Search Results (433)

With the rapid development of networked cyber-physical systems, the coordinated control of heterogeneous multi-agent systems has attracted increasing attention in applications such as autonomous vehicles, robotic arms, and distributed sensor networks. This paper investigates the leader-following cluster consensus problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems over weighted cooperative–competitive networks with matched disturbances generated by linear exosystems. Unlike purely cooperative or binary signed networks, the considered network allows interaction weights to take arbitrary positive or negative values, thereby describing both the type and intensity of cooperative or competitive interactions. To handle heterogeneous agent dynamics and matched disturbances, a disturbance-observer-based distributed control protocol is developed for both first-order and second-order followers. Based on path-product-based coordinate transformations and Lyapunov stability analysis, sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee topology-dependent scaled leader-following cluster consensus under interactively balanced and interactively sub-balanced topologies. For interactively unbalanced topologies, a structurally selected pinning control strategy is introduced to compensate for sign conflicts caused by unbalanced directed cycles and ensure global asymptotic convergence. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed protocol under heterogeneous dynamics, weighted cooperative–competitive interactions, and matched disturbances. Full article

Construction projects are high-risk environments characterized by workforce mobility, fragmented operations, schedule pressure, and multilayer subcontracting. This study examines how team safety climate and workgroup-shared perceived organizational safety priority (shared POSP) are associated with construction workers’ safety citizenship behavior (SCB), and whether leader–member exchange (LMX) serves as a cross-level relational mechanism. Survey data from 391 frontline workers nested within 73 workgroups in Chinese building construction projects were analyzed using Bayesian multilevel structural equation modeling. SCB showed substantial between-workgroup variance (ICC(1) = 0.524). Team safety climate had no statistically credible total association with SCB (posterior mean = −0.018, 95% Bayesian credible interval (BCI) [−0.554, 0.507]), but was positively associated with LMX (0.368, [0.115, 0.620]); LMX was positively associated with SCB (1.373, [0.693, 2.126]). The indirect association through LMX was statistically credible (0.492, [0.124, 1.010]), whereas the residual direct association was negative (−0.523, [−1.075, −0.021]). Shared POSP showed a positive direct association with SCB (0.610, [0.158, 1.046]). The findings indicate a competitive mediation pattern and highlight the importance of combining safety-priority signals with supportive leader–worker exchange. Full article

With the increasing embeddedness of AI robots and other intelligent technologies in organizational workplaces, leader AI-focused attention has emerged as an important reference point for employees as they use and adapt to AI-related technologies. Drawing on work-related rumination theory, this study develops and tests an integrated mediation model to examine how leader AI-focused attention is related to employee proactive behavior through two parallel pathways: problem-solving pondering and affective rumination. It further investigates the moderating role of AI job role clarity. Based on structural equation modeling of multi-wave survey data from 514 employees, the results show that leader AI-focused attention positively predicts employees’ problem-solving pondering and affective rumination. Problem-solving pondering is positively related to employee proactive behavior, whereas affective rumination is negatively related to employee proactive behavior. In addition, AI job role clarity positively moderates the relationship between leader AI-focused attention and problem-solving pondering; specifically, this positive relationship is stronger when employees report higher AI job role clarity. From the perspective of work-related rumination, this study extends the explanation of the psychological mechanisms linking leader AI-focused attention to employee proactive behavior. It also provides theoretical insights and practical implications for understanding the boundary condition of leaders’ attentional signals in AI-related work contexts and for supporting employee proactive behavior. Full article

This study examines the influence mechanism of Chinese ethical leadership on university teachers’ salary satisfaction by constructing a moderated mediation model. We randomly collected questionnaire data from 958 university teachers in Gansu Province, China. Key results are as follows: (1) Chinese ethical leadership, trust in colleagues and leaders, salary satisfaction, and workplace mindfulness are significantly positively correlated. (2) Trust in colleagues and leaders partially mediates the relationship between Chinese ethical leadership and salary satisfaction. (3) Workplace mindfulness negatively moderates the link between ethical leadership and trust, with higher mindfulness weakening this positive effect. (4) The moderated mediation effect is significant, as the mediating effect of trust declines with increasing mindfulness. These findings uncover the unique pathway of ethical leadership in shaping faculty salary satisfaction and provide empirical evidence and practical guidance for university management optimization. Full article

Background and Objectives: Patient safety at hospital interfaces is shaped by organisational fragility, ethical obligations, and anticipated legal exposure. Reporting, disclosure, and speaking up have been studied separately, yet the way these pressures converge in ordinary hospital work remains insufficiently described. Materials and Methods: We conducted a qualitative study in a public hospital in Romania using semi-structured episodic interviews and the critical incident technique. Twelve clinicians participated: six nurses and six physicians working in intensive care, emergency medicine, general surgery, paediatrics, oncology day care, anaesthesia, obstetrics, and internal medicine/cardiology. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim in Romanian, anonymised, and analysed with the framework method from a critical realist perspective. A secondary cross-case coding of all 12 episodes was used for descriptive analytic displays. Results: Four mechanisms organised the material. First, local stop rules and cross-checks created temporary stability at fragile interfaces such as high-alert medication, patient identification, specimen labelling, and transfer documentation. Second, consent and confidentiality were repeatedly compressed by urgency, compromised capacity, public space, and family pressure; legitimacy depended on explicit reasoning rather than documentary completion alone. Third, speaking-up and near-miss reporting were governed by protocol-backed legitimacy, leader response, and the informal cost of interruption. Formal incident reporting was present in one episode, partial in one, and absent in 10. Fourth, documentation and disclosure redistributed accountability. Notes that recorded reasoning supported continuity of care, whereas protective opacity concealed near misses, infrastructural weakness, and interactional pressure. Documentation or disclosure pressure appeared in all 12 episodes. Conclusions: Safety in everyday hospital work was assembled through local barriers, moral triage, and selective visibility. Interface redesign, protected near-miss reporting, psychologically safe escalation, and structured support for urgent consent and post-incident communication would make transparent safety work more sustainable. Trustworthiness was strengthened through reflexive memoing by the physician-interviewer, an audit trail of coding decisions, comparison across professional groups, active attention to negative cases, and iterative assessment of meaning saturation at the level of explanatory mechanisms. Full article

Background/Objectives: Occupational stress is a prevalent issue in healthcare settings, particularly among nurses, and is often associated with increased levels of burnout and reduced well-being. This study aims to examine the relationship between occupational stress and burnout among nurses, with a particular focus on the mediating role of job satisfaction and the moderating role of self-efficacy. Methods: A quantitative research design was employed using data collected from 245 nurses in Saudi Arabia through a bilingual survey instrument incorporating validated psychological measures. Statistical analyses were conducted to test the direct, mediating, and moderating relationships among the study variables. Results: The findings indicate that occupational stress is positively associated with burnout and negatively related to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was found to partially mediate the relationship between stress and burnout, suggesting that reduced job satisfaction serves as a key mechanism through which stress contributes to burnout. In contrast, self-efficacy did not demonstrate a significant moderating effect in this relationship. Conclusions: This study contributes to the occupational health literature by highlighting the critical role of job satisfaction in mitigating the adverse effects of stress on burnout among nurses. The findings offer practical implications for healthcare leaders and policymakers seeking to design targeted interventions aimed at enhancing job satisfaction, reducing burnout, and improving nurses’ overall well-being. Full article

Background/objective: The Immunisation Agenda 2030, led by the World Health Organization, aims to ensure that people of all ages benefit from vaccination. South Africa remains committed to these goals, strengthening childhood immunisation largely through the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. However, despite progress, the number of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children continues to rise in some urban settings. This study sought to identify barriers to childhood immunisation in selected zero-dose urban communities in Gauteng Province. Methods: A qualitative exploratory–descriptive design was used to examine factors influencing childhood immunisation. Data were collected through seven focus group discussions and fifteen key informant interviews with purposively selected caregivers, community leaders, community health workers and healthcare workers involved in routine immunisation services at public healthcare facilities across the Cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo^® software. Results: The study identified multiple demand-side and supply-side barriers. Demand-side barriers included limited parental knowledge, lack of trust in the government and immunisation services, religious beliefs, migration, and perceptions of caregiver substance use. Supply-side barriers involved distance to the facility, negative healthcare worker attitudes, long queues and waiting times, and frequent vaccine stock-outs. These barriers collectively contributed to missed opportunities and decreased uptake of immunisation services. Conclusions: Childhood immunisation remains a critical and cost-effective public health intervention. The findings demonstrate the complex interplay of individual and system-level factors influencing vaccine demand, uptake and persistent zero-dose status in urban Gauteng communities. Addressing these barriers requires a comprehensive approach that strengthens community trust, improves caregiver vaccine literacy, and ensures accessible, responsive, and respectful immunisation services. Full article

As organizations globally pursue the twin transitions of digitalization and sustainability, whether digital tools inherently facilitate green objectives remains a critical debate. Drawing on Social Information Processing (SIP) theory, this study develops an affective–cognitive dual-path model, examining how perceived leader prosocial motivation catalyzes employees’ green innovation intention. Utilizing a mixed-methods design in China, we first conducted a scenario-based experiment (Study 1, N = 184) to establish internal validity, followed by a two-wave, multi-source field survey (Study 2, N = 428) across diverse industries to enhance ecological validity. Regression analyses confirm that perceived leader prosocial motivation positively relates to employees’ green innovation intentions. This relationship is mediated by green organizational identity and green mindfulness, underscoring the pivotal role of individual affective and cognitive factors in translating organizational green visions into employee innovation. Crucially, we reveal a critical signal interference effect: high workplace digitalization acts as a negative boundary condition that weakens the positive influence of leader motivation. Our findings highlight the necessity for leaders to cultivate and signal prosocial motivation to effectively inspire employees’ green innovation intentions. Furthermore, our study challenges the synergy myth of the twin transition. We provide critical insights for digital governance by revealing that excessive digital embedding can trigger cognitive overload and attention fragmentation among employees, ultimately stifling the organizational green transition. Full article

Mohandas K. Gandhi (popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi) has primarily been recognized for his work in developing the theory and practice of nonviolence (ahimsa) for the purpose of building a culture of sustainable peace. Although Gandhi’s writings do not explicitly engage such categories as negative and positive peace, peace and international relations, or pacifism and nonviolence, scholars in peace studies have nonetheless assessed his contributions to the evolution of the field. This article advances the study of peace by emphasizing the dynamic nature of nonviolence (ahimsa), which is inextricably connected to Gandhi’s vision of sarvodaya (uplift of all). It further argues that his approach to peacebuilding, grounded in the upholding of pluralism across civic life, offers a conceptual framework for disrupting hegemonic monolithic systems. Gandhi lived in a time when the concept of pluralism had not gained currency; however, his vision, rooted in the values of diversity and tolerance, can appropriately be understood under the now widely accepted concept of pluralism. Gandhi thus uniquely connected nonviolence, peace, pluralism, and sarvodaya. For him, peaceful co-existence mandates attention to diversity—an approach that can enrich contemporary conversations in a divided political, social, and religious landscape. As a political leader and social reformer, he promoted indigenous languages, diverse village industries, local economies, and multi-faith religious education. In his later life, he also advocated for inter-caste and interreligious marriages in order to mitigate communal tensions. Such attention to diversity offers a promising path toward realizing the goal of sustainable peace and sarvodaya in a contemporary landscape increasingly prone to monolithic systems. Sarvodaya inherently requires a commitment to pluralistic, dialogical, dialectical, and nonviolent engagement in all spheres of life. By emphasizing shared humanity and committing to diversity, Gandhi offers a social philosophy of respect for all life as well as uplift of all trades, languages, and belief systems grounded in the vision of welfare of all. His practical methods of engaging diverse actors, along with his radical efforts to disrupt autocratic, authoritative, and centralized systems, affirm that the objectives of sarvodaya and sustainable peace can be realized only through a radical pluralism. Full article

School dropouts remain a complex challenge for educational systems globally, with economic, social and psychological consequences for the individual and society at large. Evidence from the literature supports the high prevalence of school dropouts in rural communities, resulting in teenage pregnancy, exposure to drugs, and early marriage, among others. The study employed an exploratory approach to contribute to existing knowledge on the challenges of school disengagement through the lenses of community and peer-influence among high school students in rural South Africa. A qualitative research design employing semi-structured interviews was used, with a total of 20 interviews conducted (3 parents, 2 community leaders, 5 teachers, and 10 students, including dropouts). A thematic analysis procedure was employed for theme identification and analysis. There was evidence of a lack of community support in ensuring learners remain in school. Peer pressure was prevalent, given the influences and attachments students form with peers. This condition influences students to resort to drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, and early marriages as coping mechanisms for school dropouts. The overarching effect is a decline in academic comprehension, leading to school dropout rates. Parents and guardians play an active and collaborative role in discouraging practices that contribute to school dropout. Parent and community members must also be sensitised regarding the long-term negative effects of peer pressure and early marriage on education and future opportunities, especially for girls. Full article

Background: Employee voice, as a bottom-up proactive behavior, is crucial for organizational development. However, sustaining employee voice over time remains a shared challenge for both practice and research. Among various influencing factors, supervisor feedback, due to its central role in organizational interactions, serves as a key source of decision-making information affecting employees’ subsequent voice intention. Nevertheless, existing research predominantly focuses on the unidirectional effects of supervisor feedback, often overlooking the bidirectional nature of leader–subordinate interactions. In reality, the effectiveness of supervisor feedback ultimately depends on its congruence with the subordinate’s psychological expectations. Methods: This study integrates person–environment fit theory and role identity theory to investigate how the congruence between subordinates’ expected feedback and supervisors’ actual feedback influences subsequent voice behavior. Through two studies—a scenario-based experiment with 201 participants and a retrospective questionnaire survey with 212 participants—we employed polynomial regression and response surface analysis to examine four feedback congruence patterns. Results: In congruent situations, the “expected positive–actual positive” combination promotes subsequent voice behavior more effectively than the “expected negative–actual negative” combination. In incongruent situations, the “expected negative–actual positive” combination is more effective in promoting subsequent voice than the “expected positive–actual negative” combination. Furthermore, voice role identity mediates the relationship between feedback congruence and subsequent voice behavior, revealing a key psychological mechanism. Implications: This study moves beyond a direct antecedent framework by focusing on the congruence between feedback expectations and reality, thereby deepening the theoretical understanding of the dynamics of voice. By empirically demonstrating how congruent and positive feedback strengthens employees’ internal identity as contributors, it provides practical insights for organizations aiming to foster a sustainable voice climate. Full article

After major disruptive events, particularly natural and human-made disasters, community leaders face the challenge of rebuilding societal infrastructure and managing the allocation of funds, which can affect the duration of recovery periods. Decision-makers must quickly determine how to allocate financial resources while minimizing population distress. Conventional methods of assessing damage and evaluating relief requirements fall short of meeting the urgent recovery needs after a disaster, potentially leading to negative effects on communities, such as involuntary relocation and neighborhood gentrification. The study evaluates current methods and technologies to propose a new approach that leverages low-cost consumer drones and modern image analysis techniques to support initial damage assessments and track recovery progress, thereby promoting the dynamic allocation of limited resources. Using low-cost drone imagery enables rapid, cost-effective data collection and dynamic analysis through iterative reviews during the disaster response and recovery phases that can adjust baseline disaster funding allocations. The study investigates the potential of temporary blue tarp roofs (“blue roofs”) as a metric for recovery progress during the 2020 tornado in Middle Tennessee and conducts an R-squared and error analysis. The goal of this research is to evaluate an affordable and efficient data analysis method (e.g., modern image analysis; artificial intelligence; low-cost drones) that can improve post-disaster resource allocation and inform decision-making for governmental and planning officials. Full article

Integrated Demand Response (IDR) enhances the operational flexibility of Integrated Energy Systems (IES) and promotes renewable energy integration. However, limited interaction between the Integrated Energy Operator (IEO) and users during actual energy transactions can lead to biases in IDR planning, compromising user response effectiveness. To address this, this paper proposes a method for revising IDR stimulus parameters in IES based on gradient descent within a Stackelberg game framework. First, an IDR model based on consumer psychology principles is constructed to establish an IES Stackelberg game, in which the IEO acts as the leader and the load aggregator acts as the follower. Subsequently, during the game, the IEO utilizes users’ energy consumption strategies to adjust the stimulus threshold parameters of the dead zone and saturation zone along the negative gradient direction, thereby updating its decision for the next round. Furthermore, a response adjustment mechanism is designed to refine the IDR plan, enhancing its feasibility. Finally, comparative analyses across diverse scenarios demonstrate that the proposed method reduces deviations in planned IDR, thereby enhancing the low-carbon performance and renewable energy integration capacity of IES. Full article

The hotel industry is widely induced by emotional transactions between frontline employees and their guests leading to unintentional transfer of emotions, a phenomenon known as emotional contagion (EC). EC can result in positive or negative outcomes in the workplace influencing employees’ well-being and performance. This research paper explored direct effects of emotional contagion (EC) on (H1) employees’ well-being (PW), (H2) job performance (JP), and (H3) turnover intention (IL). Based on the affective events theory (AET) and the social exchange theory (SET), employee’s psychological well-being was employed as a mediating factor (H6-H7) and leader–member exchange (LMX) as a moderator variable that might alleviate the adverse consequences of EC (H8). Cross-sectional survey data were collected online from 792 frontline employees. The proposed model was evaluated with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that EC can significantly weaken PW, which accordingly decreases JP and increases IL. Nonetheless, strong levels of LMX can alleviate these harmful influences, emphasizing the main significant role of LMX in regulating emotional dynamics in the service workplace. This study expands our understanding of how emotional mechanisms and LMX practices can adjust employee resilience, retention, and performance in the context of high-emotion service. Full article

Since the late 1970s, scholars began to develop effective school leadership models that enhance student achievement. Recent research over the past three decades has consistently shown that school leadership influences student learning mainly through indirect mechanisms rather than direct effects. The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize the major and emerging research on school leadership models and their indirect effects on student learning and to identify the critical pathways through which school leaders successfully improve student outcomes. This narrative review delineates and presents six key pathways by which school leaders promote student learning and counteract the negative effects of students’ socio-economic status. In addition, the review highlights what distinguishes successful school principals from others and the complexity of school leadership. Full article