Search Results (537)

The present study focuses on the attractiveness and perceived value of differentiated quality labels, such as the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), for agri-food products from Extremadura (Spain). In doing so, it addresses a gap in the scientific literature concerning consumer behavior toward products bearing these certifications. The results show that awareness of these quality schemes is significantly higher among middle-aged and older individuals, underscoring the need for more modern and targeted communication strategies. The findings highlight the strategic role of agri-food marketing in promoting certified products and emphasize the importance of bridging the generational gap in consumer education. Overall, differentiated quality schemes are perceived as strategic tools to enhance the competitiveness of local products, strengthen cultural identity, and foster sustainable rural economies. Furthermore, this study identifies a negative relationship between the consumption of certified products and the awareness of certification and a positive relationship with the willingness to pay a premium. Consumers with greater awareness tend consume these products less, although they are more willing to pay higher prices for items bearing quality labels. Full article

Wood, as a natural material that stores carbon, is gaining increasing attention and has potential for use in interior architectural applications. Given the long indoor stay time characteristic of modern society, it is important to scientifically understand the effects of indoor wood application on the occupants. In this study, three residential buildings with an identical area and structure were constructed with different degrees of wood coverage (0%, 45%, 90%) using Larix kaempferi. Subsequently, indoor air quality (IAQ) evaluations and relative humidity measurements were conducted to assess the physical and chemical changes in each environment. The IAQ in wooden and non-wooden environments met the recommended IAQ standards established in South Korea. The results of the 8-month observation showed that, the higher the wood coverage ratio, the more the indoor humidity fluctuations were alleviated, and, in the case of the 90% wood coverage ratio condition, the humidity was maintained 5.2% lower in the summer and 10.9% higher in the winter compared to the 0% condition. To further assess the physiological responses induced by the wooden environment, the heart rate variability (HRV) was measured and compared for 26 participants exposed to each environment for two hours. In environments with a 0% and 90% degree of wood coverage, no statistically significant differences were found in the participants’ HRV indicators. But, in the group exposed to the 45% wooden environment, the results showed an increase in HRV indicators, natural logarithm of high frequency power (lnHF): 4.87 → 5.40 (p < 0.05), and standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN): 30.57 → 38.48 (p < 0.05), which are known indicators of parasympathetic nervous system activation. Full article

The influence of social media personalities has grown significantly, especially among youth audiences who spend substantial time on platforms like TikTok. The emergence and popularity of different types of social media influencers accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, including South Africa. In turn, this period also saw a surge in youth audiences following these influencers. This rapid growth of influencer followings among young people is largely driven by specific types of content that resonate with them, thus encouraging continued engagement. However, the benefits that these young followers gain from engaging with various influencers and the factors driving their preferences for specific influencers remain underexplored, particularly within the context of South African students within higher education. Therefore, this study explores the types of social media influencers most followed by university students at a South African University and investigates the key factors that drive their preferences. A structured online questionnaire was distributed, gathering both multiple-choice and open-ended responses from students. The data were analyzed using categorical frequency counts and thematic analysis. The data highlight how students actively turn to influencers as emotional anchors, role models, and sources of practical guidance. Their engagement reflects a deep need for connection, inspiration, and identity formation in a challenging academic and social environment. These patterns show that influencer content is not just entertainment but plays a critical developmental role. Understanding these motivations helps educators, policymakers, and brands to align better with youth values. The significance of these results lies in how influencer content is now coming in to fill the emotional, cultural, and educational gaps left by traditional systems among the young South African university students in this modern era. Full article

With the acceleration of modernization, villages in Southwest China are experiencing spatial fragmentation and homogenization, leading to the loss of traditional identity. Addressing how to balance scientific planning with cultural and spatial continuity has become a key challenge in rural governance. This study takes Xuyong County in Luzhou City as a case and develops a three-tier analytical framework—“genome–spatial factors–specific indicators”—based on the space gene theory to identify, classify, and map spatial patterns in marginal villages of southern Sichuan. Through cluster analysis, common and distinctive spatial genes are extracted. Common genes—such as medium surface roughness (GeneN-2-b), medium building dispersion (GeneA-3-b), and low intelligibility (GeneT-2-b)—are prevalent across multiple village types, reflecting shared adaptive strategies to complex terrains, ecological constraints, and historical development. In contrast, distinctive genes—such as high building dispersion (GeneA-3-a) and linear boundaries (GeneB-1-c)—highlight unique spatial responses that are shaped by local cultural and environmental conditions. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of spatial morphology and adaptive mechanisms in rural settlements. This research offers a theoretical and methodological basis for village classification, conservation zoning, and spatial optimization, providing practical guidance for rural revitalization efforts focusing on both development and heritage protection. Full article

With increasing attention on DNA ancestry tests, scholars have explored how these tests inform modern understandings of race. Current research reveals the flaws and misinterpretations that arise when DNA tests, such as those offered by 23andMe and AncestryDNA, are used as a proxy for racial identity. While prominent in popular culture, the legitimacy and implications of these tests remain contested in the scholarly literature. Some researchers have explored how the increased availability of DNA tests affects how multiracial individuals identify and disclose their racial and ethnic identities, though this exploration remains limited. As discourse about mixed race identity and ancestry tests becomes more nuanced, I argue for the utility of using diunital perspectives, an expansive lens that resists either/or thinking, to complicate conversations about ancestry tests and multiraciality. This scholarly essay integrates personal narrative and a genealogical deconstruction of monoracialism to explore the question, “How can DNA tests contribute to the unlearning of monoracialism?” I share two personal vignettes to illustrate how these tests can reveal a preference for discrete racial categories. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, strategic essentialism, and diunital perspectives, I examine how DNA tests intersect with identity, family, and monoracialism, concluding with implications for disrupting monoracial logics. Full article

Older people’s social participation is being shaped by the current context of “liquid modernity,” characterized by the erosion of traditional roles and identity, fragile social ties, individualism, economic precariousness, and uncertainty. The challenges entailed by these trends can be exacerbated when a circumstance, such as being the parent of an adult with a physical disability, is combined with old age. This study aimed to explore how this dual condition influences processes of aging and community participation. This work presents the findings of a phenomenological study conducted in 2025 through semi-structured interviews with a sample of 24 elderly people with children diagnosed with spina bifida. The results show that the children’s support needs, especially when they live with their parents, but also if they have become independent, impact the parents’ aging and social participation processes. Likewise, concern for the future is identified as a recurring aspect due to the children’s lack of support from a social network. It was concluded that public administrations and non-profit organizations should develop social intervention strategies aimed at promoting social participation, guaranteeing external assistance in the home, and providing coexistence resources. Full article

Heritage building conservation plays a special role in addressing modern sustainability challenges by preserving the cultural identity, retrofitting, restoring, and renovating these structures to improve energy performance, which is crucial for revitalisation. This research aims to use Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) to increase energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in historic buildings. Retrofitting heritage buildings presents unique challenges and opportunities to simultaneously reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions while maintaining historical integrity. Traditional approaches are often insufficient to meet heritage structures’ energy needs. Modern technologies such as information building modelling and energy simulations can offer solutions. HBIM is a vigorous digital framework that facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and offers detailed insights into building restoration and energy modelling. HBIM supports the integration of thermal and energy efficiency measures while maintaining the authenticity of heritage architecture by creating a comprehensive database. Using a case study heritage building, this research demonstrates how retrofitting the different aspects of heritage buildings can improve energy performance. Evaluating the preservation of heritage buildings’ cultural and architectural values and the effectiveness of using HBIM to model energy performance offers a viable framework for sustainable retrofitting of heritage buildings. Full article

This paper presents a comprehensive study of torsional stick–slip vibrations in rotary drilling systems through a comparison between two lumped parameter models with differing complexity: a simple two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) model and a complex high-degree-of-freedom (high-DOF) model. The two models are developed under identical boundary conditions and consider an identical nonlinear friction torque dynamic involving the Stribeck effect and dry friction phenomena. The high-DOF model is calculated with the Finite Element Method (FEM) to enable accurate simulation of the dynamic behavior of the drill string and accurate representation of wave propagation, energy build-up, and torque response. Field data obtained from an Algerian oil well with Measurement While Drilling (MWD) equipment are used to guide modeling and determine simulations. According to the findings, the FEM-based high-DOF model demonstrates better performance in simulating basic stick–slip dynamics, such as drill bit velocity oscillation, nonlinear friction torque formation, and transient bit-to-surface contacts. On the other hand, the 2-DOF model is not able to represent these effects accurately and can lead to inappropriate control actions and mitigation of vibration severity. This study highlights the importance of robust model fidelity in building reliable real-time rotary drilling control systems. From the performance difference measurement between low-resolution and high-resolution models, the findings offer valuable insights to optimize drilling efficiency further, minimize non-productive time (NPT), and improve the rate of penetration (ROP). This contribution points to the need for using high-fidelity models, such as FEM-based models, in facilitating smart and adaptive well control strategies in modern petroleum drilling engineering. Full article

Throughout history, communities have struggled to build homes in places actively hostile to their presence, a challenge long faced by African descendants in the American diaspora. In cities across the U.S., including Washington, D.C., efforts have often been made to erase Black cultural identity. D.C., once a hub of Black culture, saw its urban fabric devastated during the 1968 riots following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Since then, redevelopment has been slow and, more recently, marked by gentrification, which has further displaced Black communities. Amid this context, Black architects such as Michael Marshall, FAIA, and Sean Pichon, AIA, have emerged as visionary leaders. Their work exemplifies Value-Inclusive Design and aligns with Roberto Verganti’s Design-Driven Innovation by embedding cultural relevance and community needs into development projects. These architects propose an intentional approach that centers Black identity and brings culturally meaningful businesses into urban redevelopment, shifting the paradigm of design practice in D.C. This collective case study (methodology) argues that their work represents a distinct architectural style, Black Modernism, characterized by cultural preservation, community engagement, and spatial justice. This research examines two central questions: Where does Black Modernism begin, and where does it end? How does it fit within and expand beyond the broader American Modernist architectural movement? It explores the consequences of the destruction of Black communities, the lived experiences of Black architects, and how those experiences are reflected in their designs. Additionally, the research suggests that the work of Black architects aligns with heutagogical pedagogy, which views community stakeholders not just as beneficiaries, but as educators and knowledge-holders in architectural preservation. Findings reveal that Black Modernism, therefore, is not only a design style but a method of reclaiming identity, telling untold histories, and building more inclusive cities. Full article

This research aims to explore the role of architecture in creating an identifiable brand for Amman. It seeks to put forward a vision through which Amman’s city can formulate a clear model for implementing a successful branding strategy. In doing so, this research studies the concepts associated with the ideas of branding, city image and identity, and the extent to which such ideas are to be implemented in Amman. The study adopted an inductive approach using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 35 experts with central roles in stating the city’s key values that best reflect the city’s identity. A thematic analysis was conducted in line with theoretical aspects, including the city’s message, strategies for formulating the brand, and communication via architecture. The image of Amman shows an obvious distinction between its historical character and modern global styles as it suffers from disorder within its architectural landscape. Amman needs to rethink its identity in order to create a new brand that keeps pace with time without losing the originality of the place. This calls for re-evaluating the role of the iconic buildings and their associations with the surroundings, enabling them to become of significant presence, both symbolically and operationally, in expressing the city’s personality and promoting its message. Full article

With the growing impact of environmental challenges, the need for well-planned and effectively executed actions to support progress and sustainable social development has become increasingly evident. Geoparks play a vital role in this endeavor by fostering the development of products that celebrate local heritage and promote its conservation, utilizing the natural and cultural resources unique to each region in sustainable ways. Geoproducts, in particular, aim to enrich cultural identity and elevate the value of the landscape and geodiversity by integrating communities into innovative approaches and technologies, engaging them in commercialization, and ensuring sustainability alongside social inclusion. Within the framework of the Safi Geopark Project, this article delves into the concept of geoproducts, their definitions, and their potential to bolster local identity and social and economic development. Leveraging the abundant geological and cultural resources of Safi province, the study presents both tangible and intangible geoproducts that merge traditional craftsmanship with modern sustainability practices. Notable examples include ammonite-inspired ceramics, educational materials, and eco-friendly cosmetics, each carefully designed to reflect and celebrate the region’s geoheritage. This article underscores the crucial role of community involvement in the creation of geoproducts, highlighting their impact on conservation, education, and the promotion of sustainable tourism. By proposing actionable strategies, this study not only broadens the understanding of geoproducts within geoparks but also reinforces their importance as instruments for regional development, heritage conservation, and sustainable economic growth. Full article

The work Xingli zhenquan tigang (Sing lii jen ciyan bithei hešen) was written in Chinese and Manchu by the French Jesuit Alexandre de la Charme (1695–1767) and published in Beijing in 1753. The first two sections of this paper provide an introduction to de la Charme’s work biography and to further textual and historical contexts, explore the peculiarities of the subsequent early German reception of the work almost 90 years later, and introduce the content from an overview perspective. The third section explores the most essential contents of Book 1 (of 3) of the Manchu version. The investigation is based on Hans Conon von der Gabelentz’s (1807–1874) German translation from 1840. Camouflaged as a Confucian educational dialogue, and by blurring his true identity in his publication, de la Charme criticizes Neo-Confucian positions from an implicitly Cartesian and hidden Christian perspective, tacitly blending Cartesian views with traditional Chinese concepts. In addition, he alludes to Manchu shamanic views in the same regard. De la Charme’s assimilating rhetoric “triangulation” of three different cultural and linguistic horizons of thought and spirituality proves that later Jesuit scholarship reached out into the inherent ethnic and spiritual diversity of the Qing intellectual and political elites. Hidden allusions to Descartes’s dualistic concepts of res cogitans and res extensa implicitly anticipate the beginnings of China’s intellectual modernization period one and a half centuries later. This work also provides an example of how the exchange of intellectual and religious elements persisted despite the Rites Controversy and demonstrates how the fading Jesuit mission influenced early German sinology. I believe that this previously underexplored work is significant in both systematic and historical respects. It is particularly relevant in the context of current comparative research fields, as well as transcultural and interreligious intellectual dialogue in East Asia and around the world. Full article

The virus-first theory presents a model in which viral lineages emerged before cells. This proposal aims to give the theory greater relevance by offering a plausible evolutionary framework that explains both (i) the origin of viruses from prebiotic chemistry and (ii) how viruses contributed to the emergence of cells. Here, we propose that viruses should be understood as a distinct class of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) systems, some of which evolved directly from the RNP-world. In our model, simple progenotes produced capsid-like particles through the evolution of a single gene encoding a self-assembling peptide. This allowed the formation of icosahedral shells around RNA genomes, as observed today in certain viral families whose capsids consist of ~60 identical subunits derived from a single gene product. These early capsids enabled mobility and protection, representing key intermediates toward biological complexity. Over time, some of those populations acquired additional peptides and evolved more elaborate architectures. Finally, the incorporation of lipid-binding domains in those capsid-like peptides allowed the formation of proteolipidic membranes akin to those found in modern cells. This model provides a gradualistic and logically coherent evolutionary path from the RNP-world to the emergence of cellular life, emphasizing the foundational role of viruses in early evolution. Full article

DNA metabarcoding is a powerful biodiversity monitoring tool, enabling simultaneous assessments of diverse biological communities. However, its accuracy depends on the reliability of reference databases that assign taxonomic identities to obtained sequences. Here we provide a DNA barcode dataset for aquatic fauna of the Panama Canal, a region that connects the Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific oceans. This unique setting creates opportunities for trans-oceanic dispersal while acting as a modern physical dispersal barrier for some terrestrial organisms. We sequenced 852 specimens from a diverse array of taxa (e.g., fishes, zooplankton, mollusks, arthropods, reptiles, birds, and mammals) using COI, and in some cases, 12S and 16S barcodes. These data were collected for a variety of studies, many of which have sought to understand recent changes in aquatic communities in the Panama Canal. The DNA barcodes presented here are all from captured specimens, which confirms their presence in Panama and, in many cases, inside the Panama Canal. Both native and introduced taxa are included. This dataset represents a valuable resource for environmental DNA (eDNA) work in the Panama Canal region and across the Neotropics aimed at monitoring ecosystem health, tracking non-native and potentially invasive species, and understanding the ecology and distribution of these freshwater and euryhaline taxa. Full article

This article aimed to assess the accuracy of the COPERT model in predicting CO₂ emissions and energy consumption in real operating conditions, represented by the WLTP homologation tests. Experimental data obtained for a Euro 6 vehicle were compared with the values estimated by the COPERT model, assuming identical speed conditions. MLP and SANN artificial neural networks were also used to create a model describing the complex relationships between emissions, speed, and energy consumption. The results indicate an apparent overestimation of CO₂ and energy consumption values by the COPERT model, especially in the low-speed range typical of urban traffic. The minimum energy consumption values were observed at speeds of 50–70 km/h, indicating the existence of an optimal drive system operation zone. The neural models showed high efficiency in predicting the tested parameters—the best results were obtained for the MLP 6-10-1 architecture, whose correlation coefficient exceeded 0.98 in the validation set. The paper highlights the need to calibrate the COPERT model using local experimental data and integrate artificial intelligence methods in modern emission inventories. Full article