Search Results (7,348)

To achieve the objective of a “15 min living circle” for educational services, this study develops an integrated method for primary school site selection in Tianjin, China, by combining multi-source data and ensemble learning techniques. At a 500 m grid scale, a suitability prediction model was constructed based on the existing distribution of primary schools, utilizing Random Forest (RF) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models. Comprehensive evaluation, feature importance analysis, and SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) interpretation were conducted to ensure model reliability and interpretability. Spatial overlay analysis, incorporating population structure and the education supply–demand ratio, identified highly suitable areas for primary school construction. The results demonstrate: (1) RF and XGBoost achieved evaluation metrics exceeding 85%, outperforming traditional single models such as Logistic Regression, SVM, KNN, and CART. Validation against actual primary school distributions yielded accuracies of 84.70% and 92.41% for RF and XGBoost, respectively. (2) SHAP analysis identified population density, proximity to other educational institutions, and accessibility to transportation facilities as the most critical factors influencing site suitability. (3) Suitable areas for primary school construction are concentrated in central Tianjin and surrounding areas, including Baoping Street (Baodi District), Huaming Street (Dongli District), and Zhongbei Town (Xiqing District), among others, to meet high-quality educational service demands. Full article

This study investigates the factors influencing green purchase behavior in emerging economies, focusing on Indonesian consumers’ preferences for organic food products. While sustainability awareness is growing globally, limited research has examined how environmental knowledge and trust interact with marketing efforts to shape green purchasing decisions in developing market contexts like Indonesia. The research model incorporates five constructs: environmental knowledge (awareness of ecological issues), green trust (confidence in environmental claims), green marketing mix (eco-oriented strategies for product, price, place, and promotion), green purchase intention (likelihood of buying eco-friendly products), and green purchase behavior (actual sustainable buying decisions). Data from 211 valid respondents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that environmental knowledge directly influences green trust and the green marketing mix but not green purchase intention or behavior. Instead, it affects behavior indirectly through trust and intention. Contrary to expectations, green trust does not influence the green marketing mix, suggesting it may operate independently of marketing strategies. Similarly, the green marketing mix does not significantly influence green purchase intention or behavior, suggesting that marketing strategies alone may be insufficient in driving sustainable consumer choices. These findings highlight the important role of environmental knowledge in fostering consumer trust and indirectly guiding green purchasing behavior in emerging markets. By promoting sustainable consumption through knowledge and trust, this study offers insights into consumer behavior as a pathway to advancing planetary health. This study advances the Theory of Planned Behavior by integrating green trust and the green marketing mix to explain how trust and economic factors shape green purchasing behavior. Practical implications suggest that businesses should adopt targeted green marketing strategies, such as educational campaigns, eco-labeling, or certifications, to enhance environmental awareness, build consumer trust, and encourage sustainable purchasing decisions. This study contributes to the literature by examining how environmental knowledge indirectly influences green purchase behavior through the mediation of trust and intention within the context of an emerging market. Full article

Significant time, money, and energy are invested in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) across Further Education (FE) colleges in England, with the aim of enhancing teaching strategies, sharing “best” practices, and improving educational quality. Despite these intentions, practitioner perceptions of CPD’s value remain mixed, highlighting concerns about the effectiveness of current approaches. CPD managers often face competing financial and operational demands, alongside pressure to comply with external requirements, resulting in CPD that is frequently instrumental, mandatory, and delivered through one-off events. These practices reflect a data-driven, prescriptive management culture that prioritizes measurable outcomes over meaningful educational experiences. Consequently, teachers are compelled to demonstrate compliance within a system where accountability is unevenly distributed. This medium-scale, multi-method practitioner research study investigates how such compliance-driven CPD practices divert attention and resources from genuine educational improvement. This study explores an alternative model of CPD rooted in teacher agency and enriched through engagement with the arts and aesthetic experiences. Drawing on surveys, semi-structured interviews, critical incidents, and narrative accounts, the findings suggest that this approach fosters more democratic, creative, and impactful professional development. In promoting teacher agency and challenging dominant power structures, this study offers a vision of CPD that supports meaningful educational transformation, with practical examples and recommendations for broader implementation. Full article

Integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into professional practice has become an important topic for professional instructional design practice and training. Accordingly, the purpose of this multiple-case study was to examine six professional instructional designers’ integration of GenAI into their professional practice and the factors affecting this integration. Research data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with professional instructional designers working in corporate or higher education settings. The results were as follows: (a) instructional designers mostly integrate GenAI into instructional design and/or development phases and they think that it also has the largest impact on these two phases; and (b) instructional designers’ integration of GenAI into their professional practice is mainly based on their ambivalent attitudes toward it, which is closely linked to the advantages and disadvantages associated with the technology. Specifically, instructional designers’ basic understanding of GenAI, the efficiency of generating instructional content through GenAI, the inaccuracy of GenAI-created products, instructional designers’ use of GenAI in everyday life, and institutional or company support shape their attitudes towards and integration of GenAI into their professional practice. All these findings suggest that instructional design and development phases are especially vulnerable to and can benefit from instructional designers’ attitudes and use of GenAI. Accordingly, it can be useful to address and enhance attitudes toward GenAI technology in instructional design training, which can promote instructional designers’ acceptance of the technology and effective use of it. Full article

This study analyzed the intersection between Afrodescendant ethnoeducation and the school-to-work transition in three marginalized communities of the Colombian Caribbean: La Boquilla, Tierra Bomba, and Libertad-Sucre. Using a qualitative methodology, the research reconstructed, on the one hand, the institutional framework of Afro-Colombian ethnoeducation since the 1991 Constitution, highlighting public policies implemented and their impacts. On the other hand, it examined the educational dynamics in these localities and their link (or lack thereof) to local labor markets, identifying innovations, limitations, and structural barriers affecting young people’s transition from school to work. The findings show that the Colombian ethnoeducational model has introduced curricular and participatory innovations aimed at enhancing cultural relevance and preparing students for productive life. However, its implementation faces persistent barriers including inadequate infrastructure, the legacies of internal armed conflict, structural racism, limited employment opportunities, and chronic public disinvestment. Despite valuable local initiatives—such as technical training in collaboration with the SENA (National Learning Service, Colombia’s public technical education system) in sectors like fishing and tourism—Afrodescendant youth continue to experience limited labor market integration. Finally, the article offers policy and practical recommendations from a decolonial ethnoeducational perspective, inspired by the pedagogy for liberation, to strengthen the school-to-work transition in contexts of vulnerability. Full article

Background: Dental veneers have gained growing interest recently as an aesthetic dental treatment. However, the public’s understanding of veneers’ benefits and risks is unclear. Aim: To assess the awareness and knowledge of the public about dental veneers in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study employed an Arabic questionnaire, which consisted of three sections: demographic information, awareness about oral hygiene, and awareness about dental veneers. Correct responses to knowledge questions were assigned one point, and all points were summed to calculate the total knowledge score. Results: The study included 340 eligible respondents, out of whom 51 (15%) used veneers. Most responses to knowledge questions were correct. However, more than half of the participants wrongly thought that dental veneers are indicated for the correction of severely crowded teeth or to replace missing teeth, and 40.3% did not know that they require the removal of tooth structure. A low knowledge score about dental veneers was significantly related to male gender (p < 0.001), non-Saudi nationality (p = 0.005), attending medium/high schools only (0.014), and working in jobs outside the dental field (p = 0.036). Conclusions: The public’s knowledge regarding dental veneers in Saudi Arabia is fair but requires improvement to correct some misconceptions regarding the benefits and risks associated with the installation of veneers. The defects in knowledge identified by the present study should be addressed in patient education initiatives to improve patients’ understanding, align patients’ expectations, and help informed decision-making. Full article

Rural depopulation and the abandonment of historic settlements are pressing challenges for contemporary spatial planning, particularly in regions with a rich architectural and cultural heritage. This article examines the ruins of Moya, in Cuenca (Spain), as a case study to develop an integrated rural revitalisation strategy. The research combines historical building analysis, assessment of structural deterioration, and planning for economic reactivation to create a comprehensive framework for transforming abandoned sites into a viable cultural resource. The proposed model favours temporary and flexible occupation over permanent repopulation, promoting forms of use that respect and preserve the site’s historical identity. The approach builds on principles of activating monumental heritage, integrating the vernacular fabric, and organising the site into distinct functional areas. Moya is thus presented not only as an example of abandonment, but also as a replicable prototype for intervention in other declining rural environments, where heritage can serve as a strategic resource for sustainable development and territorial cohesion. The main objectives are to develop and test an integrated strategy for rural regeneration that goes beyond physical restoration, combining adaptive reuse, heritage conservation, and educational and cultural programmes to stimulate the local economy and reinforce territorial identity. The approach is evaluated through the case of Moya and contrasted with other national and international experiences to assess its replicability. Full article

Background/Objectives: To investigate the associations between educational attainment and 20-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence, mortality, lifetime risk, and burden, and to explore the mediating role of healthy and sustainable dietary habits through a sex-specific lens. Methods: A total of 3042 CVD-free adults from the ATTICA Study were included at the 2001/2002 baseline. Educational level was treated as both continuous and ordinal variable. Adherence to the EAT–Lancet diet pattern (EAT-LDP) was assessed at baseline. Participants were followed for 20 years, with complete data on CVD outcomes available for 1988 individuals. Generalized structural equation and nested Cox regression models were used to estimate the direct and indirect effects between education attainment and 20-year CVD incidence. Moderation analysis was also conducted by incorporating interaction terms in Cox models. Results: An inverse educational gradient in CVD risk and burden was observed, particularly among females for lifetime risk estimates. Each additional year of education was associated with higher EAT-LDP adherence (β = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.40–0.50) and increased odds of physical activity (OR: 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00–1.01). These behaviors mediated part of the relationship between education and long-term CVD incidence. Among females, the cardioprotective role of EAT-LDP adherence was more evident at lower educational levels, suggesting potential effect modification. Conclusions: Educational disparities in long-term CVD outcomes are partly mediated by sustainable dietary habits. These findings highlight the need for gender-responsive and equity-focused strategies in cardiovascular prevention. Full article

Buffer zones around protected areas (PA) face complex governance challenges as territorial transitions accelerate globally, yet limited consensus exists on their definition, ecosystem service (ES) priorities, and management strategies. This study employed a three-round Delphi methodology with 23 transdisciplinary experts to build consensus on buffer zone governance around Cerro Castillo National Park in Chilean Patagonia, using the IPBES ecosystem services framework to structure the analysis. Round 1 employed open-ended questions to explore expert perspectives, Round 2 evaluated 56 statements and 15 strategic components using structured questionnaires, and Round 3 refined non-consensus items. Experts achieved 76.7% overall consensus across three thematic areas: PA interface conceptualization (79.2% consensus on 24 statements), ES assessment (91.2% consensus on 34 statements), and territorial transition strategies (15 components evaluated). Water-related services achieved unanimous agreement across multiple IPBES categories, revealing their potential as boundary objects bridging conservation and development perspectives. Educational approaches and voluntary compliance emerged as high-feasibility strategic components, while regulatory frameworks showed high importance but implementation uncertainty. The study demonstrates that structured expert consultation can identify collaborative pathways for buffer zone governance, with water services providing concrete entry points for multi-stakeholder cooperation and education-based strategies offering promising implementation pathways for sustainable territorial transitions. Full article

(1) Background: Mobile populations living in disadvantaged circumstances often face disrupted continuity of care due to incomplete or inaccessible health records. This feasibility study explored the perceived usefulness of Electronic Personal Health Records (EPHRs) in enhancing access to and continuity of care for mobile populations across Denmark, Ghana, Kenya, and The Netherlands. (2) Methods: A qualitative study using ninety semi-structured interviews, with multi-level stakeholders ranging from policymakers to mobile individuals, recruited through purposive and convenience sampling. Interview guides and analysis were informed by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and analysis by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). (3) Results: Stakeholders highlighted the value of improved medical data sharing and ownership and considered EPHRs promising for enhancing care continuity and efficiency. Key concerns included limited digital and health literacy, and data security and privacy, underscoring the need for education and safeguards against inappropriate data sharing. Due to differences in digital readiness and privacy guidelines, a one-size-fits-all EPHR is unlikely to succeed. (4) Conclusions: EPHRs are considered valuable tools to enhance care continuity and increase patient ownership, but they face technical, structural, and social challenges, including data security and varying levels of digital (health) literacy. Successful implementation requires context-sensitive, co-created solutions supported by strong policy frameworks. Full article

This study examines the link between deep approaches to learning (DAL) and undergraduate senior students’ employability skills and perceived satisfaction in STEM fields in the United States. DAL, comprising higher-order (HO) and reflective/integrated (RI) learning constructs, enhances the understanding of real-world applications and promotes reflective thinking about individual ideas in broader contexts. HO activities focus on analyzing, synthesizing, and applying new information in practical scenarios such as internships, classroom discussions, and presentations. RI activities involve integrating existing knowledge with new ideas. The efficacy of DAL in improving student outcomes including employability and satisfaction skills was investigated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which included a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to measure observed variables associated with the four latent factors (HO, RI, student satisfaction, and employability skills), followed by structural analysis to explore the relationship between these latent factors. Data from 14,292 senior students surveyed by the National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE) in 2018 were analyzed. The results indicated a significant positive effect of DAL on students’ satisfaction and perceived employability skills, underscoring its importance in higher education for STEM students. These findings can guide higher education institutions (HEIs) in focusing on DAL activities for meaningful learning outcomes and enhanced critical thinking. Full article

The general objective of this research was to investigate the attitudes of Bucharest students toward artificial intelligence (AI)—in particular, ChatGPT—in relation to their personality traits, coping strategies, and personal values to identify psychosocial approaches for students’ effective reporting toward this AI product. As there was no instrument validated and calibrated on Romanian students, the scale constructed by Acosta-Enriquez et al. in 2024 was adapted to students from Bucharest (N = 508). Following the item analysis, the adapted scale was reduced to 16 items, and, following the factor analysis (EFA–0.81 < α < 0.91), the structure with three factors (cognitive, affective, and behavioral components), explaining 53% of the variation in Bucharest students’ attitudes toward ChatGPT, was maintained considering the results of the confirmatory factor analysis—CFA (χ²(79) = 218.345, p < 0.001; CMIN/DF = 2.486; CFI = 0.911; TLI = 0.900; RMSEA = 0.058 (90% CI: 0.50–0.065). The present study showed that 85.53% of the research subjects used ChatGPT at least once, of which 24.11% have a positive/open attitude toward ChatGPT, and that there are correlations (p < 0.01; 0.23 < r² < 0.50) between students’ attitudes toward ChatGPT and several personality traits, coping strategies, and personal values. It also proves that the three components of the attitude toward ChatGPT (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) are correlated with a series of personality traits, coping strategies, and personal values of students. Although the general objective was achieved and the adapted scale has adequate psychometric qualities, the authors propose in future studies to expand the group of subjects so that the scale can be validated at the level of the Romanian population. In this research, at the end, several concrete approaches are proposed for the effective reporting of students toward this AI product, which, beyond the ethical challenges, also recognizes the benefits of technology in the evolution of education. Full article

Background: In Italy, voluntary termination of pregnancy (VTP) is a legally protected healthcare service. However, in Apulia, a southern region, access remains uneven due to ongoing healthcare rationalization, which has reduced service availability, particularly in decentralized areas. Conscientious objection among providers may also contribute, although the number of VTPs per provider has decreased over time. This study examines whether women access VTP services outside their healthcare catchment area (CA) and how socioeconomic deprivation and individual factors may influence mobility. Methods: We applied a ranking method, based on spatial and temporal distance between hospitals and municipalities to define the catchment area (CA) around hospitals of the Apulia region that offers VTP service. A Poisson multivariable clustered model was applied to evaluate the association among demographic and socioeconomic factors and the choice of the VTP service. Results: The analysis revealed that 54.7% of VTPs were performed outside the women’s catchment area. This mobility was significantly more frequent among women from medium and low socioeconomically deprived areas compared to very low deprived areas (RR = 1.20; 95%CI: [1.02–1.42]) and (RR = 1.28; 95%CI: [1.03–1.57]). Higher education level (RR = 1.09; 95% CI: [1.04–1.14]) and employment (RR = 1.09; 95%CI: [1.03–1.14]) were also associated with higher rates of undergoing a VTP outside of CA, with variations observed across local health authorities. Conclusions: These findings have shown the influence of socioeconomic conditions and educational level on women's access to VTP services, suggesting that structural inequalities continue to shape healthcare choices and mobility. Full article

This paper applied an adapted design sprint approach, called a design summit, to educational prototyping. Design sprints provide a structure for applying design thinking and capturing user requirements that can be adapted to the needs of varied design contexts. However, finding a format that meets project requirements and brings in diverse stakeholders while also considering their availability can be difficult to construct using a traditional design sprint approach. Through four adapted stages of understanding, defining, iterating and prototyping towards a problem space, this paper presents a case study of a design summit applied to education/instructional design, specifically towards the problem of designing teacher professional development on the topic of the high ability (HA) student. A key feature in our applied approach is using concurrent prototyping, over many months, to achieve project outcomes. The case study presents the process and challenges of developing educational resources suited to the professional development of teachers and school leaders that need to support HA students. Through iteration, the results show how diverse stakeholders engaged and provided feedback to inform prototyping outcomes. Our design summit case study demonstrates how careful planning, focused elicitation of user requirements and an elongated and concurrent prototyping process results in outcomes that meet education stakeholder expectations and align with project requirements. Full article

Social acceptability is a critical factor in the successful implementation of emerging energy technologies, particularly hydrogen, which faces both technical and perceptual challenges. This study offers the first systematic investigation of public perceptions of hydrogen technologies in Albania, addressing a key knowledge gap in the Western Balkan countries. Using a structured survey of 440 respondents, it examines awareness, perceived benefits and risks, institutional trust, and willingness to adopt hydrogen solutions. While 84.5% had heard of hydrogen, only 23.6% were familiar with its technologies and just 9.3% felt well-informed—this highlights a major knowledge gap. Public attitudes were largely positive: 73.4% acknowledged hydrogen’s role in reducing emissions and 70.7% its potential to lower energy dependence. However, 34.5% viewed hydrogen as too dangerous near residential areas, and 50% were undecided. The most cited barriers were lack of information (50.5%) and infrastructure (19.5%). Trust in institutions was moderate, and gender differences were significant, with men showing higher awareness and support. Encouragingly, 78% of respondents wanted to learn more, and 63% showed interest in future use. Educational institutions were the most trusted information source. The findings highlight the need for public awareness campaigns, transparent risk communication, and community-oriented policies to foster a socially inclusive hydrogen transition in Albania. Full article