Search Results (1,263)

Autonomous robotic systems operating in residential environments must maintain safe, reliable, and adaptive performance under heterogeneous conditions characterized by environmental uncertainty. Achieving this performance is difficult because such systems must simultaneously cope with variable contact states and complex subsystem interactions. Conventional component-oriented engineering approaches often fail to capture how internal faults, external disturbances, and architectural decisions interact to generate system-level instabilities and hazards. This paper proposes a Systems Thinking-based Safety-by-Design framework to support the sustainable early-stage design of autonomous residential robotic systems. The methodology formalizes the relationships among internal faults (F), environmental variability (E), system behaviour (S), architecture (A), instabilities (I), hazards (H), and safety barriers (B) through the dependencies S = f(F,E), I = g(S,A), and H = h(I,B). Environmental variability is treated as an active design driver influencing system behaviour, architectural decisions, and safety requirements. The framework is evaluated as a proof-of-concept, semi-quantitative analytical demonstration, rather than an experimentally validated result, using an autonomous window-cleaning robot: its functional subsystems are mapped to the conceptual model and fault-dominated, environment-dominated, and coupled degradation scenarios are assessed through a semi-quantitative index. The results show that risk emerges from subsystem interactions rather than isolated component failures and that adaptive architectures reduce instability propagation under uncertain operating conditions. The proposed framework supports early engineering decisions that improve robustness, resilience, safety, maintainability, and sustainability. Full article

Background/Objectives: Ageing populations face complex challenges, yet many older adults maintain well-being despite adversity. Understanding resilience offers critical direction for health promotion. This integrative review takes a conceptual and methodological approach to resilience in older adults, with clear implications for geriatric care. The review addresses: (1) how resilience is conceptualised and measured; (2) individual, social, and contextual factors linked to resilience; and (3) the effectiveness of interventions that aim to promote resilience. Methods: Following Whittemore and Knafl’s framework, a systematic search of six databases (PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL; 2016–2025) identified 42 empirical studies across 18 countries of diverse designs. Quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and thematic analysis identified five convergent themes. Results: Most studies explicitly defined resilience using trait-, process-, or outcome-based frameworks and employed validated instruments, most commonly the CD-RISC. Self-efficacy, spirituality, sense of coherence, and gratitude were consistently associated with resilience. Family relationships, social networks, and community participation were important relational correlates. Health status, education, economic security, and digital literacy were key contextual factors. Six longitudinal studies linked higher resilience to reduced mortality, slower cognitive decline, and attenuated frailty progression. Seven intervention studies, including five randomised controlled trials, supported physical activity, mindfulness, positive thinking training, Tai Chi, and technology-supported exercise as promising intervention modalities, though one web-based programme yielded null findings. Conclusions: Resilience in older adults is a multifaceted and potentially modifiable construct. Growing longitudinal evidence extends its relevance beyond psychological well-being to physical health outcomes, though cross-sectional designs predominate and limit causal inference. Measurement heterogeneity across more than twenty instruments underscores the need for international consensus and culturally valid tools. Larger longitudinal studies and adequately powered trials are needed to guide definitive practice and policy for ageing populations worldwide. Full article

In an era of information explosion and overload, individuals face a constant influx of mixed-quality, contradictory data. Navigating this complex landscape requires critical thinking, which enables individuals to dynamically adjust their reasoning and refine judgments. Consequently, accurately measuring this dynamic ability is essential. However, existing assessments predominantly focus on single-round argumentation and fail to capture the iterative process, potentially yielding unrepresentative evaluations of real-world performance. To address this gap, this study develops the Iterative Argumentation Task (IAT), a novel assessment tool that presents participants with a sequence of interrelated passages simulating real-world information flow. By capturing the process of evaluation, position changes, and argument revisions, the IAT evaluates three ability dimensions: single-round argument analysis, inter-argument relationship analysis, and argument integration. We recruited 355 undergraduates to validate the IAT. Confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for the proposed measurement structure. Furthermore, correlations with established critical thinking and reasoning tests demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity, respectively. Moreover, performance differences between the undergraduates and 33 debaters established known-groups validity. Finally, latent profile analysis identified four distinct profiles across the IAT dimensions. Together, these findings establish the IAT as a theoretically sound and practically effective tool for assessing critical thinking. Full article

Approximately 70% of organisational development (OD) initiatives based on methodologies such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Business Process Reengineering (BPR), Lean, and Six Sigma are reported to fail. Critical Systems Thinking (CST) attributes many of these failures to poor implementation and inadequate attention to organisational context, emphasising the need for critical awareness, political agency, and multimethodology. However, when OD work itself becomes a “bullshit job”, even CST’s principles may struggle to take hold. This paper develops Scientific Self-Management (SCSM), inspired by Community Operational Research (COR) and informed by Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), as a bottom-up systems approach to such situations. A 42-month first-person action research study of a public-sector OD programme examines the practical feasibility of SCSM in a complex organisational setting. The study shows how bottom-up learning and self-directed engagement can restore meaning and generate local organisational improvements where conventional approaches struggle to gain traction, while also highlighting the political challenges of sustaining such initiatives over time. It contributes to the CST and COR literatures by extending systems practice to situations in which management is incompetent or hostile and organisational culture has become paralysed by pretence. The findings suggest that successful organisational development depends less on the choice of methodology than on creating organisational conditions that enable meaningful participation, learning, and continuous improvement. Full article

The industrial sector faces one of the biggest challenges in decarbonization, mainly due to the high costs associated with the development and implementation of low-carbon, energy-efficient technologies and solutions. The long lifespan of industrial assets and infrequent replacement contribute to maintaining high levels of energy consumption and emissions. As electric motors represent a significant portion of energy consumption in industries, improving their efficiency generates substantial reductions in consumption, energy demand, and emissions, thus optimizing overall energy performance. This article proposes an integrated guideline for the application of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods, computational thinking (CT), and technical standards in industrial energy management problems. To validate this proposal, the guidelines were applied to a real-world case of electric motor selection in an industrial complex. In this context, the structured analysis of the problem, when based on computational thinking, MCDM methods, and technical standards, provides transparency and traceability to decisions. The motor-selection case study, which incorporated computational thinking and MCDM tools (AHP/TOPSIS) aligned with technical standards, demonstrated that these integrated guidelines can substantially improve decision-making in industrial contexts by structuring selection problems and aligning them with the strategic objectives of organizations. Full article

Higher education institutions are increasingly expected to contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by equipping students with the competencies needed to address complex sustainability challenges. Among these competencies, critical thinking, perspective-taking, evidence-based reasoning, and informed decision-making are considered essential for education for sustainable development. However, limited research has examined how SDG-oriented instructional approaches can foster sustainability-oriented reasoning through argumentative engagement within teacher education. This study investigated the implementation of an SDG-oriented argumentative writing course designed for pre-service teachers. Using a scholarship of teaching and learning approach, this study examined participants’ learning readiness, argumentative performance, and perceived learning outcomes. Data were collected from 16 pre-service teachers through learning readiness questionnaires, argumentative writing tasks, Toulmin-based text analysis, self-assessment questionnaires, and reflective feedback. Descriptive statistics indicated a moderate-to-high level of learning readiness before instruction (M = 4.38) and highly positive perceived learning outcomes after the course (M = 4.61). Qualitative findings further indicated that SDG-related issues provided meaningful contexts for engaging pre-service teachers in critical reflection, perspective integration, and sustainability-oriented reasoning. Participants’ written work showed evidence of structured argumentation, particularly in claim construction and reason development, whereas evidence integration and rebuttal construction remained challenging higher-order dimensions of sustainability-oriented reasoning. Self-assessment data further revealed increased awareness of issue analysis, argumentation strategies, and the social relevance of sustainability-related topics. This study contributes to the growing literature on sustainability in higher education by illustrating how SDG-oriented argumentative writing may support sustainability-oriented reasoning within a teacher education course. The findings provide context-specific insights into how argumentative engagement can encourage evidence-based reasoning, perspective integration, and reflective judgment when addressing sustainability-related issues. Implications are discussed for curriculum innovation, education for sustainable development, and the design of instructional scaffolds that support sustainability-oriented reasoning in teacher education. Full article

Micro-credentials are reshaping higher education credentialing, yet existing models mostly link their components through one-way causality, while systems thinking pedagogy has developed largely around STEM and sustainability rather than higher education policy itself. This conceptual paper reframes the micro-credential ecosystem as a complex adaptive system governed by feedback loops, addressing both gaps at once. Following theory synthesis and model-building approaches and Sterman’s system dynamics modeling steps, a four-stage process integrates system dynamics, institutional theory, signaling theory, and adult learning theories. The study yields four testable propositions and one balancing loop, formalized in a single integrated causal loop diagram with defined polarities and delays: the bidirectional need–program link (P1), certification–design feedback (P2), demand–standardization network effect (P3), an ecosystem-level reinforcing loop (P4), and credential inflation as a balancing loop (B1). The coupling of the reinforcing and balancing loops frames credential inflation as a transferable sub-form of the Overshoot and Collapse archetype. The core loop is operationalized as a stock-flow structure, a three-level moderator architecture links the model to variable-based designs, and the framework maps onto SDGs 4, 8, and 10. Analysis of Meadows’s leverage points and a step-by-step design guide translate the model into policy and curriculum practice and into a teaching case for systems thinking. Full article

Lissajous figures are frequently studied and widely used objects in engineering and physics. Although these patterns are usually analysed using computer simulations or oscilloscopes, such tools may limit their educational value by covering the core physical processes that generate the curves. In order to address these problems, the design, kinematic validation, and prototyping of a dual-axis drawing robot were carried out on the LEGO Education SPIKE Prime platform. The hardware implementation centres on a LEGO-based dual Scotch yoke mechanism, which supports precise transformation of uniform circular motion into simple harmonic motion. This setup implements the superposition of two independent simple harmonic oscillations by simultaneously moving the paper tray along the x-axis and the pen along the y-axis. High-fidelity trajectories are achieved through a 40:1 worm gear reduction, which enables precise control of the parameter configuration. The phase shift can be manually set by adjustment levers. The robot’s geometry supports discrete amplitude settings of 8, 16, and 24 mm by adjusting the crankpin position. System control is managed by Python code that synchronises motor speeds and angular displacements according to frequency ratios. The research methodology used the Double Diamond design thinking framework, structuring development into four phases: identifying historical mechanical solutions, defining pedagogical and technical classroom requirements, iteratively developing the LEGO prototype, and testing the system through representative drawing experiments. Results show that the robot can reproduce a broad range of periodic Lissajous curves with high repeatability, and that its physical outputs show strong visual and mathematical correspondence to ideal trajectories simulated in the Desmos graphing calculator. The final prototype satisfies classroom constraints, providing a transparent, low-cost, modular STEAM tool that bridges the distance between abstract parametric equations and complex mechanical implementations. Full article

Based on three years of sustained personal observations and extensive on-site interviews, this study is the first to investigate the bird totem worship customs of the Dong ethnic minority in southeast Guizhou, China. The Dong-inhabited regions of southeast Guizhou possess a long-standing tradition of bird totem worship, which has permeated every aspect of local people’s daily life, serving as a living museum where ancient bird totem worship continues to thrive in the present day. Through investigation and research, we can clearly perceive that bird totem worship here is no longer merely evidence of primitive thinking as previously discussed in academic circles, nor is it an endangered intangible cultural heritage. Instead, it represents emotional resonance with a more modern spirit and open-ended identity construction. Faced with the era of the internet and new media, they have broken free from the constraints of totem concepts and taboos, instead embracing creative totem will, totem activities, totem behaviors, and intelligent totems, thereby endowing totems with new belief content and forms of expression. They have transcended the preconceived concepts and fixed thinking about totems in academic discourse, making it an important vehicle for maintaining community relations, strengthening ethnic solidarity, inheriting ethnic culture, and continuing local civilization. Through the contemporary reconstruction of collective behavior, the traffic empowerment of internet short videos, and complex functional transformations, they have constructed a brand-new totem value system in the context of the internet and new media era, organizing a multi-dimensional, comprehensive social ecological view and civilizational value system. It is precisely through this continuous evolution, expansion, and activation in response to changing times that totems have acquired sustained vitality and creativity, providing a vivid case study for the contemporary transformation and creative development of ancient totemic beliefs. This is also the significant importance of field investigation—it enables us to gain entirely new value cognition and different theoretical perspectives from the living site of totem practices. Full article

Background: Counterfeit governance in e-commerce platforms is a real-world problem characterized by strategic interdependence, information asymmetry and dynamic feedback among platforms, merchants and consumers. Linear or single-actor regulatory approaches are often insufficient to address such complexity, as platform regulation, merchant behaviour, consumer trust and online reputation mechanisms jointly shape the evolution of market trust. Methods: Guided by systems thinking, this study conceptualizes counterfeit governance as a socio-technical system and develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving e-commerce platforms, merchants and consumers. The model delineates the system boundary around transaction-stage platform governance and incorporates key variables, including regulatory costs, fraudulent gains, honest transaction costs, subsidies, penalties, consumer transaction costs, online word-of-mouth influence and reputation losses. System dynamics simulation using Vensim PLE 10.5.2 is then employed to examine evolutionary trajectories, local stability, parameter sensitivity and threshold regions. Results: The results show that weak or static regulation may allow fraudulent strategies to persist or fluctuate, whereas stronger penalties and subsidies for honest transactions can reshape the payoff structure and promote merchant integrity. Transaction-related consumer incentives and enhanced online word-of-mouth mechanisms support consumer trust and stabilize the system toward trustworthy transactions. Conclusions: This study operationalizes systems thinking through system dynamics, while evolutionary game theory provides behavioural micro-foundations for stakeholder strategy adjustment in digital platform governance. Full article

Against the global imperative to advance higher education for sustainable development and institutional transformation in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), coherent governance architectures have been recognized as a foundational prerequisite for enabling universities to embed sustainability into values into core operations, teaching, research, and community engagement. Drawing on socio-technical systems theory and complex adaptive systems thinking, this study analyzes 167 central-level policy documents (2015–2023) related to China’s Higher Education “Delegation, Regulation, and Service” reform to examine how governance intentions are translated into organizational control mechanisms. A dual-dimensional analytical framework is developed that conceptualizes policy objectives as system goals and policy instruments as control levers, combining content analysis with fuzzy systems methodology to quantify system coupling. The findings reveal distinct emergent patterns: governance objectives exhibit structural differentiation with functional complementarity, whereas the synergy of control levers is shaped by their functional roles and organizational adaptability. More importantly, a selective pattern of structural–functional decoupling is identified. Coupling between Improving Quality and its supporting levers declines substantially over the study period, while coupling involving Stimulating Vitality exhibits marked volatility and an overall decline. By contrast, coupling associated with Breaking Down Institutional Barriers and Improving the Modern University System remains consistently high. These differentiated patterns suggest that governance misalignment is concentrated in quality- and vitality-related objectives rather than occurring uniformly across the governance system. The study provides a diagnostic framework for assessing governance coherence as a prerequisite for organizational capacity-building, contributing to both sustainability governance research and the design of more coherent institutional governance systems. Full article

Background/Objectives: Healthcare delivery systems are inherently complex, and efforts to improve quality and safety often fail to achieve sustained, system-wide impact because of misalignment between work system design, care processes, and clinical practice. This article presents a practical, theory-informed framework that integrates human factors and systems thinking to guide the design and implementation of clinical pathways for reliable care delivery and system-level transformation. Methods: A conceptual framework was developed through synthesis of literature from human factors engineering, sociotechnical systems theory, and healthcare quality improvement. The framework organizes healthcare delivery into three interconnected domains—the work system, care processes, and outcomes—while positioning clinical pathways as the operational mechanism linking system design to care execution. Pediatric immunization was used as an illustrative case example. Results: The framework illustrates how misalignment in system design may contribute to variability in care processes and outcomes. Clinical pathways integrated into routine workflows and supported by human factors strategies—including decision-support heuristics, workflow simulation, and structured debriefing—may promote more reliable care delivery. Sustained implementation across teams and clinical settings is expected to reduce missed opportunities, improve consistency of care, and support progression toward system-level transformation. Conclusions: Clinical pathways can serve as practical tools for translating system design principles into reliable healthcare delivery when implemented using human factors and systems-based approaches. This framework provides healthcare leaders and quality improvement teams with a structured approach for designing, implementing, and scaling pathways to support safer, more reliable, and more consistent care delivery. Full article

Social Sciences education requires pedagogical approaches that foster critical thinking and enable students to analyze, contrast, and interpret complex social realities. As Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) becomes integrated into higher education, it offers opportunities to support these processes while raising questions about students’ autonomy and reliance on generated content. Although previous research has examined the educational uses of GenAI, less is known about how students interact with these systems when revising source-based interpretations and how they position themselves. This study examines how 83 first-year university students enrolled in Education degree programs interacted with ChatGPT during a source-interpretation activity and how this interaction was reflected in the reformulation of their initial responses. A qualitative descriptive–interpretative design compared initial responses, prompts, revised responses, and retrospective reflections. The findings show that interaction with ChatGPT rarely coincided with substantial changes in students’ underlying interpretations or positions. Instead, it mainly supported response expansion, argumentative reinforcement, and in some cases reformulation. A central contribution of the study is the identification of four recurrent learner profiles within the analytical category of interaction orientations: autonomy-preserving, objectivity-seeking, stance-attributing, and validation-seeking. Greater textual elaboration did not necessarily reflect stronger critical thinking or more independent interpretation. These findings highlight the need for pedagogical strategies based on source comparison, verification, and justification of generated content. Full article

With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, various scientific research fields are exploring the application of potential of new technologies. Counseling psychology, closely intertwined with natural language processing, is one of the most suitable domains for such exploration. This study focuses on investigating the effectiveness of large language models (LLMs) in assisting novice counselors with case-formulation processes. Based on supervisors’ ratings of novice counselors’ performance before and after using LLMs, the results indicate that AI assistance significantly enhances the comprehensiveness and coherence of case formulation, while its effects on complexity and specificity are not statistically significant. Additionally, through novice counselors’ subjective evaluations of the AI-assisted process, the value of AI tools in broadening perspectives and facilitating convenient operations is identified. Overall, the findings suggest that AI can moderately assist novice counselors in understanding clients. However, to better integrate AI with professional practice and improve case formulation competence, it is essential for novice counselors to maintain critical thinking and strengthen their learning of counseling theories and techniques during AI application. Full article

Background: Preparing midwifery graduates to be confident, competent, and resilient is essential for workforce sustainability, yet students report a disconnect between academic preparation and clinical realities. Increasing care complexity, workforce shortages, and variable clinical learning environments globally highlight the need to examine how educational strategies support effective transition to practice. Objective: To map and synthesise the evidence regarding educational approaches, learning experiences, and transition-to-practice factors that influence preparedness for professional practice among midwifery students, and to identify gaps in the existing literature to inform a coherent and future-ready educational framework. Methods: A PRISMA-ScR-guided scoping review was conducted across seven databases. Data were extracted through a standardised template and analysed using narrative synthesis. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies were examined for learning approaches, practice conditions, and transition experiences. Results: Three overarching domains and seven sub-domains were identified. Reflective practice, blended learning, simulation, and collaborative approaches were widely valued but inconsistently implemented. Students frequently experienced transition shock, limited scaffolding of higher-order thinking, variable supervision, with misalignment between curricula, competency frameworks, and clinical expectations, leading to uneven confidence and skill development. Educator capacity constraints particularly in feedback, reflection, and simulation pedagogy were recurrent barriers. Positive clinical environments and structured reflective opportunities consistently strengthened competence, identity formation, and readiness. Conclusion: Midwifery education is evolving towards contemporary, competency-based pedagogies, yet persistent inconsistencies undermine the reliability of graduate preparation. Strengthening curriculum coherence, standardising key learning experiences, investing in educator capability, and embedding structured reflection and simulation are essential. A unified educational framework that integrates these components is required to enable confident, adaptable, and practice-ready midwives. Full article