Search Results (1,203)

The right to privacy is one of the fundamental human rights recognised by many countries. Privacy extends to the protection of one’s personal information, including when such information is shared for the purpose of receiving professional services. Despite the significance of protecting personal information across international communities, there is scant literature to guide compliance among social work practitioners who deal with the most vulnerable population groups. This integrative literature review sought to explore the applicability of South African privacy legislation (the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 (POPIA)) to social work intervention processes and practices. Data were analysed deductively following Five and Gossner’s framework. The findings revealed that POPIA relates to the indispensable social work principle of confidentiality and that it applies to social work interventions whenever personal information is involved. POPIA is central to social work practice in South Africa. It is therefore essential to develop guidelines for compliance in social work practice and for training social workers on the protection of personal information of their clients. This study contributes to knowledge by shedding some light on the importance of POPIA in social work interventions. Full article

This study explores how teachers working in social music projects in Spain understand their professional development and which elements they identify as central to their learning processes. Although teacher professional development (TPD) has been widely studied in formal music education contexts, less is known about how it unfolds in socially oriented and community-based settings. The study adopts a qualitative design based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven music teachers involved in social music projects across Spain. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify recurring themes and patterns in participants’ accounts. The findings show that teachers understand professional development as an ongoing and situated process closely linked to their daily practice. Experiential learning, adaptation to uncertainty, collaboration with others, and continuous reflection emerge as key elements in their development. In addition, participants highlight the importance of expanding beyond strictly musical training to include pedagogical, social, and relational competences. These results suggest that professional development in social music projects differs from more traditional models by emphasising context, experience, and community engagement. The study contributes to current discussions on music teacher development by highlighting the need for more flexible, collaborative, and context-sensitive approaches to TPD. Full article

The present pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a VR-based social skills intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Five participants aged 7–17 years participated in a six-session intervention protocol, with each session lasting approximately 45 min. The study employed a randomized AB/BA crossover design, in which participants completed two sessions under an Active condition involving instructional prompts, corrective feedback, and positive reinforcement, and two sessions under a Neutral condition without prompts or reinforcement. Following the intervention phases, participants completed a Generalization session in a novel virtual environment and a Follow-up session to assess skill retention over time. The intervention incorporated two interactive VR scenarios: (a) a simulated classroom environment, where a teacher-avatar engaged participants in structured question-and-answer activities, and (b) a virtual school playground, where participants interacted with peer avatars in social communication tasks designed to promote conversational engagement, turn-taking, and social reciprocity. All avatar interactions and trial progressions were controlled by the therapist through a dedicated monitoring interface, ensuring standardized implementation across participants. Evaluation was based on qualitative observation, analysis of recorded video material, and brief post-intervention parent interviews. Preliminary findings suggest that the intervention was feasible, well accepted by participants, and associated with improvements in social communication performance, supporting the potential of VR as a complementary tool for social skills training in children with ASD. Full article

Introduction: This study explores obstetric providers’ perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) screening in the Chinese clinical setting, guided by the social–ecological model. Methods: Purposive sampling was employed to recruit eight obstetricians and 12 obstetric nurses from a tertiary general hospital in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted between December 2024 and September 2025. Results: Guided by the social–ecological model, this study examines factors influencing healthcare professionals’ engagement in intimate partner violence screening across four levels. A multilevel framework was distilled; four key themes were identified, including the intrapersonal level, interpersonal level, institutional level and community and policy level. (1) The intrapersonal level—healthcare professionals’ competence (knowledge base, communication skills, role identity, screening attitudes, and diagnostic ability); (2) the interpersonal level—interdisciplinary collaboration (internal referrals and external support); (3) the institutional level—hospital screening efficacy (screening resources and management systems); and (4) the community and policy level—social environment (policy support, educational resources, and cultural context). Conclusions: Multilevel factors impact IPV screening in China. These results indicate that a multidimensional model of intervention should be designed to promote IPV screening in China, including integrating IPV curricula into mandatory medical student training, enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration, conducting public education on IPV, implementing socio-cultural adjustments, challenging authoritative attitudes, and providing comprehensive social support. Full article

This study analyzes how the integration of native maize cultivation, cultural identity, and technological innovation can promote sustainable and experiential tourism in rural Mexico. The research was conducted in the community of Llano de Guadalupe, Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca. The participatory Action Research process progressed through institutional coordination, participatory diagnosis, biofertilization training, monitoring activities, and community dissemination phases conducted between 3 March 2025 to 25 May 2026. The methodological process included institutional coordination, participatory diagnosis, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, field observations, and the implementation of agroecological practices based on biofertilization. An AI-assisted illustrated field notebook was co-designed to support intercultural education, knowledge exchange, and community participation. The study also incorporated collaborative storytelling, seed preservation practices, and the co-design of sustainable tourism routes grounded in local gastronomy, biodiversity, and agricultural traditions. Preliminary impact indicators showed the expansion of participation from two pilot producers to 54 local producers after community dissemination activities. Findings indicate that the integration of traditional ecological knowledge with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) can strengthen community empowerment, intergenerational learning, and sustainable livelihoods while preserving biocultural heritage. The proposed circular framework connects ecological, social, cultural, and economic subsystems by transforming agroecological practices into educational and tourism assets. The results suggest that Indigenous and rural communities can lead sustainable destination development when supported through participatory governance, inclusive education, and context-sensitive technological innovation. The Tlaxiaco case offers a transferable framework for sustainable rural development that contributes to food sovereignty, biodiversity conservation, environmental stewardship, and local economic resilience. Full article

Social activity is considered a primary factor in prolonging health and independence in later life, alongside physical activity. While population ageing reflects increasing life expectancy, the risk of living longer in poor health remains. In response to this risk, the United Kingdom developed extra-care schemes, introducing a housing and care model that combines social activities with flexible support to promote healthy and independent living in later life. Despite these potential benefits, observations that male tenants engage less with social opportunities than female tenants highlight a gap in understanding the social needs of men in care environments. This study explores how male social engagement is understood and influenced in extra-care schemes through a dual-perspective approach, combining service–user and service–provider viewpoints. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six male tenants (mean age = 84 years) and five scheme managers across four extra-care schemes. Reflexive Thematic Analysis revealed barriers to male social engagement related to gender imbalanced environments, poor health, social identity disruption, and widowhood. Conversely, group membership and reliable family involvement function as protective resources that sustain identity roles and support networks for men living in a care environment. Developing male-oriented community links and peer support initiatives within extra-care, alongside appropriate training and psychoeducation for staff and tenants, may be effective when supporting men in care settings. Future research would benefit from broader multi-stakeholder samples to address the limitations of this study. Full article

Introduction: The educational promotion of inclusive recreational spaces remains a key challenge for public policies, particularly in contexts where gaps persist between regulation and implementation. Objective: This study analyzed the impact of public policies on the promotion of inclusive recreational spaces in the canton of Milagro, focusing on accessibility, pedagogical use, and social inclusion. Methodology: A mixed-methods approach was applied, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive–correlational design and an explanatory component. The sample included teachers, administrators, technical staff, and community members. Data were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Results: Findings showed a favorable regulatory framework but only partial local implementation. Significant positive relationships were identified between policy implementation and accessibility (r = 0.62, p < 0.01), educational use of recreational spaces (r = 0.58, p < 0.01), and perceived inclusion (r = 0.65, p < 0.01). Although the existence of inclusive public policies was highly recognized (M = 3.98, SD = 0.71), lower scores were observed for their effective application (M = 3.14, SD = 0.92) and monitoring mechanisms (M = 2.89, SD = 0.95). Gaps were also identified in teacher training for inclusive recreation (M = 2.97) and in the adaptation of recreational spaces to functional diversity (M = 3.02). Discussion: Results align with previous studies emphasizing the need to integrate public policies, education, and territorial planning. Conclusions: Strengthening policy implementation and coordination is essential to consolidate inclusive recreational spaces with sustainable educational impact. Full article

Formal undergraduate research training programs are typically two years in length to support student development over time. However, some evidence suggests that many benefits of research participation can be achieved in a shorter duration, raising the question of whether shorter models can be as effective. This prospective study compared outcomes for two concurrent cohort-based research training models: a two-year Scholars Program and an accelerated one-year Fellows Program. The Fellows Program was designed for advanced students who joined the training program later than their peers for a variety of reasons. Both programs provided students with financial support, faculty-mentored research, a Learning Community, and other resources for professional development. The longer duration allowed Scholars to report significantly higher levels of research skills and produce more publications and professional presentations than Fellows by the end of their respective training programs. In contrast, the programs did not differ on graduation GPA, number of awards, or graduate school enrollment. Fellows also did not significantly differ from Scholars on psychosocial measures, including science/researcher identity, belongingness, cultural compatibility, family support, or time management. Findings suggest that a high-intensity, one-year model can deliver many broad academic and social benefits associated with the two-year model, while a longer two-year model provides students with more time and additional research opportunities to be more productive. We conclude that both types of programs should be available to best meet students’ needs and to make the most effective use of program resources. Full article

The European crafts ecosystem faces critical structural threats, declining practitioner numbers, weakening intergenerational transmission, limited digital literacy, and competition from industrial imitation. Existing online craft communities are narrowly material-specific and structurally ill-suited to the cross-disciplinary dialogue required for systemic sector transformation. This paper presents the design, iterative development, and pilot evaluation of the Craeft Community, a multi-stakeholder Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP) developed within the Horizon Europe CRAEFT project. Three research questions guided the study: how a multi-stakeholder VCoP should be structured to overcome disciplinary fragmentation; to what extent a stewarded digital forum can operationalize Situated Learning and Communities of Practice theory; and what factors facilitate or inhibit engagement and post-funding sustainability. Using design-based research, the platform evolved through four iterative phases, culminating in restructuring from a material-based architecture into five transversal thematic pillars, driven by survey evidence from 151 European craft professionals and systematic stakeholder feedback. The pilot phase yielded 86 registered members, 31 posts, and 27 interactions, with Transmission & Training as the most engaged pillar. Qualitative analysis reveals substantive cross-disciplinary discourse alongside a structural Effort-Engagement Gap, a persistent tension between forum participation demands and the gravitational pull of mainstream social media. The study demonstrates that a thematically organized, stewarded VCoP can meaningfully operationalize apprenticeship-based learning in digital settings, advancing craft heritage preservation, economic resilience, and hybrid professional identity formation at the intersection of craft and technology. Full article

Fake social media profiles increasingly resemble ordinary accounts, combining believable images, fluent biographies, copied posts, and selective engagement, which makes single signal detection unreliable. This study develops and evaluates a forensic natural language processing (NLP) framework that treats profile text as digital evidence rather than raw model input. Profiles were collected from Facebook, Instagram, X, Truth Social, and LinkedIn through network expansion and vocabulary guided scraping, then anonymized, merged, cleaned, and organized into structured text and profile records. Ground truth came from human eye annotation (referred to throughout as human eye review, human review, or manual review) supported by three LLM reviewers (referred to throughout as LLM assisted review), OpenAI GPT-4o, Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Google Gemini 1.5 Pro, with strict agreement logic producing confidence-tiered labels across platform-specific label spaces covering scam, fraud, harmful, and legitimate behavior. Each model received a defined set of label categories, was instructed to return a single label with a one sentence rationale, and worked independently with no cross-model communication. Multidimensional features, including TF-IDF representations, sentence embeddings, scam lexicon counts, sentiment and emotion scores, and behavioral indicators, were extracted through a pipeline built to keep links, hashtags, contact markers, and repeated phrasing as forensic signals rather than noise. Traditional classifiers, transformer models, and ensembles were trained on verified labels, and the best model per platform was applied to the full dataset of over 309,108 records under confidence filtered classification, with predictions below a 0.70 probability threshold flagged for human review. The framework links classification outputs to textual indicators through explainable AI, achieving weighted F1 scores between 0.86 and 0.96 across five platforms. These results show that profile text alone provides strong, production-relevant evidence for detecting fake and harmful accounts, even though the framework treats this as one evidence stream to be weighed alongside image and behavioral signals rather than as a final determination on its own. The accompanying evidence trail means an investigator or a trust and safety team can see why a profile was flagged rather than being handed a bare score, which is what turns a classifier into a tool that can be checked, challenged, and used directly in an investigation. Full article

This pilot study examined the effects of parent-delivered training and coaching in the Speak, Play and Listen intervention, implemented with neurotypical (NT) siblings to support the social communication development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three families, each consisting of a parent, an NT child, and a child with ASD aged 5–12 years, participated in the study. A single-case multiple-probe design was employed to evaluate changes in sibling social interactions. Results showed increases in positive social communication behaviors across all three sibling dyads. Semi-structured interviews indicated that family members perceived the intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes as acceptable, feasible, and socially meaningful. The study highlights the importance of considering family-wide participation, implementation fidelity, and family capacity when designing and delivering interventions for children with ASD. Full article

Anemia among adolescent girls remains a persistent public health challenge in Indonesia, driven by limited nutritional knowledge, poor dietary practices, and suboptimal adherence to iron supplementation programs. This study is grounded in the Social–Ecological Model (SEM), which frames health behaviors as shaped by individual, interpersonal, institutional, and community-level factors. This study aimed to explore students’ knowledge and dietary behaviors related to anemia, assess perceptions of existing supplementation programs, and examine teachers’ and students’ perspectives on school-based digital education for anemia prevention in Denpasar, Bali. A qualitative descriptive design was employed across eight public junior high schools. Participants included eight teachers and 40 female students (aged 13–15 years) selected via purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, non-participant observations, and document analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti version 23, with trustworthiness ensured through triangulation, member checking, peer debriefing, and iterative saturation assessment. Four inter-related themes emerged: (1) students held superficial, menstruation-centric conceptualizations of anemia with limited understanding of iron deficiency as an underlying cause; (2) dietary patterns were dominated by low-iron foods with poor vegetable consumption; (3) adherence to the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) program was inconsistent, hindered by side effects, forgetfulness, and low perceived benefit; and (4) both teachers and students expressed strong interest in digital education tools while identifying infrastructure and training gaps as barriers. Anemia prevention in school settings requires a multi-level approach integrating knowledge improvement, dietary behavior support, and institutional reinforcement. School-based digital education represents a contextually appropriate, youth-aligned innovation with strong potential to bridge the gap between health information and sustained behavioral change. Full article

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders among children and is associated with significant behavioral, academic, and social challenges. Caregiver-focused behavioral interventions have gained increasing attention as effective non-pharmacological approaches for improving child outcomes and enhancing parental management skills. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the potential effectiveness of behavior change wheel (BCW)-based nursing intervention in improving maternal behavioral management practices, as well as child outcomes involving ADHD symptoms among preschool children aged 3–6 years with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Methods: A one-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design was conducted among 55 mothers and their children diagnosed with ADHD at Thawat Center and King Abdullah Center for Disability Services in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study did not include a control group. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, ADHD Rating Scale IV—Preschool Version, the BCW Intervention Compliance Questionnaire, and the Parental Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire. The intervention was implemented over eight weeks and included educational sessions, behavioral skills training, motivational enhancement, role-play activities, and follow-up reinforcement. Results: The preliminary findings from the one-group pre/posttest quasi-experimental study revealed statistically significant improvements in children’s inattentive and hyperactivity symptoms following the intervention (p < 0.001). Mothers also demonstrated significant improvements in perceived knowledge, attitudes, and compliance with BCW components after program implementation (p < 0.001). The proportion of mothers with satisfactory perceived knowledge increased from 21.8% pre-intervention to 94.5% post-intervention, while positive attitudes increased from 23.6% to 98.2%. In addition, compliance with BCW components improved from 30.9% before the intervention to 94.5% after implementation. Conclusions: The BCW-based nursing intervention was associated with pre–post improvement in maternal caregiving outcomes and reduced ADHD symptoms among preschool children. These preliminary findings from the one-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental study suggest the potential value of theory-informed, caregiver-focused nursing interventions in pediatric and community healthcare settings. However, due to the one-group pretest–posttest design without a control group, causal inferences cannot be made. Further controlled studies are needed to confirm these associations and establish causal inferences. Full article

Background/Objectives: Social skills deficits are increasingly recognized as clinically relevant correlates of suicidal behavior in adolescents. Goldstein’s Aggression Replacement Training (ART) provides a structured framework for assessing discrete prosocial and emotional skills, but its relationship with suicidality in psychiatric inpatients has not been systematically examined. This paper investigated whether self-rated ART social skills items differentiate adolescents with and without a history of suicide attempt as well as whether machine learning (ML) models can identify interpersonal profiles associated with SA. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 162 psychiatric inpatients aged 11–17 years (72% female) were assessed at admission. Social skills were measured using the 50-item Skillstreaming component of ART, which is grouped into six domains (basic, advanced, emotional, alternatives to aggression, stress management, planning). Machine learning models (logistic regression, random forest, XGBoost, SVM, k-NN, Gaussian Naive Bayes) were trained on item-level features using repeated nested cross-validation with a held-out test set providing an unbiased estimate of generalization. Results: One item—Helping Others—remained significant after Holm correction (adjusted p = 0.042) with higher scores among adolescents with a history of SA. Seven additional prosocial items reached nominal significance (raw p < 0.05) but did not survive correction. Across ML models, discrimination was modest (cross-validated ROC-AUC 0.59–0.66) with Gaussian Naive Bayes performing best (ROC-AUC 0.66). Held-out test set performance was lower (ROC-AUC 0.46, 95% CI 0.26–0.69). SHAP analysis localized the model’s signal to a coherent cluster of prosocial and empathic communication items with higher self-reported prosociality paradoxically associated with SA history. Conclusions: In this inpatient cohort, self-rated social skills carried a small but coherent discriminative signal for prior suicide attempt, which was concentrated in outward-directed prosocial behaviors rather than global interpersonal functioning. The counterintuitive directionality—higher prosocial self-ratings among attempters—aligns with developmental frameworks describing compliant, hyper-responsible, or self-silencing interpersonal styles. While predictive performance was modest and sample size limits generalizability, item-level ART assessment may generate hypotheses about interpersonal risk phenotypes in this specific population of predominantly female adolescent inpatients. Only one item survived correction for multiple comparisons, and all findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis generating. Full article

Mental health remains a global concern for which the burden of care frequently falls onto non-clinical platforms. This study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore how Twitch.tv is unexpectedly being used to curate communities wherein mental health is discussed and supported. Using semi-structured interviews with six Twitch Partners, we generated three superordinate themes: 1. Positive Experiences of Streaming, 2. Negative Psycho-social Sense-making in Relation to Streaming, and 3. Emotional Dilemmas Regarding Stream-related Payments. Twitch Partners face challenges around balancing pressures of generating and maintaining communities, whilst addressing individual relationships and the needs of members within. This paper documents strategies that Twitch Partners employ to protect their own mental wellbeing whilst supporting their communities, and notes how monetised content can impact such strategies and generate additional stress. These findings highlight the need to explore and evaluate platform support for streamer wellbeing, including signposting, moderation resources, mental health guidance, and training. Full article