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Abstract Background Common genetic variation has been shown to account for a large proportion of ASD heritability. Polygenic scores generated for autism spectrum disorder (ASD-PGS) using the most recent discovery data, however, explain less variance than expected, despite reporting significant associations with ASD and other ASD-related traits. Here, we investigate the extent to which information loss on the target study genome-wide microarray weakens the predictive power of the ASD-PGS. Methods We studied genotype data from three cohorts of individuals with high familial liability for ASD: The Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI), Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES), and the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS), and one population-based sample, Study to Explore Early Development Phase I (SEED I). Individuals were genotyped on different microarrays ranging from 1 to 5 million sites. Coverage of the top 88 genome-wide suggestive variants implicated in the discovery was evaluated in all four studies before quality control (QC), after QC, and after imputation. We then created a novel method to assess coverage on the resulting ASD-PGS by correlating a PGS informed by a comprehensive list of variants to a PGS informed with only the available variants. Results Prior to imputations, None of the four cohorts directly or indirectly covered all 88 variants among the measured genotype data. After imputation, the two cohorts genotyped on 5-million arrays reached full coverage. Analysis of our novel metric showed generally high genome-wide coverage across all four studies, but a greater number of SNPs informing the ASD-PGS did not result in improved coverage according to our metric. Limitations. The studies we analyzed contained modest sample sizes. Our analyses included microarrays with more than 1-million sites, so smaller arrays such as Global Diversity and the PsychArray were not included. Our PGS metric for ASD is only generalizable to samples of European ancestries, though the coverage metric can be computed for traits that have sufficiently large-sized discovery findings in other ancestries. Conclusions We show that commonly used genotyping microarrays have incomplete coverage for common ASD variants, and imputation cannot always recover lost information. Our novel metric provides an intuitive approach to reporting information loss in PGS and an alternative to reporting the total number of SNPs included in the PGS. While applied only to ASD here, this metric can easily be used with other traits.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has posed formidable challenges to economic mobility and corporate expansion. Among these challenges is its pronounced effect on knowledge innovation, a cornerstone upon which many organizations depend. To re-establish the flow of internal knowledge, organizations are compelled to refine their knowledge management strategies and amplify employees’ motivation and eagerness to share and transfer information. This study delves into the influence of knowledge management processes on employees’ knowledge-sharing and transfer behaviors, viewed through the lens of the social exchange theory. It also probes the role of social capital in fostering and augmenting employees’ involvement in refining these processes. Data was gleaned from 30 information service firms in mainland China, resulting in 483 valid responses. Our findings highlight that both relational and structural forms of social capital positively influence the knowledge management processes, subsequently enhancing employees’ knowledge-sharing and transfer behaviors.

Abstract This study investigates the impact of strategic human resource management (SHRM) on fostering green innovation and enhancing environmental performance among employees in the Asia-Pacific region. In the context of intensifying competition in the industrial sector, it is essential to understand how SHRM influences employees’ innovative capabilities and their alignment with environmental goals. Our research suggests that effective SHRM strategies can significantly increase self-efficacy and stimulate green innovation, thus reinforcing the alignment between individual and organizational environmental objectives. To empirically test these hypotheses, we conducted a survey of 487 employees and used Smart-PLS 4.0 for structural equation modeling. This method allowed us to examine both the mediating and moderating effects within our model. The results indicate that self-efficacy mediates the relationship between SHRM practices and green innovation, while person-organization fit significantly moderates the relationship between green innovation and environmental performance. This study offers novel insights into how SHRM can promote environmental consciousness and innovation within organizations. By underscoring the roles of self-efficacy and person-organization fit, our research enriches the broader scholarly dialog on strategic human resource management and its environmental implications.

This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and factors associated with Food Insecurity (FI) and further quantify its association with unmet need for health services and health-related outcomes among older adults aged 50 years and above in Ghana. The Ghana Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health was used. Body Mass Index (BMI), depressive episodes, functional difficulties (FD), low Quality of Life (QoL), memory decline, and Unmet Needs of Health Services (UNHS) are the the study outcomes. Ordinary Least Square, and Poisson regression analysis modified with Mahalanobis distance matching within propensity score caliper weights were employed. Stata 16.1 was used to perform analysis and a p-value

Abstract This study investigates the correlations among perceived organizational support (POS), self-efficacy, knowledge transfer, and innovative behaviors of employees in the information service companies of Taiwan and mainland China using goal-oriented behavior and social identity theory. A structural model was built, and data were collected through a survey conducted in two rounds, two months apart, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate that POS significantly affects innovation behavior and self-efficacy in both regions, and self-efficacy plays a key mediating role in the research model. However, the relationship between POS and knowledge transfer was non-significant for mainland China. The study also reveals that the culture of knowledge sharing in the organization can promote employees’ innovation, knowledge sharing behavior, communication, and knowledge transfer. The findings imply that managers should provide organizational support to improve employees’ innovative minds and self-belief, particularly during the pandemic. This research fills a theoretical gap by applying Western theories in an Eastern context and broadening the generalization of the theory. It provides practical implications for improving the quality of human resources by suggesting that managers should provide organizational support to improve employees’ innovative minds and self-belief, particularly during a pandemic. Additionally, it contributes to the literature by examining how cross-cultural differences affect the relationships among POS, self-efficacy, knowledge transfer, and innovative behavior. This study also enriches the literature about employees in particular regions and their service innovation behaviors.

Abstract Maternal health is a major concern in Africa especially due to high level of maternal mortality in the region. A significant cause of high mortality is the unavailability of health facilities and preference for home-based delivery often carried out by unskilled health attendants. Reports reveal that 69% of young women in Nigeria opt for home-based delivery in Nigeria and some of these mothers lose their lives as a result of childbirth complications that are not properly attended to. This trend calls for urgent concern in the nation’s health system. Against this backdrop, this study examined the determinants of non-institutional delivery among women of reproductive age in Nigeria using the country’s National Demographic Health Survey [NDHS] (2018. Demographic health survey data. NPC and ICF, Abuja, Nigeria and Rockville. MD, USA) The data for this study include 12,567 of women of childbearing-age contained in the NDHS data. To analyse the data, the multilevel binary logistic regression was used to examine the determinants of non-institutional delivery among the women of childbearing-age. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence interval. The result revealed that 56.8% of women preferred to have their children outside health institutions. The findings further revealed that educated women including urban dwellers, women with some level of formal education, high exposure to news media, high level of income and women with significant level of autonomy were less likely to deliver their babies outside health institutions. Based on the findings of the study, that there is the need to expand educational opportunities for Nigerian women, enhance and strengthen advocacy, and utilise focused group discussions, family outreach programmes and peer education to educate mothers on the benefits of using healthcare facilities during childbirth.

Dynamic internationalization capability plays a significant role in the performance of Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the process of internationalization. According to the concept of dynamic capability, businesses need to develop and maintain capabilities by obtaining valuable knowledge from different sources, such as market environments and social networks. However, previous studies have tended to only discuss the development of dynamic internationalization capabilities from a single perspective and have failed to explore more comprehensive knowledge sources. This study investigates whether social network relationships and overseas market orientation (OMO) improve dynamic internationalization capabilities. Participants were collected from internationalized SMEs in Taiwan via purposive sampling, yielding 211 valid samples. Results show that trust and commitment have a positive impact on international exploration capabilities, OMO has a positive impact on both international exploration and international exploitation capabilities, and international exploration has a positive impact on international performance. According to the findings, this study has several managerial and theoretical implications. In addition, it shows that the classification of SMEs’ capabilities enables them to focus on resources, thus contributing to resource concentration and the reduction of unnecessary waste.

Abstract This study aims to analyze the role of health, education, energy and pollution in affecting productivity in selected emerging economies. Industrial share to GDP, trade openness and Information Communication and Technology (ICT) are used as control variables. Various dimensions of health and education are explored that include malnutrition, access to clean water, HIV, life expectancy and years of schooling at several levels. A set of Fixed Effect models provide evidence that all of the variables of health and education are critical for productivity. Further, the negative effect of trade openness calls for attention of the policy makers to work out the possibility of technology transfer through integration of economies so that productivity may be enhanced. Another dimension is to revisit the energy mix because the positive effect of energy use is offset by an increase in pollution. Public policy makers should understand the importance of public investment in necessary provisions for improving productivity, economic growth and ultimately the welfare of society, then it can make a difference.

With the impact of COVID-19, many university students may not be able to learn English in the physical classroom in a traditional way. Students' English learning effectiveness and outcome were threatened when English learning was forced to turn online. Thus, a variety of technological media and platforms to improve their learning outcomes are in need. Mobile learning (M-learning) that involves interacting with other devices through mobile devices and wireless networks can also be a solution to improve students' online English learning effectiveness. In order to explore the learning behaviors and attitudes of university students when learning English with M-learning, this study integrated technology acceptance model and Stimulus Organism Response model including the concepts of perceived convenience, curiosity and self-efficacy in addition to the original technology acceptance model to verify university students’ usage cognition and attitude toward English M-learning. This study disseminated surveys to 10 targeted universities/colleges and collected 1432 valid surveys. This study implemented Smart-PLS 4.0 to examine structural model and verify the hypotheses. Results indicated that perceived convenience have positive impact on perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and attitude toward using; there is a significant and positive relationship among perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude toward using and intention to using; curiosity and self-efficacy have positive impact on intention to using. Based on the findings, this study further provides abundant theoretical insights and practical significance on language learning.

Mass trapping of insects involves the use of specific traps or devices that are designed to attract and capture a large number of adult insects, thereby reducing their population in the agricultural environment. This approach aims at disrupting the breeding cycle and proliferation of the target insect to minimize crop damage and economic losses. This study evaluated the efficiency of three trap types (Ecoman, Tephri, and Bucket funnel) and period of the day (morning, afternoon, and evening) in mass trapping of live male Bactrocera dorsalis and the survival of such catch over a period. The traps were deployed on selected trees following 3 × 3 factorial experiments. All the Bactrocera dorsalis caught in the traps were males. Ecoman traps caught the highest number of B. dorsalis in the mornings and evenings while Tephri traps caught the highest B. dorsalis in the afternoons. There was no significant difference in the survival of B. dorsalis in the three trap types after 24 hours. Correlation analysis showed that climatic factors played a significant role in trap catches. Bactrocera dorsalis caught in the evenings recorded higher percentage survival in all the three trap types than those caught during the morning and afternoon. The Ecoman trap was most efficient in trapping B. dorsalis. Hence, this study recommends the Ecoman trap for mass trapping live male B. dorsalis meant for further experiments such as irradiation studies.

Quarantine policies introduced in the context of COVID-19 are affecting business operations and slowing down the flow rate of the overall economy. Different degrees and types of threats occur in both the living environment and the working environment during the epidemic prevention, which causes many additional uncertainties. The impact on employees is the identity threat from environment and organizations. This is different from the related research on the identification and impact of the threat before the occurrence of COVID-19. However, in the post-pandemic period, companies continue to strengthen important factors that can increase innovation and recovery, including the role of employee knowledge sharing. The organizational inequity and lack of organizational justice bring about the threat of internal identification in organizations. In order to ensure their own interests in organizations, employees may think twice when sharing knowledge. Therefore, this study explores the relationship among employees’ identity threat, social capital and knowledge sharing behavior from the perspective of organizational behavior. In this study, a sample of high-tech employees was conducted, and a total of 434 questionnaires were obtained. The research results show that employees’ perception of identity threat has a negative impact on knowledge sharing behavior and positively affects social capital; employees’ social capital positively affects their knowledge sharing behaviors; and organizational reward system moderates the relationship between identity threat and knowledge sharing behavior. Based on the comprehensive research findings, this research proposes corresponding theoretical and practical implications.

New product development provides a resource for enterprises to gain competitiveness, especially for enterprises that are exploring the international market. It is necessary to understand how the strategic behaviors, cultures, and capabilities of international enterprises are critical factors in improving innovation and new product development. From an external perspective this study argues that firms can facilitate the development of dynamic internationalization capabilities through knowledge acquisition in the organizational learning literature via social networks. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship among relational embeddedness, export market orientation, dynamic internationalization capability and new product development, as well as the moderating effect of learning orientation. This study empirically verifies its research framework from 217 Taiwanese internationalized enterprises. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to detect the relationships between the variables in the model. Many items must be taken into consideration regarding specific facet scales. Our research results confirm previous studies that indicate positive correlations between relational embeddedness and international exploration as well as export market orientation. The results also suggest that international exploration and international exploitation have positive effects on new product development. Learning orientation plays a moderating role in terms of the relationships among relational embeddedness, export market orientation, international exploration, international exploitation, and new product development. Based on the empirical results, research conclusions and theoretical implications are proposed.

The international strategic alliance in international marketing is international social network to realize superior performance. This requires firms to increasingly consolidate international relationship with foreign partners. Knowledge acquisition and integration by absorptive capacity (AC) as an antecedent for international strategic alliance is understudied. This study aims to explore the relationship between AC and international strategic alliance, and their impact on the international performance of multinational enterprises (MNEs). This study empirically verifies the research framework from 223 Taiwanese MNEs. In terms of structural model, researchers conduct PLS-SEM to verify the hypotheses in this study. The results confirm previous studies that indicate a positive relationship among AC, international strategic alliance, and international performance. The results also indicate that international explorative and exploitative alliance fits mediate the relationship between AC and international performance.

Higher education plays the role of cultivating talents in national development and meets the talent sources needed by the development of the state, industries and enterprises. Besides, for students, higher education can provide stimuli to improve the development of family and personal career. Especially for socioeconomically disadvantaged Students, higher education means the main factor for turning over the Socio- Economic Status. Universities endow students with abundant employment skills, so as to make them more confident in contending with the challenges in the job market. However, innate pessimism or negative attitudes and cognition may exist in socioeconomically disadvantaged Students, thereby providing effective learning context to improve their learning engagement. This study explores the influence on students’ career decision status from deep approach to learning, problem-based learning, self-efficacy and employability. A total of 627 valid questionnaires are collected in this study. PLS-SEM was adopted to verify the structural relationship in data analysis via SmartPLS. The results indicate that deep approach to learning and problem-based learning have significant impacts on students’ self-efficacy and employability; self-efficacy has significant impacts on employability and career decision status; employability has significant impact on career decision status; and that self-efficacy and employability play significant mediating roles in the research framework.

The competitiveness of a city is in the process of competitive development. This study uses the Spatial Dubin Model (SDM) technique to explore the influencing factors and spatial spillover effects of the economic competitiveness of 565 cities in Asia. The study finds that the factor spillover bandwidth affecting the improvement of urban competitiveness is primarily concentrated in the range of 1,000 km. Furthermore, with a maximum elasticity value of roughly 11.6%, a city’s spatial spillover effect is a crucial factor in selecting strategies for enhancing its competitiveness level. Financial services, industrial structure, and human resources all have an influence on the level of urban competitiveness. Therefore, in order to better improve the level of regional urban competitiveness, one is to improve the overall level of factors affecting urban competitiveness and enhance the competitiveness of the city itself; the other is to enhance the flow of factors between regions and make full use of the space of factors Spillover effects enhance the level of regional competitiveness; the third is to enhance the spatial interaction between regions and use the externality of urban competitiveness to achieve an overall improvement in the level of regional competitiveness.

The social network in the organizational learning process is a critical knowledge source to realize superior performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between relational memory, relational embeddedness, and absorptive capacity, and their impact on the relational performance of small and middle enterprises (SMEs). This study empirically verifies the research framework from 223 Chinese internationalized SMEs. The results confirm previous studies that indicate positive correlations among relational embeddedness, relational memory, and absorptive capacity. The results also indicate that relational embeddedness and relational memory have positive effects on relational performance. The findings show that relational memory plays a mediating role in the relationship between relational embeddedness, absorptive capacity, and relational performance.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, business managers are facing many challenges from a severe challenge. Many organizations have changed their original management mode and organizational behavior to improve employees’ organizational citizenship behavior, thus reducing their sense of anxiety and incapability. Thereinto, job performance of the employees also affects the growth and development of the organization. To explore how to fragment employees’ positive psychology and job performance, this study discusses the influence on employees’ subjective wellbeing and job performance from relevant factors at the organizational and individual levels. Also, to explore the influence of organizational support and occupation self-efficacy on job performance and the mediating role of subjective wellbeing during COVID-19, a total of 618 valid questionnaires were collected from all walks of life in 2020. Hypotheses were tested by structural equation modeling and Bootstrap technology. The results show that: (1) Professional self-efficacy and subjective wellbeing have a significant positive impact on job performance; (2) Subjective wellbeing plays a complete mediating role between organizational support and job performance, and subjective wellbeing plays a partial mediating role between professional self-efficacy and job performance; (3) Compared with the sense of organizational support, the positive effect of self-efficacy on job performance is more significant.

This study aims to compare determinants of health facility delivery for women under a health insurance scheme and those not under a health insurance scheme. Secondary data drawn from the National Demographic and Health Survey was used for the analysis. The characteristics of the women were presented with simple proportions. Binary multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the determinants of health facilities for women who enrolled in health insurance and those who did not. All statistical analyses were set at 5% level of significant level (p = 0.24). The result showed that 2.1% of the women were under a health insurance scheme. Disparity exists in health insurance ownership as a higher proportion of those enrolled in health insurance were those with higher education attainment, in urban parts of the country, and those situated on higher wealth quintiles. There is a significant difference between those with and those without health insurance. It implies that a higher proportion of women who enrolled in health insurance delivered in health facility delivery compared to those who do not. The unique determinants of health facility delivery for women under health insurance were parity and birth order, while unique determinants of health facility delivery for women not enrolled in health schemes were employment status, marriage type, and geopolitical zones. Uniform predictors of health facility delivery for both groups of women were maternal education, household wealth quintiles, autonomy on healthcare, number of antenatal contacts, residential status, community-level poverty, community-level media use, and community-level literacy. Intervention programs designed to improve health facility delivery should expand educational opportunities for women, improve household socioeconomic conditions, target rural women, and encourage women to undertake a minimum of four antenatal contacts.

A comprehensive analytical study to assess the performance level of industrial functions in the environment has become necessary at the present time. According to existing research, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant reduction in carbon emissions in 2020. Policymakers are focusing on the discrepancies and negative environmental effect caused by various industries during their routine operations. This study aims to estimate the performance level of energy in the context of the environment of the countries that are members of the European Union This evaluation is performed through a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, through which we have applied a non-proportional adjustment, taking into account the input of energy and its undesirable output. The DEA model allows dynamic assessment of sources in the field of measuring energy efficiency and its environmental effects. The score of measurement of efficiency lies between zero and one, which means China and Russia are awarded this score of one (1), which shows the highest level of efficiency in clean energy, while Bangladesh (0.19), Uzbekistan (0.09), Mongolia and Cambodia (0.06), and Kyrgyzstan (0.04) are at the lowest level of performance in clean energy. The results of the study showed that clean energy efficiency levels increased in all countries over the study period. The emission level of greenhouse gases in the first world countries was found to be better in the context of improvement in performance enhancement in the sector of the energy mix. Evasion score is measured as 365 kt of CO2. This score for NO2 is 280 kt and for SO2 is 82 kt, whereas it is 23 kt (0.24 kg/cap) of particulate hazardous matter. The higher performance level of energy yields a negative relationship with emissions of gases, with a significant number of 12% for NO2 in 2000, as compared to 13% for SO2 and 14% for PM2.5. Whereas PM10 has the highest concentration (18%). Public policymakers may enhance the facilitation system for better free trade and a result-oriented corporate environment to enhance the performance level of energy in the electric sector.

Background: Gene correction via homology directed repair (HDR) in patient-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for regenerative medicine are becoming a more realistic approach to develop personalized and mutation-specific therapeutic strategies due to current developments in gene editing and iPSC technology. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common inherited disease in the Caucasian population, caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Since CF causes significant multi-organ damage and with over 2,000 reported CFTR mutations, CF patients could be one prominent population benefiting from gene and cell therapies. When considering gene-editing techniques for clinical applications, seamless gene corrections of the responsible mutations, restoring native “wildtype” DNA sequence without remnants of drug selectable markers or unwanted DNA sequence changes, would be the most desirable approach.Result: The studies reported here describe the seamless correction of the W1282X CFTR mutation using CRISPR/Cas9 nickases (Cas9n) in iPS cells derived from a CF patient homozygous for the W1282X Class I CFTR mutation. In addition to the expected HDR vector replacement product, we discovered another class of HDR products resulting from vector insertion events that created partial duplications of the CFTR exon 23 region. These vector insertion events were removed via intrachromosomal homologous recombination (IHR) enhanced by double nicking with CRISPR/Cas9n which resulted in the seamless correction of CFTR exon 23 in CF-iPS cells.Conclusion: We show here the removal of the drug resistance cassette and generation of seamless gene corrected cell lines by two independent processes: by treatment with the PiggyBac (PB) transposase in vector replacements or by IHR between the tandemly duplicated CFTR gene sequences.

View of future time orientation is a cognitive construct about future time. This view has its unique work of motivation and effect on academic performance. Previous studies have only explored the influence that future time orientation brings to the learning process at a single time, and most of them focus on cross-sectional studies. To further explore the cross-lagged relationship for freshmen between future time orientation and learning engagement during different periods, AMOS 23.0 was performed for cross-lagged analysis in this study to explore the influence and effect among variables of different periods. This research was based on the theory of self-determination to discover the relationship between future time and learning involvement for freshmen in enrollment and the first summer vacation. In this research, there were 1,000 valid samples in the first stage and 840 valid samples in the second stage for the conduction of descriptive statistics, pair t-test, and cross-lagged analysis. The results show that: (1) for learning engagement, freshmen at the end of the first year have a higher average score than at the beginning of the first year. (2) View of students of future time orientation can affect their learning engagement of the future through self-determination of students. At last, we provide some suggestions as references for institutional research and future research.

The COVID-19 pandemic cropping up at the end of 2019 started to pose a threat to millions of people’s health and life after a few weeks. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to social and economic problems that have changed the progress steps of individuals and the whole nation. In this study, the work conditions for employees from Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Chinese mainland are explored and compared, and the relationship between support mechanisms and innovation behaviors (IB) is evaluated with a view of the social cognitive career theory. This study adopts the cross-sectional survey and purposive sampling to collect questionnaires. A total of 623 copies of a questionnaire from Taiwanese, 440 copies from Malaysians, and 513 copies from mainlanders were collected in this study to compare the three groups in developing employees’ IBs. Smart-partial least squares for partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied in the structural model to conduct a verification of the hypotheses and comparative analysis in this study. According to the findings, compared with employees from the Chinese mainland, the Taiwanese and Malaysian samples show more significant paths regarding employee employability, IB, prior knowledge, perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, and job performance. Our results will offer more insights and advice concerning theories of human resource.

The use of multiple media kiosks (MMKs) is witnessing an increasingly strong uptrend in 24-h chain convenient stores in developed countries. However, as the functions of MMKs intensifies and increases, how to retain consumers has been a topic that raises concerns of managers and researchers. In this study, we adopt the integrated technology acceptance model, which combines technology readiness and acceptance model with interactivity that serves as the moderating factor, with the purpose of discussing the relationships among all these variables and their impacts on behavior intention to use. Through the cross-sectional survey and purposive sampling, a total of 623 copies of questionnaire from Taiwan were collected in this study. Smart-PLS for PLS-SEM was applied in the structural model to conduct a verification of the hypotheses and comparative analysis in this study. The results show that all hypotheses were significantly supported; technology readiness has a positive impact on perceived ease to use and perceived usefulness; and interactivity also positively moderates the relationship among perceived ease to use, perceived usefulness and attitude toward using. Our results will offer more insights and advice concerning theories of service technology.

This study investigates the causal relationship between renewable energy sources and clean environmental economic growth among South Asian economies. This study comprises the panel data sets for eight (8) South Asian countries, and data start from 2003 to 2017. This study implies a Hausman test to identify which particular tests are more suitable and selected a fixed effect test and granger causality test for effective analysis perspective. Moreover, this study further relies on the panel vector error correction model (PVECM) test to suggest for long-run relationship existence among variables. Furthermore, the evaluation of the panel and the dynamic ordinary least squares regression shows that the production of renewable energy has compelled an effect on economic growth. While other sources of energy for instance, hydropower, geothermal, wind, and solar, have valuable and considerable influence on the economic growth of South Asian economies. The results reveal with these remarks the existence of positive associations among productions of renewable energies, energy dependence, and gross domestic product per capita. The obtained results reveal that renewable energy sources show a momentous effect on the economic growth of South Asian economies.

In higher education, student learning satisfaction is a significant predictor of learning that indicates the commitment students have to their learning and future academic achievement. The study combines the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to explore the psychological cognition and attitudes derived from students during their learning, discusses the pattern of student learning satisfaction enhancement from the aspect of process, and further understands the relationships among social support systems, interaction relationships, self-efficacy, generic skills, and learning satisfaction. In this study, 800 valid copies of questionnaires were collected from 12 universities through purposive sampling, and the structural model was analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that the relationships among all the constructs were positive and showed a significant effect; furthermore, the research results showed that self-efficacy and student generic skills had a significantly indirect effect in the model—specifically, a mediating effect. Finally, corresponding theoretical and practical implications were put forward based on the research results.

Unable to keep pace with the expectations of employers and societies that are constantly changing around the world, higher education policy and talent training have given rise to a gap between university education and employment. However, the higher education and industrial needs derived from technological progress have changed the development in country. This study aims to verify the learning method of Taiwanese vs. Malaysian university students and examines the relationship between teacher knowledge transfer and student employability from the perspective of a social cognitive career theory. In this study, 619 copies of questionnaires from the Taiwanese sample group and 443 copies of questionnaires from the Malaysian sample group were collected in total to compare the two sample groups in the development of student employability. The results indicate that teacher knowledge transfer has significant positive correlations with self-efficacy and a deep approach to learning and student employability, and the self-efficacy and a deep approach to learning have significant positive correlations with student employability in the Taiwanese sample. In Malaysia, except for the path between teacher knowledge transfer and student employability, all paths were significant and positively related. Finally, according to our results and findings, this study proposes several insights with practical and theoretical implications for future study.

The novel coronavirus disease that emerged at the end of 2019 began threatening the health and lives of millions of people after a few weeks. However, social and educational problems derived from COVID-19 have changed the development of individuals and the whole country. This study examined the learning method of Taiwanese versus mainland China college students, and evaluated the relationship between learning support mechanism and subjective well-being from a social cognition theory perspective. In this study, a total of 646 Taiwanese questionnaires and 537 mainland China questionnaires were collected to compare the two sample groups in development of students’ subjective well-being. The results showed that social capital and learning support had significant positive correlations with self-efficacy, student employability and well-being and self-efficacy and student employability had significant positive correlations with well-being in Taiwanese sample. In mainland China sample, except paths among social capital, learning support, student employability and well-being, all paths were significant and positive related. Finally, based on the conclusions this study proposed some suggestions specific to theoretical mode for future study.

Environmental/green marketing has emerged as one of the dominant paradigms of marketing in recent years. However, aspects, such as internationalization, the development of artificial intelligence, and stress from growing global competitive forces, have brought about changes in the way leisure farms approach experiential marketing with a significant environmental focus. In this context, the concept of relationship quality offers an opportunity for environmental leisure farms to understand how green experiential marketing impacts consumers’ perceived value and the ongoing interaction relationship. This study adopts a comprehensive perspective that includes green experiential marketing and relationship marketing that leisure farms use in order to enhance customer loyalty, and analyzes the effect of a series of elements inherent to customer psychic or personal needs. Seven hundred fifty-four valid copies of questionnaire were adopted in total. To verify the proposed model empirically, a survey of customers of environmental leisure farms in Taiwan was conducted. Structural equation modeling is conducted to examine the research hypotheses. The findings show that, overall, green experiential marketing has positive direct effects on experiential value and experiential value has positive direct effects on trust, commitment, and satisfaction. At the same time, trust and satisfaction have positive effects on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. In addition, attitudinal loyalty has a positive influence on behavioral loyalty.

Student employability is a key aspect of any university degree. The relationship between high student learning outcomes and high employability is a problem that needs to be addressed and improved by colleges and universities. Students with high employability can find good jobs after graduation and perform well in the workplace. Employability is associated with the success of university education, thus giving the university a good reputation. This study explores the development of employability, alongside teaching and student learning abilities to examine how these variables affect student employability. The study collected 442 responses to a questionnaire to investigate the relationship between pedagogy for employability, problem-based learning, absorptive capacity, and student employability based on a structural model. The SEM results show that pedagogy for employability and problem-based learning positively correlate to absorptive capacity; pedagogy for employability and absorptive capacity positively correlate to student employability. We then analyzed a case study teaching intervention strategy with 221 students from the school of management and discuss the differential results of all variables. Results showed that the test group was superior to the control group in each variable performance, indicating that the intervention strategy proved effective. Based on these findings, this study proposes suggestions for future research.

Previous studies have explored a multitude of factors influencing student learning outcomes based on various theories. Knowledge transfer theory was adopted to develop the antecedents of student learning outcomes in the complete learning process. This study aims to explore the conspicuousness between various factors within the structural model, such as knowledge transfer, student orientation, and absorptive capacity, by combining marketing and management concepts with higher education studies. This study takes Taiwanese University students as its research samples, and purposive sampling is adopted. A total of 873 questionnaires are collected in this study. PLS-SEM was used to verify the structural relationship in data analysis via running of SmartPLS. The results indicate that knowledge transfer and student orientation have significant impacts on students' absorptive capacity and learning outcomes and that students' prior knowledge has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge transfer and absorptive capacities. Based on these findings, the researchers propose feasible suggestions for related issues and future research.

The COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 has changed the conventional learning mode for most students at schools all over the world, and the e-learning at home has become a new trend. Taking Chinese college students as the research subject and drawing on the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) model, this paper examines the relationship between the peer referent, perceived closeness, and perceived control and the learning engagement. Using data from 377 college students who have used e-learning, this study shows that perceived closeness, perceived control, and peer referents in e-learning have a positive effect on the self-efficacy and well-being of students, thus improving students’ enthusiasm for learning. Our intent is to assist researchers, instructors, designers, and others in identifying effective methods to conceptualize and measure student engagement in e-learning.

The novel coronavirus disease that emerged at the end of 2019 began threatening the health and lives of millions of people after a few weeks. However, social and economic problems derived from COVID-19 have changed the development of individuals and the whole country. This study examines the work conditions of Taiwanese versus mainland China employees, and evaluates the relationship between support mechanisms and subjective wellbeing from a social cognitive career theory perspective. In this study, a total of 623 Taiwanese questionnaires and 513 mainland China questionnaires were collected to compare the two sample groups in terms of the development of employees’ subjective wellbeing. The results show that the Taiwanese sample had more significant development paths compared to mainland China employees in terms of prior knowledge, perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, employee employability, subjective wellbeing, and job performance. Finally, based on the conclusions, this study proposes some specific suggestions on theoretical mode for future studies.

Research on multinational inter-organizational relationships has demonstrated that the capabilities of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can be developed via partnerships, but at present, we lack studies that relate the development of such capabilities to the management of business governance structure. This study provides a new perspective on internationalized SME marketing strategies in the global context. Using a dynamic capability view of firms, the study develops hierarchical regression models linking global dynamic capabilities and governance structure. This study empirically verifies the research framework from 206 internationalized SME Taiwanese firms. The results confirm previous studies that indicate positive correlations between market orientation, learning orientation, and global dynamic capabilities. The results also indicate that the development of global dynamic capabilities impacts the choice of governance structure in firms. Our study suggests that internationalized SMEs strategically manage their autonomy and strategic options by choosing combinations of different relationship types while they decide to develop global marketing capabilities and global design capability, or both. The study also found that market orientation and learning orientation act as enabling mechanisms for building global dynamic capabilities.

The importance of organizational ambidexterity was stressed in different fields of management. This study was using a distinct method to measure the differences in the degree of ambidexterity to bridge the gap with the previous studies and to provide more insights in the successful management of exploitation and exploration. This study surveyed Taiwanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to test the hypotheses. We issued 1000 questionnaires in total and received 234 valid ones. Results indicate exploitative and explorative capabilities exerting non-linear effect on performance. Likewise, ambidexterity and its interaction with market orientation have positive influence on firm performance. This study used structural equation modeling to analyze data, as this approach is known to be particularly advantageous for the exploratory nature of this study. We also used hierarchical regression analysis to test interaction and moderating effects. The study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, we offer a clearer understanding of the complete concept of social capital, including inter-firm and intra-firm social capital, and how contributes to improving and extending existing exploitative capabilities. Second, this study outlines how market orientation can have different effects on an ambidextrous strategy that is adopted to improve Taiwanese SMEs performance.

The application of game elements of gamification in online shopping is attracting interest from researchers and practitioners. However, it remains unclear how gamification affects and improves consumer purchase intention on online shopping platforms, which still leaves a gap in our knowledge. To narrow this theoretical gap, a theoretical model has been built in this study. This model adopts cognitive evaluation theory to explain the impact of gamification elements on consumer purchase intention. Data was collected from 322 online shopping consumers who used a flash game to test their purchase intention after playing games. The results show that game rewards, absorption and autonomy of gamification positively enhance sense of enjoyment, and that it helps people meet their psychological needs, which ultimately affects the online purchase intention of consumers. This study is helpful in analyzing the factors involved in the successful introduction of gamification on online shopping platforms in more detail.

As the major concerns of higher education institutions (HEIs) are teaching, services, and research, this paper describes a region-wide evaluation of institutional performance in relation to universities in Taiwan. The evaluation was based on the perceptions of university professors regarding institutional slack and reputation, as well as internal and external social capital. The study sought answers to several research questions and adopted a survey approach. After choosing 30 universities of various sizes and from different regions, 926 professors were selected randomly as participants. Using PLS-SEM, this study confirms the influence of institutional slack, reputation, and internal and external social capital on performance. The results show that (a) institutional slack and reputation positively affect institutional performance; (b) internal social capital positively and significantly influences the relationships of institutional slack and reputation with performance; and (c) external social capital has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between institutional slack and performance. Concluding this paper, theoretical and managerial implications and suggestions for future studies are proposed.

There are a multitude of factors influencing student employability, with all previous studies basing their conclusions upon predetermined variables according to different theories and exploring the relevance between them. In this study, teachers’ knowledge transfer and market orientation—are put forward on the basis of the marketing concepts in order to explore the conspicuousness between various factors within the structural model. This study uses students from colleges in Taiwan and mainland China, and purposive sampling is adopted to acquire samples required for statistics. A total of 1,222 valid questionnaires were collected from Taiwanese and Mainland China students. The results indicate that knowledge transfer, market orientation and absorptive capacity have significant impacts on student employability, that the absorptive capacity has a positive moderating effect on the influence of knowledge transfer and market orientation on student employability. Based on results and findings, this study will provide suggestions for theoretical and practical implications.

Higher education policy and talent training are failing to meet the ever-changing expectations of employers and society in Taiwan, resulting in a gap between university education and employment. This study used social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to explore the relationships among self-efficacy, transformational leadership (TL), student employability (SE), and problem-based learning (PBL) in higher education institutions (HEIs). The analysis of 637 undergraduates from 16 Taiwanese HEIs using structural equation modeling (SEM) shows significant positive correlations among self-efficacy, PBL, TL, and SE, with PBL and self-efficacy as key mediators. Based on these findings, the researchers propose feasible suggestions for related issues and future research.

The combination of external new knowledge and organizational capability has become a cornerstone in the internationalized enterprises. Sources of knowledge acquisition are among the most valuable resources that an internationalized firm can achieve competitive advantage. This study aims to explore this phenomenon between knowledge sources and competitive advantage in the context of internationalized small and medium enterprises (SMEs) mainly by a quantitative approach. Based on contextual nature of resource–capability–competitive, absorptive capacity has long been a critical construct in organizational studies, as well as referring relational embeddedness as potential drivers of absorptive capacity, which is moderated by learning orientation. This study also investigates the mediating effect of absorptive capacity in terms of knowledge absorption and integration on international competitive advantage. To gain insights and provide essential implications for internationalized SMEs from the global economy, this study adopted purposive sampling to collect 211 valid responses. Via the partial least-squares structural modeling, the relationships among relational embeddedness, potential and realized absorptive capacity, and competitive advantage were measured. The results suggest that relational embeddedness positively influences potential and realized absorptive capacity with moderating effect of learning orientation. Potential and realized absorptive capacities have full mediating effect between relational embeddedness and competitive advantage. This study concludes insights and implications for research and practice.

Higher education, which has the function of cultivating human capital, has already become a key focus of developed countries around the world. From ministries of education to higher education institutions, many bodies are dedicated to enhancing student learning outcomes. However, social and educational problems derived from disadvantaged groups have long been hindering the development of individuals and the whole country. This study examines the learning motivations of economically disadvantaged versus non-disadvantaged college students and evaluates the relationship between learning modes and learning outcomes from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective. In this study, 817 valid questionnaires were collected to compare the two sample groups in terms of learning path. The results show that non-economically disadvantaged students have superior outcomes compared to disadvantaged students in terms of role identity, academic identity, explorative learning, exploitative learning, and cognitive and non-cognitive gains. In regard to path analysis, economically disadvantaged students are significantly superior to non-disadvantaged students in the face of positive influence of academic identity on different learning modes and positive influence of explorative learning on cognitive and non-cognitive gains. Finally, based on the conclusions, this study proposes some suggestions specific to theoretical mode for future study.

Background: Short-term medical missions prevail as the most common form of international medical volunteerism, but they are ill-suited for medical education and training local providers in resource-limited settings. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a longitudinal educational program in training clinicians how to perform point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in resource-limited clinics. Design: A retrospective study of a four-month POCUS training program was conducted with clinicians from a rural hospital in Haiti. The model included one-on-one, in-person POCUS teaching sessions by volunteer instructors from the United States and Europe. The Haitian trainees were assessed at the start of the program and at its conclusion by a direct objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), administered by the visiting instructors, with similar pre- and post- program ultrasound competency assessments. Results: Post-intervention, a significant improvement in POCUS competency was observed across six different fundamental areas of ultrasound (p < 0.0001). According to our objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), the mean assessment score increased from 0.47 to 1.68 out of a maximum score of 2 points, and each trainee showed significant overall improvement in POCUS competency independent of the initial competency pre-training (p < 0.005). There was a statistically significant improvement in POCUS application for five of the six medically relevant assessment categories tested. Conclusion: Our results provide a proof-of-concept for the longitudinal education-centered healthcare delivery framework in a resource-limited setting. Our longitudinal model provides local healthcare providers the skills to detect and diagnose significant pathologies, thereby reducing avoidable morbidity and mortality at little or no addition cost or risk to the patient. Furthermore, training local physicians obviates the need for frequent volunteering trips, saving costs in healthcare training and delivery.

Higher education policy and manpower training have failed to meet the requirement of rapidly changing society and employers’ expectation in Taiwan, resulting in a significant gap between university education and employment. Student employability should also be a focus of all higher education institutions, although whether a high degree of student learning outcomes can represent a high degree of student employability is still unclear. This study explores the relationships among pedagogy for employability, the problem-based teaching mode, absorptive capacity, and student employability in higher education institutions (HEIs). Based on analysis of a total sample of 553 undergraduates from 16 Taiwanese HEIs using structural equation modeling, the results show that the influences of pedagogy for employability and the problem-based teaching mode on absorptive capacity and student employability are positively statistically significant. Based on the findings, specific suggestions and managerial implications for HEIs, curriculum and instruction planning, and future research are provided.

This study was conducted from the strategic marketing perspective to test the impact of brand relationship types on brand loyalty. We also test three path effects of brand love and brand trust. Data were collected from three metropolitan customers who use tablet PCs. We obtained 383 valid samples, giving a valid response rate of 89%. Data analysis was performed with SmartPLS2.0 and SPSS 23.0 to test the proposed model. The results indicate that an expressive brand relationship significantly predicts brand trust and brand loyalty. In turn, brand trust has a positive influence on brand love, while brand awareness and brand love influence attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Expressive brand relationship has two indirect mediating affects via brand trust and brand love, which influence brand loyalty. Finally, we suggest managerial implications and directions for future research.