Search Results (1,305)

Parenting programs in Aotearoa New Zealand are typically designed by and for non-Indigenous parents of non-disabled children, yet are routinely promoted to all families, including Māori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa) and families of disabled children, despite limited cultural relevance. This paper describes and discusses the co-creation of a culturally responsive program for whānau (families) of a disabled child, undertaken over three years using a participatory, culturally informed approach. Drawing on key practices from te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview)—including whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building), tuakana-teina (peer-to-peer support), and koha atu koha mai (reciprocity)—the team developed and iteratively tested a wānanga-style program across three stages of development (foundation building, program drafting, and program testing). Evaluation data was collected from participants (n = 16), facilitators (n = 3), and authors, using anonymous online surveys (participants, facilitators), in-person discussion (facilitators), and reflective observation (authors). Data analysis was pragmatic and participatory in design, prioritizing collective sense-making. Findings indicate that whānau highly valued dedicated time for wellbeing reflection, culturally grounded content (particularly the Whiti Te Rā wellbeing model), peer connection, and practical supports such as on-site childcare. The paper reflects on the intentionality required for working together, including the need to center Māori knowledge, flatten power dynamics, and slow down program development to prioritize relationship over output. This work contributes to community psychology and public health scholarship as an example of decolonial, anti-racist practice in community health program design. This paper offers a template for how culturally responsive, co-created program design and delivery can work in practice. Full article

Generative AI (genAI) is increasingly being integrated into critical appraisal and knowledge synthesis of research, with growing discourse on its value for qualitative research. Moreover, ChatGPT covers a major portion of the market share and is widely used by researchers and academics. However, a major gap remains in genAI’s ability to assess the reporting quality of qualitative research studies. This pilot study aimed to determine whether GPT-5 could reliably assess the reporting quality of health-related qualitative research studies. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) checklist was used as a framework for completing both human and AI chatbot assessments. The SRQR is a widely used validated checklist for enhancing the reporting of qualitative research. Overall, 68 peer-reviewed studies were selected for testing, comparing human SRQR assessments with GPT-5 assessments. Findings revealed a wide variability in agreement between human and GPT-5 assessments, with crude agreement ranging between 60 and 100% and interrater reliability ranging between 0 and 0.85 across checklist items. Simpler, objective checklist items such as study purpose were often correctly identified and had stronger agreement compared to nuanced items. The model struggled with the following SRQR items leading to an “Unclear” response: research design/paradigm (41%), researcher reflexivity (41%), data processing (27%), and trustworthiness (46%). These preliminary results suggest that GPT-5 may struggle with tasks requiring nuance and interpretation of qualitative research, which is rich in complex methods and differing worldviews. Currently, GPT-5 and other AI chatbots should be used with caution and alongside human oversight when assessing the reporting quality of qualitative research within public health and healthcare. Full article

Rapid and non-destructive monitoring of soil total nitrogen (STN) is important for precision nutrient management in ecologically fragile agricultural systems. This study established a controlled spectral resampling experiment to simulate the multispectral responses of Sentinel-2, WorldView-3, GF-6, and Landsat-9 from laboratory ASD hyperspectral measurements of Hemerocallis citrina fields. Two-dimensional (DI, RI, and NDI) and three-dimensional (TBI1–TBI5) spectral indices were constructed and evaluated using eight machine learning algorithms across five phenological stages. The results demonstrate that: (1) Three-dimensional spectral indices exhibited substantially higher sensitivity to STN than conventional two-dimensional indices, with TBI3 showing the strongest overall correlation; among the simulated sensor configurations, GF-6 delivered the best mean performance due to its dual red-edge bands. (2) Genetic algorithm-optimized backpropagation neural network (GA-BPNN) effectively addressed the local-minima limitation of standard backpropagation neural networks (BPNNs) and displayed robust generalization under multi-sensor and multi-phenological scenarios. (3) Phenology-specific modeling reduced spectral heterogeneity caused by pooling across growth stages, increasing R² by 20.28% and decreasing RMSE by 18.35%, with leaf expansion and bolting identified as optimal estimation windows. These findings elucidate the spectral response potential explanations of STN across phenological stages and provide a reference for applying multi-source simulated remote sensing data to nutrient monitoring in specialty agricultural systems. Full article

Regeneration is increasingly emerging as a guiding paradigm for socio-ecological challenges, urging tourism research beyond conventional sustainability toward systemic, transformative perspectives. This study examines how the Regenerative Lens proposed by Buckton et al., combined with the Three Horizons framework, can be operationalized to diagnose tourism dynamics and identify regenerative pathways in the Sierra del Rincón Biosphere Reserve (Madrid, Spain). Using a participatory action research design, data were generated through 12 group sessions, 23 in-depth interviews, participant observation, an open online survey, and engagement in local tourism planning. The analysis first structured local narratives into present challenges, desired futures, and transition pathways, then read them through five regenerative qualities: ecological worldview, mutuality, diversity, agency, and reflexivity. All five are present, but unevenly. Diversity is a consolidated asset; reflexivity and ecological worldview are emerging yet largely discursive; and mutuality and agency are the weakest links, constrained by a governance deficit across the reserve’s six municipalities. In rural destinations rich in ecological and cultural capital, the decisive constraint on regeneration is thus relational, not material. The study also demonstrates the value of combining participatory foresight with the Regenerative Lens to examine tourism as a subsystem of wider territorial transformation. Full article

This paper explores the historical relationship between refugee administration and refugees’ negotiations over citizenship through an analysis of Hmong refugees’ experiences in the United States. During the Vietnam War, approximately 50,000 Hmong soldiers were mobilized into the CIA-backed guerrilla unit as part of US anti-communist operations. Following the communist victory in 1975, Hmong refugees from Laos fled to Thailand and were later resettled in the United States. Previous scholarship primarily focused on either the legal dimension of Hmong naturalization or their process of Americanization. Studies on refugee incorporation and military naturalization have likewise interpreted citizenship as a legal status granted by the state. However, recognition as citizens extends beyond a legal membership unilaterally conferred by the nation-state. This article instead inquires how Hmong refugees in the United States negotiated over competing forms of citizenship and social recognition after the Secret War, and how the US government selectively incorporated those claims through militarized and other conditional forms of inclusion. To answer these questions, this paper approaches citizenship as a contested arena negotiated by the state and refugees themselves. Integrating legal and social history, the analysis examines both the top-down citizenship framework promoted through the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act and the bottom-up citizenship practices advanced by Hmong communities. Drawing on archival materials ranging from Congressional records to local organizational documents in Minnesota, this study shows that veterans’ organizations set the basis of belonging on their wartime sacrifice, women’s and community organizations emphasized legal protection and social reproduction, and exile organizations sustained attachments across multiple homelands. This research also demonstrates that the United States eventually recognized Hmong belonging primarily through narratives of military loyalty and geopolitical usefulness. Ultimately, this research enriches the historiography of broader immigration, citizenship, and military studies by reconceptualizing refugee incorporation as a contested process of recognition rather than a linear path to national membership, while relativizing contemporary worldviews surrounding refugee protection, immigrant soldiers, and military naturalization. Full article

Scholars have long noted an “attitude–behavior gap” which reflects an incomplete understanding of how values and beliefs translate into pro-environmental action. This study develops and tests a conceptual model in which cultural worldviews along grid (hierarchy-egalitarianism) and group (individualism-communitarianism) dimensions shape environmental orientations, which in turn drive pro-environmental behavior. Environmental orientation is treated as having a cognitive component, measured by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), and an affective component, measured by the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS). Using survey data from 501 US adults collected online in July 2017, we estimate a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to test direct, indirect, and mediated relationships among cultural worldviews, the NEP, the CNS, and a 12-item self-reported behavior scale. Results showed hierarchical individualists held weaker ecological worldviews, while egalitarian communitarians held stronger ecological worldviews and felt more connected to nature. Both the NEP and CNS were positively associated with behavior, with the CNS showing the stronger relationship. Cultural worldviews had no significant direct effect on behavior; rather, their influence operated entirely through environmental orientations. These findings indicate that cultural worldviews shape pro-environmental behavior indirectly, mediated by cognitive and especially affective environmental orientations, helping to explain part of the attitude–behavior gap. Full article

Remote sensing is widely used in archaeology, but the lack of standardised and readily deployable preprocessing workflows limits reproducibility and cross-study comparability, particularly for very high-resolution multispectral imagery. This study presents ArqPy, a Python toolbox designed to automate and standardise image preprocessing, enhancement and initial interpretation for archaeological prospection. The toolbox includes atmospheric correction, conventional pansharpening, spectral indices, principal component analysis (PCA), and spatial filtering. Its object-oriented architecture currently supports WorldView-3 (WV3) and WorldView Legion (LEGION) imagery and facilitates the future integration of additional sensors. ArqPy also incorporates complementary AI-based tools: Masked Autoencoder (MAE) feature analysis for exploring and ranking derived products, Z-PNN for deep-learning-based pansharpening, and SAM 3 for text-guided segmentation of candidate crop marks. The toolbox was applied to the preliminary inspection of crop marks at the Zar Tepe archaeological site in southern Uzbekistan before the 2026 field campaign. This case study illustrates the proposed workflow and demonstrates how ArqPy provides a reproducible and readily deployable environment through which archaeologists can access advanced image-processing methods. AI-based tools can support preliminary reconnaissance, but they cannot replace expert interpretation without further training and validation using site-specific archaeological data. Full article

The increasing integration of renewable energy sources into electricity grids has created a critical need for residential energy flexibility, i.e., the ability of consumers to adjust their electricity consumption patterns in response to grid conditions. Understanding the psychological and behavioral factors that influence consumers’ willingness to provide such flexibility is essential for designing effective demand response programs. Drawing on the motivation–opportunity–ability (MOA) framework, value–belief–norm (VBN) theory, and insights from behavioral economics, this study examined the individual-level factors related to residential consumers’ intentions to offer energy flexibility. Survey data were collected from 1278 respondents across Greece, Slovenia, and Finland as part of the iFLEX project. Using path analysis, we found that environmental personal norms significantly predicted flexibility behavioral intentions, while environmental worldviews predicted personal norms. Moreover, personal norms mediated the relationship between environmental worldviews and behavioral intentions. The results also supported an updated, hierarchical MOA framework, demonstrating that energy flexibility capacity acts as an upstream enabler for digital tech expertise, while automated flexibility/flexibility advice and flexibility visualization operate as highly co-dependent opportunity factors. Ultimately, the integrated model demonstrated strong explanatory power, accounting for 37% of the variance in flexibility behavioral intentions ($R^2=0.37$), and remained highly robust across diverse socio-demographic profiles. Normative social influence ($\beta =0.26$), external flexibility control ($\beta =0.23$), and external locus of control ($\beta =0.18$) emerged as the primary direct predictors of flexibility intentions, supported by environmental personal norms, environmental worldviews, flexibility visualization, and digital tech expertise. Drawing on Kahneman’s dual-process theory, we interpret these findings in terms of the cognitive effort required for flexibility decisions. These findings extend VBN and MOA theories in the context of residential energy flexibility and offer practical insights for designing effective demand response programs. Full article

The research explores the possibility of understanding pre-Hispanic Andean philosophical thought through the use of Quechua terms such as pacha (world, universe, space and time) and pachayachachiq (the world that reveals itself). The aim has been to philosophically analyse how the runas (persons) understood their existence within a dynamic cosmos. Methodologically, the research follows a qualitative approach and hermeneutic method. The documentary recording technique was adopted for the linguistic, historical and ethnographic sources, which enabled a critical interpretation of these sources to be carried out. Furthermore, the results have shown that the term pacha constitutes a complex ontological category that integrates time, space and the generative force of energies, differing from Western conceptions. Pachayachachiq, meanwhile, emerges as a socially constructed knowledge based on the observation of the natural cycle. Andean society is therefore understood through its tetradic structure: (hanan pacha: the world above, kay pacha: the world here, uku pacha: the world within, and kuteq pacha: the changing world); these structures are articulated under principles of complementarity–reciprocity. It is concluded that the exploration of pachayachachiq has made it possible to become aware of a relational ontology that enables the realisation of a life cycle of nature, humanity and the universe. This way of understanding the world calls into question the dualist postulates of the Western worldview and proposes developing a conception of reality in relation to an endless change, thereby enriching lived experience. This way of understanding things calls into question the dualist postulates of the Western worldview and proposes bringing things closer to a conception of reality governed by constant relation, endless change and the enrichment of one’s own vital experience—a contribution to intercultural philosophy. Full article

The designation of protected areas depends not only on ecological criteria but also on social acceptability. This study investigates the factors associated with ex ante support for the proposed Iblei National Park (Italy) through a survey of institutional stakeholders—public bodies, category associations, professional orders, and environmental associations—who are directly involved in or affected by the designation process. Focusing on environmental worldviews, place identity, and perceived economic benefits, the analysis combines parsimonious composite indices with exploratory ordinal regression models. Descriptive and associative results show that environmental attitudes and place identity are positively associated with stated support in baseline specifications, although neither association reaches conventional levels of statistical significance. When perceived economic benefits are added, they show the largest association with stated support among the variables considered, while the estimated associations of environmental values and place identity are attenuated to magnitudes indistinguishable from zero. The association of perceived economic benefits is stable in sign and magnitude across specifications, though its statistical strength varies with how the outcome is operationalised. These patterns, drawn from a small, near-complete population of institutional stakeholders, suggest that value- and identity-based orientations shape a general predisposition toward conservation, while explicit stakeholder endorsement is more closely associated with expectations of local economic benefits. We interpret these findings as exploratory evidence on distinct, and possibly complementary, channels of ex ante social legitimacy, to be corroborated by larger and mixed-method research designs. Full article

Accurate and up-to-date information is essential for environmental monitoring, particularly in regions characterized by complex topography and heterogeneous landscapes. This study presents a multisource remote sensing–based approach for forest vegetation classification on La Palma Island (Canary Islands, Spain), which was further used to illustrate its potential for monitoring the temporal dynamics of different forest habitat types. Very high-resolution multispectral data from the WorldView-2/3 satellites were used, complemented by multispectral and LiDAR data acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Four target forest vegetation types were mapped within a six-class classification scheme that also included “Other vegetation” and “Soil/Others” as non-target/background classes. The performance of ten supervised classification algorithms was evaluated, including Minimum Distance, Mahalanobis Distance, Parallelepiped, Spectral Angle Mapper, Maximum Likelihood, Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and the transformer-based deep learning model SegFormer. The results indicate that Random Forest achieved the highest overall accuracy, while Support Vector Machine and SegFormer also showed competitive performance, particularly when spectral information was integrated with vegetation indices and topographic variables. The study provides practical evidence on the selection of input data and classifiers for detailed forest vegetation mapping in a large and topographically complex island. Full article

One respondent says antibiotics kill viruses. A second says they do not know. A third says cancer cures are hidden for profit. A standard literacy score counts all three as one deficit. This exploratory study asks whether they behave alike. In a July 2025 Romanian telephone survey (analytic N = 1007), six factual, two worldview-linked and two conspiratorial anti-science (CAS) items were analyzed separately, treating “don’t know” (DK) as a third response. The response patterns did not converge. Factor analysis of substantive answers retained two factors, not one, and the six-item core’s weighted internal consistency among answerers was 0.379. DK responding formed a coherent cross-item pattern, but less uniform than the full-sample alpha of 0.926 implies: it falls to 0.803 once the 135 all-DK respondents are set aside. CAS endorsement converged with generic conspiracist belief and tracked institutional distrust, where factual accuracy did not. Education and internet frequency mainly differentiated DK responding; economic security and democratic satisfaction were associated with lower CAS endorsement. Against Eurobarometer 95.2 (2021), Romanian factual accuracy sits about two items lower than the EU27 average excluding Romania, and CAS endorsement is roughly 1.7 times as high, in both Romanian waves. Uncertainty, error and conspiratorial belief remain conceptually distinct. Full article

Waste management is essential for addressing local and global environmental challenges. Failure to manage waste effectively results in several consequences, including environmental degradation, public health risks, and economic costs. Besides the need for adequate and up-to-date waste management systems, citizens’ cooperation is crucial to achieving sustainable waste management in any community, which depends on their waste literacy levels, comprising the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours required. This study assessed waste literacy among students completing compulsory education in Portugal to provide evidence regarding the outcomes of environmental education policies related to waste management. A representative sample of 1506 freshmen students was surveyed at the start of their undergraduate programmes. An online questionnaire was administered to the sample and the data were analyzed using statistical tests for assessing the influential factors associated with students’ waste knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. Results show that, on average, students demonstrated good levels of knowledge and practices on waste management, together with a predominantly ecocentric worldview. A higher performance in waste management knowledge and practices was observed among younger students, with higher grades and higher paternal educational attainment. Besides these variables, best practices were significantly more prevalent among those with a higher participation in environmental activities and holding membership in environmental organizations. The findings suggest that upon completing compulsory education in Portugal, students display generally high levels of waste literacy, while also revealing specific gaps in knowledge and practices that warrant further educational attention. The study identifies these areas for improvement, highlighting the potential value of more practical, participatory and community-based approaches to waste education. Full article

The appearance and spread of the image of the bicorporate sphinx in Scythia of 4th century BC can be regarded as an example of selective borrowing from ancient iconography. In the Greek world, this type is encountered rarely, but it gained considerable currency among the Scythians of the Northern Black Sea region. Its spread coincides with the period of expansion of the fantastic bestiary among the Scythians and the increasing complexity of the funerary rite of the Scythian elite. The predominance of finds in female burials indicates that this image was part of the circle of signs associated specifically with women’s high social status. The doubling of the body enhanced the image’s visual expressiveness and protective nature. More complex interpretations of the worldview are not supported by the sources and cannot be considered proven. Full article

Indigenous languages in Southern Thailand are increasingly affected by modernization, digital communication, and language contact, yet the relationship between kinship terminology, social organization, and linguistic sustainability among Indigenous Austroasiatic-speaking communities remains insufficiently explored. This study addresses three research questions: (1) how Tan’ean and Jaahaai kinship systems differ in their semantic structures and classificatory patterns; (2) how kinship terms reflect cultural worldviews, social organization, and relational values of the Manni and Mueng’ra communities; and (3) what challenges influence the transmission and sustainability of kinship-related linguistic knowledge. This study aims to comparatively analyze consanguineal and affinal kinship terminology in the Tan’ean language of the Manni ethnic group and the Jaahaai language of the Mueng’ra ethnic group, focusing on how kinship systems encode cultural worldviews, social relations, and adaptive strategies under contemporary change. Guided by Componential Analysis and Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory, this study employed a qualitative ethnolinguistic approach. Data were collected through genealogical elicitation, in-depth interviews, and participant observation with 40 key informants from Trang, Phatthalung, Satun, Songkhla, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces. The data were analyzed through semantic feature identification and comparative interpretation of kinship structures. The findings demonstrate that, despite shared Austroasiatic heritage, Tan’ean and Jaahaai exhibit distinct kinship systems reflecting different cultural logics. In response to the first research question, the findings reveal that the Manni system resembles the Hawaiian type, emphasizing egalitarian relations, generational categories, and inclusive incorporation of affinal relatives, whereas the Mueng’ra system shows Crow–Omaha characteristics, including generational skewing, gender-specific markers, hierarchical classification, and stronger influence from dominant regional languages. Regarding the second research question, the findings demonstrate that kinship terminology functions as a cultural mechanism for organizing social relationships, identity, and intergenerational obligations, reflecting different models of Indigenous social organization. For the third research question, the study identifies language contact, changing social conditions, and reduced intergenerational transmission as challenges affecting the continuity of Indigenous kinship knowledge. Therefore, the study recommends community-based orthographies, participatory digital learning platforms, and policies supporting Indigenous linguistic rights to strengthen language revitalization, cultural continuity, and Indigenous communities’ capacity to adapt to social transformation. Full article