Abstract: Background: The negative impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on child development is documented. The parent-child relationship protects against ACEs and improves healthy child development. Hence, the parent-child environment plays a crucial role in preventing and mitigating ACEs through positive childhood experiences that elicit parental resilience. However, our understanding of the parent-child relation-ship within the social-ecological model (SEM) (i.e., intra- and interpersonal, community, and societal levels) is limited. Objective: This study explores parents’ perspectives on parental resilience as a protective factor for preventing ACEs and supporting PCEs at every level of the SEM, while considering parents’ personal ACE scores and emotional regulation (ER) scores. Method: This study uses a thematic analysis approach for qualitative research. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with members of a parent support group (PSG) (82% female, n = 14) based in a community-based organi-zation serving families (n = 17 parent interviews). Demographic information, ER, and ACE scores were collected for each participant. Results: Seven themes and 16 subthemes were identified, including parents experiencing aspects of emotional regulation from joining a PSG at all SEM levels, sensing a communication disconnect with school teachers, and parents desiring ACE prevention/mitigation training. Conclusion: ‪The insights on parental resilience perceptions are valuable and hold promise to inform future multi-level prevention strategies and mitigation practices using the SEM.

Abstract: Digital inclusion is increasingly recognized as a key driver of socioeconomic opportunity in rapidly urbanizing African cities, yet empirical evidence on its structural determinants remains limited. This study advances the literature by developing a multidimensional, data-driven framework to assess digital inclusion in Ziguinchor, Senegal. Using a unique household survey, it integrates technological access, service quality, affordability, electricity reliability, mobility constraints, and social capital. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used to construct standardized domain indices and a composite Digital Inclusion Index, while regression models quantify the relative influence of each domain, accounting for gender and age differences. The findings provide new empirical evidence that digital inclusion is driven primarily by material and infrastructural conditions, particularly device access, proximity and mobility constraints, and electricity reliability. In contrast, affordability and service quality play smaller roles, challenging dominant policy narratives focused on data costs. The study also reveals persistent gender and generational inequalities in digital access and use. By quantifying the relative weight of multidimensional constraints and linking them to spatial and infrastructural conditions, the research offers a replicable and policy-relevant analytical framework for secondary cities. It demonstrates that digital inclusion is not solely a connectivity issue but a structurally embedded outcome, requiring integrated interventions across infrastructure, mobility, and social equity domains.

Abstract: The digital age has fundamentally dissociated the creation of fundamental intellectual frameworks, such as novel theories, methodologies, and paradigms, from their widespread application and economic value realization. The fundamental reason why the creators of such meta-intellectual labor often receive disproportionate returns to the enormous long-term social and commercial value created by their work is that we cannot accurately measure, attribute, and automatically trade the value contained therein. In this paper, we propose a new integrated framework for automated valuation and liquidation of knowledge contribution based on the principle of fusion intelligence. This problem is formalized as a Knowledge Contribution Valuation and Liquidation (KCVS) system, with the dual formalization mechanism as its operational core, and the nine steps of intellectual integration as the maturity model of value creation. It shows how AI systems themselves, especially large language models, can be repositioned as impartial measuring instruments, automated traders, and transparent governance within this framework. Through the analysis of real cases of DeepSeek and Qianwen in scientific research and commercial applications, it is clarified that their underlying architectures have instantiated dual formal mechanisms, thus providing empirical support for the theoretical basis of the system proposed in this paper. This is followed by a blueprint consisting of three pillars: (1) an AI-driven knowledge contribution index for dynamic, multi-dimensional impact measurement; (2) a decentralized micropayment and clearing layer based on smart contracts; and (3) a transparent governance protocol for auditability using distributed ledgers. A simulated economic model is used to assess the feasibility of the framework and demonstrate its potential in building a sustainable, equitable, and self-optimizing ecosystem for foundational intellectual labor. This paper provides a theoretical and practical roadmap for aligning the incentives of knowledge creators with the structure of AI-driven economies, ensuring that future innovation is both dynamic and fair.

Abstract: In the face of economic disparities, housing as a fundamental right highlights differences and social stratification. From the perspective of complexity, factors such as location, distance from development hubs, and designs that standardize needs accentuate weaknesses in its conception. The new realities of living in housing after the pandemic lead us to rethink new design approaches where housing and work can be combined. This research analyzes the case of the Ciudad Alegría Social Housing Program, located in the city of Loja, Ecuador. The diagnostic method determined that 24% of the homes have commercial projections as a survival strategy. While these spatial patterns reduce the levels of habitability in the homes, they also produce benefits such as proximity between home and work, savings in transportation costs, interaction with neighbors, and mixed uses. These facts reflect gaps in the architectural design process, which fails to consider both service providers and users in decision-making in the design of VIS programs, as well as the need for this phenomenon to be elevated to public policy.

Abstract: Starting from the assumption that, in contemporary debate, sustainability should increasingly be interpreted within a sociological paradigm, this contribution aims to analyse the soft competences required for the education of a citizen capable of developing an ethical and inclusive orientation, understood as a civic prerequisite for processes of sociocultural integration. From this perspective, sustainability is not considered solely as a set of environmental practices or public policies, but rather as a cultural and normative dispositive that structures habitus, representations and models of action. The progressive acquisition of knowledge, values and practices oriented towards sustainability, both at the individual and collective levels, makes it possible to frame this phenomenon as a constitutive dimension of processes of modernisation and sociocultural development. Such processes are frequently supported and accelerated by technological innovation, which acts as an enabling but not determining factor. Moving beyond deterministic interpretations of a technological, political or economic nature, the analysis adopts a culturalist perspective that emphasises the social construction of a sustainable identity, namely an identity that assumes sustainability as a regulative principle of everyday action and as a lifestyle for the contemporary citizen. This trajectory implies the active and inclusive involvement of agencies of socialisation, first and foremost the school institution, called upon to promote sustainability as a foundational value of social inclusion and community cohesion. Within this framework, the second part of the contribution explores sustainability education through the implementation of a design protocol for digital education within STEAM disciplines, placing particular emphasis on methodologies and tools such as coding and educational robotics, understood as pedagogical tools for the development of critical, collaborative and socially responsible competences.

Abstract: Market-based environmental policies are typically evaluated in terms of their deterrent effects on individual behavior, yet this perspective offers only a partial explanation of how such instruments operate in practice. This study argues that market-based regulation can also function as a legitimacy-generating governance mechanism that shapes environmental action through socio-emotional pathways. Focusing on Turkey’s plastic bag charge introduced in 2019, the study examines whether price-based regulation operates solely through cost sensitivity or also through perceived policy legitimacy and emotional environmental engagement. Drawing on ecological modernization theory and regulatory governance literature, the study employs survey data from 515 participants in Turkey to test a mediation model linking perceived policy legitimacy, emotional environmental engagement, and environmental action. The findings show that perceived policy legitimacy significantly enhances emotional environmental engagement, which in turn predicts both individual and collective environmental action. These results indicate that policy effectiveness extends beyond economic deterrence and depends on the capacity of policies to generate emotional engagement among citizens. The study contributes by demonstrating the dual governance role of market-based instruments and by integrating affective mechanisms into environmental governance analysis.

Abstract:

Background: Early marriage among girls under 19 years remains a significant public health and social concern in the Sundarbans of West Bengal, India. Despite legal restrictions, the practice continues due to socio-cultural norms, economic constraints, and gender inequality. Objectives: To assess the sociodemographic characteristics of girls married before the age of 19 years and to explore their opinions regarding early marriage. Methods: A mixed-methods study employing a convergent parallel design was conducted among 20 girls married before the age of 19 years. Quantitative sociodemographic data were analyzed descriptively, while qualitative insights were generated through two Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings were integrated using a joint analysis approach to examine convergence, divergence, and complementarity across data strands. Results: Quantitative findings: Most participants were aged 16–18 years (80%), with 90% living with their husbands. A majority were housewives (60%), while others were engaged in daily work or farming. Half had secondary education (50%), while 15% had no formal education. Most participants had no children (65%). Qualitative findings: Early marriage was socially accepted and influenced by family pressure and limited autonomy. Although participants preferred marriage after valued education, early marriage often resulted in school discontinuation. Girls reported a lack of readiness for marital responsibilities and economic dependency. However, many expressed a desire to delay marriage and continue education. Conclusion: Early marriage persists due to entrenched socio-cultural and economic factors despite awareness of its adverse effects. Strengthening education, empowerment, and community awareness is essential to delay the age of marriage.

Abstract: Natural noises, especially the sounds of birds, have been found to be beneficial in lowering tension, anxiety, and agitation as well as promoting emotional healing. Recent laboratory research has mainly examined how public responses to birdsongs differ from those to other biological, artificial, or mechanical sounds, finding that birdsong promotes more effective physiological and psychological recovery. Our study continued this experiment with a questionnaire survey (N=202) in a non-lab on site outdoor setting in a larger Viennese recreational area, accompanied by soundscape analysis. Main findings show an overall effect on perceived mental health, with strongest effects in the field of emotional restoration (reduction of worries) than to cognitive clarity (clarification of thoughts). More in-depth analysis confirms low relevance of demographic variables age and gender but outlines the interesting relevance of the belief in the presence of animals in the recreational area. random forests, GAMMs, mediation, conditional inference trees, Bayesian models — suggest that it is not the acoustic composition per se that drives restoration, but rather how visitors perceive and interpret the soundscape. Interventions should therefore not focus solely on improving NDSI values but also on facilitating visitors’ awareness of the natural sounds already present.

Abstract: The post-World War II international order is undergoing simultaneous collapse on two fronts: a geopolitical fragmentation driven by twenty consecutive years of democratic decline, and an accelerating concentration of economic power driven by advances in artificial intelligence. This paper argues that the convergence of these two forces is producing a structural transformation unprecedented in human history, one that could stabilize into a neo-feudal equilibrium in which a vanishingly small class of infrastructure owners wields power comparable to pre-Enlightenment monarchs, while the vast majority of humanity loses both its labor value and its political leverage. Unlike previous feudal orders, this one may prove uniquely resistant to revolution, because the mechanisms of enforcement (autonomous weapons, AI surveillance, algorithmic propaganda) do not require human cooperation and therefore cannot be undermined by human dissent. The paper examines the historical parallels (and crucial disanalogies) between contemporary populist-authoritarian movements and their twentieth-century predecessors, models the emerging class structure under conditions of artificial general intelligence, evaluates Universal Basic Income through the lens of incentive structure, arguing that without the revolutionary threat that historically forced redistribution, UBI will default to a pacification mechanism rather than a genuine solution, examines the future of the nation-state under conditions where AI infrastructure owners command more wealth and capability than most governments, and argues that the effective altruism community's near-exclusive focus on existential risk from AI has created a dangerous blind spot around the political economy of who controls AI and who benefits from it.

Abstract: The integration of digital technologies into higher education is reshaping pedagogical practices globally, yet many institutions in sub-Saharan Africa adopt these tools without sufficient contextual adaptation. In Zambia, universities face the compounded challenge of limited digital infrastructure, uneven connectivity, and institutional policy frameworks that lag behind the pace of technological change. This study examines how Zambian higher education can advance beyond superficial digital adoption towards a pedagogy that is at once technologically engaged and fundamentally human-centred. Drawing on qualitative survey data collected from 84 university students across multiple institutions between February and April 2025, and employing reflexive thematic analysis, we identify four interconnected themes: enthusiasm for digital tools tempered by anxieties over cognitive dependency; the structural gap between student readiness and institutional guidance; the transformative potential of collaborative and problem-based learning; and the imperative for contextually responsive assessment reform. We propose a three-pillar framework grounded in critical digital literacy, collaborative learning ecosystems, and industry-aligned problem solving. This framework aligns with Zambia’s Eighth National Development Plan and its emerging AI literacy initiatives, offering a replicable model for other resource-constrained higher education contexts in Africa.

Abstract: Agentic artificial intelligence—systems capable of reasoning, anticipating, and acting autonomously on behalf of citizens and institutions—is converging with electric and autonomous mobility and urban robotics to reshape how cities govern, move, and maintain their physical environments. This paper examines three interconnected vectors of AI-driven urban transformation: (1) the evolution of public-sector conversational AI from informational chatbots toward cognitive, agentic government; (2) the emergence of autonomous electric mobility—robotaxis, on-demand transit, and autonomous logistics—that is fundamentally altering urban spatial structure, cost, and connectivity; and (3) the deployment of intelligent robotics and city brain platforms that automate the physical management of urban space. We extend the mirroring hypothesis (Conway, Colfer and Baldwin) in two directions: dynamically, arguing that organizations and ecosystems converge toward the best strategic configurations that new technologies make possible; and ontologically, arguing that agentic AI introduces non-human agents as first-class participants in organizational architectures, requiring hybrid human-AI coordination structures. We further propose the concept of cumulative recursive hybridization—a dynamic in which the three vectors interact through data, regulatory, infrastructure, and talent feedback loops within specific urban ecosystems, generating compounding returns analogous to those observed during the Industrial Revolution. Drawing on comparative international evidence from over twenty governance chatbot deployments, the rapidly scaling autonomous mobility ecosystems of the United States and China, and emerging urban robotics landscapes, we find that advanced deployments concentrate in cities—not nations—that combine regulatory agility, talent ecosystem density, institutional willingness to redesign, and tolerance for experimental iteration. The paper concludes that the cities which will lead the next era of urban transformation are those that pursue simultaneous deployment across all three vectors, redesign their institutional architectures to mirror the possibilities of the agentic era, and actively orchestrate the cross-domain ecosystems in which cumulative innovation takes hold.

Abstract: Underground and underwater geographies have garnered much traction lately in environmental and human geography, given that resource exploitations often occur in these deep spaces. Whilst such scholarly work has contributed to knowledge, such as insight concerning dangerous labour and chemical pollution, current human geographers have rarely theorised the inextricable multiple seafloor entanglement. This lacuna exists partly because no concept can help express multiple humans, aquatic life, and seafloor relations. In response to this issue, bringing together island studies, queer ecology studies, marine science studies, and science and technologies studies (STS) in oceanic geography literature, this paper introduces benthic geography to remediate the entrenched binary logic separating the seafloor from other spaces and bodies. This paper contributes to current environmental and human geography by expanding the use of the benthic concept from predominantly marine science (i.e., benthic ecology) toward environmental geography. Ultimately, this article invites readers to reflect on our unexpected entanglement with the seafloor and other spaces through how the materiality of the seafloor oozes within and beyond multiple spatial boundaries. Therefore, this article also encourages scholars to create seabed knowledge that puts offshore extractive industries under public scrutiny.

Abstract: Many college graduates emerge from university wishing to pursue employment. Often, however, they lack a systematic approach for finding work. One published method calls for job-seekers to launch a relationship marketing campaign in advance of needing employment. This process, known by its acronym CARD, involves: identifying the job-seeker’s area of desired Contribution; enlisting the support of existing Allies or Advocates; identifying Role models to interview; and then Demonstrating value. A previous case report illustrated an undergraduate student’s use of CARD to find an internship opportunity while in college. The present case report contributes new knowledge to the literature in that it features the first account of a recent college graduate using CARD to seek full time employment. Also novel is the way this report includes the perspectives of the academic developer of CARD; the career counselor who guided the job-seeker; the job-seeker; and the eventual employer. We found that the career counselor was able to teach the CARD process to the job-seeker, who implemented it starting in January 2024. The process produced an offer of employment in June 2025. In the course of implementing the CARD process, the job seeker approached 33 potential role models already in her network, and nine potential role models identified through online searches. Five of these contacts provided a referral, resulting in a total of 47 people to approach. The job-seeker requested interviews with 33, and actually interviewed 24. We summarize the campaign, and describe the specific interviews and interactions with the role model who made an offer of employment first. This case report illustrates a systematic intervention, the CARD process, to implement relationship marketing when seeking full-time employment. CARD extends theory and evidence from the fields of relationship marketing and career counseling.

Abstract: This paper discusses the sustainability of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in smart cities across four dimensions: environmental, social, economic, and operational impacts. In the long term, UAM aircraft are expected to be autonomous and unmanned, however, there some UAM aircraft will have pilots in the immediate future. Economic factors reflect the financial viability of UAM, the business case for operations, public impacts from subsidies for vertiport and power infrastructure, and potential indirect costs from increased electricity demand and grid upgrades. Environmental impacts include energy use, emissions, and noise. Social considerations include vertiport siting, public acceptance, employment effects, land use changes, and distributional equity. Operational sustainability encompasses technical readiness, regulatory conditions, and UAM missions such as cargo delivery, passenger transport and emergency response. Using existing literature and case studies from U.S. cities to provide a summary of relevant topics, we analyze a UAM business case framework and estimate travel time savings for airport-to-downtown trips in Dallas and New York. We compare UAM energy intensity and emissions versus conventional transportation modes using a New York City application, and examine how vertiport siting impacts travel times, land use, and neighborhood noise. Operational considerations highlight early use cases most likely to deliver near-term benefits. We conclude with a research agenda to address gaps and guide sustainable UAM deployment.

Abstract: This article conducts a thorough comparative analysis of public transport systems in Curitiba and Lisbon, focusing on cost-efficiency and structural performance from the user's viewpoint. Curitiba is noted for pioneering the BRT model in the 1970’s, while Lisbon is evolving towards a multimodal system with substantial investments in integration and user-centric policies. Employing a case study methodology and mixed analytical approaches, the analysis examines governance structures, network architecture, financing mechanisms, and service quality indicators. The findings indicate that although Curitiba imposes a similar or higher fare burden relative to user incomes, it offers significantly lower service value across various dimensions, including modal diversity and infrastructure quality. In contrast, Lisbon's integrated governance model for bus and tram networks proves effective in enhancing accessibility and sustainability, despite some coordination issues with centrally governed transport networks. This study contributes to the international discourse on the limitations of single-modal transport systems and highlights the necessity of institutional integration, long-term investment, and adaptive governance frameworks for urban mobility transformation in the 21st century.

Abstract: Zambia’s sports betting industry has expanded at a historically unprecedented pace, driven by mobile internet penetration, aggressive digital marketing, and entrenched youth unemployment. According to the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), active mobile cellular subscriptions surpassed 23.2 million by the end of 2024, and internet subscriptions reached 13.5 million, creating the digital infrastructure on which online betting depends. Generation Z Zambians (born between 1997 and 2012) constitute the primary demographic drawn into this market, yet the psychological, social, familial, and institutional consequences for this cohort remain empirically under-examined. This study reports findings from a systematic review and netnographic analysis of peer-reviewed literature, newspaper reportage, online news platforms, social media discourse, Google Trends data, and institutional statistical reports published between 2018 and 2025. The analysis, guided by cognitive distortion theory and Merton’s social strain theory, identifies six harm domains: illusions of financial autonomy rooted in structural precarity; progressive cognitive distortion sustaining betting escalation; suicidality and crisis following catastrophic financial loss; relational and familial erosion including marital breakdown, theft, and pension depletion; academic and occupational disengagement; and the burden on churches, government, and civil society. The study argues for coordinated multi-stakeholder intervention and proposes evidence-informed policy recommendations for Zambia and comparable sub-Saharan African contexts.

Abstract: E-cargo bikes are niche mode amongst domestic users, with strong potential to reduce car dependence, particularly in suburban areas where usage is growing. However, there is a lack of research on both domestic e-cargo bike use and suburban use. Policy makers lack basic metrics for average speed, trip distance, as well as more detailed analysis of routes taken and the types of roads / paths used. Using GPS data from trackers on 12 household e-cargo bikes (7150km travelled, 1750 trips in Leeds, Brighton, Oxford), we, calculate key metrics and information about the types of routes used. Average speeds per trip are 11.8km/ hr, mean trip length 4.6km. Speeds vary with route type. Domestic e-cargo bikes are largely unhindered by hills. Major roads are used where cycle infrastructure is lacking (Leeds 48% of km travelled). Cycle infrastructure is used where present and suitable quality (Oxford 37% of km travelled).

Abstract: Elderly people have the right to essential welfare and support services that encompass access to healthcare services. This article explores the day-to-day psycho-social en-counters of elderly women in accessing health services in rural Zimbabwe. The re-search utilised the qualitative research approach in which four key informants were purposively selected for interviews and the snowballing sampling technique used to reach out to eight elderly women who participated in the study. The study was guided by the Human Rights-Based Perspective which informs our thoughts on vulnerabilities of elderly women’s in rural Zimbabwe. The study established that the difficulties of el-derly women are tied to the deteriorating health status due to ageing connected to de-clining family support. As a consequence, the elderly women find themselves in some form of social isolation which generates a state of peril for the rural elderly women. The study established that such isolation results in acute vulnerability, intensified marginalisation and diminished access to essential healthcare services. The study recommends that the duty-bearers, that is, the state and stakeholders, should take up their responsibilities and design tailor-made health services that cater for the daily needs of elderly people in rural communities.

Abstract: Mississippi wetlands provide flood storage, water-quality regulation, habitat, shoreline protection, and climate resilience, yet long-term loss and degradation continue despite an extensive body of federal and state law. This paper examines persistence as an environmental governance problem rather than as a purely doctrinal legal question. It uses a qualitative analysis of legal, policy, and agency documents relevant to Mississippi wetlands, organized around jurisdiction, institutional fragmentation, permitting, enforcement capacity, and monitoring and participation. The analysis centers on 16 core federal and Mississippi laws and policies. It supplements them with agency guidance, public permitting materials, and selected scholarly sources to assess how formal legal protections operate in practice across the state. The findings show that Mississippi has a substantial formal framework for wetland protection, but that framework remains uneven in scope, geography, and implementation. State authority is most visible in coastal wetlands, whereas many inland wetlands depend more heavily on federal jurisdiction, interagency coordination, and administrative follow-through. The review further shows that legal accumulation has not produced consistent conservation outcomes because fragmented authority, variable enforcement, limited monitoring capacity, and land-use pressures weaken implementation. Recent jurisdictional narrowing after Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency intensifies that asymmetry and increases uncertainty for inland wetland protection. The paper argues that improving outcomes will require governance reform as much as legal reform. More effective protection depends on clearer jurisdictional triggers, stronger interagency coordination, more transparent permit administration, improved monitoring and compliance systems, and closer integration of regulation, restoration, and land-use planning. The study contributes to wetland governance scholarship by showing that legal accumulation alone does not secure conservation outcomes when fragmented authority, uneven implementation, and weak institutional integration persist.

Abstract: We aimed to explore the personal and functional factors influencing the disaster or emer-gency coping abilities of individuals with intellectual disabilities. To this end, the study analyzed the relationships between personal factors—such as sex, age, presence of comorbid disabilities, and educational level—and functional factors—such as cognitive level and communication ability—using data from the disaster or emergency coping abil-ity survey included in the 2024 Panel Survey on Work and Life of Individuals with De-velopmental Disabilities. The analysis revealed that the level of disaster or emergency coping skills among individuals with intellectual disabilities was low. Sex, educational level, and cognitive and communication levels were identified as significant factors relat-ed to coping skills. Educational level was found to specifically influence the ability to evacuate oneself, a subdomain of disaster and emergency coping skills. The findings of this study suggest that systematic education and support, taking into account individual cognitive and communication characteristics, are necessary to improve the disaster or emergency coping abilities of individuals with intellectual disabilities.