This study documents a behavioral dimension of the persistent contradiction between democratic ideals and racial exclusion by examining patterns of everyday spatial avoidance among minoritized groups in shared public spaces. By drawing on systematic observational data from 428 dyadic encounters on Seattle public transit platforms, the analysis identifies patterns of behavioral segregation that may bear on the prospects for multiracial cooperation. Results reveal consistent asymmetrical avoidance: East Asian and Hispanic individuals maintain 18–19 additional feet from Black first-arrivers, a pattern that Black individuals do not reciprocate. In contrast, interaction models show that Black–Black dyads have less interpersonal distance that contrasts with broader aversion by outgroups. By shifting from attitudinal to behavioral measures, this study captures intergroup dynamics that surveys may not detect.

The commentators have focused on my interpretations of responses to Kant’s moral philosophy by K. L. Reinhold, Friedrich Nietzsche, and several of the British Idealists, including R. G. Collingwood and John Rawls. I argue that, contrary to Reinhold, Kant’s conception of freedom does include the source of moral normativity in its distinction between Wille and Willkühr; that, in contrast to Nietzsche’s ‘exceptionalist perfectionism’, Kant’s insistence upon the equal right to freedom of all remains a defensible ideal; that Collingwood underestimated the subtlety of Kant’s moral philosophy on a number of crucial issues and, in particular, failed to recognise the importance of Kant’s version of the traditional distinction between perfect and imperfect duties; and that in her critique of both Kant and Rawls, Catherine Wilson demands from their political philosophy what, on their accounts, should be expected only from the other half of moral philosophy, namely ethics – again, primarily the domain of imperfect duty.

Twin studies provide a powerful framework to identify genetic and environmental influences on health and development, particularly during infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Although twin research has expanded globally, evidence from South Asia remains limited and poorly characterized. This systematic review aimed to synthesize health research involving infant, child, and adolescent twins conducted in South Asia and to identify methodological patterns and research gaps relevant to future twin research in the region. A systematic review was conducted according to a registered protocol (PROSPERO: CRD42018105704) using the PICOS framework. Multiple international and regional databases were searched from inception to September 2025. Studies recruiting twins aged 0–19 years within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries were included. Study selection, data extraction, and quality appraisal were conducted independently, with study quality assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Results were synthesized narratively due to heterogeneity across study designs and outcomes. Eighteen studies were included from 1245 identified records. Most studies focused on twin pregnancy and neonatal outcomes (61%), followed by dentistry, ocular health, and gut microbiota. Twin pregnancies were consistently associated with increased risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and perinatal morbidity and mortality. A limited number of studies applied classical twin designs to investigate genetic and environmental contributions. Twin research involving infants, children, and adolescents in South Asia remains limited in scope and methodological depth. Strengthening twin registries, methodological standardization, and collaborations is essential to advance genetically informative research and enhance the global representativeness of twin studies.

The meanings of race and ethnicity vary across cultures and states. The differences are a result of different histories of colonization, migration, and, in consequence, racialization. The concept of race is a more encompassing category in Western European societies and the USA, where it is also a political commodity that structures social and political relations and views. The same concept in the Western Balkan states, organized along ethnic lines, still draws on the disputed biological notion of race. The same conceptual differences structure the views of racist as opposed to ethnic humor. The Western European idea of race as a cultural construct that lumps different social groups through the process of racialization and the interpretation of racism as an ideology that discriminates against any social group, informs the Western reading of both racist and ethnic humor. On the other hand, Balkan societies and their ethnic based structuration and distinct understanding of race and ethnicity inform different views of the concepts of racist and ethnic humor. In this respect, this study tends to empirically evidence the cross-cultural variations between European societies and the USA, and Balkan societies regarding the understanding of the differences between racist and ethnic humor.

This study examines the relationship between the Long Count and emergent kingship in the central Maya Lowlands. The Long Count was instrumental in the prosperity of lowland Maya kingship during the Classic period (ca. a.d. 250–900), yet its initial application in relation to the emergence of kingship remains poorly understood. We conducted epigraphic, iconographic, and archaeological research at the Maya site of El Palmar, Campeche, Mexico. By integrating traditional and new techniques, including photogrammetry and high-resolution 3D scanning, we studied El Palmar Stelae 20, 45, and 46. Notably, our study of Stela 46 identified a Long Count 8.7.1.0.0 (a.d. 180), which is currently the earliest known Long Count in the Maya Lowlands. Unlike other early monuments, Stela 46 preserves royal events alongside calendar dates. The 3D models revealed previously unknown inscriptions that link royal succession to calendrical events, providing insights into the role of the 260-day divinatory calendar and the Long Count in asserting royal authority through ritual practices. By contextualizing these results within the broader framework of lowland Maya kingship, this research not only elucidates the emergence of El Palmar kingship but also enriches our understanding of regional dynamics during this transformative period.

This population-based cross-sectional study investigated the associations of sleep, nutrition and physical activity with overweight and obesity among 4108 school-aged children and adolescents (9–17 years) in Punjab, Pakistan, alongside 3371 parental responses. BMI was calculated using anthropometric measurements, and weight status was classified according to the 2007 WHO growth reference. Socio-economic status was determined through parental education, occupation and household income, while lifestyle behaviours were assessed via validated questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for sex, grade and socio-economic variables. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 19·4 % and 10·7 %, respectively. Girls had a higher obesity prevalence than boys (12·3 % v. 8·9 %), whereas boys showed a higher combined prevalence of overweight and obesity. Among boys, obesity was significantly associated with urban residence (adjusted OR (aOR) 1·37; 95 % CI 1·13, 1·83), being an only child (aOR 2·74; 95 % CI 1·92, 3·92), frequent fast-food consumption (≥ 3 times/week; aOR 1·56; 95 % CI 1·23, 1·97) and lower parental education (aOR 1·22; 95 % CI 1·05, 1·41). Among girls, long weekend sleep duration increased obesity risk (aOR 1·38; 95 % CI 1·14, 1·67), while being an only child (aOR 0·36; 95 % CI 0·25, 0·52), frequent fast-food consumption (aOR 0·64; 95 % CI 0·50, 0·80) and lower parental education (aOR 0·81; 95 % CI 0·70, 0·94) were linked to lower odds. Physical activity and soft drink intake were not significant after adjustment. These findings underscore complex, gender-specific relationships between lifestyle and socio-economic factors, highlighting the need for targeted interventions promoting healthy sleep, nutrition and equity-focused strategies.

This paper argues that for Anglicans, the local church is made up of both the parish and the diocese. Each holds a number of tensions and in holding them creates the ecclesial space in which parish and diocese can find their vocation. The paper sets out the tensions and vocations of parish and diocese, in turn, mapping them against the four ‘Marks of the Church’. This helps to show the ways in which parish and diocese need one another to fulfil the calling of the local church.

The recent discovery of a Middle to Late Iron Age bloomery iron-smelting site, revealed during archaeological works associated with the M2 Junction 5 improvement scheme in north-west Kent, has highlighted the possibility that the Stockbury Valley was the focus of a substantial ironworking industry during this period. Moreover, the waste slag assemblages recovered from the M2 Junction 5 scheme and several other sites around Stockbury appear to show an industry that employed elements of the prehistoric tradition (largely non-tapping) and the Roman tradition (tapping), producing tapped and non-tapped slag in the same smelt.

This study examines welfare governance in rentier states as an adaptive system. The system reconciles centralised control with selective modernisation. The empirical base is 143 policy documents from 1971 to 2024. The framework draws on the Policy Arrangement Approach, with assemblage theory and Foucauldian governmentality as supplementary lenses. Three questions guide the analysis. How does the rentier state calibrate welfare provision to sustain legitimacy? How does it absorb external pressures without conceding authority? And how do the four policy arrangement dimensions interact across reform episodes? The findings show four patterns. Centralised resource control entrenches power asymmetries. Selective integration channels civil society towards national priorities. Modernisation narratives mediate the tension between reform and control and flexible policy arrangements absorb external pressure while preserving state authority. This study contributes to comparative welfare scholarship by introducing welfare-as-governance, an analytical category through which rentier welfare is distinguished by membership differentiation and institutional continuity rather than social citizenship.