The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing the blockchain adoption in agricultural supply chains, to make a particular focus on how security and privacy considerations, policy support, and management support impact the blockchain adoption intention. it further investigates perceived usefulness as a mediating variable that potentially amplifies the effects of these factors on blockchain adoption intention, and sets perceived cost as a moderating variable to test its influence on the strength and direction of the relationship between perceived usefulness and adoption intention. through embedding the cost-benefit theory into the integrated tam-toe framework and utilizing the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method, this study identifies the pivotal factors that drive or impede blockchain adoption in the agricultural supply chains, which fills the gap of the relatively insufficient research on the blockchain adoption in agriculture field. the results further provide empirical evidence and strategic insights that can guide practical implementations, to equip stakeholders or practitioners with the necessary knowledge to navigate the complexities of integrating cutting-edge technologies into traditional agricultural operations, thereby promoting more efficient, transparent, and resilient agricultural supply chains.
Loans are a critical transmission channel for commercial banks as well as an important revenue source. Macroeconomic factors are not within the control of commercial banks, however, select factors are observed to have a direct impact on lending behaviour in studies around the world. This study examined the relationship between macroeconomic variables and the lending behaviour of banks in South Africa for the period ranging from 2001 to 2022. Quarterly time series data was employed using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL). The empirical results of the paper revealed that there is a long-run relationship between the repurchase rate (repo rate), inflation, the real effective exchange rate (REER) and lending behaviour in South Africa. The REER and inflation were both found to have a positive relationship, whilst the repo rate had a negative relationship. In addition, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the activity rate and sovereign credit rating (SCR) changes returned insignificant results. Overall, these findings show that select macroeconomic factors do influence lending behaviour in South Africa. Furthermore, the results suggest that monetary policy decisions have a direct influential effect on lending and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has implemented their policies effectively.
The Huaiyang Canal, a significant section of the Grand Canal, boasts representative tourist attractions. This study analysis of online reviews from Ctrip and Mahive using R language, Gephi, ROST CM, and SPSS has provided insights into tourists’ perceptions of the Huaiyang Canal’s image. Key findings include: (1) Dominant landscape images encompass gardens, canals, and buildings, emphasizing the historical and cultural assets. Both cultural and natural landscapes equally captivate tourists. (2) The canal’s tourism image perception follows a “garden-history-canal” hierarchy with the canal as the central space and history expanding its tourism features. (3) The perceptions can be categorized into historical and cultural landscapes, man-made projects, and attraction perception. Despite varying tourist numbers in Huaian and Yangzhou, scenic spot experiences are similar. The overall perception of tourists is largely positive, but some express concerns about service attitudes and travel time planning.
This study delves into the concept of the “cultural bomb” within the framework of non-military defense empowerment strategies in Indonesia. This approach can potentially change society’s views and attitudes towards various security threats as a realization of strengthening the defense and security system of the universal people (Sishankamrata) per article 30 paragraph (2) of the 1945 constitution. By leveraging media, education, and information technology, the cultural bomb acts as a social weapon that operates powerfully in the “space of mind,” shaping behavior and actions nonviolently. The issue of cultural threats pertains to the infiltration and imposition of foreign cultural values and practices that undermine local traditions and national identity, leading to social fragmentation and weakness. This study proposes the concept of a “cultural bomb” as a policy framework to address and mitigate these cultural threats. The research employs a qualitative approach using the Delphi technique, engaging experts from cultural studies and defense strategies to reach a consensus on the strategic application of the cultural bomb. The results indicate that the cultural bomb can effectively strengthen national identity and awareness of national defense by promoting local values and cultural resilience, thus enhancing societal cohesion and mitigating the impact of foreign cultural influences. The paper outlines the components of a cultural bomb, analyzes its application in international contexts, and discusses its implications in efforts to strengthen national identity and foster a sense of national defense awareness. Focusing on the “war over space of mind” ideology, it introduces “cultural hacking” as a strategic initiative to address cultural power imbalances in the post-truth era.
Currently, the rapid development of information technology has brought lots of opportunities for improving the efficiency of national governance activities and the implementation of justice in the world. The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the continuous development of digital technology have been profoundly changing the operation of the courts and providing opportunities for nations to transform from the traditional court model to the electronic court one. Building an e-court has become a global trend in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and overcome court delays in resolving disputes. In that context, Vietnam has also advocated promoting the application of information technology, making the most of opportunities that are brought by the technological revolution so as to build e-courts, one of the important tasks of the Judicial Reform Strategy. From 2019 up to now, Vietnam has made efforts to strengthen judicial reform and build e-courts, however, the results are still quite modest. By qualitative research method, this article examines the achievements Vietnam has achieved as well as the limitations when the court system transforms to the e-court model, thereby making some recommendations to successfully build an e-court in Vietnam in order to meet the requirements of judicial reform.
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.
The financial services industry is experiencing a swift adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for a variety of applications. These technologies can be employed by both public and private sector entities to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, monitor activities, evaluate data accuracy, and identify instances of fraudulent behavior. The utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has the potential to provide novel and unforeseen manifestations of interconnectivity within financial markets and institutions. This can be represented by the adoption of previously disparate data sources by diverse institutions. The researchers employed convenience sampling as the sampling method. The form was filled out over the period spanning from July 2023 to February 2024, and it was designed to be both anonymous and accessible through online and offline platforms. To assess the reliability and validity of the measurement scales and evaluate the structural model, we employed Partial Least Squares (PLS) for model validation. Specifically, we have used the software package Smart-PLS 3 with a bootstrapping of 5000 samples to estimate the significance of the parameters. The results indicate a positive and direct connection between artificial intelligence (AI) and either financial services or financial institutions. On the contrary, machine learning (ML) exhibits a strong and positive association among financial services and financial institutions. Similarly, there exists a positive and direct connection between AI and investors, as well as between ML and investors.
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