International Journal of Social Science Research and Review

Women Entrepreneurship and Its Impact on Economic Development

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:17:33 +0000

This paper pursues the impact of women entrepreneurship on economic development in Bangladesh through quantitative research modality. Methodology A structured questionnaire was used to survey 400 women entrepreneurs from various sectors such as trading, services, manufacturing, handicrafts, and agro-based businesses, with the help of both online and offline sources. The research explores women entrepreneurship, access to finance, education and entrepreneurial skills, social-cultural support and economic development performance measured in terms of income generation, employment creation and local economic growth. Statistical methods Descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis were used in data analysis using SPSS. The study concludes that female entrepreneurship is a critical factor for economic development and access to finance, education and experience play the crucial role as drivers of entrepreneurship. However socio-cultural support, although is only a moderate predictor, adds value to the entrepreneurial result. The study provides the policy implications of fostering a supportive environment by way of specific policies, financial inclusion, skill development and social empowerment to enhance the contribution of women entrepreneurs towards including inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The findings offer practical guidance to policymakers, development organizations and financial institutions interested in promoting women led economic activities in Bangladesh.

User Perceptions of Targeted Advertising on Social Media

Hriday Sharma — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:31:55 +0000

Social media has become an integral part of everyday life, influencing how users engage with content and encounter advertisements. Despite the widespread adoption of targeted ads, research has largely focused on business outcomes, while user perceptions is a less explored area. This study examines how Instagram users perceive the relevance, frequency, and search alignment of targeted ads. It is based on a controlled browsing experiment with 20 participants, followed by a survey rating ad relevance and alignment with recent searches. Behavioral variables, including daily Instagram usage and online shopping frequency, were also collected. Analysis using descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests revealed distinct patterns: Android users rated ads as more relevant than iOS users, and users with moderate Instagram engagement experienced the highest ad exposure. Search-targeting turned out to be consistent across gender, device type, and usage levels suggesting that Instagram’s algorithm delivers a uniform targeting experience. These findings indicate that user experience with targeted ads is influenced by platform and engagement patterns, highlighting opportunities for refining ad algorithms to enhance relevance, satisfaction, and user trust in data handling practices. This study contributes novel empirical evidence on the user perspective of targeted social media advertising which is a critical consideration for marketers and platform designers.

The Legal Pluralism and Property Transactions in Zanzibar

Zubeir Said Rashid, Kerbina Moyo, Dr., Samwel Alananga Sanga, Dr. — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:40:11 +0000

The study aims to describe the roles played by social structures on sustaining legal pluralism practices (LPPs) experienced on real property transactions (RPTs) in Zanzibar. The study use descriptive statistics to describe the risks associated with property transactions under legal pluralism environment, simple linear regression analysis to assess probability of occurrence of transaction failure risks (TFRs) and analyzing moderating effect of social structures which allowed measuring the strength of interaction of dependent and independent variables with the presences moderating variables. The study confirm legal pluralism (LP) and their related practices posse substantial risks on property transactions including legal and development, title and financial risk. Further finding show Social Structures have significant roles on RPTs and described on areas of transactional, decision, information, marketing and financing roles which enable to have constant flow of information, finance and title which help to moderate transaction failure risks and smooth line transaction.

Understanding Workplace Gaslighting

Bora Korkut, Tugce Kumral Yurek, Dr. — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:50:07 +0000

This paper will discuss an in-depth approach to gaslighting and emotional manipulation in the workplace. We will be exploring the definitions of gaslighting manifestations that affect individuals and organizations, and the solutions for how to prevent this. We will discuss the psychosocial mechanisms of these behaviors to understand what is happening, how someone relates to toxic workplace cultures, and how they affect employee well-being and organizational performance by looking at literature and case studies. This study will make us understand the destructive character and behavior of gaslighting and emotional manipulation in the workplace and give us solutions for coping with it and increasing productivity in the work environment.

Exploring Digital Storytelling for Enhancing Learner Engagement in English Language Classrooms

Md. Shahjalal, Mohammad Serajuddin, Runa Akter — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:05:21 +0000

Digital storytelling (DST) integrates multimedia elements such as text, images, audio, and video to create interactive learning environments that enhance learner engagement in English language classrooms. While previous studies highlight its benefits for motivation, participation, and language development, differences across learner levels and learning contexts remain underexplored. This study examined the effects of digital storytelling on students’ motivation, classroom participation, and the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. A quantitative research design was employed, and data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 400 students at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The survey measured motivation, participation and interaction, language skill development, and students’ perceptions of DST. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze trends in engagement and skill improvement. The results indicated that DST positively influenced student motivation, with moderate improvements in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, enjoyment, and self-efficacy. Students demonstrated increased active participation and collaboration, although social interaction varied among individuals. Reading showed the strongest improvement among language skills, followed by moderate gains in speaking and writing, while listening improved steadily. Overall, students reported moderate satisfaction and perceived learning value, with some variation in confidence when using digital tools. The findings suggest that digital storytelling is an effective instructional approach for fostering motivation, participation, and meaningful language development in English classrooms.

Brand Image as a Mediator between Promotion, Price, Consumer Attitude, and Purchase Decision of Kao Products

Martinus Erwin Aditya Nugraha, Wiyadi Wiyadi, Moechamad Nasir — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:14:31 +0000

The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry in Indonesia faces intense competition, making it essential for firms to understand the drivers of consumer purchase decisions in tier‑3 markets such as Pati Regency. This study examines the effects of promotion, price, and consumer attitude on purchase decisions for Kao products, with brand image as a mediating variable. Using a quantitative explanatory design, data were collected via questionnaires from 100 purposively selected consumers who had purchased Kao products in the previous six months, and analyzed with PLS-SEM. The results show that promotion, price, and consumer attitude each have a positive and significant effect on brand image, and that brand image positively influences purchase decisions. Promotion and price also have significant direct effects on purchase decisions, whereas consumer attitude affects purchase decisions only indirectly through brand image. Mediation analysis indicates partial mediation for promotion and price, and full mediation for consumer attitude. These findings underscore the central role of brand image and suggest that Kao should align promotional activities, value-based pricing, and attitude-building programs to reinforce brand image and strengthen purchase decisions in Pati Regency.

The Management of English Learning Assessment at High Schools in Tien Giang province, Vietnam: An Approach of the PDCA Cycle

Tuan Quoc Tran, Le Van Hao, Nguyen Duy Mong Ha — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 11:26:41 +0000

This paper investigates the management of students’ English learning assessment at high schools through the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle. The sampling for the study includes 418 educators and 1829 students randomly taken from 10 out of 38 high schools in Tien Giang province, Vietnam. The study also exploites mixed methods to collect quantitative data through questionnaires and qualitative ones through in-depth interviews on ten school leaders and teachers. The results reveal that Cronbach’s alpha of items was greater than 0.7. Remarkably, a majority of participants expressed their positive attitudes on employing the PDCA cycle in three stages of managing English learning assessment. The findings indicate that the PDCA cycle can contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of managing English learning assessment through four steps of planning, doing, checking and acting in each stage. The study also suggests employing the PDCA cycle in managing the English learning assessment at high schools in Mekong Delta, Vietnam for the further research.

Parental Communication Quality and Academic Achievement: A Socioemotional Pathway Model

Rashida Pervaiz, Nidhi Agarwal, Ijaz Ahmad Tatlah — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 11:38:30 +0000

This study examines how the quality of parental communication relates to children's academic achievement and whether this relationship operates through socio-emotional well-being. Building on family systems, attachment, and ecological perspectives, the study poposes a socio-economical pathway model in which open , emotionally responsive and supportive parent-child communication strengthens student's emotional regulation,academic self-concept,motivation, and psychological well-being, which in turn enhances academic engagement and performance. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design in proposed to test both direct and indirect effects among parental communication quality, socio-emotional well-being , and academic achievement.Datas are collected from secondary-level students using standardized measures of parent-adolescent communication and validated socio-emotional well-being indicators, while academic achievement is assessed through objective school records(e.g., GPA and standardized examination scores). Mediation is examined using confirmatory factoranalysis and structural equation modeling with bootstrapped indirect effects, controlling for gender, parental education, and househols income . The model anticipates a positive direct association between parental communication and academic achievement, a strong positive association between parental communication and socio-emotional well-being, and a positive association between socio-emotional well-being and academic achievement. The expected findings highlight socio-emotional well-being as a key mechanism explaining how family communication translates into educational success and offer implications for family-focused interventions and school strategies that strengthen supportive communication and socio-emotional competencies to improve student outcomes.

Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Bibliometric Analysis Using VOSviewer

Aditi Ravindra Kumar — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The accurate and timely diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases is a major challenge, driving considerable efforts to identify biomarkers that can detect presence of disease, progression and therapeutic response. A bibliometric analysis of the literature on biomarker research in relation to Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and more neurodegenerative disorders is conducted in this study to trace the intellectual structure, working groups, and thematic development of the research. A dataset of 1,431 publications from 2010–2025 was analyzed using bibliometric and visual analysis techniques in VOS viewer. The analysis of co-authorship demonstrated that Swedish establishments, especially the Sahlgrenska Academy and Skan University Hospital dominate the research market, with Henrik Zetterberg (1, 203 citations) and Kaj Blennow (1, 134 citations) being the most influential authors. The United States was had the maximum number of publications (452 documents, 22,101 citations), then the United Kingdom and Sweden. The most cited paper was Dammer (2022) on multi-platform proteomic analysis of Alzheimer CSF and plasma biomarkers (2,293 citations). Thematic analysis showed a chronological shift from CSF-based protein markers and biomarker ratios (2010–2015) through neuroinflammatory markers and microRNAs (2015–2020) toward blood-based alternatives, digital biomarkers, and multi-modal diagnostic frameworks (2020–2025). The findings highlight the need for protocol standardisation across studies, increased collaboration with underrepresented regions, and continued development of blood-based and minimally invasive diagnostic tools. The paper has practical implications to researchers who want to collaborate and future trends in neurodegenerative biomarker studies.

Digital Investment Strategies through Fintech and Their Effects on Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion

Yusbardini Yusbardini, Tasya Aspiranti, Ima Amaliah — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The rapid development of financial technology (FinTech) has transformed investment practices by providing digital platforms that enhance accessibility, efficiency, and transparency. This study aims to examine the impact of digital investment strategies on financial literacy and investment inclusion in Indonesia, as well as the mediating role of financial literacy. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 215 respondents who actively use digital investment platforms. The analysis employs structural relationship testing to examine direct and indirect effects among variables. The findings reveal that digital investment strategies have a positive and significant effect on financial literacy and investment inclusion. Financial literacy also significantly influences investment inclusion and acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between digital investment strategies and investment inclusion. These results indicate that FinTech not only facilitates investment access but also enhances users’ financial knowledge and behavior, thereby promoting sustainable investment participation. This study contributes to the digital finance literature by providing empirical evidence from an emerging market context and highlights the importance of integrating educational features into digital investment platforms to strengthen investment inclusion.

Website Quality, Social Media Marketing, and Gamification on Gen Z Purchase Intention at Digital Top-Up Platform “X” in West Jakarta: Brand Image as Mediator

Fernandez Fernandez, Rodhiah Rodhiah — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Top-up game services have become increasingly popular in Indonesia, especially among Generation Z (Gen Z). However, their purchase intention is still not fully optimal despite high levels of internet usage and intensive gaming activity. This study aims to examine how website quality, social media marketing, and gamification influence purchase intention among Gen Z users of the digital top-up platform “X” and to analyse the role of brand image as a mediating variable. The research employs a quantitative survey method using an online questionnaire distributed via Google Form to 241 Gen Z respondents in West Jakarta who have used or are familiar with platform “X”. Data are analysed using PLS-SEM. The findings show that website quality, social media marketing, and gamification each have a positive and significant effect on purchase intention. Social media marketing also has a positive and significant influence on brand image, while brand image positively and significantly affects purchase intention. In addition, brand image plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between social media marketing and purchase intention. These results highlight the importance of strengthening website quality, gamification features, and social media marketing in order to build a strong brand image and increase purchase intention among Gen Z users in the digital top-up industry.

Paradigms and Epistemologies in the Promotion of Therapeutic Change: A Synoptic Re-Examination

Augustine Nwoye — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Although psychological clinicians in Africa and the wider world are usually exposed to several paradigms and epistemologies for promoting therapeutic change in clients, not many of these clinicians tend to look back and draw their clinical guidance from most of those therapeutic approaches and philosophies. Rather a vast majority of practising clinicians tend to adopt only one of those existing therapeutic paradigms or epistemologies, ignoring others, influenced by the conviction that psychological problems originate from one single master cause which when discovered and dealt with will lead to the amelioration of the challenge presented. This article argues that this tendency to adopt a single assumption theory of aetiology of human psychological problems is mistaken and needs to be reconsidered as problems which many clients present for psychological attention often do originate from multiple sources or factors. Against this background, the major objective of this article is to encourage practising clinicians to form the habit of looking back and drawing clinical insights from important variety of paradigms and epistemologies that promote effective therapeutic change which they were exposed to in the course of their training. Through such a strategy they will avoid the regrettable error of continuing to neglect important clinical approaches that they have routinely ignored but which may merit a second chance of attention in promoting their practice.

Structural Shocks and Migrant Worker Vulnerability in Singapore: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis from 2005 to 2025

Maira Dahiya — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The large numbers of low-waged migrant workers in Singapore leads to the concentration of employment opportunities in high-risk, low-protection jobs and ties up most workers to single-employer licenses; this relationship stifles injury reporting and limits access to care, and increases occupational vulnerability. This paper is based on a time-series analysis that uses the period of 2005-2025 to model the inflow of migrant workers into Singapore with a time variable, a Post-COVID level indicator and Time×Post-COVID interaction to determine the structural changes around the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate that the baseline time trend has a positive effect on the outcome over time (coefficient = 0.0384), that the occurrence of COVID is accompanied by a significant immediate decline of the outcome (coefficient = –0.3227), and that the post-COVID interaction suggests a positive change in the outcome growth thereafter (coefficient = 0.0383). Marginal-effects interpretation demonstrates a negative level effect at the onset of the COVID and faster growth afterward, which provisces that the shock decreased the levels, but was succeeded by an aggravated positive direction. These trends refer to both immediate negative effects of crises, as well as structural processes that require the policy to remedy, such as the enhancement of reporting protective measures, healthcare access, and structural labor reforms of migrant employees.

Macroeconomic Determinants of Consumer Price Inflation in India: A Study of Recent Trends from 2017 to 2024

Elina Mehra — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The paper investigates the correlation of consumer price index with labour force participation and economic growth in India between 2017 to 2024. The analysis involves using secondary data that is sourced from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the World Bank, the Ministry of Education and Macro trends to explore the effect of the rural and urban labour force participation rates between males and females, their enrolment in secondary schooling, total and planned spending on education and the yearly increase in the GDP on consumer price movements. Since the consumer price index data is non-negative and skewed and the time-series sample used is rather small, Poisson regression is the model used as the major econometric tool. The findings show that the result is high heterogeneity of labour market segments. Male labour force participation in the rural areas has a positive and significant relationship with the consumer price index and a negative significant relationship with female labour force participation. The variables of urban labour force participation are statistically insignificant and there are weaker or less predictable relationships with the price movements. The increase in the gross domestic product is observed to significantly affect the consumer price index negatively, which implies a higher rate of economic growth could alleviate the inflation pressure. The results reveal the significance of the demographic and sectoral differences in the study of the dynamics of inflation and offer policy-related details on labour participation and growth in the determination of price stability.

Navigating the Intersectionality of Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, and Strategic Consulting: A Case Study on the EU’s Regulatory Framework

Harshita Harshita — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked a significant strategic shift within the management consulting sector creating a divide in trust. AI surely does enhance the efficiency by automating the processes such as data analysis but the lack of transparency creates a rift making the erosion of data privacy as the most important concern. Data is surely the most important asset of any business consulting firm. This risk jeopardises the client confidentiality which is the cornerstone of the consulting relationships. This makes it mandatory for the consulting firms to incorporate the specialized AI governance into their administrative operations. This study explores the intersectionality between AI, Data Privacy and Strategic Consulting with a special focus on how the European Union’s regulatory framework is pushing the global firms to adapt their business models in order to attract the talent that combines AI expertise with crucial interpersonal skills thereby enhancing the role of the Hybrid Consultant. The results of the study indicate that the EU’s risk based extraterritorial regulations serve as regulatory mandate. The analysis reveals that AI is not a threat of job displacement but a catalyst for role transformation, automating repetitive tasks and challenging the traditional consulting pyramid model. The firms are compelled to shift their service offering towards responsible AI advisory and governance, placing ethical compliance as the core strategic differentiator for sustaining long term market relevance and client confidence.

Corporatization of Water and Sanitation Services in South African Metropolitan Municipalities: A Critical Analysis

Mpilo B Ngubane — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Water and sanitation services across the world have for at least two decades been marred with poor performance and failure to collect revenue thus failing to be self-sustainable. Consistent bailouts by parent municipalities and government have been the order of the day. Before then, services such as water and electricity were collecting almost 100% of revenue and were self-sustainable and did not need financial support from municipalities. In many municipalities, especially South African municipalities they became municipal cash-cows and even cross-subsidized other municipal services. There are many challenges that have contributed to almost the collapse of water and sanitation services. Some of the challenges are dysfunctional political environments; ageing infrastructure; backlogs in water and sanitation reticulation caused by overpopulation and urbanization; brain-drain of technical skills; fraud and corruption; poor management and governance structures; operational inefficiencies; etc. Communities do not want to hear about the above-mentioned challenges and all they need is reliable, convenient and sustainable (uninterrupted) supply of water and sanitation services. In reaction to these concerns, especially poor performance of water and sanitation services, the World Bank commissioned a study in 2018 to come up with a Water Utility Turnaround Framework. This Framework has measures to improve operational and managerial capacity (efficiencies) of water and sanitation services. This study then became the basis within which National Treasury in South Africa came up with the Metropolitan Trading Services Reforms. It should be noted that the Trading Services Reforms target transformation of water and sanitation, electricity (energy) and waste management in Metropolitan Municipalities in South Africa however this article will only focus on the turnaround of water and sanitation services. The study therefore critically analyses these Reforms and purported strategy to turnaround the water and sanitation services in South African municipalities.

A Comprehensive Bibliometric Mapping of Carbon-Footprint Calculators: Methods, Applications, and Methodological Fragmentation (2007–2025)

Hrithik Saicharan Manikandan — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The accurate interpretation of carbon-footprint measure is a key to the effective climate policy formulation, design of the sustainable production system, and the design of informed environmental decision-making. The current paper is an exploration of the methodological, technical, and applied aspects of the carbon-footprint calculators as a world-wide scholarly area based on the structural determinants of the system boundary, the variability of the emission factor, and the industrial or sector-specific modelling models and the socio-practical factors, which include the household behaviour, agricultural activities, and the use of the digital tools. Scopus was searched in which 124 publications, published between 2007 and 2025, were extracted and analyzed visually and by applying bibliometric methods through VOSviewer. Early review of research dynamics shows that the first phase of research (2007-2012) was followed by a velocity of growth and expansion of calculator tools (2013-2020) and then by a recent period of study (2021-2025) marked by methodological skepticism, digitalisation and integration of AI-enabled systems. The analysis of the author, country and keyword revealed that Europe and East Asia have the most contributions to the research, and the theme groups include household consumption modelling, AI-assisted agri-food infrastructures, and site-specific agricultural evaluation. Results indicate that despite the advancement of carbon-footprint calculators into highly complex decision support tools there exist considerable inconsistencies due to inconsistent methodological selection, data quality concerns, and differing assumptions on emission-factors. The new issues raise the need to have increased transparency, harmonisation, and interoperability to make policy more relevant and increase cross-study comparability. The research presents practical, methodological, and research implications to the stakeholders who want to enhance the efficacy and quality of carbon-accounting tools.

The Evolution of Trade Relations Between Norway and India: A Bibliometric Analysis from 1894 to 2025

Arnav Aggarwal — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bilateral trade relations are a critical tool for strengthening economic integration, technological transfer, and sustainable development in an increasingly globalised economy. The example of the trade partnership between Norway and India represents a unique type of collaboration between the high-income, innovation-driven European economy and the rapidly developing emerging economy, marked by increasing commercial activity in the energy, maritime services, renewable technology, pharmaceuticals, and information technology sectors. Despite this growth, the academic study of this bilateral association remains fragmented across subject fields and disciplines. The proposed paper aims to critically review the framework, development, and scholarly coverage of trade relations between Norway and India by uncovering the prevalent themes of research, most active writers, collaboration models, and current trends in the academic literature, and allowing for a major gap in the future research process. Peer-reviewed journal articles were searched in the Scopus database to identify articles published between 2000 and 2025 in the area of economics, business, and social sciences to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the topic. VOSviewer was used to analyse the dataset and visualise the citation networks, keyword co-occurrence, co-authorship and country-based research collaboration. The results show that academic interest in sustainability, renewable energy cooperation, institutional frameworks, and technology-intensive sectors is gradually increasing, whereas services trade, digital commerce, and involvement of small enterprises are disproportionately low. The patterns of co-authorship also indicate limited direct cooperation between scholars in Norway and India, suggesting that research production was regionalised. In general, the paper shows that relations between Norway and India in trade have shifted from a strictly commodity-based exchange to a diversified, economically meaningful collaboration, which serves as a beacon for further empirical research and policy development to enhance sustainable bilateral economic cooperation.

The Evolution of Football Player Valuation: A Bibliometric Analysis (2000-2025)

Aarav Dudeja — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Clubs and investors need to have full knowledge of the economic conditions within the football game, because the movement of the market value provides a strong force on the transfer strategy as well as the wage structure and financial regulations of fair play. A bibliometric analysis has been conducted to evaluate the market valuation of professional football players and investigate the extent to which the idea of performance metrics and the institutional factors have influenced the valuation practices of clubs in the transfer market. A sample of 357 publications, which are listed in the Scopus database between the year 2000 and 2025, was collected and utilized to determine the current trends and research gaps. VOSviewer was used to analyze the corpus and produced networks of co-authorship, co-citation, co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling. The study reveals that recent research in the field of sports economics and finance is majorly written in Europe, published in journals dedicated to football business and economics, and uses more sophisticated tools, including machine learning, player-tracking data, and network analysis to determine player value in the transfer market. Network visualisations indicate three major areas like what drives transfer fees and wage rates received by clubs, how financial controls in leagues and revenue systems affect player values, and new valuation systems that combine on-field performance metrics with financial information. Since 2018, the trends have highlighted the high volatility of player values in an instant, the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on salaries and market values, and the talent concentration required in order to create competitive balance. The research offers an extensive summary of the discipline, descriptions of under-researched field topics, including women football and lower leagues, and outlines the practical solutions on managing the club and future research directions.

Strength-Based Education for at-Risk and Vulnerable Students: A Framework for Social Justice Education

Hilma Fitriyani, Fentiny Nugroho, Elizabeth Kristi Poerwandari — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Vulnerable and at-risk students need educational support that highlights their strengths rather than their limitations. Schools play a crucial role in ensuring that growth opportunities remain accessible, even when families face challenges. This study, based on a multi-case analysis of three public schools, examines how strength-based education is implemented to support vulnerable learners. The findings reveal practical strategies such as comprehensive student assessments, differentiated instruction, and supportive teacher–student relationships, alongside continuous engagement in positivity. At the same time, structural and cultural barriers—including stigma, limited parental involvement, and resource constraints—are identified as challenges to inclusive practice. By presenting both enabling and inhibiting factors, this research offers insights for schools and policymakers to strengthen inclusive, empowering, and social justice education systems.

Mapping the Evolution of Sunscreen Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Global Literature

Alaya Mohindru — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sunscreen represents a significant consumer good with implications for public health and market dynamics. Despite extensive dermatological research, economic and market-oriented analyses of sunscreen adoption, pricing, and consumption behavior remain limited. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 320 peer-reviewed journal articles on sunscreen research published between 2000 and 2025, using VOSviewer to map global trends in publication growth, geographic distribution, leading authors, collaboration networks, and thematic clusters. Six key themes emerged: preventive consumption under risk, information-driven decision-making, occupational and demographic vulnerability, social norms and incentives, behavioral biases in consumption, and policy intervention effectiveness. Beyond the global mapping, a targeted review of India-focused studies examines local market structures, usage patterns, awareness levels, and economic drivers influencing sunscreen adoption. The study identifies significant gaps in the literature regarding pricing strategies, willingness to pay, consumer decision-making under uncertainty, and the impact of regulatory and marketing interventions on market expansion. By integrating global bibliometric mapping with a focused analysis of India-specific studies, this research provides a comprehensive overview of existing knowledge and highlights opportunities for future investigations in consumer economics, market development, and policy design related to sunscreen. Findings can guide both scholars and policymakers in developing evidence-based interventions to enhance market efficiency, consumer adoption, and public health outcomes.

Beyond Symptom Reduction: Process and Outcome in Psychotherapy Across Diagnostic Categories

Bora Korkut — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Advances in psychotherapy research have viewed symptom reduction as the primary indicator of treatment success. However, empirical evidence shows that psychotherapeutic outcomes are shaped by complex factors, such as therapeutic mechanisms, therapeutic relationships, and disorder-specific features, which may not be adequately captured by symptom-based measurements alone. In this review, we will discuss four main categories: anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and personality disorders, and the psychotherapy processes and outcomes for these diagnostic categories. First, a conceptual framework that distinguishes the psychotherapy process from outcome is presented, highlighting methodological challenges in measuring outcome. Then, for each disorder, empirical evidence is examined, focusing on factors such as treatment approach, mechanisms of change, durability of outcomes, and barriers to applying the research to real-world settings. Anxiety disorders show strong convergence between process mechanisms and symptom outcomes, while there is significant variability in outcomes and a risk of relapse in depressive disorders. Obsessive-compulsive disorder shows robust efficacy and limited real-world dissemination, and personality disorders demonstrate the need for long-term process-focused change and innovation in traditional research designs. Finally, this review highlights the science–practice gap and the potential of transdiagnostic mechanisms in improving psychotherapeutic research and clinical practice. Collectively, the findings highlight the need for outcome models beyond symptom reduction and better reflect the processes through which psychotherapy produces meaningful and sustained change.

Do Natural Resource Rents Enhance Labor Productivity? Evidence from Vietnam

Le Phuong Nam — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:43:38 +0000

This study examines the effects of economic growth, human capital, and natural resource rents on labor productivity in Vietnam over the period 1991–2021. Using time-series data from the World Development Indicators and the Penn World Table, the study employs a threshold regression model in which human capital is used as the threshold variable to capture non-linear relationships. The results indicate that economic growth has a consistently positive and statistically significant impact on labor productivity across all regimes. In contrast, human capital effect positively only after surpassing a certain threshold; at low and medium levels, its effect on labor productivity is negative. Based on these findings, the study shows policy implications that emphasize improving the quality of human capital through better education, skills development, and technological absorption, while gradually reducing reliance on natural resource exploitation as a key driver of economic growth.