Electoral contestation in recent Indonesian election periods is faced with the challenge of polarization linked to identity politics, where initially assigned identity is leveraged as tools for political competition. This is a qualitative research, using interviews, observations, and direct group discussion methods to collect data from five different regions in Indonesia. The research focused on the presence of governing regulations and how they develop in complex dynamics. The results showed that identity politics was prevalent in all regions due to mobilization through identity manipulation to gain electoral political advantage. Furthermore, electoral characteristics showed a growing tendency toward polarization, primarily in terms of religion and ethnicity, with some issues related to regionalism, gender, religious affiliations, and family history networks. It was also found that weak regulations on identity manipulation led to increasing permissiveness among political actors, the state, and voters. This made identity issues become natural electoral problems, despite weakening the developing democracy in Indonesia. In this context, future contests in Indonesia are expected to consistently intensify identity politics, with the lack of regulations, permissiveness, and social media serving as the main driving factors.

This study aims to investigate the alignment of emerging skills and competencies with Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs in the accounting and auditing professions. The research focuses on enhancing the intellectual capital within these sectors, as dictated by the demands of the modern knowledge economy. Employing the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) framework of emerging skills for professional services, a comprehensive content analysis is conducted. This involves reviewing 1009 learning outcomes across 248 CPD courses offered by the global professional accounting body. The analysis reveals that while the existing courses cover all WEF-identified skills, there is an unaddressed requirement for a specialized focus on specific competencies. The study also notes gaps in clearly articulated learning outcomes, highlighting the need for more explicit statements to facilitate effective skills development and knowledge transfer. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on intellectual capital management strategies, providing actionable recommendations for professional organizations. It fills a critical gap in understanding how CPD offerings can be optimized to better prepare accounting and auditing professionals for the evolving knowledge economy.

The issue of virtue and happiness holds a crucial position in both Chinese traditional and Western philosophical systems, and to this day, it remains a hot topic of concern and discussion. The "Huainanzi" was written during the early Western Han Dynasty, mainly based on Taoist thoughts, incorporating various schools of thought to form its distinct theoretical system. It can be seen as a culmination of the traditional Chinese pre-Qin perspective on "virtue and happiness" holding significant research value. "Huainanzi" firmly believes that the ideal situation between virtue and happiness is and must be a consistent relationship.