Abstract: Whereas there is a growing body of literature on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, limited evidence exists on the impact of the pandemic on informal female-owned enterprises, and especially those that are located in urban informal settlements. In this study, we explore the adverse impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on women food vendors enterprises and their coping strategies across four informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The study is based on a quantitative survey of 448 women vendors selected through stratified random sampling. Our findings show that women food vendors face numerous challenges which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased costs of business operations, spoilage of perishable products, and oscillating daily sales and profits, largely due to the unpredictable market supply and demand forces. The vendors adopted a number of strategies to cushion their business enterprises and households, including price and stock adjustments, use of mobile phones and hygiene measures at business enterprises, reliance on credit, loans, savings and social networks for survival, temporary closure of business, and relocation of household members to the rural home. These results underscore the critical need for context-specific strategies to support and foster resilience of informal economies during future global pandemics.

Abstract: This paper presents a comprehensive policy framework to position New Jersey as a national leader in artificial intelligence (AI) education and workforce development. Through analysis of current state initiatives—including the NJ AI Hub, AI Task Force reports, apprenticeship programs, and regulatory guidance—we identify strategic gaps and opportunities across K-12, higher education, and workforce development sectors. We propose a multi-layered approach visualized through interconnected frame works: an integrated AI education ecosystem, phased implementation roadmaps for K-12 AI literacy, a statewide AI curriculum consortium structure, multi-track workforce development pathways, and equity and access frameworks. Quantitative analysis reveals that while 25%+ of New Jersey’s workforce already uses AI technology daily, only 20-25% of educators feel prepared for AI integration. Our policy recommendations address this gap through a $165 million annual investment strategy with projected 3.8x return on investment, creating pathways for 15,000-20,000 new AI jobs by 2030. This framework provides actionable guidance for lawmakers, educators, and industry stakeholders to enhance New Jersey’s competitiveness, ensure ethical AI deployment, and foster inclusive economic growth in the AI era. Drawing from over recent sources including state publications, academic research, and industry reports, this paper offers concrete ecommendations for lawmakers, regulators, educators, and industry stakeholders to enhance New Jersey’s competitiveness, ensure ethical AI deployment, and foster inclusive economic growth in the AI era. Recommendations include establishing AI literacy standards for all K-12 students, creating specialized AI high schools, expanding community college AI programs, developing industry-aligned university curricula, and implementing statewide AI teacher training. We also address equity considerations, funding mechanisms, and implementation timelines.

Abstract: The challenges of inadequacies and disparity in quantity of fresh water supply as experience in many regions of the world Altogether, can be attributed to issues such as climate change, rapid population growth, institutional failures and growing water demand., thus resulting in water accessibility issues. While efforts have been made to analyse willingness to buy water or pay for improve water services no single study has pointed to the inequalities associated with informal water market (IWM) in Nigeria. Therefore, this study is an attempt to examine the impact of IWM on access to water in Ijebu-Ode Nigeria. Adopting questionnaire for the survey of 507 and connecting household socio-economic characteristics to household access to water sources. Analytical Method includes in investigating the inequalities associated with informal water market operation. Chi-Square, t-test, ANOVA Also further, inquiry into the associated inequality followed Lorenz Curve and Atkinson Index technique. The findings showed that, Gini index for the study area is 49.45, while that of water expenditure is 49.23 the Atkinson Index remains 0.361, showing existing inequality in access to water. Therefore, recommendations comprise the establishment of regulatory body, provision of loans services for the informal water market sector.

Abstract: Objective of the study: This study utilized Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify distinct personality profiles in a sample of 523 adults with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) from Punjab, Pakistan. Methodology: Using the NEO-120-IPIP inventory, a statistically optimal four-profile solution demonstrated an excellent model fit (Entropy = 0.875). One-way ANOVA confirmed highly significant differences between profiles across all five personality domains (p < 0.001), with particularly large effect sizes for Conscientiousness (η² = 0.75) and Agreeableness (η² = 0.55). Results: The derived profiles were labeled as: (1) Conscious-Warrior (high neuroticism and conscientiousness); (2) Socially Expressive (high extraversion, lower agreeableness); (3) Highly Expressive and Emotionally Intense (extremely high extraversion, neuroticism, openness); and (4) Agreeable-Achiever (high conscientiousness and extraversion). These results reveal significant personality heterogeneity within the SUD population. Conclusions: The findings highlight the clinical utility of person-centered approaches for culturally informed assessment, individualized treatment planning, and targeted relapse prevention strategies.

Abstract: Narco-Culture seems to be the complex of values, music, and religious practices that normalize and even legitimize the drug trade and its associated lifestyle (Cabanas, 2014). The core question of this presentation is: Why and how are criminals «sanctified», as the phenomenon goes far beyond drug trafficking, since it’s a complex social and cultural movement, where power, wealth and violence are somehow romanticized. Of course, we all are aware of the recent tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The USA claims that Venezuela is a «narco-state», which somehow promotes and exports the «narco-culture» within North America. So in the next minutes, allow me to set some questions from a sociological and theological perspective, in order to approach (at least try) this strange (from where I come from) and the same time interesting culture.

Abstract: In this study of prisoners’ quality of life, we asked; Which aspects of the imprisonment conditions – including the physical environment – best predict overall satisfaction with the prison (OSP)? Is the staff–prisoner relationships the single most important dimension, as frequently emphasized in the literature but scarcely tested quantitatively? Methods Data stemmed from a survey conducted in three closed prisons in Norway in 2022 (response rate: 63 %, n=163). The dependent variable was assessed with the question: “Generally speaking, on a scale from 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with this prison?” This outcome was regressed on seven subscales from the Prison Climate Questionnaire and four single-item measures of the physical environment that have been shown to influence health and well-being. Results As expected, the quality of staff–prisoner relationships had a unique statistical impact on OSP. Ratings of the outdoor areas and the view from the cell were about equally strong predictors. In contrast, no statistically independent effects were observed for perceived quality of relationships with fellow prisoners, reintegration measures, receiving visits, perceptions of personal safety, degree of independence, access to natural light and a global rating of the prison building (noise, temperature, layout, etc). Conclusions This study further underscores the importance of positive staff–prisoner relationships. It also provides new insights into significance of the physical environment for prisoners’ overall perceptions of prison quality, with potential implications for the design and location of new correctional facilities and for improving the quality of existing ones.

Abstract: Today, foundation models simulate humans’ skills in translation, literature review, fact checking, fake-news detection, novel and poetry production. But Generative AI can also be applied to discourse analysis. This study instructs the Gemini 2.5 model to analyze multimodal political discourse. We selected some fragments from the Trump-Zelensky debate held at the White House on February 28, 2025, and annotated each sentence, gesture, intonation, gaze, and fa-cial expression in terms of LEP (Logos, Ethos, Pathos) analysis, to assess when speakers, in words or body communication, rely on rational argumentation, stress their own merits or the opponents’ demerits, or express and try to induce emotions in the audi-ence. Through detailed prompts, we asked the Gemini 2.5 model to run the LEP analysis on the same fragments. Then, considering the human’s and model’s annotations in par-allel, we proposed a metric to compare their respective analyses and measure dis-crepancies, finally tuning an optimized prompt for the model’s best performance, which in some cases outperformed the human’s analysis: an interesting application, since the LEP analysis highlights deep aspects of multimodal discourse but is highly time-consuming, while its automatic version allows us to interpret large chunks of speech in a fast but reliable way.

Abstract: The study was conducted to assess primary school teachers’ satisfaction with advocacy services in primary school social work and to identify influencing factors. Data were collected from 398 primary school teachers through a questionnaire, assessing aspects of advocacy services including reliability, responsiveness, competence, empathy and im-plementation conditions. The results of the study showed that teachers’ overall satisfaction was quite high (M = 4.01, SD = 0.27), with all components being positively evaluated. Analysis of differences by demographic factors showed that sex, age, location and region influenced teachers’ evaluation of service quality, while seniority and education level had only limited impact. Pearson correlation analysis shows that all service factors have a positive relationship with satisfaction, in which responsiveness, trust, empathy and im-plementation conditions are statistically significant. Service factors also have strong cor-relations with each other, reflecting the consistency in teachers' perceptions. The study provides a quantitative basis for improving and enhancing the quality of advocacy services in primary school social work, and suggests policies and directions for further research.

Abstract: Cultural heritage can contribute to urban resilience by supporting education that builds stewardship and civic agency. This study evaluates whether the Art Nouveau Path, an outdoor mobile augmented reality heritage game in Aveiro, Portugal, can serve as a curriculum-aligned pathway for urban resilience and sustainability competences in formal education. A curriculum translation matrix mapped eight points of interest and 36 tasks to Portugal’s curricular frameworks, Education for Sustainability themes, and GreenComp competences, and was examined as a design artefact to support adoption and scalability. Empirical evidence comprised accompanying teachers’ in-field observations (T2-OBS; N = 24 across 18 sessions) and students’ post-activity survey data (S2-POST; N = 439), including open-ended narratives. Narratives were analyzed using a directed resilience-mechanism codebook, with high intercoder agreement (Krippendorff’s alpha = 0.91). Teachers reported very high willingness to participate again (M = 5.75/6, SD = 0.44) and perceived contribution to sustainability competences (M = 5.08/6, SD = 0.72), while observing frequent care for public space and heritage (83.33%). Students strongly endorsed learning Education for Sustainability through local heritage (98.41%). By foregrounding curriculum translation and mechanism-based narrative analysis, the study contributes an adoption-oriented model for scaling heritage-based mobile learning within urban resilience agendas.

Abstract: This study analyzes long‑term structural and demographic change in Japan by examining prefectural productivity trends from 1975 to 2021 and municipal‑level dynamics in Mie Prefecture. Four benchmark years—1975, 1989, 2006, and 2021—capture major turning points in Japan’s postwar economic trajectory. Spot values and interval‑based changes across the periods 1975–1989, 1989–2006, and 2006–2021 reveal three phases of regional economic development. Metropolitan prefectures led productivity growth until the early 2000s, but their dominance weakened after 2006, when productivity gains became concentrated in non‑metropolitan regions despite substantial population decline. Municipal‑level evidence from Mie Prefecture reinforces this pattern. Between 2011 and 2021, all 29 municipalities recorded increases in income per working‑age person, and municipalities with the steepest demographic contraction often showed the strongest income growth. These findings challenge the prevailing narrative of regional decline and indicate that depopulation may coexist with, or even facilitate, local economic restructuring. Overall, Japan’s regional transformation should be understood not simply as decline but as a process of reorganization driven by demographic change and the emergence of resilient local enterprises.

Abstract: This paper addresses the critical intersection of demographic shifts and private land conservation, with a focus on the implications for wildlife management in rural private ecosystems. As private land ownership, resulting from the phenomenon of amenity migration, continues to fragment and diversify, understanding how these emerging landowners interact with wildlife and engage in management practices is essential to achieving large-scale conservation outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on this understudied intersection of literatures through a review that synthesizes existing scholarship, identifies critical gaps, and outlines opportunities for future research and institutional response. Building on socio-ecological systems perspectives, our results showcase four themes where wildlife is mentioned in the amenity migration literature, yet wildlife is rarely treated as a managed social-ecological system in this literature. Our call for action argues that the implications of amenity migration on wildlife management extend beyond individual landowners to include institutional systems, shifting com-munity dynamics, and new patterns of land use that together shape the conditions under which wildlife can persist.

Abstract: Heavy drinking is prevalent in young adulthood, yet its relationship with psychosocial well-being remains com-plex. This study examines the association between heavy drinking and social isolation among young adults and tests whether this relationship varies by sexual orientation. Using pooled, nationally representative data from the 2022 and 2024 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), we analyzed adults aged 18–29 (N = 723). Perceived social isolation was measured using the PROMIS Social Isolation Short Form. Weighted multivariable linear regression models assessed interactions between sexual orientation and heavy drinking occasions (0 vs. 1+), adjusting for sociodemographics and psychological distress. 45.5% reported heavy drinking. Lesbian/gay (B = 5.39, p < .001) and bisexual (B = 1.49, p < .001) young adults reported higher isolation than straight peers; heavy drinking was inversely associated with isolation (B = −1.34, p < .001). A significant interaction indicated that among lesbian/gay young adults, heavy drinking was associated with lower perceived isolation (B = −5.90, p < .001). These findings suggest that alcohol-centered social spaces may play a distinct role in fostering community belonging for lesbian/gay young adults. Interventions should account for the social meanings of alcohol use to avoid unintentionally increasing isolation among sexual minoritized populations.

Abstract: As the reliability and validity of forensic evidence, particularly in feature comparison disciplines, confront on-going scrutiny, forensic practitioners must ensure their processes, whether for investigative, intelligence or evidential purposes are robust, scientifically grounded, and validated. In forensic facial identification, morphological analysis is internationally recognized as the preferred method for facial image comparison, and is applied during the analysis and comparison steps of the Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification (ACE-V) process, commonly applied in feature comparison. While several international proficiency tests have assessed forensic facial examiners’ accuracy in comparing mated and non-mated pairs (black box tests), fewer opportunities have focused on evaluating inter-laboratory procedures and methods. To address this gap, members of a small border and immigration focused expert working group participated in an inter-laboratory collaborative exercise designed to analyse and harmonize best practices across member laboratories. There are limited published validation studies of facial image comparison methods. This paper presents the results of a collaborative exercise that compares the methodologies of three different agencies, highlighting key similarities and differences in examiner process and decision making, and provides a foundation for the development of similar future initiatives.

Abstract: Background: Cognitive aging is highly heterogeneous, not only in performance but also in how individuals perceive their own aging. Such self-perceptions may shape emotional reactions and adaptation to memory difficulties, yet little is known about their organization in patients referred to a memory clinic for a first diagnostic consultation. The primary aim of this study was to identify the internal configuration of self-perceptions of aging in such patients. A secondary aim was to compare these patterns with those observed in older adults recruited in a research unit of experimental psychology, who reported subjective complaints but had no medical referral. Methods: In total, 130 memory clinic patients and 84 laboratory participants completed, prior to the same neuropsychological testing, a psychosocial questionnaire assessing four domains: self-perceptions of memory deficits, attitudes toward aging, aging stereotypes, and multiple facets of subjective age. Network analysis was applied to examine how these variables were interrelated and to determine their relative importance in each group. Results: Across both samples, network analyses revealed distinct organizational patterns. Patients showed a unified representational system characterized by more positive associations and centered on subjective age variables. By contrast, the laboratory group showed a two-cluster network with more negative connections, organized around negative aging stereotypes. Conclusions: These findings provide novel insights into the psychosocial profile of memory clinic patients, highlighting the central integrative role of subjective age in integrating emotional responses, aging beliefs and perceptions of memory difficulties, and underline the value of network approaches in capturing heterogeneity in cognitive aging.

Abstract: This study investigates how immersive journalism delivered through virtual reality can shape audience attitudes toward refugees by activating affective and cognitive mechanisms associated with behavioral response. Drawing on two focus group sessions with sixteen participants in Northern Cyprus, the research compares the empathetic engagement and evaluative shifts generated by a 360 degree VR documentary with those produced through a traditional 2D viewing format. Participants who experienced the content in VR reported a heightened sense of presence, emotional proximity, and perspective taking, which corresponded with a positive change in their views toward refugees. In contrast, those who watched the same content in 2D expressed emotional discomfort yet demonstrated no notable attitudinal change, suggesting that non-immersive viewing maintains psychological distancing and reinforces pre existing beliefs. The findings indicate that immersive journalism can operate as a technological catalyst for short-term attitudinal reorientation in politically sensitive contexts, particularly by eliciting embodied emotional responses that traditional formats struggle to generate. Although the study is limited by its small sample size and reliance on self reported reflections, it contributes to the growing body of evidence that immersive media hold behavioral and perceptual relevance for journalism practice, audience engagement, and the broader public understanding of marginalized populations.

Abstract: Monitoring tourists' satisfaction has always been a concern for World Heritage Sites. Due to its ability to truly reflect tourists' travel experience and satisfaction evaluations, online review texts, after being mined and analyzed, can be promptly transformed into intuitive and highly valuable information, thus attracting increasing attention. This paper proposes a research method combining the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model (hereinafter referred to as LDA) and tourist satisfaction responses, using user online reviews on Ctrip about the World Heritage Site of the West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (hereinafter referred to as Hangzhou West Lake) and the Lijiang River Scenic Area in Lingchuan, Southern China Karst (hereinafter referred to as Guilin Lijiang River) as the original data. Ctrip provides two channels for tourists to evaluate their travel experience: satisfaction scoring and text comments. The Chinese comments are classified into themes through LDA in natural language processing, and the themes that tourists are most concerned about are identified as service, tourist attractions and travel experience. Through the 5-level satisfaction scoring (1 to 5) of tourists, a statistical analysis is conducted on tourist satisfaction and the themes they are most concerned about. The results show that the satisfaction under the service theme is the lowest, with nearly 11.5% of tourists at Hangzhou West Lake and nearly 21.1% of tourists at Guilin Lijiang River expressing dissatisfaction. Although there is a gap in tourist satisfaction between the two World Heritage Sites, both need to be significantly improved.

Abstract:

Learning is fundamentally human, even as Artificial Intelligence (AI) challenges human exclusivity. AI, along with Virtual Reality (VR), emerges as a powerful tool that is set to transform higher education, the institutional embodiment of this pursuit at its highest level. These technologies offer the potential not to replace the human factor, but to enhance our ability to create more adaptive, immersive, and truly human-centric learning experiences, aligning powerfully with the emerging vision of Education 5.0, which emphasizes ethical, collaborative learning ecosystems. This research maps how AI and VR tools act as a disruptive force, examining additionally their capabilities and limitations. Moreover, it explores how AI and VR interact to overcome traditional pedagogy's constraints, fostering environments where technology serves human learning goals. Employing a comprehensive two-month audit of over 60 AI, VR, and AI-VR hybrid tools, the study assesses their functionalities and properties such as technical complexity, cost structures, integration capabilities, and compliance with ethical standards. Findings reveal that AI and VR systems provide significant opportunities for the future of education by providing personalized and captivating environments that encourage experiential learning and improve student motivation across disciplines. Nonetheless, numerous challenges limit widespread adoption, such as advanced infrastructure requirements and strategic planning. By articulating a structured evaluative framework and highlighting emerging trends, this paper provides practical guidance for educational stakeholders seeking to select and implement AI and VR tools in higher education.

Abstract:

Music conveys emotion through a complex interplay of structural and acoustic cues, yet how these features map onto specific affective interpretations remains a key question in music cognition. This study explored how listeners, unaware of contextual information, categorized 110 emotionally diverse excerpts—varying in key, tempo, note density, acoustic energy, and expressive gestures—from works by Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin. Twenty classically trained participants labeled each excerpt using six predefined emotional categories. Emotion judgments were analyzed within a supervised multi-class classification framework, allowing systematic quantification of recognition accuracy, misclassification patterns, and category reliability. Behavioral responses were consistently above chance, indicating shared decoding strategies. Quantitative analyses of live performance recordings revealed systematic links between expressive features and emotional tone: high-arousal emotions showed increased acoustic intensity, faster gestures, and dominant right-hand activity, while low-arousal states involved softer dynamics and more left-hand involvement. Major-key excerpts were commonly associated with positive emotions—“Peacefulness” with slow tempos and low intensity, “Joy” with fast, energetic playing. Minor-key excerpts were linked to negative/ambivalent emotions, aligning with prior research on the emotional complexity of minor modality. Within the minor mode, a gradient of arousal emerged, from “Melancholy” to “Power,” the latter marked by heightened motor activity and sonic force. Results support an embodied view of musical emotion, where expressive meaning emerges through dynamic motor-acoustic patterns that transcend stylistic and cultural boundaries.

Abstract: Professional practice in clinical and educational contexts frequently operates under a “naive realist” assumption: that professionals and subjects inhabit an identical world, accessible through standardized metrics. This presumes that the professional’s sensory capture constitutes an objective baseline rather than a specific, stabilized interface. We argue that no practitioner—particularly in mental health or education—can legitimately assume that their perceptual field equates to ontological reality. This error drives a systematic structural failure we term epistemic appropriation: the professional’s fundamental inability to conceive that the Other inhabits a legitimately different perceptual reality. Drawing on the Trace & Trajectory Framework (TTF) and Interface Theory of Perception, we provide formal tools to map what critical literature terms “minoritization” and “epistemic injustice.” Epistemic appropriation operates through three complementary manifestations: flattening (the dominant agent’s geometric collapse of the Other’s autonomous identity space into a marginal subset of their own navigational terrain); internalization (the subalternized agent’s coerced construction of self-access routes through dominant-compatible positions); and trajectorial refraction (resistance operations that disrupt the appropriation cycle—counter-exonymy and autonymy exemplify this mechanism). We model this asymmetry endogenously through an Asymmetry Function (gasym) that specifies how differential stabilization dynamics produce navigational inequality: massive institutional recurrence generates configurations whose elevated maintenance costs are collectively distributed and rendered phenomenologically invisible through mimetic naturalization, thermodynamically overwriting fragile autonomous trajectories that bear their full maintenance burden without collective support. Critically, intersubjectivity occurs not through shared ontological space but via transductive coupling—systematic correspondence between distinct navigational interfaces, where asymmetry resides not in the coupling mechanism itself but in the differential Transductive Coupling Costs imposed by exchange protocols and historically saturated semiotic patterns. This formalization distinguishes epistemic appropriation from internalized oppression, provides operational indicators for detecting these dynamics in professional practice, and makes implicit ontological erasure analytically tractable.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) represent major public health concerns among adolescents, yet developmentally appropriate, school-based interventions remain limited. This study reports findings from an explora-tory analysis of an early cohort of an ongoing randomized controlled trial evaluating Sandplay Therapy with Suicidal Ideation and Self-Injury–Focused Engagement (SPT-SAFE) compared with Treatment as Usual–Risk Management Counseling (TAU-RMC) in a school-based high-risk intervention setting. Methods: Adolescents aged 12–19 years presenting with suicidal ideation and/or NSSI were randomly assigned to SPT-SAFE (n = 31) or TAU-RMC (n = 30). Outcomes of interest were NSSI frequency, assessed using the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM), and suicidal ideation severity, assessed using the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire–Junior (SIQ-JR). Prespecified baseline-adjusted analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conduct-ed as the primary analytic approach. Sensitivity analyses using linear mixed-effects mod-els (LMMs) were performed to examine outcome trajectories over time. Results: In the prespecified baseline-adjusted ANCOVA, suicidal ideation showed a be-tween-group difference favoring SPT-SAFE. For NSSI frequency, the between-group effect also favored SPT-SAFE but was small and did not reach conventional statistical signifi-cance. Sensitivity analyses using LMMs demonstrated directionally consistent patterns, with greater reductions over time observed in the SPT-SAFE group across outcomes. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Findings from this exploratory early cohort analysis suggest a preliminary and hypothesis-generating signal of benefit associated with SPT-SAFE in a school-based setting, characterized by directionally consistent patterns across complementary analytic approaches. Results should be interpreted as provisional pending completion of recruit-ment, longer-term follow-up, and further evaluation of comparative effectiveness, durabil-ity of treatment effects, and mechanisms of change.