Search Results (313)

Rates of self-harm amongst young women are rising. However, only half of individuals disclose self-harm, and when they do, they may be met with responses that can be harmful or helpful to recovery. The aim of the current study is to understand how young women perceive adult (e.g., parents, health professionals) responses to their self-harm disclosures, and the impact these responses have on them. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with young women (N = 27, M age = 20.9, SD = 2.1) reporting a history of self-harm. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, with three main themes generated: (1) the young woman’s needs were diminished, (2) the confidant’s response was not attuned to their needs, and (3) the confidant’s response was attuned to their needs. The first theme reflects responses that felt dismissive or elicited feelings of discomfort or shame. The second theme captures responses that failed to resonate with the participant’s needs or were unhelpful or invalidating. The third theme represents responses that elicited feelings of being cared for or validated. Future interventions could focus on educating parents and health professionals about the best approaches to responding to self-harm disclosures that promote future disclosure and recovery. Full article

Edible green infrastructure provides a pathway to enhancing food security and advancing sustainability in underprivileged Sub-Saharan communities. This study explores the potential of modular living wall systems (LWSs) with African Vegetables (AVs) to enhance food security and provide ecosystem services in the Melusi informal settlement, Tshwane, South Africa. This research investigated the socio-cultural perceptions surrounding the opportunities and challenges of outdoor modular living walls with African Vegetables to sustainably enhance the household food security of marginalized South African urban communities. Data were captured using a mixed-methods approach that involved semi-structured questionnaires, focus group interviews, and photo-elicitation. The analysis was conducted quantitatively with SPSS and qualitatively with Atlas.ti software. Key barriers to urban agriculture identified include high maintenance costs, pest control issues, spatial constraints, exposure to extreme weather, and limited access to water and fertilizers. The Melusi community strongly supported LWSs with AV crops, valuing their space-saving and biophilic benefits. Success, however, depends on low-tech, cost-effective, modular systems made from recycled materials and incorporating nutrient-dense, compact crops. This study highlights the potential of LWSs to enhance food security, promote economic growth, and support climate-resilient livelihoods in urban underprivileged settings. Full article

This study explores how teachers’ assessment literacy manifests within assessment practices in higher professional education. While assessment literacy is a multifaceted and dynamic construct, little is known about how it unfolds in practice. Showing how assessment literacy emerges and how its meaning is shaped within assessment-related situations provides nuanced insights for context-sensitive professional development. To gain these insights, teachers’ enactment of assessment literacy was examined in nine diverse assessment-related situations using a conceptual framework comprising eight interconnected aspects. Observations were used beforehand to contextualise the assessment-related situations. Data were then collected through follow-up interviews, each of which began with a LEGO^® Serious Play^® activity designed to elicit participants’ interpretations. The eight aspects served as the analytical framework to code the data and examine which aspects were present, how they were interpreted, and how they interacted within each situation. The findings demonstrate that different aspects of assessment literacy become more or less prominent, take on different meanings, and interrelate differently within each situation. The study refines the conceptual understanding of teachers’ assessment literacy by illustrating how its manifestations vary within professional assessment practices, showing it as a dynamic, socially situated construct of interrelated aspects. Full article

Background: Patient-important outcomes (PIOs) reflect patient values and preferences. Prior studies have elicited a variety of PIOs for diabetes. However, no studies have examined whether, or how, PIOs differ across diabetes care settings. The purpose of this study was to compare the frequencies of PIOs derived from patients with diabetes in primary care (PC), acute care (emergency department (ED)), and post-acute care (post-hospital discharge (PHD)) settings within a large delivery system. Methods: This study was an analysis of 89 interviews with patients in PC, ED, and PHD settings. Participants had moderately to poorly controlled diabetes, defined as follows: presented to the ED with a diabetes-related problem, admitted to the hospital for a diabetes-related problem, or had at least two primary care measurements of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) > 7.5 in the prior year. A matrix analysis compared the frequencies of participants’ PIOs across the three settings. Results: Overall PIO frequencies were similar across care settings. PIOs fell into seven domains; all seven domains and 21 of the 26 PIOs were represented within each of the care settings. The most common PIOs included “be healthy”, “eat right”, and “reduce or get off medicines”. Conclusions: Participants identified similar PIOs in all care settings, indicating that recruitment from one or two care settings may often be sufficient for achieving saturation of PIOs. Furthermore, the results inform our understanding of patient priorities across the care continuum. Full article

Nutritional assessment and intervention in athletes, a central focus of sports medicine and healthcare, has increasingly shifted in recent years toward precision nutrition—an approach that individualizes dietary recommendations according to genetic profile, microbiome composition, lifestyle factors, and health status. Despite its promising potential, this approach faces significant limitations, including the challenge of integrating complex and dynamic interactions among multilevel indicators, and the relatively high costs associated with omics technologies. The aim of this paper is to propose a nutritional assessment and intervention model grounded in the Network Physiology of Exercise, an emerging scientific field that investigates the horizontal and vertical dynamic interactions among nested physiological levels and conceptualizes athletes as complex adaptive systems (CAS). The proposal integrates social, environmental, behavioral and psychobiological information, extracted particularly from semi-structured interviews based on CAS properties. Accordingly, the traditional dietary assessment tools are replaced by open and guided interviews that allow professionals and practitioners to co-construct meaningful insights and extract qualitative data through a reflexive thematic analysis. From a CAS perspective, the multidimensional and multi-timescale personal and environmental constrains affecting their eating behavior were integrated through a hierarchically nested organization. Eliciting the dynamics of emotional contexts, behavioral patterns, and psychophysiological states, the interviews become both a method of assessment and an intervention in itself. Full article

Urban edible greening initiatives, such as urban orchards and community fruit gardens, can deliver ecological and social benefits, but their long-term success depends on community acceptance. This study examines the establishment phase of a newly planted orchard in a housing estate in a mid-sized Czech city and operationalizes esthetic fit over time, i.e., the extent to which early-phase design is perceived as orderly, suitable, and promising using targeted items on design legibility, species–site suitability, and perceived promise. Data were collected through standardized face-to-face interviews with 150 residents, using a stratified sampling strategy. The survey elicited anticipated burdens and benefits, current and future evaluations of the orchard, and attitudes toward its care. Attitudes were measured with an adapted Urban Green Attachment Scale (UGAS). Descriptive and inferential analyses, including logistic regression and non-parametric tests, were conducted. Findings reveal that residents credited the orchard with design legibility, beauty, and ecological promise, while pragmatic concerns focused on maintenance tasks (leaf litter, watering) and questions of fruit access. Window views of the orchard and general satisfaction with the residential environment significantly increased the odds of higher attachment, while gender differences suggested varied engagement pathways. Importantly, attachment was strongly associated with stewardship intentions; residents with higher UGAS scores were more likely to defend the orchard, taste the fruit, participate in maintenance, and even support its preservation through higher property taxes. The results underscore that attachment is measurable before full ecological performance emerges, arising from a combination of design legibility and daily visibility. Practically, visible routines of care can pace expectations and sustain legitimacy. Conceptually, the study demonstrates that early-phase esthetic fit spans installation with stewardship, providing a foundation for long-term resilience and co-stewardship of edible urban greening. Full article

Museums widely regard cultural and creative products as both a major revenue stream and a means of revitalizing in-house cultural resources. However, traditional decision-making systems for Museum Cultural Creative Products (MCCP) design largely depend on subjective judgments, leading to inefficiency, resource waste, and weak market performance. To address these challenges and support sustainable design decision-making, this study proposes an integrated “KANO–AHP–DEMATEL–VIKOR” framework that combines qualitative and quantitative methods. First, consumer requirements are elicited through questionnaire-based interviews and literature review; the KANO model identifies key user needs, AHP determines their relative weights, and DEMATEL analyzes causal relationships among criteria. By integrating these results, the VIKOR method evaluates and ranks alternative designs, forming a comprehensive multi-criteria optimization process. To validate the framework, an empirical case of the Palace Museum’s refrigerator magnets is conducted, comparing computed rankings with actual sales data to verify predictive validity. The small discrepancy between the two indicates that the model effectively forecasts consumer acceptance across design alternatives. The major innovation of this research lies in its cross-method integration that bridges user perception analysis with quantitative sustainability evaluation, offering a replicable tool for early-stage decision-making of museum creative products. Accordingly, the framework enhances design efficiency, reduces evaluation subjectivity, and contributes to the economic and environmental sustainability of Museum Cultural Creative Products. Full article

This study investigates the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR) simulation for teaching the hand lay-up process in composite manufacturing within mechanical engineering education. A within-subjects experiment involving 17 undergraduate mechanical engineering students compared the VR-based training with conventional physical laboratory instruction. Task performance, cognitive load, and learner perceptions were measured using procedural accuracy scores, completion times, NASA-TLX workload ratings, and post-task interviews. Results indicated that while participants required more time to complete the task in VR, procedural accuracy was comparable between VR and physical labs. VR significantly reduced mental, physical, and effort-related demands but elicited higher frustration levels, primarily due to navigation challenges and motion discomfort. Qualitative feedback showed strong learner preference for VR, citing its hazard-free environment, repeatability, and step-by-step guidance. These findings suggest that VR offers a viable and pedagogically effective alternative or complement to traditional composite-manufacturing training, particularly in contexts where access to physical facilities is limited. Future work should examine long-term skill retention, incorporate haptic feedback for tactile realism, and explore hybrid models combining VR and physical practice to optimise learning outcomes. Full article

Sustainable mobility policies are unlikely to succeed without efforts to tackle disagreement between different social groups. In this context, we describe a participatory process based around semi-structured interviews with expert stakeholders in sustainable mobility in the city of Madrid. Information elicited from interviews was structured using the Natural Step approach, based on detailed analysis of stakeholder discourse, into four scenarios of sustainable mobility: Remote Working, The 15-min City, Electric City and Public City. Subsequently, the four scenarios were subject to critical analysis by a second group of experts during a stakeholder workshop. The Remote Working scenario was considered a partial solution applicable to only ~30% of the population and saved commuter trips might be canceled out by increased mobility elsewhere. The 15-min City was seen as desirable but utopian and dependent on political consensus and major public investment. The Electric City was thought useful for reducing emissions but hard to implement due to infrastructure limitations and cost. The Public City was seen as an integrated vision from which other solutions should flow but also politically divisive. While no single scenario was unanimously backed by all participants, different coalitions of interest tended to support different approaches. Collectively, the four scenarios reveal divergent pathways to the same goal (a more sustainable city), suggesting ways forward for policy. Full article

Background/Objectives: Dogs are widely regarded as reliable sources of companionship and emotional support. In many instances, they are not merely considered pets, but valued as integral members of the family who significantly influence their caregivers’ emotional and psychological health. Within this framework, this research examines how dog ownership through adoption may serve as both a protective and empowering factor against feelings of loneliness, while also fostering emotional resilience and a renewed sense of purpose in everyday life. Methods: Employing a qualitative research design, this study involved ten Greek participants, five women and five men, aged between 26 and 72, all of whom were the primary caregivers of their dogs. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews aimed at eliciting rich, in-depth personal narratives. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring emotional patterns and explore the meanings embedded in participants’ accounts. Results: The findings revealed that the human–dog bond functions as a stable emotional anchor, promoting non-judgmental connection and emotional security. Participants reported experiencing greater emotional expression, enhanced social engagement, and improved psychological balance. Conclusions: Overall, the results demonstrate how dog ownership through adoption may act as a protective factor against loneliness while fostering resilience and emotional balance, pointing to the broader mental health benefits of nurturing human–animal bonds. Full article

During the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant workers in Singapore endured one of the longest and most stringent periods of confinement globally. Segregationist policies were intensified as the state imposed strict disciplinary regimes over workers’ mobility and everyday lives, framed as public health interventions but functioning also as labor discipline and social control. This study asks: how did migrant workers experience, narrate, and endure life under such conditions of confinement? Drawing on sixteen in-depth interviews with South Asian male construction workers, conducted in dormitories and makeshift worksites, we adopt a grounded theory approach to elicit contextually grounded accounts of life under lockdown. The analysis highlights three interrelated themes: emotional regulation, migrant masculinity and the gendered politics of endurance, and digital connectivity as an affective infrastructure. These practices enabled workers to carve out agentic spaces within structures designed to render them passive. Our findings reveal that even amid fear, surveillance, overcrowding, and economic precarity, workers combined stoicism, transnational kinship ties, religious routines, and solidarity to sustain resilience. While initially guided by Foucauldian notions of surveillance and biopower, the study advances a counter-Foucauldian insight: that institutional control is never total, and migrant narratives of resilience offer nuanced understandings of agency under constrain. Full article

In Georgia (Sakartvelo), a program promoting bilingual education in preschool institutions was formally adopted in 2020. It aligns with the objectives of the 2021–2030 State Strategy for Civic Equality and Integration Plan, which envisions a comprehensive reform of bilingual education across Georgia’s regions. Any reform requires research and evaluation to measure how effectively it is being implemented and whether the intended outcomes have been achieved. The bilingual education initiative pursues a dual objective: to preserve the native languages of minority communities while ensuring effective acquisition of the state language. This dual mandate is intrinsically linked to state language policy and constitutes a sensitive issue for local communities, parents, and preschool administrators, thereby necessitating a careful and nuanced approach. The present study analyzed the readiness of the social environment to support the implementation of bilingual education programs at the preschool level in the regions of Georgia in which ethnic minorities live side by side. Research was carried out in two ethnically diverse regions—Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe–Javakheti. The author conducted individual and group interviews, and the elicited data were analyzed with the help of content and thematic analyses. This study examines key attributes of the ongoing preschool reform to identify factors that facilitate the effective implementation of early bilingual education initiatives. The findings highlight both commonalities and regional variations in parental attitudes toward the bilingual education reform. Full article

A cascading coaching model was used to teach bilingual speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate student clinicians and Spanish-speaking caregivers to implement naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI) techniques with autistic preschoolers. Two triads (each consisting of a graduate student clinician, a minimally vocal child diagnosed with autism, and a caregiver) participated in the study. Following the cascading approach, a lead instructor (with limited Spanish conversational skills) coached bilingual student clinicians (in English) to apply culturally adapted NDBI with child participants. Following additional instruction in coaching, student clinicians coached caregivers in Spanish. Effects were evaluated using a multiple methods approach consisting of multiple probes across participants single case experimental design and a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with adult participants. All adult participants increased their use of targeted NDBI skills including elicitation techniques (creating communication temptations, using wait time, and prompting) and response techniques (reinforcing children’s communication with natural consequences and providing a contextually relevant vocal model), demonstrating large to very large effect sizes. Although qualitative findings indicated areas for improvement (e.g., additional Spanish supports for clinicians), thematic analysis revealed additional benefits in terms of positive changes across adult learning, behavior, and perspectives; child communication; and child-caregiver relationships. Full article

The South Korean government plans to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) used in public buildings by 10% from the current 30% to 40% by 2030. This article seeks to estimate the public willingness to pay (WTP) for this increase. To this end, a contingent valuation was applied, with 1000 households randomly selected and surveyed through one-on-one interviews. The payment vehicle and WTP elicitation method were determined to be income tax per household and the one-and-one-half-bound model, respectively. The annual WTP per household was estimated to be KRW 2712 (USD 2.04) with statistical significance. When expanded to the population, this produces an annual value of KRW 60.15 billion (USD 45.23 million). The increase in the RE use share can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also result in savings on electricity bills. The sum of these two can be considered as benefits, and the sum of the construction and maintenance costs incurred due to the increase can be considered as costs. The cost–benefit analysis indicates that the present value of net benefits and the benefit-to-cost ratio were estimated to be KRW 667.3 billion (USD 501.7 million) and 1.48, respectively. Consequently, the increase is socially desirable and should be implemented immediately. Full article

This study aims to explore sixth-grade students’ experiences in context-based STEM activities centered around renewable energy, with a particular focus on their scientific creativity and interest in STEM careers. Adopting a qualitative research approach within a phenomenographic research design, the study was carried out during the 2022–2023 academic year. The participant group consists of 10 sixth-grade students attending a public school in Turkey. As part of the research, four lesson plans integrating STEM disciplines and based on context-based learning principles were developed. Each plan was implemented over four instructional hours, and the total intervention spanned a 16-week period. Data collection tools included a semi-structured interview form, a participant observation form, and student journals. The interview form featured open-ended questions designed to elicit students’ experiences during the implementation, along with selected items from the STEM Career Interest Survey (STEM-CIS) and the Scientific Creativity Scale (SCS). Data obtained through observations and student journals were subjected to content analysis. The resulting findings were organized into five main themes: creativity, STEM, learning experiences, engineering design, and perceived benefits. These findings were discussed in the light of the relevant literature, and suggestions for future research and practice were offered. Full article