Seismic effects on onshore wind turbines: A critical engineering perspective for resilience and disaster risk reduction

Understanding the key domains of adolescent social media experience: a parallel Delphi study with young people and key adults

To analyse the comfort needs of patients following renal transplantation, guided by Kolcaba's Theory of Comfort. A qualitative design was employed. This study was conducted at a Brazilian university hospital's renal transplant outpatient clinic. Forty-six post-transplant patients were purposively sampled by age, transplant time and clinic attendance. Face-to-face interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and conducted using a semi-structured script. Data were analysed through thematic content analysis, guided by Kolcaba's Comfort Theory and relevant literature. Participant narratives were categorised according to the contexts outlined by Kolcaba's Theory of Comfort: Physical, Environmental, Sociocultural and Psychospiritual. In the physical context, pain was identified as a major factor diminishing comfort after renal transplantation. In the environmental context, elements such as light, odour, sound, temperature and uncomfortable furnishings contributed to discomfort. In the sociocultural context, family support was highlighted as essential. In the psychospiritual context, religiosity played a key role in enhancing the comfort of transplant recipients. Spirituality, strengthened social support networks and non-pharmacological comfort measures are essential for promoting comfort among patients following renal transplantation. These findings underscore the importance of integrated care approaches that address physical, emotional and social aspects to improve quality of life for this population. Conceptual models in nursing provide a critical perspective for care and support the delivery of effective, evidence-based interventions. By identifying the multidimensional comfort needs of post-renal transplant patients, this study informs the development of targeted, holistic strategies for nursing and multidisciplinary practice in outpatient settings. This study examined the multidimensional comfort needs of post-renal transplant patients and found that comfort is shaped by physical, environmental, sociocultural and psychospiritual factors. The results may guide global nursing and multidisciplinary outpatient care by informing integrated approaches that enhance the quality of life of transplant recipients. This study was reported according to the COREQ framework. No patient or public contribution.

ABSTRACT This article unravels old-age and its related ageist stereotypes in Zimbabwean Shona proverbs as epistemological constructs. Premised on a qualitative research design, it purposively samples 16 proverbs from 4722 proverbs contained in Shona proverbs texts (with English translations). Through Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA), the selected proverbs are utilized and interpreted as primary sources through which depictions of the Shona indigenes’ societal values vis-à-vis old-age adults, aging, and ageism are embedded or fostered in the respective community and relational philosophy. Among the article’s key findings is the realization that Shona proverbs, apart from acknowledging aging and ageism as a rite of passage, are the key descriptors utilized in the collective ideation and composition revolve around frailness of human beings’ physical appearance, slowness in taking actions and needful of care when advanced in age. However, besides expressing stereotypical undertones, the proverbs also celebrate, revere, and reference old-age persons as canons of organic wisdom, experienced individuals never to be underestimated, knowledgeable experts and embodiments of collective memory significant to a more humane society. Thus, we recommend African gerontologists to tap from Shona proverbial philosophies’ critical insights and perspectives of ancient civilizations toward the old-aged members of the society. Furthermore, these cultural tales are construed to be a valid and reliable meta-data of a people’s lived and liveable realities. An Afro-centered perspective together with broad descriptive sociolinguistics have been utilized as intellectual pedestals on the basis that, these forge a reconceptualization of the social and historical reality of African people.

The coordinated action of public, private, and landholding agents, linked to the expansion of agribusiness in Brazil, has driven profound transformations in medium-sized cities located in regions of agro-industrial specialisation. In this context, this article analyses recent urban expansion in the municipalities of Ijuí, Santa Rosa, and Santo Ângelo, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The study adopts a qualitative, descriptive–explanatory approach, based on documentary analysis of legislation and master plans, examination of secondary data on demography, economy, and land use, and sixteen semi-structured interviews with representatives of the state, the real estate sector, and civil society. The results, interpreted from a critical socio-spatial perspective, indicate that agribusiness-led economic dynamism shapes the strategies of public and private actors in converting rural land into urbanisable areas, thereby intensifying selective expansion of the urban perimeter and promoting medium- and high-standard developments associated with land valorisation. This articulation reinforces the capture of urban planning by economic interests and contributes to the production of selective and unequal urbanisation in the medium-sized cities examined.

Countries in Southern Africa have taken efforts to implement inclusive education. While policies exist and some efforts are made around inclusion in schools, limited attention has been given to the work required of teachers to actualise inclusivity. What is missing are mechanisms that can enable teacher education to develop inclusive pedagogical proficiency in future teachers. This study reimagined teacher education for inclusive education in Southern Africa through Ubuntu philosophy that positions disability as the moral and analytical basis of inclusivity. A qualitative conceptual-policy analysis approach was used to analyse the regional Policy Framework on Care and Support for Teaching and Learning. The analysis was theoretically guided by critical disability perspectives and Ubuntu relational ethics. The analysis showed that disability is framed in the policy framework as intersecting with multiple forms of vulnerability, and that inclusivity is conceptualised as a multisectoral agenda. However, the policy framework under-theorises teacher education for ethical decision-making, reflexivity and collaborative practice in crisis-affected contexts. This article argues that reforming teacher education to support inclusive education requires more than policy adherence. It also requires educating relational and reflexive teachers grounded in Ubuntu ethics by strengthening disability inclusivity as the foundation for such transformation. Contribution: The Ubuntu framework has been primarily applied in school research. There is limited application of this framework in teacher education research. This creates a lacuna in understanding how school teachers are expected to practise Ubuntu, yet their training has not adequately prepared them. Therefore, this study applies the Ubuntu framework to teacher education by linking disability, inclusive education and Ubuntu ethics to offer insights that can inform debates on teacher education development in Southern Africa.

This study addresses a critical gap in smart city implementation by proposing a novel triple helix model that integrates smart governance, smart technologies, and active citizen engagement. While smart city initiatives are widespread, effective execution remains a major challenge. This research examines the smart city environment through the lens of smart government, smart people, and smart technology, revealing a disconnect between ambitious plans and the actual impact of applications. The new model was applied to four metropolitan cities in Turkey and tested using desktop research, analysis of 115 municipal websites based on the McMillan interaction model, and a citizen survey of 1,754 participants. The study presents an in-depth analysis based on detailed examination of the citizen survey and discusses the potential factors affecting awareness and usage by using The Chi Square of Independence Test and Binary Logistic Regression methods to analyze 13 relationships using data from 19 smart mobility applications. The results have shown that smart city initiatives fail to reach their full potential without aware citizens and responsive governance, even with sufficient technology. This research contributes a critical perspective to the smart city discourse, offering a foundational model for future smart city implementations to ensure their success and sustainability.

ABSTRACT Major actors within the United Nations and academia have suggested that the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV), a ‘backup’ facility for the world’s crop diversity, could facilitate reconciliation between Indigenous and ex situ conservation approaches. This paper examines the collaboration between the SGSV and their Indigenous depositor, Parque de la Papa (Parque), to assess this proposition. Although the SGSV promises to ‘secure’ crop diversity ‘for the benefit of everyone’, work in decolonial and Indigenous studies has shown that neoliberal capitalist and colonial structures underpin and hinder reconciliation and conservation efforts. By critically analyzing literature from various fields and content from institutional websites, I demonstrate how the SGSV’s methods, while intended to safeguard crop diversity, may inadvertently perpetuate colonial dynamics by integrating Indigenous seeds into a system that prioritizes Western/settler colonial, neoliberal capitalist values. Reading the two conservation approaches vis-à-vis, I highlight the asymmetrical exchange that the Parque must navigate to preserve Indigenous knowledge and resources amid climate change challenges in the Andean highlands. Based on the analysis, I assert that despite the collaboration’s benefits, it risks transforming Indigenous communities along Western lines, potentially undermining biodiversity. Understanding these challenges is crucial for improving biodiversity protection and supporting the communities involved.

Environmental disturbances from hospital demolition and construction can aerosolise pathogenic fungal spores, particularly those of Aspergillus species, posing a serious threat to immunocompromised patients. This paper presents a structured narrative review of representative case studies to evaluate the relationship between demolition activities and airborne Aspergillus exposure, with a focus on clinical risk and environmental monitoring. Three exemplar studies were selected to illustrate high-intensity short-duration demolition, prolonged mechanical demolition, and meteorologically integrated risk assessment. By examining these cases, this review identifies gaps in current knowledge, methodological limitations, and challenges in causal attribution. The analysis supports the development of a novel conceptual framework for assessing and managing Aspergillus-related risks during hospital redevelopment, offering a structured approach to future infection prevention and control strategies. This framework is intended as a conceptual tool to support evidence-informed decision-making while acknowledging the limitations inherent in a targeted narrative review rather than a systematic synthesis.

Can a universal digital ethics exist in a structurally unequal world? A critical theory perspective on Web3, metaverse, and the global south

Introduction: Academic stress affects the well-being and mental health of university students. In view of this, it is necessary to promote andragogical approaches to strengthen interpersonal and intrapersonal skills in higher education comprehensively. Objective: To analyse the relationship between academic stress levels and mental health indicators in students, considering differential variables such as gender and risk profiles through the psychometric validation of the SISCO SV-21 Systemic Cognitive Inventory of Academic Stress. Design and setting: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional study conducted at a university in Montería (Córdoba, Colombia).

Contemporary psychiatric research operates within a publication ecosystem marked by structural asymmetries of power, increasing entanglements with pharmaceutical interests, and limited tolerance for sustained methodological critique. In such contexts, critical perspectives that challenge biologically reductionist interpretations or foreground the adverse effects of widely prescribed medications may face implicit barriers, even when their arguments are scientifically sound. A recent case–control study by Magen et al. (2025) reported associations between acute urticaria and psychiatric disorders, primarily personality and anxiety disorders. While the authors speculated about biological pathways, they did not test or adequately discuss the role of psychiatric medications, despite having access to prescription data and despite urticaria being a well-documented adverse effect of several psychotropic drugs, including those commonly prescribed for anxiety. These validity concerns are compounded by the editorial handling of a letter to the editor we submitted in response. Although the critique was explicitly acknowledged as “valid,” it was rejected on the grounds that similar concerns had been raised in our previous commentaries on related studies by the same research group. Such reasoning shifts the focus away from the strength of the arguments toward the identity and persistence of the critics, effectively muting legitimate scrutiny while allowing methodological flaws to recur unchallenged. Together, these two issues—the systematic neglect of medication effects and the suppression of critical debate—threaten not only scientific progress but also public trust in mental health research, particularly in the presence of undisclosed conflicts of interest. More broadly, this case highlights the risk that the pursuit of biological explanations, when not accompanied by transparency and methodological rigor, may reinforce a narrow form of reductionism that obscures the complex reality of mind–body relations and encourages the overuse of potentially harmful medications.

Purpose This article examines and challenges six pervasive myths about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) promulgated by the Trump Administration's policies and actions. We dispel that (1) diversity work is ideology and not science, (2) that DEI violates free speech and incites cancel culture, (3) that DEI is about equality and not equity, (4) that America is postracial, rendering DEI unnecessary, (5) that DEI only serves marginalized racial groups and lastly (6) that DEI and meritocracy cannot coexist. Design/methodology/approach In the current article, we aim to provide a selective review of relevant theories and findings that address DEI resistance and backlash (e.g. zero-sum mindsets), some of which offer insights into how we might move DEI forward. Findings Across all six myths discussed in this article, we highlight the psychological and sociological processes underlying these beliefs and offer critical perspectives, calling for a move beyond buying into them and toward dismantling them. Originality/value We approached this article from the perspective of diversity researchers and educators who have long battled misconceptions and fallacies around what DEI is and is not. In writing this piece, we wanted to provide researchers and practitioners doing the very important work of challenging racism, inequality and bias in society with useful tools to do so.

Advances in information technology have facilitated the digitalization of several industries, including trade, by enabling more efficient communication and data exchange. Previous research has shown that the expansion of e-commerce presents legal challenges, particularly in terms of the application of exemption clauses by commercial actors. Therefore, the expansion of digital commerce must be consistent with the principles set out in Law Number 7 of 2014 concerning Trade and Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE), as amended by Law Number 19 of 2016 and Law Number 1 of 2024. Both regulations provide the legal basis that must be implemented to provide fairness and legal certainty in e-commerce transactions. This study takes a normative legal approach and incorporates qualitative legal analysis of relevant legal standards. The research presented provides a critical perspective on the need for appropriate and enforceable legislative restrictions to protect the interests of all parties involved in e-commerce.

Technological development simultaneously drives economic advancement and generates challenges that often exceed the regulatory capacity of existing legal systems. Grounded in critical theoretical perspectives, the paper rejects the notion of neutral technological progress and emphasizes the role of power structures and institutional choices in shaping technological trajectories and their social consequences. Drawing on an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that integrates the political economy of technological progress, legal theory, and methodological approaches to legal research, this study aims to understand key events of the Digital Revolution, the role of integrating different methodological approaches, and to contribute to a more flexible, responsive, and technologically compatible legal approach aligned with the dynamics of contemporary technological development.

ABSTRACT This paper questions the form of power attributed to migrant women entrepreneurs often emanating from their pre-established social positions, which limits their engagements to mere reaction and adaptation to dominant power holders (i.e. specific groups, contexts, structures). Drawing on the life stories of four migrant women entrepreneurs of Turkish origin in Sweden and the Netherlands, we examine how they experience power as an embodied and affective phenomenon through a multiple case study approach. Going beyond the positional power attributed to women, we adopt a critical feminist perspective on power and demonstrate how migrant women entrepreneurs actively exercise different ‘modalities of power’ (power-over, power-to and power-with) and build ‘power agility’. The study contributes to migrant women’s entrepreneurship by uncovering their power as an emergent attribute rather than as a fixed parameter and by articulating how this ‘agility’ is at the core of migrant women entrepreneurs’ capacity to generate transformative effects crossing over individual, relational, contextual, and systemic aspects and levels.

Photocatalysis enables the direct conversion of solar energy into chemical fuels, presenting a compelling strategy to mitigate the global energy crisis and environmental pollution. However, traditional photocatalysts are severely hampered by inefficient visible-light harvesting and undesirably rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers, which bottlenecks their large-scale practical deployment. Thus, developing efficient, stable, and broadband-responsive photocatalytic materials remains a paramount research imperative. Bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3), a prototypical narrow-bandgap semiconductor, has recently garnered immense interest. Its judiciously positioned band edges and strong visible-light absorption confer distinct advantages for solar-driven photoredox reactions. Despite significant advances, the field still lacks a comprehensive and timely review consolidating Bi2S3-based artificial photosystems. This review systematically summarizes the latest progress in Bi2S3-based photocatalysts, with a particular focus on morphology control, heterojunction construction, elemental doping, and defect engineering. We elucidate how these strategies precisely manipulate the electronic structure, facilitate charge separation, broaden light absorption, and enhance material stability. Furthermore, we outline critical future perspectives: (i) designing novel multicomponent architectures, (ii) unraveling the kinetic mechanisms of interfacial carrier transfer, and (iii) validating scalable performance under realistic environmental conditions. This review provides a holistic roadmap for Bi2S3-mediated photoredox catalysis, serving as a vital resource for researchers advancing solar energy conversion technologies.

In recent years, female body narrative has emerged as a significant critical perspective for examining the relationship between gender and literary expression. Both personalized writing in Chinese literature and the Japanese I-novel emphasize realism and the depiction of individual inner experience, making them particularly suitable for comparative research on representations of the female body. This paper focuses on Private Life by Chen Ran and Futon by Tayama Katai, conducting a comparative textual analysis from the perspective of female body narrative. By examining narrative perspective, modes of bodily representation, and their cultural implications, this study explores both the divergences and convergences between personalized writing and the I-novel. The analysis demonstrates that personalized writing enables women to articulate bodily experience directly through first-person narration, foregrounding a critical awareness of patriarchal structures. In contrast, within the I-novel, the female body primarily functions as a symbolic projection of the male narrator’s inner world. This study aims to contribute a new comparative perspective to research on female body narratives in Chinese and Japanese literature.

Beyond the emotion paradox: Avenues to understanding anhedonia in schizophrenia.

Building on Cowen’s idea of “reading the global”, this article analyzes the emergences of Area Studies (AS) in British, American, and Chinese universities during different historical periods of significant change in the world order. Drawing on relevant literature, I first demonstrate the metamorphosis of this field over time from classical to contemporary forms and currently toward more critical perspectives. Subsequently through an analysis of key policies and institutions, I argue that AS has emerged from competitions among great powers, reflecting a realist “reading of the global”.