoral decision-making among Portuguese voters and examines public perceptions of the relationship between sport, politics, and public responsibility for sport development. An exploratory, descriptive quantitative design was used, based on primary data collected through a multidimensional online questionnaire. Data were collected between November 2024 and January 2025, yielding 937 valid responses. The largest single share of respondents (46.4%) reported considering local sport development when voting in local elections, while 45.7% stated that, in a hypothetical situation of indecision, they would vote for the candidate or political party presenting the greatest number of measures for local sport; the corresponding figure for national elections was 40.9%. At the same time, 79.4% agreed that sport and physical activity should be a political priority, whereas 44.3% perceived differences in public investment in sport across political parties and 44.0% did not perceive sport as sufficiently recognised by political elites. The findings suggest that sport policy has a notable degree of self-reported electoral salience in this sample, particularly in local contexts, while also revealing substantial uncertainty about political recognition and party differentiation. While stated intentions cannot be equated with observed voting behaviour and the voluntary online sample does not support population-level representativeness, the study provides exploratory evidence that sport policy can constitute a relevant consideration in electoral decision-making, particularly in local electoral contexts.

Background: Hospitalized Indigenous older adults experience separation from family, community, culture, and familiar environments. Virtual reality (VR) can offer comfort but is rarely developed in partnership with Indigenous older adults, risking content that reproduces dominant assumptions about what is meaningful, appropriate, or beneficial. This study co-creates culturally meaningful VR content with Indigenous older adults in long-term care (LTC) and examines its introduction into an acute hospital environment. Methods: Three Indigenous research team members first led iterative sessions with four Indigenous LTC residents (aged 71–90 years) focused on relationship-building, stories, and cultural perspectives, informing selection of cultural belongings from an Anthropology Museum’s Indigenous collections. The team then developed eight VR videos and an interactive experience, iteratively revised with Indigenous partners and residents, which were introduced to 26 older adult hospital patients (4 Indigenous, 22 non-Indigenous; aged 71–90 years) for feedback. We analyzed data generated throughout the co-creation process, the hospital viewing sessions, and weekly team meetings using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified. Theme 1, “Co-Creation as a Relational Space,” addresses how co-creation enabled Indigenous older adults to share, interpret, and connect experiences. Theme 2, “Indigenous Older Adults Shaped What Became Immersive,” reveals how iterative engagement enabled partners to influence, challenge, and extend the developing content. Theme 3, “Culturally Meaningful VR Created Opportunities for Connection and Storytelling in Hospital,” addresses how patients experienced VR and the possibilities identified for culturally meaningful storytelling in acute care. Conclusions: Working relationally and iteratively with Indigenous older adults shifted VR development from designing content for Indigenous patients toward creating content with Indigenous partners. Co-creation supported cultural relevance and created a relational space for storytelling and learning.