Search Results (1,140)

With the increasing embeddedness of social media in everyday life, digital platforms have become important spaces for interpersonal connection, self-presentation, and emotional experience. However, continuous social media engagement does not necessarily enhance users’ happiness; instead, it may coincide with psychological strain and lower subjective well-being (SWB), forming what this study refers to as the social media happiness paradox. In this study, the paradox is positioned as the focal phenomenon to be explained rather than as a standalone empirical construct. Drawing on social comparison theory and the stress-strain-outcome framework, this study examines the associations of social overload (SO), fear of missing out (FOMO), and upward social comparison tendency (USCT) with social media fatigue (SMF) and SWB, including statistical indirect associations through SMF. Based on 748 valid questionnaire responses, this study constructs an integrated conceptual model to examine the relationships among social media-related stressors, fatigue, and well-being. The findings show that SO, FOMO, and USCT are significantly and positively associated with SMF, while all three variables are significantly and negatively associated with SWB. In addition, significant statistical indirect associations between each stressor and SWB were observed through SMF. Taken together, the observed pattern is consistent with an integrated stressor–strain account of the social media happiness paradox and suggests directions for future digital well-being research and intervention design. Full article

This paper examines how biophilic design intersects with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amid disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, considering human–nature interactions as an individual-scale link between well-being and sustainability. Biophilic design—the integration of natural elements into the built environment—reflects well-being through human–nature interactions and connects social–ecological system dynamics and sustainability interdependencies. Drawing on evidence that pandemic-induced psychological stressors transformed people–environment relations, this study developed a conceptual framework linking selected SDG targets to the 14 biophilic design patterns and examined these relationships using data from a Europe-wide survey conducted in early 2023. It complements research on SDG interdependencies, which is mainly conducted at the system or policy level, by introducing individual experiences. NMI analysis identified a central cluster of strong statistical interdependencies among SDGs related to energy efficiency (SDG 7), infrastructure (SDG 9), and resource use (SDG 12), while SDGs associated with cities (SDG 11) and terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15) showed weaker and more diffuse interdependencies. The observed interdependencies were strongest for SDGs represented by survey variables that reflect direct, everyday experiences of the built environment, such as indoor environmental quality, access to natural light, ventilation, contact with vegetation, and the use of natural materials, whereas SDGs represented by indirect or broader ecological dimensions exhibited weaker statistical associations. Not all conceptually linked SDGs were reflected equally in individual experiences; only a subset of potential interdependencies showed strong statistical—association. This study demonstrates that the pattern of SDG interdependencies depends on the analytical scale at which sustainability is examined. The study reinforces the value of the SDG framework as an analytical structure for sustainability science, enabling interdisciplinary investigations of complex interactions among environmental, social, and built-environment dimensions beyond policy implementation assessment. Full article

Historic urban public spaces simultaneously serve as settings for heritage representation and everyday urban life. However, it remains unclear whether residents and tourists allocate visual attention and evaluate the same historic urban public spaces differently. Taking Zhengding Ancient City, China, as a case study, this research integrates static panoramic image-viewing experiments, wearable eye-tracking, and subjective evaluation to investigate differences in visual attention and perceived attractiveness between residents and non-local tourists. Twenty-five representative public-space scenes were selected, and 32 residents and 32 tourists participated in the experiment. Areas of interest (AOIs) were classified into architecture-related AOIs and space-based AOIs. Total fixation duration and fixation count were recorded using Tobii Pro Glasses 3, and subjective evaluations of architecture-related attributes and everyday spatial attributes were collected using a five-point Likert scale. The results showed that residents allocated significantly greater visual attention to space-based AOIs than tourists, whereas tourists reported higher evaluation scores for architecture-related attributes. Conversely, residents assigned higher evaluation scores to everyday spatial attributes. No significant difference was observed in overall satisfaction, suggesting that the two groups differed mainly in the aspects of the historic environment that they evaluated more positively rather than in their overall evaluations. Overall, the findings demonstrate that residents and tourists showed different patterns of visual attention allocation and subjective evaluation when viewing the same static representations of historic urban public spaces. These findings provide empirical evidence for understanding differences in visual attention and subjective evaluation between different user groups and offer methodological support for integrating eye-tracking with subjective evaluation in research on historic urban public spaces. Full article

Background: Adolescence is a critical period for the development of self-determination, yet little is known about how autistic adolescents experience self-determination in non-Western contexts. Objective: This multiple case study explored self-determination among four autistic adolescents in Saudi Arabia through the lens of causal agency theory. Method: Each adolescent completed the Arabic version of the ARC Self-Determination Scale, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with each adolescent, a parent, and a special education teacher. Interview data were analysed using combined inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Results: Self-determination scores varied across adolescents, but all four rated themselves highest in self-regulation and lowest in psychological empowerment. Cross-case analysis of the interviews revealed three interrelated themes: beliefs and perceptions, actions and interactions, and adolescents’ sense of self-determination. The findings show that adults’ beliefs about adolescence, autism and the value of self-determination shaped everyday actions that either expanded or restricted opportunities for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Conclusions: The study extends current research by providing a culturally grounded, multi-layered account of self-determination among autistic adolescents in Saudi Arabia. Full article

Previous studies have shown that Bouldering Psychotherapy (BPT), an emerging integrative intervention combining bouldering with psychotherapeutic techniques, may promote improvements in mental health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to examine the effects of BPT on symptoms of depression and anxiety in a Brazilian population and explore participants’ perceptions of its psychological and social impacts. Eleven participants completed an eight-week BPT program and were compared with a matched control group. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed before and after the intervention. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using word-frequency analysis and reflexive thematic analysis. The BPT group showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms (p = 0.015, d = 0.66) and a marginally non-significant reduction in anxiety symptoms (p = 0.059, d = 0.44). The qualitative findings indicated perceived improvements in psychological well-being, emotional regulation, self-awareness, social connectedness, and psychological skills. Participants also reported transferring skills and insights acquired during the program to everyday life. Overall, the findings suggest that BPT may improve mental health, particularly depressive symptoms, while fostering supportive social relationships and positive psychological experiences. The results support the feasibility of adapting BPT to the Brazilian context and encourage further research on climbing-based psychotherapeutic interventions. Full article

Urban fragmentation is often approached through residential patterns, spatial distance and the uneven distribution of urban resources. However, in Southern European medium-sized cities, where socially contrasting neighbourhoods may be located in close physical proximity, fragmentation may operate through less visible everyday mechanisms. This article examines how selective spatial practices reflect and may reproduce unequal access to places, activities and opportunities, and how this perspective may inform debates on spatial governance and urban planning. Drawing on GPS tracking, in-depth interviews and mental maps, it analyses daily mobility, activity spaces and lived spatial boundaries in two socially contrasting neighbourhoods of Lleida, Spain. The article contributes to debates on urban inequality, understood as the structurally conditioned unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, capacities and recognition by conceptualising differentiated everyday geographies as both manifestations of this inequality and mechanisms through which it may be reproduced. The findings show how spatial practices and cognitive representations structure urban experience beyond residential segregation: physical proximity does not necessarily translate into shared urban experience: as some participants develop broader and socially legitimised relations with the city, whereas others display more restricted and symbolically bounded patterns of urban engagement. The article therefore advances practised accessibility as an analytical and planning perspective that incorporates the temporal, modal, cognitive and symbolic conditions that shape everyday access to urban opportunities beyond their informal availability. Full article

Chemistry teaching in youth and adult education has faced challenges related to students’ disengagement, interrupted educational trajectories, and difficulty in connecting scientific concepts with learners’ everyday and professional experiences. In Brazil, Professional and Technological Secondary Education Integrated with Youth and Adult Education (PROEJA) aims to address its challenges by combining basic education with vocational training. This study investigated how a contextualized pedagogical intervention based on the production of aromatic candles contributed to students’ engagement, contextualized conceptual learning and vocational reflection in a technical administration course offered at the Brazilian Federal Institute (IFMS-CG), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. A qualitative participatory action research design was adopted, and qualitative data were generated through participatory observations, classroom interactions, students’ written reflections, photographic records, and reflective discussions. Data were interpreted by Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Throughout the intervention, students explored Organic Chemistry concepts related to hydrocarbons, n-paraffins, physicochemical properties, volatility, combustion, formulation and laboratory safety while simultaneously discussing entrepreneurship, branding, product development and income generation. The qualitative findings demonstrated students’ active participation, collaborative teacher–student interactions, contextualized conceptual learning and a broader perception of Chemistry as a socially and professionally relevant discipline connected to everyday life, vocational education and entrepreneurial practice. Students’ written reflections further revealed that scientific knowledge was increasingly associated with technological innovation, product quality, professional opportunities and income generation. These findings suggest that contextualized, interdisciplinary and humanized pedagogical practices may promote meaningful scientific learning while strengthening vocational reflection and reinforcing the relevance of Chemistry within youth and adult professional and technological education. Full article

The pervasive rise in digital platforms has fundamentally recalibrated the relationship between urban communities and their cultural landscapes, reconfiguring not only the sensory experience of these environments but also their interpretive frames and the everyday contestations that surround them. Using coffee spaces in Beijing as an empirical lens, this study integrates 630 validated POI locations, 287,632 online reviews from Dianping, GIS spatial analysis, LDA topic modelling, semiotic coding, and a fine-tuned RoBERTa (Robustly Optimized BERT Pretraining Approach) text classifier to examine the convergence between platform-mediated public perceptions and urban spatial differentiation. Our spatial interrogation identifies a statistically significant centre–periphery divide within this platform-curated corpus—a pattern that describes the geography of platform-mediated visibility rather than the total physical distribution of coffee outlets in Beijing, characterised by pronounced high-density agglomerations nesting within historic urban cores, central business districts, nascent knowledge hubs, and gentrifying lifestyle enclaves. Three landscape prototypes are derived from the data—business corridors, cultural experimental fields, and social-media spectacles. Each type exhibits discernibly different patterns of spatial density, adjacent land-use configurations, perceived experiential qualities, and underlying symbolic discourses. While positive sentiments dominate platform discourse, localised anxieties emerge regarding visual homogenization, intense queuing, premium pricing, and loss of place authenticity. The 630 venues analysed here represent a platform-visibility stratum—establishments sufficiently reviewed to feature on digital intermediaries—and the spatial patterns we map describe the geography of this visibility rather than the total physical distribution of coffee outlets. Full article

Background: In line with international aging policies, most people with dementia receive care at home. Community-based respite services aim to relieve, support, or share caregiving responsibilities. More person-centered knowledge based on experiences from this group is needed to increase informed decisions about planning of qualitative respite care. The aim of this study is to describe how people with dementia experience respite care with alternating housing, i.e., living partly at home, partly in residential care, refer to their everyday life and well-being. Methods: A mixed-methods design was used. The qualitative approach focused on variations of dilemmas in interviews with people with dementia who were granted and received respite care (n = 8). Also, a quantitative approach focused on quality of life using behavioral and psychological symptom scores. Results: Everyday life at the respite care accommodation described by people with dementia included morning routines, variation in the environment, activities in the company of roommates, but also a lack of activities. Social belonging was described by people with dementia through living with roommates and through social contact with the healthcare staff. Quality of life and behavioral and psychological ratings varied between individuals and settings, but no consistent pattern was identified. Conclusions: Respite care appears to maintain a high quality of life and a low level of psychological symptoms for most of the people with dementia. Although the sample was small, these results are nevertheless an important contribution to the phenomenon, experiences of respite care by people with dementia, that need further research. Furthermore, these results can give decision-makers guidance for professional care efforts. Full article

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) environments aim to enable older people to remain active and lead an autonomous and independent life for as long as possible. Among the technologies that can be incorporated into these settings, socially assistive robots (SAR) seek to establish a more natural and intuitive means of interaction with people, whilst helping them to carry out everyday tasks. One of the main challenges facing the design of these robots is how to enable them to undertake more complex tasks. Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) have opened new avenues for flexible robot deliberation, yet their integration into real-time robotic systems remains challenging due to latency constraints, reasoning reliability, and the complexity of coordinating multi-step tasks. This paper proposes a hierarchical multi-agent architecture for robot deliberation that addresses these challenges by combining LLM-based planning with structured execution mechanisms within the ROS 2 ecosystem. The proposed architecture employs a supervisor agent that decomposes high-level natural language instructions into prioritised subtasks, enabling a priority-driven execution model that dynamically adapts to task relevance, temporal constraints, and environmental feedback. Subtasks are delegated to a set of Single-Purpose Agents (SPAs), orchestrated via LangGraph state machines and coordinated through a priority-aware scheduling mechanism. A key design principle is the use of Behaviour Trees (BTs) as high-level callable tools through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), encapsulating closed-loop control strategies while enabling preemptive and priority-consistent execution. This reduces the number of LLM inference steps required per task and improves robustness under dynamic conditions. A further contribution concerns the deployment of fine-tuned, lightweight LLMs—on the order of 0.6 billion parameters—specifically adapted for both the supervisor and the individual SPA roles through parameter-efficient low-rank adaptation (LoRA). These models are trained on role-specific tool-calling datasets to specialise in constrained reasoning patterns and task-specific decision-making, enabling efficient, low-latency inference directly on edge hardware. The combination of fine-tuning and hierarchical priority control enhances both the determinism and responsiveness of the system while mitigating error propagation across agent interactions. The paper presents the full software architecture, a formal characterisation of the system as a priority-aware hierarchical policy over a graph of agent workflows, and an experimental evaluation in an Ambient Assisted Living scenario assessing task success rate, inference efficiency, responsiveness under competing priorities, and overall user experience. Because SPA execution is decoupled from the supervisor’s own reasoning loop, the architecture is designed to keep accepting, processing, and queuing new user queries while previously dispatched SPAs are still executing their tasks. Full article

The Christmas period reshapes urban cultural experience by temporarily suspending everyday routines and placing collective celebration at the centre of public space. During this time, festive illuminations transform cities, intensifying the symbolic role of light and reinforcing seasonal rituals of exceptionality. In many European cities, large-scale decorative lighting is used not only for aesthetic enhancement but also to create distinctive urban atmospheres. This study examines the effects of seasonal festive lighting on light pollution and perceptions of urban space, using Funchal (Madeira, Portugal) as a case study. Combining in situ photometric measurements, satellite-derived night-time data, and a questionnaire-based perception survey, this mixed-methods study compares periods when festive lighting was active and inactive. The results indicate that Christmas lighting was associated with higher levels of artificial illumination, shifts in the spatial distribution of artificial light at night (ALAN), and changes in night-sky brightness. These findings suggest that festive lighting shapes both the visual character of urban space and the seasonal dynamics of light pollution. Full article

Urban parks are essential components of green infrastructure that support residents’ physical health and well-being. However, less attention has been paid to how women can secure such benefits under equitable, safe, and sustainable park-use conditions. Using Xi’an Expo Park as a case study, this study examined the associations among Inclusive Urban Park Design (IUPD), Place Attachment (PA), Environmental Experience (EE), and Women’s Well-Being (WWB), with a focus on whether PA showed an indirect association between IUPD and WWB. This study adopted a quantitative-dominant mixed-methods design, combining 220 valid questionnaires (115 female and 105 male participants) with field observations and semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, gender-comparison tests, mediation models, and robustness checks. Among female participants, the baseline model showed a statistically significant indirect association between IUPD and WWB through PA; however, this association was not retained after controlling for EE, nor in the fully adjusted model including EE, age, and visit frequency. The gender-comparison and qualitative findings suggested that similar levels of PA and WWB did not necessarily reflect equal conditions of park use. Qualitative evidence further indicated that some women’s park use was shaped by childcare, family activities, and other task-oriented responsibilities, which may involve hidden time, physical, and psychological costs. The subdimension-level findings suggested that perceived safety, accessibility and spatial legibility, and facility support and maintenance should be understood as interrelated use conditions rather than distinct independent effects. This study extends urban park equity research beyond spatial provision by emphasizing actual conditions of use and the equitable realization of well-being benefits. The findings provide implications for gender-responsive park design and social sustainability, while their relevance to everyday resilience should be understood as a conceptual extension rather than as direct evidence of community resilience. Full article

Maternal guilt has become an increasingly prominent topic in sociological research on motherhood and work, particularly in the context of the expansion of dual-earner families, changing labor markets, and persistent gendered expectations surrounding care and family responsibilities. This study examines how self-employed mothers experience and negotiate maternal guilt and how these experiences contribute to the reproduction and renegotiation of norms of “good motherhood.” The study is based on twenty-four interviews with self-employed mothers in Croatia. The findings demonstrate that maternal guilt emerges at the intersection of intensive motherhood ideals, neoliberal expectations of productivity and availability, and the unequal distribution of household and emotional labor. Guilt is particularly pronounced in everyday situations involving perceived absence from one’s children and feelings of inadequacy in fulfilling maternal responsibilities. Although self-employment is often represented as a form of work that enables greater work–family balance through flexibility and autonomy, the findings show that it does not necessarily reduce time pressure or emotional burden. Instead, flexibility is often achieved through extended working hours, blurred boundaries between work and family life, and expectations of continuous availability. Mothers respond to these tensions through strategies of time reorganization, reliance on informal support networks, and the redefinition of “good motherhood” through a narrative of quality time and meaningful presence. The study concludes that self-employment increases mothers’ control over the organization of work but does not substantially transform the emotional dynamics of motherhood or the gendered distribution of care. Rather, it shifts the responsibility for managing work–family tensions onto individual mothers, thereby reproducing broader gendered expectations surrounding maternal responsibility. Full article

Although research on international students’ academic experiences in South Korean universities has steadily grown, relatively little attention has been paid to how undergraduate international students from diverse national backgrounds experience and navigate academic adjustment in their everyday university lives. To address this gap, this qualitative case study draws on the collective narratives of sixteen undergraduate international students enrolled at South Korean universities. The study examines how participants define academic adjustment, what factors they perceive as influencing their adjustment, and how they navigate the process of becoming academically adjusted. Data analysis generated three overarching themes and nine categories: (1) becoming a competent, connected and self-directed student; (2) negotiating adjustment amid barriers and support; (3) taking ownership through action and reflection. The findings offer implications for policymakers and educators seeking to support undergraduate international students’ academic adjustment in South Korean higher education. Full article

This study examines how Perumal Murugan’s Seasons of the Palm and Pyre represent the relationship between caste, ecology, and psychological suffering through the concept of solastalgia. While solastalgia is often understood in relation to environmental destruction or climate-related loss, this study argues that Murugan’s narratives expand its meaning by showing how ecological distress can also arise from caste-based exclusion, spatial control, and the denial of belonging within one’s own surroundings. In these narratives, rural landscapes are not neutral settings but socially organised environments shaped by labour, hierarchy, surveillance, and everyday forms of violence. Through the experiences of Shorty and Saroja, the study shows how nature functions as a space that both sustains life and regulates access to it. From Dalit psycho-ecological perspectives, the study argues that ecological suffering in Murugan’s narratives is inseparable from the caste structures. The study further suggests that environmental justice in the Indian context must account for caste as a central force shaping ecological experience. Ultimately, Murugan’s narratives highlight that ecological grief is also social grief and that questions of land, place, and belonging are deeply tied to the structures of power, calling for a more inclusive understanding of ecological thought that recognises these entangled realities. Full article