Given its insular geographic location, Taiwan inherently benefits from a natural advantage in developing its shipping industry, positioning it as a critical sector for the nation’s economic advancement. The shipping industry operates within a highly competitive maritime market, wherein ocean freight forwarders provide services on a global scale, thus classifying them within the international transportation and logistics industry. The global competition from logistics peers renders the services highly substitutable. This study breaks new ground by integrating the SERVQUAL scale with advanced methodologies such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to assess and enhance service quality in the shipping industry. By segmenting the five dimensions of SERVQUAL, the study delineates 19 specific evaluation indicators. The expert questionnaires developed and analyzed through AHP and DEMATEL reveal a previously unidentified link between specific service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction. The findings from this analysis offer crucial insights into the critical success factors (CSFs) of service quality and their causal interrelationships, thereby establishing a model for service standards. By leveraging the identified CSFs and understanding the causal relationships among these key factors, ocean freight forwarders can enhance and optimize their value propositions and resources. This proactive approach is expected to significantly improve service quality, fortify core competitiveness, and elevate customer support and satisfaction levels, ultimately leading to an increased market share and ensuring sustainable business operations.

Recently, there has been a burgeoning fascination with the influence of urban green spaces (UGS) on physical activity (PA) and health. This interest has been accompanied by a mounting body of evidence that establishes a connection between UGS and residents’ PA levels. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the significance of UGS and have generally agreed on their connection with health. However, there is still considerable variation in viewpoints regarding the intermediate factors contributing to this association. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the potential correlation between different qualitative factors of UGS and PA. The study involved the collection of data from four parks located in Edinburgh. Four trained observers utilised the Environmental Assessment of Public Recreational Spaces (EARPS Mini) tool to code various environmental characteristics. Additionally, the Method for Observing Physical Activity and Wellbeing (MOHAWk) observation tool was employed to code instances of on-site incivility and the characteristics and behaviours of residents engaging in UGS activities. The results of this study show that the facilities and environment, area and socioeconomic status (SES) of UGS positively affect the type of PA and the level of PA, as well as influence residents’ attentiveness to the environment and their interactions with each other. Demographics such as gender and age group are also significantly related to the level and type of PA. Significant differences in the level and type of PA, and race only differed significantly in the choice of activity type. These results suggest that the quality of the UGS environment affects the level, type, and status of PA among residents and that resident characteristics also have an impact. Future research suggests increasing data collection related to PA frequency and PA duration and considering longitudinal observations over time for refinement.

In the highly competitive employment environment, most college students have left their jobs for a short time after employment, and attention should be paid to students’ career adaptation. However, the further influence of skilled goal orientation, social support and career-determined self-efficacy on college students’ career adaptation needs to be confirmed. This study analyzes the effects of these factors on college students’ career adaptation. This study aims to analyze the impact of mastery goal orientation, social support, and vocational decision self-efficacy on career adaptation among 224 university students in East China. The results indicated that university students generally exhibit positive levels of mastery goal orientation, social support, vocational decision self-efficacy, and overall career adaptation. Female students demonstrate higher levels of mastery goal orientation, social support, vocational decision self-efficacy, and career adaptation compared to male students. As students progress in their academic years, their levels of mastery goal orientation, social support, vocational decision self-efficacy, and career adaptation tend to increase. Students majoring in humanities and social sciences have higher level than students majoring in science and engineering in all factors. Students majoring in humanities and social sciences exhibit more optimism in all factors compared to students in science and technology fields. The relationships among these factors show positive correlations. Mastery goal orientation, social support, and vocational decision self-efficacy all have positive effects on career adaptation. Among these, family support stands out as the most influential subordinate factor of social support on career adaptation. The most influential subordinate factor of vocational decision self-efficacy on career adaptation is conscious decision-making. Therefore, male, lower grade, science and engineering college students are the groups that need to be paid attention to in improving career adaptation. Skilled goal orientation, family support and conscious decision making have a better effect on the improvement of career adaptation. These results can provide important reference information for universities, counselors and college students in the training of career planning, and theoretically enrich the relevant research on college students’ career adaptation, and provide certain enlightenment for future researchers.

Organizations are gradually focusing on creating a healthy workplace for their employees and becoming more people-centric. This occurs because a healthy workforce increases the work performance of the organisation and the personal development of its employees. This study aims to investigate the HR functions that impact employee motivation in the Malaysian banking sector. The three HR functions that were selected were training and development, rewards and recognition, and career management. The study utilised a cross-sectional design, and the research instruments were adapted from a number of past studies. A total of 350 respondents from the Malaysian banking industry were recruited. Using SPSS Version 26.0, the research hypotheses were examined. The results show that rewards and recognition are not significant predictors of employee motivation in the Malaysian banking industry; however, training and development and career management are significant predictors of employee motivation. These results will help the human resources department develop and improve its HR operations.

Renewable energy is gaining momentum in developing countries as an alternative to non-renewable sources, with rooftop solar power systems emerging as a noteworthy option. These systems have been implemented across various provinces and cities in Vietnam, accompanied by government policies aimed at fostering their adoption. This study, conducted in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam investigates the factors influencing the utilization of rooftop solar power systems by 309 individuals. The research findings, analyzed through the Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) model, reveal that policies encouragement and support, strategic investment costs, product knowledge and experience, perceived benefits assessment, and environmental attitudes collectively serve as predictors for the decision to use rooftop solar power systems. Furthermore, the study delves into mediating and moderating effects between variables within the model. This research not only addresses a knowledge gap but also furnishes policymakers with evidence to chart new directions for encouraging the widespread adoption of solar power systems.

Optimizing Storage Location Assignment (SLA) is essential for improving warehouse operations, reducing operational costs, travel distances and picking times. The effectiveness of the optimization process should be evaluated. This study introduces a novel, generalized objective function tailored to optimize SLA through integration with a Genetic Algorithm. The method incorporates key parameters such as item order frequency, storage grouping, and proximity of items frequently ordered together. Using simulation tools, this research models a picker-to-part system in a warehouse environment characterized by complex storage constraints, varying item demands and family-grouping criteria. The study explores four scenarios with distinct parameter weightings to analyze their impact on SLA. Contrary to other research that focuses on frequency-based assignment, this article presents a novel framework for designing SLA using key parameters. The study proves that it is advantageous to deviate from a frequency-based assignment, as considering other key parameters to determine the layout can lead to more favorable operations. The findings reveal that adjusting the parameter weightings enables effective SLA customization based on warehouse operational characteristics. Scenario-based analyses demonstrated significant reductions in travel distances during order picking tasks, particularly in scenarios prioritizing ordered-together proximity and group storage. Visual layouts and picking route evaluations highlighted the benefits of balancing frequency-based arrangements with grouping strategies. The study validates the utility of a tailored generalized objective function for SLA optimization. Scenario-based evaluations underscore the importance of fine-tuning SLA strategies to align with specific operational demands, paving the way for more efficient order picking and overall warehouse management.