Social Sciences

Abstract: Learner wellbeing in schools depends on practitioners presumed competence of protecting it, yet little is known about how those practitioners appraise their own capacity. This qualitative exploratory study examined the perceptions of registered practitioners regarding their competence in assisting gay learners facing suicidal ideation in South African schools, and the rationale behind these judgements. A total of eleven practitioners from three provinces participated in online semi-structured interviews, with seven additionally taking part in a focus group. Data were analysed by reflexive theme analysis, guided by self-efficacy and minority stress theory. Out of eleven, ten reported no specific preparedness for sexual minority learners, with four answering in a single word. Appraisals nonetheless diverged sharply, and the divergence did not track training, which was uniformly negligible. Those who assess themselves as sufficiently prepared grounded their appraisals in registration and general education rather than experiential mastery; one also asserted that suicidal ideation are uniform across all learners. Colleagues reached a contrasting conclusion by regarding competence as a definable entity whose absence could be identified. We term the first pattern presumed competence: an efficacy appraisal warranted by institutional position in the acknowledged absence of relevant enactive experience. Making such competence a required rather than elective component of continuing professional development would align the warrant with what it certifies.

Abstract: Social media influencers have become increasingly important in shaping consumer behavior in digital tourism environments, and their growing role has transformed how travelers search for information, evaluate destinations, and make international travel decisions. Nevertheless, the sequential roles of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and trust in Social Media Influencers remain insufficiently explored within a unified theoretical framework. To address this gap, this study aims to examine the effects of social media influencer characteristics on international travel decisions by investigating the mediating roles of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and trust in Social Media Influencers within the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework. To examine the proposed model, a quantitative research design was adopted using an online questionnaire administered to 739 participants from Generations Y and Z. The proposed model and hypotheses were tested using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) with IBM SPSS and AMOS. The findings indicate that influencer characteristics significantly influenced FOMO, trust in Social Media Influencers, and international travel decisions. The results also confirmed the mediating roles of FOMO and trust in Social Media Influencers, as well as their sequential mediating effect in explaining how influencer characteristics shape international travel decisions.

Abstract: Evidence is mixed regarding when people rely on artificial intelligence (AI) rather than human advice, and advice-taking from AI remains uncharacterized in crisis-related decision scenarios. Across two preregistered studies, we used the judge-advisor system and Weight of Advice to examine how decision context, advisor presentation, and advice framing shape advice taking. In Study 1, participants made decisions in ordinary scenarios and crisis scenarios. Advice-taking was higher in crisis scenarios than in ordinary scenarios, and AI advice received greater uptake than human advice in the crisis condition. In Study 2, which focused on crisis scenarios, advisor type (human, anthropomorphic AI, non-anthropomorphic AI) and advice framing (avoidance-oriented vs. approach-oriented) were varied between participants. Results revealed a crossover interaction: avoidance-oriented advice received greater uptake from anthropomorphic AI than from non-anthropomorphic AI, whereas approach-oriented advice received greater uptake from non-anthropomorphic AI than from anthropomorphic AI. These findings suggest that AI advice-taking in crisis decision scenarios is shaped by both context and communication design. Anthropomorphism does not uniformly increase the persuasiveness of AI advice; instead, its effect depends on how the advice is framed.

Abstract: Background: University students are particularly vulnerable to emotional distress be-cause academic demands and developmental transitions may interact with broader societal challenges. This study examined emotional functioning in Spanish university students and explored the preliminary psychometric properties of two measures deri-ved from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Methods: An explora-tory cross-sectional study was conducted with 913 university students in Spain using an online questionnaire distributed through non-probability snowball sampling bet-ween April and May 2023. The instrument was adapted from HADS items, reviewed by experts, pilot-tested, and administered using a seven-point Likert scale. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and exploratory component analy-ses were performed separately for the anxiety- and depression-related dimensions. Results: Participants generally reported preserved positive emotional functioning, al-though moderate levels of tension, nervousness, and worry were observed. Women scored higher than men on several anxiety-related indicators. After reassignment of three semantically inconsistent items, internal consistency improved from α = .700 to α = .853 for anxiety and from α = .370 to α = .798 for depression. Both revised dimensions showed adequate sampling adequacy and predominantly unidimensional structures. Conclusions: The adapted HADS-derived measures demonstrated satisfactory preli-minary psychometric performance. However, because the original instrument was substantially modified and the study employed a non-probability sample, the scales should be considered exploratory research measures pending further validation.

Abstract: The post‑pandemic era has witnessed that office politics has become increasingly concealed and digitalized under remote‑work arrangements, imposing substantial impacts on employees’ psychological states and behavioral responses. Grounded in the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study constructs a moderated‑mediation model to explore how perceived office politics evokes work withdrawal behaviors among remote employees. Questionnaire data were collected from 412 remote employees, and hypotheses were tested via hierarchical regression and bootstrapping approaches. Results show that perceived office politics positively predicts emotional exhaustion and work‑withdrawal behaviors. Emotional exhaustion fully mediates the association between perceived office politics and work withdrawal. Furthermore, remote‑work frequency positively moderates the link between perceived office politics and emotional exhaustion, such that this relationship is stronger for employees engaging in high‑frequency remote work. Our findings indicate that, although digital work settings reduce face‑to‑face interpersonal conflicts, information asymmetry in distributed teams may amplify stress‑related psychological costs and trigger employees’ “invisible withdrawal”. This study offers empirical evidence for understanding the psychological consequences of transformed workplace politics in modern organizations and yields practical implications for organizational intervention in remote and hybrid contexts.

Abstract: Ghana’s e-waste sector — concentrated in urban hubs including Accra’s Agbogbloshie-Sodom complex, Kumasi’s Dagomba and Akwatia lines, and sites in Tamale and Sunyani — constitutes one of West Africa’s most significant mineral waste streams, generating annual economic value estimated at US $105–$268 million and sustaining livelihoods for over 200,000 people. Yet the governance and policy frameworks necessary to enable systematic, safe, and economically productive mineral waste valorisation remain fragmented, under-resourced, and disconnected from circular economy principles. This paper examines the governance architecture, social-ecological sustainability dynamics, and policy barriers shaping mineral waste valorisation in Ghana’s e-waste sector, drawing on original qualitative research involving 21 key informant interviews with stakeholders from government, civil society, development partners, private sector, and academia, complemented by policy document review and field observations across multiple sites. Applying an integrated Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework and sociotechnical transitions theory, the study identifies three structural barriers to effective valorisation: institutional fragmentation and policy-implementation gaps; economic distortions including foreign market dominance and pricing asymmetries that undermine incentive systems; and inadequate land allocation and ecological governance, exacerbated by the demolition of the central Agbogbloshie scrapyard. Findings reveal that while emerging interventions — including incentive-based collection systems, Human Capacity Development programmes, and public-private infrastructure partnerships — demonstrate promising results, their impact remains limited due to weak vertical and horizontal integration across the value chain. The paper advances a governance reform agenda centred on informal sector inclusion, unified policy frameworks, sustainable financing mechanisms, and spatially anchored circular economy implementation as prerequisites for unlocking the full valorisation potential of Ghana’s mineral waste streams.

Abstract: Background: Childhood maltreatment, and childhood sexual abuse in particular, is a potent developmental risk factor for disrupted adult sexuality. Survivors show two divergent yet frequently co‑occurring outcomes: elevated sexual risk-taking and compulsive sexual behavior on one hand, and sexual avoidance and dysfunction on the other. These patterns arise from trauma‑organized alterations in sexual meaning, attachment, emotion regulation, dissociation, and stress‑reactivity. The manuscript highlights that survivors may simultaneously exhibit sexual preoccupation and sexual aversion, forming a state of sexual ambivalence. It also notes that sexual‑minority and gender‑diverse individuals experience compounded risk due to minority stress and sociocultural factors. Objectives: To synthesize four decades of empirical, theoretical, and cross‑cultural evidence explaining how childhood sexual abuse produces both hypersexuality and sexual avoidance; to identify central mediating mechanisms; to evaluate the methodological quality of the evidence base; and to outline implications for trauma‑informed, culturally responsive clinical practice. Methods: A narrative‑integrative review was conducted using peer‑reviewed literature from major scientific databases, supplemented by citation tracking. Priority was given to meta‑analyses, umbrella reviews, prospective cohort studies, and large cross‑national datasets. The review integrates traumagenic dynamics, attachment theory, sexual self‑schema models, neurobiological stress‑reactivity research, minority‑stress frameworks, and cross‑cultural findings. Evidence quality was appraised using established umbrella‑review grading criteria. Results: Childhood sexual abuse uniquely predicts early sexual initiation, multiple partners, transactional sex, revictimization, and other risk behaviors beyond the effects of other maltreatment types. It also increases the likelihood of adult sexual dysfunction, including low desire, arousal difficulties, orgasmic problems, sexual pain, and avoidance. Prospective studies show early emergence and persistence of sexual preoccupation, aversion, and ambivalence. Cluster‑analytic work identifies survivor subtypes combining high compulsivity and high avoidance. Neurobiological findings indicate stress‑system sensitization that can manifest as either hyperactivation or hypoactivation of sexual response. Minority stress, gender identity, and cultural context shape the severity and expression of sexual outcomes. Evidence quality for sexual outcomes is variable, with several associations supported by modest rather than high‑certainty evidence. Conclusions: Hypersexuality and sexual avoidance represent complementary expressions of a trauma‑organized sexual system shaped by dissociation, insecure attachment, emotion dysregulation, and altered stress physiology. These patterns often co‑occur within individuals and fluctuate with relational, cultural, and identity‑related contexts. A comprehensive understanding of this paradox requires integrating psychological, biological, and sociocultural mechanisms. Clinical Implications: Assessment should routinely evaluate both compulsive and avoidant sexual patterns, dissociation, minority stress, and attachment insecurity. Trauma‑informed treatment should address emotion regulation, relational functioning, and sexual concerns within culturally responsive frameworks. Standardized measurement of sexual outcomes is essential for improving evidence quality and guiding intervention.

Abstract: This paper critically examines prevailing conceptualizations of financial well-being and financial resilience, arguing that dominant economic and psychological approaches tend to individualize and depoliticize financial vulnerability. By conceptualizing financial fragility primarily as a consequence of deficient financial literacy, financial behavior, or psychological characteristics, these approaches risk overlooking the structural conditions that shape the economic realities of low-income populations. The analysis identifies an inherent resilience paradox: social capital, commonly conceptualized as a protective resource, may become counterproductive under conditions of persistent poverty and social homophily. Strong bonding networks can provide essential support while simultaneously reinforcing resource scarcity, solidarity obligations, and barriers to individual accumulation. The paper further examines the role of comprehensive debt counseling and demonstrates that effective interventions must account for substantial heterogeneity among financially vulnerable groups. Different forms of vulnerability, including neurodivergence, behavioral addictions, migration-related exclusion, and single parenthood, require differentiated intervention strategies. Debt counseling can provide psycho-social, legal, and institutional stabilization but cannot compensate for structural deficiencies in income, social protection, and resource distribution. The paper therefore conceptualizes financial resilience as a multilevel and political phenomenon rather than merely an individual coping capacity. Finally, it calls for culturally sensitive and cross-national research beyond WEIRD populations and emphasizes sustainable public funding for debt-advisory services as a prerequisite for effective financial protection.

Abstract: Background: As online healthcare is to support aging for reducing health cost and offer sustainable solutions, it is important to develop fundamental knowledge on what causes the usage intention for online healthcare among older persons. However, information about the technology-specific predictors of the willingness to use online healthcare remains scare. The goal of this study is to better observe whether technology-based factors are associated with the intention of using online healthcare. Methods: In the current study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2023 in Chongqing city of Western China, and 403 urban older adults aged 60 and above were enrolled. Results: We found that technology-specific factors including perceived risk (B = -0.100, p < 0.001), perceived benefit (B = 0.209, p < 0.001), relative advantage (B = 0.261, p < 0.001) and compatibility (B = 0.274, p < 0.001) were significantly linked to the usage intention for online healthcare. Additionally, financial strain status of perceived difficult (B = -1.024, p = 0.019) was negatively related to the usage intention for online healthcare. Conclusions: The results of this study identify the four technology-specific factors including perceived risk, perceived benefit, relative advantage and compatibility that have a strong influence on the usage intention for online healthcare. This influence implies that the technology-based factors are the key elements affecting older individuals’ perceptions, values, needs, preferences, experience and lifestyles in response to digital health technology. In addition, the results of this paper confirm that the attributes of relative advantage, compatibility and perceived benefit could act as facilitator and perceived risk as a barrier to the usage intention for online healthcare. Findings also enrich the applicable case of the diffusion of innovations theory and the benefit-risk analysis model in understanding the usage intention for online healthcare. Moreover, these findings and their implications here could provide specific evidence that the reinforcement of the usage intention for online healthcare in everyday life depends on technology-based factors in the Chinese context. The theoretical mechanisms underlying the link between the usage intention and technology-specific factors can also aid in developing and implementing sustainable technology-based solutions for online healthcare among older adults.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Social media is an important source of nutrition and wellbeing information for young women, but can amplify misinformation, appearance ideals, and difficult-to-apply health advice. The Daily Health Coach (DHC) is a 12-week Instagram-based programme, originally co-designed and tested in New Zealand, delivering evidence-based, weight-neutral content on nutrition, movement, body image, and wellbeing. This study examined the acceptability of DHC New Zealand content for young Australian women and identified refinements to improve relevance, engagement, and safety. Methods: Using the CODES framework, we conducted three adaptation phases: user acceptance testing, co-design workshops, and early beta testing. An online survey was completed by 409 young women aged 18–24 years, with 338 completing all 12 weeks of review. Participants rated 84 Instagram-style posts for understanding, usefulness, and age appropriateness and provided open-ended feedback. Twelve young women participated in co-design workshops, and seven adapted artefacts were beta-tested with eight target users using cognitive walkthrough and think-aloud methods. Results: Combined understanding and usefulness scores ranged from 7.64 to 8.10/10, with all posts meeting the prespecified acceptability threshold of ≥7.5. Understanding scores exceeded usefulness scores, indicating content was clear but not always personally relevant or actionable. Feedback identified six refinement areas: content features, engagement strategies, content clarity, educational accuracy, relevance, and miscellaneous concerns. Co-design and beta testing generated four adaptation priorities: tone, design, engagement, and understanding. Conclusions: The DHC was acceptable for young Australian women, but required targeted refinement to optimise relevance, engagement, and safety. These guidelines will inform final content adaptation and future effectiveness evaluation.

Abstract: Unplanned pregnancy can disrupt higher education, yet less is known about how college women of color navigate educational pathways following pregnancy-related disruption. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the academic consequences of unplanned pregnancy and the conditions shaping persistence, interruption, return, and completion. A focused reanalysis was conducted using interviews from a broader study of sexual and reproductive health. Eleven college women of color with experiences of unplanned pregnancy participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes characterized participants’ educational experiences: pregnancy as academic disruption; relational and academic support for persistence; nonlinear educational pathways involving delay, return, redirection, and completion; and educational decision-making under pregnancy pressure. Pregnancy affected education through withdrawal, reduced academic engagement, health and financial pressures, and competing responsibilities. Family members, partners, childcare networks, and faculty flexibility supported continuation and return. Importantly, temporary interruption or changes in educational direction did not necessarily indicate educational disengagement. Educational persistence following unplanned pregnancy may instead involve adaptation, interruption, reentry, and altered pathways toward completion. The findings suggest that higher education institutions may better support pregnant and parenting students through coordinated academic, financial, childcare, and reentry assistance that reduces reliance on individual circumstances and informal support networks.

Abstract: Listeners often struggle in noisy environments due to increased cognitive load (listening effort). While listening effort is a multidimensional construct evaluated using different metrics, the relationship among these metrics remains underexplored when conducted at participant equivalent performance levels. The purpose was to determine the relationship between self-reported hearing difficulty and physiologic state during challenging listening tasks that may lead to more sensitive measures of performance and ultimately more effective remedial strategies. This investigation involved listening effort measures via three concurrent non-invasive physiological modalities—pupillometry, electrodermal activity, and photoplethysmography—alongside self-reported hearing abilities in 33 young adults with typical hearing (M = 20.55 years). The noise level required for 75% speech recognition threshold was determined individually (SNR75). A second speech recognition task was presented at each individual’s SNR75 while the three physiologic metrics were recorded. These measures exhibited statistically significant changes from baseline to listening and response peaks across the time domain. Despite these universal main effects, the physiological measures showed no significant cross-modal correlations, nor did they align with self-reported hearing metrics. The results confirm that while these three sensor modalities are sensitive markers of task-evoked effort, they reflect fundamentally independent physiological axes of autonomic arousal during complex speech comprehension.

Abstract: The 2021 European floods were among the most destructive in recent decades, highlighting the importance of understanding how disruptive events shape risk perception and preparedness across multiple hazards, especially under climate change. This study examines how this flood affected risk perception and preparedness among 584 residents in Leverkusen, a city in the Rhine catchment severely impacted by the event. Using a standardised survey, it tests a priori hypotheses derived from cross-over literature and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), complemented by exploratory analyses of specific hazard pairs and preparedness behaviours. Results show that retrospectively reported risk perception increased across all assessed hazards after the flood, indicating clear crossover effects: experience with one hazard also influenced perceptions of other hazards, with direct heavy-rain experience affecting all hazards, and indirect experiences led to broader effects. Consistent with key elements of PMT, direct flood experience was the strongest indicator of protective installations, whereas indirect experience was mainly linked to higher knowledge about natural hazards and flood protection. Survey responses suggest higher perceived risk and knowledge after the 2021 flood, but changes in protection and behaviour remained limited. The study contributes to empirical evidence of cross-over effects in an urban, multi-hazard context several years after a major flood, where direct and indirect experiences shape perception and preparedness differently, highlighting the need for targeted communication to support adaptation after disruptive flood events.

Abstract: Green criminology refers to the study of harms on humanity, the environment and nonhuman species committed by powerful institutions and organisations as well as ordinary people. It addresses violations of environmental morality, environmental ethics, animal rights, nature rights, eco-justice and social justice. Analysing climate change crimes is particularly challenging. Few actors can cause great harm across the globe with many invisible victims. In addition, the International Court of Justice recently advised that nations that commit climate change crime can be held legally accountable if they fail to minimise severe harm to the climate system. Rising powers of far-right populists have come with increasing influence of climate change deniers over policy, and climate policies are denounced and aborted. In parallel, far-right politicians systematically use hate speech and hate crime as a tactic to polarise climate politics, mobilise ingroup followers, and delegitimise and silence pro-climate advocates, eventually harming democracy. This paper theorises on the links between climate change crime, hate crime and democracy crime and suggests a broadening of green criminology to better analyse crimes and victims of climate politics. Green criminology should not only address power in the political economy, but the ideologies and governance styles associated with politics.

Abstract: Corporate real estate leaders routinely justify technology investment by portfolio scale, square footage, building count, headcount, yet scale predicts almost nothing about whether that investment succeeds. This study examines what does predict organisational maturity in adopting Integrated Workplace Management Systems and Computer-Aided Facility Management platforms. Drawing on anonymised data from 125 enterprise CRE firms spanning 21 industry sectors, we assess two candidate predictors, on-site operations staffing intensity and portfolio scale, using Spearman rank correlation, hierarchical regression, and k-means cluster analysis. Staffing intensity proves a stronger predictor of technology adoption maturity than portfolio scale (ρ = 0.52 versus ρ = 0.20, p < 0.001 and p = 0.032, respectively). A combined regression model explains 26.3% variance in maturity scores, with staffing intensity contributing the majority of explanatory power. Cluster analysis identifies two distinct firm segments: a Foundational group (n = 36) and an Advanced/Strategic group (n = 86), differentiated primarily by staffing profile rather than portfolio size. A cross-cutting finding, near-zero adoption of Artificial Intelligence enabled IWMS features across both segments, reveals a persistent gap between technology availability and organisational readiness, irrespective of overall maturity level. These findings reframe technology adoption as an organisational design and human capital challenge, not a procurement decision. The practical implication for managers is direct: before committing technology budgets, organisations should audit staffing capacity. Technology procurement without adequate human capital is a systematic overestimate of returns.

Abstract: Crypto currency is one of most interesting financial innovation of 21st century. Crypto currency trading not only involve financial literacy while trading but also there are psychological factors affecting the decision of traders. Keeping in view the psychological factors and investors’ decision, this research study is designed to investigate the complex interplay between psychological triggers and market dynamics in the cryptocurrency sector in Pakistan, specifically examining how these elements coalesce to drive investor behavior and market volatility. While traditional financial models often attribute asset fluctuations to technological or fundamental shifts, this study posits that cryptocurrency markets are fundamentally driven by human perception and emotional reactivity. Utilizing a quantitative methodological approach, data was collected from a sample of 175 experienced traders to analyze the impact of emotional states, market sentiment, and behavioral discipline on trading outcomes. The empirical results, derived through multiple linear regression analysis, reveal that the model possesses a high level of explanatory power, accounting for 56% of the variance in emotional trading behavior (R2=0.56R2=0.56). Market sentiment emerged as the primary determinant of impulsive trading (β=0.48β=0.48), demonstrating that external social cues often exert a stronger influence on decision-making than internal emotional states. Among specific psychological variables, Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) were identified as the most significant predictors of rash choices (β=0.34β=0.34), while the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) also demonstrated a substantial, though secondary, effect (β=0.21β=0.21). Conversely, the study found that trading experience and the application of systematic strategies serve as vital moderating factors that decrease emotional reactivity and enhance behavioral stability (β=−0.19β=−0.19). The findings contribute to the fields of behavioral finance and digital economics by illustrating that the volatility inherent in digital assets is a systemic byproduct of individual psychological biases aggregated through digital narratives. The research concludes that achieving a sustainable financial ecosystem requires moving beyond purely technical regulations. Instead, it advocates for the implementation of behaviorally-informed safeguards, such as algorithmic "cooling-off" periods and sentiment-aware trading tools, to mitigate the risks associated with reactive investing. Ultimately, this work provides a blueprint for a more resilient digital financial future by prioritizing human factors in market governance.

Abstract: Punishment serves as a critical governance tool for curbing free-riding in public goods provision, but its efficacy depends on the combined effects of detection probability and punishment severity. Most existing studies have examined these two dimensions in isolation, and few have distinguished between the ex ante deterrent effect and the ex post punitive effect. This study employs a repeated public goods experiment, consisting of a no-punishment baseline and three treatment groups with identical expected punishment but different schemes: low detection probability with high fines, medium detection probability with medium fines, and high detection probability with low fines. We examine how punishment schemes affect individual cooperative behavior. The results show that all three punishment designs significantly increase cooperation. Under fixed expected punishment, heterogeneous governance effects emerge across different probability-severity combinations; the medium-probability and medium-severity scheme generates the strongest cooperative incentives. Moreover, punishment promotes cooperation primarily through ex ante deterrence rather than ex post actual punishment. These findings depart from the predictions of traditional expected value theory and provide experimental evidence for understanding the differentiated governance effects of alternative punishment schemes.

Abstract: This article examines a women-led Jewish–Arab dialogue initiative in the Western Galilee and advances the concept of relational capacity as a mechanism of grassroots peacebuilding in protracted asymmetrical conflict. Drawing on qualitative interviews with twenty-one participants and supplementary descriptive survey data from an additional cohort, the study integrates intergroup contact theory, feminist peace scholarship, and everyday peace frameworks to analyse how sustained dialogue generates relational endurance rather than ideological convergence. The findings suggest that participants develop the capacity to maintain cross-community engagement during periods of political tension, translating interpersonal trust into forms of civic agency. Transnational exposure through a delegation visit further amplifies symbolic legitimacy and internal cohesion. Rather than conceptualising reconciliation as attitudinal harmony, the article proposes that grassroots peacebuilding operates as a layered relational process across micro, meso, and transnational levels. The study contributes a transferable analytical framework for examining women-led dialogue initiatives in other protracted conflicts.

Abstract: The mind–body problem remains a central unresolved issue in contemporary cognitive science. Although research on hemispheric asymmetry has yielded extensive knowledge about neural specialization and functional localization, it provides limited explanatory power for how lateralized neural processes become expressed as observable embodied behavior. Existing approaches typically treat bodily asymmetry either as an epiphenomenon or as a static anatomical correspondence, leaving a conceptual and operational gap between neural activity, subjective experience, and kinematic expression.This manuscript presents Subjectica, a purely theoretical neurophenomenological framework that addresses this gap by conceptualizing hemispheric asymmetry as a dynamic process of embodied cognitive orientation. Rather than positing a fixed mapping between hemispheres and body sides, the model proposes that lateralization is expressed as continuous sensorimotor organization reflecting the current interpretative orientation of the organism. Cognitive stance is therefore understood as an embodied orientation that emerges through the relative predominance of internally and externally integrated interpretative resources during contextual interpretation and becomes observable through structured asymmetries in posture, movement, and segmental motor activity.The model introduces four interrelated conceptual constructs: Personal-Oriented Left Side (PO-LS), Social-Oriented Right Side (SO-RS), Asymmetric Neurobehavioral Signal (ANS), and Body Segments (BS). Together, these constructs provide an interpretative framework linking hemispheric functional asymmetry, embodied cognitive orientation, and measurable bodily dynamics. The framework enables the analysis of lateralization as continuous probabilistic patterns of whole-body and segment-specific motor organization rather than as discrete anatomical or task-specific indicators.Subjectica is intended as a generative theoretical framework that produces testable hypotheses and operational pathways for future empirical research at the intersection of embodied cognition, hemispheric asymmetry, neurophenomenology, and embodied contextual interpretation.

Abstract: Accuracy and speed are essential in handball throwing, and players show distinctive responses to complex perceptual-motor stimuli. Virtual reality (VR) technologies create controlled conditions for training and assessing sport-specific cognitive skills. The objective of the study is to develop and validate the VR Handball environment for assessing and training perceptual-motor skills and inhibitory control in handball players. The study included 29 participants: 10 professional handball players (100% male, average age 22.1±1.8) and 19 controls (47% male, average age 21±1.8). The VR system modeled a realistic 3D handball court with correctly scaled goalposts and balls. Participants completed tasks of varying difficulty, deflecting yellow target balls while inhibiting responses to red non-target balls. Reaction speed and ball trajectory were recorded using controllers. Professional handball players showed significantly better overall performance than controls, with higher accuracy and stronger inhibitory control, especially in trials with red balls at Easy and Medium levels. Unlike controls, their accuracy did not decline with increased task difficulty; instead, their reaction times became faster. Professional handball players demonstrated more efficient perceptual-motor and cognitive control mechanisms. The VR Handball paradigm appears to be an ecologically valid tool for assessing sport-specific skills.