Abstract: Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) play a vital role in Ethiopia's agricultural and rural development initiatives, aimed at promoting sustainable livelihoods. This study examines the impacts of ACC practices on the livelihood diversification of rural households in South Ethiopia. Data was collected from 355 households, comprising 177 participants in Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) and 178 non-participants, using household surveys and qualitative insights from interviews and focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics and econometric modeling, including the Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) approach, were used to assess the effects of Agricultural Commercialization Clusters (ACC) on livelihood diversification in South Ethiopia. The probit model identified critical determinants of agricultural commercialization cluster, such as education level, total land size, access to irrigation, and proximity to roads and markets. The ESR full information maximum likelihood (FIML) results showed that livelihood diversification was positively influenced by farmland size, access to agricultural extension services, and credit availability. For non-ACC participant households, engaging in ACC practices resulted in an 18.9% increase in livelihood diversification. The results suggest that ACC practices significantly enhance livelihood diversification in the region. In South Ethiopia, achievements of agricultural commercialization clusters significantly contribute to combating unemployment and are directly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 1, 2, and 3. The study recommends that policymakers and development practitioners enhance access to extension services, credit, markets, roads, and irrigation infrastructure to strengthen livelihood diversification through ACC in South Ethiopia.

Abstract:

Digital transformation in public institutions is increasingly understood as a socio-technical and organizational process rather than a purely technological upgrade. This study presents the design of an ICT-based digital transformation roadmap aimed at improving administrative efficiency and citizen service delivery in a municipal public utility in Ecuador. A mixed-methods diagnostic approach was adopted, combining qualitative evidence from direct observation and a semi-structured interview with the head of the IT department, and quantitative data from a structured online survey administered to citizens. Baseline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were established using institutional records, service logs, and workflow analysis conducted over a three-month diagnostic window. Post-implementation KPI values are explicitly treated as {ex ante} projections, derived from process redesign analysis, benchmarking with comparable public utilities, and scenario-based assumptions, rather than empirically observed outcomes. The empirical results demonstrate high citizen readiness and acceptance of proposed digital services, including remote service portals, electronic invoicing, and automated support channels. The projected operational improvements—such as reductions in response and administrative processing times and increased digital transaction rates—are therefore presented as expected performance scenarios. A risk and alternative scenario analysis further examines how organizational constraints, resource availability, governance capacity, and change-management factors may moderate these outcomes. The study contributes a transparent and replicable framework for diagnosing digital readiness and planning ICT-driven transformation initiatives in resource-constrained public utilities, while emphasizing the need for future longitudinal validation using post-implementation data.

Abstract: Background: It is essential that the training of young water polo players aligns with didactic principles and the characteristics of growth and development. Despite this crucial fact, there is a lack of appropriate research. The aim of this article is to determine and explain the appropriate age to begin learning technical elements for defensive field players and goalkeepers in water polo, according to the opinions of water polo coaches. Methods: Twenty-seven water polo experts completed a questionnaire constructed specifically for this study. Test-retest reliability showed acceptable results (r between 0.85 and 1.00, with p < 0.05 for all variables). Results: Exploratory factor analysis using the Guttman-Kaiser criterion for selecting the number of factors and Varimax rotation indicated the existence of two distinct factors for the defensive technique of field players: (1) explosive and perceptive defensive activities; (2) static-repetitive defensive activities. Two distinct factors were also identified for goalkeeping technique: (1) basic goalkeeping technique; (2) advanced goalkeeping technique. Manifest space variability explained 41% and 31% of the variance for defensive technique of field players, and 45% and 44% for goalkeeping technique, respectively. Conclusions: The findings provide improved insight into water polo coaches’ perspectives on learning simple and complex technical elements in water polo and offer crucial guidelines for all training participants.

Abstract: To address inefficiencies caused by fragmented content delivery, inconsistent instructional pacing, and subjective evaluation in foundational art education, this study proposes a computer-assisted modular teaching system based on a unified training pathway. The system incorporates a digital platform structured on a browser–server (B/S) architecture, featuring modules for content scheduling, demonstration standardization, progress tracking, and evaluation automation. The five instructional stages—Imitation Reinforcement, Geometric Structure, Basic Still Life, Complex Composition, and Figure Drawing—are encoded as structured task units. A lightweight image analysis algorithm based on OpenCV extracts visual features (e.g., contour continuity, spatial alignment) from student work, generating quantitative indicators that support semi-automated evaluation and reinforce instructional decision-making. A 16-week teaching experiment involving 86 foundational-level students was conducted using this platform. Four metrics—teaching progress consistency, module achievement rate, modeling accuracy, and teaching effectiveness dispersion—were used to assess outcomes. Compared to traditional instruction, the system achieved a 24.8% reduction in progression deviation, a 14.6% increase in achievement rate, and a 43.3% reduction in inter-class variance (p < 0.05). This research demonstrates the viability of integrating computational control mechanisms and visual analysis tools into art instruction, enhancing the process stability and reproducibility of modular teaching in exam-oriented contexts.

Abstract: Local public workers are central to implementing sustainable development policies at the local level, yet the determinants of their wage growth remain underexplored from a sustainability governance perspective. Building on the “decent work” agenda embedded in SDG 8, this study examines how political context, fiscal capacity, and local wage institutions combine to shape wage increases for local public workers (LPWs) in South Korea. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) on 17 regional governments for 2018–2021, we test whether configurations of progressive local councils, fiscal capacity and autonomy, living-wage adoption, socio-economic context, and workforce composition are sufficient for high LPW wage growth. No single condition is necessary across years; instead, distinct pathways emerge. In 2018, high wage growth is associated with configurations combining progressive councils with larger LPW workforces and supportive socio-economic context. In 2020–2021, fiscal capacity and autonomy become more salient, with high wage growth occurring where stronger fiscal conditions align with either progressive politics or institutional wage standards. The findings highlight that sustainable wage governance is configurational and time-varying, implying that policy mixes should balance decent work, local fiscal sustainability, and equitable service capacity.

Abstract: In a world characterized by the paradox of unprecedented advances in climate science on the one hand, and high degrees of skepticism towards anthropogenic climate change on the other, the need for a new figure, or expert, arises. Conventional scientists and entire disciplines struggle against climate change denial, while the effects of climate change itself need to be faced and managed in a way that goes beyond the current framework of expertise in the standardized field. Via an evaluation of current challenges and future perspectives, this work redefines the term “terrologist” to introduce a new, ideal expert with a background in climate and social sciences, capable of resolving at a local scale the challenges posed by the phenomenon. The same expert would also be able to offer solutions at much broader scales, possibly beyond the boundaries of countries and their legal systems. These challenges are not to be underestimated, as they threaten the economy and the integrity of society as a whole: a mismanagement of climate-related actions may in fact exacerbate social conflict and deepen the ongoing crisis. The description of this new role highlights the importance of social science involvement in topics normally restricted to climate sciences and its multiple branches, and calls for more cooperation between multiple fields.

Abstract: This article proposes and validates a finance-oriented 5P–ESG composite index to provide an integrated assessment of the sustainable, financial, and corporate governance perfor-mance of firms in emerging markets, with application to the MSCI COLCAP universe. The conceptual framework is derived from the “5Ps” approach of the 2030 Agenda (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships), which structures sustainable development goals into five operational, comparable dimensions that are relevant for decision-making in corporate governance and capital market contexts. To operationalize the construct, a set of corporate indicators was defined, data cleansing and standardization procedures were applied to ensure comparability across issuers, and pillar-level scores were constructed. Subsequently, the overall index was estimated through weighted aggregation using en-dogenous weights derived from principal component analysis, following methodological recommendations for composite indices aimed at mitigating collinearity and dou-ble-counting issues. The robustness of the instrument is supported by internal consistency tests and measures of sampling adequacy for factor analysis (KMO/Bartlett), providing evidence of the statistical coherence of the measurement framework. From an applied perspective, the index enables the relative classification of issuers (laggards–transition–leaders) using indicator terciles, offering a quantitative tool for screening, coverage priori-tization, and support for investment and sustainable governance decisions within fun-damental analysis. The findings are interpreted in light of the accumulated evidence on the relationship between ESG practices, financial performance, and cost of capital, high-lighting the usefulness of the approach in emerging markets characterized by heteroge-neous regulatory frameworks and ESG disclosure levels.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Inequality in survival across socioeconomic strata has been growing in the US for decades. Traditional measures of this inequality increasingly fail to capture the heterogeneous biological realities of the US population. Using new measures, this study provides a fresh perspective on the dynamics of mortality inequality across ten socioeconomic deciles in the United States from 1982 to 2019. Methods: Data: The data come from annual life tables from US counties, aggregated according to their socioeconomic characteristics. Measures of Inequality: Three measures of inequality are used, capturing survival inequality from different perspectives, inequality in ages of death over the lifecycle, inequality in survival at older ages, and inequality in survival in midlife. For the latter, the equal survivorship age (ESA)—a metric defined as the age at which a specific subgroup’s survival probability from age 20 matches the survival probability from age 20 to 65 of the total population—is used. Results: We find consistently growing inequality, largely unaffected by economic circumstances such as the Great Recession. By 2019, the ESA for the lowest socioeconomic decile was nearly 11 years lower than the ESA of the highest decile. Conclusions: This “survival gap” in the ESA suggests that low-socioeconomic status (SES) populations effectively exhaust their survival “budget” a decade earlier than their high SES counterparts. These findings challenge the equity of the use of universal chronological ages in public policies and underscore the need for “Social-Determinant-Adjusted” geriatric care models. The regularly growing inequality in the ESA suggests the importance of cohort-based influences.

Abstract:

Human psychology has been playing major contributory factors in the calibration of human medicine, as it is cognitive perception that has ultimately shaped the trajectory of medical progress. Such perceptive patterns are dependent upon the integrity of emotional and intellectual levels of intelligence, meaning that good emotional states can significantly contribute to shaping medical and scientific progress. Throughout the paper, the topic of the progressive loss of balance in societal perspectives, attitudes and behaviours will be thoroughly assessed, given that such loss of balance often results in a phenomenon known as “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”, in which good values are rooted out with the bad habits infiltrated into emerged branches. For example, the increasing epidemic of loneliness, isolation and deprivation of affection has resulted in the creation of an inaccurate perception upon the importance of solitude and self-reflection due to a generated excessive emotion of craving for human affection, which has often translated into practices of dependency upon social contexts, attachment to mismatching relationships, promiscuity and unhealthy, unexplained abandonment. Such increasing events have created unprecedented frictions within societies, which resulted in the skyrocketed extent of trust issues and isolation among people and consequently, to a steep decline in the average extent of human mental health and emotional wellbeing. Within this context, the manuscript adopts an interdisciplinary research perspective that integrates psychological theory, philosophical reflection, and exploratory social design. The aim is not to prescribe universal solutions but to investigate how symbolic and conceptual models of boundary-based platonic intimacy might contribute to ongoing academic conversations surrounding loneliness, co-regulation, and relational education. Throughout the study, visionary language and urban metaphors are employed as analytical tools through which emerging questions about ethical closeness, social trust, and collective wellbeing may be critically examined rather than asserted as definitive policy frameworks. Moreover, the paper emphasises the foundational role of early upbringing and education in shaping lifelong relational capacity, highlighting the relevance of the “First Seven Years at Home” concept and proposing the gradual inclusion of emotional literacy and platonic relational education within mainstream curricula. Such educational reforms, implemented alongside existing safeguarding policies and respect-based learning frameworks, may help younger generations develop healthy boundaries, empathy and non-romantic forms of connection from early stages of development. Within a rapidly evolving technological landscape increasingly influenced by Artificial Intelligence, strengthening human relational competence may represent a stabilising factor capable of supporting scientific progress while maintaining social cohesion and ethical awareness. Societal frictions have significantly manifested even within biological families, which itself represents a direct factor for the recent increase in the number of people registered as “homeless”. It is therefore evident that loneliness and homelessness represent two opposite ends of the same sequence of events, as homelessness is ultimately dependent upon loneliness and isolation. The initiatives described below are introduced as speculative prototypes intended to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue rather than immediate societal implementation. By framing workshops, relational housing concepts, and communal environments as research constructs, the manuscript explores how structured platonic interaction might be studied within ethically governed settings. These examples function as imaginative extensions of existing relational theories, allowing the reader to consider how emotional literacy, consent education, and shared environments may intersect with contemporary debates surrounding urban wellbeing and social cohesion. The author will be presenting an extensive set of theoretical and practical solutions against the ongoing and growing problem of the existing frictions within human relationships by encouraging proportional workshops and novel lifestyles aimed at gradually repairing the created damages of human trust, with an emphasis upon distributing existing projects of “mental health first aid”, “cuddle therapy”, “cuddled bed & breakfast”, “artistic expressions aimed at deepening healthy human connection”, consensually “singing lullabies to each other and therapeutically swinging one another to sleep”, as well as other similar practices, even incorporating them into regular housing, which may be regarded as “cuddled renting” or “housing”; as well as workshops in retreat and camping settings, alongside the creation of theoretical and practical courses to help each participating member apprehend the depth of the details covering consent, boundaries, as well as health and safety - offering either low-cost or free courses to members of the general public on creating safe spaces and meaningful, profound and long-lasting connections by widening the availability of such resources in an exponential manner, subsequently reducing the need for significant, localised financial expenditure per initiative and perhaps obtaining funding from specific non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with the overall purpose of ensuring that the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are met by 2030. Moreover, efforts could also be made to rebuild natural environments in areas where harm has been caused by pollution - given the existence of an interdependent relationship between the integrities of the environment and of life. There could be a gradual evolution from “local cuddled communities” into broad rural and urban areas dedicated to intentional, regular and conscious human connection, potentially perfecting the concept of “Smart Cities” whilst implementing it under real-world conditions. In addition, the manuscript introduces a series of conceptual urban initiatives – including “Urban Wombs”, “Embraced Housing”, “Touch Plazas” and “The Lullaby Revolution” – envisioned as phased, consent-based approaches to addressing loneliness, social fragmentation and housing instability within contemporary megalopolises. These proposals aim to create structured environments where individuals may safely experience platonic greeting, emotional grounding and community belonging without pressure to perform socially. By integrating nature-centred design, volunteer facilitation and gradual implementation strategies, such initiatives are discussed as potential catalysts for rebuilding trust, reinforcing collective resilience and transforming urban environments into spaces of harmony aligned with both psychological wellbeing and environmental sustainability. The symbolic reflections that follow are presented as philosophical and cultural interpretations intended to deepen the discussion of human relationality rather than to serve as empirical claims. References to nature, cosmology, or spiritual imagery are therefore employed as narrative lenses through which the emotional and existential dimensions of connection may be explored. By integrating metaphorical language alongside psychological discourse, the manuscript seeks to acknowledge the historical role of myth, art, and spirituality in shaping collective understandings of intimacy while maintaining a distinction between symbolic insight and scientific validation. It is known that life emerges from the water and that, immediately after the new-born human is separated from the amniotic water after nine months of pregnancy, is united with the mother in a long and profound hug; hence, affection is as important for human survival as water. Normative levels of human affection should be proportional to the levels observed in animals, as all life forms physically emerge from water, bacteria and soil. Ecological restoration is introduced as an important and interconnected part of this study, exploring how re-naturalised urban environments may support both psychological wellbeing and healthier forms of shared life. Green spaces, water features, community gardens, and quieter nature-centred areas are considered not only as environmental improvements but also as places that may help people slow down, feel safer, and reconnect with one another in more respectful and mindful ways. Rather than viewing nature as decoration within cities, the manuscript approaches ecological renewal as a relational setting that can influence emotional atmosphere, social rhythms, and consent-based interaction. By linking environmental regeneration with relational education and boundary-based platonic intimacy, the study invites interdisciplinary reflection on how ecological design and human connection may evolve together within contemporary urban landscapes. Given that Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity may apply to human and animal psychology - at the levels of perception and intelligence - it may be important to make differentiations between the speed of animal bonding and the speed of human bonding proportionally with the displayed levels of intelligence and wisdom, given that intelligence may generally be proportional with a perceived speed of time, meaning overall that caution and social selection ultimately occur as significantly in animals as they do in humans, and that boundaries are as essential in animal bonding as they are in human bonding. Scientific evidence indicates that regular practices of “hugging” and “cuddling” are associated with optimised immune systems, lower probabilities to develop various types of illnesses, increased quality and extent of physical, emotional, neuronal and intellectual development during childhood and teenage years, as well as increased duration of life. Overall, platonic intimacy represents the most important, profound and sophisticated form of art that brings all forms of sensorial art into a complete state of “oneness”, reflecting the objective of human existence herself. The objective of extending platonic intimacy to regular life would also implicate the introduction of cuddle-optional safe spaces into settings that include foster care homes, elderly care homes, kindergartens, schools, youth centres, homeless shelters, emergency housing centres and accommodation support networks, centres for suicide prevention, points of mental health crisis alleviation, disability service centres, palliative care centres, hospitals and other medical centres, as well as addiction recovery centres and prisons, with all laws and guidelines on safeguarding children and vulnerable people, respecting personal boundary, informed consent, as well as Health and Safety respected to the letter. It is only when such an importance is theoretically and practically understood, and when numerous people gently and patiently climb through the existing many hierarchies of intimacy that people will successfully find compatibility and thorough fulfilment in their romantic life as well. Taken together, the ideas presented throughout this manuscript are intended to function as an interdisciplinary research framework inviting further scholarly dialogue, pilot studies, and ethically grounded empirical investigation. Rather than asserting definitive social prescriptions, the study seeks to open a conceptual space in which boundary-based platonic intimacy may be explored alongside existing psychological and cultural models of human connection. Future research may therefore examine how these symbolic and theoretical constructs could be translated into carefully governed experimental contexts that prioritise consent, safeguarding, inclusivity, and measurable wellbeing outcomes.

Abstract: Conventional frameworks for assessing national competitive advantage assume that original scientific discovery is the highest-order determinant of national power. This paper challenges that assumption. It proposes the Capability Hierarchy Thesis: de- ployment capacity—the ability to translate ideas into physical reality at speed and scale through rapid iterative cycles—is not parallel to discovery capacity but hier- archically superior, fully subsuming it. This subsumption is complete because the conditions producing theoretical breakthroughs—large educated populations, qual- ity universities, institutional incentives for risk-taking—are themselves deployable. The paper reframes the relationship between imitation and innovation through the concept of principled imitation: independently deriving the principles underly- ing an observed solution and reimplementing based on that understanding. This process requires the same capabilities as original innovation, differing only in in- formation conditions. A nation that imitates rapidly demonstrates deep scientific comprehension; when no external solution exists, the same capabilities produce orig- inal innovation automatically. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of The Entropy Frontier (Shuhao Zhong, [2026]), which redefines national wealth as accumulated human capital, physical systems, and institutional knowledge, this paper develops three contributions: the Capability Hierarchy framework, the National Iteration Capacity Index (NICI), and the Imitation-Innovation Continuum Model. Applied to the U.S.-China com- petition, the framework yields conclusions diverging significantly from conventional assessments.

Abstract: Studying how people manage and use their time not only deepens our understanding of individual routines but also highlights the roles they play within their household and society. The Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) Wave 8 developed a novel time expenditure module enabling cross-national, longitudinal analysis of daily activities among adults aged 50 and over. This paper presents the module’s design and initial findings. We provide methodological guidance essential for accurate data interpretation and present descriptive results by country, gender, age, and education. Our findings reveal substantial cross-national variation in time allocation patterns. While sleep (7-8.5 hours) and leisure activities (3.5-5.5 hours) dominate daily schedules across all countries, women spend approximately an hour more per day on household chores than men, with even greater gaps of 78 to 109 minutes in Southern Europe. Gender differences in care work are negligible, with the notable exception of Israel where women provide substantially more care. In contrast, men spend more time in paid work and leisure. Educational gradients are most pronounced for paid work: tertiary-educated older adults spend nearly three times as long in employment (119 minutes) compared to those with below-secondary education (44 minutes). Time use shifts substantially with age: paid work drops from 207 to 18 minutes between ages 50-64 and 65-79, while leisure and sleep increase. Contrary to stereotypes of older adults’ lives, these patterns reveal both continuity and change. With subsequent waves, this module will illuminate whether these patterns represent stable features of later life or transitional states that evolve with health, partnership status, and proximity to end of life.

Abstract: This article examines Sikhism's principle of Vand Chakna (sharing one's earnings) and its institutional manifestation in Langar (community kitchen) as distinctive configurations of religious giving that challenge dominant anthropological frameworks. Drawing on gift theory, moral economy, and comparative religious ethics, the analysis demonstrates how Sikh practices resist the hierarchical asymmetries and moral accounting that structure charitable systems. Rather than framing giving as oriented toward reciprocity, merit, or obligation, Vand Chakna positions sharing as a constitutive condition of collective life, grounded in relational ontology and enacted through embodied practice. Langar functions as an "ethical infrastructure"—a material, spatial, and institutional arrangement that stabilizes egalitarian ethics through routine participation. Comparative analysis with Hindu dāna and Islamic zakāt clarifies how Sikh ethics diverge from merit-accumulation and purification-oriented giving. The concept of ethical infrastructure proves analytically valuable for understanding how religious practices materialize moral orientations while negotiating persistent social hierarchies. This theoretical framework invites future ethnographic research on how egalitarian principles operate in lived contexts marked by caste, class, and gender inequalities.

Abstract: This mixed-methods study explores the emotional and relational dimensions of dyadic dialogue between early childhood educators - specifically between kindergarten teachers and assistants. Grounded in theoretical perspectives from dialogic pedagogy and developmental and organizational psychology, the study conceptualizes emotional dialogue as a reflective, co-constructed process through which educators express, respond to, and make meaning of emotional experiences in their daily professional lives.The sample included 60 early childhood teachers (30) and assistants (30) from Israeli kindergartens. The qualitative component included thematic analysis of authentic professional conversations, conducted in a structured setting designed to simulate naturally occurring dialogue. This analysis identified five key dimensions of emotional dialogue: (1) emotional awareness and expression, (2) Fostering acceptance, (3) emotional containment and resolution of negative emotions, (4) positive affect, appreciation and respect, and (5) negative affect - hostility or emotional distance. The quantitative analysis explored associations between emotional dialogue and a range of psychological, interpersonal, and environmental variables, using the CLASS framework (Pianta et al., 2008).Findings revealed that emotionally attuned dialogue is positively associated with educators’ cognitive empathy, attachment orientations, and psychological control, as well as their subjective and interpersonal professional experiences - such as professional self-efficacy, job satisfaction, sense of coherence, evaluation of the assistant’s professional performance, quality of team functioning, and observed quality of classroom climate. These results highlight the potential value of fostering emotional dialogue within early childhood teams as a pathway to enhancing educational quality and professional well-being.

Abstract: Violence against children constitutes a global public health emergency, necessitating innovative prevention strategies within the school environment. While the benefits of visual arts on socio-emotional development are well-documented, their specific impact on preventing interpersonal violence remains under-synthesized. This critical narrative review analyzes existing literature (2000–2025) through a corpus of 14 empirical studies (exclusive visual arts interventions and multimodal programs) conducted with children aged 5 to 12. The results reveal a dichotomy: while art-centered interventions demonstrate robust effects on emotional regulation and anger reduction (protective factors), evidence for a direct reduction in violent behaviors primarily stems from large-scale multimodal programs. Although promising as a lever for universal prevention and the facilitation of disclosure, visual arts require further randomized controlled trials to validate their direct behavioral efficacy. This review proposes a conceptual framework for integrating these practices into child protection policies.

Abstract:

In the 20th century, the legacy of two devastating world wars generated an enormous historical heritage linked to conflict, giving rise to the global phenomenon of war tourism. This prominence stems from the presence of countless vestiges such as streets razed by gunfire, landing beaches, trench lines, and bunkers. Battlefield Tourism (BT) has experienced remarkable growth in Europe, establishing itself as a specialized segment with increasing levels of institutionalization, professionalization, and academic interest. Traditionally, some literature has associated these visits with dark tourism (DT) due to the presence of death, suffering, or historical violence at the sites (Stone, 2006). However, more recent and comprehensive analyses demonstrate that this classification is often insufficient or incorrect. This study argues that BT is closer to cultural tourism (CT) than to dark tourism, aligning with heritage and educational studies that emphasize memory, identity, and the cultural landscape rather than the commercialization of morbid fascination (Foley & Lennon, 2000). The research evaluates the viability of BT as a catalyst for rural development in Extremadura (Spain), a region characterized by its pursuit of socioeconomic sustainability through tourism innovation (Cánoves, 2017). The methodology utilizes a prospective exploratory analysis with an integrated qualitative and quantitative paradigm. Primary data were gathered using a structured instrument deployed via Google Forms to municipal leadership across 388 municipalities in 15 tourist areas. A representative sample of 149 valid responses was secured, yielding a statistical margin of error of ±5% at a 95% confidence interval. Advanced statistical techniques, including Pearson’s Chi-square tests and Cronbach’s Alpha, were applied to test research hypotheses concerning the conceptual differentiation between war tourism and dark tourism. The findings indicate that 61.7% of local stakeholders were unfamiliar with the term DT , whereas 70.9% were familiar with WT, largely due to awareness of regional initiatives like battle reenactments. Statistical contrast reveals a significant relationship between prior knowledge of DT and the willingness to exploit sensitive heritage, such as "Slavery Museums" (p<0.001) or "Disaster Museums" (p<0.001). Regarding terminology, 42.6% of respondents prefer "military cultural tourism" and 48.3% favor "historical-cultural tourism," reflecting a clear rejection of the word "war" in Spanish society. The main conclusion is that local councils support the exploitation of war heritage within a cultural framework, viewing it as a strategic opportunity for socioeconomic development in inland rural areas. This approach generates a multiplier effect, diversifying local economies and offering new jobs (Cánoves et al., 2014). By revaluing historical memory (Smith, 2015) and integrating military heritage into sustainable territorial planning, rural regions like Extremadura can enhance their competitive advantages and mitigate depopulation. Ultimately, Military Cultural Tourism (MCT) provides a path to transform historical trauma into a tool for regional advancement and educational enrichment.

Abstract: This article explores the complex migration pathways undertaken by individuals who arrived in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. The findings reveal a clear distinction between formalized legal migration routes and highly dangerous irregular journeys, yet people coming through both routes experience instability and a proactive desire for a more viable future. This paper identifies three critical themes among 233 structured interviews: 1) The primacy of existential threats—where political collapse, chronic economic insecurity, and targeted violence act as root causes; 2) Systemic vulnerability and danger—demonstrated through widespread corruption, extortion, and life-threatening environments; and 3) The psychological burden—including direct trauma and a significant prevalence of community trauma. This study aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the choice, logistics, and human cost involved in contemporary migration to the United States.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of acute caffeine intake on maximal aerobic speed (MAS) assessed using the 30–15 Intermittent Fitness Test (IFT) in university soccer players. An experimental, randomized, double-blind, crossover design was employed, involving 26 male university team players (n=26). Each participant completed the test under two conditions: caffeine supplementation (220 mg) and placebo, separated by a 72-hour washout period. The final running speed achieved (VIFT) was used as an estimator of MAS. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, normality testing, and paired Student’s t-test, with a significance level set at p &lt; 0.05. The results revealed a significant improvement in VIFT under the caffeine condition (19.94 ± 1.67 km/h) compared with placebo (18.72 ± 1.50 km/h), with a mean difference of 1.22 km/h (6.5%) and a large effect size (dz = 1.24; p &lt; 0.001). It is concluded that acute caffeine intake produces a significant ergogenic effect on intermittent aerobic performance in university soccer players, representing a potentially useful strategy to optimize performance in competitive contexts.

Abstract: Public rental housing in Aotearoa New Zealand is a safety net in a pressured housing market with often unaffordable rents. The needs and behaviours of public housing tenants may differ from more prosperous New Zealanders’. The present paper focuses on transport behaviours and preferences of this group, as part of a wider research programme (‘Public Housing and Urban Regeneration’) addressing tenant wellbeing and behaviour. Particular ways in which such tenants use transport are identified in Keall et al. [1]. To dig deeper on tenants’ transport patterns and access, and understand their willingness to reduce emissions, we surveyed 160 public housing tenants, via a mail-back questionnaire in mid-2023. The responses represented 66% of those approached. Key findings are that public housing tenants, while often using cars, especially as passengers, frequently use public transport (PT) (40% of respondents) and active transport (walking 68%; cycling 17%). However, tenants’ transport preferences are often unmet. For example, for everyday needs, 36% of respondents would prefer to use a car less; 42% said easily walkable access to shops or facilities would help in taking fewer car trips. Such findings from our survey suggest that housing providers, council planners and public transport operators should collaborate to make public rental housing as accessible as possible, locating new housing close to public and active transport facilities and shops; and recognising that tenants overwhelmingly see local easy access, including better PT, footpaths and cycle paths in their neighbourhood as making it easier to travel car-free, thereby reducing emissions.

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) demonstrate that sophisticated symbolic cognition can emerge from scaled pattern extraction without consciousness. This observation motivates a minimalist conceptual framework: language is a crystallized form of human cognition, created by conscious agents over millennia, and the human brain evolved to operate efficiently over this symbolic substrate. Consciousness and symbolic cognition are therefore distinct: consciousness creates symbols, while symbolic cognition operates over them. LLMs reveal this asymmetry by reproducing symbolic reasoning without possessing conscious regulation, motivation, or subjective experience. This framework clarifies the relationship between biological and artificial cognition and offers a simple model of how human intelligence emerged through gene–culture coevolution.

Abstract: This study examines female microenterprise entrepreneurship in the city of Juliaca, Peru, as a response to structural conditions of poverty, informality, and limited inclusion in public policies. In this context, the study seeks to understand and interpret the dynamics of women-led entrepreneurship and its articulation with sustainable local socioeconomic development. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, based on an interpretative phenomenological design. The research techniques employed included in-depth interviews, direct observation, and documentary review, applied to 16 female microentrepreneurs selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The findings reveal that intrinsic motivations (resilience, leadership, and self-fulfillment) and extrinsic motivations (economic independence, access to financing, and education) constitute key elements in the entrepreneurial process. Additionally, business social capital—through family, community, and institutional networks—was found to play a strategic role in business sustainability. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs actively and significantly contribute to sustainable local socioeconomic development by stimulating local economies, generating employment, and promoting socially, fiscally, and ethically responsible practices. Therefore, although women act as agents of change and transformation, they face structural barriers that require public policies with a territorial and gender-based approach to enhance their impact and sustainability.