Global environmental crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss and resource depletion disproportionately affect communities in the Global South, where environmental vulnerability intersects with social and cultural inequalities. In rural North Sindh, Pakistan, these pressures shape everyday livelihoods and community practices through which environmental knowledge is transmitted across generations. Yet formal environmental education often overlooks these informal learning spaces. This study examines how family and community-based environmental and sustainability education cultivates action competence by integrating knowledge, motivation and action skills in a non-Western agrarian context. Guided by the Action Competence Approach as a theoretical and conceptual framework, the research employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design within participatory action research. Data from 120 participants in Sukkur and Shikarpur were collected through surveys, interviews, focus groups and workshops. Findings show moderate-to-high action competence (M = 3.82/5), with strong environmental motivation and knowledge fostered through intergenerational storytelling, while action skills remain constrained by infrastructural and rural–urban disparities.

Insomnia disorder is highly prevalent and frequently co-exists with other mental health conditions. Evidence suggests that targeting insomnia may improve overall mental health. Although the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is well established, it is rarely offered to patients as a discrete treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of CBT-I delivered at Step 2 for reducing symptoms of insomnia, as well as anxiety, depression, and impaired functioning, following its implementation within an NHS Talking Therapies service. We examined routinely collected pre- and post-treatment outcomes from 35 patients (median age 60 years, interquartile range 44–68, 63% female) who received CBT-I. Insomnia severity was assessed during the first and last session using the Insomnia Severity Index, while secondary outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and impaired functioning were completed at each session. Intention-to-treat analyses demonstrated significant improvements in insomnia symptoms from pre- to post-treatment, with a large effect size (d = 0.85). Significant improvements were also observed across all secondary outcomes, with large effect sizes for depression (d = 1.01) and anxiety (d = 0.89), and a medium effect size for functioning (d = 0.58). The complete case analysis yielded larger effect sizes across most outcomes. These findings provide preliminary support for the potential benefits of CBT-I as a primary treatment for symptoms of insomnia, with secondary benefits for anxiety, depression, and functioning in patients presenting with mental health difficulties within an NHS Talking Therapies service. Implications for the service and future service evaluations are discussed.

Key learning aims

1. (1) To develop understanding of the evidence base for CBT-I for sleep and mental health outcomes.

2. (2) To consider the outcomes of CBT-I when delivered by Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners in an NHS Talking Therapies service.

3. (3) To evaluate clinical recovery rates in line with NHS Talking Therapies criteria.

Blockchain technology has gained immense popularity in enhancing the security and privacy of Information Systems (IS), reflected in exponential increases in published research articles. The rapid proliferation of published research presents significant challenges for manual analysis and synthesis due to the vast volume of information. To this end, we adopted the Computational Literature Review (CLR) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling techniques to analyze the impact of the pertinent literature. This study is among the first studies in the IS field to apply the CLR technique in the Legal-Tech context, focusing on security, privacy, and governance in blockchain systems. Using CLR and LDA topic modeling, we identified 10 topics related to security and privacy, each accompanied by an in-depth description aligned with relevant policies and regulations. Our findings identify both the strengths and current gaps in the literature, providing valuable insights into ongoing scholarly discourse. Through our analysis, we outline future research directions that align with the evolving dynamics of blockchain technology, data management, and policy implications, aiming to guide further academic and practical advancements in the IS field.

This commentary examines the gap between the presence of food and nutrition policies and their actual outcomes in the Philippines, with emphasis on how implementation constraints and systemic shocks influence nutrition security. Despite the existence of comprehensive policies and legislative frameworks addressing malnutrition, the country continues to experience persistent stunting, micronutrient deficiencies and increasing overweight and obesity. Rising food prices, energy-related inflation, and economic instability further limit access to nutrient-dense foods, particularly among vulnerable populations. Existing interventions are constrained by fragmented governance, weak targeting mechanisms, limited intersectoral coordination and insufficient adaptive capacity. External shocks further intensify these implementation weaknesses, contributing to what is conceptualised as a ‘shock-amplified implementation gap’. Strengthening governance systems, improving policy implementation and adopting integrated and adaptive food system approaches are essential to achieving sustainable and equitable nutrition outcomes in the Philippines.

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.

Negligence cases are a unique and interesting class of moral events, for which punishment judgments are affected by both the degree of negligence and the severity of the resultant outcome, even if the latter is merely a matter of luck. Adapting methods from consumer behavior research, we present participants with scenario-pairs in which individuals commit a negligent act that causes a negative outcome, and show preference reversals in judgments of deserved punishment across three normatively equivalent tasks: choice, rating, and matching. Additionally, across studies, we alternate which attribute is presented qualitatively versus quantitatively, negligence (e.g., ‘was extremely drunk’ versus ‘drank eight beers’) or outcome (e.g., damaged a parked car versus killed two people). We test two competing hypotheses derived from prior research: (a) cognitively simple tasks (choice and rating) lead participants to focus on outcomes while cognitively difficult tasks (matching) lead participants to focus on mental states, or, (b) choice and rating draw attention to qualitative information while matching draws attention to quantitative information. We find mixed support for both possibilities, but the most consistent findings were that preferences in matching were driven by the quantitative attribute, and preferences in choice were driven by outcomes, while preferences in rating were driven more by degree of negligence. These results show that punishment judgments in negligence cases can reverse across elicitation tasks, adding to a growing literature on the constructed nature of moral judgments and raising questions about whether and how moral preferences can and should be measured.

Nonchemical weed management is essential for advancing integrated weed management systems. Mid infrared (MIR) radiation (3 to 50 µm) is a promising approach for heat-based thermal weed control with minimal fire risk. The lethal MIR energy requirement may be influenced by plant species, growth stage, and seed size. However, no published research has quantified the MIR energy dose (J cm−2) needed to control either weed seeds or various plant species at different growth stages. This study evaluated a dose range of 0 to 109 J cm−2 to identify MIR energy thresholds required to control six species at the 3-, 6-, and 9-leaf growth stages, as well as dry and imbibed seeds of nine species. Responses were described using regression models based on dry biomass, survival, and reductions in viability. Overall responses varied across species, with smaller broadleaf weeds being most susceptible. Palmer amaranth was highly sensitive, requiring 13 and 57 J cm−2 to reduce biomass by 90% at the 3- and 6-leaf stages, respectively, while Italian ryegrass was highly tolerant, with 109 J cm−2 failing to achieve a 90% biomass reduction. Across all species, plants at the 9-leaf stage were highly tolerant, with no treatment achieving a 90% reduction. Dry Palmer amaranth seeds were the most tolerant, requiring 100 J cm−2 to reduce viability by 50%, compared with 8 J cm−2 for imbibed seeds. Conversely, dry barnyardgrass seeds were more susceptible, requiring just 16 J cm−2 for 50% viability reduction compared with 31 J cm−2 when imbibed. Seed size was moderately and positively correlated with the energy required for 50% viability reduction (r = 0.58). This study provides evidence that MIR radiation can serve as an effective thermal weed control tool, while also highlighting that efficacy varies among species, likely due to differences in plant morphology and physiology.

Economic and geospatial drivers of conflict are established, yet aggregate analyses often obscure subnational risk patterns. This study develops a high-resolution risk methodology for fragile, resource-rich states by combining spatial econometrics with the greed-grievance framework. Using a Bayesian approach based on integrated nested Laplace approximation and stochastic partial differential equations, we examine how socio-economic development, natural resources, energy infrastructure, and 14 spatial variables shape four conflict typologies in Nigeria between 1997 and 2023. Results show that wealth reduces conflict risk, while ethnic fractionalization and proximity to resources have actor-specific effects. Petroleum endowments and power infrastructure increase organized rebel and militia activity, whereas ethnic dynamics mainly drive riots. Predictive risk maps support infrastructure planning, supply chain risk mitigation, and targeted stabilization policies.

Boardgames appear frequently in early medieval Arabic literature, reflecting their embeddedness in everyday life and social discourse. Despite abundant textual and material evidence, the archaeology of games in Islamic contexts remains understudied, partly due to the scarcity of reliably-dated gameboards. This article addresses this gap by presenting a previously unpublished game board from the medieval hammam of Walīla (Roman Volubilis), Morocco. The bathhouse was built in the late eighth/ninth century CE and abandoned by the tenth or eleventh century CE, offering a rare secure context for the board’s date. The board’s design suggests it was used for playing tāb/sig, making it the earliest known evidence of this game in North Africa. This case study sheds light on how games intersected with communal life and public spaces in early medieval North Africa.

This article explores (a) how conceptualisations of movement embed sedentism within the security–migration nexus and its protection logics and (b) which conceptualisation of movement can analytically challenge that embedding. The overall aim is to problematise the opposition between sedentism and movement. I address these questions by analysing mapping and countermapping practices and considering what insights can be gained by conceptualising life as fundamentally in motion. The maps reveal four concepts of movement: border crossing, routes, journeys, and threads. Each operates within the security–migration nexus. The article then extends the notion of threads into a conceptualisation of life (and matter) as inherently in motion, or life-in-motion. Allowing life to emerge from and through the coexistence of movements offers an analytical framework that creates cracks in sedentism inscriptions within the security–migration nexus while avoiding the reduction of movement to nomadism – the ‘other’ of sedentism.

Medical personnel operate on the front lines of armed conflict, addressing its profound physical and psychological impact by providing care to the wounded and sick. At the same time, they themselves experience psychological harm, whether directly from acts of violence or indirectly from the demands of their work during armed conflict. In recognition of their vital role, international humanitarian law (IHL) grants them special protection, requiring that they be respected and protected in all circumstances. This article advances, de lege ferenda, that the obligation to respect and protect medical personnel should be interpreted to encompass protection against both direct and incidental psychological harm. Such an interpretation is warranted on several grounds: first, it reflects the growing recognition in IHL of the “person” in a broader sense; second, it follows from the broad formulation of the obligation to respect and protect; and finally, it aligns with IHL’s object and purpose of alleviating suffering in armed conflict.

Over the past decade, high rental prices have become an increasingly serious problem in major Western European cities. While political science research has started to explore the broader political consequences, the local effects on renters in particular remain understudied. Furthermore, little is known about the influence of additional local characteristics that potentially impact the political consequences of high rental prices. This study addresses these research gaps by examining how local rental prices affect renters’ satisfaction with the local public administration, using large-N geocoded survey data collected in forty neighborhoods across ten major German cities. Multilevel regression results reveal a negative relationship between high rental prices and satisfaction with the local public administration that is not offset by greater rental housing availability or the provision of public services. In practical terms, these findings highlight the far-reaching consequences of high rental prices for the political satisfaction of renters, underlining the need for policies that ensure affordable urban housing.

The Covid-19 pandemic entailed a historic high in public spending. Some of these resources were channeled through interest organizations, such as business groups and non-profits. In this paper, we gauge potential inefficiencies in their distribution. Funds may be distributed according to the logic of rent-seeking, whereby organizations use lobbying to extract benefits from the state, or a pluralist logic of disturbances, where funding allocation follows organizational grievances. These two logics might even interact, meaning that organizations in need ought to signal their needs through lobbying first. We use data from two survey waves in eight European polities to test these arguments. Our findings provide support for theories of rent-seeking, showing that lobbying activities are associated with increases in public funding, whereas organizations’ needs and survival fears are not. However, our exploration of interaction effects nuances this picture. Our study sheds light on important dynamics behind resource allocation when crisis-related public spending is high.