Search Results (617)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds significant potential to enhance sustainable non-chemical agricultural methods (NCAM) by optimising resource management, automating precision farming practices, and strengthening climate resilience. However, its widespread adoption among farmers’ remains limited due to socio-economic, infrastructural, and justice-related challenges. This study investigates AI adoption among NCAM farmers using an Integrated Mechanism for Sustainable Practices (IMSP) conceptual framework which combines the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with a justice-centred approach. A mixed-methods design was employed, incorporating Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) of AI adoption pathways based on survey data, alongside critical discourse analysis of thematic farmers narrative through a justice-centred lens. The study was conducted in Tamil Nadu between 30 September and 25 October 2024. Using purposive sampling, 57 NCAM farmers were organised into three focus groups: marginal farmers, active NCAM practitioners, and farmers from 18 districts interested in agricultural technologies and AI. This enabled an in-depth exploration of practices, adoption, and perceptions. The findings indicates that while factors such as labour shortages, mobile technology use, and cost efficiencies are necessary for AI adoption, they are insufficient without supportive extension services and inclusive communication strategies. The study refines the TAM framework by embedding economic, cultural, and political justice considerations, thereby offering a more holistic understanding of technology acceptance in sustainable agriculture. By bridging discourse analysis and fsQCA, this research underscores the need for justice-centred AI solutions tailored to diverse farming contexts. The study contributes to advancing sustainable agriculture, digital inclusion, and resilience, thereby supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Full article

Pacific youth in Aotearoa New Zealand are culturally diverse and deeply rooted in their families and communities. Despite facing socioeconomic inequities, systemic barriers, and limited decision-making opportunities, they maintain a positive perception of health and actively contribute to collective wellbeing. This paper explores the strengths of Pacific youth and how these can be harnessed to mobilise community wellbeing and transformative change. Using Pacific research methodologies—lalaga (weaving) and talanoa—we integrate findings from three key sources: the Talavou o le Moana Pacific Youth19 Report (quantitative data from 1130 Pacific youth), the Pacific Youth Home and Family Brief (open-text responses on family life), and insights from a panel of Pacific policy, research, and community experts presented in a webinar. These resources were reviewed and woven together by a team of three Pacific practitioners and one New Zealand European researcher, all with backgrounds in youth health, social work, and Pacific education. The lalaga reveals Pacific youth’s collective strength, cultural identity, and deep sense of responsibility. Their resilience and leadership, even amid adversity, highlight the urgent need for culturally grounded, youth-led, and community-responsive approaches. Empowering Pacific youth as agents of change is essential for fostering holistic wellbeing and transformative futures. Full article

The Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) model has emerged as a foundational cybersecurity paradigm that eliminates implicit trust and enforces continuous verification across users, devices, and networks. This study presents a systematic literature review of 74 peer-reviewed articles published between 2016 and 2025, spanning domains such as cloud computing (24 studies), Internet of Things (11), healthcare (7), enterprise and remote work systems (6), industrial and supply chain networks (5), mobile networks (5), artificial intelligence and machine learning (5), blockchain (4), big data and edge computing (3), and other emerging contexts (4). The analysis shows that authentication, authorization, and access control are the most consistently implemented ZTA components, whereas auditing, orchestration, and environmental perception remain underexplored. Across domains, the main challenges include scalability limitations, insufficient lightweight cryptographic solutions for resource-constrained systems, weak orchestration mechanisms, and limited alignment with regulatory frameworks such as GDPR and HIPAA. Cross-domain comparisons reveal that cloud and enterprise systems demonstrate relatively mature implementations, while IoT, blockchain, and big data deployments face persistent performance and compliance barriers. Overall, the findings highlight both the progress and the gaps in ZTA adoption, underscoring the need for lightweight cryptography, context-aware trust engines, automated orchestration, and regulatory integration. This review provides a roadmap for advancing ZTA research and practice, offering implications for researchers, industry practitioners, and policymakers seeking to enhance cybersecurity resilience. Full article

In recent years, corporate perceptions of environmental sustainability have shifted from viewing it as a compliance burden to recognizing it as a strategic driver of innovation and competitive advantage, prompting a demand for effective sustainable design tools. Traditionally, tools like the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool have been used to evaluate environmental impacts, yet their complexity, cost, and retrospective focus make them impractical for driving early-stage, disruptive innovation. Although biomimicry has emerged as a promising approach, adopting this novel interdisciplinary design practice within a corporate setting requires significant resources and time, disrupting established processes. Therefore, the biomimicry Life Principles (LPs) tool, a guiding sustainable design tool of the practice, provides an opportunity to lower the barrier to the entry of biomimicry within a corporate setting and potentially increases adoption of the broader practice. This comparative study seeks to explore the creative potential, and practical value of the biomimicry LPs tool compared to the traditional LCA approach while exploring the intrinsic motivation of R&D practitioners to implement these tools within a virtual product redesign workshop. To derive our conclusions, we employed a mixed-methods approach comprising a 23-item survey designed to assess practitioners’ intrinsic motivation and perceived practical value of the implemented tool alongside an external evaluation of the creativity of all generated design concepts. Together, these methods provide empirical evidence of the biomimicry LPs tool’s potential to enhance creative output, require minimal adoption effort, and act as a catalyst for whole-systems thinking in sustainable innovation. These findings offer compelling evidence to support their strategic addition to existing R&D toolkits and workflows. By highlighting the efficacy, accessibility, and intrinsic motivation of R&D professionals to use biomimicry LPs, the results underscore the viability of this tool to streamline the integration of biomimicry design thinking into real-world workflows. As such, they represent a pragmatic and scalable pathway to catalyze broader and deeper engagement with biomimicry across corporate contexts. Full article

Retrofitting existing buildings is regarded as a main driver of decarbonization, yet retrofitting activities are lagging behind their ambitious goals. This study explores 86 German construction practitioners’ perceptions of organizational, policy, and social challenges to sustainable retrofitting and how those perceptions relate to age, attitude, and their interaction. The primary analyses used OLS moderation models with HC3-robust standard errors and ordered-logit models, which served as robustness checks. Across outcomes, more pro-environment attitudes were associated with fewer perceived challenges, and older practitioners (41–56+) reported higher barrier perception. The attitude × age interaction results indicate that the protective link of attitude was weaker among older respondents, which was significant for policy and social challenges but only marginal for organizational challenges. The model fit was reasonable, at an Adj. R² between ≈0.56 and 0.72 with acceptable diagnostics. Our results suggest that even motivated professionals can feel constrained, especially among older, senior staff. Practical implications include early tenant engagement to enhance acceptance and foster internal organizational sustainability capacities. Policy instruments such as adult education programmes need to be leveraged to enhance sustainable construction capabilities and reinforce attitudes and behaviours toward sustainable retrofitting. More salient policy communications and guidance can contribute to increasing sustainability orientation and reducing perceived trade-offs with economic goals. Full article

Optimal recovery supports health and enhances performance in soccer players, yet the empirical evidence on various recovery strategies in soccer is complex to interpret. This review aimed to summarize the literature on post-exercise recovery modalities in male and female soccer players of all ages and competition levels. Following PRISMA guidelines, PubMed, SPORTDiscuss, and Web of Science were systematically searched until 17 October 2023. Randomized controlled trials or within-subjects crossover design studies that examined the effects of post-exercise recovery interventions on physical, psychological, or performance outcomes in soccer players were included. A single reviewer extracted data and assessed study quality using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Overall, 41 studies were included in the final review. The recovery strategies represented in these studies were organized into the following categories: active recovery, blood flow restriction, cold water immersion, contrast water therapy, compression garments, active cool-down, cryotherapy, cold garments, sleep and daytime nap, pneumatic cooling, foam rolling, mindfulness interventions, nutritional intervention, and static stretching. The findings demonstrated that cold-water immersion consistently improved jump performance and perceptions of fatigue, soreness, and overall well-being. Other recovery strategies, such as active recovery, compression therapy, sleep interventions, and nutrition supplementation, also positively impacted recovery, albeit with varying levels of effectiveness and evidence. However, the studies exhibited heterogeneity in methods, outcome measures, and recovery intervention protocols, posing challenges for generalizability. This review summarizes recovery strategies for soccer players, emphasizing the need for practitioners, coaches, and athletes to individualize interventions based on athletes’ needs, preferences, and competition level. Full article

Background: Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by dental practitioners is a significant problem in low- and middle-income settings, such as India, where there are no guidelines for dental prescribing. This study aims to report, in a step-by-step process, the co-development of a computer-based stewardship educational intervention with Indian stakeholders to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by primary care dental practitioners in India. Methods: The development process of our intervention was guided by the Medical Research Council framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. In alignment with the framework’s core elements, a co-production research approach was employed. Engagement with local stakeholders, including primary care dental practitioners, academic dentists, and those from the Indian Dental Association, facilitated the development of a contextually appropriate intervention that was informed by a prior needs assessment (a systematic review and a policy document analysis conducted in India) and evidence from global literature. The intervention was refined through iterative feedback from stakeholders and pre-testing. Results: An educational antibiotic stewardship intervention was co-developed in collaboration with stakeholders from Chennai, a major city in southern India. The final intervention comprised three components: 1. A one-page chairside guide summarising common areas of dental antibiotic use for easy reference in clinical settings; 2. A training module based on the chairside guide; and 3. A patient information sheet to facilitate dentists’ communication with patients. The intervention components were designed to be clear, practical, and contextually relevant, with the potential to enhance clinical decision-making and promote evidence-based antibiotic prescribing practices. Conclusions: This research paper describes, in a structured manner, how an educational antibiotic stewardship intervention for dental practitioners in India was co-developed by researchers and local stakeholders. Further feasibility testing is required to address uncertainties identified at the conclusion of the development process, including those related to dentists’ perceptions of the intervention, the utility of the intervention tools, and prescription recording. Full article

Artificial intelligence is transforming industrial marketing by reshaping processes, decision-making, and inter-firm relationships. However, research remains fragmented, with limited evidence on how adoption drivers create new capabilities and sustainability outcomes. This study develops and empirically validates an integrated framework that combines technology, organization, environment, user acceptance, resource-based perspectives, dynamic capabilities, and explainability. A convergent mixed-methods design was applied, combining survey data from industrial firms with thematic analysis of practitioner insights. The findings show that technological readiness, organizational commitment, environmental pressures, and user perceptions jointly determine adoption breadth and depth, which in turn foster marketing capabilities linked to measurable improvements. These include shorter quotation cycles, reduced energy consumption, improved forecasting accuracy, and the introduction of carbon-based pricing mechanisms. Qualitative evidence further indicates that explainability and human–machine collaboration are decisive for trust and practical use, while sustainability-oriented investments act as catalysts for long-term transformation. The study provides the first empirical integration of adoption drivers, capability building, and sustainability outcomes in industrial marketing. By demonstrating that artificial intelligence advances competitiveness and sustainability simultaneously, it positions marketing as a strategic lever in the transition toward digitally enabled and environmentally responsible industrial economies. We also provide a simplified mapping of theoretical lenses, detail B2B-specific scale adaptations, and discuss environmental trade-offs of AI use. Given the convenience/snowball design, estimates should be read as upper-bound effects for mixed-maturity populations; robustness checks (stratification and simple reweighting) confirm sign and significance. Full article

Introduction: Oral health problems are prevalent among people receiving palliative care, affecting their quality of life. However, little is known about dental practitioners’ perspectives in this setting. Thus, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of public dental practitioners regarding the provision of dental care for people who receive palliative care. Methods: An exploratory focus group with 21 public dental practitioners, with a mean of 8.24 years of experience, was conducted in a public oral health service in Sydney, Australia. The focus group was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) enhancing quality of life in palliative care through improved oral health; (2) navigating the systemic and practical challenges of palliative dental care; (3) competent, collaborative, and optimised: a palliative oral care model. Participants highlighted the importance of oral health to quality of life while receiving palliative care. Nevertheless, there were several systematic and practical challenges to delivering appropriate dental care, which included competing priorities among clients, disconnects and gaps in care coordination with palliative care providers, limited training, and adapting treatment planning during appointments. Participants highlighted the need for a new model of care in the future that improved dental practitioners’ competence through comprehensive palliative dental training, included protocols to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, and optimised dental treatment planning and appointment scheduling. Conclusions: Public dental practitioners in this study demonstrated positive attitudes, but systemic barriers and limited training restrict their care provision. A palliative oral health care model for this setting should include palliative dental training, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and optimise dental treatment planning. Full article

This study investigates how perceived ESG influences competitive performance through green technology innovation, with a focus on the moderating role of digital transformation. Grounded in social exchange theory and extending stakeholder exchange orchestration mechanisms, the research proposes that ESG initiatives foster reciprocal stakeholder relationships that drive innovation and performance through specific temporal and cultural exchange processes. Using survey data from 453 Chinese green manufacturing enterprises, we applied structural equation modeling to test the theoretical framework. Findings show that all perceived ESG dimensions, environmental, social, and governance significantly enhance both green technology innovation and competitive performance. Green technology innovation serves as a key mediator, illustrating how sustainability initiatives create competitive advantages through innovation mechanisms. Digital transformation amplifies these effects across all perceived ESG dimensions. This research contributes to sustainability literature by introducing stakeholder exchange orchestration theory, validating perception-based ESG measurements in emerging market contexts, and demonstrating digitally enhanced social exchange mechanisms. For practitioners, the study provides resource-constrained implementation strategies and innovation-focused approaches essential to maximize sustainable competitive performance outcomes. The results offer empirically grounded insights into how sustainability practices can drive innovation-based competitive advantages in emerging economies. Full article

The growing challenge of disinformation in the digital age poses significant hurdles for NGO communication practitioners, particularly in engaging Generation Z. Low digital literacy among young individuals also offers an explanation for lower levels of civic engagement. This study explores young people’s perceptions of civic engagement and the effects of disinformation through qualitative focus group discussions. Eight focus groups comprising young adults were conducted to gather insights into their motivations, experiences, and perspectives regarding social and political issues as well as fake news combating strategies. Findings from this research will contribute to the existing literature on the relationship between youth, fake news, and civic engagement. The results indicate that youth primarily rely on social media for information, with Instagram emerging as a key platform for real-time updates. While participants recognise the importance of credible sources, many demonstrated superficial strategies for assessing reliability, such as evaluating the number of followers or brand reputation, which may leave them vulnerable to fake news. This tendency highlights a gap between formal digital literacy education and actual media consumption practices. Ultimately, the findings underscore the critical need for education and awareness to equip young individuals with the tools necessary to discern credible information and engage meaningfully in civic discourse, offering valuable insights for civic NGO communication strategies. Full article

Against the backdrop of increasing demands for the safety and longevity of the bridge infrastructure, this review synthesizes the recent advances in structural health monitoring (SHM) sensing systems. Carbon nanotube (CNT), piezoelectric, RFID, wireless, fiber optic, and computer-vision-based sensing are thoroughly explored and elucidated in the existing literature survey that distills their working principles, documented deployments, and anticipated research directions. CNT sensors detect minute resistance variations for strain and crack surveillance; piezoelectric devices transduce mechanical stimuli into high-resolution electrical signals; RFID tags combine location tracking with modular sensing and wireless data relay; and wireless sensing technology integrates sensor nodes with microprocessors and communication modules, which can facilitate efficient data processing and autonomous management. Fiber optic sensing technology, known for precision and interference resistance, is ideal for high-precision monitoring under strong electromagnetic interference conditions, and vision-based systems emulate human perception to extract geometric descriptors via image analytics. The comparative analysis reveals complementary strengths that guide practitioners in selecting optimal sensor suites for specific bridge conditions. The findings underscore the transformative role of these technologies in enhancing SHM reliability and suggest that synergistic integration with robotics and emerging materials will further advance future resilient monitoring frameworks. Full article

Significant time, money, and energy are invested in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) across Further Education (FE) colleges in England, with the aim of enhancing teaching strategies, sharing “best” practices, and improving educational quality. Despite these intentions, practitioner perceptions of CPD’s value remain mixed, highlighting concerns about the effectiveness of current approaches. CPD managers often face competing financial and operational demands, alongside pressure to comply with external requirements, resulting in CPD that is frequently instrumental, mandatory, and delivered through one-off events. These practices reflect a data-driven, prescriptive management culture that prioritizes measurable outcomes over meaningful educational experiences. Consequently, teachers are compelled to demonstrate compliance within a system where accountability is unevenly distributed. This medium-scale, multi-method practitioner research study investigates how such compliance-driven CPD practices divert attention and resources from genuine educational improvement. This study explores an alternative model of CPD rooted in teacher agency and enriched through engagement with the arts and aesthetic experiences. Drawing on surveys, semi-structured interviews, critical incidents, and narrative accounts, the findings suggest that this approach fosters more democratic, creative, and impactful professional development. In promoting teacher agency and challenging dominant power structures, this study offers a vision of CPD that supports meaningful educational transformation, with practical examples and recommendations for broader implementation. Full article

Aimed at vehicle trajectory prediction procedures, this survey provides a comprehensive review for intelligent driving from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Vehicle trajectory prediction procedures are explained in terms of the perception layer, core technology of trajectory prediction, decision-making layer, and scenario application. In the perception layer, various sensors, visual-based perception devices, and multimodal fusion perception devices are enumerated. Additionally, the visual-based multimodal perception and pure visual perception techniques employed in the top five intelligent vehicles in China are introduced. Regarding the core technology of trajectory prediction, the methods are categorized into short-term domain and long-term domains, in which the former includes physics-based and machine learning algorithms, whereas the latter involves deep-learning and driving intention-related algorithms. Identically, the core technologies adopted in the top five intelligent vehicles are summarized. As for the decision-making layer, three main categories are summarized theoretically and practically, decision-making and planning for cooperation, super-computing and closed-loop, and real-time and optimization. As for the scenario application, open scenarios and closed scenarios are discussed in theory and practice. Finally, the research outlook on vehicle trajectory prediction is presented from data collection, trajectory prediction methods, generalization and transferability, and real-world application. The results provide some potential insights for researchers and practitioners in the vehicle trajectory prediction field, and guides future advancements in this field. Full article

In fragile and unstable regions, entrepreneurship education is increasingly viewed as the path to economic resilience and youth empowerment. However, research indicates that there is relatively little empirical evidence on how entrepreneurial education promotes entrepreneurial intention and behavior, especially in situations of uncertainty and a lack of resources. This study explores this relationship based on a sample of 402 Palestinian university students and graduates, applying the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The study concludes that entrepreneurial education has a positive influence on students’ self-efficacy, attitudes toward entrepreneurship, and their perception of the entrepreneurial environment. Self-efficacy was found to be the most potent mediating factor of entrepreneurial intent, closely followed by attitude. Although intention is a good predictor of action, the relationship is modest, which illustrates a clear intention-action gap. The study also reports that entrepreneurial education indirectly affects actions by shaping environmental perception, and that its total influence on entrepreneurial action operates primarily through these psychological and contextual pathways. Furthermore, the availability of resources has a significant moderating effect, as students having strong intentions are more likely to act when there is a strong perception that sufficient support and resources are available to them. The research builds on the Theory of Planned Behavior and complements related work on the intention–action gap, by considering a combination of psychological and contextual influences. Additionally, it offers actionable recommendations for policy-makers, educators, and development practitioners working to realize youth aspiration in fragile economies through integrated, context-appropriate entrepreneurship interventions. Full article