The proliferation of digital literary discourse has led to a competitive, and often times antagonistic, relationship between this new form and its traditional paper-based counterpart. The success of this new critical literary media has come as a result of major global changes to social consciousness and societal pressures to utilize communication systems that can keep pace with the speed of social action. Discussions on the legitimacy of digital literary discourse are often limited by the use of conciliatory debates that merely present moderate viewpoints. This research addresses the issue using a socio-discursive lens, focusing on a critical exploration of the underlying reasoning for the technological wariness of paper-based literary practitioners. Contrary to the views of many traditionalists, digital literature does not derive its discursive identity, nor its legitimacy, from a combative relationship with paper-based criticism. Instead, this analysis indicates that the use of digital media marks a significant turning point in the institution of literary discourse, formed as a response to shifting individual and collective needs of an accelerating pace of life. Therefore, digital literary discourse is not simply a form or idea that can be accepted or rejected. Rather, it is a forced formation of a new and constantly evolving expressive and inferential space, created by the combination of existing and innovative media, producing new meanings that were impossible to generate under the dominance of old media.
This article presents the validation of a virtue-based leadership development questionnaire (LID). Leadership is defined as the human action of guiding others toward a common good, which requires the exercise of personal competencies and virtues. The theoretical and factorial structure of LID has three domains: intellectual, relational and performative. The LID was administered to a sample of 1759 university students from Mexico and Spain for factor analysis. Subsequently, it was applied to a sample of 1906 students from a Mexican university for confirmatory factor analysis and to 171 Mexican students for a convergent validity study with the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale (SRLS). Psychometric analyses indicate that the questionnaire is reliable and valid. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the questionnaire fits the theoretical model and has convergent validity with the SRLS. This questionnaire aims to contribute to the leadership education of university students.
This study develops an optimisation model to facilitate inter-facility medicine sharing in response to anticipated medicine shortages. These facilities include hospitals and medical representatives. We adopt the concept of collective response proposed in our study literature. The optimisation model is developed according to the real-world practices of inter-facility medicine sharing. We utilise case studies of particular healthcare networks to demonstrate the efficacy of the developed model. The efficacy encompasses the model’s application to real-world case studies, as well as its validity and reliability within a specific system. The results show that the developed model is able to determine which facilities should share the requested amount of medicines; and to reduce total lead times by at least one day compared to the ones obtained in the current practice. The model can be used as a decision-support tool for healthcare practitioners when responding to shortages. The study presents the managerial implications of medicine sharing at the network level and supports the development of collaboration amongst facilities in response to medicine shortages.
This study aims to investigate what influences local workers over the age of 40 to work and stay employed in oil palm plantations. 414 individuals participated in a face-to-face interview that provided the study’s primary source of data. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to analyse the given data. The study revealed that factors influencing local workers over the age of 40 years to leave or continue working in oil palm plantations can be classified as income factors, internal factors and external factors. The income factor was the most significant factor as the percentage variance explained by the factor was 26.792% and Cronbach Alpha was high at 0.870. Therefore, the study suggested that the oil palm plantation managements pay more attention to income elements such as basic salary, wage rate paid to the workers and allowance given to the workers since these elements contribute to the monthly total income received by the workers and in turn be able to attract more local workers to work and remain in the plantations.
The Akit tribe fishermen on Rupat Island, Riau, Indonesia, are a remote indigenous community with a low level of education. They have experienced cultural acculturation after the influx of outsiders and the government built road infrastructure to break the isolation. The government also provides internet facilities to speed up the process of modernizing communications between them. The research aim is to analyze the role of government support as a mediator in the influence of education and acculturation on communication modernization among Akit fishermen. The research used a survey method, involving 165 of the 763 Akit fishermen as respondents. This number determine used the Sample Size Calculator technique. Respondents were selected using a purposive random sampling technique. The variables studied consisted of education, acculturation, government support (as mediator), and communication modernization. Data collection was carried out through a closed questionnaire containing statements, which were measured with a 5-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling method with the help of SmartPLS 4 software. The research results show that acculturation and government support have a positive and significant influence on communication modernization, while education plays a negative influence. Government support as a mediator plays a positive and significant role in the influence of education on communication modernization, while it does not play any role in the influence of acculturation. The most implication of this research is that the government must further increase its role in organizing the acculturation process for Akit fishermen to accelerate the communication modernization process.
This study employed the theory of planned behavior to examine how green urban spaces influence walking behaviors, with a focus on Chongqing’s Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street. Using structural equation modelling to analyse survey data from 401 respondents, this study assessed the relationships between attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, walking intentions, and actions. The results revealed that attitudes toward walking (β = 0.335, p < 0.001) and subjective norms (β = 0.221, p < 0.001) significantly predict walking intentions, which strongly determine actual walking behavior (β = 0.379, p < 0.001). Moreover, perceived behavioral control exerts a direct significant impact on walking actions (β = 0.332, p < 0.001), illustrating that both environmental and social factors are crucial in promoting pedestrian activity. These findings suggest that enhancing the appeal and accessibility of urban green spaces can significantly encourage walking, providing valuable insights for urban planning and public health policy. This study can guide city planners and health professionals in creating more walkable and health-conducive urban environments.
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