Search Results (813)

Language embodies traditions, values, and collective identity, bridging gaps between generations and geographies. Maintaining consistent language policies at home and in communities remains challenging, with research showing that only a few families have explicit rules about language use and few enforce them regularly. The study explores strategies for heritage language maintenance (HLM) to mitigate language attrition among Anaañ bilinguals residing in the Akpabuyo and Calabar South Local Government Areas of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study draws on social identity theory, which links language use to identity, motivation, and group affiliation, thereby influencing language maintenance. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 40 participants, selected purposively from Anaañ speakers in the study areas. Thematic analysis is employed to identify patterns and themes, revealing approaches for heritage language maintenance to curb language attrition. Findings reveal that despite some Anaañ speakers’ negative attitude towards their HL, others value it, keep it alive, and are ready to pass it to the future generations. This will preserve cultural identity and foster a sense of pride, belonging and shared values among Anaañ people, especially those residing in Southern Cross River State. Full article

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a collaborative roleplaying game that is associated with social and emotional benefits for young adults (YAs). Research has not addressed how YAs’ understanding of identity and mental health is explored through D&D. This research explored the impact that playing D&D has on YAs’ understanding of their identity and how this relates to their mental health. Eleven YAs (aged 18–25) were interviewed about their experiences of playing D&D. Their interviews were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Four main themes were identified: D&D as a safer space; D&D for coping; D&D for exploration; and D&D for growth. The findings demonstrate that YAs use D&D to navigate experiences such as social and emotional difficulties and their evolving sense of self. D&D helped YAs to manage their current circumstances as well as to look to the future. These findings highlight the positive impact D&D has on identity exploration and mental health for YAs. Playing D&D was perceived by participants as improving their wellbeing, relationships, and occupations at a critical time developmentally when they are developing their sense of self. Consideration of how D&D may be incorporated into existing intervention approaches is discussed, including implications for further research. Full article

Sports-based television formats combining competition, cooperation, and physical confrontation have long attracted large audiences. Since the 2000s reality television has increasingly adapted these elements, particularly through wrestling- and boxing-themed programs. This study examines the genre of celebrity boxing within the broader context of contemporary media culture, with the aim of interpreting its popularity through perspectives from communication and media theory. The analysis applies a qualitative approach drawing on concepts such as the media violence and Carey’s and Couldry’s ritual model of communication and includes an empirical case study of the Hungarian television program Sztárbox. The findings suggest that celebrity boxing operates as a pseudo-sporting spectacle that combines media violence with celebrity culture to maintain audience attention, while its dramaturgy—following Barthes’ and Jenkins’ interpretations—relies heavily on simplified moral oppositions and dramatized role-playing. These elements function as micro-rituals that structure viewer engagement and contribute to collective meaning-making beyond mere entertainment. The study concludes that the appeal of celebrity boxing lies not only in the display of physical confrontation but in its ritualized narrative framework, which reinforces social and cultural interpretations of conflict, identity, and spectacle within the logic of contemporary media environments. Full article

This study investigates the use of interpretable machine learning techniques to identify behavioral and demographic patterns associated with diabetes, based on structured population survey data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). A decision tree classifier was applied to a dataset comprising $16,824$ respondents and 38 preprocessed features covering lifestyle, well-being, and sociodemographic factors. The model was optimized through grid search with five-fold stratified cross-validation, achieving a test accuracy of $61.3$% (mean $62.6$% ±$0.6$% across a $10\times 5$ repeated stratified cross-validation). Feature importance analysis revealed that age, alcohol consumption patterns, daily energy expenditure, and physical activity were the most influential factors associated with diabetes status, with the top three features exhibiting stable importance across all cross-validation folds. The model produced a set of 32 human-readable decision rules; a sensitivity analysis confirmed that these rules are stable across encoding choices and cross-validation folds. Several model variants were evaluated: a class-weighted decision tree, a logistic regression baseline, an age-only decision tree, and an age and sex logistic regression. The class-weighted model improved minority-class recall (from $0.25$ to $0.53$) at the cost of overall accuracy. A one-hot encoding sensitivity analysis showed that replacing ordinal label encoding of nominal variables with one-hot encoding produces virtually identical results (accuracy: $61.4$% vs. $61.3$%), confirming that the main rules are not artifacts of the encoding choice. Although the classification accuracy is moderate and not significantly better than a majority-class baseline (McNemar’s test, $p=0.455$), the extracted rules confirmed several known associations and revealed interactions between social and lifestyle variables. These rules are intended as hypothesis-generating population-level descriptors rather than validated clinical decision tools, and no causal inference is claimed. This approach demonstrates the value of rule-based models for exploratory public health research. Full article

Cinematic representations of mental health operate at the intersection of science, culture and visual meaning, while medical academic discourse plays an important role in shaping how such representations are conceptualized. This study examines how the PubMed-indexed literature (2010–2025) engages with mental health in relation to narrative film and related screen media, combining bibliometric mapping with interpretive analysis. Through a structured PubMed query and VOSviewer co-occurrence analysis, this study identifies 5292 unique terms, of which 530 meet the minimum frequency threshold. Comparison between low- and high-frequency maps reveals a shift from lexical diversity to a consolidated biomedical core centered on classification, diagnosis and measurable affect. Six clusters are identified (neuro-affective, educational stigma, media–behavioral, neuropharmacological–technological, perceptual–emotional and pandemic-related), which together structure the field’s dominant semantic orientations. The findings indicate three main patterns: the predominance of standardized biomedical language, the limited visibility of intersectional categories (e.g., gender, race, identity) at the level of indexed metadata, and a gap between visual processes and narrative meaning. While individual studies often engage with cinematic complexity, this dimension is only partially reflected in the dominant lexical structure. Building on these results, a cluster-informed conceptual framework for film-based medical education is proposed, in which narrative film can support complementary forms of clinical, social and interpretive learning. This study contributes to the field of Medical Humanities by demonstrating that medical discourse not only reflects but also structures the visibility of mental health in relation to screen media, while highlighting the need for more integrated approaches that connect biomedical knowledge with narrative and cultural understanding. Full article

Purpose in life is a central component of healthy ageing and psychological well-being, yet its meaning in later life has often been operationalised through standardized measures rather than being grounded in older adults’ lived experience. This qualitative study explores how older adults living in the community in Spain interpret their life purpose during the transitions of old age. Ten adults aged 65 years and older from Aragón and Andalucía participated in semi-structured interviews lasting 60–90 min. Data were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis on ageing supported by MAXQDA, supplemented with questions related to internalized ageism, psychological inflexibility, and quality of life to enrich the interpretive depth. Four themes were identified: (1) purpose as biographical continuity; (2) purpose as a dynamic and adaptive process; (3) legacy as a central axis towards meaning; and (4) the interplay between internal strengths and external conditions. Participants constructed purpose as rooted in identity, values, and life narratives rather than in distal goal attainment. Purpose was maintained through adaptive processes—including resilience, psychological flexibility, and meaning-centered coping—while internalized ageism and personal barriers emerged as life limitations. These findings suggest that purpose in later life is not diminished, but rather is reconfigured through processes of adaptation, value alignment, and social contribution. The study highlights the need for person-centred and process-based approaches that promote psychological flexibility and challenge deficit-based and ageist views of ageing. Full article

Background: Breast cancer survivorship extends beyond physical recovery to include psychological and social adjustment, particularly how women construct and perceive their identity as survivors. While survivor identity has been widely studied in high-income countries, there is limited evidence from African contexts. This review synthesizes existing literature on breast cancer survivor identity in Africa, with a focus on patterns of self-perception, associated psychosocial factors, and implications for survivorship care. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, African Index Medicus, and grey literature for studies published between 2010 and 2026. Eligible studies reported primary data on survivorship and survivor identity among African women with Breast Cancer. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Confidence in qualitative findings was evaluated using the CERQual approach. Results: Of 32 records identified, seven studies met the inclusion criteria, representing Nigeria, Ethiopia, Botswana, and South Africa. Most studies employed qualitative methodologies, including grounded theory, phenomenology, interviews, and focus groups, with two incorporating quantitative or mixed methods. Key psychosocial domains included self-identity, coping strategies, social support, quality of life, and body image. Three overarching survivor identity patterns were identified: (1) Embracing/Constructive, characterized by acceptance of the survivor identity and its integration into personal growth and empowerment; (2) Ambiguous/Fluctuating, reflecting uncertainty and shifting between patient and survivor identities; and (3) Non-salient/Resisting, where the survivor identity was rejected or deemed irrelevant. Methodological appraisal indicated generally high study quality, with strong credibility and confirmability, though transferability was moderate. CERQual assessments indicated high confidence in findings related to embracing identity, moderate-to-high confidence for ambiguous identity, and moderate confidence for resisting identity. Conclusions: Breast cancer survivor identity among African women is diverse and shaped by cultural, psychosocial, and healthcare contexts. Constructive identity formation is associated with empowerment and personal growth, whereas ambiguous or resistant identities suggest ongoing psychosocial challenges. Interventions should incorporate psychosocial support, peer engagement, and culturally responsive survivorship programs to promote positive identity development. Future research should prioritize rural populations and longitudinal designs to better understand identity trajectories over time. Strengthening survivorship care in Africa requires a holistic approach that addresses both psychological and physical dimensions to enhance overall quality of life. Full article

Objectives: Fear of falling (FoF) is a common psychological phenomenon in later life and is often accompanied by avoidance behavior and activity restriction. Although FoF is associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, reduced self-efficacy, and fear of loss of autonomy, older adults with FoF may differ substantially in the configuration of these characteristics. The present study aimed to identify data-derived profiles of older adults based on FoF, avoidance behavior, self-efficacy, and fear of loss of autonomy, and to examine profile-specific psychological predictors of FoF and avoidance behavior. Methods: The main analytical sample included 217 older adults aged 60–97 years (M = 76.45, SD = 10.14) with Mini-Mental State Examination scores of 20 or higher. Latent profile analysis was conducted using FoF, avoidance behavior, self-efficacy, and fear of loss of autonomy. Anxiety components, depressive symptoms, coping strategies, pain catastrophizing, and loneliness-related indicators were examined in class-specific regression models. The stability of the class solution was tested across different MMSE cut-off scores. Between-class comparisons were conducted for functional, fall-related, socio-demographic, and psychological indicators. Results: A three-class solution was selected and interpreted as adaptive, vulnerable, and maladaptive profiles. The profile structure remained relatively consistent across MMSE cut-off scores, including in the broader sample with MMSE ≥ 15. The classes did not differ significantly in postural balance or number of falls, suggesting that the profiles could not be fully explained by objective fall-risk indicators. Significant between-class differences were found for age, daily pain level, and state social defense. Class-specific regression models suggested that psychological variables associated with FoF and avoidance behavior differed across profiles. Pain appraisal and emotion-related coping were more relevant in the adaptive profile, phobic anxiety and anxious appraisal of future events in the vulnerable profile, and anxiety-related, depressive, interpersonal, and coping-related factors in the maladaptive profile. All reported associations remained significant after false discovery rate correction. Conclusions: FoF and avoidance behavior are related but not identical phenomena and vary across data-derived psychological profiles. A profile-oriented approach may provide a more differentiated understanding of activity restriction in older adults and help identify profile-specific targets for psychological support. Full article

The intersections between memory, space, and mobility have become increasingly prominent in tourism studies in recent years. This article examines the relationship between religious tourism and social memory by conceptualizing religious tourism as an active process of collective remembrance. While realizing this aim, it conceptualizes faith tourism as an active process of collective memory. Faith tourism possesses a wider area than the traditional classification of religious travel. This article adopts a conceptual and thematic narrative review approach. Rather than offering a systematic or meta-analytic review, it develops a theory-based interpretive framework by synthesizing interdisciplinary literature from sociology, memory studies, anthropology, and tourism studies. The article argues that faith tourism constitutes essential memory work. This review does not contribute by presenting the relationship between memory, space, identity, and tourism as an entirely new field of research. Instead, it proposes an integrative analytical framework specific to faith tourism that brings social memory theory into closer dialogue with sacred space, ritual mobility, visitor interpretation, and the formation of collective identity. By organizing these dimensions not as separate themes, but as interacting mechanisms, the article clarifies how sacred sites and faith-based tourism practices contribute to the production, transmission, and reinterpretation of collective memory. Moreover, it provides a conceptual contribution by clarifying the role of religious sites as memory spaces that link past, present, and future. Full article

Rapid globalization is intensifying tensions between visitors and residents in heritage cities. In Madinah, which welcomed approximately 9 million visitors in 2024 and aims to reach 25 million by 2030, this pressure risks eroding residents’ lived experiences, daily rituals, routines, and social practices collectively understood as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). This project seeks to identify and spatially map ICH to guide urban planners in protecting and enhancing culturally significant places amid rapid development. Despite its importance, few methodologies exist for systematically collecting and evaluating ICH. This research tests participatory methods for documenting ICH in Madinah through the “Living Heritage Atlas,” a project developed in collaboration with the Madinah Development Authority and Gehl. Between May and June 2025, four methods were deployed: semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping, an online survey, and a public engagement installation. Findings indicate that one-on-one interviews were most effective in capturing nuanced understandings of ICH, particularly in a context where cultural identity is deeply intertwined with religion. Other methods primarily raised ICH awareness rather than generating high volumes of data. The results further suggest that crowdsourced approaches to ICH documentation have mixed success without sustained public engagement to support broad and meaningful participation. Full article

Indigenous students continue to experience persistent educational inequities shaped by colonial histories, assimilationist schooling structures, and the marginalization of Indigenous knowledge systems. Although social–emotional learning (SEL) is widely promoted as foundational to student well-being and academic success, dominant SEL frameworks often reflect Eurocentric assumptions that overlook Indigenous understandings of relationality, land, identity, healing, and collective responsibility. In alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), this study examines how SEL and teacher professional development can be reimagined through Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK). Using a qualitative collaborative ethnographic design integrated with a structured literature synthesis, the study drew on two years of community-engaged research involving collaborative focus group dialogues, community interactions, and sustained relational engagement with Native teachers, Elders, cultural leaders, and community practitioners (N = 20). Thematic analysis revealed five interrelated themes: culturally grounded SEL frameworks, structural barriers and equity-driven strategies, culture as prevention and healing, schoolwide conditions that sustain belonging and identity, and alignment between Indigenous-centered SEL and SDG 4. Findings highlight the importance of cultural identity, ceremony, storytelling, Elder mentorship, talking circles, land-based learning, relational accountability, and community partnerships in supporting meaningful SEL. The findings also reveal tensions between Indigenous relational approaches to SEL and dominant educational systems shaped by standardization, accountability pressures, and assimilationist schooling structures. The study advances a conceptual model showing how Indigenous-centered SEL, mediated through relational teacher professional development, can support culturally sustaining, healing-centered, equity-oriented, and sovereignty-affirming educational outcomes aligned with SDG 4. In addition to contributing to SEL scholarship, the study offers implications for teacher education, educational policy, and school leadership seeking to advance culturally sustaining and community-responsive educational systems. Full article

This article examines experiences of loneliness among older adults from a life course perspective, fostering a dialogue grounded in Social Work. The aim is to understand how loneliness is constructed, expressed and reinterpreted as a subjective, relational and dynamic experience embedded in diverse life trajectories and shaped by structural factors. A qualitative, descriptive and interpretative approach was adopted, involving 30 individual interviews and 4 focus groups with 74 participants (older adults, social workers and other social-sector professionals) in Barcelona (Spain). The analysis was structured around the three core concepts of life course theory and its five key principles. The findings show that loneliness, understood as distinct from social isolation, is linked to biographical processes marked by expected and unexpected life changes. Its intensity and meaning vary according to timing, historical context, social position and life decisions. Employment, family, institutional, migratory, and sexual orientation and gender identity trajectories significantly shape experiences of loneliness. The study highlights the role of agency and underscores the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding accumulated inequalities. From a Social Work perspective, the article advocates a biographical, situated and relational approach to loneliness, promoting interventions that recognise individual trajectories and support meaningful social relationships. Full article

This study examines the traditional hunting of the red-legged partridge using a decoy in Extremadura as an expression of intangible cultural heritage. It is a centuries-old hunting practice that has evolved into a social, recreational, and symbolic activity, closely linked to local identity and to collective memory. The research documents cultural values, the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, and the adaptation of the practice to modernity, highlighting its role in community building and its connection to the territory. Through a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and ethnographic techniques (participant observation, interviews) and quantitative tools (statistical and cartographic analysis), the study captures the complexity of this hunting modality, including its social, historical and artisanal dimensions. Full article

Social media platforms have become central sites of identity construction, where visibility and legitimacy are shaped through algorithmic systems, aesthetic conventions, and platform economies. This paper approaches online personas through the lens of illusionary selves, understood here as online personas experienced as authentic while being shaped by sociotechnical processes, examining how they are produced through sociotechnical processes entangling design practices, generative artificial intelligence(AI), and cultural expectations. We present an AI-mediated critical design inquiry into how generative systems translate and normalize visual patterns of online self-imaging. Using a pix2pix-based model trained on 630 internet celebrity selfies, facial images are abstracted into dot-based representations and aggregated across selfie angles, foregrounding repetition and normalization. An interactive design installation links bodily orientation and numerical parameters to generative output in real time, introducing perceptual friction in self-imaging. A total of 30 participants engaged with the system in situated contexts, and their experiences were documented through observation, video recording, and a 5-point Likert questionnaire across three dimensions: perceptual friction, awareness of algorithmic mediation, and reflective responses to self-presentation. Results indicate high levels of perceptual friction (mean [M] = 4.21), strong awareness of algorithmic mediation (M = 4.29), and consistent reflective unease (M = 4.07). Through situated use, the system renders algorithmic mediation tangible and positions AI as an implicated actor in identity construction. This work contributes a conceptual framing of AI-mediated critical design, showing how generative and interactive systems operate as epistemic devices interrogating online persona construction. Full article

Background/Objectives: Healthcare workers play a critical role in vaccination programs, yet vaccine hesitancy has been widely reported even among this group during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Previous studies have primarily focused on identifying factors associated with vaccine acceptance, offering limited insight into the processes underlying decision-making. This study aimed to synthesize qualitative studies on healthcare workers’ COVID-19 vaccination experiences to develop a comprehensive understanding of their decision-making processes. Methods: A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted using the thematic synthesis approach proposed by Thomas and Harden. Electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL were searched for qualitative studies published up to February 2026. Thirteen studies were included following PRISMA guidelines. Data were analyzed through line-by-line coding, followed by the development of descriptive and analytical themes. Results: Four analytical themes were identified: (1) vaccination as a dynamic risk–benefit negotiation process, (2) trust as a central mechanism shaping information interpretation, (3) socially embedded and relationally negotiated decision-making, and (4) moral identity as a driver of vaccination behavior. Healthcare workers’ vaccination decision-making was not a static choice but an evolving process shaped by continuous appraisal of risks and benefits, filtered through trust in information and institutions, influenced by social interactions, and guided by professional identity and ethical responsibility. Conclusions: Healthcare workers’ vaccination decision-making is a multidimensional process embedded in cognitive, social, and ethical contexts. Interventions should move beyond individual-level approaches and instead focus on building trust, leveraging social networks, and reinforcing professional identity with implications for future public health crises. Full article