This paper aims to comprehensively define village social capital, assess its multifaceted dimensions in relation to farmers’ entrepreneurial decision-making, and investigate the mediating role of rural development. The research sample consists of 14,133 farmers selected through a multi-stage proportional-to-size unequal probability sampling method. Data collection was carried out using questionnaires as part of the “Chinese Thousand Village Survey” project. Empirical analysis was conducted using binary logit and basic linear regression models, supplemented by probit models and other robustness testing methods. The findings indicate that village social capital exerts a significant and favorable influence on farmers’ entrepreneurial decision-making. Controlling for other variables, a unit increment in farmers’ village social network, village social participation, and village social trust is associated with a respective increase in farmers’ odds of entrepreneurial decision-making by 3.96, 5.42, and 16.28%. Village social trust emerges as the most influential factor. Additionally, rural harmony and rural economy partially mediate the relationship between village social capital and farmers’ entrepreneurial decision-making. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between village social capital and farmers’ entrepreneurial decision-making, offering valuable guidance for farmers looking to leverage village social capital in their entrepreneurial endeavors. It lays a theoretical foundation for relevant entities to strengthen village social capital and cultivate a supportive environment for rural entrepreneurship. To our knowledge, this paper is among the earlier studies that investigate farmers’ entrepreneurial decision-making. Besides, the relationship between village social capital and rural development is rarely studied in the literature as two determinants of farmers’ entrepreneurial decision-making.

This study examined the variable relationships among four factors and school liking, controlling for gender, grade level, and maternal educational level. Repeated cross-sectional survey data from Danish public schools were analyzed across three measurement points (2015, 2017, and 2019) using multigroup structural equation modeling. Responses of students (Grades 0–3; ages 6–9), class teachers, and parents were analyzed in conjunction. The results revealed a strong association between adaptation to school norms and academic performance. Notably, girls demonstrated easier adaptation to school norms than boys, partly explaining the prevalent gender gap in academic performance. Furthermore, a positive association was found between classroom inclusion and school liking, indicating that socially marginalized students experience lower well-being. Finally, the parental community was associated with classroom inclusion, suggesting that strengthened cooperation among parents can protect students from social marginalization in the classroom. The findings emphasize the significance of students’ social skills for both academic performance and classroom inclusion, and also the importance of classroom inclusion for student well-being.

As artificial intelligence (AI) permeates almost all aspects of our lives, university students need to acquire relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes to adapt to the challenges it poses. This study reports the development and validation of a scale called the Artificial Intelligence Learning Intention Scale (AILIS). AILIS was designed to measure the different factors that shape university students’ behavioral intentions to learn about AI and their AI learning. We recruited 907 Chinese university students who answered the survey. The scale is comprised of 9 factors that are categorized into various dimensions pertaining to epistemic capacity (AI basic knowledge, programming efficacy, designing AI for social good), facilitating environments (actual use of AI systems, subjective norms, access to support and technology), psychological attitudes (resilience, optimism, personal relevance), and focal outcomes (behavioral intention to learn AI, actual learning of AI). Reliability analyses and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the scale has acceptable reliability and construct validity. Structural equational modeling results demonstrated the critical role played by epistemic capacity, facilitating environments, and psychological attitudes in promoting students’ behavioral intentions and actual learning of AI. Overall, the findings revealed that university students express a strong intention to learn about AI, and this behavioral intention is positively associated with actual learning. The study contextualizes the theory of planned behavior for university AI education, provides guidelines on the design of AI curriculum courses, and proposes a possible tool to evaluate university AI curriculum.

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has caused disruptions in various aspects of life and the economy, including the movement of stock indexes. The objective of this study is to examine the influence of macroeconomic factors on the volatility of the Jakarta Composite Index both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Monthly secondary data from June 2007 to December 2019 were analyzed to identify pre-COVID trends, while data from June 2007 to December 2021 were used to identify post-COVID-19 patterns. The analysis incorporated the Granger causality test, Cointegration test, Vector Error Correction Model, and Augmented Dickey-Fuller. The results of the causality analysis revealed variations in the impact of interest rates, global oil prices, inflation, and exchange rates on the Jakarta Composite Index before and following the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings hold significance for investors as they enable the identification of potential risks associated with investments during global crises.

This article examines secondary school learners’ motivation to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in relation to two contextual factors: school type and school location. Data were collected from 352 Polish learners who attended English instruction in general and technical secondary schools in a large city and a small town in western Poland. Learners’ motivation, conceptualized as a continuum from fully autonomous to fully controlled, was measured through a survey at two time points, 2 years apart, which provided an assessment of motivational change. The second measurement was followed by interviews with selected learners. Our results show that learners from general secondary schools in the two locations exhibited different motivational patterns, while those from technical schools were similarly motivated regardless of their schools’ locations. A decrease in extrinsic motivation over time was observed in both types of small-town schools. Based on these results, we discuss the implications for EFL pedagogy.

Excessive and persistent use of plastic bags has caused severe environmental impact in many developing countries and the significance of biodegradable plastic bags as an alternative solution is uncertain. Bandar Baru Bangi, the second township in the Selangor state in Peninsular Malaysia, has also been plagued with problems of plastic bag use where plastic bags cover 56% of the household waste. Selangor has introduced a plastic bag fee of MYR 0.20 to shoppers who requested for it, albeit the effectiveness of such policy in changing consumer behavior is still unknown. The objectives of the study were to assess consumers’ plastic bags consumption behavior in Bandar Baru Bangi, and determine factors influencing their willingness to pay (WTP) for an increase fee in using biodegradable plastic bags. A questionnaire survey incorporating Contingent Valuation Method was conducted to elicit the consumers’ WTP. The results indicate that majority of the respondents (83%) requested one to three plastic bags per shopping trip. They moderately agreed that their tendency for plastic bag use was influenced by other consumers in the surrounding and highly agreed on the impact of environmental campaigns. The WTP for biodegradable plastic bags was estimated at MYR 0.43 which was influenced by their age and education level. The findings suggest there is a need to revisit the effectiveness of the policy and revise proper intervention measures to reduce plastic bag use.