Disadvantageous Situation Research Articles

Exploring the perceived dynamic system driving inequities in the community obesogenic environment

Abstract Introduction Persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations (PSEDS) are more susceptible and disproportionally exposed to obesogenic environments, resulting in poorer dietary outcomes and lower levels of physical activity. This study aimed to map the complex dynamic system within the community obesogenic environment driving unhealthy eating and insufficient physical activity among PSEDS in Flanders, and to identify potential local actions. Methods Participatory group model building (GMB), a qualitative system dynamics method, was used to engage PSEDS (n = 7), local decision makers (n = 7) and local stakeholders (n = 5) in two Flemish municipalities. A two-day GMB session was held in each municipality during which a causal loop diagram (CLD) was created and potential local actions were identified by considering causal pathways and reinforcing loops in the system. Results The CLD was designed around two main variables (i) healthy eating and (ii) physical activity among PSEDS. Seven sub-systems could be identified: 1) social environment, 2) facilities and activities, 3) mobility options, 4) information, 5) affordability, 6) safety (specifically for physical activity), and 7) industry and advertisement (specifically for eating behaviour). Several actions to improve the local environment to promote eating behaviour and physical activity among PSEDS were identified. Conclusions The CLD illustrates the complex interactions between individual and environmental determinants contributing to inequalities in eating behaviour and physical activity by including multiple perspectives of community members in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations, local decision makers and local stakeholders. Both the participatory GMB approach and the final CLD visualization can provide the basis for planning local actions for promoting healthy eating behaviour and physical activity among PSEDS. Key messages • Group model building is an effective approach to explore and understand a dynamic complex system through a shared understanding among diverse stakeholders. • A systems approach is valuable to provide a more comprehensive and context-specific understanding of the perceived factors contributing to inequities in the obesogenic environment.

Exploring the multiple dimensions of perceived food access in the local food environment

Abstract Persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations (PSEDs) are more susceptible and disproportionally exposed to unhealthy food environments, resulting in poorer dietary outcomes. Food access plays an important role within the wider food environment. This qualitative paper explores the context-specific relationships between the dimensions of perceived food access within the local food environment among PSEDS. 23 participants were recruited through purposeful convenience sampling until data saturation was achieved in two municipalities in Flanders, Belgium. Utilizing the photovoice and photo-elicitation method, participants expressed their perceptions of food access within their local food environment and its role in their eating behaviour, both individually (n = 16) and in group (n = 7). Applying the access framework to our analysis, the dimensions of perceived food access among PSEDS were divided into the personal (acceptability and convenience), perceived external (accommodation and desirability) or both personal and perceived external (awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability) domain. Our results suggest that awareness (e.g. of local opportunities available) precedes the other dimensions and that affordability is related to all dimensions among PSEDs. This study underscores the importance of perceived food access in healthy eating among PSEDS. The identified food access dimensions can inform policy, urban planning and community-based interventions to promote equitable access to healthy food. Key messages • Understanding perceived food access is essential to identify ways in which inequalities in food access can be addressed. • Perceived food access interacts between external and personal domains.

Blunted sensitivity to expected value during risky decision making in individuals with problematic pornography use.

Neurobiological models of addiction posit that addiction manifests through an amplified salience towards addiction-associated stimuli and a diminished responsiveness to non-addiction-related incentives. However, existing research on reward processing in individuals with problematic pornography use (PPU) has primarily been limited to sexual cue reactivity. In this event-related potential (ERP) study, we employed a risky decision-making task involving 30 individuals with PPU and 33 healthy controls (HCs) to examine the effects of PPU on non-pornographic (money) reward valuation. Compared to HCs, individuals with PPU exhibited compromised sensitivity to monetary rewards. Specifically, while the HC group demonstrated a differential response in late positive potential (LPP) amplitude to various expected value (EV) levels, this pattern was absent in the PPU group. This impairment was associated with poorer adaptive decision-making, as evidenced by PPU participants' inability to adjust risk choices based on changes in EV, leading to a propensity for riskier decisions in disadvantageous situations. The findings of impaired monetary evaluation in individuals with PPU may potentially explain why they continually pursue pornographic rewards while showing insensitivity to other rewards in daily life. Consequently, treatment development strategies may prioritize improving sensitivity to non-pornographic rewards within this population.

International students’ experiences in Brisbane during COVID times through a social justice lens

ABSTRACT The article examines the situation of international students living in Brisbane during COVID lockdowns, through a social justice lens. Despite the significant economic contribution of tertiary international students towards the Australian economy, they were excluded from government pandemic support. Help provided by other organisations was limited. International students felt undervalued and excluded, facing challenges due to their lack of income from part-time jobs, mental health issues, constraints in relation to home arrangements, online study, and lack of sense of belonging. Our findings further show that although place was a determinant in the wellbeing of students, social attachment (either spatially or a-spatially) was the most valued support to students. While there has been research on the needs of international students in Australia during lockdowns, no studies yet link these three variables: COVID lockdowns, their effects on international students left in Australia, and considerations of city scale, in a mutually influencing relationship. We followed a qualitative research design, using interviews and focus group discussions with international students and support providers in Brisbane during COVID times. We argue that both distributive and institutional dimensions of justice are important to understand the disadvantaged situation experienced by international students: the institutional COVID restrictions greatly affected students ‘trapped’ in the country, while there was a very limited distribution of resources that did not match the needs of students. We conclude with some recommendations as a result of our research. Practitioner pointers During a global pandemic, government needs to ensure that all people stranded in the country, including international students, are entitled to the same financial assistance. International students should have been consulted about, and appropriately informed through effective ways of communication about the services provided to them during the pandemic. All levels of government and educational institutions dealing with international students, need to fully consult with students and listen to their concerns.

Exploring the multiple dimensions of perceived food access in the local food environment in Flanders: Perceptions of adults in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations

Persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations are more susceptible and disproportionally exposed to unhealthy food environments, which results in limited access to healthy foods and poorer dietary outcomes. This qualitative paper examines the various dimensions of perceived food access to healthy and unhealthy foods (i.e., availability, affordability, accessibility, accommodation, desirability, convenience and acceptability) within the local food environment among persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations.A total of 23 participants in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations expressed their perceptions of food access within their local food environment and its role in their eating behaviour through participant-driven photo-elicitation in a focus group context (n = 7) and researcher-driven photo-elicitation interviews (n = 16). Reflexive thematic analysis has been used to analyse our data through an access framework.Four overarching themes were constructed. The first two themes concern barriers to perceived food access in respectively the home and community food environment – including the importance of kitchen infrastructure, household composition and transport options. The third theme encompasses the interaction of perceived food access with the sociocultural environment, highlighting its dual role as facilitator (e.g., through food sharing practices) and barrier (e.g., through social stigma and shame). The fourth theme concerns awareness and the ability to navigate within the information food environment, which has also been proposed as a novel dimension of food access.This study emphasizes the complexity of food access and the need for a multifaceted approach that integrates perceptions to ensure equitable access to healthy foods.

Culture of Poverty and Sustainable Development: Case of Machar Colony in Karachi

This paper analyzes the intrinsic relation between two key indicators of development; sustainability and poverty. It specifically focuses on culture of poverty and sustainable development. Sustainable development envisions a balanced growth of human societies, meeting the current needs without compromising the required natural resources for future generations. The idea of culture of poverty is put forward in social theory, and the idea revolves around ideals of people experiencing poverty and how it may play an important role in preserving their disadvantaged situation, thus maintaining a cycle of poverty across generations. They may be resistant to considering sustainable choices while taking advantage of economic opportunities. So, the question posed is whether the culture of poverty acts as a hindrance or a facilitator for sustainable development. Given that culture forms an intrinsic part of sustainable development principles, this paper reviews the case of a marginalized low-income community in Karachi, exploring the everyday choices they make within the culture of poverty and the interface they have with the larger framework of sustainable development. Case study methodology has been employed, with qualitative interviews, observation and mapping used as research tools. The results of the research reveal a sense of disempowerment that residents of Machar Colony face, leading them to focus on short-term survival rather than long-term sustainable development objectives. The prevalent culture of poverty impedes progress and development, failing to pave the path for sustainable livelihood.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AS A PREREQUISITE FOR CREATING A FAMILY IN THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES

The article is devoted to the study of ways to overcome youth unemployment and identify the main factors of successful youth employment in Denmark as an effective Scandinavian model, given the need to increase the efficiency of youth employment in Ukraine as a factor of readiness to start a family. It is found that the leading factor that determines the readiness of young people to start a family is socio-economic, which involves acquiring a profession and successful implementation in the labour market. It has been established that full employment of the young population as one of the strategic objectives of the Danish government has been successfully implemented in recent decades. It is found that the youth policy implemented at the level of Danish municipalities is based on the values enshrined in international conventions, national and local legislation and is in line with their strategic documents. These include: taking into account the diversity of needs, interests, abilities, talents of young people; creating policies for young people and with the active participation of young people; aiming to increase opportunities for the development of social, personal and professional potential of young people; affirming equal value and equal rights for all; paying special attention to children and young people in vulnerable or disadvantaged situations, children and young people with disabilities; creating a high-quality democratic educational environment for children and young people. It has been determined that municipal youth initiatives are often experimental in nature, and their mechanisms are based on preventive, early intervention with broad involvement of young people in the discussion in the decision-making process in communities. The study identified the key factors for successful youth employment and overcoming youth unemployment in Denmark. It is concluded that there is a need for a thorough study of the best practices of developed countries in employment policy, systematisation of initiatives and combination of approaches in the youth segment of the labour market in order to develop and implement mechanisms for creating favourable conditions for increasing youth employment in Ukraine.

Analysis of the Implementation of E-Litigation with Artificial Intelligence Approach in Procedural Justice and Access to Justice in Pretrial Proceedings

The development of Artificial Intelligence in the current digital era across every sector of society has become a topic of discussion among legal experts for its potential application within the realm of justice systems. Consistency and time efficiency have become key considerations for implementation within the judicial system. Pre-trial proceedings in Indonesia are often seen as a secondary trial process, leading to inconsistencies in time, understanding of legislation, and document management, resulting in disadvantageous situations for the suspects. The integration of Artificial Intelligence in legal proceedings can enhance efficiency, accuracy, and ensure access to justice for suspects within the legal process. In the context of pre-trial proceedings, AI can be utilized to aid in data processing and analysis, decision-making, and monitoring compliance with principles of procedural justice. The research problem in this study revolves around two main questions: First, how does the legitimacy and legal certainty of utilizing electronic media within the Indonesian judicial system stand? Second, how can procedural justice and access to justice be implemented through the utilization of electronic media, particularly artificial intelligence, in pre-trial proceedings? This research is a doctrinal or normative study, relying on secondary data sources consisting of primary legal materials and qualitative data.

Reorganization of human resources in the tourism industry from the perspective of recent years, in relation to Transylvania

Nowadays, employment in various economic fields and the possession of appropriate professional knowledge are of considerable importance, especially in the services sector, where properly qualified personnel is a key factor in terms of the development of satisfaction in the demand segment. As an apropos of this, the human resource reorganizations taking place in the Transylvanian region and the willingness to work form the subject of the research, focusing on the tourism industry, which was a difficulty for businesses providing various services during the period of the Covid-19 epidemic that spread in 2020. In a significant part of the international studies related to the topic, the difficulties arising because of the change in the attitude of the tourist human resources are mentioned, which can lead to a disadvantageous situation in the long term of the operation of tourist facilities. As a result, the sixteen Romanian counties that make up the Transylvania region became the target of the investigation. Projected on the mentioned counties, relevant data from the Romanian National Statistical Institute (INSSE) were first used, examining the time interval between 2010 and 2022, both yearly and monthly. According to the data used, it is important to focus on the investigation of tourist traffic, as well as on the number of people employed in the sector and its change, as well as on the wages received for doing their work and the associated benefits, which can serve as a motivational factor in addition to valuing employees. An examination of the data related to the topic shows that the 2008 global crisis had a more drastic impact on employment in Romania than the Covid-19 pandemic that spread in 2020, the effects of which can still be felt today.

Malaysia’s Orang Asli Women Roles in Indigenous Community

Globally, there are still many occurring social issues that may be a hindrance towards the achievement of the overall development of a nation, and one of them is gender equality. Although it is a social issue that can affect the society, gender equality however affects women more than men as it can put women at a more disadvantaged situations such as limited access towards good health and education, lower financial status, lower employment opportunities, and more. Gender equality should be properly addressed to ensure that women can enjoy the opportunities and rights that they deserved as part of the members of the society. In this study, we investigated the Orang Asli women roles from a selected tribes in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to explore how Orang Asli women contribute to the preservation of the indigenous community's culture, language, and beliefs. This study employed a qualitative case study research design. To obtain data, a semi-structured interviewing tool was used. We collected and analysed data from Orang Asli women as participants of the study. The study's findings demonstrated that the Orang Asli women had meaningful roles in their community. The study's conclusions are designed to provide insight into how indigenous women can carry out their responsibilities in promoting gender equality and sustainable development in the indigenous community.

Positive and negative intergroup contact and newcomer immigrants' psychological adjustment.

The present research investigates the associations between immigrants' positive and negative contact with the majority group and their psychological well-being, as indicators of their psychosocial adjustment to the host society. Perceived personal discrimination and relative deprivation in comparison to the majority group are assessed as mediators of the associations between intergroup contact and psychological well-being. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study with newcomer African immigrants living in Italy (N = 240; 61.7% men) with age ranging from 18 to 40 years old. Evidence showed that, across three waves, immigrants' negative contact with Italian natives was longitudinally associated with lower well-being and positive intergroup contact. In turn, well-being was related to immigrants' lower perceptions of relative deprivation across waves. Positive contact with Italian natives was not significantly associated with immigrants' well-being, but it was associated with higher perceived relative deprivation, which was associated with lower well-being. Overall, the results provide insight into the links between differently valenced contact and the psychological well-being of newcomer immigrants. Furthermore, the findings address assumptions about the primacy of negative contact in undermining social attitudes and the important role of positive contact in promoting awareness of the disadvantaged group's situation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Win-win or lose-lose: Children prefer the form of equality

In middle childhood, children's sense of fairness further develops, they are willing to pay a cost to maintain equality. Win-win and lose-lose are two forms of equality. Win-win equality refers to both parties maximizing benefits, while lose-lose equality means both parties incurring the maximum loss. Win-win equality allows third party upholding fairness to gain more reputational benefits without the violator being punished, embodying the principle of “benefiting oneself without harming others”. On the other hand, lose-lose equality is a more deterrent form of fairness with the violator getting punished, and the third-party might experience a situation of “effort without appreciation.” However, the specific form of equality which school-aged children prefer still requires further exploration. Therefore, adopting the dictator game paradigm of third-party punishment, we design two experiments to investigate the fairness preference of first to fourth-grade children when acting as a third party and to clarify patterns of age-related changes. Study 1 (N = 111) explored children's preferred form of fairness under advantageous inequity conditions. Study 2 (N = 122) further examined children's fairness preferences in disadvantageous inequity situations. The findings suggest that when confronted with inequitable distributions, whether rooted in disadvantageous or advantageous inequity, children display a notable tendency to utilize third-party punishment to achieve an equal allocation. Meanwhile, this tendency strengthens as they progress in grade levels. Notably, children consistently manifest a preference for win-win equality, highlighting their inclination towards mutually beneficial outcomes.

Adopting photovoice to explore teachers’ experiences in online teaching

<span lang="EN-US">The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has caused a rapid and massive change in the education sector across the world and left no choice to teachers to maintain their status quo. As a country with very diverse geographical and technological conditions, Indonesia has felt the severe impact of this pandemic. This study explores how Indonesian English as foreign language (EFL) teachers struggle to adapt to the online teaching process, identifies the challenges they encountered during the online teaching and learning process, and investigates their strategies in coping with the associated challenges to ensure the learning objectives were achieved. This study employed photovoice as a visual research methodology to capture the new phenomena and answer the research objectives by inviting four English teachers from three different islands, Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi to share their experiences and strategies for survival. The results indicated that Indonesian EFL teachers suffered from challenging experiences, including the trial and error of learning management system (LMS) choice, and were confronted with unpleasant feedback from the students. This study also identified poor internet connection and low online student participation as the main issues. To deal with such problems, especially with low student participation, they viewed disadvantaged situations as a trigger to improve their creativity.</span>

Performance Analysis and Realization of the Design for the Use of Social Areas of Industrial Liquid Filling Systems

Today, the insufficient of speed, quality, and precision in the service provided with the increasing density in the enterprises located in social areas, and the fact that standard products are made rather than optional products are observed as a disadvantageous situation in terms of people's demands. Although liquid filling systems used in industrial production facilities include features that are important for production such as speed, quality, and efficiency, they arise problems in social areas in terms of design, size, economy, and personalized production. In solving the problems, it is realized a special liquid filling system that both meets the needs of people to highly and includes the features of the production systems used in the industry. In the study, a fruit juice filling system that produces fruit juice in the ratio and amount desired by the user using four different juices is proposed. It is thought that when the study done by reducing the need for space with a compact design and increasing the production speed with station-based processes is applied to the private sector, both operating costs are reduced, and end-user demands are met to the desired extent. It is observed that the effect of the cycle time on the unit production time is reduced in the mass production method used in the system, while the cycle time is directly equal to the production time in the private production method. In addition, when the mass production method is used, it is observed that increasing the selection of different fruit juices reduces the production time, as it distributes the filling time to more than one station.

Examination of Pediatric Burn Incidence and the Impact of Social Determinants of Health in Florida.

Introduction Burn injuries are a major mechanism of trauma worldwide, caused by friction, cold, heat, radiation, chemical, or electric sources. Most often, burn injuries occur due to heat contact from hot liquids, solids, or fire, termed scald burns and flame burns, respectively. These types of injuries are complex and carry major injury and mortality risks, especially in pediatric populations. Burn trauma prevention has been a major focus in the US, with initiatives to increase public health outreach and safety measures. Unfortunately, children in socioeconomically disadvantaged situations may face these types of injuries at disproportionately higher rates, and we aim to highlight these disparities, if any, within our Florida community. Materials and methods This study was designed as a retrospective observational analysis using publicly available data from the Florida Health Community Health Assessment Resource Tool Set (CHARTS). Data was extracted for nonfatal burn injuries resulting in ED visits in the years 2018-2020. This data was limited to those ranging from 0 to 19 years old and converted to rates of burn injuries per 100,000. Sociodemographic details for each county were recorded from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps and compared with burn data in each respective county. Frequencies were generated for categorical data, and statistical analyses for burn rates and sociodemographic details were performed with a generalized linear model using a Poisson distribution and bivariate correlation for a p < 0.05. Results In Florida, the median annual burn rate per 100,000 was 136 (IQR: 96-179), with Jackson county holding the highest rate of 323 and Glades, Hardee, and Lafayette each holding a rate of 0. Of the 18 socioeconomic factors examined, a total of five were found to have no statistically significant effect on nonfatal burn injury ED visits: severe housing problems, percentage of Asians, teen births, percentage of children (<18 years) in poverty, and severe housing cost burden. The two most important factors to be found in nonfatal burn ED visits of pediatric patients were the percentage of those younger than 19 years old without health insurance and the average grade level performance of third-grader reading scores. When adjusting for the small sample size using Firth's bias-adjusted estimates and overdispersion, both reading scores and those without insurance play a significant role in pediatric burn injuries. For each increase in a single point in reading scores, the incidence rate ratio decreases by 97.1% (95% CI). For every percentage increase in children insured, there is a 28.8% decrease in pediatric burn injuries (95% CI). Conclusions This analysis highlights increased pediatric burn rates across multiple social determinants of health (SDOH) in all 67 Florida counties. The findings here demonstrate that there may continue to be a disproportionate distribution of burn rates among lower and higher sociodemographic areas. This study further highlights this trend within the Florida community, and continued research will be necessary to meet the needs of lower sociodemographic areas to improve burn rates in vulnerable populations, such as children, who are at increased risk of injury.

The development of the research on the history of libraries: a handful of reflections from the French perspective

Studies on the history of libraries as a research field within a domain of the French historiographic tradition first appeared towards the end of the 1980s. Its theoretical underpinnings were in fact provided by the existing studies on the history of books and the founding works by Henri-Jean Martin (1924–2007). Despite a sizeable number of publications following the publication of the Histoire des bibliothèques françaises (Paris, 1988–1992, 4 vols.), this particular research area somehow failed to take advantage of the dynamics generally attributed to works on the history of books. Largely focusing on institutional and present-day issues, a substantial portion of the study on the history of libraries continued for a long time to be isolated and dominated by library-based authors only. A change in this situation came as late as the first decade of the 21st century and was greatly influenced by the works of the recently deceased historian Frédéric Barbier (1952–2023). Since that time, we have been witnessing a significant widening of perspectives, very much in line with the wish expressed by F. Barbier himself in his Histoire des bibliothèques en Occident (ed. I, Paris, 2013). This area of research (history of libraries) attracts interests of more and more researchers and has become a transnational domain at the pan-European level. The present research study documents these cultural and timeless transitions (challenging the perceived divisions between the Middle Ages and the Ancien Régime, and the Ancien Régime and modern times), and thus becoming multidisciplinary as well as interdisciplinary studies that integrate a number of disciplines (political history, social history, history of culture, architecture, etc.). At the same time, research on the history of libraries retains a strong relationship with studies on the history of books and media. The position and standing of libraries, that went through profound transformations due to both cuts in their budgets and the implications of the digital revolution in the first years of the 21st century, seems to be endangered, both as an institution and a place. However, their purpose in modern democracy is not outdated and they still perform a significant mission by making it possible for all to have equal access to cultural resources and media. Libraries provide non-vertical mediation (i.e. cataloguing and metadata creation, classification and storage …), that is still essential to make data and documents available. They continue to accommodate in one cultural space – that becomes more and more comfortable and friendly – both readers and visitors that learn to “live together” within this space, conforming at the same time to applicable rules and regulations. Despite their seemingly disadvantageous situation, one may though assume that modern libraries will continue to provide fresh and stimulating material for historical research for long years to come

Regional regulations on the fairness of commercial contracts between Australia and the United States, taking the PayPal case as an example

The regulation of contract fairness has been one of the focuses of scholars from various countries in recent years. This may involve the composition of the contract, the legality of the contract and the disadvantageous situation of the weak party in one contract. This essay takes the possible unfair terms in Australia’s PayPal case as an example to discuss the nature of unfair terms, the necessity of ASIC intervention, regulatory measures, and related statutes in Australia. To analyse the regional regulation of this issue, the regulation of unfair terms in the United States is also discussed. By comparing the regulation methods of the two countries and analysing the impact of unfair term regulation on market fairness, some suggestions are given to Australia.

Hand gesture recognition based on CNN and YOLO techniques

Communication is essential for humanity today and in the past. However, some individuals lack verbal communication due to their innate disability and physical losses from accidents. There are sign-language communication methods developed for such people to communicate. Artificial intelligence solutions are offered to remove the disadvantaged situations of people with disabilities due to communication in daily life. Nowadays, rapidly developing image processing and artificial intelligence methods are proper solutions for the problem focused on in this study. Convolution neural network techniques, which have become very popular recently, offer solutions to many problems. On the other hand, the YOLO algorithm shows very high performance in real-time object detection. In this study, we proposed a method for identifying the alphabets which each gesture delivers. This work studied hand detection on images and classification according to hand movements. The American Sign Language (ASL) standard was used as the sign language. The most recent version of YOLO, known as YOLOv5x, is used for gesture detection. Concentrating on the Static Sign-language problem, a study was conducted on the definition of hand movements. The letters “J” and “Z” are not included in the data set because movable hand signals are required. Apart from these two letters, a total number of 24 letters are classified. The proposed model achieved a training performance of 99.45% mAP@.5. Moreover, the proposed model has a performance of 97.9% mAP@.5 on the test dataset. The results demonstrate that the model's object detection performance is excellent. A statistical analysis of the training time shows that the training time has been drastically decreased, 4.5 hours with the current model as compared to the existing models in the literature.

Public Administration and Economic Analysis of the Region along Slovakia’s Southern Border

The paper analyses the economic situation of the districts located along the Southern border of Slovakia, which have sizeable Hungarian-speaking populations. Unemployment ratios, industrial pay levels and corporate profitability figures make up the backbone of the analysis. Our research reveals that, as a whole, the Southern districts fall short of the national average in terms of all economic and demographic indicators. In our research focusing on Slovakia, we have demonstrated the disadvantaged economic situation of the Southern part of the country, where its Hungarian population is concentrated, noting that this may further weaken its ability to retain their population. We used the same methodology for our analysis of the Northern Hungarian counties bordering on Slovakia. In both countries, there are discrepancies between Western and Eastern regions.

Youth of North East States of India: Issues, Concerns and Need for Mental Health Support as Perceived by NCC Officers

The youth of North-East India are in disadvantaged situations as compared to youth from the rest of the country in all respects. The objective of this article was to examine the views of the NCC Officers of North-East states about youth welfare in the region as they have first-hand experience in dealing with youth. Participants’ views were obtained on-line, by using a Semi-structured Questionnaire in the form of Google Form. A group of 142 NCC Officers provided feedback. Data collected were subjected to thematic analysis. Findings disclosed that youth of North-East states experience a range of challenges including poverty, lack of internet facilities, inability to attend NCC camps due to ongoing classes, substance dependence, lack of guidance and support leading to dropout and lack of values. The NCC Officers opined that a good number of North-East youths require mental health support and career guidance, in addition to mental health awareness.