Countries adapt certain curriculum programs in their education departments to suit current pedagogical and linguistic trends. They likewise align their curriculum to meet certain targeted goals in order to increase the level of English proficiency among their citizens. This study investigated the prevalence of multilingual policies worldwide. The present study utilized the Systematic Literature Review as a method of dissecting the different articles reviewed. These were then recorded into a Repertory Grid. The articles were downloaded from the ERIC database, and a thorough inclusion-exclusion screening was conducted to arrive at the 40 articles considered for this SLR. The results of the screening were recorded into the 2020 PRISMA Chart, with a slight modification. The research revealed the most research concept, which is English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language/English as an Additional Language, while the least studied are language assessment and teachers’ individual agency. The most frequently utilized research method is the qualitative research design; conversely, the least used is the mixed methods. Future research should look into the possibility of conducting an investigation into language assessment or teachers’ individual agency, and incorporate the mixed method of research into their studies.

ABSTRACT Teachers play a pivotal role in educational change, particularly as science education shifts toward integrating socioscientific issues (SSI). It is essential to gain insights into the perceptions and beliefs that serve as predictors for SSI implementation to design tailored support for teachers effectively. This study employs the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) to elicit the perceptions and beliefs of in-service secondary science teachers regarding the implementation of SSI. Twenty-two teachers participated in the RGT, interviews, and a subsequent follow-up a year later to assess SSI implementation. Results revealed four overarching categories of constructs that teachers associated with SSI, with “Teachers' Self-Consideration” recognized as a prominent construct correlating with teachers' decisions to implement SSI. Furthermore, we show that knowledge about SSI does not correlate with its implantation. The findings have direct implications for the design of professional development programs aimed at enhancing teachers’ SSI implementation, reducing epistemic and pedagogical barriers.

ABSTRACT The virtual world of the metaverse holds promise for collaborative learning, leveraging immersion and interaction to produce group-based knowledge. With the advancement of virtual reality technologies, assisting and guiding the emerging metaverse for collaborative learning has emerged as a significant yet insufficiently explored concern. Therefore, this study sought to uncover key constructs of metaverse collaborative learning (MCL) and their priorities, and to establish an MCL model. The repertory grid (RG) method was adopted to elicit the participating experts’ constructs and examine their correlations, thereby building the model. The entire process consisted of two main phases: the first involved creating activity planners as elements, and the second included construct-elicited interviews, an RG online survey, and model development. The results ultimately identified thirteen key constructs across four categories for MCL. This study underlined the support and involvement levels of teachers as well as students’ collective exploration within or outside the virtual world based on the priority order and correlation strength of key constructs. Drawing on the experimental learning theory, experts considered that students’ free exploration of virtual worlds necessitated reflective learning. The proposed MCL model advances novel perspectives expanded from traditional computer-supported collaborative learning, informing future educational metaverse design.

The repertory grid test has recently received attention as a convergent, mixed methods research design, but the analysis of grid data from multiple participants is challenging. In this article, we describe a method for organizing the data from multiple repertory grid tests, using a working theory derived from Silvan Tomkins’ Human Being Theory, to examine how medical students think and feel about digital learning. We show how theory can be used firstly to generate testable hypotheses, and then flexibly to frame and organize the data from multiple repertory grid tests. This methodological article contributes to mixed methods research by showing how a theory-driven approach allows qualitative interview data collected during the tests to be integrated with the grid data of multiple participants in a complementary way, with little loss of information. The flexible use of a working theory allows new data-driven theoretical insights to emerge.

In the repertory grid literature, a variety of measures and indexes have been suggested which contain information about a grid and, therefore, about the construct system of the person who was interviewed. Among these are, for example, distances or correlations between constructs and elements, cognitive complexity and conflict measures, or implicative dilemmas. These measures are usually interpreted in a descriptive way, i.e., the calculated values are directly used for interpretation without explicitly considering the statistical uncertainty involved in their generation. One reason for this might be the lack of a conceptual model that describes the generative process of the grid data. In this paper, a probabilistic construct elicitation model is introduced and its implications for the interpretation of grid measures are explored. A generic yet simple approach for quantifying variation in grid measures based on the suggested probabilistic model is outlined. As a practical improvement, we suggest reporting grid statistics along with “plausibility intervals” (PI). The interval informs about the plausible range of variation of a grid statistic and therefore supports their interpretation.

The burgeoning field of cyberdeviance lacks a unified conceptual framework, hindering classification and understanding of its subtypes and underlying psychological mechanisms. To address this gap, we conducted two studies. In Study 1 (N = 20), employing the repertory grid technique, we identified five key dimensions of cyberdeviance. In Study 2 (N = 268), participants rated 16 cyberdeviant behaviors on these dimensions, revealing three subtypes: data-oriented, interpersonal, and non-prototypical cyberdeviance. Our findings suggest a shift from singular cyberdeviance investigation toward recognition of its diverse subtypes, each necessitating tailored interventions. By adopting a dimensional approach, we transcend categorical and technocentric perspectives, enabling examination of behavior clusters across cultural and temporal contexts. Our work underscores the importance of integrating foundational deviance theories and expanding conceptual frameworks to comprehensively grasp cyberdeviance phenomena.

IntroductionAnticipation and meaning-making are foundational processes in Personal Construct Psychology. Over the years, methodologies such as the Repertory Grid and Implication Grid have provided valuable tools for examining the anticipatory structure of personal meaning systems. Building on this tradition, the Weighted Implication Grid (WimpGrid) introduces a graph-theoretic and algebraic formalization of personal construct systems, aiming to enhance the modeling of psychological change as a dynamic and networked process.MethodThe WimpGrid is based on a semi-structured interview in which participants evaluate hypothetical transformations in their self-perception across a set of personal constructs. These anticipatory judgments are recorded in a numerical matrix and formalized as a weighted directed graph, where nodes represent constructs and edges quantify the perceived influence between them. From this structure, graph-theoretical indices are derived to examine properties such as construct centrality, system dynamics, and resistance to change.ApplicationsWimpGrid enables idiographic assessment in clinical settings, supporting case formulation, therapeutic planning, and longitudinal monitoring of psychological transformation. Additionally, it provides a formalized methodological platform for research into subjective change processes and personal meaning structures.DiscussionBy combining constructivist interviewing techniques with graph-theoretical modeling, WimpGrid offers a structured and flexible framework for investigating psychological change. It complements existing constructivist methodologies by providing tools for the quantitative analysis of complex meaning systems, and opens new avenues for theoretical refinement and empirical application.

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of formal and informal institutions in wartime governance across four Ukrainian regional capitals – Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Mykolayiv and Sumy – during Russia’s full-scale invasion. Drawing on the repertory grid methodology, it captures the perspectives of civil society leaders, experts and local opinion-makers regarding the performance, functions and legitimacy of institutions under crisis conditions. The findings reveal significant variation in institutional roles across the four cities. In Vinnytsia and Lutsk, municipal authorities remain central to governance. Mykolayiv exhibits a hybrid model, with both formal and informal actors contributing to policy-making. In contrast, local non-state actors in Sumy assume primary responsibility for municipal governance. National-level institutions play more visible roles in frontline cities, though their perceived effectiveness is not always commensurate with their presence. By comparing these institutional constellations in cities with differing exposure to warfare, the article contributes to scholarship on decentralisation, crisis governance, urban resilience and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

The purpose of this study is to analyze how future landscape paintings using paints and binders made from the waste materials of a particular region and the background information of these artworks affect viewers’ behavioral intentions regarding social and environmental issues. First, 30 beauty evaluation items were extracted by a repertory grid analysis. Then, we asked participants to view the artworks at an exhibition in order to determine the impact of the background information behind the painting and the painting itself on participants’ imagination of the future, reconsidering themselves, social and environmental issues, and their behavioral intentions. The results showed that viewing paintings with their background information and using paints made of waste materials from a particular region improved participants’ behavioral intentions to imagine the future, to reconsider themselves, and to reconsider social and environmental issues. The elements of beauty of the paintings were found to have the potential to trigger the first step toward lifestyle change for sustainability.

Traditional furniture design methods often fall short in revealing users’ deeper psychological and emotional needs. This study innovatively introduced the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) as an exploratory tool in the field of furniture design to bridge the cognitive gap between latent user needs and practical design. Through image collection, laddering interviews, and Kelly Repertory Grid Technique (RGT), cognitive modeling was conducted with six high-involvement users. A total of 119 concepts were identified, covering ten design attributes (e.g., “ergonomic fit,” “warm color tones”), seven emotional needs (e.g., “stress relief,” “immersive experience”), and five value hierarchies (e.g., “sense of belonging,” “self-actualization”). The resulting Hierarchical Value Map (HVM) illustrated a three-level structure of “attribute–consequence–value,” clearly mapping the psychological pathway from product features to core user values. The findings revealed that users expect more than basic functionality from wooden lounge chairs, seeking emotional resonance, lifestyle alignment, and identity expression. ZMET was shown to be effective in uncovering non-verbalized user needs and offers a theoretical and methodological framework for value-driven, user-centered furniture design.

This study explores the design space of meaningful human control (MHC) for military AI systems using the repertory grid technique (RGT) to capture expert perspectives across disciplines. By interviewing twelve experts from fields such as military, engineering, philosophy, and human factors, we identified key constructs related to autonomy, moral sensitivity, destructiveness, and human-machine interaction. The findings reveal both consensus and variation in experts' understanding of MHC, highlighting challenges in interdisciplinary alignment. The study identifies key variables for MHC and uses them to create a design map that guides system designers in integrating MHC concepts into AI applications. By establishing a shared vocabulary and improved elicitation methods, we aim at facilitating future discussions and research aimed at establishing and maintaining MHC.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)-assisted Virtual Reality (VR) heritage serious game design constitutes a complex adaptive socio-technical system in which natural language prompts act as control levers shaping designers’ cognition and action. However, the systemic effects of prompt type on agency construction, decision boundaries, and process strategy remain unclear. Treating the design setting as adaptive, we captured real-time interactions by collecting think-aloud data from 48 novice designers. Nine prompt categories were extracted and their cognitive effects were systematically analyzed through the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT), principal component analysis (PCA), and Ward clustering. These analyses revealed three perception profiles: tool-based, collaborative, and mentor-like. Strategy coding of 321 prompt-aligned utterances showed cluster-specific differences in path length, first moves, looping, and branching. Tool-based prompts reinforced boundary control through short linear refinements; collaborative prompts sustained moderate iterative enquiry cycles; mentor-like prompts triggered divergent exploration via self-loops and frequent jumps. We therefore propose a stage-adaptive framework that deploys mentor-like prompts for ideation, collaborative prompts for mid-phase iteration, and tool-based prompts for final verification. This approach balances creativity with procedural efficiency and offers a reusable blueprint for integrating prompt-driven agency modelling into GenAI design workflows.

This article explores the perceptions of an interplay between formal and informal institutions in sustaining Ukraine’s defence and governance during the full-scale Russian invasion. Focusing on three cities—Vinnytsia, Mykolayiv and Sumy—it examines how civil society organisations, business actors, municipal authorities and national-level decision-makers contribute to security-related functions such as direct city defence, wartime governance, material support to the army, financing of military needs, community leadership, coordination of efforts and communication. Using the repertory grid methodology, the article interviews and records the perceptions of civil society leaders and experts on institutional roles and effectiveness under wartime conditions. Findings reveal the centrality of non-state actors, particularly Territorial Defence Commanders and Local Civic Activists, in frontline cities, often compensating for underachieving formal institutions. Municipal authorities exhibit varied performance, excelling in Vinnytsia but struggling in Mykolayiv and Sumy. The article highlights the adaptability of civil society, the limited governing effectiveness of city formal institutions, the exclusion of national-level decision-makers from local affairs, and the critical need for collaboration between all these actors to enhance resilience and address wartime challenges.

Self-construction influences personal identity and is linked to emotional and physical distress, but its role in fibromyalgia remains poorly understood. This study explores self-construction in women with fibromyalgia, comparing the Self-Ideal, Self-Others, and Ideal-Others distances with a community sample and examining their relationship with symptoms. The sample included 106 women aged 18 to 70, all diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Self-construction was measured using the Repertory Grid Technique. Pain and fibromyalgia impact were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, while psychological distress was measured with the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Short Form B. Findings indicate that women with fibromyalgia exhibited greater self-construction discrepancies than the community sample. Using an optimized k-means cluster analysis with the Bayesian Information Criterion, we identified two self-construction patterns for women with fibromyalgia and depressive symptoms: a high and a low self-construal discrepancy group. The high self-construal discrepancy group reported greater fibromyalgia impact, higher depression scores, and elevated psychological distress. These results suggest a distinct self-construal pattern in women with fibromyalgia compared to the general population. Promoting self-congruency may support healthier self-development and improve coping strategies for managing fibromyalgia.

The objective of this research was to examine the impact of cumulative trauma and polarised thinking on the severity of depressive symptoms. In total, 172 patients, mostly women, with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder or Dysthymia (or both) were evaluated using the Cumulative Trauma Scale. The Repertory Grid Technique was used to measure polarised thinking, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II was used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms. The severity of depressive symptoms was strongly associated with a high level of polarised thinking and a high frequency of perceived negative trauma. Our findings underscore the need to address polarised thinking and trauma (when present) as a target of interventions aimed at reducing depression symptoms.

The importance of behaviorally informed interventions against misinformation is increasingly acknowledged, and the concept of nudging has received attention as a promising approach to promoting conscious decision-making when confronted with online misinformation. Nudges, however, may not always produce the desired behaviors; they may lead to side effects, and even backfire. With nudges most often being studied behaviorally, this article argues for the importance of inquiring into users’ perceptions before deploying nudges in the field. We employ a semi-structured interviewing technique, the Repertory-Grid Technique, to inquire into how end-users, like citizens, journalists and policymakers, perceive six concepts of technology-mediated nudging designed to counter online misinformation. The study identifies nine construct categories, such as respectfulness, proactivity, and simplicity, which participants employed to differentiate among and evaluate the nudges. By considering these constructs during nudge design, choice architects can mitigate risks regarding their acceptance and sustained effectiveness. This study contributes to a growing body of literature on the factors that shape nudge failure.

In an environment of heightened competition and growing consumer market power, companies are seeking new ways to gain and maintain competitive advantages. A marketing department is a key factor in increasing competitiveness of the organization, but in practice, interrelated marketing processes are regulated by different departments, which incurs a risk of divergent management practices and weak coordination. The article examines approaches to customer loyalty and brand management as key marketing processes with a focus on goal setting strategies. The study is based on classical marketing theory, as well as the concepts of brand management and customer loyalty. The empirical basis was formed by data from in-depth interviews with marketing directors of 20 Russian companies conducted in November, 2022. The interview results, processed using content analysis and the repertory grid method, revealed lack of a system approach to goal setting: brand management is focused on achieving short-term financial goals, while customer loyalty management centres around long-term marketing objectives. Poorly synchronized goals cause inconsistencies in the methods applied and performance evaluation. Our findings enrich the understanding of the goal setting mechanisms in customer loyalty and brand management and identify failures in synchronization of marketing strategies.

PurposeThis research investigates the elements of breast cancer screening advertisements that resonate with women.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a hybrid methodology: first, a content analysis technique is used to isolate the key messages that are mostly promoted in breast cancer screening advertisements; then, a repertory grid interview method is employed to understand women’s perceptions about said messages. Thirteen different breast cancer screening adverts are presented to twenty-two women from Greece to evaluate their level of authoritativeness, credibility, emotional appeal and persuasiveness.FindingsThe thematic analysis reveals that some breast cancer screening promotional messages, including award-winning advertisements, offend women as they fail to connect with the visual design of these ads. The study also indicates that women are more motivated to undergo check-ups when exposed to positive advertisements featuring reliable breast cancer data and endorsements from celebrities who genuinely support the cause.Practical implicationsThe findings contribute to the customization of breast cancer communications to increase screening numbers.Originality/valueAlthough the role of communication in increasing cancer screenings has been investigated, there is no study to employ the repertory grid interviews method to explore the impact of different elements of messages.

IntroductionAs demonstrated in previous research and clinical observations, the personal value system is subject to disintegration as a consequence of schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia are sometimes religious and use religious coping mechanisms. A number of studies emphasize the benefits of positive religious coping as a part of clinical treatment for patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. However, the contribution of these patients’ religious faith to the structure and composition of their personal value systems remains unexplored. The present study attempts to answer this question.MethodThe factorial design (2x2) included two conditionally independent variables: mental illness (absent/present) and religious faith (absent/present). We sampled four groups (N = 65) for the study: mentally ill believers of Orthodox Christian faith, mentally ill non-believers, healthy believers, and healthy non-believers. We analyzed the structure and composition of the participants’ personal values employing the following tools underpinned by G. Kelly’s personal construct theory: the triad method, Hinkle’s laddering and repertory grid methods. Correlation and factor analyses were then conducted within each group to find the relationships between the personal values identified. Subsequently, we compared the personal value systems of each group with each other.ResultsThe outcomes of the study reveal that personal values of healthy non-believers are less differentiated than those of healthy Orthodox believers and can be divided into two clusters of meta-values: spiritual and material. Mental illness in non-religious individuals is likely to contribute to disintegration of their personal value systems. Healthy believers have distinctly differentiated and hierarchical personal value systems, while mentally ill believers retain both the general hierarchy and key structures of their personal value systems.DiscussionThe relative stability of the personal value systems of mentally ill believers is explained by their attitude toward illness as a form of trial, which is integrated within the framework of their religious worldview grounded in the Orthodox Christian doctrine. In this way, illness is not regarded as a hindrance to achieving life goals and personal meanings inspired by religion.

Mental health is influenced by how we perceive ourselves and others. A person's conceptual structure and how he/she understands and makes sense of the world can be explored using the repertory grid technique (RGT), an assessment tool derived from personal construct theory. This review aimed to a) draw together relevant literature that had implemented the RGT to explore the conceptual system of a person diagnosed with a mental health condition necessitating psychiatric admission, b) synthesise research findings related to the structure and content of the conceptual system, and c) provide insights into how inpatient service users construed themselves and others to inform therapeutic practice. A systematic search of five electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science) and thesis databases (EThOS and ProQuest), alongside manual searches in relevant articles and Google Scholar, was conducted. Included studies were appraised for methodological quality using the Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs. Twenty-one studies were identified and analysed using narrative synthesis. Of these 21 studies, 12 intentionally used a comparison group and compared the conceptual systems of people with different mental health diagnoses or compared conceptual systems of people with and without a diagnosed mental health condition. Findings from comparison group studies suggested that the self-esteem of a person diagnosed with a mental health condition was lower, compared to a person with no identified mental health diagnoses. Other people were typically idealised by people experiencing mental ill health; however, this finding was not observed in the experience of depression. Cognitive complexity, conceptual structure, and construing were variable across mental health conditions. Conceptual structures that were "simple" and characterised by "tight" construing were consistent with the profile of people with a mental health diagnosis, except for people with schizophrenia spectrum and psychotic disorders. The structure of a conceptual system differed in people with and without a mental health condition and across mental health diagnoses. Considerations for how the review findings could inform psychological therapy and suggestions for future research are offered.