Academic Literature Research Articles

Purpose Tourism and hospitality generate and face risks that undermine the climate and significantly impact employees’ careers and health, exacerbating their existing economic vulnerability. Despite their precarious situation, these employees can play a pivotal role as active contributors to climate action, contributing to saving the planet, sustaining the sector, ensuring its future and improving their circumstances as long as their challenges are recognized and appropriate interventions are implemented. However, employees and what enables or triggers their contribution have often been overlooked due to the predominant focus on tourists’ behaviors. This viewpoint aims to bring attention to this oversight, focusing on how to enhance employees’ contributions to climate action while mitigating their vulnerability. Design/methodology/approach This study is a viewpoint. It is based on the authors’ opinions and experiences, supported by both gray and academic literature. Findings At the moment, there is more emphasis on how tourists’ behaviors can reduce the contribution of tourism and hospitality to climate change rather than on how employees can mitigate climate change through their work. Climate change has adverse consequences for employees’ careers and health, which can be alleviated through heightened involvement in climate action. Though highly vulnerable, employees can play a crucial role in advancing climate action when their challenges are properly addressed. Interventions such as enhancing engagement, upskilling and fostering a sense of purpose are essential to empowering meaningful employee participation. Ultimately, climate initiatives are more effective when employees are recognized not as passive actors but as active contributors to sustainability. Practical implications This viewpoint highlights that employees are a key organizational capability through which tourism and hospitality organizations can reduce their impact on climate change. It informs managers, HR professionals and policymakers on actions to enhance employees’ contributions to climate action. Originality/value This viewpoint offers a novel perspective by shifting the predominant focus on tourists to employees in tourism and hospitality, highlighting their dual role as both vulnerable to climate change and potential agents of change. It discusses how climate-related risks threaten employees’ careers and health, and how strategic organizational support, particularly through a human resource management perspective, can empower their role in advancing climate action. By reframing the discussion, it expands the sustainability discourse in the industry and highlights the importance of employee-centered approaches often overlooked in current literature.

The paper focuses on the transformation of economic education in China in the first half of the 1950s, when Marxist political economy became part of the official ideology. Among Chinese professional economists at that time the majority had degrees from Western universities. The long-standing estrangement between Chinese “bourgeois” and Marxist economists hampered the task of smooth adaptation of old teaching staff to the new requirements. After a brief debate about the applicability of Western economics in China relates courses were excluded from university curricula. Mastering of the Russian language and Soviet academic literature by Chinese professional economists has led to noteworthy studies on the history of Russian economic thought. Imbued with a revolutionary spirit professors of the recently established People’s University of China have contributed to constructing a new model of economic education by comprehensively embracing the Soviet experience. The task was to move from educating a small number of experts in economics to the mass training of teachers of Marxist political economy, and to establish a collectivist educational system. It was not easy to connect Soviet political economy with Chinese reality when Chinese economists had not yet grasped the new theory, while Soviet experts did not fully understand Chinese specifics. The debate in the early 1950s about the factors of productive forces demonstrated the commitment of Soviet lectures to the Stalinist interpretation, which was not accepted by some Chinese economists. Successes in implementing the Soviet model were questioned within China as an unwanted manifestation of “dogmatism”. Through close acquaintance with Soviet political economy Chinese economists formed their own opinion about it, thus moving from copying to paying greater attention to national characteristics.

Purpose This research systematically investigates the main themes in international marketing and management (IMM) literature published between 1983 and March 2025. Drawing on a comprehensive review of academic publications, it uncovers prevailing research trends and outlines a future agenda, with special attention to the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the field. A distinctive feature of this review is its focus on international selling, which serves as the lens for examining how AI is reshaping IMM theory, practice and research development. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on a dataset of 450 peer-reviewed articles sourced from 38 top-tier (Q1) marketing journals. These articles were selected through a keyword-based search strategy targeting titles and keywords explicitly related to IMM. The study employed a hybrid systematic review combining bibliometric analysis and qualitative content analysis, utilizing KH Coder 3.0. Techniques such as multidimensional scaling and co-occurrence network analysis were applied to extract thematic structures and research patterns. Findings The findings indicate a notable shift in IMM research over time, reflected in evolving topics, methods and theoretical approaches. Four main themes and eleven sub-themes were identified. These include (1) international management strategies; (2) market entry strategies – covering cultural distance, strategic alliances, Chinese market contexts, international joint ventures and cross-border acquisitions; (3) digital marketing strategies, with emphasis on platform-based sales and online retail and (4) internationalization and global expansion, informed by transaction cost theory, institutional environments and the roles of small and medium-sized enterprises and multinational corporations. Five emerging themes in the application of AI contribute to enhanced customer satisfaction, stronger engagement and loyalty, more effective co-creation processes, refined market entry strategies, deeper insights into consumer behavior and technological trends and improved performance in omnichannel retailing. Originality/value Unlike prior reviews that examine digitalization and international marketing in isolation, this study uniquely positions international selling as the central lens to explore how AI is transforming research themes, theoretical foundations and managerial practices in IMM.

ABSTRACT This article examines Qatar's evolving governance model as it transitions from a rentier, state-centric welfare regime towards a more participatory framework, integrating the private sector and civil society. Grounded in administrative-governance and collaborative-governance theories, the analysis tests four key conditions for effective state-society collaboration: regulatory coherence, inter-sectoral coordination, legal-institutional flexibility, and stakeholder inclusiveness. Employing a mixed-methods design, the study draws on 30 semi-structured interviews with policymakers, experts, and NGO leaders, complemented by a systematic review of academic and policy literature, and triangulated with legal texts and public project data. The 2020 Public-Private Partnership Law has spurred private investment, demonstrating that UNCITRAL-aligned regulation can strengthen performance legitimacy. Yet overlapping statutes, rigid contractual frameworks, and a charitable licensing model for NGOs continue to hinder adaptive governance. These constraints result in duplicated services, delays, and limited civic input-undermining procedural legitimacy in a non-electoral context. The article proposes policy recalibration through statutory harmonization, an NGO advocacy license, a supra-ministerial interpretive council, and institutionalized feedback mechanisms linking public input to policy outcomes. By situating empirical findings within Gulf political realities, it contributes to debates on collaborative governance in hybrid regimes seeking legitimacy through institutional innovation.

ABSTRACT University presses are deeply associated with and have close relations with their parent institutions, hence they operate under the imprint of the university. However, university presses are able to operate without direct obligations imposed by the university, yet in Africa, university presses are constrained by institutional logics that are holding them back from experimenting with new ways of doing things. While the relations with the parent institution offer some form and level of security, prestige, and benefits, institutional logics cannot accommodate university presses as they shut the gateway to reconfigure their production, distribution, and marketing processes. This is a dual position referred to as ‘golden handcuffs.’ Despite university presses in Zimbabwe being strategic business units, they are not autonomous from their parent, as the presses have largely been caught between the ‘cathedral’ – scholarly mission model, and the ‘market’ – business model in publishing scholarly books. The issue becomes even more critical in the endangered landscape of scholarly publishing in Zimbabwe, where the presses have lagged towards investing in new ways of doing things and are even more constrained in their capacity to do so. This paper explores the ‘golden handcuffs’ of institutional logics holding back university presses in Zimbabwe. Qualitative data were collected through the Delphi Technique with publishing experts through three rounds of interviews and document analysis. The key findings reveal that the golden handcuffs of institutional logics are largely evident in the policy and regulatory framework, and branding and governance structure, and the financial model at university presses. However, there is no sustained history on university press publishing in Zimbabwe, as the few established presses have low visibility and are even seemingly curtailing their operations.

The expansion of textual data, stemming from various sources such as online product reviews and scholarly publications on scientific discoveries, has created a significant demand for the extraction of succinct yet comprehensive information. While many methods have been proposed for automatic keyword extraction in unsupervised and fully supervised settings, effectively leveraging a partial list of known keywords, such as author-specified keywords or Twitter hashtags, remains under explored. This work aims to enhance both the effectiveness and scalability of semi-supervised keyword extraction. We propose a novel variational Bayesian semi-supervised (VBSS) method that builds upon recent Bayesian advancement in the field, replacing computationally expensive posterior sampling with variational inference and data augmentation. This leads to closed-form updates and substantial speedups, particularly for long texts. Our numerical results show that the VBSS method not only improves performance on longer texts but also offers better control over false discovery rates compared to state-of-the-art keyword extraction techniques.

Islamic finance is a financial system based on Islamic principles that emphasize justice, transparency, and the prohibition of interest (riba), uncertainty (gharar), and gambling (maisir). Over the past two decades, Islamic finance in Indonesia has experienced rapid growth both in terms of institutions and financial instruments. This study aims to analyze the role of Islamic finance in promoting national economic growth through intermediation, financing the real sector, and strengthening financial inclusion. The research method used is a literature review by analyzing reports from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Bank Indonesia, and academic publications. The results show that Islamic finance contributes to increasing financial inclusion, strengthening financial system stability, and supporting productive sector financing. The study emphasizes the importance of product innovation, financial literacy, and regulatory support to expand the role of Islamic finance in Indonesia.

Genome Canada has committed significant resources to ensure that racialised groups are included in its initiatives; however, specific equity considerations related to engaging these communities in human genomic research continue to require deeper attention and exploration. This scoping review aims to widen the frame of analysis concerning inclusive human genomics by undertaking a synthesis that includes perspectives from genomicists, decision and policymakers, legal experts in bioethics and leaders from racialised communities. We conducted a comprehensive scoping review using the Arksey and O'Malley framework to examine the equitable participation of racialised communities in human genomic research. Our goal was to identify the barriers preventing these populations from equally participating in human genomic research. The review focused on studies from five countries: Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand which have similar immigration patterns and have received racialised populations from from some of the same communities around the globe. These features makes studying these particular countries germane to studying the common challenges they face in human genomics research. Our scoping review examined both academic and grey literature, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO (inception to 11 June 2025), CINAHL (to 12 June 2025) and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (to 19 June 2025), as well as Google Scholar and OAISter (October, 2023). Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic synthesis guidelines. These included familiarisation with the relevant texts in the selected articles, generating initial codes using an inductive approach, reviewing potential themes and finalising the themes based on the consensus of the research team. The study identified key barriers and facilitators to participation in human genomic research among racialised communities. The first theme (exclusion) highlighted obstacles such as a lack of transportation, limited knowledge of genetics and distrust stemming from concerns of stigmatisation and health disparities. The second theme (diversity of positions) described varied perceptions influenced by cultural values and motivations, with preferences for transparency and autonomy in research participation. Finally, the third theme (equity in genetic research) outlined the limited use of community-based participatory models and biobanking, underscoring the need for more inclusive and equitable research practices to fully engage racialised communities. Future research should prioritise strategies of authentic engagement with racialised communities to enhance both inclusivity and equity in genetic, human genomic, precision medicine and precision health research.

ABSTRACT Previous academic literature has outlined the issues many current and retired male professional footballers face in their careers. Many agree that the pressures and expectations of playing professional football in England come with myriad physical and psychological challenges. Professional footballers must maintain balance in both their personal and professional lives, and there has been growing interest in exploring the experiences of professional players. The present research explores the experiences of a retired male professional footballer. The participant was recruited purposively and has over 700 senior first team appearances and has represented clubs from the English Football League Two through to the English Premier League. A semi-structured interview was conducted, and a thematic narrative enquiry approach was used to analyse the data. The semi-structured interview was designed to explore the participant’s lived experiences of playing professional football in England, the psychological challenges they faced both personally and professionally, and their coping strategies.

In the face of global population growth, climate volatility and mounting ecological pressures, agricultural science is shifting from traditional yield-centered paradigms toward integrated, sustainable development models. This study employs CiteSpace (version 6.1.5) to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 1780 scholarly publications on agricultural science research from 2000 to 2024, drawn from both the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. By adopting a systematic process of article selection as represented by the PRISMA flowchart, the dataset was refined through rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure analytical robustness. CiteSpace, a powerful visualization and analysis tool, and VOSviewer were used to conduct keyword co-occurrence mapping, cluster analysis, temporal evolution modeling and institutional collaboration analysis. The results reveal three dominant global research themes: climate change adaptation, agricultural system resilience and technological innovation. Global trends augment precision agriculture, carbon management and digitalization. Chinese studies continue to focus on yield increment and improvement of principal crops, underlined by the growing application of smart agriculture, ecological administration and rural revitalization policies. Institutional research finds Jiangsu University to be an essential node in China's agricultural science network. By synthesizing cross-regional, bilingual datasets, this study offers new evidence for the converging but also diverging paths of agricultural research worldwide and in China. Such evidence is supportive of the use of evidence-based policy making, academic strategy and innovative agricultural reform in the context of sustainable development. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

To evaluate the quantity and quality of global research on primary liver cancer (PLC) over the past decade, visualize research hotspots, and reveal trends in PLC research. A comprehensive search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection for academic publications from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2024. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze and visualize research trends and hotspots. A total of 1728 articles from 69 countries were included in the study, with China and the United States being the leading contributors. The number of publications related to primary liver cancer has increased annually. Major research institutions involved in this field include Fudan University, Sun Yat-Sen University, among others. A total of 11,001 authors from around the world have published papers; among them, McGlynn, Kokudo Norihiro, and Kudo Masatoshi published the most articles, while Llovet JM is the most frequently cited author in this field. Frontiers in Oncology is the most popular journal in the field of liver cancer, while Hepatology is the most co-cited journal. In recent years, terms such as "multicenter," "open label," and "safety" have gained increasing attention and development. Our findings offer valuable insights and references for the development of key areas in PLC and contribute to future research.

Virtual presence and tourist behavior in the metaverse: A systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis, and future research agenda.

The constant evolution of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) calls for the continuous monitoring of its developments and implications through a critical review of the academic literature. While DeFi holds promise for enhancing economic activity by expanding market access for enterprises and promoting financial inclusion, concerns remain that digital assets are primarily used for speculative purposes rather than for financing the real economy. This study employs bibliometric methods to investigate whether and how the current academic literature addresses the potential influence of DeFi on real economic dynamics. Employing bibliometric methods—including co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence analyses—focused on DeFi-related publications in the Economics and Business subject areas within the Scopus database, the study maps the knowledge base, author networks, and thematic trends and their temporal evolution, supporting regulators, researchers, and practitioners. The findings reveal that the integration of DeFi with the real economy has received limited attention in scholarly research. This highlights the need for further investigation into DeFi’s implications for financial stability, productive investment, and long-term economic growth.

Abstract In today’s world digital marketplaces like Reels, TikTok, and short-form content have redefined how brands engage with consumers, although with the emerging popularity and influence of Reels and TikToks there is still a question of their long-term effectiveness and driving loyalty towards brands. This study uses a qualitative and descriptive approach based on both original (primary) data collected through online surveys and secondary data. The secondary data was collected from academic literature, reports, and real-world case studies. The prior research done states that short-form video can increase the engagement by up to 60% (Islam and Kabir, 2025). It is also found that creativity, consistency, and strategic planning are crucial for the success of a business (Dr. Rabia Noor and Huma Zafar, 2024), while factors like credibility and emotional connection enhance customer recall rate (Chen, 2025; Zeng, 2023; Liu, Yu & Yang, 2023). The study concludes that reels are effective for creating awareness regarding the product, especially for the younger audience. On the managerial front the businesses should focus more on data-driven content optimization, educational and value-based content, cultural relevance, collaboration, and networking.

The study assesses the effectiveness of multi-sectoral strategies aimed at ending child marriage in Kogi State, Nigeria. Utilizing both primary and secondary data, the study synthesized government policy frameworks, international reports, academic literature, and qualitative data from key stakeholders, including adolescent girls, community leaders, educators, and policymakers. Data collection involved purposive sampling, with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions analyzed thematically using NVivo 8.0. Findings reveal that several initiatives have yielded positive outcomes. Health-focused programmes such as the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week (MNCHW) expanded access to essential services in underserved communities, indirectly addressing child marriage drivers. Capacity-building initiatives, free medical testing, and life skills education, particularly under the Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID), enhanced women’s health literacy and autonomy. Educational interventions like the Girl-Child Education Support Programme (GCESP) improved school enrollment through scholarships, delaying early marriage among beneficiaries. Legal reforms such as the enactment of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law and the establishment of specialized courts have strengthened the legal framework against child marriage, while community-based awareness campaigns have improved rights literacy and social support for girls’ education. Cultural practices, such as the Ovia-Osese Festival, were also observed to reinforce norms that discourage early marriage, though concerns around human rights compliance were noted. Despite progress, challenges persist, including sustainability of programmes, funding limitations, inadequate infrastructure, cultural resistance, and uneven enforcement of laws in rural areas. The study underscores the need for sustained, context-sensitive, and scalable interventions that address the socio-cultural and economic root causes of child marriage. Strengthening cross-sector collaboration and ensuring community ownership are essential to achieving long-term impact. Keywords: Child Marriage, Kogi State, Intervention, Impact, Challenges

<b>Objectives</b> To assess the scholarly contribution, analytical rigor, and relevance of the monograph Morskie aspekty bezpieczeństwa i obrony UE; to evaluate the author’s argument regarding the EU’s developing but limited maritime power; and to situate the work within contemporary research on EU security and defence. <b>Methods</b> The review draws on a close reading and critical analysis of Teresa Usewicz’s monograph, combining assessment of its theoretical framework (principal–agent theory, maritime power, strategic culture), institutional analysis, and evaluation of empirical case studies (EU NAVFOR Atalanta, IRINI). Sources include EU strategic documents, academic literature, and policy materials referenced in the book. <b>Results</b> The monograph successfully demonstrates the EU’s strong regulatory and institutional capacity in the maritime domain and its leadership in maritime safety standards. It highlights the EU’s reliance on coalition frameworks, partner capabilities, and multilateral cooperation, while illustrating operational examples that confirm the Union’s limited hard-power projection at sea. Key strengths include conceptual clarity, precise institutional mapping, and original synthesis of maritime aspects of CSDP. <b>Conclusions</b> The book provides a valuable, well-documented analysis showing that, despite progress in strategy, regulation, and coordination, the EU remains a militarily constrained maritime actor lacking integrated naval capabilities. Its maritime influence relies on norms, multilateral partnerships, and capacity-building rather than hard power. The study fills a gap in Polish scholarship and offers a foundation for further research on EU maritime security, strategic culture, and capability development. <b></b> <b></b>

Abstract Applied linguistics has been showing increased interest in research ethics, including discussion of authors’ questionable research practices (QRPs). However, less attention has been given to how organizations may engender QRPs. To address this, here we discuss how neoliberal systems of academic publishing are implicated in QRPs. Through our collaborative autoethnography as two author-editors, we jointly explore such practices’ influences. Three key findings emerge: 1. journal reviewers’ and editors’ bias towards Anglocentric writing norms; 2. the influence organizations such as publishing houses, Ministries of Education, and universities exert over academic publication; and 3. metrification of research output leading authors to disproportionately focus on journal indexing. We argue that these factors hinder faculty ability to balance publishing, teaching, and administrative responsibilities. By widening the discussion concerning QRPs, we highlight how authors’ publication practices are influenced by external factors, pushing back on the narrative of individual responsibility for QRPs.

With the advances in digital information sharing channels, democratization of content, and access, as well as social shifts in information exchange, we live in increasingly complex information environments. How people process and manage this is layered with multiple determinants that can impact information seeking, health behaviors, and public health. Understanding the dynamics of the information environment in priority populations and its impact on communities and individuals is critical for those working in public health and health emergencies. This study aimed to provide an overview of the approaches to and implementation of information environment assessments as they relate to public health and health emergencies. We conducted a rapid scoping review of the approaches to, and implementation of information environment assessments. The search followed guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute on conducting systematic scoping reviews, and our reporting is in line with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines for scoping reviews. We included both academic and gray literature in the English language. As this is an emerging field, an additional step involved input from an informal expert group to identify any further tools or approaches. Studies that assessed, described, or discussed approaches to assessing the information environment were included. We excluded papers where the information environment was not the primary focus, or the focus was on individual components only. Two authors (BKW and SVM) independently screened results for inclusion. A total of 17 publications were identified through the structured literature and internet searches, with an additional 5 sourced from the informal expert group. The review highlighted a significant variety in the breadth and number of domains covered in an assessment, including information needs, seeking, access, production, engagement, information quality, and reach. Some assessments adopted a comprehensive, systems-oriented approach, examining factors influencing information beyond the individual level to encompass broader systemic dynamics, while others were significantly narrower in scope. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified interest in understanding how the information environment shapes people's access to, engagement with, and ability to act on health information. Assessing the information environment is a critical step in identifying and understanding barriers and facilitators that impact different populations and identifying opportunities for strengthening systems. However, a universally accepted approach for such assessments in public health and health emergencies is currently lacking. This paper contributes to the literature by synthesizing current knowledge on assessment tools and frameworks, providing a foundation for future research and development in this area.

Purpose This study examines the implementation of multi-level research mentoring (MRM), a novel collaborative approach that leverages community of practice (CoP) theory to enhance research mentoring in a teacher education program for bachelor’s and master’s level students. Design/methodology/approach Through the CoP framework, the research scrutinizes how structured interactions such as mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire can advance the mentoring dynamics. Conducted with seven master’s and four bachelor’s students under the guidance of two academic supervisors, data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and WhatsApp communications. Findings The study unveils variations in engagement levels among groups, with one achieving full participation through well-aligned research topics and equitable task distribution, which fostered mutual engagement and a cohesive educational and research venture. Reported benefits from both bachelor’s and master’s level students include improved research competencies, enhanced technical support, improved time management and increased motivation. Supervisors observed gains in both the efficiency and effectiveness of the mentoring process. Research limitations/implications This study is conducted with a limited number of 14 participants. Practical implications The findings underscore the potential of MRM to tailor effective research mentoring approaches that cater to the diverse needs of students, suggesting practical strategies for its broader implementation. Social implications This inquiry not only contributes to the academic literature by detailing a novel application of CoP theory in educational settings but also provides actionable insights for enhancing the structure and outcome of research mentoring programs. Originality/value The study addresses gaps in traditional supervisory practices and contributes to the broader understanding of effective research mentoring strategies.

In Canada and internationally, health systems have experienced rising healthcare staffing shortages in recent years. Specifically, this study seeks to analyse evidence on the causes and effects of hospital nursing shortages, to consider whether shortages may be self-reinforcing. It complements an existing linear healthcare workforce logic model (Sonderegger et al., 2021) by considering whether there may be evidence that implies the existence of feedback loops (a form of system dynamics). An umbrella review was undertaken to identify both causes and effects of hospital nursing shortages. A two-phase approach was undertaken: first, a review of all articles to identify a common list of factors, and second, a subsequent line-by-line review to ensure comprehensive coding. The umbrella review identified several specific issues which were both causes and effects of nursing shortages, across a number of articles. This suggests that shortages could be self-reinforcing. For policymakers, the implication is that early intervention is likely to support the resilience and retention of hospital nurses. For researchers, this study highlights the risk of biased coefficients within econometric analysis and provides a testable cross-country hypothesis for the impacts of early intervention. Overall, this study contributes to existing academic literature and practical policymaking by identifying evidence that nursing shortages may be self-reinforcing. Through proactive intervention to restrain the growth of workforce shortages, policymakers can support the welfare of healthcare service users and nurses themselves.