Search Results (279)

Background: Renal stone disease is a common urological condition considered to be greatly affected by lifestyle, dietary practices, and hydration status. With the rapid advancement and remarkable rise in digital communication, social media has become an important source of health information. However, little is known about its effects on raising public awareness of dietary and fluid-related risk factors for kidney stone formation, particularly in Middle Eastern populations. Aim: We aimed to evaluate the impact of social media platforms on public awareness of dietary habits and fluid consumption in relation to kidney stone prevention. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was applied to 980 adults with varying demographic characteristics. Data on social media use, dietary and fluid knowledge, and attitudes toward kidney stone prevention were collected through structured questionnaires. Statistical analyses, including regression and mediation models, were employed to identify predictors of awareness and explore pathways linking social media use to knowledge and attitudes. Results: Among the 980 participants (mean age = 29.9 ± 11 years; 55.4% males), 69.9% held university degrees, and 7.2% had a history of kidney stones. The overall awareness of kidney stone prevention varied, with most of the participants recognizing the protective role of adequate hydration (67%) and the adverse impact of soft-drink consumption (73.2%), while knowledge of dietary contributors such as animal protein and tea was limited. Greater knowledge and more appropriate attitudes were associated with older age, female gender, following healthcare professionals, and engagement with medical websites, YouTube, and TikTok. Mediation analysis revealed that social media influenced awareness indirectly through improvements in knowledge and attitudes. Conclusions: This study reveals that the digital environment shapes both public knowledge of and attitudes toward kidney stone prevention, though critical knowledge gaps persist regarding complex dietary factors. Mediation analysis indicated that the digital influence is likely channeled through improvements in knowledge and attitudes. We emphasize that source credibility is paramount; relying on official medical websites and following health professionals were the most effective strategies for boosting awareness. Therefore, expert-led educational strategies must be integrated into public health protocols. Full article

This study examines how El Sistema, a global social music education program active in over 60 countries, contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The program is analyzed using Sheerens’ CIPO (Context–Input–Process–Output) framework, which enables comprehensive evaluation of education from design and implementation to outcomes beyond simple result-focused assessment. The framework also accounts for political, social, and economic contexts, making it effective for understanding country-specific cases. Using this approach, this study analyzed how El Sistema has been localized across five representative case countries—Scotland, the United States, Sweden, Republic of Korea, and Japan. Data were collected through a narrative review integrating academic studies and credible non-academic sources, including government and organizational reports, program brochures, official websites, news articles, and multimedia materials. Findings indicate alignment with SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 16, and 17. Country-specific strategies include community engagement in Scotland (SDG 17), partnerships in the United States (SDG 17), immigrant integration in Sweden (SDGs 11, 16), inclusive music education and cultural revitalization in the Republic of Korea (SDGs 11, 16, 17), and quality and healing education for disaster-affected and disabled children in Japan (SDG 11). These results suggest that El Sistema can serve as a sustainable model of social music education when supported by localized strategies, stable resources, multi-level governance, systematic evaluation, and proactive engagement with environmental initiatives. Full article

China’s state-backed media is valuable for news bias research due to the tight control of journalism in China. In the digital era, bias remains, and quantitative and computational methods are playing an important role in studying it. Bias on China’s English news websites has not been examined in previous research, and a day-to-day angle is lacking. This study selects four well-known news media websites in China: CGTN, China Daily, Global Times, and Xinhuanet, which are owned and operated by the state or party in different ways. The BBC is chosen as a benchmark of editorial independence to highlight differences in bias. The news titles on their official websites were collected on a daily basis and analysed with sentiment as the focus. Features of news webpages are discussed and utilised. The charts and network graphs in this paper lower the barrier to comprehension for wider audiences, enabling readers to grasp the sentiment bias of news media in a visually digestible format. The results demonstrate that sentiment bias exists in China’s state-backed English-language news websites today, favouring positive coverage of the domestic side. In contrast, the BBC serves as a suitable benchmark and reflects the tendency for negativity dominance in news reporting. Full article

Background: Healthcare systems globally face complex challenges including rising costs, increasing chronic disease burden, and fragmentation of care. Systems-based models represent promising approaches to healthcare transformation, yet their implementation remains incompletely understood. Objective: To critically analyze the Saudi model of Care (MoC) as a case study of systems-based healthcare transformation, examining its conceptual framework, implementation strategies, and projected health outcomes. Methods: We conducted a narrative review synthesizing publicly available official documents on the Saudi MoC, primarily the 2017 overview and 2025 revision, identified through targeted searches of Ministry of Health websites and grey literature portals (no date restrictions); formal quality appraisal was not applied as sources were official policy documents, with bias mitigated through cross-verification and critical analysis. Results: The Saudi MoC exemplifies systems-based transformation through its multi-layered framework organized around six patient-centered systems of care spanning the lifecycle. Key innovations include: (1) an architectural approach integrating activated individuals, healthy communities, virtual care, and traditional clinical settings; (2) a comprehensive intervention taxonomy with 42 specific initiatives; (3) explicit contextual adaptations for diverse settings; and (4) a phased implementation approach with detailed performance metrics. National indicators improved during the reform period, including life expectancy and maternal and child health. These are national trends observed during the period of health reforms. Causal attribution to the Model of Care requires a counterfactual evaluation. Conclusions: This analysis of the Saudi MoC contributes to the literature on systems-based healthcare transformation by illuminating how theoretical principles can be operationalized at national scale. The model’s patient-centered design, comprehensive intervention taxonomy, and attention to implementation factors offer valuable insights for other healthcare systems pursuing transformation. Further research should examine actual implementation outcomes as the model matures. Full article

Background: This study examines how diversifying committees influence corporate investment risk practices, specifically in decision-making and resource allocation strategies. Previously, board diversity was commonly used in studies, but committee diversity was often overlooked, even though committees are delegated with providing recommendations for board decisions. Methods: Using information on committee presence, size, gender representation, and independent and non-executive members, we build a detailed diversity composite index. We capture this information from various sources such as corporate official disclosures, corporate websites, and other relevant disclosures. We combine this data with financial and investment information collected through secondary data, including Bloomberg and Refinitiv databases about companies listed on the ASX 300 in the Australian equity market from 2018 to 2020. Results: Our findings show that diversity plays a much more critical role in enhancing long-term strategic investment decisions than in driving short-term operational gains. Conclusions: Additional investigations have shown that increased diversity enhances corporate resource allocation, generating optimal investment and investment efficiency levels. These findings highlight the strategic importance of diversity as a contributor to good governance and better financial performance. Full article

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between sustainability and customer lifetime value (CLV) through the mediation–moderation effect of search engine optimization (SEO) metrics of websites. We obtained a data sample of 296 European sustainable firms from both industrial and technological industries. Based on the theory of source credibility, the firm’s official website, where SEO techniques are applied, is more credible regarding its sustainability activities than other sources such as social media, paid advertising, etc. As a result, we show that sustainability is a precursor of financial performance over time in sustainable firms, represented by CLV. Furthermore, we found that the value of the moderating variable, website traffic, alters the indirect effects produced by the mediating variable called website relevance (domain authority), thereby demonstrating a moderated mediation effect. The contribution of this research to the body of literature is twofold. First, it deepens the understanding of how sustainability predicts marketing outcomes based on both digital and customer metrics over time. Second, we rely on recent literature on prediction-oriented modelling (PLS-SEM) to support that it is not suitable for estimation by reflective measurement models due to the woozle effect. Full article

Urban community gardens (UCGs) have been expanding globally. Initially created to provide fresh, organic produce for low-income populations, UCGs have evolved into models of sustainable agriculture with increasing economic significance. Beyond their economic role, UCGs serve as vital social spaces and may be categorized as third places—informal gathering spaces that foster social connections and promote well-being. This study analyzes and compares the impact of UCGs as third places in Toronto and São Paulo, focusing on their contributions to social cohesion, financial resilience, environmental sustainability, cultural transmission, and mental well-being. It is a review-based study utilizing publicly available data from policy documents, the academic literature, and official websites. Although the practice of community gardening has a long-standing history, the concept of gardens as third places is relatively recent, emerging in the late 1980s. In recent decades, there has been growing interest in their association not only with aesthetic and functional benefits but also with health, well-being, and social connection. UCGs are valuable not only for food production but also for fostering social interaction, preserving cultural practices, and promoting overall well-being. Cities must develop policies that strengthen community resilience by recognizing and supporting UCGs as essential third places. Full article

The quantification of emotional value and accurate prediction of purchase intention has emerged as a critical interdisciplinary challenge in the evolving emotional economy. Focusing on Generation Z (born 1995–2009), this study proposes a hybrid algorithmic framework integrating text-based sentiment computation, feature selection, and random forest modeling to forecast purchase intention for therapeutic toys and interpret its underlying drivers. First, 856 customer reviews were scraped from Jellycat’s official website and subjected to polarity classification using a fine-tuned RoBERTa-wwm-ext model (F1 = 0.92), with generated sentiment scores and high-frequency keywords mapped as interpretable features. Next, Boruta–SHAP feature selection was applied to 35 structured variables from 336 survey records, retaining 17 significant predictors. The core module employed a RF (random forest) model to estimate continuous “purchase intention” scores, achieving R² = 0.83 and MSE = 0.14 under 10-fold cross-validation. To enhance interpretability, RF model was also utilized to evaluate feature importance, quantifying each feature’s contribution to the model outputs, revealing Social Ostracism (β = 0.307) and Task Overload (β = 0.207) as dominant predictors. Finally, k-means clustering with gap statistics segmented consumers based on emotional relevance, value rationality, and interest level, with model performance compared across clusters. Experimental results demonstrate that our integrated predictive model achieves a balance between forecasting accuracy and decision interpretability in emotional value computation, offering actionable insights for targeted product development and precision marketing in the therapeutic goods sector. Full article

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial consumption (AMC) surveillance and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) constitute effective strategies to combat the increasing antimicrobial resistance rates worldwide. Post-Soviet countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) implemented various elements of AMC surveillance and AMS to different extents. The limited quantity and quality of data from post-Soviet countries make it difficult to assess health system performance; therefore, this region is a blind spot in global AMR monitoring. This systematic review assesses and characterises AMC surveillance and AMS implementation in post-Soviet countries. Methods: Evidence was compiled via a search in PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, CyberLeninka, and Scopus. The eligibility criteria included AMC surveillance- and AMS-related papers in human health within defined regions and timelines. Some literature from the official websites of international and national health organisations was included in the search. Results: As a result of the searches, screening, and critical appraisal, three peer-reviewed publications and 31 documents were selected for analysis. Eleven out of fifteen countries with updated national action plans for combating antimicrobial resistance have defined AMC surveillance and AMS as strategic objectives. All 15 examined countries submitted antimicrobial consumption data to international networks and reported the existence of approved laws and regulations on antibiotic sales. However, disparities exist in the complexity of monitoring systems and AMS implementation between high-income and low-income countries in the region. Conclusions: This review provides key insights into the existing AMC surveillance and AMS implementation in former Soviet countries. Although the approach of this review lacks quantitative comparability, it provides a comprehensive qualitative framework for national-level AMC surveillance and AMS system assessment. Full article

In the United States, adolescents and young adults between the ages of 16 and 23 have high rates of serogroup B meningococcal infections due to an elevated risk for those attending college. This review examines meningococcal vaccination requirements and recommendations for college students in the United States, with a focus on state-level mandates. National stakeholder resources, state legislatures, and official state Department of Health and Department of Education websites were analyzed for each state and Washington, DC. Overall, 26 states mandate MenACWY vaccination for college entry, whereas only 2 have specific requirements for MenB vaccination. Among the six states with the largest state university campus enrollments, half mandate MenACWY vaccination for college students, whereas none mandate MenB. By region, the Northeast had the highest percentage of states with a MenACWY requirement for college entry (77.8%) followed by the South (64.7%), Midwest (41.7%), and West (23.1%). Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between state mandates and coverage to aid in optimizing meningococcal vaccination for college students. Full article

Throughout the generations, traditional academic writing skills development has taught students in socio-human programs to express their knowledge and thoughts with an evidence-based foundation, helping them make a special connection with their professional fields. However, a lack of digital learning and writing resources in this process has been identified. This study of the social work field connects digital academic writing, social protection functionality, and research innovations, identifying and exploring open-access (OA) educational and social resources for social work higher education (SWHE). Applying content analyses to online documents and websites, we identified key terms characteristic of social work, following a standard approach on formulating research questions, identifying categories, creating a code book, sampling, and measuring information. The research questions were as follows: How is digital academic writing being developed in social work education programs in Romanian universities? Where do researchers, students, teachers, and professionals gather OA digital information and data for academic innovation? What kind of OA information and data are contained in websites for academic writing? We also used OA socio-educational resource analysis to derive digital, evidence-based, and academic writing codes. The frequencies of these elements in documents and websites were examined. Professional samples of four OA documents and five academic and non-academic Romanian websites with extensions were processed. Furthermore, information from a non-academic official website concerning social protection functionality was observed, identified, and measured. We concluded that academic writing is not included as an independent course in the curricula of Romanian social work programs at universities; this topic is rarely researched. Digital and evidence-based education is also a marginalized topic in socio-human scientific resources. OA information, laws, reports, and statistics were identified. Information on scientific research, academic–non-academic partnerships, descriptions of good practices, and human resources information was lacking. In conclusion, this study contributes to increasing productivity and developing digital academic skills in social work education and research. Full article

Background/Objectives: A dietary pattern that simply reduces animal-based foods may be more acceptable to consumers than strict vegetarian or vegan diets. The objective of this investigation was to identify the most consistently used definitions of “flexitarian” dietary patterns, or dietary patterns with a reduced amount of animal foods. Then, sets of food-based dietary guidance (FBDG) from different countries and regions were evaluated to determine whether their guidance could accommodate flexitarian diets. Methods: Literature searches yielded 86 total results on flexitarian eating after screening by title/abstract, full text availability, and English language. Definitions of “flexitarian” were extracted from each article then reviewed and summarized. FBDGs available in English were downloaded from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations website. Guidance related to reduced animal product diets was extracted from FBDGs for eating patterns closest to 2000 kcal. Results: The summary definition of flexitarian included eating at least one animal product (dairy, eggs, meat, or fish) at least once per month but less than once per week. FBDGs from n = 42 countries or regions were downloaded and data extracted. Only FBDG from Sri Lanka explicitly describe a “semi-vegetarian” eating pattern, though n = 12 FBDGs describe a vegetarian pattern and n = 14 recommend reducing meat or animal food and/or choosing meat/dairy alternatives. Conclusions: Following a flexitarian dietary pattern in terms of reducing or limiting red meat is feasible and even implicitly recommended by the official dietary guidance of several countries. Most FBDGs examined did not include recommendations to decrease dairy or fish intake. Full article

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects 7–9% of pregnancies worldwide and is associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Nutritional therapy is a key component of GDM management. However, inconsistencies exist across international and national guidelines regarding macronutrient distribution, glycemic targets, and micronutrient supplementation. This systematic review aims to compare updated nutritional recommendations for GDM across major health organizations and identify areas of consensus, divergence, and evidence gaps. Methods: This systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251026194). A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar (concluding March 2025), along with manual searches of official websites of professional health organizations (e.g., ADA, WHO, NICE, IDF). Guidelines published within the last 10 years (or the most relevant national guideline if slightly older), available in English or with access to translation, and including explicit nutritional recommendations for GDM were included. Data were extracted on macronutrient composition, glycemic targets, and micronutrient supplementation, with evaluation of the supporting evidence and regional context, incorporating findings from recent key guideline updates. Results: In total, 12 guidelines met the inclusion criteria. While all guidelines emphasized carbohydrate moderation and adequate fiber intake, significant discrepancies were found in carbohydrate quality recommendations (e.g., low-glycemic index focus vs. total carbohydrate restriction), postprandial glucose targets (e.g., 1-h vs. 2-h measurements and varying thresholds like <120 vs. <140 mg/dL), and the use of non-routine micronutrients such as chromium, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids (generally lacking endorsement). Recent updates from key bodies like ADA, Diabetes Canada, and KDA largely maintain these core stances but show increasing emphasis on dietary patterns and acknowledgement of CGM technology, without resolving key discrepancies. Cultural adaptability and behavioral counselling strategies were minimally addressed across most guidelines. Conclusions: Despite general agreement on the principal recommendations of nutritional management in GDM, substantial variation persists in specific recommendations, even considering recent updates. Consistent, evidence-based, and culturally adaptable guidelines incorporating implementation strategies are needed to optimize care and reduce disparities in GDM management across regions. Full article

Higher education in tourism plays a pivotal role in the development of the tourism sector in Portugal—one of the country’s most vital economic pillars. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the adoption of innovative teaching methodologies by higher education institutions, aiming to foster more dynamic and student-centered learning environments. This article analyzes, through a qualitative approach grounded in educational and social science research, the main pedagogical and didactic strategies employed in leading tourism programs across Portugal. Drawing on a content analysis of curricular unit descriptions and all relevant public pedagogical information available on official institutional websites, this study provides a critical overview of current didactic practices. Finally, the research reflects on the degree to which innovative teaching and research practices are integrated and discusses their alignment with recognized international standards and best practices. This study contributes to bridging a significant research gap by systematically linking pedagogical practice in Portuguese tourism programs with global educational standards. Full article

Nowadays, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the husbandry conditions under which animals are raised, particularly broilers, since broilers are one of the species whose welfare is most impaired in intensive farming systems. One of the primary means of communicating husbandry practices to consumers is through product labelling. Thus, a rising number of animal welfare labelling schemes for broilers are being developed and used across Europe by initiatives of both public and private stakeholders, including NGOs that advocate for animal welfare. This review aims to identify, analyze, and compare these labelling schemes with a focus on the main animal welfare provisions included in them, which contribute to enhanced animal welfare. The schemes were identified through web searches, so that we could visit their official websites, access their standards and regulations and study them in detail. We included in our research only those schemes whose criteria were publicly available. In total, 16 schemes were selected and analyzed. Although these schemes vary in their criteria, they all enhance the welfare standards of broiler production, primarily through incorporating environmental enrichment and/or access to the outdoors. Most schemes define and specify in detail the required animal welfare provisions, setting a clear application frame for the raising period of the birds. However, the welfare of animals during transport and slaughter is often overlooked. Full article