Objectives This study examined the effectiveness of an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Breathing Education (MBBE) program on pre-service teachers with self-reported communication difficulties, targeting communication skills, emotional regulation, and perceived professional preparedness, addressing a critical gap in teacher preparation programs. Methods A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed with 50 pre-service teachers from two Turkish universities who scored below the median on a preliminary communication assessment. Participants were randomly assigned to an MBBE intervention group (n = 25) or a wait-list control group (n = 25), receiving one 75-minute session weekly for 8 weeks. Validated scales assessed mindfulness, communication skills, and emotional regulation pre- and post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up; perceived professional preparedness was assessed through semi-structured interviews, analyzed thematically with member checking and triangulation. Results The intervention group showed significant improvements relative to controls in communication skills (d = 1.12, p < .001), mindfulness (d = 0.94, p < .001), and emotional regulation (d = 0.88, p < .01). Thematic analysis revealed four themes: enhanced emotional self-regulation, improved interpersonal communication, increased perceived professional confidence, and practice sustainability challenges. Most participants (97.8%) reported meaningful communication gains, while 24% experienced difficulty maintaining regular practice afterward. Conclusions MBBE shows significant promise for enhancing communication skills and emotional regulation among pre-service teachers with communication difficulties. Combining mindfulness principles with breathing techniques offers a practical approach for teacher preparation. Findings support integrating mindfulness-based interventions into teacher education, though generalizability to all pre-service teachers warrants caution given the targeted sample.
This study investigates the relationship between democratic institutionalization and governance quality through a measurement-oriented approach using a panel dataset of 146 countries from 2013 to 2023. Drawing on democracy scores from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and governance indicators from the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), the analysis examines how variations in democratic development correspond to changes in six dimensions of institutional performance. Although both datasets assess aspects of political institutionalization, they originate from distinct conceptual frameworks, the EIU focusing on electoral and participatory dimensions of democracy, and the WGI emphasizing administrative and legal governance outcomes. Fixed-effects and piecewise regression analyses reveal that governance improvements accelerate beyond mid-range democracy levels, suggesting a threshold effect in institutional performance. Bootstrap confidence intervals confirm the robustness of these non-linear patterns. These findings contribute to the literature on institutional quality by clarifying the empirical linkages and distinctions between democratic development and governance, demonstrating that their alignment reflects co-evolving, but not redundant dimensions of political modernization.
This mixed-method study investigated the effects of an immersive digital game-based learning (GBL) intervention on pre-service English language teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and attitudes toward using digital games in education. Sixty-three second-year pre-service teachers participated in a five-week intervention using Discovery Tour : Ancient Egypt, an open-world educational game developed by Ubisoft. Participants were assigned to either a guided play condition (structured lesson plan) or a free exploration condition (self-designed lesson plan). Quantitative data were collected through the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Games (TPACK-G) and the Utilizing Digital Games Attitude Scale (UDGAS), while qualitative insights were derived from open-ended reflections. Results revealed significant improvements in TPACK-G perceptions in three of four subdimensions (Game–Content Knowledge, Game–Pedagogical Knowledge, and Game–Pedagogical-Content Knowledge), with large effect sizes, indicating that engagement with gameplay was associated with improvements in participants’ game-based pedagogical competence. Although overall attitudes toward digital games remained stable, participants showed small, non-significant trends toward less endorsement of negative perceptions of games (UDGAS2) and slightly more positive views of games as learning tools (UDGAS4). No significant differences were found between guided and free exploration groups; however, the absence of significant differences should not be interpreted as evidence of equivalence. Qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative results, highlighting perceived pedagogical benefits, motivation, creativity, and collaboration, alongside minor concerns about technological challenges and classroom distraction. Although the quasi-experimental design (intact classes, no control group) precludes causal inferences, the findings suggest that authentic gameplay experiences may foster pre-service teachers’ professional growth and confidence in integrating educational digital games into future teaching practices.
In contemporary higher education, there is a growing recognition that academic success depends not only on cognitive ability but also on socio-emotional and cooperative competencies that students develop within learning environments. Physical education, despite being a particularly rich setting for socio-emotional and interpersonal learning, has received comparatively limited attention in the literature on academic self-efficacy. This study explores the dynamic interplay between socio-emotional learning (SEL), cooperative learning (CL), and academic self-efficacy (ASE) in physical education, with a focus on the mediating role of emotional intelligence (EI). Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we investigated these relationships among 269 Chinese university students. Hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that both SEL and CL significantly and positively influence ASE in physical education, and that EI plays a significant mediating role in these relationships, indicating that students’ capacity to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions is central to translating socio-emotional and cooperative learning experiences into stronger academic self-efficacy beliefs. Peer relationships were positively associated with ASE but did not significantly moderate the EI–ASE link, suggesting a more direct influence of EI on ASE in this context. These findings extend SCT into the physical education domain and offer practical implications for educators, curriculum designers, and policy makers: integrating SEL and CL strategies that explicitly cultivate emotional intelligence is a promising avenue for strengthening students’ academic self-efficacy and broader well-being. This study contributes to the growing body of literature focusing on the psychological and social aspects of learning in higher education, particularly in physical education.
Augmented reality (AR) is emerging as a transformative technology in digital commerce, yet its psychological mechanisms in high-involvement product categories remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework, this study examines how AR-specific attributes influence user experience and online impulse buying intention. Using data from 382 valid respondents in Vietnam, we employed a hybrid SEM-ANN analytical approach to test linear causal relationships, and artificial neural networks ANN to capture nonlinear predictor importance. SEM results show that authenticity, usefulness, and interactivity positively enhance user experience, whereas perceived risk exerts a negative impact. Usefulness is the strongest driver of satisfaction, while interactivity most strongly shapes attitude. ANN analysis further confirms satisfaction and attitude are the top two predictors of impulse buying intention among the six inputs, thereby reinforcing and extending the linear SEM findings. Among organismic states, consumer experience plays a significant role in driving online impulse buying intention. By integrating AR-specific stimuli, dual experiential states, and behavioral responses, this study extends the SOR model and provides a more comprehensive understanding of AR adoption in e-commerce. The findings offer actionable insights for AR developers and retailers seeking to enhance experiential quality and strengthen consumer impulse purchase intentions.
Global digitalization reshapes international trade by reducing transaction costs while simultaneously intensifying market competition. Against the backdrop of rising trade frictions, China needs more stable and resilient trade partnerships to sustain its foreign trade. In this context, exploring how the digitalization of trading partners influences their import share from China is of critical importance. To this end, we analyze import panel data from 154 countries from 2015 to 2023 using a semi-parametric spatial autoregressive model. Our findings are fourfold: (1) The digitalization level of partner countries initially increases the import share from China, but this effect weakens and eventually reverses at higher levels of digital development, forming an inverted U-shaped relationship. (2) Import decisions exhibit positive dependence, meaning that countries importing similar types and volumes of goods from China tend to have similar import shares from China. (3) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of digitalization is more persistent for high-tech products than for other product categories. (4) The Belt and Road Initiative magnifies the trade-promoting effect of partner digitalization for participating countries. Overall, global digitalization presents both opportunities and competitive challenges, necessitating that China implement differentiated strategies to achieve sustainable trade development.
Situated within the global “publish or perish” regime, the growing use and embedding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in doctoral research work raises a critical tension between instrumental efficiency and the cultivation of scholarly identity. Moving beyond a narrow psychological discourse of technology acceptance, this study examines AI use through the lenses of professional jurisdiction, doctoral socialization, and epistemic agency. Drawing on data from the Nature’s Graduate Survey 2025 (N = 3,483 STEM/medical PhD candidates), we employ moderation and sequential mediation models to investigate how the frequency of AI use is associated with doctoral satisfaction. Results indicate a statistically significant but modest negative association between AI usage and study satisfaction (β = -0.070, p < 0.01). This association exhibits regional invariance, suggesting that AI-related tensions may be embedded in broadly shared structural pressures of academic production. We find that Self-reported Impostor Concerns (SIC) mediate this association. Crucially, the analysis reveals two distinct pathways: while concerns about weakened critical thinking show a very small positive indirect association with satisfaction, which we interpret cautiously as a possible form of institutional gaming to manage cognitive load, the perceived substitution of core research skills is negatively associated with satisfaction through SIC. We therefore present AI not as a direct cause of doctoral alienation, but as a diagnostic lens for examining the subtle tensions between productivity, scholarly agency, and identity formation in contemporary STEM/medical doctoral training.
Purpose We examine how energy consumption relates to the Human Development Index (HDI) across 40 nations over a 26-year period (1996–2021). Design/methodology/approach The study employs instrumental variable regression to uncover nuanced patterns in the relationship between energy consumption and HDI, taking average relative humidity, population, industry value added and urbanization as control variables. Findings This study investigates the relationship between energy consumption and human development across 40 countries, grouped by HDI level. We found mixed evidence of a positive relationship between HDI and energy consumption depending on different econometric techniques. The results suggest that, once nations surpass the high-HDI threshold of 0.799, improvements in living standards, education and health are consistently and causally associated with higher energy demand. The findings highlight structural differences in the energy usage and development relationship across HDI strata. Research limitations/Implications Despite the insights provided, this study acknowledges limitations due to the relatively small number of medium and low HDI countries included in the analysis. Nonetheless, the association discovered between energy consumption and HDI provides meaningful insights, particularly for very high and high HDI countries. Originality/Value The paper emphasizes the significance of incorporating human development levels into the analysis of energy consumption patterns, offering insights for policymakers and researchers committed to improving quality of life and energy efficiency.
During China’s process of promoting common prosperity, the difficulties faced by rural areas are the most prominent. Building a comprehensive, moderately prosperous society requires leveraging the new momentum brought about by information technology to assist farmers in achieving common prosperity during their pursuit of high-quality development. This study of 252 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2024 uses panel data to carry out an empirical analysis of how information infrastructure development affects farmers’ common prosperity and the mechanisms underlying this effect. According to the results, enhancing the information infrastructure is helpful to improve the level of common prosperity of farmers. Robustness tests and endogeneity handling further verified the reliability of this conclusion. Moreover, the promoting effect of information infrastructure on farmers’ common prosperity shows heterogeneity characteristics due to factors such as marketisation level and terrain undulation. Further analysis indicates that rural entrepreneurial vitality and industrial structure upgrading are important mediating paths for the information infrastructure to promote farmers’ common prosperity. At the same time, this promoting effect also exhibits a dual threshold effect, and it shows a non-linear strengthening trend as the marketisation level crosses the threshold. Accordingly, the study proposes policy recommendations centred on industrial integration, institutional support, and targeted geographic interventions to effectively unlock digital dividends for rural common prosperity.
This study examines the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and preservice teachers’ situated academic writing self-efficacy, as well as the role of selected demographic variables in this relationship. A correlational survey design was employed with a sample of 1,156 preservice teachers enrolled in faculties of education across various provinces in Turkey. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Situated Academic Writing Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and moderation analysis. The results indicate a statistically significant positive association between preservice teachers’ AI literacy and their situated self-efficacy in academic writing. Structural equation modeling further shows that AI literacy is associated with variation in self-efficacy for academic writing. However, moderation analyses indicate that demographic variables, including gender, academic grade point average, and frequency of AI application use, do not significantly moderate this relationship. Similarly, prior participation in academic writing training and English language proficiency did not moderate the relationship between AI literacy and academic writing self-efficacy. Overall, the findings suggest that the relationship between AI literacy and academic writing self-efficacy is relatively consistent across different demographic subgroups in the present sample. The study contributes to the emerging literature by positioning AI literacy as an important construct associated with academic writing self-efficacy in higher education contexts and by highlighting the importance of focusing on the quality of AI engagement rather than on demographic differences.
The massive influx of refugees into Turkiye has created unique challenges within the education system, necessitating a deeper understanding of classroom dynamics. This study aims to comparatively examine the professional challenges encountered by teachers working in classrooms with immigrant/refugee students versus those in homogeneous classrooms without such students. Adopting a qualitative comparative case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 primary school teachers (10 with refugee students, 10 without) working in Gaziantep, a major province for refugee settlement. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings reveal distinct divergences in the problems faced by the two groups. Teachers in classrooms with refugee students identified language barriers as the primary catalyst for academic failure and behavioral issues such as peer bullying and social exclusion, further exacerbated by physical overcrowding. Conversely, teachers in classrooms without refugee students predominantly reported instructional challenges related to student apathy, incomplete homework, and lack of responsibility. The study concludes that while teachers share some common pedagogical hurdles, the presence of refugee students introduces specific structural and linguistic demands that require targeted interventions, such as mandatory preparatory language programs and reduced class sizes.
This study examines how technology innovativeness and privacy concern jointly influence older adults’ intention to adopt new digital technologies. Although AI is increasingly integrated into daily life, research on how older adults perceive and respond to these technologies remains limited. Addressing this gap, the study compares AI users and non-users aged 50 and above using data from the 2024 Korean Media Panel Survey ( N = 5,365). Results reveal that technology innovativeness significantly predicts new technology adoption intention across both groups, confirming that openness to new technology is a key driver of behavioral acceptance in later life. Privacy concern, however, plays a paradoxical role: for non-users, it negatively affects adoption intention, whereas for users, it positively predicts continued use. This pattern illustrates that privacy concern can evolve from a deterrent to an adaptive awareness as individuals gain experience and perceived control over AI technologies. The findings extend privacy-calculus theory by showing that privacy concern may motivate cautious yet sustained engagement rather than outright avoidance. The study contributes to the literature by revealing distinct motivational pathways for AI adoption among older adults and offers practical insights for policymakers and developers seeking to build trustworthy, transparent, and inclusive AI environments.
The out-of-pocket health expenses play an important role in health financing but do not promote equitable access to quality health care thus the need for financial risk protection from ill health. This is the rationale for National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Nigeria. This study determined the knowledge, attitude and utilization of the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ebonyi state Nigeria. Data obtained from randomly selected civil servants in the public sector using a self-administered questionnaire was subjected to descriptive analysis, and hypotheses was tested at p < .05. All analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Overall, majority 363 (91.9%) of the respondents had a good knowledge of the scheme, a majority 375 (94.9%) had good attitude toward the scheme but only 96 (24.3%) registered with the scheme. The hindrances to use of NHIS were not knowing where to register 243 (63.1%), not interested in NHIS 155 (40.3%), delay at registration site 187 (48.6%), delay in getting NHIS card 163 (42.3%), unfriendly attitude of NHIS staff 160 (41.6%), and none availability of expected services 147 (38.2%). Knowledge was significant with age, sex, marital status, level of education and ministry ( p < .05); attitude was not significant with the socio-demographic variables ( p > .05), while utilization was significant with age, marital status and ministry ( p < .05). Conclusively civil servants in Ebonyi state had a good knowledge and attitude toward the scheme but utilization was low thus more emphasis should be made through trainings and regular seminars on the benefits of enrollment to health insurance scheme to prompt high utilization of the scheme.
The wellness tourism industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, driven by increasing global awareness of holistic health and well-being. Within this expanding sector, perceived value (PV) has emerged as a central determinant of tourist satisfaction, loyalty, and behavioral intention, yet its conceptualization and application in wellness tourism remain fragmented. To address this gap, this study conducts a systematic review of 26 peer-reviewed articles on PV in wellness tourism, synthesizing findings across five core dimensions: study characteristics, wellness segments, cultural and demographic factors, unidimensional vs. multidimensional PV, and the antecedents & outcomes of PV. Results reveal a geographic concentration of studies in Asian contexts, a strong reliance on cross-sectional survey methods, and a dominance of spa and general wellness tourism, with niche forms such as mindfulness, Ayurveda, or pilgrimage tourism largely overlooked. Both unidimensional and multidimensional perspectives on PV coexist, with multidimensional approaches identifying emotional, functional, social, price, and health-related value as key dimensions shaping wellness tourism experiences, although few studies examine their interrelationships or differential effects. Antecedents of PV span service quality, motivational and psychological factors, and contextual triggers, while its consequences consistently extend to behavioral outcomes such as loyalty and revisit intention, as well as psychological outcomes like engagement and affective involvement. The review highlights critical gaps, including limited cross-cultural evidence, underexplored dimensions of wellness-related value, et al. Future research should adopt more diverse methods, integrate dimensional-level analysis, and expand geographic scope to capture the evolving and heterogeneous nature of PV in wellness tourism. This study advances both theory and practice by unifying fragmented research, refining conceptual understanding, and translating evidence-based insights into strategies that enhance value creation, customer loyalty, and the long-term sustainability of wellness tourism enterprises.
This mixed-methods study examined the challenges in preschool music education in Saudi Arabia and their influence on classroom practices. Guided by the theory of educational change, it explored the extent to which policy reforms have been translated into practice. In the first phase, 686 teachers were randomly selected to complete self-administered questionnaires. In the second phase, 18 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Quantitative findings revealed high levels of psychological, professional, organizational, and cultural challenges. Training did not significantly alter teacher perceptions, suggesting that current professional development programs are insufficient. Qualitative results showed that music instruction is often informal, unstructured, and limited by cultural beliefs, heavy workloads, resource deficits, and inadequate support. Teachers also demonstrated minimal integration of artificial intelligence into music teaching, reflecting limited awareness and confidence. These findings highlight the need for long-term, practice-oriented training, specialist support, and culturally responsive strategies.
Qualitative narratives surrounding French language didactics offer substantial historical grounding. However, the structural evolution of this domain remains empirically under-investigated. To interrogate these disciplinary shifts, the present study adopts a bibliometric approach anchored in the synthetic knowledge synthesis (SKS) framework, analyzing 503 articles published in Le français aujourd’hui (2007–2023) through keyword co-occurrence, hierarchical clustering, and citation metrics. Results suggest that the field tends to exhibit a sedimentary layering of methodologies, rather than a linear paradigm replacement. The historical triad (i.e., literature, reading, and writing) consistently constitutes the disciplinary bedrock, even as it is reconfigured to absorb complex techno-pedagogical demands and accommodate a growing turn toward plurilingualism. Oral didactics, nevertheless, tends to be marginalized despite ongoing communicative shifts, a pattern attributable in part to entrenched institutional graphocentrism and persistent methodological bottlenecks. Citation data further support the field’s progressive decoupling from applied linguistics, pointing toward its consolidation as an autonomous, inclusively oriented discipline. French didactics, consequently, appears to maintain a distinctly localized resilience, negotiating the globalized pressures of superdiversity while sustaining its foundational humanist rationale. By charting these bibliometric dynamics, this study maps the discipline’s current state and emergent intellectual horizons.
This mixed-methods study explores first-year EFL students’ perceptions and experiences of AI-supported learning in comparison with peer collaboration for critical reading. Specifically, it examines students’ perceived helpfulness of AI and peer support across critical reading processes and their preferences for these two learning modes, using a phenomenological stance to deeply explore these experiences. A total of 48 students participated in two learning sessions involving peer collaboration and AI-supported reading. Data were collected through a Likert-type questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed no statistically significant differences between AI support and peer collaboration in students’ perceived helpfulness across most critical reading processes, including identifying main ideas, analyzing arguments, detecting bias, and evaluating overall meaning. However, AI was perceived as significantly more helpful for understanding difficult vocabulary. Qualitative findings revealed complementary roles of the two learning modes: AI supported vocabulary processing, efficiency, and procedural assistance, whereas peer collaboration promoted diverse perspectives, shared meaning-making, and affective support. Students also expressed strong preference for combining AI and peer collaboration. Interpreted through the Technology Acceptance Model, the findings suggest that AI acceptance was shaped not only by perceived usefulness but also by trust in AI outputs and learners’ trust or confidence in their own critical judgment when interacting with AI for critical reading.
This study investigates how structural inequalities based on socio-economic status, geographic origin, and ethnic identity can perpetuate achievement gaps in China’s college English classrooms, and evaluates a context-specific pedagogical framework designed to address these disparities. Employing a transformative mixed-methods design across six universities, the research piloted a tripartite framework integrating Academic Inequality Mitigation, Deliberative Interdependence, and Transformative Translation. Quantitative results demonstrated a 15% narrowing of the urban-rural performance gap on the College English Test Band 4 and statistically significant increases in students’ academic belonging. Qualitatively, students from under-resourced backgrounds reported a 28% reduction in classroom anxiety and 41% stronger connection to curricula validating their cultural assets. The study contributes an empirically validated model of harmonized equity pedagogy—a strategic approach reconciling universal equity principles with centralized system realities—offering actionable insights for fostering empowerment in contexts where standardized curricula and socio-political sensitivities shape educational discourse on diversity.
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education holds significant potential to develop innovative and inclusive learning environments. This study investigated the relationship between teachers’ AI literacy and their AI-TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge integrated with AI). It further explored the mediating role of innovative thinking and the moderating effect of AI anxiety within this relationship. The research was conducted with 378 Turkish teachers (50.8% female). Findings demonstrated statistically significant positive relationships among AI literacy, AI-TPACK, and innovative thinking. Conversely, AI anxiety was negatively correlated with the other variables. Moreover, innovative thinking was found to significantly mediate the relationship between AI literacy and AI-TPACK. Additionally, AI anxiety moderates the AI literacy-AI-TPACK relationship; specifically, this relationship strengthens as teachers’ AI anxiety diminishes. The results underscore the critical importance of promoting innovative thinking and reducing AI anxiety to empower teachers to integrate AI effectively in education.
Amid China’s rapid social transformation, women’s life courses are shaped by both historical constraints and changing family expectations. This study develops the concept of intergenerational regret as an empirically grounded analytical construct for understanding how women interpret unrealised life possibilities and how these interpretations are transmitted and reworked across generations. Based on an embedded multiple-case design, the study draws on in-depth interviews and participant observation with three generations of women in four families in Hunan Province. Using affective politics and relational self theory, it examines how regret is produced under gendered institutional constraints, how it enters family interaction, and how it may be ethically renegotiated. The findings show that women’s regret is shaped by period-specific institutional arrangements, gendered family roles and intra-household power relations. Regret is transmitted through two recurring but context-sensitive processes: ‘expectation projection’, through which elders redirect unrealised aspirations into hopes for younger women, and ‘experiential discipline’, through which past hardship is used to frame caution and protection. The study further shows that, under specific material and relational conditions, shared experiences of constraint can support forms of emotional resonance and more reciprocal dialogue. This article proposes ‘bidirectional ethics’ as a framework for understanding how critique and care may be negotiated together within Chinese family life, offering a culturally situated account of women’s relational agency under enduring gendered obligations and uneven material conditions.
