This empirical study explores the influence of Hollywood product placements on cultural perceptions and teaching practices of preservice English teachers in higher education in China. Hollywood movies and TV series routinely use product placements as a tactic to blend commercial goals with compelling storylines, which could possibly influence the perceptions, and potential teaching practice of Chinese preservice English teachers. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which material culture in the form of product placement in Hollywood affects preservice English teachers’ image of America, and their future teaching practice, altering their expectations and goals as well as how they view the West. The study uses a quantitative study method by means of an online questionnaire (N = 497) and applies structural equation modelling to conduct data analysis. The results find notable significant relationships including those from food, architecture, transportation, and electronic devices to positive image of America, as well as architecture and transportation to potential teaching practice. The most prominent path is from image to teaching. However, certain relationships, including those from fashion to image and food to teaching, do not demonstrate statistical significance. These results contribute to the theoretical and practical understanding of how preservice English teachers see Hollywood’s material culture, and how it affects their perception and possible teaching methods. The findings also demonstrate how preservice teachers’ perceptions and educational approaches are shaped by Hollywood’s material culture in the form of product placement, while simultaneously emphasizing the significance of integration of media literacy and upholding their cultural identity amidst these influences.

This paper highlights the opportunities as well as challenges posed for Bangladesh by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China. BRI is being considered as the most expensive project ever initiated connecting more than half of the world population from Asia, Europe and Africa. For writing this paper, the authors utilized published sources such as journal articles, newspaper articles and web-based information published from 2013 to 2024. The article proposes that although the involvement of Bangladesh in the BRI is not absolutely free of challenges, it can serve the ultimate national interest through greater connectivity with other countries, increased volume of trade and economic activities and socio-cultural exchange. Although, as the originator and major contributor of the BRI, China will be the principal benefiter, other partner countries can also attain considerable benefits out of this historical mega scheme through the application of appropriate vision and strategic implementation. This paper has highlighted those benefits/opportunities and challenges for Bangladesh that can be beneficial for upcoming research projects particularity aimed at development studies, political economy and international relations. On the other hand, based on the arguments made on this paper, policymakers and businessmen can formulate their best policies as well as trading strategies with mutual benefits for all the stakeholders involved.

Objective: To promote the development of China’s crop seed industry with high quality, guarantee food security and sustainable agricultural development, scientific design of the evaluation index system for high-quality development of the seed industry and conduct of metric analysis are the keys to promoting the revitalization of the seed industry and the construction of a strong agricultural country. Methods: This paper focused on the high-quality development of China’s crop seed industry as the main research object by combining previous research findings of studies based on the connotation of high-quality development of the crop seed industry and constructed the evaluation index system of high-quality development of China’s crop seed industry which covers five dimensions, namely, innovation-driven development, green and sustained development, coordinated and comprehensive development, opening-up and strengthened development, and share-and-promote development, The Entropy method, Dagum’s Gini coefficient, Kernel’s density estimation, and panel regression methods were used to comprehensively analyze the spatial and temporal evolution, regional differences, and driving factors of the level of high-quality development of the crop seed industry in 30 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) of China from 2011 to 2020. Conclusions: After systematic analysis, it was concluded that (1) the overall level of high-quality development in China’s crop seed industry has stabilized, and progress has been made. (2) The overall inter-regional differences among the four major regions showed a gradual upward trend, with the inter-regional differences serving as the primary source of the differences and the contribution rate of various inter-regional differences demonstrating an upward trend. (3) Innovation capacity, the cultural and educational level of rural residents, the development of rural infrastructure, national financial support, and market-oriented approach are important factors driving the high-quality development of the crop seed industry in Chinese provinces (districts and municipalities).

The rapid rise of live streaming commerce in China has transformed the retail environment, with electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) emerging as a pivotal factor in shaping consumer behavior. As a digital evolution of traditional word-of-mouth, eWOM gains particular significance in live streaming contexts, where real-time interactions foster immediacy and engagement. This study investigates how eWOM influences consumer purchase intentions within Chinese live streaming platforms, employing the Information Adoption Model (IAM) as theoretical framework. Using a grounded theory approach, this research applies NVivo for data coding and analysis to explore the cognitive and emotional processes triggered by eWOM during live streaming. Findings indicate that argument quality, source credibility, and information quantity significantly enhance consumer trust and perceived usefulness of information, which, in turn, drives information adoption and purchase intention. Furthermore, the study reveals that social interaction between live streaming anchors and audiences amplifies the influence of consumers' internal states on information adoption. This study enhances the Information Adoption Model (IAM) by introducing social interaction as a moderator between consumers' internal states toward live streaming eWOM and their adoption of information, highlighting the value of social interaction in live streaming. It also incorporates information quantity, showing how eWOM quantity affects trust and perceived usefulness. Furthermore, the study contributes to exploring how factors like argument quality, source credibility, and information quantity shape consumer trust and perceived usefulness, offering insights into the cognitive and emotional processes of information adoption in live streaming.

Within the last four years, Lithuania has faced different foreign policy challenges due to geopolitical situations such as the Ukraine-Russia war, the migration crisis on the border with Belarus, and the conflict with China. After opening a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius, China downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania. The purpose of the article is to assess the impact of the changes on international economic relations between Lithuania and China. The paper employs descriptive statistics, correlation-regression, sensitivity analysis, and agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis. The research is based on the impact of international economic relations on international trade by analyzing separately imports and exports. Our research fills a gap in international relations and globalization theory by focusing on international collaboration between small and large countries, while the large country implements economic sanctions. In the context of Lithuania, exports to China and imports from China comprise a small percentage in the structure of international trade. Lithuania’s GDP level reacts sensitively to changes in export and import data only if they change drastically (over 50%).

The Circular Economy is one of the most prominent cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral concepts to emerge in recent decades. It has permeated academia, policymaking, business, NGOs, and the general public, leading to numerous applications of the concept, some of which only partially overlap. In this article, we review recent debates and research trends in the Circular Economy, outlining the ten most common groups of its conceptualizations using the PRISMA (Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) method. We then propose a post disciplinary and transnational research program on the Circular Economy that would not only combine hard and soft sciences in unprecedented ways but also have important practical applications, such as developing tools to embed the Circular Economy in natural, technical, economic, and socio-cultural settings.