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This paper discusses the implementation of integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (EC-iSTEM) education with children in birth-to-age 5 classrooms. It offers a conceptualization for EC-iSTEM, as well as a developmental trajectory in the form of the iSTEM Rope Model. It further highlights the intersection of EC-iSTEM education and the Reggio Emelia-Inspired Approach (RE-IA) as a lens for both viewing EC-iSTEM implementation with young children and as an area of needed research.

This paper uses a qualitative interpretive methodology, drawing from a wide array of theoretical and research literature on early childhood education and integrated STEM education.

Despite growing research and policy reports that advocate for the inclusion of integrated STEM education in early childhood classrooms, today there is currently imprecision in understanding what exactly “integrated STEM” means when applied to the instruction of very young children. This suggests a need for the creation of a unifying conceptual framework, as well as finding alignment with currently known pedagogical approaches to ground the work of birth-to-age 5 teachers and researchers.

This paper proposes a new conceptualization of integrated STEM education for use in birth to age 5 classrooms, as well as a systhsis of the current literature to assess the pedagogical linkages between EC-iSTEM and RE-IA. As the proposed conceptualization offered in this paper is new and research in this area is nascent, further empirical investigation is warrented.

This paper proposes a new conceptualization of integrated STEM education for use in the early childhood education field. It further synthesizes the current literature to assess the pedagogical linkages between EC-iSTEM and RE-IA, suggesting practice implications for supporting the knowledge and skill development of young children from birth to age 5.

The agricultural sector has experienced a transformative impact through the adoption of digital technologies, particularly mobile applications designed for farmers. This study investigates the factors influencing smallholder farmers' willingness to adopt digital application tools in Ogun State, Nigeria, focusing on the IITA herbicide calculator and Akilimo mobile applications.

Data were gathered from 572 smallholder farmers participating in the Zero Hunger project. This research contributes to the limited empirical evidence in Nigeria concerning farmers' willingness to adopt digital application tools. The study analyzes the effects of education, training, access to internet services, smartphone ownership, willingness to use paid applications, awareness of application tools and the cost of digital tools on farmers' willingness to adopt. Gender differentials in willingness to adopt were also explored.

The results indicate positive and statistically significant effects of education, training, internet access, smartphone ownership, willingness to use paid applications, awareness of application tools and the cost of digital tools on farmers' willingness to adopt. However, female farmers exhibited a lower willingness to adopt digital application tools.

Policymakers are urged to create supportive policies promoting basic formal education and provide effective extension services to enhance farmers' training. Additionally, efforts should be made to reduce the cost of digital applications and improve internet accessibility in rural areas. Encouraging female farmers to adopt advanced agricultural technologies is essential. Stakeholders are advised to raise awareness of digital application tools to expedite the adoption of agricultural technologies in the country.

This study will be helpful for the government to determine the state’s readiness for digital agriculture, it will help technology developers and agricultural technology startups to understand the factors determining farmers willingness to adopt digital application tools.

This study offers insights into the readiness of Ogun State, Nigeria, for digital agriculture. It provides valuable information for technology developers and agricultural startups to understand the determinants of farmers' willingness to adopt digital application tools, contributing to the advancement of the agricultural technology landscape.

The purpose of this study was to explore the leadership competencies of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college athletes and assess the potential differences between domestic and international college athletes.

A quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed, including the use of an electronic survey to collect data. Survey research allows for extensive data management and a quick data collection method (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The survey was conducted using online Qualtrics software, which allowed convenience in administration, maintenance, nationwide distribution and data export and analysis.

The findings of this study suggest that domestic college athletes develop greater leadership competencies than their international peers.

The study implications include both practical and academic contributions. The research in the area of leadership development in college athletes has been growing. Previous research has focused on the benefits of the leadership development (Lewis, 2023); however, minimal research has been dedicated to exploring actual leadership constructs within the college athlete population. Moreover, this study focused on the differences between domestic and international college athletes’ leadership constructs. International college athletes go through additional challenges while balancing the academic part of being college athletes (Ridpath, Rudd, & Stokowski, 2020).

Minimal research has been dedicated to exploring actual leadership constructs within the student-athlete population. This study is the first study that explored leadership constructs from the quantitative lens and focusing on both domestic and international student-athletes. The literature on international student-athletes mainly focuses on the motivation arriving to the United States of America (Love & Kim, 2011) and their transitional experiences (Popp, Pierce, & Hums, 2011; Jolly, Stokowski, Paule-Koba, Arthur-Banning, & Fridley, 2022). However, limited literature focuses on the preparation of international student-athlete for life beyond their sport.

With the help of a quasi-natural experiment on Chinese policies, this study aims to understand the actual contribution of Smart City (SC) policies to the development of information and communications technology (ICT) in different cities. It also discusses the social and digital differences that such policies may generate, with a particular focus on the potential for exacerbating urban inequalities.

To achieve this, the study employs a principal component analysis (PCA) to develop an ICT development indicator system. It then employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model to analyze panel data from 209 Chinese cities over the period from 2007 to 2019, examining the impact of SC policies on ICT development across various urban settings.

Our findings show that SC policies have significantly contributed to the enhancement of ICT development, especially in ICT usage. However, SC policies may inadvertently reinforce developmental disparities among cities. Compared to less developed areas, the benefits of SC policies are more pronounced in economically booming cities. This is likely due to the agglomeration of the ICT industry and the strong allure of developed urban centers for high-caliber talent.

This study contributes to the related literature by explaining the role of SC policies in driving ICT development and by focusing on the often-overlooked impact of SC policies on urban inequality. These findings can provide guidance to policymakers on the need to recognize and address existing urban inequalities.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the latest directives of the European Parliament and the Council – MiFID II and MiFIR – on markets in financial instruments in response to the growth of dark pools in European equity markets.

This paper examines the impact of the new regulatory packages on European equity markets by identifying areas where the legislation is effective and comparing these changes in EU legislation with US legislation on dark pools.

This paper find that the MiFID II and MiFIR directives, implemented by the European Securities and Markets Authority to address these concerns, have reduced information asymmetry between market participants, thereby increasing competition between regulated markets and alternative trading facilities.

Increased competition can improve market quality, which has practical implications for financial market regulation and policy formulation.

These findings are novel in the existing literature on high frequency trading through dark pools. They improve the understanding of dark trading and its impact on competition and market efficiency. In addition, this research can assist policymakers in designing effective financial market regulation. The economic analysis of legislation also helps regulators assess the impact of new legal provisions on the functioning of capital markets.

This study investigated how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted cross-border acquisitions. Though literature suggests that cross-border investments decreased during the pandemic, there is little conclusive evidence on specific characteristics in the execution of particular acquisitions during such times. We applied the case study format to conduct our investigation by (1) providing a classification of influences on cross-border procedures and (2) highlighting critical characteristics during three phases of acquisitions, namely, search, negotiation and integration periods.

The grounded theory approach was applied to three in-depth case studies of German companies that acquired Japanese targets during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data were supplemented by information received through additional case studies of German subsidiaries in Japan and interviews with consultants.

Firms had already intended to acquire their respective targets, with their decisions having been made prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Thus, the pandemic had no impact on target selection in the case firms. Owing to travel restrictions, information exchange was limited which inevitably led to higher usage of digitalization. While several barriers led to delays in negotiations, prevailing mutual trust and assistance from consultants helped to reduce difficulties. During the integration period, we found delays in synergy creation and increases in remote communication. Nevertheless, the digital workflow improved the efficiency.

Our study provides novel insights into the execution of cross-border acquisitions impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We discuss new implications for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) research and practice for the post-pandemic era, focusing on German firms acquiring Japanese targets.

The complexity of contemporary societal challenges in emerging countries reanimates the necessity of collective action to resolve them. What is required is system change, namely, transformations in policy, practice, power relationships, market dynamics and social customs that underlie social and environmental issues. Technological innovations, paired with intentional social changes, might play a transformative role in this effort. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the adoption of technologies in social enterprises (SEs) and their contribution to achieving system change. It also addresses the effects of their hybrid nature on this relationship.

The analysis relied on data collected through a survey of the global population of Ashoka fellows, which is largely based in emerging economies. Three models were developed concerning different pathways to achieve system change identified in the theoretical framework. These were tested using Probit regressions.

The investigation confirms that technology can support SEs in navigating complex pathways to achieve system change rather than merely enabling linear scaling operational strategies. The pursuit of economic value creation, in conjunction with a social mission, decreases the ability of SEs to achieve system change. This is because the scaling paths which hardly create revenues are neglected.

The study conceptualises a multifaceted model of system change. It tests the framework empirically to show that SEs can adopt technologies to unleash complex system change processes to generate societal impact, on top of merely demonstrating linear approaches to scaling or replication. The paper questions the capacity of SEs to facilitate system change without appropriate financial support and the inherent tensions between hybridity and the depth of system change dynamics.

This study aims to identify whether green advertising and eco-labels influence the purchasing behaviors of organic products or whether the influence of such behaviors is presented through the mediating effect of the attitude and environmental awareness of millennials.

This study used a quantitative, correlational and cross-sectional design. A total of 430 millennials participated in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, distributed across five variables. It was applied to people outside shopping centers in the city of Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador. The results were subjected to statistical tests to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. The convergent and discriminant validity of the research model was verified through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. SPSS 20 and AMOS 24 were used for statistical analyses.

The study identified that attitude and environmental awareness mediate the relationship between green advertising and green purchasing behaviors, as well as the relationship between eco-labels and green purchasing behaviors. Furthermore, it has been proven that green advertising directly influences the green purchasing behaviors of organic products among millennials, whereas eco-labels do not.

This study is among the initial investigations to delineate the connection between elements of green marketing and the buying patterns of organic goods among millennials in an emerging economy. The study provides answers to earlier scholarly inquiries that proposed examining the correlation among the constituents of the theorized framework.

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar si la publicidad verde y las ecoetiquetas influyen en los comportamientos de compra de productos orgánicos, o si la influencia dentro de dichos comportamientos se presenta a través del efecto mediador de la actitud y la conciencia ambiental de los millennials.

La investigación fue cuantitativa, correlacional y con un diseño transversal. Participaron en el estudio un total de 430 millennials. El cuestionario constó de 20 preguntas distribuidas en cinco variables. Fue aplicado en persona fuera de los centros comerciales en las ciudades de Quito y Guayaquil - Ecuador. Los resultados obtenidos fueron sometidos a pruebas estadísticas para determinar la consistencia interna del instrumento. La validez convergente y discriminante del modelo de investigación fue verificada mediante un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio y Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales. Para el desarrollo de los análisis estadísticos, se utilizaron SPSS 20 y AMOS 24.

El estudio identificó que la actitud y la conciencia ambiental median la relación entre la publicidad verde y los comportamientos de compra, así como en la relación entre las ecoetiquetas y los comportamientos de compra. Además, se demostró que la publicidad verde influye directamente en los comportamientos de compra de productos orgánicos entre los millennials, mientras que las ecoetiquetas no.

Este artículo se encuentra entre las investigaciones iniciales para delinear la conexión entre los elementos del marketing verde y los patrones de compra de productos orgánicos entre los millennials en una economía emergente. El estudio proporcionó respuestas a consultas académicas previas que proponían examinar la correlación entre los componentes del marco teórico propuesto.

本研究旨在确定绿色广告和生态标签是否影响有机产品的购买行为, 或这种行为的影响是否通过千禧一代的态度和环境意识的中介效应表现出来。

本研究采用定量、相关性和横截面设计。共有430名千禧一代参与了研究。问卷由20个问题组成, 分布在五个变量上。问卷在厄瓜多尔基多和瓜亚基尔市的购物中心外分发。结果经过统计测试, 以确定问卷的内部一致性。通过验证性因素分析 和结构方程模型 验证了研究模型的收敛效度和区分效度。统计分析使用SPSS 20和AMOS 24软件完成。

研究表明, 态度和环境意识在绿色广告与绿色购买行为之间以及生态标签与绿色购买行为之间起到中介作用。此外, 已证明绿色广告直接影响千禧一代对有机产品的绿色购买行为, 而生态标签则没有直接影响。

本研究是最初探讨绿色营销元素与千禧一代在新兴经济体中有机产品购买模式之间关系的研究之一。该研究回答了早期学术研究提出的关于理论框架各组成部分相关性的探讨。

(1) This research aims to identify the relationship between authentic leadership (AL) and job engagement (JE) perceived by university teachers and (2) to investigate the relationship between AL and JE by the mediation of occupational self-efficacy (OSE).

This research is descriptive in nature, and thus, a quantitative research method is used to find the impact of AL on employee work engagement and the mediating role of employee trust and OSE. In this research, convenience sampling technique was used, a type of non-probability sampling method where the sample is taken from a group of people who are easily accessible. The sample chosen for this research comprised of 95 employees working at different universities in Bangladesh. Primary and secondary data collection methods are being used in this research. The data are collected from primary sources through questionnaires with close-ended questions.

The findings of this study support the previous studies Hassan and Ahmed (2011) indicate that the authentic behavior of leaders promotes healthy work environment that fosters the trust level of employees. When leaders are authentic, genuine and honest toward their employees and maintain transparency in an organization, it influences and motivates employees' work engagement. Furthermore, the results are supported by Hsieh and Wang’s (2015) research, which found that the relational transparency behavior exhibited by authentic leaders influences employees' self-efficacy (SE). When a leader openly shares ideas, opinions and clearly states what is expected from them, it will increase employees’ OSE and makes them more willing to get themselves engaged.

The limitations of this study were the shortage of time constraints, due to which a quantitative method was adopted to gather the data. The sample size was comprised of 95 respondents and does not represent the entire population of Bangladesh. To analyze the data, we have used the convenience sampling technique, which does not cover every sector of Bangladesh. Moreover, employees were reluctant to provide accurate data. This study is based on the perspective of university teachers only and does not explore AL from supervisors’ perspectives. Further research is required to explore this relationship from the perspective of both supervisor and employee. The sample size should be increased to cover the other regions of Bangladesh in order to represent the population. Cultural variables may also be included for future research purposes to examine the relationship between AL and work engagement because the culture of an organization determines the leadership style of a leader.

Despite the recent attention from government universities to develop the performance of public sector teaching staff, scientific public management research is developing unfortunately restricted (Osborne, 2016). Moreover, the findings of this study depict the importance to understand the constructions like leaders' authenticity that lead to the promotion of confidence in their employees and, as such, an increase in their JE and performance. In managerial implication, this study has provided useful information to the management of the private and public sectors. With this information, the management will be able to know how to increase the engagement and commitment of employees. This research will help academic professionals in public and private sector universities to know how AL style positively influences employees’ engagement.

This is an original work with practical value.

In recent years, the acronym VUCA has gained traction in strategic communication (SC) as an umbrella term that summarizes the recurrent challenges (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) of digital communication environments. However, an integrated reflection on how the VUCA dimensions facilitate a deeper understanding of specific digitalization challenges and how to navigate through these challenges is lacking. This article aims to explore and substantiate the descriptive (how) and prescriptive (how to) potential of VUCA for SC under digitalization conditions.

We first provide a systematic discussion of the four VUCA dimensions based on the general strategy literature. While their descriptive value is undisputed, prescriptive advice on how to respond to these challenges is contradictory. We substantiate this observation in a second empirical step based on problem-centered interviews with strategic communicators at the agency and corporate levels.

Our findings reveal that VUCA facilitates a systematic mapping of digitalization challenges consistently identified by professionals. The proposed strategic responses, however, remain contradictory at the theoretical and empirical levels. Hence, we propose the VUCA radar as a comprehensive descriptive and prescriptive framework.

The radar provides (a) a systematic overview of recurrent digitalization challenges to SC at the industry and practice levels and (b) prescriptive advice on how to navigate through these challenges by balancing contradictory strategic responses at the levels of vision, understanding, clarity and agility.