Search Results (3,064)

Racialised minority populations were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and saw the highest rate of COVID-19 infections and mortality. Low socioeconomic status, working as frontline workers, temporary employment, precarious immigration status and pre-existing medical conditions were factors that contributed to disadvantaged experiences. This systematic review looked at the impact of COVID-19 on racialised minority populations globally, recognising their experiences, perspectives and the effects on their physical and mental health. Eight electronic databases were searched (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Social Policy and Practice (SPP), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), MedRxiv and Research Square) for English language qualitative studies. Reference lists of relevant literature reviews and reference lists of articles were hand-searched for additional potentially relevant articles. Duplicates were removed, and articles were screened for titles and abstracts, followed by full-text screening. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the included studies (n = 70). Data were synthesised using thematic synthesis. Seven major and three minor themes were identified. The major themes related to (i) children and young people’s experiences of COVID-19; (ii) exacerbated pre-existing disparities relating to income, employment and housing security, health insurance and immigration status; (iii) lack of knowledge and information about COVID-19 and COVID-19 misinformation; (iv) racial history of medicine and treatment of racialised populations; (v) contemporary experiences of racism; (vi) impact on physical and mental health and wellbeing; (vii) concerns about safety at work. Minor themes related to (a) experiences of intercommunity mutual aid; (b) adherence to preventative guidance/COVID-19 restrictions; (c) the role of faith. Research needs to focus on developing and testing interventions that support transformation of social, cultural and economic systems towards equity of access to healthcare and healthcare knowledge. Research should be cognisant of interventions that have worked in shifting the equity dial in the past, implement these and use them to inform new approaches. Policy and practice should be mechanisms for enabling the implementation of interventions. Full article

Background: With the global population rapidly aging, resilience has emerged as a critical determinant of healthy aging. While many factors are associated with resilience, a comprehensive synthesis is needed to inform targeted interventions and policy. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesize the conceptual models and key protective factors associated with resilience in older people. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted in Web of Science, PubMed, PsycNet, and JSTOR for studies published between 2017 and 2025. Search terms included (including synonyms and closely related words) “resilience,” “older people,” and “models.” Studies were screened based on relevance to resilience models, measurement tools, and associated factors. Included studies underwent a formal risk of bias assessment. Results: From 7109 initial records, 54 studies met the inclusion criteria. Ten studies explored conceptual models, while 44 investigated contributing factors. Resilience was predominantly assessed using standardized psychometric tools. Findings were synthesized by mapping key determinants across Macro-Environmental, Meso-Social, Micro-Individual and Bio-Physiological domains. Conclusions: Resilience in later life is a dynamic and multifactorial process, not a fixed trait. The evidence suggests a range of modifiable factors at various levels that can be targeted to support wellbeing. An integrated, systems-based perspective is essential for guiding future research and developing effective interventions to promote resilience across the aging trajectory. Full article

Air pollution is one of the major global environmental challenges, particularly in urban and industrial areas, where multiple sources emit pollutants that compromise air quality and threaten human health. This study aims to analyze the effects of air pollution on the health of vulnerable urban populations, emphasizing monitoring techniques for key pollutants and comparing national and international air quality standards through a literature review. It also discusses the implications of these pollutants considering the 2030 Agenda, highlighting environmental education as a strategy for pollution mitigation, public awareness, and strengthening air quality policies. A qualitative and descriptive methodology was adopted, based on national and international research publications between 2005 and 2023, using databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, and Google Scholar, with descriptors including “Air Pollution,” “Industrialization,” “Public Health,” and “Environmental Education.” The results indicate that industrial and transportation activities are the main sources of air pollution, contributing to an increase in cases of asthma, lung cancer, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as negatively impacting ecosystems and the economy. Even when pollutant levels comply with legal standards, vulnerable populations experience higher morbidity and mortality rates, highlighting the need for more stringent protection policies. Comparisons between the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Council for the Environment (CONAMA) reveal significant disparities in exposure limits. The WHO and the EU, aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 13, advocate for stricter limits, while EPA and CONAMA regulations remain less stringent. This gap emphasizes the importance of internationally harmonized, evidence-based, and equitable air quality policies. Combating air pollution requires an integrated approach that combines stricter regulations, continuous monitoring, emissions control strategies, and environmental education. Promoting environmental awareness among children and young people can encourage behavioral changes and civic engagement. Environmental education, along with political and social responsibility, remains a fundamental path to mitigating health impacts and promoting sustainable development, in line with the 2030 Agenda. Full article

Social robots in public cultural venues, such as science museums, must engage diverse visitors through brief, one-off encounters where long-term user modeling is infeasible. This research examines immediately interpretable behavioral cues of a robot that can evoke a sense of personalization without storing or profiling individual users. First, a video-based observational study of expert and novice museum docents identified service strategies that enable socially adaptive communication. Building on these insights, three controlled laboratory studies investigated how specific cues from robots influence user perception. A video-based controlled study examined how recognition accuracy shapes users’ social impressions of the robot’s intelligence. Additional studies based on the Wizard-of-Oz (WoZ) method tested whether explanatory content aligned with participants’ background knowledge and whether explicit preference inquiry and memory-based continuity strengthened perceptions of personalization. Results showed that recognition accuracy improved social impressions, whereas knowledge alignment, explicit preference inquiry, and memory-based continuity cues increased perceived personalization. These findings demonstrate that micro-level personalization cues, interpretable within a short-term encounter, can support user-centered interaction design for social robots in public environments. Full article

Missionary periodicals during the late Qing dynasty played a crucial role in introducing, translating, and systematizing Western scientific knowledge, thereby facilitating China’s transition from the traditional epistemic frameworks of “Lixue” to modern academic disciplines. Situated within a framework of knowledge transmission and disciplinary formation mediated by Chinese Christianity, this study moves beyond prior scholarship that mainly focused on individual missionary figures such as Young John Allen or specific publications like The Church News. Instead, it adopts a broader perspective, employing an integrated quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine their collective role in scientific modernization and disciplinization. The research argues that translational activities in these publications fundamentally reshaped China’s knowledge landscape. It specifically traces the semantic evolution of “Gezhi” (格致) and the transformation of “Lixue” from a moral-philosophical tradition toward the modern natural sciences. By reconstructing this process, the paper illuminates how Chinese Christianity contributed to knowledge structuring and academic modernization, highlighting its significant impact on contemporary disciplines such as Translation Studies. The findings underscore the multifaceted interactions among religious media, knowledge production, and social change. Full article

Mediterranean coastal cultural heritage sites are increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and extreme weather events, which endanger both their physical integrity and their cultural and economic value. Safeguarding these vulnerable cultural assets requires approaches that integrate technological innovation with effective governance and management strategies. This study presents a systematic review of research published between 2000 and 2024, conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines to ensure methodological rigor and transparency. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, limited to English-language studies explicitly addressing coastal cultural heritage in the Mediterranean. A total of 77 studies were analyzed using bibliometric and spatial techniques to examine thematic trends, methodological orientations, and regional patterns. Results reveal a sharp rise in scholarly output after 2014, with Italy, Greece, and Cyprus emerging as dominant contributors. The literature demonstrates a strong emphasis on tangible cultural heritage, particularly archaeological sites and monuments, while cultural landscapes and nature–culture systems receive comparatively limited attention. Methodologically, the field is dominated by digital and technology-driven tools such as GIS, remote sensing, 3D documentation, and climate modelling, with socially grounded and participatory approaches appearing in less than 5% of studies. More than 70% of the reviewed works adopt case study designs, which constrain comparative and generalizable insights. In contrast, a predominance of future-oriented assessments highlights a persistent lack of present-day monitoring and baseline data. Collectively, these findings clarify the paper’s exclusive focus on coastal cultural heritage, underscore the need to broaden geographical coverage, integrate socio-institutional dimensions with environmental diagnostics, and prioritize empirical, present-focused approaches. In this direction, future research will advance an integrated framework for assessing coastal vulnerability at both site-specific and regional scales, supporting proactive and evidence-based conservation planning. Full article

Background/Objectives: Social media has become a key activity in adolescents’ lives, with potential implications for their health and well-being. Because of this, the objective was to examine the influence of social media on the eating behavior and sleep quality of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, Proquest, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were reviewed following the PRISMA protocol. The inclusion criteria for the studies were as follows: a sample of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years without a baseline clinical diagnosis and research objectives related to social media and its influence on eating behavior or sleep quality. A total of 24 articles were included at the end of the search. Due to heterogeneity in measurement formats, a single pooled analysis was not feasible. Instead, two partial random-effects meta-analyses of continuous outcomes were performed (sleep and eating behaviours). Results: Qualitative synthesis revealed consistent associations between problematic social media use, poor sleep quality, and disordered eating. The meta-analyses showed a small-to-moderate and statistically significant association on sleep quality (r = 0.36) while the pooled estimate for eating behaviours was imprecise and not significant (r = 0.35), reflecting the very limited number of eligible studies. Conclusions: Excessive social media use is associated with poorer sleep and eating outcomes among adolescents. These findings highlight the need for educational and preventive strategies promoting healthy digital habits and psychological well-being. This systematic review elucidates the implications of social media use for health promotion at this development stage. Full article

The study explores how Virtual Reality (VR) can improve safety training in the construction industry by identifying key influencing factors and analysing their interactions to enhance safety outcomes. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using Scopus and ScienceDirect databases, yielding 58 relevant studies published between 2019 and 2024. Thematic analysis was employed to determine and categorise key factors influencing VR training effectiveness. Using network analysis techniques, the study generated author–factor and interrelation matrices, a causal loop diagram, and loop and critical path analyses to determine feedback mechanisms and the most influential factor sequences. The study identified 33 key factors across behavioural, cognitive, technological, social, economic, and health and safety themes. Safety and hazard awareness, immersive experiences, realism, and worker behaviour were the most dominant. These factors were found to support better engagement, learning, and safety performance. On the other hand, financial constraints, low adoption rates, communication issues, and language barriers were identified as limiting factors that reduce the overall impact and integration of VR training in construction environments. This research presents an interrelation-based framework for analysing VR training effectiveness using thematic and network analysis. Full article

Music data exhibits numerous distinct symmetric and asymmetric patterns—ranging from symmetric pitch sequences and rhythmic cycles to asymmetric phrase structures and dynamic shifts. These varied and often subjective patterns present notable challenges for data analysis, such as distinguishing meaningful structural features from noise and adapting analytical methods to accommodate both regularity and irregularity. To tackle this challenge, we present a novel uncertain hypothesis test, referred to as the conservative hypothesis test, which is designed to assess the validity of statistical hypotheses associated with the symmetric and asymmetric patterns exhibited by two multivariate normal uncertain populations. Specifically, we extend the uncertain hypothesis test for the mean difference between two single-characteristic normal uncertain populations to the multivariate case, filling a research gap in uncertainty theory. Building on this two-population multivariate hypothesis test, we propose the conservative hypothesis test—a feasible uncertain hypothesis testing method for multivariable scenarios, developed based on multiple comparison procedures. To demonstrate the practical utility of these methods, we apply them to music-related statistical data, assessing whether two groups of evaluators use consistent criteria to score music. In essence, the hypothesis tests proposed in this paper hold significant value for social sciences, particularly music statistics, where data inherently contains ambiguity and uncertainty. Full article

Contemporary cultural tourism faces a critical digital authenticity paradox where social media engagement necessitates platform integration, yet algorithms prioritize engagement-driven content over culturally accurate heritage representations. This systematic review develops an initial framework addressing authenticity preservation challenges through systematic analysis of platform-mediated heritage representation. Following PRISMA guidelines, researchers searched Scopus and ScienceDirect databases for peer-reviewed articles published 2020–2025 using search terms: “Cultural Tourism” AND “Heritage Tourism” AND “Photograph” AND “Social media” AND “Authenticity.” Inclusion criteria encompassed English-language journal articles and conference papers in social sciences, business, management, and humanities. VOSviewer software facilitated bibliometric analysis through keyword co-occurrence mapping with minimum three-occurrence threshold. From 68 articles, analysis revealed five thematic clusters: Ecosystem Tourism, Social Media and Technology, Tourism Management, Authenticity, and Photography & Storytelling, informing an integrated Input-Process-Integration-Output framework. Input encompasses cultural contexts and authenticity evaluation criteria; Process integrates social media dynamics with tourism management strategies; Integration synthesizes authentic contexts through platform-adapted digital storytelling; Output addresses platform-mediated tourist experiences. The framework establishes systematic relationships between heritage preservation and digital platform mechanisms, providing methodological innovation while addressing algorithmic optimization conflicts with heritage preservation, offering practical guidance for tourism organizations navigating Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and emerging platforms while preserving authentic cultural representation. Full article

Deep tech is a broad concept encompassing scientifically and technologically advanced innovations, enterprises, and projects based on profound scientific and engineering knowledge. It addresses complex technological challenges while considering environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Ambitious R&D initiatives act as catalysts for innovative solutions and for transforming companies and sectors toward sustainable development. The literature review highlights the multifaceted nature of deep tech, particularly from diverse stakeholder perspectives—both those directly and indirectly engaged in this field. Fully utilizing deep tech’s potential requires strong scientific, infrastructural, regulatory, and financial foundations. Europe, including dynamically developing EU countries such as Poland, increasingly recognizes the need to build an ecosystem that supports the development and commercialization of frontier technologies grounded in scientific progress. This article clarifies key deep tech concepts and outlines current conditions for technological innovation in Europe. Drawing on desk research, participatory observation, and a survey, it presents an initial analysis of Poland’s deep tech ecosystem. The exploratory pilot study serves as a basis for more focused future research on key sectoral challenges. The findings offer a preliminary assessment of the potential and barriers related to science-based innovation and provide a clearer picture of Poland’s emerging deep tech landscape. This enables more accurate interpretation of results and insights into the sector’s future development. For Europe and the EU, enhancing global competitiveness in deep tech will require coordinated actions and stronger connections among local ecosystems at different stages of maturity, such as those in Poland. Full article

Within the circular economy, repair is increasingly recognised as a crucial yet underexplored strategy that extends product lifespans and reduces waste. Service design offers approaches to support this transition by addressing technical, social, and systemic dimensions. This review aimed to synthesise how service design contributes to repair practices and identify research gaps. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we systematically searched Scopus and Web of Science, applied inclusion criteria focusing on service design and repair within the circular economy, and conducted multi-step screening and snowballing. From 132 initial records, 73 studies were included (journal articles, conference papers, book chapters). Thematic synthesis identified three areas: micro-level interactions between producers, products, and users (e.g., motivations, trust, communication); meso-level tools, frameworks, and platforms enhancing accessibility and efficiency; and macro-level societal transformation through regulations, standards, and communities. Results highlight service design’s potential to foster systemic change by integrating environmental, social, and economic aspects, while also revealing notable research gaps related to the limited engagement of repairers, policymakers, and cross-level collaboration. Compared to previous studies, this review contributes a novel integrated framework linking micro-, meso-, and macro-level dimensions of repair within the circular economy, offering both conceptual insights and actionable directions for practitioners and policymakers. The study is limited by language constraints and the lack of a formal bias evaluation. All reviewed materials are publicly accessible on OSF. This research was conducted without external financial support. Full article

Carnauba (Copernicia spp.) is a palm tree native to the Brazilian semi-arid region, valued for its significant economic, social, and environmental importance. This resilient species possesses adaptive mechanisms that enable it to endure prolonged periods of soil water scarcity and conditions of flooding and salinity. However, despite its relevance, there is a notable lack of scientometric data on this species in the literature, representing a significant research gap. This study aimed to analyze the state of research on carnauba palm from 2007 to 2022. Datasets were collected from the Web of Science central database, totaling 658 publications related to the terms “carnauba” or “copernicia”. The bibliometric software VOSviewer was used to create visual maps of keyword co-occurrence networks, providing deeper insights into the progress and research trends on the topic. Since 2014, the number of publications on carnauba has steadily increased, peaking between 2019 and 2021. The most prominent focus in these articles is on carnauba wax, with extensive research on its properties and applications in the food production chain. This significance is also reflected in the keyword co-occurrence networks. However, studies combining carnauba with soil sciences remain underexplored. Given carnauba’s importance in environmental and soil conservation, future research linking these areas could become a key avenue for advancing knowledge on the subject. Full article

This article argues that sustainability governance in small-scale regenerative aquaculture arises less from formal regulation than from the relational, ethical, and temporal labour of practitioners. Based on an ethnographic study of Câr-y-Môr, Wales’s first community-owned regenerative ocean farm, the research combines over 250 h of participant observation, 25 interviews, and document analysis with transdisciplinary humanities-informed sustainability science (THiSS). The study shows how technocratic environmentalism, reliant on auditing, reporting, and standardised procedures, often clashes with the shifting rhythms of tides, weather, and the embodied work of marine labour. Ethnography uniquely reveals the embodied knowledge, improvisation, and moral commitment through which practitioners continually remake governance, translating bureaucratic rules into ecologically and socially meaningful practice. The findings demonstrate that adaptive governance requires recognition of local and experiential expertise, proportionate regulatory frameworks, and protected spaces for experimentation and learning. Seen in this way, sustainability shifts from a fixed goal to a relational process. When governance learns from practice and care is recognised as a form of knowledge, it becomes more adaptive, situated, and responsive, revealing both the constraints of technocratic control and the possibilities of care-based policy and practice. Full article

Education can play a pivotal role in the eradication of energy poverty by facilitating the transfer of knowledge and skills to all interested stakeholders whilst also promoting the adoption of sustainable energy solutions. In the context of this paper, a comprehensive review of European master’s programs related to energy poverty is carried out, resulting in the identification of approximately of 100 programs across seven European countries that either explicitly or implicitly address the topic. In most cases, energy poverty is embedded in a broader academic discipline—such as energy systems, renewable energy, or sustainable development—rather than being treated as a standalone field. In Europe, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, and Romania were singled out as the leading contributors to energy poverty education. Within the framework of the EU-funded project “MSc in Energy Poverty Alleviation Technologies”, implemented in collaboration with South African universities, this study focuses on South Africa, which represents a characteristic example of a country facing high levels of energy poverty and significant inequalities in energy access. This work highlights the critical need for targeted academic curricula specifically designed to bridge the persistent gap between academic research and its real-world applications, particularly in regions of the world where such integration is most urgent. It also emphasizes the essential role of linking STEM education with the social and humanitarian sciences. Finally, this work underscores the need for interdisciplinary approaches that connect energy poverty alleviation and education by additionally expanding the research and documentation of relevant good initiatives from Asia (China). Full article