Search Results (474)

This paper explores the potential of interdisciplinary teaching that combines science and fine art to foster students’ responsible engagement with environmental and social challenges, positioned as an important contribution to sustainability. Within a participatory action research project conducted over five cycles in a Slovenian primary school, the Model of Interdisciplinary Teaching in Science and Fine Art (MITSFA) was developed. It integrates problem-based science tasks, experimental work, reflective discussions, and art assignments with a strong communicative and esthetic dimension. The paper analyses activities that encouraged scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and visual interpretation of complex phenomena, ranging from material properties to sustainable spatial planning. Empirical data include students’ artworks, interviews, written reflections, and the teacher’s research diary. Findings suggest that combining scientific exploration with visual expression deepens understanding, fosters emotional engagement, and promotes environmental and social awareness. Students showed greater sensitivity to complexity, ability to recognize layered meanings, and readiness to express their worldview through art. It can be concluded that meaningful learning emerges where scientific and artistic processes are interconnected, highlighting the teacher’s role as a creative facilitator bridging investigation and interpretation. The study demonstrates how integrating science and fine art in primary education directly supports education for sustainable development by cultivating environmental awareness and responsibility. Full article

In recent years, youth evening schools have proliferated across China as a novel public cultural practice, serving as an important platform for youth development, lifelong learning, and youth-friendly urban initiatives. Existing research has predominantly focused on macro-policy, organizational arrangements, and social outcomes, while studies centered on youth participants remain are limited. In particular, empirical inquiry into the motivational and formative mechanisms underlying youth participation is insufficient. Drawing on Leisure Constraint Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study employs structural equation modeling to examine the key constraints on youth participation and test the mediating role of attitudinal perception. A questionnaire survey of 215 youth participants in Shenyang, China, provides the empirical basis for the analysis. Results indicated that intrapersonal, interpersonal, structural, and experiential constraints all negatively affect participation behavior. In contrast, attitudinal perception exerts a significant positive influence. Furthermore, these constraints collectively suppress youth participation indirectly by attenuating attitudinal perception, with structural constraints exhibiting the strongest mediation effect via this pathway. Notably, intrapersonal constraints not only intensify structural constraints by reinforcing interpersonal constraints, but also directly exacerbate them. This finding challenges the unidirectionality of hierarchical constraint models by revealing a bidirectional reinforcement loop: intrapersonal and structural constraints reciprocally amplify one another, bypassing constraint negotiation processes and suppressing participation intentions at their source. Based on these results, we draw out the theoretical and practical implications and suggest directions for future research. Full article

Climate change education (CCE) is increasingly recognized as a key lever for responding to the climate crisis, yet its implementation in schools often remains fragmented and weakly transformative. This review synthesizes international research on CCE in secondary education, focusing on four interconnected domains: students’ social representations of climate change (SRCC), curricular frameworks, teaching practices and teacher professional development, and emerging pathways towards transformative, justice-oriented CCE. A narrative review of empirical and theoretical studies reveals that students’ SRCC are generally superficial, fragmented and marked by persistent misconceptions, psychological distance and low perceived agency. Curricular frameworks tend to locate climate change mainly within natural sciences, reproduce deficit-based and behaviorist models and leave social, political and ethical dimensions underdeveloped. Teaching practices remain predominantly transmissive and science-centered, while teachers report limited training, time and institutional support, especially for addressing the affective domain and working transdisciplinarily. At the same time, the literature highlights promising directions: calls for an “emergency curriculum” and deeper curricular environmentalization, the potential of socio-scientific issues and complexity-based approaches, narrative and arts-based strategies, school gardens and community projects, and growing attention to emotions, hope and climate justice. Drawing on a narrative and integrative review of empirical and theoretical studies, the article identifies recurrent patterns and gaps in current CCE research and outlines priorities for future inquiry. The review argues that bridging the knowledge–action gap in schools requires aligning curriculum, pedagogy and teacher learning around four key principles—climate justice, collective agency, affective engagement and global perspectives—and outlines implications for policy, practice and research to support more transformative and socially just CCE. Full article

This paper explores the emerging potential of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI for social network analysis (SNA) based on open-ended survey data as a source. We introduce a novel methodology, Survey-to-Multilayer Network (SURVEY2MLN), which systematically transforms qualitative survey responses into structured multilayer social networks. The proposed approach integrates prompt engineering with LLM-based text interpretation to extract entities and infer relationships, formalizing them as distinct network layers representing research similarity, communication, and organizational affiliation. The SURVEY2MLN methodology is defined through six phases, including data preprocessing, prompt-based extraction, network construction, integration, analysis, and validation. We demonstrate its application through a real-world case study within an academic department, where prompt engineering was used to extract and model relational data from narrative responses. The resulting multilayer network reveals both explicit and latent social structures that are not accessible through conventional survey techniques. Our results show that LLMs can serve as effective tools for deriving sociograms from free-form text and highlight the potential of AI-driven methods to advance SNA into new, text-rich domains of inquiry. Full article

The growing proportion of older adults has created significant societal pressure for sustainable, inclusive solutions that enhance health, autonomy, and well-being in old age. Smart elderly care has therefore emerged as a multidisciplinary research frontier at the intersection of technology, health, and social sustainability. This study provides a comprehensive systematic review to map and conceptualize its evolving landscape in the digital era. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 55 peer-reviewed articles published in the Web of Science database were analyzed using document co-citation analysis and natural language processing-based content analysis, utilizing CiteSpace and Leximancer for implementation. The findings reveal that existing studies have predominantly focused on technology acceptance and adoption among older adults, with quantitative approaches such as Structural Equation Modeling within the Technology Acceptance Model framework being most frequently used. Building on these insights, the review identifies five key directions for advancing sustainable wellbeing: (1) conceptual clarification and operationalization of smart elderly care, (2) theoretical integration across disciplines, (3) examination of influencing factors shaping user engagement, (4) evaluation of social and well-being outcomes, and (5) methodological and disciplinary diversification. By synthesizing fragmented knowledge into a coherent framework, this study contributes to the understanding of smart elderly care as a critical component of sustainable aging societies and lays the groundwork for future academic inquiry and policy innovation. Full article

In the digital age, online industry documents have become an available and abundant source to inform qualitative health research on the commercial determinants of health (CDOH), including how corporations shape knowledge, policy, and public perception to protect business interests. This paper introduces the situational scoping method, a rigorous and transparent qualitative approach rooted in critical constructivism designed to conduct an overview of large databases of industry documents and systematically map industry responses to external events perceived as threats or opportunities. Developed through a pilot study on environmental exposures and breast cancer, using the UCSF Industry Documents Library, the method consists of three stages: (1) identification of a broad range of external events over time perceived by industries as a threat or opportunity to business interests; (2) selection of a sample of external events for further analysis; and (3) social world/arena mapping of industry responses to selected external events. Conducted by a transdisciplinary team with community partners, the method builds on and enhances traditional tobacco documents and CDOH research by integrating participatory action and collaborative analysis of digital archives. It also offers a transferable framework for examining corporate influence across sectors. This work contributes to emerging public health methodologies that confront commercial power through critical, community-engaged inquiry essential for emancipatory action. Full article

This narrative review synthesizes conceptual frameworks, empirical evidence, and pedagogical approaches that support the integration of systems thinking into sustainability education across K–12 and higher education. Publications were purposively selected based on conceptual significance, empirical rigor, pedagogical relevance, and contextual diversity, with searches conducted across Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar. The analysis identified several recurring instructional patterns, as follows: the use of feedback-loop reasoning to connect scientific and social systems; the role of conceptual modeling and visual representations; and the value of inquiry-based, project-based, and socio-scientific issue frameworks in promoting systems-oriented understanding. Across educational levels, the review highlights consistent evidence that systems thinking can be taught effectively when learning activities scaffold students’ construction of system models, encourage interdisciplinary reasoning, and explicitly address dynamic processes such as accumulation, time delays, and unintended consequences. Case examples from K–12 and teacher education illustrate how visual modeling, simulations, and carefully designed task structures foster deeper understanding of socio-ecological interactions. The review also identifies key implications for curriculum design, teacher professional development, and assessment, emphasizing the need for sustained integration rather than one-time activities. Overall, this synthesis demonstrates that systems thinking is a foundational competency for sustainability education and provides educators with practical frameworks, strategies, and examples for meaningful classroom implementation. The findings underscore the importance of aligning pedagogical design, curricular structures, and assessment practices to cultivate students’ ability to reason about complex systems. Full article

This study explores the dynamics of engaged spiritualities within contemporary Buddhist communities in Italy. By employing an ethnographic approach, the research examines how physical space fosters spiritual experiences, facilitates social interactions, and serves as a site for personal and collective transformation. The study integrates insights from religious studies, anthropology, and neuroscience to analyse the cognitive and emotional effects of meditation while also engaging with Foucault’s theories on power and space to understand Buddhist centres as structured environments that shape individual and collective subjectivities. The research highlights how engaged Buddhism in Italy adapts traditional practices to contemporary challenges, particularly in response to mental health concerns among university students. Through participant observation and interviews conducted during mindfulness and contemplative education programmes, the study demonstrates how meditation contributes to psychological well-being, emotional regulation, and social connection. This analysis aligns with theoretical discussions on the conceptualisation of spirituality in modern societies, illustrating how engaged spiritualities manifest in secular and pluralistic contexts. The findings suggest that Buddhist spaces in Italy function not only as sites of religious practice but also as transformative environments where power relations are renegotiated, identity is reconstructed, and alternative ways of living emerge. The study further explores how scientific advancements in neuroscience inform spiritual practices, shedding light on the reciprocal relationship between spiritual yearning and scientific inquiry. Finally, the research contributes to the debate on the future of engaged spiritualities in the face of global crises. It argues that while Buddhist communities in Italy preserve traditional wisdom, they also actively shape new forms of spiritual engagement that respond to contemporary social, political, and environmental challenges. This work situates engaged Buddhism as a key player in fostering alternative models of coexistence, well-being, and ethical responsibility in the modern world. Full article

Recurring themes in domestic violence literature have exposed hidden psycho-social-spiritual aspects accompanying the devastating reality of the many harms, disappointments, and life changes endured by domestic violence survivors. This is not just due to the actual abuses from intimate partners but also from others in near proximity. This article describes the accompanying devastation, whether intentional or not, and from both individuals and institutions, as collateral damage—the additional emotional and social consequences experienced by survivors of domestic violence. Through qualitative responses in a discussion of betrayal, loss, and grief, new insight is brought to the overlap, seriousness, and overall toll of these consequences. In recognizing that collateral damage exists in cases of domestic violence, helping professionals, community partners, and policymakers can repair harm, offer education, strengthen safety measures and protective strategies, and thereby support both the individual survivor and the family system subjected to abuse. This exploratory study aims to expand inquiry within the domestic violence literature and offer avenues of recognition of the compounding issues faced by many survivors and their children. Full article

This article examines the persistent legal invisibility of the Kashmiri Pandits within international frameworks on indigenous rights and internal displacement. Despite meeting definitional criteria under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the community remains unrecognised as either indigenous or internally displaced. Drawing on Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), constructivist norm diffusion and decolonial intersectional critique, this article argues that this exclusion arises not from normative ambiguity but from geopolitical selectivity and epistemic suppression. Through doctrinal analysis of India’s treaty commitments, including its accession to the Genocide Convention (1959) and its interpretative reservation to Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1979), this study reveals how recognition is constrained by state narratives of sovereignty and secularism. Supported by evidence from the NHRC inquiry, IDMC displacement data, and comparative experiences such as Native American recognition this paper demonstrates that categories of protection in international law are applied unevenly, depending on political compatibility rather than legal principle. It calls for renewed engagement with epistemic justice and narrative accountability in rethinking indigeneity and displacement in postcolonial contexts. Full article

Teaching is among the most fulfilling yet psychologically demanding professions. Expanding administrative responsibilities, technological adaptation, and increasingly diverse student needs have intensified workloads and contributed to widespread burnout and attrition. For arts educators, these pressures are compounded by the challenge of sustaining multiple professional identities as an educator, researcher, and artist (ERA) within institutional systems. Grounded in Structural Symbolic Interactionism and Social Identity Theory, this autoethnographic inquiry examines how integrating these identities within a portfolio career can enhance professional efficacy and personal well-being. Using reflective narrative analysis framed through the perspective of the educator–researcher–artist, this study emphasizes identity security as central to sustaining creativity, engagement, and career longevity. Findings suggest that balanced engagement across artistic, pedagogical, and scholarly domains mitigates identity fragmentation and reduces the risk of vocational burnout. The article concludes with a call for institutional frameworks that legitimize creative and research activity as integral to educational practice. Supporting such multidimensional engagement enables educators to maintain authenticity, motivation, and resilience in contemporary learning environments. Full article

Refugee children and adolescents face significant psychological and social challenges, especially in camps or during post-resettlement. We conducted a meta-synthesis of 24 qualitative studies including 870 participants aged 3–19 to explore how they perceive trauma, considering gender, age, and unaccompanied status. Thematic analysis identified five core themes: (1) mental health perceptions, showing reluctance to disclose distress due to stigma and cultural norms; (2) stigma regarding refugee status, reflecting societal prejudice and barriers to integration; (3) desire to belong, including social withdrawal, family cohesion, and religious coping; (4) gender-specific needs, with girls facing early marriage, safety threats, and psychosocial vulnerability; and (5) discrimination from host communities, including verbal, physical, and institutional exclusion. Participants reported pervasive emotional distress, identity conflicts, somatic symptoms, and disrupted social relationships. The findings highlight the complex, multi-layered impact of forced displacement. Thematic analysis proved effective for capturing lived experiences, coping strategies, and contextual influences. These results underscore the urgent need for culturally sensitive, trauma-informed interventions addressing mental health, social support, and protective factors to promote the well-being and integration of refugee minors. The scarcity of research in high-risk camp and detention settings underscores the importance of qualitative inquiry to inform culturally grounded, multi-level psychosocial support. Full article

This article examines how digitalization reshapes the research subject in social inquiry. We ask, “What counts as a research subject in digital social research, and how do we ethically account for people represented through data, traces, and algorithmic profiles?” We argue that data are inseparable from the people who produce and are affected by them and describe a three-pronged separation—between data and persons, persons and bodies, and researchers and persons—that risks dehumanization. Drawing on examples of native and digitized data and on voluntary, unintentional, and infrastructural traces, we map key harms, including privacy breaches, dataveillance, manipulation, and discrimination. We then revisit core ethical principles—consent, anonymity, and confidentiality—considering open science and platform-mediated environments, and highlight the role of algorithmic awareness. The paper offers a conceptual reframing of the “subject” in digital social research and provides a set of practical implications for responsible practices. We conclude with recommendations to re-humanize data through relational ethics, transparent methods, and participant education. Full article

The immense potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in academic journal publishing has significantly impacted scholarly communication between stakeholders, leading to increased research into ethical considerations for AI use in academic publishing. Due to the contextual nature of ethics and the ontological base of language as its own object of inquiry, the conceptual framework and underlying ideologies of AI ethics in linguistics deserve attention. In this study, we address the call for these ethical considerations by combining a hybrid thematic analysis (HTA) of the ethical guidelines available on 144 Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) linguistics journals’ and 11 corresponding publishers’ websites as of 31 October 2025, and a critical discourse analysis (CDA) case study on Language Testing, a representative journal with self-developed AI ethical guidelines. Through the HTA, we identified seven themes: accountability, authorship, citation practices, copyright, long-term governance, human agency, and transparency. The role allocation of CDA demonstrated that the AI ethical guidelines independently established by the linguistics journal expand the scope of stakeholders to include the sources of research data and technology, covering the informed consent of research participants and the responsibilities of the AI tool operators. Moreover, AI tools are given a beneficialized role, suggesting a more technology-assisted-oriented perspective and reflecting deeper trust in AI’s involvement. Through the findings, our study contributes to the broader understanding of ethical governance in relation to AI usage in discipline-based communication, highlighting the need for a more dialogic and diverse framework to share responsibility among stakeholders to promote the ethical use of AI. Full article

As artificial intelligence (AI) advances, there is growing interest in leveraging this technology to enhance climate change research and responses. While AI has been applied in quantitative climate research, its role in qualitative research remains underdeveloped. Yet, qualitative inquiry is essential for understanding how individuals perceive and experience the effects of climate change. This study aimed to both (1) gain a deeper understanding of New York City residents’ perceptions and lived experiences of climate change and (2) evaluate the suitability of AI for analyzing qualitative data. Using StreetTalk, a qualitative method involving street-intercept video interviews and social media dissemination, research teams analyzed interview transcripts through four approaches: human-only, human-then-AI, AI-then-human, and AI-only. Co-authors were then provided with anonymized (blinded) versions of the final theme sets that they did not contribute to and evaluated them using a standardized rubric developed for this study. The AI-then-human approach produced the most comprehensive and contextually accurate results, yielding nine key themes: (1) personal responsibility and action, (2) community unity and support, (3) government and corporate responsibility, (4) concern for future generations, (5) climate change impact, (6) climate-related conspiracy theories, (7) low literacy around local climate change, (8) helplessness, and (9) competing interests around climate change. These findings provide valuable local perspectives to guide evidence-based strategies for climate mitigation and community engagement. This research also represents an initial step toward establishing best practices for integrating AI into qualitative data analysis. Full article