This study investigates the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on employee retention and job satisfaction within Malaysia’s IT industry. The research centered on middle-management executives from the top 10 IT companies in the Greater Klang Valley and Penang. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the study gathered data on demographic characteristics, HRM practices, and employee retention, with the questionnaire design drawing from established literature and validated measuring scales. The study employed the PLS 4.0 method for analyzing structural relationships and tested various hypotheses regarding HRM practices and employee retention. Key findings revealed that work-life balance did not significantly impact employee retention. Conversely, job security positively influenced employee retention. Notably, rewards, recognition, and training and development were found to be insignificant in predicting employee retention. Additionally, the study explored the mediating role of job satisfaction but found it did not mediate the relationship between work-life balance and employee retention nor between job security and employee retention. The research highlighted that HRM practices have diverse effects on employee retention in Malaysia’s IT sector. Acknowledging limitations like sample size and research design, the study suggests the need for further research to deepen understanding in this area.

Lifelong learning (LLL) is progressively recognized as a crucial component of personal and professional development, particularly for adult students. As a heavily populated developing country, China requires profound national education reform to support its economic development and maintain its competitive advantage on the global economic stage. The governmental policy endorses the execution of diverse forms of lifelong learning programs to bolster the national education reform. However, implementing such programs can be challenging for all the stakeholders of the programs, especially for adult students. The weaker foundational knowledge and insufficient online learning abilities of adult students particularly highlight the academic challenges they face. This study explores the academic challenges faced by adult learners in a Chinese vocational college’s LLL program. Focusing on ex-soldiers, unemployed individuals, migrant workers, and new professional farmers (aged 22–44), data were collected from 16 adult students via purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis revealed recurring thematic academic challenges. Additionally, the study found that adult student attributes (highest education level, age) significantly influenced the unique academic challenges they encountered. This research provides practical solutions to improve LLL programs and promote successful lifelong learning experiences for adult students. 

In the era of artificial intelligence, smart clothing, as a product of the interaction between fashion clothing and intelligent technology, has increasingly attracted the attention and affection of enterprises and consumers. However, to date, there is a lack of focus on the demand of silver-haired population’s consumers for smart clothing. To adapt to the rapidly aging modern society, this paper explores the influencing factors of silver-haired population’s demand for smart clothing and proposes a corresponding consumer-consumption-need theoretical model (CCNTM) to further promote the development of the smart clothing industry. Based on literature and theoretical research, using the technology acceptance model (TAM) and functional-expressive-aesthetic consumer needs model (FEAM) as the foundation, and introducing interactivity and risk perception as new external variables, a consumer-consumption-need theoretical model containing nine variables including perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, functionality, expressiveness, aesthetics, interactivity, risk perception, purchase attitude, and purchase intention was constructed. A questionnaire survey was conducted among the Chinese silver-haired population aged 55–65 using the Questionnaire Star platform, with a total of 560 questionnaires issued. The results show that the functionality, expressiveness, interactivity, and perceived ease of use of smart clothing significantly positively affect perceived usefulness (P < 0.01); perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, aesthetics, and interactivity significantly positively affect the purchase attitude of the silver-haired population (P < 0.01); perceived usefulness, aesthetics, interactivity, and purchase attitude significantly positively affect the purchase intention of the silver-haired population (P < 0.01); functionality and expressiveness significantly positively affect perceived ease of use (P < 0.01); risk perception significantly negatively affects purchase attitude (P < 0.01). Through the construction and empirical study of the smart clothing consumer-consumption-need theoretical model, this paper hopes to stimulate the purchasing behavior of silver-haired population’s consumers towards smart clothing and enable them to enjoy the benefits brought by scientific and technological advancements, which to live out their golden years in comfort, also, promote the rapid development of the smart clothing industry.