Search Results (1,401)

Gender equality has become a fundamental indicator of constitutional democracy, effective governance, and the protection of human rights. This study examines the effectiveness of legal and institutional mechanisms for promoting gender equality through a comparative analysis of selected European jurisdictions and recent legal reforms in Uzbekistan. Comparative legal, doctrinal, systemic, statistical, and socio-legal methods were employed, complemented by original empirical evidence from an anonymous sociological survey. The findings demonstrate that the effectiveness of gender-equality reforms depends on the interaction between the scope and enforceability of legal guarantees, institutional capacity and accountability, socio-economic conditions affecting equality of opportunity and outcomes, and the accessibility and effectiveness of protection against discrimination, harassment, and gender-based violence. Although Uzbekistan has introduced significant legislative reforms, substantive gender equality remains constrained by persistent gender stereotypes, unequal career opportunities, and limited public awareness of available legal protections. The study proposes an integrated legal-institutional framework that combines comparative legal analysis with empirical socio-legal evidence to assess the implementation of gender equality reforms in transitional legal systems. It concludes that strengthening institutional accountability, introducing systematic gender monitoring and audits, enhancing transparency in labor relations, and ensuring effective enforcement of existing legal guarantees are essential for translating formal legal equality into substantive equality in accordance with international human rights standards. Full article

This study was conducted to examine the perceptions and attitudes of final-year veterinary students regarding the Official Minimum Fee Schedule established for veterinarians in Türkiye, within a multidimensional framework. The research was conducted with a total of 216 final-year students enrolled in veterinary faculties in Türkiye. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of Likert-type items. The construct validity of the scale was assessed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and its reliability was measured using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. The study found that the majority of students considered providing services below the official minimum fee schedule to be ethically inappropriate and reported that professional organizations play an important regulatory and supervisory role in this regard. In terms of demographic variables, no statistically significant differences were found in factor scores based on gender, income level, university, level of education, or internship experience. However, significant differences were identified in the dimensions of regulatory–deontological attitudes and price transparency based on place of residence. In conclusion, attitudes toward the minimum fee schedule in veterinary medicine are shaped not only by legal knowledge but also by ethical values, professional socialization processes, and institutional norms. These findings highlight the importance of addressing fee policies in veterinary education together with their ethical and professional dimensions, as well as strengthening the awareness-raising role of professional organizations. Full article

Rice farmers in Chiang Rai are increasingly exposed to recurrent drought under climate change. Although previous studies have applied Knowledge–Attitude–Practice (KAP) frameworks to drought adaptation, evidence on ageing farming populations and the interaction between behavioral and institutional factors remains limited. This study aimed to identify behavioral and institutional factors associated with drought adaptation practices among rice-farming households. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 180 rice-farming households. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire validated through expert review (IOC) and pilot testing to assess socio-demographic characteristics and drought-related perception, knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Pearson correlation and binary logistic regression were applied to examine relationships and factors associated with higher drought adaptation practices. Qualitative data from open-ended questionnaire responses regarding government support and drought management recommendations were analyzed thematically to provide contextual insights into farmers’ experiences and adaptation challenges. Farmers demonstrated high drought perception (M = 4.86 ± 1.05/5) but only moderate knowledge (16.75 ± 3.36/25), attitudes (2.77 ± 1.33/5), and practices (22.57 ± 6.04/35). Knowledge was positively associated with adaptation practices (r = 0.224, p < 0.01), whereas perception showed no significant direct association, indicating a gap between awareness and adaptive action. Regression analysis showed that higher drought-related knowledge (aOR = 4.60, p = 0.003) and prior water scarcity experience (aOR = 4.45, p = 0.002) were significantly associated with higher drought adaptation practices. In contrast, older age, male gender, and off-farm employment were significant constraints. Qualitative findings highlighted persistent concerns regarding the adequacy, timeliness, and equity of government support, suggesting that institutional barriers limited farmers’ ability to translate awareness into adaptive action. These findings indicate that both behavioral and structural factors shape drought adaptation practices. While drought-related knowledge represents an important component of adaptive capacity, effective adaptation also depends on institutional support and resource accessibility. Strengthening agricultural extension services and improving the responsiveness and equity of government support may enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of smallholder rice farmers in drought-prone regions. Full article

Background: Rural and resource-constrained settings face major barriers to timely cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment due to limited specialist availability and centralised service-delivery models. In the Eastern Cape, a largely rural province with a constrained oncology workforce, a decentralised–centralised hybrid model was introduced to improve access to cancer care. Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital serves as the central referral hub within this model. This study evaluates the implementation process and impact of this decentralised cancer care model on service utilisation, access, and continuity of care. Methods: A quantitative quasi-experimental pre–post implementation and quality improvement evaluation was conducted using retrospectively collected routine service utilisation and programme data from April 2023 to February 2025. The study assessed the impact of a decentralised oncology care model on access, service integration, and utilisation outcomes. Data from facility registers and district health information systems were managed using Microsoft Excel and analysed using Stata and IBM SPSS Statistics. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and linear regression were used to compare pre- and post-implementation changes in patient volumes, screening coverage, referral completion, workforce capacity, gender distribution, and service uptake. The intervention decentralised screening, diagnosis, follow-up, and patient navigation services to district and satellite facilities while centralising specialised oncology care at referral centres to improve accessibility, efficiency, and continuity of care. Results: Cancer patient attendance increased substantially over the study period, from 355 patients in April 2023 to a peak of 1039 in April 2024, with a sustained upward trend (B = 18.03, p = 0.005), reflecting an average monthly increase of 18 patients. Female patients accounted for most visits, while male attendance showed a significant increasing trend (B = 8.03, p < 0.001). Service integration improved, with strong positive correlations between new patient registrations, follow-up care, palliative services, and inpatient admissions, indicating an expanding continuum of care. Breast and cervical cancers contributed the highest service burden, while cervical and lung cancers showed significant upward trends. Seasonal variation in attendance was observed, particularly during festive periods. From an implementation perspective, screening coverage for priority cancers increased by 18%, while 732,349 individuals were reached through community awareness initiatives. Access improved substantially, evidenced by a reduction of 56,400 km in cumulative patient travel distance over one year. Workforce capacity was strengthened through the training of 517 healthcare workers, and 1943 patients received structured navigation support. Referral efficiency and continuity of care improved, although persistent bottlenecks were observed in diagnostic and referral pathways. Conclusions: The decentralised–centralised oncology care model demonstrated improved cancer service utilisation, access, and continuity of care in a rural, resource-limited setting. However, increasing patient volumes and interconnected service demands place additional pressure on health system capacity. Sustained investment in workforce development, screening—particularly for cervical cancer—and system efficiency is required. This model provides a scalable and context-appropriate framework for strengthening oncology services in similar low-resource settings. Full article

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the impact of menstrual symptoms on sport participation and management strategies among adolescent girls playing floorball in Sweden. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among floorball players aged 12–18 years (n = 545). Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with menstrual-related symptoms and their impact on participation and absence from training sessions or matches. Results: Menstrual pain (89.6%) and mood swings (81.9%) were the most commonly reported symptoms. Symptoms such as menstrual pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, headache, fatigue, dizziness, and concentration difficulties were more prevalent among participants with early menarche (≤11 years) than those with later menarche. Overall, about 62.2% perceived that their menstrual symptoms affected their training and matches. Early menarche (≤11 years) was associated with nearly three times higher odds of refraining from training sessions or matches. Despite substantial impact, healthcare-seeking and communication with coaches were limited. Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of menstrual symptoms and their impact on sport participation and experiences, menstrual health should be recognised as a core component of athlete well-being in youth sport. Efforts are needed to improve menstrual health awareness, early identification of girls with high symptom burden, and supportive sport environments to promote gender equality in youth sport. Full article

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) produces heterogeneous outcomes across cognitive, behavioural, and clinical studies. Sex-related differences may contribute to this variability. Objective: This narrative review examined whether and how sex moderates tDCS outcomes across behavioural, physiological, clinical, and modelling studies and considered potential underlying mechanisms. Materials and Methods: A structured literature search identified studies examining sex, or variables reported by the original authors as gender but operationalised through female–male group comparisons, as moderators of tDCS outcomes. After screening, 41 studies met the inclusion criteria, and 6 additional studies were identified through citation searching, yielding 47 studies. Because of substantial heterogeneity in populations, protocols, and outcomes, findings were synthesised narratively. Results: Sex-related effects were common but highly context-dependent, varying by montage, cortical target, stimulation intensity, reference placement, and outcome domain. They often emerged as interaction effects rather than main effects and were most apparent during demanding tasks, later learning phases, or delayed after-effects. Computational models indicated that identical stimulation settings may produce different intracranial electric fields in women and men because of anatomical differences. Hormonal and endocrine states, particularly in females, may further modify or amplify these effects. Sensation, tolerability, and blinding may also contribute under higher-intensity protocols but do not fully explain sex-contingent outcomes. Conclusions: Sex influences tDCS outcomes through interacting anatomical, hormonal, and task-related mechanisms rather than in a uniform manner. Future studies should treat sex as a mechanistically relevant moderator, incorporate dose- and hormone-aware designs, and use adequately powered analyses to improve reproducibility and support individualised neuromodulation. Full article

Social movements increasingly rely on digital platforms to mobilize support, raise awareness, and coordinate collective action. At the same time, however, the rise of online activism has intensified concerns regarding “slacktivism”, namely forms of symbolic and low-effort engagement that fail to translate into consequential social action. Existing theoretical accounts have explained this phenomenon in terms of impression management, in-group enhancing, or moral licensing, but have paid little attention to how publicly expressing support for a social cause through online behaviors should undermine actual action, while overlooking the role of audiences in such a process. Drawing on symbolic self-completion theory (SCT), the present paper proposes a complementary motivational perspective. Specifically, we argue that publicly displaying identity-relevant symbols (e.g., posts supporting social causes) within like-minded online networks may generate a premature sense of completeness regarding an aspired-to identity (e.g., being a gender equality advocate), thereby reducing motivation to pursue difficult, high-effort behaviors required for genuine social change. Furthermore, we conceptualize social media echo chambers not merely as informationally homogeneous environments, but as non-dissenting validators of one’s identity goal symbols. By prioritizing symbolic recognition over cross-group dialogue and intervention, social media echo chambers may inadvertently undermine the social progress they purport to promote. Full article

Biomimetic perception systems integrate heterogeneous cues selectively rather than treating all available information as equally reliable. Inspired by this principle, this study proposes QGFace-LLaVA, a multimodal large language model (MLLM)-centered framework for robust face analysis under imperfect metadata. A pretrained MLLM serves as the shared prompt-conditioned visual–language reasoning backbone, while structured side information, including age, gender, confidence cues, and availability indicators, is regulated through task-aware quality estimation, reliability-guided metadata calibration, gated residual correction, and counterfactual metadata reliability regularization (CMRR). Experiments on FER2013, CelebA-40, and UTKFace cover facial expression recognition, facial attribute recognition, and age estimation under clean, noisy, missing, shuffled, naturally erroneous, and counterfactual metadata conditions. The results show that metadata utility depends jointly on task relevance, metadata reliability, and fusion strategy, and that clean-setting gains do not necessarily imply robustness. QGFace-LLaVA reduces harmful dependence on unreliable metadata, while CMRR provides additional stability under corruption and mismatch. Overall, the framework transfers biomimetic selective cue integration into MLLM-based face analysis by treating metadata as reliability-controlled auxiliary evidence rather than a uniformly beneficial input. Full article

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the sociodemographic factors influencing oral hygiene habits and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among complete denture wearers at Kuwait University Dental Clinic (KUDC). Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and an Oral Health Impact Profile-19 (OHIP-19) instrument to assess oral hygiene habits and OHRQoL in 61 complete denture patients, treated by dental undergraduate students at KUDC, between January 2019 and December 2023. Additionally, a clinical assessment of denture hygiene was performed using the Budtz-Jörgensen denture plaque index for all patients (n = 61). Sociodemographic, general health status, oral hygiene habits, and OHRQoL-related data were collected. Results: A total of 37.7% of included participants were aged 51–60 years, with 75.4% being male. Most participants (81.96%) had a high school education or less. Caries was reported as the primary cause of tooth loss (83.6%), and 77.04% recorded irregular dental visits. Only 46.05% of participants demonstrated optimal and/or good denture hygiene. Toothpaste was the most common cleaning method (79.21%), and 70.62% removed their dentures at night. A significant association was found between education level and denture wearing (p = 0.035), as well as between gender and the frequency of dental visits (p = 0.024). However, no significant relationship was observed between gender and denture hygiene (p = 0.52). The OHIP-19 results revealed that poor denture hygiene impacted OHRQoL across multiple domains, including functional limitation, physical pain, psychological discomfort, and social disability. Conclusions: Unsatisfactory denture hygiene was prevalent among participants, possibly due to limited awareness or inadequate instructions provided by dental health practitioners. Education level and gender influenced certain aspects of denture care, highlighting the need for targeted oral health education programs and improved patient guidance from dental practitioners. Additionally, poor denture hygiene was associated with reduced OHRQoL, emphasizing the importance of addressing both oral hygiene practices and their psychosocial impacts to improve overall well-being. Full article

Rhetorical theology, a term coined by Andre E. Johnson, is religious rhetoric grounded in the context of lived experience that produces constructs of God concerned with the practical implications of religious doctrine. For example, Johnson argues that Henry McNeal Turner’s rhetoric, “God is a Negro,” takes seriously the harmful psychological implications of the Black community serving a white God, thus illustrating how theology emerges from the lived consequences of belief. Building on Johnson’s framework, this paper proposes rhetorical theology as a pedagogical approach to build bridges of understanding when engaging with contentious topics of sex and sexuality in higher education. Students are assigned a rhetorical theology paper on a topic, such as gender roles, transgender identity, homosexuality, masturbation, or polyamory. Students argue two contradictory perspectives of the topic by applying rhetorical theology’s four key assumptions to each position: faithful persuasion, implications of doctrine, contextuality, and the invitation of the rhetor. The process develops critical thinking by examining the theological claims, socio-political contextual realities, and the practical implications of each position, regardless of the students’ personal convictions. This pedagogical practice fosters bridge-building across divergent perspectives while equipping students to engage in conversations about sex and sexuality with greater nuance, understanding, and awareness of theology’s social and political consequences. Full article

Background: Mental health is the main factor of the overall quality of life of both individuals and the community. In contemporary society, mental health is gaining more and more significance, although there is still an insufficient level of awareness among people about what factors can affect our mental health and why it is of such importance for daily functioning. Material: The research used an anonymous questionnaire created by a team of doctors from the Clinic for Psychiatry in Novi Sad with the aim of assessing how the ongoing social situation in Serbia affects the mental health of the population. Results: It was shown that there is a statistically significant link between levels of feeling tense and following the news about the ongoing protests. The research has shown that there are statistically significant differences in emotional response in relation to gender and age resulting from the current situation. A statistically significant association between sleep problems and the use of anxiolytic therapy has been proven. Most of the respondents declared that the current situation in which we live has a negative impact on mental health. Conclusions: The results of the research indicate that social circumstances in Serbia significantly affect the psychological functioning of the population. Full article

Positionality refers to a researcher’s stance within the social context of their research study. It can include information such as gender, race and class, and other characteristics like location. In addition, positionality statements can also include researchers’ personal traits, such as their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. They convey a researcher’s position and are incorporated within research articles to make readers aware of the beliefs and assumptions that a scholar may be bringing into the study. Describing one’s positionality can be particularly beneficial within health professions education (HPE) research, where complex power dynamics often exist between the researcher and participants. However, there is currently limited literature on how positionality statements should be written for HPE research. This paper aims to present an introductory guide on how a novice researcher can write a positionality statement within HPE research, including elements such as reflexivity, location and context, power dynamics, and insider–outsider positioning, as well as the potential risks tied to positionality statements. Additionally, this paper provides readers with a practical step-by-step guide and a real-life example to follow when developing their own positionality statement. By practicing reflexivity and considering how their location and presence impact the research process and participants, a scholar can articulate how their identity and context shape their research approach. Consequently, adding a positionality statement can increase trustworthiness and enhance transparency of a study when they are reflexive, context-specific, ethically constructed and integrated into the research process. Full article

Environmental sustainability projects are essential for preserving natural resources and enhancing quality of life for present and future generations. This cross-sectional study examined Saudi residents’ knowledge and awareness of green projects, attitudes and perceptions toward them, personal environmental behavior and participation, and perceptions of institutional and societal roles. A questionnaire was administered to 1044 participants from various regions across Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, together with the Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis H test, and Dunn’s post hoc test, were used to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses. The findings indicated generally positive responses across the four dimensions; at the item level, most items fell within the agree range, while neutral ratings appeared mainly in items related to following green-project news, reviewing related policies, using low-emission transportation, and the perceived sufficiency of institutional communication. Significant differences were observed in the overall questionnaire and several dimensions according to gender, favoring females, and according to nationality, favoring Saudi participants. Regional differences were limited to the environmental behavior and personal participation dimension, whereas educational qualification did not produce significant differences. The absence of educational differences suggests that green-project awareness and behavior may be shaped not only by formal educational level, but also by national campaigns, media exposure, and shared public discourse. The study provides a countrywide empirical baseline for green-project awareness, attitudes, and environmental behaviors in Saudi Arabia and identifies areas for more targeted communication, regional engagement, and longitudinal research. Full article

The Arab world has produced almost no published data on public awareness of botanic gardens, despite having 53 institutions registered with Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) across 16 of the 22 League of Arab States (LAS) member states. Between October 2024 and December 2025, we administered an 18-item bilingual (Arabic and English) online questionnaire across the 22 LAS member states via paid Facebook advertising, complemented by an institutional inventory from BGCI GardenSearch and an Arabic–French–English triangulation that identified 16 additional non-BGCI operational institutions. Pearson and Spearman correlations between BGCI count and 6 awareness indicators were computed for the 13 countries with n ≥ 10. The survey returned 613 valid responses from all 22 nationalities. Among respondents in this Facebook-recruited sample, 87.4% had heard of botanic gardens (95% CI 84.6–89.8) and 98.9% considered them important for conservation, although only 63.5% reported familiarity with their conservation role. Local awareness ranged from 30% (Palestine) to 100% (Sudan, Lebanon). No BGCI–awareness correlation reached p < 0.05; Q5 recognition reached marginal significance (Spearman ρ = 0.525, p = 0.065). We did not detect a statistically significant association between BGCI institutional count and country-level awareness indicators. Because this analysis rests on only 13 countries, the absence of a significant correlation should not be read as evidence that no association exists. The 35-point gap between affirmation of conservation importance and functional familiarity marks the most actionable target for science communication. We disclose the limitations of Facebook-based recruitment and gender imbalance. Full article

Background: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare, potentially life-threatening disease in which delayed recognition and inappropriate medication use may result in preventable morbidity and mortality. We aimed to assess physicians’ knowledge regarding HAE-related triggers, clinical features, and management strategies across multiple medical specialties. Methods: This single-center, cross-sectional survey was conducted among 350 physicians at a tertiary training and research hospital. A structured electronic questionnaire assessed knowledge of HAE pathophysiology, diagnosis, medication-related triggers, and management. A predefined composite knowledge score (0–14) was calculated. Results: Although self-reported familiarity with HAE was high, overall disease-specific knowledge was limited. Awareness of critical medication-related triggers—including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, and estrogen-containing therapies—was low across all specialties, with no significant between-group differences. Substantial knowledge gaps were identified in the recognition of clinical features, diagnostic evaluation, and acute management. In multivariable analysis, prior clinical exposure to HAE patients was the only independent predictor of higher knowledge scores (B = 1.097, p = 0.001), whereas specialty group, gender, and years of professional experience were not independently associated with knowledge scores. However, the regression model explained only a small proportion of the variance in knowledge scores. Conclusions: Significant gaps in clinically relevant HAE knowledge persist among physicians from multiple medical specialties. Prior clinical exposure was associated with higher knowledge scores, whereas specialty group, gender, and years of professional experience were not independently associated with physician knowledge. Targeted, practice-oriented educational interventions focusing on medication-related triggers and acute management may help bridge these knowledge gaps, complement experiential learning, and ultimately enhance patient safety. Full article