Search Results (218)

Academic English support is crucial for English as an Additional Language (EAL) nursing students in English-medium nursing education programmes. However, empirical research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) within this specific context remains limited. This study, informed by recent advancements in translanguaging and trans-semiotising (TL-TS) theory, investigates the patterns of teacher collaboration in nursing CLIL and its impact when employing a TL-TS pedagogical approach. Analysis of students’ pre- and post-tests and multimodal classroom interactions reveals that effective collaboration between nursing specialists and language experts in CLIL can be fostered by (1) aligning with language education principles through the incorporation of internally persuasive discourse (IPD) about language learning and TL-TS practices; (2) simulating potential professional contingencies and co-developing coping strategies using TL-TS; and (3) elucidating nursing language norms through TL-TS and IPD. We advocate for re-imagination of CLIL in English-medium nursing education through an organistic–procedural TL perspective and highlight its potential to enhance EAL nursing students’ development of language proficiency and professional competencies. Full article

The Diamond Sutra (Vajracchedikā-Prajñāpāramitā-Sūtra) translated by the Sui Dynasty monk Dharmagupta is the fourth Chinese rendition of the Diamond Sutra. Characterized by unprecedented linguistic opacity and syntactic complexity within the history of Buddhist textual transmission, this translation’s distinctive features have attracted significant scholarly attention. This study synthesizes existing academic perspectives and employs Sanskrit–Chinese textual criticism and comparative analysis of parallel translations to conduct a granular examination of Dharmagupta’s retranslation. Our findings reveal that this text fundamentally deviates from conventional sutras designed for religious dissemination or liturgical recitation. Its defining traits, including morphological calquing of Sanskrit structures, simplified pronominal systems, and etymologically prioritized equivalence, collectively reflect a pedagogical focus characteristic of language instructional texts. Dharmagupta’s approach epitomizes a translation-as-pedagogy paradigm, with the text’s deviations from conventional norms resulting from the interplay of religious development, historical context, and translator agency. We argue that the Diamond Sutra retranslation constitutes a radical experimental paradigm in translation history, warranting re-evaluation of its significance within the broader trajectory of Buddhist textual practice. Full article

The Mutanchis, known by their derogatory exonymic term ‘Lepcha’, are autochthonous to Sikkim, India. The name ‘Mutanchi’ derives from the phrase ‘Mutanchi Rumkup Rongkup’, eliciting the response ‘Achulay’, meaning ‘Beloved children of It-bu-mu, who have come from the snowy peaks’. The nomenclature prompts an ontological understanding rooted in the community’s eco-geographical context. Despite possessing a well-developed script categorised within the Tibeto-Burman language family, the Mutanchis remain a largely oral community. Their diminishing, scarcely documented repository of Mutanchi clan narratives underscores this orality. As a Mutanchi, I recognise these narratives as a medium for expressing Indigenous value systems upheld by my community and specific villages. Mutanchi clan narratives embody spiritual and cultural significance, yet their fantastic rationale reveals complex epistemological tensions. Ideally, each Mutanchi clan reveres a chyu (peak), lhep (cave), and doh (lake), which are propitiated annually and on specific occasions. The transmigration of an apil (soul) is tied to these three sacred spatial geographies, unique to each clan. Additionally, clan etiological explanations, situated within natural or supernatural habitats, manifest beliefs, values, and norms rooted in a deep ecology. This article presents an ecosophical study of selected Mutanchi clan narratives from Dzongu, North Sikkim—a region that partially lies within the UNESCO Khangchendzonga Man-Biosphere Reserve. Conducted in close consultation with clan members and in adherence to the ethical protocols, this study examines clans in Dzongu governed by Indigenous knowledge systems embedded in their narratives, highlighting biocentric perspectives that shape Mutanchi lifeways. Full article

Background/Objectives: Atypical sensory processing is increasingly recognized as a transdiagnostic dimension of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), with critical implications for emotional and behavioral regulation. This study aimed to identify distinct sensory profiles in preschool children with NDDs and to examine their associations with emotional–behavioral and cognitive/developmental functioning. Methods: A total of 263 children (aged 21–71 months) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), language disorder (LD), or other NDDs (ONDD) were recruited. Sensory processing was assessed using the SPM-P, emotional–behavioral functioning was assessed via the CBCL 1½–5, and cognitive/developmental levels were assessed through standardized instruments. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify sensory subtypes. Group comparisons and multinomial logistic regression were used to examine profile characteristics and predictors of profile membership. Results: Three sensory profiles emerged: (1) Multisystemic Sensory Dysfunction (20.1%), characterized by pervasive sensory and emotional difficulties, primarily observed in ASD; (2) Typical Sensory Processing (44.9%), showing normative sensory and emotional functioning, predominantly LD; and (3) Mixed Subclinical Sensory Processing (35%), with subclinical-range scores across multiple sensory and emotional domains, spanning all diagnoses. Higher cognitive functioning and fewer internalizing symptoms significantly predicted membership in the typical profile. A gradient of symptom severity was observed across profiles, with the Multisystemic group showing the most pronounced emotional–behavioral impairments. Conclusions: Distinct sensory–emotional phenotypes were identified across diagnostic categories, supporting a dimensional model of neurodevelopment. Sensory profiles were strongly associated with emotional functioning, independently of diagnostic status. Early sensory assessment may therefore offer clinically meaningful insights into emotional vulnerability and inform targeted interventions in preschool populations with NDDs. Full article

The adolescent years are pivotal in reproductive and sexual development and maturation, yet the experience of migration can severely disrupt this period, inhibiting young immigrants’ knowledge, access, and engagement with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Further, young immigrants and minority populations often face persistent intersectional barriers, including language difficulties, cultural stigma, and systemic exclusion, that result in adverse SRH outcomes. Recent advances in SRH care, particularly in digital health and community-based interventions, show promise in improving access to culturally appropriate SRH services and information. Co-designing SRH programs with families and young immigrants to adequately acknowledge the unique cultural norms and barriers in SRH is essential in ensuring a high outreach of interventions. Shifts in traditional health policies are needed to ensure that immigrant and minority adolescents are not overlooked and that SRH programs incorporate culturally relevant content that is easily and widely accessible. Despite positive shifts, several barriers remain: limited disaggregated data on diverse populations, inadequate policy attention, and the insufficient scalability and funding of promising interventions. Future research and promotional efforts must prioritise the co-creation of SRH interventions with stakeholders and affected communities, ensuring that services are sustainable, culturally appropriate, and accessible to all adolescents. Full article

Background/Objectives: This paper introduces a pedagogically grounded framework for transforming canonical literary texts in primary education through generative AI. Guided by multiliteracies theory, Vygotskian pedagogy, and epistemic justice, the system aims to enhance interpretive literacy, developmental alignment, and cultural responsiveness among learners aged 7–12. Methods: The proposed system enables educators to perform age-specific text simplification, visual re-narration, lexical reinvention, and multilingual augmentation through a suite of modular tools. Central to the design is the Ethical–Pedagogical Validation Layer (EPVL), a GPT-powered auditing module that evaluates AI-generated content across four normative dimensions: developmental appropriateness, cultural sensitivity, semantic fidelity, and ethical transparency. Results: The framework was fully implemented and piloted with primary educators (N = 8). The pilot demonstrated high usability, curricular alignment, and perceived value for classroom application. Unlike commercial Large Language Models (LLMs), the system requires no prompt engineering and supports editable, policy-aligned controls for normative localization. Conclusions: By embedding ethical evaluation within the generative loop, the framework fosters calibrated trust in human–AI collaboration and mitigates cultural stereotyping and ideological distortion. It advances a scalable, inclusive model for educator-centered AI integration, offering a new pathway for explainable and developmentally appropriate AI use in literary education. Full article

Objectives: We introduce the conceptual framework for the Adversarial Claim Robustness Diagnostics (ACRD) protocol, a novel tool for assessing how factual claims withstand ideological distortion. Methods: Based on semantics, adversarial collaboration, and the devil’s advocate approach, we develop a three-phase evaluation process combining baseline evaluations, adversarial speaker reframing, and dynamic AI calibration along with quantified robustness scoring. We introduce the Claim Robustness Index that constitutes our final validity scoring measure. Results: We model the evaluation of claims by ideologically opposed groups as a strategic game with a Bayesian-Nash equilibrium to infer the normative behavior of evaluators after the reframing phase. The ACRD addresses shortcomings in traditional fact-checking approaches and employs large language models to simulate counterfactual attributions while mitigating potential biases. Conclusions: The framework’s ability to identify boundary conditions of persuasive validity across polarized groups can be tested across important societal and political debates ranging from climate change issues to trade policy discourses. Full article

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States (U.S.) and a major contributor to several cancers, including cervical, anal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers. Although a safe and effective vaccine is available, HPV vaccination rates remain suboptimal, particularly among racial, ethnic, and immigrant minority groups. This study explored multiple factors, such as cultural, social, and structural influences, influencing HPV vaccine decision-making among Cape Verdean immigrant parents in the U.S., a population currently underrepresented in HPV research. Methods: Qualitative study using individual, in-depth interviews with Cape Verdean immigrant parents of children aged 11 to 17 years living in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using the social ecological model (SEM) to identify barriers and facilitators at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy levels. Results: Forty-five Cape Verdean parents (27 mothers, 18 fathers) participated. Fathers were significantly older than mothers (50.0 vs. 41.1 years, p = 0.05). Most were married or partnered (60%), had at least a high school education (84.4%), and reported annual household incomes of US$50,000 or more (66.7%), with no significant gender differences. Nearly all spoke Creole at home (95.6%). Fathers had lower acculturation than mothers (p = 0.05), reflecting less adaptation to U.S. norms and language use. Most parents had limited knowledge of HPV and the vaccine, with gendered beliefs and misconceptions about risk. Only seven mothers (25.9%) reported receiving a provider recommendation; all indicated that their children had initiated vaccination (1 dose or more). Mothers were the primary decision-makers, though joint decision-making was common. Trust in providers was high, but poor communication and the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate materials limited informed decision-making. Stigma, misinformation, and cultural taboos restricted open dialogue. Trusted sources of information included schools, churches, and Cape Verdean organizations. While parents valued the U.S. healthcare system, they noted gaps in public health messaging and provider engagement. Conclusions: Findings revealed that HPV vaccine uptake and hesitancy among Cape Verdean immigrant parents in the U.S. were influenced by individual beliefs, family dynamics, healthcare provider interactions, cultural norms, and structural barriers. These findings highlight the need for multilevel strategies such as culturally tailored education, community engagement, and improved provider communication to support informed vaccination decisions in this population. Full article

This paper investigates transgenerational change in the use of formal address forms among Polish heritage speakers in Germany by analyzing their language attitudes and usage preferences. The survey-based study involved 100 bilingual Polish speakers with a migration background, including both late and early immigrants vs. representatives of the first and second generations, respectively. The survey included two parts: (1) a questionnaire assessing language attitudes toward formal address systems in Polish and German, respectively, and (2) an Acceptability Judgment Task evaluating respondents’ preferences for different address variants, including contact-induced hybrid forms, in simulated communicative situations. By comparing language attitudes and usage preferences among heritage speakers, the study seeks to identify mechanisms of transgenerational change in pragmatics of their heritage language. The findings reveal a discrepancy between language attitudes and actual language use by heritage speakers. While respondents recognize asymmetries between Polish and German formal address systems, their usage preferences align predominantly with the Polish monolingual norm, particularly in perceptually oriented tasks. However, the emergence of hybrid forms of formal address suggests a gradual shift toward increased tolerance and acceptance of contact-induced variations. This finding supports the hypothesis that pragmatics, like other linguistic levels, undergoes a transgenerational shift in migration settings, with language attitudes serving as earlier indicators of change. Full article

Orthographic knowledge is a critical component of skilled language use, yet its large-scale behavioral signatures remain understudied in Spanish. To address this gap, we developed OrthoKnow-SP, a megastudy that captures spelling decisions from 27,185 native Spanish-speaking adults who completed an 80-item forced-choice task. Each trial required selecting the correctly spelled word from a pair comprising a real word and a pseudohomophone foil that preserved pronunciation while violating the correct graphemic representation. The stimuli targeted six high-confusability contrasts in Spanish orthography. We recorded response accuracy and reaction times for over 2.17 million trials, alongside demographic and device metadata. Results show robust variability across items and individuals, with item-level metrics closely aligned with independent norms of word prevalence. A composite difficulty index integrating speed and accuracy further allowed fine-grained item ranking. The dataset provides the first population-scale norms of Spanish spelling difficulty, capturing regional and generational diversity absent from traditional lab-based studies. Public release of OrthoKnow-SP enables new research on the cognitive and demographic factors shaping orthographic decisions, and provides educators, clinicians, and developers with a valuable benchmark for assessing spelling competence and modeling written language processing. Full article

The underlying design of large language models (LLMs), trained on vast amounts of human texts, implies that chatbots based on them will almost inevitably retain some human personality traits. That is, we expect that LLM outputs will tend to reflect human-like features. In this study, we used the ‘Big Five’ personality traits tool to examine whether several chatbot models (ChatGPT versions 3.5 and 4o, Gemini, and Gemini Advanced, all tested in both English and Polish), displayed distinctive personality profiles. Each chatbot was presented with an instruction to complete the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) questionnaire “according to who or what you are,” which left it open as to whether the answer would derive from a purported human or from an AI source. We found that chatbots sometimes chose to respond in a typically human-like way, while in other cases the answers appeared to reflect the perspective of an AI language model. The distinction was examined more closely through a set of follow-up questions. The more advanced models (ChatGPT-4o and Gemini Advanced) showed larger differences between these two modes compared to the more basic models. In IPIP-5 terms, the chatbots tended to display higher ‘Emotional Stability’ and ‘Intellect/Imagination’ but lower ‘Agreeableness’ compared to published human norms. The spread of characteristics indicates that the personality profiles of chatbots are not static but are shaped by the model architecture and its programming as well as, perhaps, the chatbot’s own inner sense, that is, the way it models its own identity. Appreciating these philosophical subtleties is important for enhancing human–computer interactions and perhaps building more relatable, trustworthy AI systems. Full article

In health professions education, the hidden curriculum is a set of implicit rules and expectations about how clinicians act and what they value. In fields that are very homogenous, such as rehabilitation professions, these expectations may have outsized impacts on students from minoritized backgrounds. This qualitative study examined the hidden curriculum in rehabilitation graduate programs—speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy—through the perspectives and experiences of 21 students from minoritized backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews explored their experiences with their programs’ hidden curricula. These revealed expectations about ways of being, interacting, and relating. Three overarching themes emerged, each reflecting tensions between conflicting values: (i) blend in but stand out; (ii) success lies in individualism, while de-prioritizing the individual; and (iii) fix the field, using your identities as a tool. When the expectations aligned with students’ expectations for themselves, meeting them was a source of pride. However, when the social expectations clashed with their own culture, dis/ability, gender, or neurotype, these tensions became an additional cognitive burden, and they rarely received mentorship for navigating it. Health professions programs might benefit from fostering students’ critical reflection on their hidden curricula and their fields’ cultural norms to foster greater belonging, agency, and identity retention. Full article

This study is the first to scrutinize the rates of, and the lexical diversity in, adjective intensification in second language (L2) German. We additionally attend to the issue concerning whether sociodemographic variables (i.e., length of residence, age, and gender) and individual learner differences (i.e., L2 proficiency, intensity of exposure to the L2, and L2 socioaffect) can predict (a) the inter-individual variation in syntactic adjective intensification, and (b) the observed intra-individual variation based on a weighted measure of intensifier lexical diversity. We analyzed spoken data collected via virtual reality (VR) elicitation tasks from 40 learners of L2 German (first language [L1] English). We found that learners engaged in adjective intensification at similar rates as those reported in the literature, despite some cases of overshooting the target; learners also preferred markers of intensification consistent with the lexical choices of L1 German speakers. Sociodemographic variables did not predict different rates of adjective intensification; rather, individual learner differences such as those relating to L2 proficiency and L2 exposure correlated with more target-like use of intensifiers, though the correlations were weak. The diversity in adjective intensification was also only marginally related to demographic factors and individual learner differences. Our findings suggest that L2 learners indeed engage in similar intensification practices as do L1 speakers; however, systematically predicting more ‘successful’ adoption of target-like sociopragmatic norms among L2 learners remains challenging. Full article

Introduction: Combat sport athletes are exposed to repetitive head impacts yet also develop distinct performance-related brain adaptations. Electroencephalography (EEG) provides millisecond-level insight into both processes; however, findings are dispersed across decades of heterogeneous studies. This mechanistic review consolidates and interprets EEG evidence to elucidate how participation in combat sports shapes brain function and to identify research gaps that impede clinical translation. Methods: A structured search was conducted in March 2025 across PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and related databases for English-language clinical studies published between January 1980 and March 2025. Eligible studies recorded raw resting or task-related EEG in athletes engaged in boxing, wrestling, judo, karate, taekwondo, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were independently screened by two reviewers. Twenty-three studies, encompassing approximately 650 combat sport athletes and 430 controls, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. Results: Early visual EEG and perfusion studies linked prolonged competitive exposure in professional boxers to focal hypoperfusion and low-frequency slowing. More recent quantitative studies refined these findings: across boxing, wrestling, and kickboxing cohorts, chronic participation was associated with reduced alpha and theta power, excess slow-wave activity, and disrupted small-world network topology—alterations that often preceded cognitive or structural impairments. In contrast, elite athletes in karate, fencing, and kickboxing consistently demonstrated neural efficiency patterns, including elevated resting alpha power, reduced task-related event-related desynchronization (ERD), and streamlined cortico-muscular coupling during cognitive and motor tasks. Acute bouts elicited transient increases in frontal–occipital delta and high beta power proportional to head impact count and cortisol elevation, while brief judo chokes triggered short-lived slow-wave bursts without lasting dysfunction. Methodological heterogeneity—including variations in channel count (1 to 64), reference schemes, and frequency band definitions—limited cross-study comparability. Conclusions: EEG effectively captures both the adverse effects of repetitive head trauma and the cortical adaptations associated with high-level combat sport training, underscoring its potential as a rapid, portable tool for brain monitoring. Standardizing acquisition protocols, integrating EEG into longitudinal multimodal studies, and establishing sex- and age-specific normative data are essential for translating these insights into practical applications in concussion management, performance monitoring, and regulatory policy. Full article

The rapid progress of generative AI has enabled remarkable creative capabilities, yet it also raises urgent concerns regarding the safety of AI-generated visual content in real-world applications such as content moderation, platform governance, and digital media regulation. This includes unsafe material such as sexually explicit images, violent scenes, hate symbols, propaganda, and unauthorized imitations of copyrighted artworks. Existing image safety systems often rely on rigid category filters and produce binary outputs, lacking the capacity to interpret context or reason about nuanced, adversarially induced forms of harm. In addition, standard evaluation metrics (e.g., attack success rate) fail to capture the semantic severity and dynamic progression of toxicity. To address these limitations, we propose Perception–Retrieval–Judgement (PRJ), a cognitively inspired framework that models toxicity detection as a structured reasoning process. PRJ follows a three-stage design: it first transforms an image into descriptive language (perception), then retrieves external knowledge related to harm categories and traits (retrieval), and finally evaluates toxicity based on legal or normative rules (judgement). This language-centric structure enables the system to detect both explicit and implicit harms with improved interpretability and categorical granularity. In addition, we introduce a dynamic scoring mechanism based on a contextual toxicity risk matrix to quantify harmfulness across different semantic dimensions. Experiments show that PRJ surpasses existing safety checkers in detection accuracy and robustness while uniquely supporting structured category-level toxicity interpretation. Full article