Sustainability has turned into a critical focus for businesses, drawing considerable interest from the commercial sector and scholarly environments. While empirical investigations have been conducted regarding sustainability reporting within small and medium enterprises, only a limited number of companies are subjected to increased pressure to adopt sustainability reporting practices, thereby ensuring enhanced transparency and disclosure in their financial and sustainability disclosures. This research, framed by Institutional Theory, delves into how challenges in sustainability reporting obstruct organizations from properly evaluating and sharing their progress on sustainability aims. With an explanatory research framework in place, we circulated survey questionnaires to 400 participants, who were randomly drawn from a population of 28,927 registered SMEs in Metro Manila, Philippines. The application of Interpretative Structural Modelling and MICMAC Analysis revealed that the absence of regulatory frameworks, governmental assistance, and sustainability infrastructure constitutes the most critical obstacles impacting other determinants. In contrast, neither the deficiency in sustainability awareness nor the inadequacy of training and skills demonstrated a considerable impact on the other identified barriers. This study clarifies the complex interactions and interrelations among the obstacles to sustainability reporting, thus providing significant perspectives for organizations aiming to overcome these difficulties. The findings suggest that business leaders and stakeholders can formulate targeted strategies and interventions to facilitate the adoption of sustainability reporting practices within organizations. The application of the institutional theory framework highlights that pressures arise from a diverse array of institutional actors, including regulators, customers, and local communities, which collectively shape corporate behavior and reporting methodologies.
This inquiry endeavors to meticulously examine the intricate dynamics of the symbiotic developmental interplay among the gaming, tourism, and economic sectors in Macau. Utilizing the methodology of deviation standardization, the data undergoes scrupulous processing, invoking the entropy method to ascertain the weights of diverse evaluative indices. The developmental trajectories of Macau’s gaming, tourism, and economic domains spanning the years 2011 to 2021 are fastidiously gauged. Subsequently, a sophisticated coupled coordination model is employed to delve into the nuanced systemic interdependencies characterizing their developmental relationships. From 2011 to 2021, the holistic progression of Macao’s gaming and tourism sectors has exhibited a discernible ascent over the temporal continuum. Concurrently, the degree of coupling coordination has advanced from a state of near coordination to a commendable level of synchronized development. The overarching system of Macau’s gaming and tourism industries has transitioned from a state of disarray to one of ordered harmony, with the correlative impact of Macau’s tourism sector being adeptly realized. The supporting role played by Macau’s gaming industry in fortifying the tourism sector is conspicuously manifest. The alignment and coordination between Macau’s gaming and tourism sectors exhibit fluctuations across distinct developmental stages. During phases of nascent development in both the gaming and tourism domains, a palpable imbalance prevails. Elements such as the proliferation of gaming enterprises, international tourism revenue, aggregate output value of gaming establishments, market share held by gaming enterprises, and the profit margins thereof have, to a certain extent, impinged upon the harmonized evolution of the tripartite subsystems. This study proffers recommendations to foster the optimization and elevation of the industrial structure while championing the integration and advancement of diverse sectors. It advocates for the amplification of the propulsive impetus intrinsic to the gaming industry, coupled with the enrichment of the tourism product portfolio. Furthermore, it espouses the establishment of an effective mechanism for high-quality development, tailored to the exigencies of the contemporary era. This involves the implementation of precise policies, the facilitation of amalgamated progress in gaming and tourism, and an unwavering commitment to sustainable development through the interconnected alignment of gaming, tourism, and the broader economy. The findings of this study furnish a scientific foundation for the strategic industrial planning and developmental initiatives undertaken by relevant departments in Macau.
This study explores the advancement of ethical practices and environmental sustainability in Thai banking through an in-depth case analysis of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the country’s first indigenous bank founded in 1907. SCB has significantly influenced ethical banking practices and sustainability initiatives. The research provides a unique comparative analysis of SCB’s ethical frameworks and sustainability policies, assessing their impact on key stakeholders, including customers, employees, the community, and the environment. Employing a qualitative case study methodology, this study utilizes secondary data from SCB’s reports and CSR documents, analyzed through thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. The findings reveal SCB’s substantial progress in aligning ethical considerations with environmental sustainability, contributing new insights into ethical decision-making processes and the balance between profit and responsibility. Recommendations are provided to enhance ethical and sustainable practices in banking, adding to the discourse on corporate responsibility, environmental stewardship, and sustainable development.
STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education has recently been encouraged and attracted much national attention. This qualitative study aimed to conduct a thematic analysis of college student STEAM open responses to provide an examination of college students’ perceptions of their STEAM experiences into the STEAM field. Based on transformative learning theory, a thematic analysis of 756 written responses to seven prompts by 108 college student participants revealed three primary themes: (1) exciting and challenging difficulties, and transdisciplinary learning in STEAM; (2) STEAM learning of gradual process, problem-oriented instruction, and creative problem solving; and (3) metacognition development in STEAM. The findings revealed that undergraduates’ STEAM perceptions provide strong support for STEAM implementation to enhance teaching effectiveness in higher education.
Small-scale businesses have long been recognized as an important part of economic development and integrating them with industrial parks is both recommended and necessary for long-term success. In line of this, the objective of this study was to investigate the role of IPs entrepreneurial ecosystem in boosting the capabilities of small businesses. Data were collected from 245 small manufacturing business owners via simple random sampling and analysed using multivariate regression analysis. Thus, the ability of small enterprises is positively impacted by the presence of a more robust and appropriate entrepreneurial ecosystem. Similarly, a firm’s resource capabilities are more impacted by the entrepreneurial ecosystem when there is a better link between academia and industry. Furthermore, entrepreneurial skills are found to play a mediating role between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and firms’ technological capabilities. Another finding revealed that managerial expertise significantly mediates entrepreneurial ecosystems and firms’ resource capabilities. This finding suggested that the policymakers, better to formulate policies that encourages small businesses to engage in the industrial parks which results in an inclusive firm’s performance.
Introduction: In contemporary healthcare education, the integration of technology has emerged as an essential factor in enhancing the efficiency and efficacy of training methodologies. Particularly within the domain of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, the adoption of technology-driven approaches holds considerable potential for enriching the skills and proficiencies of healthcare practitioners. Through the utilization of innovative technologies, such as simulation software and leveraging smartphones as primary tools, CPR training programs can be customized to provide immersive, interactive, and authentic learning experiences. This study aims to validate a comprehensive CPR training module tailored explicitly for healthcare professionals, to integrate it into smartphones as a medium for delivering CPR training. Methods: Two validity tests, namely content validity and face validity were conducted to evaluate the validity of the Smart-CPR training module. A self-constructed measurement scale was utilized to assess four parameters: consistency, representativeness, clarity, and relevancy. Content validity employed the content validity ratio, with scores ranging between 1 and −1, indicating the level of consensus among experts regarding the significance of each item. Face validity was assessed using two indices: the item face validity index and the scale face validity index. Ratings of 3 or 4 were given a score of 1, while ratings of 1 or 2 received a score of 0. Result: The content validity shows that CVI values for ‘consistency’ and ‘representativeness’ were 0.99 for the module and questionnaire, and 0.96 and 0.97, respectively. ‘Clarity’ scored 0.99 for the module and 0.96 for the questionnaire, while ‘relevance’ achieved 0.99 for both. All 44 items exceeded the 0.83 threshold for face validity. The Lawshe’s content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) value were used to evaluate the content validity of both the CRSTP module and questionnaire, with CVR values result ranging from 0.80 to 0.99 across dimensions. These findings demonstrate robust content validity. Additionally, high CVI scores, mostly exceeding 0.95, suggest favorable outcomes and indicate no need for revisions. In face validity method, all 44 items surpassed the minimum threshold of 0.83, signifying a favourable outcome. Thus, all items were deemed acceptable. Conclusion: The Smart-CPR training module and questionnaires were meticulously developed to meet both face and content validity standards. All 44 items demonstrated appropriate levels of validity, ensuring they effectively enhance and maintain CPR competency among healthcare providers and potentially benefit the broader community. The positive results of the Smart-CPR training module confirm the high validity of the CPR competency assessment. Content validity, evaluated by experts, received a perfect score, demonstrating agreement on the relevance of each module component. Similarly, face validity, assessed by healthcare professionals, also received a flawless score, indicating consensus on the module’s clarity and relevance. These findings validate the module’s effectiveness in teaching CPR techniques to a diverse audience and ensuring compliance with established standards. With such strong validity, digitizing the module becomes more straightforward, facilitating easier sharing and use across digital platforms. Ultimately, the module’s high validity facilitates its integration into digital platforms, thereby enhancing CPR education and improving outcomes during real emergencies.
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