This research, with a qualitative approach, is based on a literature review and a press analysis related to mergers, acquisitions and dissolutions of Higher Education Institutions in South America. Our findings evidence a gap in the academic literature for analyzing and understanding these processes. The literature on the subject is scarce; however, the press has recorded them in a constant way. While in the past this phenomenon was mainly among public universities, currently it is a fundamentally private trend. The main reasons to carry out this process by Higher Education Institutions are those related to geographic expansion or positioning (for merger processes), absorption and concentration of institutions by groups of interest (for merger processes, acquisition) and, the crisis resulting from the financial-administrative management of the institutions, as well as the non-compliance with national and international quality standards designed by accreditation agencies and institutions (for dissolution processes). On the contrary of some literature results, in any of the processes the search for prestige or reputation by the institutions was detected as a reason.

This paper aims to explore the issue of human actions in Islamic thought, focusing on the various stances regarding determinism, free will, and the intermediate position between them. This topic is linked to an ontological question: What are the limits of human responsibility for their actions? Our view is that the different positions on human actions reflect the presence of pluralism within Islamic thought, specifically through the discipline of Islamic theology (kalām). The difference in positions about the human actions within the science of theology expresses the vitality of Islamic thought and its appreciation of the right to differ between theological schools such as the Mu’tazila, Shi’a, and Sunnis, especially in an era dominated by the rationalism of Mu’tazila thought influenced by the methodology of Greek philosophical thought. This difference was recognized, especially in the third and fourth centuries AH/ninth and tenth centuries AD. We consider this difference in discussing the subject of the human actions as evidence of the principle of pluralism in Islam, which allows us to speak of the existence of a significant degree of intellectual tolerance, a subject that has not been studied to date. The prevailing view in studies today on this subject is that the theological groups accuse each other of unbelief, which is a mistaken position, because the saying of unbelief did not appear until after the fourth century AH/tenth century AD when transmission, reliability, and conservatism prevailed in Islamic thought. In addressing this issue, we examine three major stances on human actions as represented by three theological schools: The Mu’tazila (who advocated free will in human actions), the Jabriya (who advocated determinism in human actions), and the Ash’ariyya (who upheld the theory of acquisition). Once this is accomplished, we will explore the philosophy of pluralism in Islam through the lens of kalām. The most important conclusion we reached is that the debate on human actions opened, by the mid-4th century AH/10th century CE, an intellectual horizon that laid the foundations for pluralism in Islamic theological discussions. However, this horizon was soon closed due to various factors, which we have discussed throughout the paper.

The scientific objective of this study is to demonstrate how a hybrid photovoltaic-grid-generator microsystem responds under transient regime to varying loads and grid disconnection/reconnection. The object of the research was realized by acquiring the electrical magnitudes from the three PV systems (25 kW, 40 kW, and 60 kW) connected to the grid and the consumer (on-grid), during the technological process where the load fluctuated uncontrollably. Similar recordings were also made for the transient regime caused by the grid disconnection, diesel generator activation (450 kVA), its synchronization with PV systems, power supply to receivers, and grid voltage restoration after diesel generator shutdown. Analysis of the data focused on power supply continuity, voltage stability, and frequency variations. Findings indicated that on-grid photovoltaic systems had a 7.9% maximum voltage deviation from the standard value (230 V) and a frequency variation within ±1%. In the transient period caused by the grid disconnection and reconnection, a brief period with supply interruption was noted. This study contributes to the understanding of hybrid system behavior during transient regimes.

As the involvement of Chinese enterprises in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) increases, on the one hand, it can drive enterprises to integrate with the international community and accelerate their transformation and upgrading, continuously enhancing their international competitiveness; on the other hand, it will also cause enterprises to experience more setbacks and challenges, especially the “weak acquisition of the strong” reverse cross-border acquisitions, which makes enterprises face a higher risk of failure. Reasonable control rights allocation can fully utilize the competitive advantages of enterprises, achieve synergistic cooperation among shareholders, board of directors, and management, promote the realization of enterprises’ cross-border acquisition goals, and thus enhance the value creation of acquisitions. There is a positive correlation between internal legitimacy and acquisition performance; the relevant assumptions about the distribution of shareholder control rights are invalid; the control rights at the board of directors level are negatively correlated with internal legitimacy and acquisition performance, and internal legitimacy has a mediating effect between the control rights at the board of directors level and acquisition performance, but the moderating effect of the acquisition mode is not significant; the control rights at the management level are negatively correlated with internal legitimacy and acquisition performance, and internal legitimacy has a mediating effect between the control rights at the management level and acquisition performance, and the acquisition mode negatively moderates the relationship between the control rights at the management level and internal legitimacy. This study takes the post-acquisition control rights allocation as the entry point, and examines the cross-border acquisition activities of Chinese enterprises from the perspective of stakeholders. The research results not only can enrich existing acquisition theory, but also can provide theoretical guidance for Chinese enterprise managers on allocation of control of target enterprises, and provide a theoretical basis for the state to formulate and optimize the system and policies of enterprises’ cross-border acquisitions.

Research indicates a strong correlation between sociodemographic factors and success in learning to read. This study examines the sociodemographic characteristics of 1131 preschool and 1st-grade children in Portuguese public schools and explores the relationship between these characteristics and key competencies for reading acquisition. The collection included a sociodemographic questionnaire and pre-reading skills, such as letter-sound knowledge. To assess the relationship between the sociodemographic variables and the letter-sound knowledge, inter-subjects (parametric and non-parametric) difference tests were conducted, as well as correlation analyses. To understand whether letter-sound knowledge is predicted by sociodemographic variables, a multiple linear regression analysis was performed using the Enter method. The results suggest that the mother’s education is the variable that most strongly contributes to success in reading acquisition. Socioeconomic status and the type of school also play a role in reading achievement. Identifying the sociodemographic factors that most strongly correlate with reading acquisition success is crucial for a more accurate identification of at-risk children and to provide targeted support/inclusion in reading skills promotion projects.