Social Sciences

Abstract: Consumption of conventional white and red meat is a societal and environmental problem. The assertion of these problems stems from factors that influence consumers’ intention to purchase plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) from retailers which are fragmented. Thereby warranting a comprehensive synthesis of precursors that determine purchase intention of PBMAs based on an evidence-based multi-layered model. Applying the Value-Attitude-Behaviour (VAB) theory with the integration of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study examined how values (green value and animal welfare value) influenced perceived attitudes towards PBMAs, which further influenced consumer purchase intention of PBMAs. To close the literature gap, further testing was conducted on the mediating role of perceived behavioural control (PBC) and the subjective norms (SN) variable on the perceived attitude (PA) and purchase intention (PI) relationship. Data was collected by applying convenience and snowball sampling techniques. A total of 501 red and white meat consumers participated in the study to ascertain their potential intention to purchase PBMAs. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS for the descriptives statistics and PLS-SEM to test the direct and indirect effects. Findings indicate that direct relationships were supported, except that subjective norm did not influence purchase intention. Behavioural control mediated the attitude and purchase intention relationship, whereas subjective norms did not mediate the attitude and purchase intention relationship. The introduction of the mediators in the proposed model underscores the value of integrating multiple analytical perspectives in the complex formation of PBMA decision making.

Abstract: The article focuses on the changing paradigm that the energy transition is increasingly shifting from a purely technological domain toward a socio-political and behavioral process shaped by regional disparities and social conditions. Recent studies indicate that regional disparities and differences in policy effectiveness have increased the importance of behavioral factors, including awareness, social norms, motivation, and cultural practices, in shaping energy transition outcomes. This study is grounded in an interdisciplinary framework combining behavioral theories, socio-technical transition approaches, and regional development concepts. It aims to investigate the role of consumer behavior in shaping energy transition outcomes, with a particular focus on regional and educational factors. An empirical survey of 997 respondents across different regions of Ukraine was conducted. Using cluster analysis, three distinct groups were identified, reflecting different levels of awareness and engagement with energy transition issues. Factor analysis revealed that region and education are the most significant determinants of cluster formation. The results confirm that behavioral patterns are strongly influenced by socio-regional characteristics and cannot be explained solely by traditional energy indicators. Based on these findings, the study validates the need for region-sensitive energy policies and provides recommendations for designing targeted interventions that account for regional context and educational level to enhance the effectiveness of energy transition strategies.

Abstract: In the 21st century, digital development, which has become an indispensable element of all processes of human life, has a “bi-directional effect” on the efficiency of outputs, “both positive and negative”. This idea has been put forward in the cited studies. The case studies presented in this study reveal the negative effects of digital addiction in various fields. The study focuses on the individual and social damages of digital addiction, as well as its negative impact on productivity, which is our main topic, and discusses the measures and solutions that can be taken at the individual and organisational level. In this study, firstly, the concepts of digital addiction and work productivity will be defined in order to draw a conceptual framework. After drawing the conceptual framework, an overview of the relationship between “productivity and digital addiction” will be presented.

Abstract: Parents with a history of suicide attempt may face complex decisions about whether to disclose their suicidal behaviors to their children, yet little is known about how these decisions are shaped within family and social contexts. This exploratory mixed methods study examined parental disclosure of suicide attempt history among parents of children aged 5–17 years receiving behavioral health services. Parents with a documented suicide attempt history were recruited from a metropolitan children’s hospital. Eleven parents completed structured assessments of suicidal thoughts and behaviors followed by semi-structured qualitative interviews. Most parents discussed mental health with their child; however, fewer disclosed their suicide attempt history. Disclosure decisions were influenced by family dynamics, prior experiences of dismissal or support, stigma surrounding suicide, and distrust of mental health care. Parents who did not disclose identified judgment, perceived lack of need, and minimization of mental health concerns as barriers. Parents who engaged in open conversations described opportunities to foster trust and emotional closeness. These findings suggest that stigma and social context shape parental disclosure decisions and that supporting open parent–child communication may represent a potential component of family-centered youth suicide prevention efforts.

Abstract: Academic stress represents a major challenge to university students’ wellbeing and is associated with both psychological and physiological consequences. Although dog-assisted interventions have shown promising effects in reducing stress and anxiety in higher education settings, methodological challenges remain regarding the integrated assessment of physiological responses. This study examined cardiovascular changes associated with dog-assisted university sessions and explored the usefulness of integrated cardiovascular indices for physiological stress monitoring. A quasi-experimental pre–post repeated-measures design was implemented within the StressLess program at the University of Granada. A total of 147 university students participated, generating 375 valid physiological records including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate measurements obtained before and after intervention sessions. Results revealed significant reductions in all cardiovascular variables following participation. Furthermore, the StressLess Cardiovascular Dynamics Index (SCDI) and alternative integrated cardiovascular formulations consistently detected physiological changes associated with the intervention, showing moderate-to-large effect sizes and high convergence among indices. The findings suggest that dog-assisted interventions may facilitate short-term physiological regulation in university students and that integrated cardiovascular approaches represent practical, non-invasive tools for stress assessment in real educational settings.

Abstract: The study examined the extent of bribery within the public healthcare system in Greece and the influence of its determinants at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, highlighting institutional and cultural influences, systemic weaknesses, inequalities, and high-risk groups. Structured questionnaires were administered to a representative sample of adult users of healthcare services in public hospitals located in urban areas. The analysis included descriptive statistics to examine variable distributions and trends, bivariate non-parametric tests to assess associations between informal payments and selected demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, as well as binary logistic regression modelling to estimate the probability of exposure to informal payments based on specific individual characteristics. The study sample comprised 2,072 adults, of whom 59.5% were female and 40.5% male, with the largest age group being 36–55 years. A proportion of 23.2% resided outside the metropolitan areas of Athens and Thessaloniki, while nearly 50% reported a monthly household income of up to €1,500, indicating a substantial representation of socio-economically disadvantaged groups. The analysis revealed the existence of a significant problem of informal payments within the Greek public healthcare system and identified specific institutional, cultural, and organizational determinants, as well as demographic and socioeconomic groups that are particularly vulnerable to such practices. The phenomenon disproportionately affects economically, educationally, and geographically disadvantaged populations. Addressing informal payments in healthcare is essential to preventing the erosion of the social fabric of the country and requires comprehensive transparency-oriented policies, the strengthening of equitable access to services, and targeted interventions for high-risk groups, in order to ensure the sustainability of the public healthcare system and the promotion of equitable and healthy living conditions for the population.

Abstract: This study explores the impact of physical activity on psychological well-being in older adults, emphasizing the different roles of social relationships. Utilizing data from the 2020 Korean National Survey of Older Persons, we applied structural equation modeling to analyze both direct and indirect pathways connecting physical activity to well-being through social contact and emotional support. The results reveal a significant positive direct effect of physical activity on psychological well-being. Additionally, social contact serves as a beneficial mediating pathway by promoting active social engagement, while emotional support shows a negative mediating effect, indicating it may reflect underlying vulnerability instead of functioning as a universally positive resource. These findings highlight a dual-pathway mechanism in which the structural and functional aspects of social relationships operate through distinct and sometimes conflicting processes. By differentiating between these dimensions, this study addresses inconsistencies in previous research regarding the impact of social relationships on well-being in later life and suggests important implications for fostering active social participation in aging societies. The results underscore the need for interventions that encourage active social engagement rather than relying solely on passive support in aging populations.

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between social-emotional skills (SES) and perceptions of school violence among middle school students, considering both associations and heterogeneity in social-emotional profiles. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design was used, with a sample of 311 students aged 8 to 15 (M = 10.65, SD = 1.69). SES were assessed across four dimensions (stress management, adaptation, sense of safety, and expectations), while perceptions of school violence included verbal, physical, relational, digital, and teacher-perpetrated acts. The results show that all dimensions of SES have significant inverse associations with perceptions of violence, with moderate magnitudes, suggesting their role as cognitive-emotional resources. Likewise, three distinct SES profiles (high, medium, and low; n = 151, 134, and 26, respectively) were identified, with the profile exhibiting the highest levels generally reporting lower perceptions of school violence. However, differences between profiles do not follow a strict, linear pattern, suggesting a possible threshold pattern. Nevertheless, no differences in the perception of violence were found based on gender, despite evident differences in SES. The results indicate that SES operate as situated functional systems that modulate the interpretation of violence. It is concluded that understanding school violence requires integrating variable- and profile-centred approaches and considering the interaction between individual resources and school contexts.

Abstract: Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often encounter significant challenges in social interaction and communication. The integration of portable devices (e.g., mobile phones and tablets) into educational frameworks could transform the support landscape for students with ASD, facilitating the implementation of innovative and high-ly effective instructional strategies. The objectives of this review are threefold: (a) to synthesize internationally recognized peer-reviewed research regarding the use of portable devices to enhance social skills in children with ASD; (b) to evaluate and analyze the efficacy of these digital interventions; and (c) to identify current limitations in the literature while providing evidence-based recommendations for practitioners, educators, and future research. The article selection process was carried out in strict adherence to the PRISMA (Pre-ferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, ensuring methodological rigor and transparency in the systematic review process. A systematic search was conducted using the following electronic databases: (a) PsycINFO, (b) Educa-tion Resources Information Center (ERIC), (c) Scopus, and (d) Web of Science. Fourteen studies were selected, and data on intervention components, implementation strategies, and outcomes were extracted. The results suggest that the use of portable devices as in-tervention tools can have a positive effect on the social skills of children with ASD. Future research should prioritise rigorous designs, including studies with larger samples and long-term follow-up to assess the sustainability of outcomes.

Abstract: This study examines whether AI-powered chatbot training was associated with changes in university students’ facial and vocal emotional reaction time during simulated job interviews. A one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was conducted with 54 third- and fourth-year students enrolled in a Human Talent Management course at a private Latin American university. The study was implemented in an Applied Neuroscience Laboratory using iMotions-supported facial expression recognition, eye-tracking, and vocal tone analysis technologies. Participants first completed a baseline simulated interview, followed by three chatbot-based training sessions using HR-expert-validated questions, real-time scoring, and qualitative feedback. A final simulated interview was then conducted to compare pre- and post-training emotional indicators. Facial emotional reaction time was analyzed through aggregate indicators and specific emotions, including joy, surprise, anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and contempt. Vocal emotional reaction time was examined through happiness, sadness, anger, and neutrality. Pre-post differences were assessed using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results showed a significant increase in positive facial emotional reaction time, from 3.52% to 14.75%, and in joy, from 2.38% to 10.10%. Vocal happiness also increased from 2.79% to 10.71%. Several negative and neutral indicators decreased after training, although some of these changes were supported mainly by the Wilcoxon test and should be interpreted cautiously. Overall, the findings suggest that chatbot-based interview training may support emotional expressiveness and vocal modulation in simulated job interview settings, offering a complementary tool for employability training in higher education.

Abstract: Generative AI (Gen AI) adoption increasingly recognizes the need to access and validate virtue ethics in relation to Large Language Models (LLMs) and their integration into higher education. The focus is shifting from rules- or outcomes-based towards moral character, personality traits, integrity and practical wisdom (phronesis), although much of the existing work remains towards ethical paradigms from the Global North. This paper assesses the construct validity and reliability of the Virtue Ethics Measurement Scale (VEMS) within South African and the Continent’s largest Comprehensive Open Distance eLearning (ODEL) Higher Education Institution (HEI). Guided by the positivist paradigm, a cross-sectional 36-item measuring six virtue dimensions (justice, honesty, responsibility, care, prudence, and fortitude) was administered to a sample of N = 503 undergraduate and postgraduate university students. For construct validation, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to assess four competing models: (1) single-factor, (2a) six-factor first-order baseline, (2b) refined six-factor first-order, and (3) second-order hierarchical structure. While the single-factor model demonstrated poor fit, which rejected unidimensionality, the second-order model demonstrated a comparable fit, thus supported a hierarchical structure where six specific virtues successfully loaded onto an overarching virtue ethics construct. Through its robust psychometric properties, the proposed VEMS proves to be a reliable virtue ethics assessment instrument for adoption and use of Gen AI within South African higher education ODEL environment.

Abstract: The transition toward a low-carbon and sustainable green economy requires energy-sector organizations to respond not only through technological modernization, regulatory compliance, and low-carbon investment, but also through employee-level behavioral adaptation. However, the micro-level mechanisms through which decarbonization and regulatory pressures are translated into employee green behavior remain insufficiently understood. Addressing this gap, this study introduces carbon anxiety as a transition-specific construct reflecting employees’ perception of organizational tension, uncertainty, and pressure associated with carbon reduction, emissions accountability, carbon reporting, and the operational consequences of decarbonization. Building on the psychological contract perspective, the article develops and tests a moderated mediation model in which psychological contract fulfillment for the environment mediates the relationships between carbon anxiety, perceived regulatory pressure, and employee green behavior, while pro-environmental consciousness strengthens the effect of environmental contract fulfillment on green behavior. The study is based on a cross-sectional quantitative design using an anonymous CAWI survey of 857 employees from Poland’s energy sector, including conventional energy companies, renewable energy firms, electricity and heat distribution operators, transmission entities, and organizations providing services and technologies for the sector. The hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling, with additional diagnostic and robustness checks ac-counting for demographic, organizational, and subsectoral differences. The findings show that both carbon anxiety and perceived regulatory pressure are positively associated with psychological contract fulfillment for the environment, which in turn predicts employee green behavior. The results further indicate that this behavioral mechanism is stronger among employees with higher pro-environmental consciousness. The study contributes to research on the low-carbon transition and sustainable green economy by identifying relational and behavioral micro-foundations through which decarbonization and regulatory pressures become enacted inside energy organizations. It also extends psychological contract theory by situating environmental contract fulfillment in a carbon-intensive, regulation-driven sectoral transformation. Practically, the findings suggest that energy companies and policymakers should not rely on transition pressure alone, but should foster credible environmental commitments, green skills, and employee participation mechanisms that enable low-carbon organizational change to become embedded in everyday work practices.

Abstract: The factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) has been debated, with studies alternately supporting unidimensional and three‑factor solutions. This inconsistency may reflect a methodological limitation: conventional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) cannot always separate general from dimension‑specific variance, producing similar fit indices across competing models when a dominant general factor is present. We examined the dimensionality of the UWES‑17 and UWES‑9 in a sample of 755 Chilean university students, comparing unidimensional, three‑factor, second‑order, and bifactor models using Weighted Least Squares Mean and Variance Adjusted (WLSMV) estimation appropriate for ordinal data. Bifactor indices, explained common variance (ECV), percent of uncontaminated correlations (PUC), and hierarchical omega (ωₕ), were computed to evaluate essential unidimensionality. Results indicated that a general engagement factor explained approximately 85% of common item variance in both versions (ECV ≈ .85; ωₕ > .90), while specific factors for vigor, dedication, and absorption retained negligible reliable variance, particularly absorption (ωₕ ≈ .00). Measurement invariance by sex was supported for the UWES‑9 at the metric level. Taken together, findings suggest that the apparent multidimensionality of the UWES may be, at least partly, an artifact of conventional CFA modeling rather than a substantive property of the construct in this student sample. For applied monitoring of student well‑being, the UWES‑9 total score is recommended as the most pragmatic and psychometrically defensible scoring approach. Implications for interpreting prior literature and for institutional and educational practice are discussed.

Abstract: Introduction: Precision oncology has revolutionized cancer care in high-income countries, but its implementation in Latin American low-resource settings faces profound bioethical dilemmas. This study analyzes these challenges through the lens of social justice and equity. Methods: An integrative review was conducted following the Whittemore and Knafl framework. A systematic search was performed across PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, and LILACS (2015–2025). Thematic synthesis was applied to integrate empirical data with normative bioethical theories. Results: Four major analytical themes were identified: 1) The Innovation Paradox and Financial Toxicity, where prohibitive pricing (exceeding $100,000 USD/year) violates distributive justice and leads to a biological penalty in survival; 2) Infrastructure Deficits and Epistemic Injustice, highlighted by a 9.4% access rate to Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and the risks of applying Eurocentric genomic data to admixed LA populations; 3) Research Vulnerability, where clinical trials serve as survival strategies, compromising autonomy and informed consent; and 4) The Judicialization Dilemma, where individual court orders for high-cost drugs threaten systemic sustainability and equity. Conclusions: To prevent a genomic apartheid, Latin America must transition toward genomic sovereignty and frugal precision oncology. Bioethical frameworks in the region must prioritize protection ethics and social justice to ensure that scientific innovation does not exacerbate existing health inequities.

Abstract: Traditional food systems are increasingly threatened by industrialised agri-food production, which relies on standardised processes, economies of scale, and lower production costs. This transformation risks undermining not only the economic viability of artisanal producers but also the cultural heritage, local knowledge, pastoral practices, and territorial identities embedded in traditional foods. This study investigates whether consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for traditionally produced foods can help safeguard rural cultural heritage in a competitive PDO market. Focusing on an Italian cheese, the Fiore Sardo PDO, the research combines a Bertrand duopoly framework with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine the relationships among market competition, consumer beliefs, and support for traditional production systems. Data from 1,640 Italian consumers were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results show that attitudes towards cultural preservation, social recognition of traditional production, and perceived support for rural shepherd communities significantly influence consumers’ willingness to purchase and pay higher prices for traditionally produced cheese. Consumers associate artisanal production not only with superior sensory quality and authenticity but also with the protection of cultural identity, traditional pastoral knowledge, and rural landscapes.

Abstract: This study examined parent–child physiological synchrony within the context of interactions and attachment-related differences. Specifically, this study investigated physiological synchrony, as indexed by the association between parent and child root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) during free-play interactions, and differences in children’s mean heart rates according to attachment classification. The participants were 25 parent–child dyads (mean child age = 36.48 months). Physiological responses were assessed during free-play interactions using heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). Children’s attachment was classified as secure or resistant based on their behaviors observed during the separation–reunion procedure. The results showed a significant positive association between the parent and child RMSSD (ρ =.48, p <.05). Parental anxiety was positively associated with both parents’ and children’s physiological arousal. Attachment-related group differences were observed only in the mean heart rate, with children with resistant attachment showing a significantly higher HR than those with secure attachment (t = 2.69, p <.05). No significant group differences were observed in the RMSSD or HR/RMSSD ratios. Overall, these findings suggest that the parent–child RMSSD association, as a component of physiological synchrony, may reflect a normative feature of parent–child interaction that emerges across attachment classifications. In addition, attachment-related differences were primarily observed in physiological arousal.

Abstract: This paper proposes a novel framework, HyperGAT-BERT-RAS, that integrates: (1) a Hy perGraph Attention Network (HyperGAT) with BERT for enhanced semantic representa-tion; (2) a Reference Answer Set (RAS) constructed via clustering of full-score answers; (3) Siamese Neural Networks (SNNs) for similarity-based scoring; and (4) GPT-4-based data augmentation to address class imbalance. Experiments on the Ohsumed and ASAP-5 da-tasets demonstrate that: (i) HyperGAT-BERT achieves 0.7317 accuracy on Ohsumed text classification, outperforming baseline HyperGAT by 2.69%; (ii) the full Hyper-GAT-BERT-RAS achieves 0.7991 accuracy and 0.7956 F1-score, with RAS contributing the most to performance gains (4.34% accuracy drop when removed); (iii) GPT-4 augmentation improves Quadratic Weighted Kappa from 0.584 to 0.880 and minority-class (scores 2–3) F1 by 15.3%. These improvements translate into more reliable scoring of diverse student answers, reduced teacher grading burden, and enhanced feasibility of AI-assisted forma-tive assessment in real classrooms. Ablation and error analyses confirm the contribution of each component. The framework advances ASAG by synergizing graph-based relational modeling, pretrained language understanding, and knowledge-guided scoring.

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used to support writing, translation, reasoning, and consequential decision-making under the assumption that they improve judgment by expanding access to information and reducing human error. This article argues that such optimism overlooks a central psychological problem: LLMs do not engage neutral users, but motivated reasoners. In common patterns of use, people approach these systems with prior beliefs, directional goals, and a desire to reduce cognitive effort. They ask leading questions, search in preferred directions, and often stop once a fluent and coherent answer appears. Under these conditions, LLMs may function less as external correctives than as smart mirrors that reflect users’ assumptions back to them with the authority of machine objectivity. Drawing on research in judgment and decision-making, motivated reasoning, automation bias, processing fluency, and human–AI interaction, the article develops the concept of artificial confidence: an inflated sense of certainty sustained by the structure of the interaction rather than by the quality of the evidence. The paper concludes by outlining a research agenda for identifying when human–AI interaction improves judgment and when it amplifies bias and overreliance, erodes epistemic responsibility, and creates challenges for governance, oversight, and decision-making protocols in AI-augmented systems.

Abstract: Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) exercise veto power on most empirical research in the social and behavioural sciences. Although widely regarded as essential safeguards in behavioural research, their overall impact on knowledge production has been seldom scrutinized, much less systematically examined. Rather than evaluating IRBs in terms of their stated aims, this article considers them as institutions based on process characteristics: that is, as decision making units facing bureaucratic incentives to impose costs on others. From this political economic perspective, ethics review functions not as a neutral guardrail, but as an active agent influencing the selection pressures within the scientific ecosystems they regulate. This article examines the following key mechanisms through which IRBs affect knowledge production: (1) cost inflation and quality dilution that reduces both the supply of and demand for the knowledge produced by research; (2) selection effects operating on researcher characteristics and on the bureaucratization of decision-making processes in a direction detrimental to the quality and integrity of research production; and (3) non-random distortions of methods, topics, and rates of independent replication are all expected to contribute to a reduction in the practical significance and societal benefit of affected academic institutions. These impacts escalate because of asymmetric accountability and motivated mission expansion in a system where overreach more often self-reinforces than becomes restrained by corrective feedback. This points to empirical predictions and highlights the need to quantify the real costs of unchecked IRB expansion.

Abstract: Sustainable consumption research frequently highlights a gap between consumers’ pro-sustainability attitudes and their everyday purchasing practices. While wine has attracted growing attention as a sustainable product category, existing research has predominantly relied on quantitative approaches, offering limited insight into how consumers themselves interpret and negotiate sustainability in practice. This study adopts a qualitative, exploratory approach to examine how Austrian wine consumers make sense of sustainability in everyday wine consumption contexts. Based on five focus group discussions incorporating a guided wine tasting, the analysis explores meaning-making processes, moral justifications, and situational decision-making rather than attitudes, preferences or willingness to pay alone. The findings reveal that sustainability is not rejected but selectively applied and morally compartmentalized. Wine is frequently constructed as a morally legitimate exception to everyday ethical responsibility, with taste operating as a hegemonic evaluative authority that overrides sustainability considerations. Regional origin functions as a symbolic substitute for sustainability. Meanwhile formal certifications are often met with skepticism, especially when governance structures are perceived as weak. Willingness to pay for sustainable wine emerges as situational and context-dependent, requiring narrative and relational justification rather than abstract ethical commitment. By conceptualizing sustainability as a negotiated and situated practice, this study contributes to sustainable consumption research by moving beyond linear attitude–behavior models. The findings offer insights into eco-friendly living as it is practiced in everyday consumption, highlighting the role of moral boundaries, symbolic cues, and social context in shaping sustainability-related decisions. The research emphasizes everyday consumption practices, key challenges, and situational enablers of eco-friendly living.