Search Results (2,948)

This study examines whether environmentally specific authentic leadership promotes organizational citizenship behavior for the environment and contributes to organizational environmental sustainability. The study employed a three-wave survey design to collect data from 262 full-time employees in Chinese organizations, ensuring the results are both representative and reliable. The results show that environmentally specific authentic leadership is positively associated with employees’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment. Environmentally specific authentic leadership is also positively related to environmental commitment, highlighting the importance of leadership for sustainable workplace behaviors. Additionally, the study found that environmental commitment partially mediates the relationship between environmentally specific authentic leadership and organizational citizenship behavior, underscoring the vital role of environmental commitment in fostering pro-environmental actions. Taken together, these findings clarify how environmentally specific authentic leadership influences organizational citizenship behavior for the environment through environmental commitment. Practically, the results suggest that organizations can encourage organizational citizenship behavior for the environment by developing leaders’ environmentally specific authentic leadership and implementing green human resource management practices. Consequently, the study offers actionable guidance for achieving environmental sustainability. Full article

Against the backdrop of global climate change, the rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather events pose severe challenges to urban transport and commercial systems. As a core capacity for managing uncertainty and risk, urban resilience requires infrastructure to resist shocks, recover rapidly, and adaptively evolve. From a resilience perspective, this study develops a comprehensive evaluation system for spatial accessibility between subway stations and commercial complexes, operationalized by 21 indicators across five dimensions: Connectivity, Redundancy, Robustness, Dynamic adaptability, and Comfort. Spatial accessibility is simulated and measured using sDNA spatial network analysis, while an in-depth questionnaire survey collects, feeds back, and validates users’ subjective perceptions. By constructing a dual evaluation model that integrates spatial configuration and behavioral psychology, we find that the integrated development of subway stations and commercial complexes can maintain stable functional performance and sustained vitality under complex urban conditions by optimizing connectivity, enhancing redundancy, and improving adaptability. This is manifested in the expansion of residents’ pedestrian networks and the spillover of social service functions. In parallel, underground spaces can be transformed into resilient infrastructure to enhance civil air defense performance and provide diversified evacuation routes. The findings offer theoretical support and practical guidance for the construction of resilient cities. Full article

The digitalisation of education has introduced new possibilities for inclusive teaching practices, particularly in supporting students with special educational needs (SEN). While digital tools have demonstrated potential to enhance learning outcomes and engagement for these students, the role of school leadership in fostering teachers’ digital competence remains underexplored. The aim of the study is to investigate the association between school leadership, as rated by teachers, and teachers’ self-reported digital competence in supporting students with SEN. To this end, cross-sectional data from 285 Swedish teachers enrolled in special education training programmes have been used. The data were collected through the SELFIE survey, a European Commission tool designed to assess schools’ digital capacity. A stepwise linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between perceived school leadership and teachers’ self-reported digital competence in supporting students with SEN, controlling for teacher collaboration, infrastructure and equipment, and demographic variables. The results show a consistent and significant positive relationship between school leadership and teachers’ digital competence, even when other factors are accounted for. Teacher collaboration also contributed positively, though to a lesser extent, while infrastructure and equipment and demographic variables showed no significant effect. The study contributes knowledge by showing that teachers’ digital competence development depends not only on individual efforts but also on organisational factors, such as supportive school leadership, highlighting the importance of recognising school leadership as vital alongside digital resources in schools. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted cautiously and not as evidence of causal relationships. These findings suggest that school leadership is important in enabling teachers to use digital technologies to support students with SEN, highlighting practical and policy implications for strengthening school leadership in developing teachers’ digital competence in supporting students with SEN. Full article

Alpacas thrive in Andean ecosystems, efficiently converting natural pasture into products such as fiber and meat, making their breeding a production alternative in Guamote. Intensive grazing and the shift in the spatial distribution of plants due to climate change negatively impact the moorlands. In this context, this study analyzed the influence of floristic composition on the productivity and quality of natural pastures. The methodology included a floristic inventory in a sample of 98 cells in four communities, collecting flora data using the Parker method to measure species composition, density, and cover. In addition, soil fertility and nutritional quality of desirable pastures were assessed through physical and chemical analyses. Principal component and cluster analyses were then applied to correlate the variables. The results showed 26 species, with Poaceae and Asteraceae standing out as dominant and abundant. Tablillas and Pull Quishuar stood out for their productivity and carrying capacity (4.83 t/ha), while Galte Bisñag showed high protein and plant vitality in their pastures. Component 1 stood out for its high production (3.71 t/ha) and carrying capacity in fertile soils; Axis 2 linked Galte Bisñag with high nutritional quality and vegetation cover, while Axis 3 related Asaraty with compacted soils and an intermediate balance. The direct influence between floral species and the productivity of natural pastures leads to the exploration and implementation of measures for sustainable grazing. Full article

Background: Digital transformation has become a vital driver of competitiveness in the hospitality industry. This study investigates the role of digital agility in enhancing competitive advantage in Egypt’s luxury hotel sector, focusing on the parallel mediating effects of supply chain agility and supply chain resilience. Grounded in the Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT), the research explores how digital capabilities promote flexibility, responsiveness, and strategic performance. Methods: Data were collected from 325 senior managers in supply chain, procurement, operations, logistics, and digital transformation across luxury hotels in Egypt. The conceptual framework was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via WarpPLS software. Results: Findings reveal that digital agility significantly enhances competitive advantage, as well as supply chain agility and resilience. Both supply chain agility and resilience positively influence competitive advantage and partially mediate the relationship between digital agility and competitiveness. Conclusions: The study highlights the strategic importance of digital agility in fostering agile and resilient supply chains, which serve as key mechanisms for achieving sustained competitive advantage in the luxury hotel industry. Investing in digital technologies and adaptive capabilities is essential for long-term success in a dynamic market environment. Full article

As an emerging trading market, the crude oil futures market has exhibited substantial uncertainty since its inception. Influenced by macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, its price movements are highly nonlinear and nonstationary, making accurate forecasting challenging. Therefore, it is vital to develop a powerful forecasting model for crude oil futures prices. However, conventional forecasting models rely solely on historical data and fail to capture the intrinsic patterns of complex sequences. This work presents a hybrid deep learning framework that incorporates multi-source features and a state-of-the-art attention mechanism. Specifically, search engine data were collected and integrated into the explanatory variables. By using lagged historical prices and search engine data to forecast future crude oil futures closing prices, the proposed framework effectively avoids lookahead bias. To reduce forecasting difficulty, the initial time series were then decomposed and reconstructed into several sub-sequences. Thereafter, traditional time series models (ARIMA) and attention-enhanced deep learning models were selected to forecast the reconstructed sub-sequences based on their distinct data features. The empirical study conducted on the INE crude oil futures price proves that the proposed model outperforms other benchmark models. The findings help fill the gap in the quantitative literature on crude oil futures price forecasting and offer valuable theoretical insights for affiliated policymakers, enterprises, and investors. Full article

River water is a vital component of the hydrological cycle, sustaining ecosystems and serving as the most accessible freshwater resource for human use. Beyond elemental concentrations, isotopic tracers such as boron (δ¹¹B) and radiogenic strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) provide insights into weathering processes and anthropogenic impacts. This study examines spatial and temporal variations in the chemical composition of the Erren River to distinguish natural contributions from human-derived inputs and assess recent pollution. Samples collected from upstream to downstream were processed by micro-sublimation or column chromatography, with isotopes measured using MC-ICP-MS. Results show δ¹¹B values from +4.8‰ to +30.4‰ (variation ~26‰) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios from 0.709679 to 0.710446. Major ion and isotopic data indicate upstream waters are dominated by silicate weathering, while downstream areas reflect seawater and salt spray influence, consistent with regional geology and hydrology. Furthermore, δ¹¹B patterns combined with Cl⁻/Na and NO₃⁻/B ratios suggest that tributaries in the mid-to-lower basin remain affected by anthropogenic pollution, likely linked to agricultural and urban activities. These findings highlight both natural controls and ongoing human impacts on the Erren River system. Full article

For a long time, low efficiency in the transfer of rural collective land use rights and the ambiguous attribution of collective land property rights have not only restricted the mobility of rural labor factors but have also hindered the release of vitality in the rural collective economy. This has resulted in lagging growth in the income that rural residents obtain from collective economic factors, contributing to the persistent widening of the urban/rural income gap. As an important institutional innovation to address these issues, the effects of the reform of the rural collective property rights system urgently need to be clarified. The reform of the rural collective property rights system constitutes a major initiative in the transformation of the rural land system. Centered on asset verification and valuation, as well as the demarcation of membership rights and the restructuring towards a shareholding cooperative system, it aims to establish a collective property rights regime characterized by clearly defined ownership and fully functional entitlements. This study takes the national pilot reform of rural collective property rights launched in 2016 as a quasi-natural policy experiment, systematically examining the impact of this pilot policy on the internal income gap within households and its spillover effects on the urban–rural income gap. Based on microdata from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) and the China Longitudinal Night Light Data Set (PANDA-China), this study constructs a five-period balanced panel dataset covering 2304 rural households across 25 provinces. A relative exploitation index based on the Kawani index is constructed, and empirical analysis is conducted using a combination of multi-period difference-in-differences (Multi-period DID), discrete binary models, and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) models. The results show that: First, the pilot reform significantly reduced the level of income inequality within rural areas in the pilot regions, and its policy benefits further generated positive spillovers via market-driven factor allocation mechanisms, effectively bridging the urban–rural income gap. Second, institutional reforms activated the potential of rural non-agricultural economic factors, establishing new channels for a two-way flow of urban and rural factors, becoming an important path to achieve the goal of common prosperity. Third, the policy effects exhibited significant heterogeneity, specifically manifested in the attributes of major grain-producing regions, initial household income levels, and the human capital characteristics of household heads having significant moderating effects on reform outcomes. This study not only provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for deepening rural property rights reforms under the new rural revitalization strategy, but it also reveals the driving role of institutional innovation in factor mobility, thereby influencing the transmission mechanism of income distribution patterns. This finding offers a China-based solution for developing countries to address the imbalance in urban–rural development and the widening income gap. Full article

Oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii exhibit remarkable resistance to environmental stressors and most conventional disinfectants. Despite its ability to infect a wide variety of host species, sexual reproduction and oocyst formation occur exclusively within felid definitive hosts. Despite the epidemiological significance of oocyst-mediated transmission, the molecular mechanisms governing oocyst production and sporulation remain incompletely understood. Glutaredoxin, serving as a central regulator of cellular redox homeostasis and multiple vital cellular processes in cells, is a potential regulator for oocyst sporulation. Here, we investigated the role of TGME49_227100 (glutaredoxin 5, Grx5) in the T. gondii Pru strain-a type II strain capable of oocyst formation, with a particular focus on its functions during oocyst formation and sporulation. We found that Grx5-knockout tachyzoites exhibited no defects in growth or virulence. Neither in vitro nor in vivo tachyzoite-to-bradyzoite differentiation was affected compared to wild-type parasites. Notably, Grx5 deletion significantly reduced oocyst production in cats by approximately 70%. Additionally, the collected oocysts showed a 50% decrease in sporulation rate. These results indicate that Grx5 plays a predominant role within feline host and the external environmental stage of sporulation, which of these is likely to provide a crucial molecular target for developing a transmission-blocking vaccine. Full article

Lactylation serves as a vital link between cellular metabolism and epigenetic regulation and plays a pivotal role in muscle biology. Muscle tissue is the primary site of lactate production; its unique metabolic environment confers dynamism, specificity and functional diversity for lactylation. Under physiological conditions, lactylation regulates myocyte energy metabolism, proliferation, differentiation, and exercise adaptation through a dynamic “writer–eraser–reader” mechanism. In pathological states, lactate imbalance directly contributes to the progression of various muscular disorders. For instance, diminished histone lactylation during muscle aging suppresses the expression of genes critical for DNA repair and protein homeostasis. Aberrant lactylation is involved in the development of insulin resistance and diabetic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, lactylation exerts dual effects in cardiovascular diseases; it provides protection by enhancing the transcription of repair genes and simultaneously aggravates injury by promoting processes such as fibrosis and ferroptosis. Collectively, these findings underscore the importance of lactylation in muscular pathologies and provide a theoretical foundation for the development of therapies that target this modification process. As the regulatory mechanisms of lactylation have become clearer, precise interventions targeting specific modification sites are expected to open new therapeutic avenues for muscular diseases. Full article

Nanomaterial-based hole transport layers (HTLs) play a vital role in regulating interfacial charge extraction and recombination in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To improve PSC efficiency, hydrothermally synthesized CeO₂@MoS₂ nanocomposites (CM NCs) were incorporated as an interfacial buffer layer into a NiO_X/MeO-2PACz HTL. The introduction of CM NCs induces strong interfacial interactions, where Mo sites in MoS₂ interact with NiO_X, modulating the Ni²⁺/Ni³⁺ ratio and reducing the interfacial trap density. Moreover, CeO₂ promotes the formation of oxygen vacancies, collectively improving the conductivity and hole transport capability of the NiO_X HTL. The MoS₂-grafted CeO₂ interlayer effectively tailors the interfacial energetics and creates an effective channel for hole transfer, thereby reducing open-circuit voltage (V_OC) loss and enhancing device performance. This interface modification efficiently enhances hole extraction, and non-radiative recombination is effectively suppressed at the NiO_X/MeO-2PACz/perovskite interface. Thereby, incorporating 2 vol% CM NCs into PSCs achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.93%, compared to 17.50% for a 1 vol% CM NCs-based device and 17.01% for the unmodified control device. The enhanced performance at the optimized CM NCs concentration is attributed to effective defect passivation, reduced V_OC loss, and improved interfacial band alignment, which together facilitate hole extraction and suppress non-radiative recombination. However, excessive CM NCs incorporation (4 vol%) leads to increased interfacial resistance, partial hole blocking effects associated with the n-type nature of CeO₂, and aggravated recombination, resulting in degraded device performance. These results demonstrate that precise control over CM NCs interlayer thickness and concentration is critical for maximizing device performance, providing a robust strategy for designing high-efficiency and stable NiO_X-based PSCs and advancing nanocomposite-enabled interfacial engineering for photovoltaic applications. Full article

Metarhizium lepidiotae is an important entomopathogenic fungus with substantial agricultural value. However, prolonged subculturing often leads to phenotypic degeneration, including reduced conidiation and impaired metabolic activity, while the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Elucidating these mechanisms is essential for maintaining strain vitality and ensuring biocontrol efficacy. In this study, we found that M. lepidiotae exhibited a pronounced decline in conidiation during long-term serial subculturing. However, this degenerative phenotype could be effectively reversed by passage through insect hosts, leading to strain rejuvenation. Subsequently, comparative transcriptomic analyses were performed on the original strain (XMC-Y), the degenerated strain (XMC-T), and the rejuvenated strain (XMC-F) at 7 and 18 days of cultivation. Our results revealed that XMC-T initially compensates for defects in basal metabolism and signaling pathways by enhancing translational capacity, but progressively exhibits a profound collapse of RNA-processing systems and the translational machinery at later cultivation stages. Moreover, the significant downregulation of the peroxisome pathway indicates impaired peroxisome biogenesis and compromised reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolic capacity, suggesting a weakened antioxidant defense and a potential increase in oxidative stress. Collectively, these findings indicate that disruptions in RNA regulatory networks and oxidative homeostasis are strongly associated with M. lepidiotae degeneration. This study provides important theoretical insights for maintaining strain stability during large-scale production and agricultural biocontrol applications. Full article

Performance management systems (PMSs) in private secondary education are vital, and although several tried and tested public sector performance measurement models exist, limited private secondary school performance measurement models exist in South Africa. This study aims to empirically validate a South African tailor-made theoretical performance measurement model (developed from a systematic literature review of 220 articles) and determine the relationships between its key antecedents (Academic Excellence, Internal Processes, Learning and Growth, and Resources) and their respective sub-antecedents. Data were collected by distributing a hard-copy questionnaire to appointed coworkers at 12 schools in the eThekwini Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal, in Durban, South Africa. The schoolmaster’s permission and blessing were obtained, and a coworker was appointed to assist with the distribution and collection of the structured 5-point Likert-scale questionnaires. A high response rate of 89% (N = 274; n = 244) was realised. The data were tested for normality and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficients consistently exceeded 0.70), and investigated for evidence of model validity using an exploratory factor analysis. The data were normally distributed and not skewed, and the antecedents could be validated. The model showed evidence of validity, and the respective relationships between the antecedents were determined. Learning and Growth (16.46%) was the most critical antecedent, followed by Student perspective (15.51%), and Resource perspective (12.20%). The Internal perspective for academic excellence was, surprisingly, the least important (7.94%). The results show that all four antecedents are valid and should be used in the performance measurement of private secondary schools. Full article

The study investigates the impact of green shared vision and green intrinsic motivation on pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace, utilising Self-Determination Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. Despite the acknowledgement of a green shared vision as a vital organisational factor for sustainability, there is a lack of empirical studies that explain the psychological mechanisms that promote employees’ pro-environmental behaviour. This study investigated a parallel mediation model where green mindfulness and green intrinsic motivation successively mediated the correlations. Data were collected via an online survey from 154 full-time employees working in the private sector in Romania across diverse industries between October 2024 and March 2025. The hypotheses of the study were tested by using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that a green shared vision significantly affects workplace pro-environmental behaviour. Additionally, the study indicates a notable parallel mediation effect: a green shared vision promotes green mindfulness, which, in turn, fosters green intrinsic motivation, ultimately resulting in enhanced pro-environmental behaviour. The study underlines the significance of shared vision, mindfulness, and intrinsic motivation as fundamental behavioural processes supporting sustainability-oriented actions by organisations, based on insights from environmental psychology and organisational behaviour. Full article

The agricultural sector, a vital industry for human survival and a primary source of food and raw materials, faces increasing pressure due to global population growth and environmental strains. Productivity, efficiency, and sustainability constraints are preventing traditional farming methods from adequately meeting the growing demand for food. Precision farming has emerged as a transformative paradigm to address these issues. It integrates advanced technologies to improve decision making, optimize yield, and conserve resources. This approach leverages technologies such as wireless sensor networks, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, drones, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing to provide effective and cost-efficient agricultural services. Smart sensor technologies are foundational to precision farming. They offer crucial information regarding soil conditions, plant growth, and environmental factors in real time. This review explores the status, challenges, and prospects of smart sensor technologies in precision farming. The integration of smart sensors with the IoT and AI has significantly transformed how agricultural data is collected, analyzed, and utilized to optimize yield, conserve resources, and enhance overall farm efficiency. The review delves into various types of smart sensors used, their applications, and emerging technologies that promise to further innovate data acquisition and decision making in agriculture. Despite progress, challenges persist. They include sensor calibration, data privacy, interoperability, and adoption barriers. To fully realize the potential of smart sensors in ensuring global food security and promoting sustainable farming, the challenges need to be addressed. Full article