Search Results (387)

A pervasive trend across academia, social cognition, and general communication contexts is the interchangeable use of “information” and “knowledge”, particularly with reference to their forms—explicit knowledge, testimony, and expertise—conveyed by external sources. This raises a fundamental question: is the source perceived, considered, and validated as a reliable knowledge provider or merely as an information carrier? This study investigates seven academic and popular science sources by modelling their constructs of knowledge provision based on epistemological criteria and sociopsychological value, as manifested through the perspectives of university academics. The external sources examined include scientific journal articles, knowledge shared by university lecturers, scholarly monographs, textbooks and handbooks, popular science books and magazines, academic social networks and social media platforms. A quantitative investigation, supplemented by qualitative content analysis, collected assessments from sixty-six university academics in Latvia using the Epistemological Attitude Questionnaire towards Knowledge Sources. Statistical analysis, coupled with an examination and interpretation of academics’ perceptions, comprehension, use, and personal valuation of these sources, elucidated their profiles. The findings provide a holistic picture of these sources, detailing the value, qualities, functionality, and contributions of each type. Interpretations reveal that the designation of a form of “knowledge source” predominantly aligns with scientific and educational sources, whereas “information carriers” or socially functional sources primarily pertain to popular science and social media. Academic social networks, notably, occupy an intermediary position. This study offers critical academic insights into ongoing issues regarding these means of cognition. It prompts a scrutiny of both established traditional sources and contemporary mediums, both academic and popular, encouraging readers to evaluate these compiled images according to the delineated criteria of the theoretical framework. Full article

The Ugandan Asian expulsion of 1972 was a landmark moment in postcolonial politics, but the people at the centre of it have often been a footnote in Idi Amin’s story. This paper explores the strengths, if not essential nature, of bringing a critical family history and life-writing lens to this history of migration, within the boundaries of genealogy, as the family is central to both the experience of exodus and understanding the origins of South Asians in East Africa. Moving to a ‘history from below’ spotlighting underrepresented voices privileging gender, caste and class is a vital step in democratising this history. Through an examination of the methodologies of the author’s testimony and memoir-led history of the exodus, The Exiled: Empire, Immigration and the Ugandan Asian Exodus, this work reflects on personal scholarship, objectivity and positionality, showing the significance of an intimate and marginalised approach. It demonstrates how reclaiming this history among next-generation diaspora requires challenging revisionism, self-serving success narratives, and increasing politicisation in service of anti-immigration narratives, moving beyond the nostalgic view of empire invoked by some retellings towards a more nuanced living history of the expulsion. Full article

YouTube is a de facto learning environment for athletes seeking fast, actionable nutritional guidance, yet platform dynamics may favor simplified or testimonial narratives over evidence-aligned messages. This study maps Spanish-language sports-nutrition videos to clarify who is most visible, how advice is framed, and what users encounter first. We conducted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study of 558 YouTube videos on pre/post-exercise nutrition and supplementation. Data was coded for video types (divulgation/testimonial), claim presence, evidence links, and creator status (professional/non-professional). Exposure-adjusted metrics (View Ratio, Viewer Interaction) and nonparametric tests summarized distributions. An undirected network generated centrality rankings to select qualitative samples. Thematic analysis of titles and descriptions identified recurring rhetorical patterns and discourse modes. Divulgation videos predominated (97.3%). Evidence links were rare (0.2%). Exposure and interaction were right-skewed, indicating concentrated visibility. Non-professionals produced most videos, with older uploads and higher daily view accrual; however, interaction per view was similar across groups. Qualitative synthesis revealed two dominant discourse modes, scientific–cautious and experience–testimonial. Oversimplification and motivational cues clustered in testimonial/non-professional items; instructional language and scarce evidence links concentrated in professional/divulgation items. In Spanish sports-nutrition content, visibility is concentrated, and creator identity shapes advice framing. Evidence-aligned messages can compete when expressed with clear athletic framing, explicit caveats, and links to trustworthy sources. Full article

This study explores the educational trajectories of elderly deaf people in Spain who were educated between 1960 and 1980. The research was based on biographical-narrative methodology as a qualitative research technique. The data analysis was structural, using code identification and a system of categories and dimensions. Based on the stories and testimonies of 18 deaf people over the age of 65 living in Galicia, the stereotypes, prejudices and academic barriers in their school experience are analysed. The testimonies reveal an exclusionary education system, marked by a lack of accessibility, an absence of sign language interpreters, and the imposition of oralism as the only means of teaching. These conditions negatively affected the participants’ personal development, self-esteem, and employment opportunities. Discriminatory attitudes on the part of teachers and the school community were also identified. However, some highlighted key support and the informal use of sign language as positive elements. The study emphasises that, although there have been improvements in the education of deaf people, further progress is needed in the development of inclusive education policies that recognise sign language and promote accessibility and equity in the education of deaf people. Full article

In 2000, during the Great Jubilee, the Catholic Church opposed the celebration of the International Gay Pride in Rome. Twenty-five years later, in 2025, the LGBT+ Jubilee pilgrimage was included in the official Jubilee program. This article analyzes both the narratives of those who participated in the pilgrimage and the sociohistorical factors that made this event possible. Using digital content analysis of 50 testimonies collected by La Tenda di Gionata, the Catholic LGBT+ organization responsible for organizing the LGBT+ Jubilee pilgrimage, the study shows that the principle of dignity emerges as the main narrative legitimizing the belonging of LGBT+ Catholics within the Church, expressed through recurrent claims for recognition rather than through mere welcoming. Furthermore, the article identifies two endogenous factors that contributed to the conditions under which this event took place: the pragmatic strategy of Pope Francis’s pontificate and the alignment and convergence of the Catholic LGBT+ movement with the wider culture of rights. The study suggests that these developments were made possible by the unexpected consequences of religious freedom within the religious field, which enabled a major shift in the understanding of religion, from a duty-centered to right-centered framework, in the contemporary world. Full article

Background/Objectives: Folk dance represents an educational and cultural practice that is capable of promoting psychological well-being, social cohesion, and identity formation. However, few studies have integrated students’ voices regarding their lived experiences in these practices. This study aimed to analyze the perceptions of children and adolescents about their participation in school folk dances, exploring their impact on psychological well-being, self-confidence, and body awareness. Methods: A qualitative study with an exploratory and descriptive design was conducted with a purposive sample of 76 elementary and secondary school students who participated in the School Folk Dance Encounter “Heartbeats of My Land”, organized by the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (Chile). Semi-structured interviews were applied, and a thematic analysis was performed on 285 statements, organized into two dimensions: Psychological Well-being and Self-Confidence (PWS) and Body Awareness, Expression, and Communication (CEC). Results: The analysis revealed a predominance of the (PWS) dimension (85.3%), focused on positive emotions, self-confidence, and emotional regulation. Students’ testimonies highlighted dance as a means of release, self-esteem, and joy. To a lesser extent (14.7%), the (CEC) dimension reflected the perception of the body as a vehicle for communication and symbolic expression. Conclusions: Folk dance emerges as an integral pedagogical space that enhances emotional well-being, self-confidence, and cultural identity. Its systematic inclusion in Physical Education is proposed as a strategy to foster meaningful learning, mental health, and social cohesion. Full article

Infertility affects 10–30% of couples globally, with significant psychological and social impacts in sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility is closely tied to identity and social status. To explore how couples’ understanding of infertility causes influences their treatment-seeking behaviours and healthcare decision-making processes in Ghana, this cross-sectional qualitative study used in-depth interviews with 24 married participants (nine dyads and six individuals) experiencing current or past infertility in Greater Accra, Ghana, from August to October 2023. Data were analysed using thematic analysis with NVivo version 15. Couples demonstrated comprehensive knowledge of infertility causes spanning medical, spiritual, cultural, and lifestyle factors, although they lacked knowledge of clinical diagnostic criteria. Three main treatment pathways emerged: medical/orthodox, herbal, and spiritual interventions, pursued either sequentially or concurrently. Decision-making was influenced by internal factors (treatment effectiveness, financial constraints, and safety concerns) and external factors (family influence and peer testimonials). Four distinct navigation strategies were identified: informed notification, trial periods and evaluation, parallel relationship management, and strategic sequencing. Couples experiencing infertility are sophisticated healthcare consumers who skilfully navigate pluralistic healthcare systems through strategic decision-making. Rather than representing non-compliance, their multimodal approaches reflect rational responses to structural constraints and cultural values. Healthcare systems should recognise and accommodate these navigation strategies to improve therapeutic relationships and outcomes. Full article

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability but one of the least recognized health problems in the world, affecting up to 69 million people annually. The associated lifelong disability in survivors, the loss of economic productivity, and being a risk factor for dementia consume 0.5% of global economic activity. Yet TBI is still largely invisible in national surveillance systems and not well represented in chronic disease frameworks. Consequently, governments are not equipped to provide proportional financing of acute care and long-term care of survivors, nor to build health care systems and resources for improving outcomes of TBI through policy frameworks targeting prevention, treatment, and equitable access. Objective: This commentary aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the global effort to formally recognize TBI as a notifiable and chronic condition, including the justifications for recognition, the formation of an international coalition of stakeholders, and the strategic plan for resolution at WHA79 of the World Health Assembly, one of the first concerted multinational efforts that occurred as a side event during the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) in May 2025. Methods: This commentary integrates information from epidemiological studies, global registries, and testimonies from people with lived experience of TBI. We analyze these data to develop policy needs and corresponding initiatives to address key needs. These include coordinated efforts to advocate change, such as technical briefings, consultations with stakeholders, and storytelling led by survivors, all of which informed and formed a part of the WHA78 side event. Our efforts have garnered wide, multi-sector support. Results: The WHA78 side event showed that ministries of health, neurosurgical, neurological, and rehabilitation societies, academic researchers, WHO representatives, and survivors all unprecedentedly support the recognition of the importance of TBI, facilitating national policies for its prevention and treatment via standardized surveillance. More than 30 non-governmental groups officially supported the campaign. A sponsoring member state made a public commitment to co-sponsor a WHA resolution, which set the stage for ongoing diplomatic progress and engagement across regions. Conclusion: To improve global brain health equity, access to long-term care, and the resilience of health systems, it is important to recognize TBI as a notifiable and chronic condition. A dedicated WHA resolution would make TBI a part of global health governance, making sure that it is counted, tracked, and dealt with as quickly and comprehensively as possible. It is both a technical necessity and a moral duty to help survivors and families and fight for justice in global health systems. Full article

Climate change constitutes a growing challenge for high-Andean communities worldwide, whose livelihoods depend directly on agriculture, livestock farming, and the stability of local ecosystems. In this context, the study seeks to understand the construction of social imaginaries among agricultural producers regarding the dynamics of climate variability, with the aim of analyzing both the vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities that emerge in their everyday practices. Based on a qualitative approach, supported by 32 interviews with key informants from 16 communities, 04 focus groups, and documentary analysis, field data were collected and processed using Atlas.ti software. The testimonies of community members from Cojata, Puno–Peru, revealed social imaginaries and collective responses linked to this phenomenon. The findings show feelings of concern and uncertainty, diverse interpretations of climate change dynamics, reconfiguration of cultural meanings, and the deployment of hybrid adaptation strategies that combine ancestral knowledge with contemporary resources. Overall, these findings show that social imaginaries play a central role in how communities face the climate crisis, revealing both the persistence of structural inequalities and the need to strengthen intercultural territorial policies that recognize local knowledge, promote communal cooperation, and foster a horizon of resilience and climate justice. Full article

This article explores how Herta Müller and Paul Bailey transform the apparatus of state bordering, i.e., passports, permits and catechisms, into metaphors for an interior struggle between flight and belonging. In The Passport, The Land of Green Plums and Bailey’s Kitty & Virgil, emigration is portrayed not as departure alone but as a prolonged contest between the body that moves and the spirit that lingers. Those who cross borders geographically remain anchored, often painfully, in the mental and moral landscapes of the home they leave behind. The paper examines how documents, bodies, and languages become shifting frontier zones where identity is repeatedly issued and withdrawn, shaped by the pressures of memory, exile, and biopolitical control. Müller’s vision, written from within Romania’s history, and Bailey’s, refracted through an English consciousness yet partly set in Romania, converge in a poetics of witness that treats exile as both wound and testimony. Ultimately, these works suggest that identity survives in the liminal space between motion and remembrance where thought halts at its own threshold, memory traces its faint watermark, and the self bears its unspoken credential. Full article

In the pragmaticalization of ya ves que… ‘you see that…’, the perceptual basis of the verb becomes diluted, keeping its deictic profile. Most of its pragmatic values extend to non-perceptual phenomena, implying shared knowledge. Further extensions involve bleaching the concrete referent into abstract shared information in the form of (i) first and second-hand evidentials: shared and alien facts presented as familiar; (ii) mitigators: small appeal to shared information; (iii) miratives missing crucial information; and (iv) a continuity discourse marker where shared information is not relevant. Based on spontaneous oral data from Mexican Spanish, we propose that intersubjectivity prevails given its common ground deictic schema, allowing for assumed information to become diluted into a fictive common space where the speaker assumes the existence of notions the speaker may not always have. Diachronic data support the analysis: data from the 16th–17th century from Spain show the prevalence of testimonial references with no presence of shared knowledge; from the 19th century onward, shared knowledge becomes crucial, and it is not until current informal Mexican Spanish that even referential and shared knowledge may be diluted, and the assessment is validated by incorporating the hearer into the speaker’s mental space. Full article

This study examines the phenomenon of “foolishness for Christ” as reflected in the contemporary Orthodox figure of Elder Gerontius of Tismana. Starting with a general review of the diverse phenomena of divine madness present in various world religions, we then move onto the Orthodox Christian tradition, where such apparent eccentric behavior is interpreted as an expression of deep asceticism and spiritual insight. Based primarily on memorial and testimonial sources (oral accounts, written recollections, and biographical notes), the research employs a hermeneutical and phenomenological approach to interpret how such figures are perceived within ecclesial life. Using Christos Yannaras’ theological criteria for discerning authentic “holy folly”, our paper argues that Elder Gerontius convincingly fits this ascetic paradigm. The study further suggests that the presence of such charismatic and unconventional figures may signal a form of spiritual renewal within contemporary Orthodoxy, revealing the dynamic interplay between prophetic charisma and institutional order in the life of the Church. Full article

Citizenship is not only a legal status but also a form of recognition. Every state defines who belongs by tracing lines of descent, yet the way ancestry is proven differs widely. This study compares nationality laws in Europe, Africa, and North America to show how evidence shapes access to citizenship. It asks what kinds of proof states require and what happens when those forms of proof are missing. The analysis draws on nationality laws, constitutional texts, case decisions, and administrative practice. The findings show that Europe relies on documents and registration systems that treat records as truth, while African states face gaps in documentation that leave many citizens unrecognised. In North America, technology and DNA testing have made biology a new measure of belonging. Across these regions, the law of descent has become a law of evidence. Documents and DNA dominate, while oral and community genealogy have lost authority. These evidentiary habits travel across borders, shaping how migrants and diasporas prove identity in a world that equates paperwork with legitimacy. The study concludes that certainty and fairness can exist together if states accept multiple paths to proof. When documents, sworn statements, and community testimony are combined, the law can recognise descent without excluding those who lack official records. Belonging should rest not only on what is written or tested but also on what is known and trusted. Full article

This article examines memory and monuments in the science fiction Star Trek franchise as a lens for understanding commemoration technologies and how futuristic visions of memorials anticipated real ones, especially during times of conflict. To understand the cultural reciprocity of sci-fi television and contemporary commemoration of war and trauma, we investigate the interactive website produced by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Kan, titled Kan 7.10.360, which commemorates the victims of the 7 October 2023 Hamas massacre of civilians, soldiers, and policemen in Israel’s Gaza Envelope region. The 7.10.360 website employs advanced technologies to create what we identify as a digital “counter-monument.” By applying the concept of metamemorial science fiction relating to the Shoah, investigating its victims’ commemoration and examining the globital turn in memory work, we demonstrate that the Kan project realizes digital mnemonic practices engaged in Star Trek. We argue that the renowned series performs and anticipates three aspects of globital memory work and novel digital commemoration, also prevalent in the Kan 7.10.360 website: the personalization of memory using images; televisual testimony or documentation that mediates personal experience; and the display of objects that symbolize quotidian aspects of the victims’ lives. Full article

Materiality has emerged as a significant theme in Holocaust literature as well as in Holocaust studies scholarship, highlighting the pivotal role of physical objects. This materiality has been conceptualized in various ways in recent scholarship, including «testimonial objects», «objects of return», and «artifacts of memory». Building on this conceptual framework, the article analyzes the ways in which transgenerational memory transmission is thematized in Monica Csango’s memoir Fortielser. Min jødiske familiehistorie («Concealments. My Jewish Family History», 2017), investigating what memorial functions material places and objects—in particular inherited objects—serve in the transmission and representation of memory within the narrative. The central question the article addresses is: Which places and objects are central to the narrative’s representation of memory, and in what ways do they mediate memory and trauma? The article suggests that postmemory transforms physical objects and places spaces into sites of remembering and mourning, enabling transgenerational continuity and memory transmission in Fortielser. These findings underscore the central role of material and spatial mediums in sustaining intergenerational remembrance, suggesting that inherited artifacts and projected spaces constitute vital modes of memory transmission, or «acts of transfer», within parts of Jewish Norwegian second- and third-generation literature. Full article