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Flood hazards caused by intense short-term precipitation have led to significant social and economic losses and pose serious threats to human life and property. Accurate disaster risk assessment plays a critical role in verifying disaster statistics and supporting disaster recovery and reconstruction processes. In this study, a novel Large-Scale Flood Risk Assessment Model (LS-FRAM) is proposed, incorporating the dimensions of hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity. Multi-source heterogeneous data are utilized for evaluating the flood risks. Soil erosion modeling is incorporated into the assessment framework to better understand the interactions between flood intensity and land surface degradation. An index system comprising 12 secondary indicators is constructed and screened using Pearson correlation analysis to minimize redundancy. Subsequently, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is utilized to determine the weights of the primary-level indicators, while the entropy weight method, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), and an integrated weighting approach are combined to calculate the weights of the secondary-level indicators. This model addresses the complexity of large-scale flood risk assessment and management by incorporating multiple perspectives and leveraging diverse data sources. The experimental results demonstrate that the flood risk assessment model, utilizing multi-source data, achieves an overall accuracy of 88.49%. Specifically, the proportions of areas classified as high and very high flood risk are 54.11% in Henan, 31.74% in Shaanxi, and 18.2% in Shanxi. These results provide valuable scientific support for enhancing flood control, disaster relief capabilities, and risk management in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Furthermore, they can furnish the necessary data support for post-disaster reconstruction efforts in impacted areas. Full article

The integration of social intelligence mining with Large Language Models (LLMs) and unstructured social data can enhance land management by incorporating human behavior, social trends, and collective decision-making. This study investigates the role of social intelligence—derived from social media—in enhancing land use, urban planning, and environmental policy crafting. To map the structure of public concerns, a new algorithm is proposed based on contextual analysis and LLMs. The proposed method, along with public discussion analysis, is applied to posts on the X-platform (formerly Twitter) to extract public perception on issues related to land use, urban planning, and environmental policies. Results show that the proposed method can effectively extract public concerns and different perspectives of public discussion. This case study illustrates how social intelligence mining can be employed to support policymakers when used with caution. The cautionary conditions in the use of these methods are discussed in more detail. Full article

Marriage is a social contract that carries a number of qualities recognized as having fundamental values. These qualities include a spiritual bond between spouses, mutual love, affection, and responsibility, the continuation of the generation, and the existence of social order. The social definition of marriage implies that it is a phenomenon that occurs not only between two individuals in the context of cultural continuity but also in other social structures. It evolves into a structure that encompasses not only the initial two families but also the broader societal context. In Islamic marriage, a contract is formalized between a man and a woman who meet the religious requirements for marriage. The contract is executed with their consent and in the presence of witnesses. However, from a cultural perspective, marriage embodies a multifaceted structure, influenced by religion, ritual practices, symbols, and traditions. In this study, topics such as oral culture, wedding traditions, and rituals are discussed, and cultural practices are interpreted. This study sheds light on the manner in which marriage rites influence the discourse and actions within the social structure. Such studies are of paramount importance in demonstrating the continuity and vitality of culture, as well as the transformative nature of ritual meanings over time. They underscore the notion that culture is an ever-evolving process of interpretation, a characteristic that is intrinsic to its very essence. These actions, inextricably linked to societal structures, have the potential to give rise to novel symbolic meanings and values at any given juncture. However, it is imperative to recognize that the mere analysis of texts representing oral culture products is insufficient for comprehending their ritual functions, social messages, and emotional dimensions. Consequently, an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates the study of transitional rituals and oral culture is necessary to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. By examining cultural elements from diverse perspectives, we can develop a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of cultural diversity in Anatolia. Full article

Background/Objectives: The perspective from which future healthcare professionals view intellectual disabilities affects how people with intellectual disabilities (PWIDs) are perceived and informs care policies and practices. This study aimed to assess healthcare science students’ perceptions of the rights of PWIDs, the students’ social distances toward PWIDs in healthcare, and the students’ competence in providing care, exploring differences by study programs and demographics and examining correlations between them. Methods: The convenience sample comprised 221 medical and 120 nursing students. A general questionnaire for obtaining sociodemographic data, the scale of beliefs about the rights of PWIDs in healthcare (BS), the scale of social distance toward PWIDs (SD), and the “self-assessment of competency (CS) to provide care for PWIDs” scale were used as students’ report measures. Results: The students’ scores on the BS, SD, and CS scales revealed that they generally recognized the rights of PWIDs in healthcare but expressed a moderate level of social distance and limited self-perceived competence in providing care. Medical students demonstrated slightly more progressive beliefs regarding the rights of PWIDs than nursing students (r = 0.12), while nursing students reported higher self-assessed competence levels (r = 0.19). A small gender-related difference was observed in social distance, with female students showing more favorable attitudes. Significant positive correlations were found between beliefs about the rights of PWIDs and social distance (p = 0.435; p < 0.01) and between social distance and self-assessed competence (p = 0.234, p < 0.01), suggesting that students who felt more competent tended to report less social distance. Conclusions: This study provides new data for understanding healthcare science students’ perceptions and readiness to care for PWIDs in the healthcare sector in Serbia. Namely, our students had moderately positive beliefs and a moderate social distance toward PWIDs and reported low competence in providing care. Full article

Background: The global space economy has grown remarkably, witnessing a 10-fold increase in active satellites during the last 15 years. This growth was accompanied by both the increase in geopolitical tensions feeding huge investments (the New Space Race), on the one hand, and the transformation, shifting from a domain historically dominated by government-led programs to one partially energized by commercial players and innovative business models (“New Space”), on the other hand. Objective: To assess the space economy’s current state and future prospects by considering its economic and social dimensions. Methods: Over 120 scholarly articles and “grey” literature positions (e.g., industry reports) were reviewed. The review was structured by a modified Structure–Conduct–Performance framework originally developed by industrial organization (IO) scholars. Findings: Outer space creates extremely harsh conditions for placing and operating objects in orbits, which results in high launching costs, steep reliability standards, capital intensity, and risks that are unmatched in most terrestrial industries. One of the main motivations to venture into this harsh domain was, and still is, the desire to dominate or the fear of being subjugated by others. This “original sin”, born of geopolitical rivalries, continues to cast a shadow over the space economy, channeling the majority of public space budgets into military-related programs. Moreover, many space technologies have a dual-use feature. Not surprisingly, governments are still the major source of demand, dominating midstream in the space value chain. This triad—harsh physics, great power rivalry, and a state-centric midstream—produces a specificity of the sector. In the recent two decades, new entrants (called “New Space”) have begun altering market structure, resulting in new conduct patterns focused on pursuits towards serial production, reusability, and lowering costs. Performance outcomes are mixed. While some efficiency gains are unprecedented, some doubts about market power and negative externalities arise. The assessment of the space economy’s performance is a challenge, as such, due to the blurred boundary between political objectives (supplying public goods, mitigating negative externalities) and economic optimization. Such trade-offs are becoming even more complicated considering the potential conflict between national and global perspectives. The paper offers a preliminary, descriptive study of the space economy through the lens of the modified S-C-P framework, laying basic foundations for the future, possibly more rigorous research of the increasingly important space economy. Full article

With the nationwide completion of China’s large-scale Poverty Alleviation Relocation (PAR) initiative in 2020, the government’s poverty alleviation efforts have officially entered the “post-poverty era”. However, many regions still lack well-established sustainable development mechanisms and face a potential risk of returning to poverty. To better stabilize the achievements of poverty alleviation, this study examines the potential risk of returning to poverty after the first Five-Year Transition Period (2021–2025) from a livelihood space perspective and proposes optimization directions for PAR policies in future poverty reduction efforts. Research findings indicate that simply altering geographical conditions is insufficient to achieve stable poverty alleviation. The production space of relocated populations is vulnerable to the stability and precision in resource supply, which may lead to recurring poverty due to policy discontinuities and administrative preferences. Meanwhile, improvements in living spaces are constrained by imbalances in household income and expenditure. This study also found that, on the one hand, changes in residential patterns break the original boundaries of administrative villages by incorporating migrants from different villages into concentrated communities, leading to the expansion of weak-tie networks while, on the other hand, the relocation process disrupts some of the migrants’ original strong-tie networks, and the concentration and clustering of impoverished groups in relocation communities further lead to the contraction of these networks. Additionally, the unique characteristics of relocation communities generate exorbitant governance costs and population management difficulties that far exceed the service provision and administrative capacities of community organizations. In the long run, this situation proves detrimental to normalized community governance and dynamic poverty relapse monitoring and interventions. Accordingly, this study proposes relevant policy recommendations from the following four aspects, i.e., strengthening endogenous development capacity, improving social security mechanisms, expanding social support networks, and enhancing organizational governance capabilities, aiming to provide both a theoretical basis and a decision-making reference for future poverty alleviation efforts. Full article

Green innovation has emerged as a key catalyst for the sustainable growth of logistics enterprises. Green innovation not only helps logistics enterprises reduce operating costs but also enhances their competitiveness and promotes the entire industry’s transformation towards environmental protection and efficiency. However, logistics enterprises encounter technical bottlenecks, capital shortages, and insufficient talent and infrastructure when implementing green innovation. Collaboration between universities and industries serves as a crucial method for logistics companies to access external resources and plays a significant role in promoting technological progress, knowledge transfer, and innovation capability enhancement of enterprises. This research, grounded in the theories of social capital and dynamic capabilities, explores the mechanism from the perspective of resources and capabilities, and examines how university–industry collaboration affects green innovation. This research employs a hierarchical regression model to evaluate the proposed hypotheses. The research results show that university–industry collaboration has a positive impact on social capital, slack resources, and dynamic capabilities, and social capital, slack resources, and dynamic capabilities positively influence green innovation. The research results have certain reference value for logistics enterprises to promote green innovation. Full article

In African patriarchal contexts, women have borne the dual responsibilities of mental and physical caregiving for their households and communities. These responsibilities often contribute to significant emotional, social, and economic burdens imposed by deeply entrenched gender and power structures. Alternative psychological coping mechanisms emerge to navigate these challenges, some deeply rooted in cultural and historical practices. One such practice is soil eating, which has been observed in various African communities. Historically linked to cultural and spiritual beliefs, soil eating has been largely unexplored from a psychological perspective. This paper examined soil eating as a coping strategy among women in Africa, investigating its role as a means of emotional relief, resistance, or a symbolic reclamation of agency in the face of oppression. Drawing on the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) of eZiko siPheka siSophula as a psychological framework, this study engaged sixteen women aged 20 to 89 in Ha Makintane Lesotho to participate in focus group discussions and reveal their personal narratives, cultural traditions, and the intersections of gender, race, and class to understand how this practice helps them manage their mental and emotional toll of patriarchal dominance. This research contributes to discussions on resilience, survival, and the psychological strategies developed by marginalized communities, shedding light on the complex interplay between cultural practices, mental health, and gendered experiences of power. Full article

As lithium demand increases, lithium brine from hyper-arid salt flats is becoming increasingly important, although there are concerns about its extraction’s impact on the local water balance. Water footprinting could address these impacts, yet studies lack consensus on whether to classify brine as water or a mineral. This study aims to review perspectives on lithium brine accounting within and beyond the water footprint context, focused on the Salar de Atacama, Chile, and to establish accounting principles for water footprinting, following the relevant ISO standard. Outside water footprinting, four perspectives on brine classification are identified: hydro-social/perceptual, molecular–thermodynamic, precautionary, and legal. Adopting some of these perspectives, e.g., the rationale of brine’s molecular–thermodynamic similarity to freshwater, some water footprint studies argue for accounting brine as equivalent to freshwater. However, they are a minority. According to ISO, brine should not be classified as freshwater, and the type of water and its functionality should be distinguished. We suggest some saline waters below a specific salinity threshold may function as freshwater and could be included in freshwater accounting. Additionally, lithium brine extraction can induce effects on surrounding water compartments. Since conventional water footprints overlook such local effects, we propose testing a set of site-specific accounting principles through case studies. Full article

Understanding others’ perspectives, or Theory of Mind (ToM), is a critical cognitive skill essential for social competence and effective interpersonal interactions. Although ToM is present in varying degrees across individuals, recent research indicates that linguistic factors, particularly bilingualism, can significantly influence its expression. Building on these findings, the current study examined performance on the perspective-taking trials of the Director Task among bilinguals and monolinguals. The results showed a nonsignificant trend in accurate responses as a function of bilingualism; however, a significant effect was found when examining only perspective-taking trials, with bilinguals outperforming monolinguals, suggesting that larger sample sizes are needed to identify this effect. Interestingly, a significant interaction between fluid intelligence and bilingualism was found, suggesting that bilinguals with higher fluid intelligence performed better on perspective-taking trials compared to bilinguals with lower fluid intelligence. The results emphasize the importance of domain-general abilities for the effect of bilingualism on perspective-taking and suggest that bilingualism’s effect on ToM may be more salient in individuals with higher cognitive abilities. Full article

Aiming at the operation optimization and evaluation problems of a park-level integrated energy system with mobile robots, the current research status and main problems are reviewed from three aspects: classification of operation optimization objectives, sorting of evaluation methods, establishment of evaluation index system, and selection of evaluation methods. In terms of target classification, a clear taxonomy can be established by categorizing objectives into quantitative and qualitative indicators. From the perspectives of the economic, technical, environmental, and social dimensions, each indicator can be organized into three levels for systematic analysis and discussion. In terms of evaluation methods, the common evaluation methods of the park-level integrated energy system in the past ten years are summarized and organized. Then, the common secondary indicators are analyzed, the principle of the establishment of the evaluation index system is summarized, and suggestions are given for the selection of combined evaluation methods by discussing the common evaluation methods. Finally, the content is summarized and the research work on the operation optimization objectives and evaluation methods of the park-level integrated energy system is prospected. Full article

Promoting public engagement through social media has always been a core issue in risk communication studies. Based on the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF), this study conducts an online survey in China (N = 908) and constructs a moderated mediation model. Using bootstrapped moderated mediation analysis, this study examines the relationships among social media exposure to pandemic information, risk perception, source credibility, and public engagement on social media at the early stages of the pandemic. The results demonstrate a positive relationship between social media exposure and public engagement, which can be mediated by risk perception. The relationship between social media exposure and public engagement via risk perception is moderated by source credibility. The higher perceived credibility of official and interpersonal sources undermines risk perception, but also hinders public engagement in the crisis. The moderating effect of professional source credibility is not significant. This study has expanded the SARF and has contributed to promoting risk communication strategies from the perspective of risk information processing. Full article

This study examines how entrepreneurial finance, entrepreneurial networking, and entrepreneurial culture contribute to sustainable business among culinary micro-enterprises in Bandung City, Indonesia. This study fills a gap in the literature by highlighting that micro-enterprises’ sustainability, from economic, social, and environmental aspects, is not always underpinned by formal institutional support. Using a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews with 10 culinary micro-enterprise owners whose businesses have been able to survive across generations, this study found that business owners manage their finances adaptively, build trust-based social networks, and apply local cultural values to sustainable business practices. The findings show that trust and flexibility in informal funding play a crucial role in entrepreneurial finance, while challenging the view that access to formal financing is the main prerequisite for sustainability. Entrepreneurial culture proves to be a strategic internal resource in strengthening environmentally friendly practices. The originality of this study offers an alternative perspective that is more contextualized and grounded in understanding the sustainability strategies of micro-enterprises in developing countries. Full article