Central Object Research Articles

Modelling the effects of entrepreneurship education and passion on youths’ entrepreneurial intention in the tourism sector

ABSTRACT Tourism is an important sector within the South African economy, and tourism entrepreneurship drives this sector. A significant portion of entrepreneurship research concentrates on the samples of higher education students and the general population, not focussing on the youth, whether they are higher education students or not. Therefore, the central objective of this paper was to explore the relationships between three independent variables, namely, entrepreneurship education (ED), entrepreneurial meaning (EM), and entrepreneurial passion (EP) and the dependent variable, entrepreneurial intention (EI) of the general youth population regarding starting tourism-related business. It further analysed the impact that levels of general education may have on both the independent and dependent variables. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from a purposive sample of 400 youths residing in different regions of the King Cetshwayo District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) on SmartPLS software version 4.0.8.5 was used to evaluate the relationships between the independent variables and dependent variables. The results show, among others, statistically significant positive relationships between youths’ ED, EP and their EI in the tourism sector. The study recommends that it is imperative for business decision-makers of the study area (KCDM) and academics to comprehend how ED and EP influence the EI of youths and their ability to establish and manage their own businesses, including tourism businesses. This will foster youth entrepreneurship.

The transformation of Chacabuco village: From the pre-columbian to the Metropolitan periphery of Santiago, Chile

The process of transformation of the Province of Chacabuco throughout its history according to historical, cartographic and testimonial background, constitutes the central objective in this writing. The facts that describe the process of territorial occupation and the different forms it has taken over time identifying five settlement impulses that are related to the structures that were formed in the territory, with the objective of understanding in detail the occupation of the territory and explaining the causes that impulse it. Since the 17th century, the territory of Chacabuco had scattered human settlements and a countryside organized under the hacienda system for agricultural and livestock use, with a small population around the houses, which after the appearance of the Santiago- Valparaíso railroad generated an agglomeration of dwellings around the stations. From the seventeenth century until the first half of the twentieth century, the territory lacked housing and was mainly devoted to livestock, agriculture or remained unused. However, in the second half of the 20th century, the settlement had an explosive development, linked to urban expansion processes of the city of Santiago, the main metropolis of the country.

Potential impact of sodium glucose co-transporter (SGLT2) inhibitors on cholesterol fractions in stage 3 chronic kidney disease

IntroductionData on sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors impact on lipids in patients with diabetes are available and only a handful of studies have explored this effect in individuals with both diabetes and renal impairment; lipid parameters were not the primary focus of those earlier studies. However, there is a significant research gap specifically addressing the influence of SGLT2 inhibitors on cholesterol fractions in patients exclusively with chronic kidney disease. This aim constitutes the central objective in this particular study.MethodsIn this 3-month randomized controlled study, 30 patients with stage 3 chronic kidney disease and dyslipidemia were randomly assigned to receive either dapagliflozin 10 mg or placebo. Lipid profiles, renal function, and urinary albumin levels were assessed at baseline and after 3 months.ResultsCompared to baseline, patients receiving dapagliflozin for 3 months showed significant improvements in serum creatinine (p < .001) and eGFR (p = .001). Total cholesterol and LDL-C levels decreased significantly (p = .010 and .006, respectively). While albumin-creatinine ratio also decreased, this change was not statistically significant. Additionally, HDL-C and TG not significantly increased. The control group without intervention experienced deterioration in serum creatinine and eGFR (p = .008, and .011, respectively), but no statistically significant lipid changes were observed. Furthermore, post-intervention total cholesterol moderately correlated with BMI (p = .032, R = .554), yet no predictors significantly influenced lipid levels in the multiple linear regression analysis.ConclusionsDapagliflozin has a favorable effect on cholesterol fractions in stage 3 CKD patients without diabetes mellitus and this effect was different from that observed in patients with diabetes alone.

ALFABETIZAÇÃO MIDIÁTICA E FAKE NEWS: DESAFIOS E ESTRATÉGIAS NO ENSINO DE PORTUGUÊS PARA A FORMAÇÃO DE ALUNOS CRÍTICOS

In the current context, media literacy has emerged as an essential skill for the formation of critical and well-informed citizens. This article addresses the importance of integrating this skill into the school curriculum, especially in the teaching of Portuguese. Initially, the challenges faced by educators when dealing with the vast amount of information available and the proliferation of fake news are presented. The lack of criteria for assessing the veracity of information and the influence of social networks make students vulnerable to misinformation, highlighting the urgent need for effective media education. The article then explores various didactic strategies that can be implemented in Portuguese teaching to combat disinformation. These include developing critical thinking, analyzing information sources and encouraging the production of responsible digital content. Practical activities such as news debates, fact-checking and school media projects are suggested to engage students in an active and meaningful way. Finally, the formation of critical learners as a central objective of contemporary education is discussed. Media literacy is presented not only as a complement to traditional Portuguese teaching, but as an integral component that prepares students to face the challenges of the digital age. The article concludes that by enabling students to recognize and question false information, schools play a fundamental role in promoting a more critical and informed society.

Toward an efficient second‐order method for computing the surface gravitational potential on spherical‐polar meshes

AbstractAstrophysical accretion discs that carry a significant mass compared with their central object are subject to the effect of self‐gravity. In the context of circumstellar discs, this can, for instance, cause fragmentation of the disc gas, and—under suitable conditions—lead to the direct formation of gas‐giant planets. If one wants to study these phenomena, the disc's gravitational potential needs to be obtained by solving the Poisson equation. This requires to specify suitable boundary conditions. In the case of a spherical‐polar computational mesh, a standard multipole expansion for obtaining boundary values is not practicable. We hence compare two alternative methods for overcoming this limitation. The first method is based on a known Green's function expansion (termed “CCGF”) of the potential, while the second (termed “James' method”) uses a surface screening mass approach with a suitable discrete Green's function. We demonstrate second‐order convergence for both methods and test the weak scaling behavior when using thousands of computational cores. Overall, James' method is found superior owing to its favorable algorithmic complexity of compared with the scaling of the CCGF method.

Mapping the risks in technology integration for sustainable outcomes

PurposeTechnology uptake in supply chains frequently encounters challenges when immediate, tangible benefits are not evident. Therefore, this article's central objective is to pinpoint the risks affecting the integration of supply chain technologies for enduring outcomes. Subsequently, these risks will be organized into a hierarchical structure, facilitating a clearer comprehension of their direct and indirect interconnections.Design/methodology/approachA combined TISM and quantitative approach has been used to build the hierarchal structure and to validate the direct, and indirect relationship among risks adopting supply chain technologies. A total of 41 respondents participated in the TISM survey, which resulted in creating a level hierarchical structure. Further, 233 responses are used for the quantitative study using SEM to validate the model obtained from TISM.FindingsThe study's findings indicated the social risks come out with the highest driving power. This includes the fear of job displacement, community disparity and change in the work culture of an organization. At the same time, technological risks can cause system integration, scalability issues, obsolesce compatibility issues, system failures and supply chain sustainability issues.Originality/valueThe novelty of the study can be found in the developed framework and its subsequent confirmation via quantitative evaluation. TISM provides the theoretical foundation, while a quantitative investigation is carried out to verify this theory.

Scene construction processes in the anterior hippocampus during temporal episodic memory retrieval.

Although the hippocampus has been implicated in both the temporal organization of memories and association of scene elements, some theoretical accountsposit that the role of the hippocampus in episodic memory is largely atemporal. In this study, we set out to explore this discrepancy by identifying hippocampal activity patterns related to scene construction while participants performed a temporal order memory task. Participants in the fMRI scanner were shown a sequence of photographs, each consisting of a central object and a contextual background scene. On each retrieval trial, participants were shown a pair of the original photographs (FULL), objects from the scenes without the background (OBJ), or background contexts without the main foreground object (BACK). In the temporal order judgment (TOJ) task, participants judged the temporal order of the pair of scenes; in the Viewing trials, two identical scenes were shown without any task. First, we found that the anterior hippocampus-particularly the CA1 and subiculum-showed similar patterns of activation between the BACK and OBJ conditions, suggesting that scene construction occurred spontaneously during both TOJ and Viewing. Furthermore, neural markers of scene construction in the anterior hippocampus did not apply to incorrect trials, showing that successful temporal memory retrieval was functionally linked to scene construction. In the cortex, time-processing areas, such as the supplementary motor area and the precuneus, and scene-processing areas, such as the parahippocampal cortex, were activated and functionally connected with the hippocampus. Together, these results support the view that the hippocampus is concurrently involved in scene construction and temporal organization of memory and propose a model of hippocampal episodic memory that takes both processes into account.

Constraints on Schwarzschild-like black hole from QPOs data

The search for compact astrophysical objects, such as black holes and wormholes, along with the testing of gravity theories, are crucial topics in relativistic astrophysics. In this context, theoretical and observational studies of quasi periodic oscillations (QPOs) detected in (micro)quasars prove useful for investigating their central object. We explore the massive particle motion around black hole in Schwarzschild-like spacetime and using the equation of motion, the dependence of innermost stable circular orbits (ISCO) on the parameter l was obtained. The frequencies of radial and vertical oscillations of particles around stable circular orbits have been studied and used to explain the mechanism of quasi periodic oscillations in the relativistic precession (RP) model. Using observational data from GRO J1655-40 and XTE J1550-564, we have determined a constraint on the parameter l in Schwarzschild-like spacetime through Monte-Carlo-Markovian-Chain (MCMC) analyses.

Observed Relationships between Supercell Mesocyclone Intensity and Evolution, Background Environmental Characteristics, and Cell Mergers

Abstract Cell mergers with supercells are relatively common, but much remains unknown about how they may influence subsequent supercell hazards. Furthermore, many outstanding questions regarding mesocyclone evolution exist despite numerous studies linking supercell hazards with the background environments in which they occur. In this study, we analyze the Multi-Year Reanalysis of Remotely Sensed Storms dataset along with hundreds of observed supercell tracks to begin addressing these ideas. In line with recent studies, the outcome of a supercell–cell merger (specifically the final strength of the low-level supercell mesocyclone) is not strongly related to the background environment. Of the parameters that we tested, mixed-layer (ML) LCL exhibited the largest correlation, but the very small coefficient of determination suggests limited operational use. More significantly, the incorporation of Storm Prediction Center objective analyses yields novel quantification of observed mesocyclone strengths in different environments. Of the environmental characteristics tested, kinematic parameters like 0–3-km storm-relative helicity (SRH) and 0–3-km bulk wind difference are more correlated with peak mesocyclone intensity than thermodynamic variables like CAPE and CIN. 0–3-km SRH exhibits the largest correlation, and its variability explains roughly one-third of the variance of peak azimuthal shear. We show trends in peak mesocyclone intensity across notable environmental parameter spaces, as well as how low-level mesocyclone strength fluctuates as background environmental characteristics evolve. Environmental trends during and preceding the times of peak mesocyclone strength are quantified. These analyses may be useful for predicting short-term mesocyclone intensity changes in real time. Significance Statement This study addresses open research questions related to how storms merging with supercell thunderstorms may influence supercell evolution and how supercells tend to evolve in different background environments. We find that an environmental measure of cloud-base height is statistically correlated with whether a supercell–cell merger will yield a strengthening or weakening supercell, but the strength of this correlation is quite weak. We find stronger correlations between peak supercell strength across storm lifetimes and some environmental characteristics, particularly parameters related to the change in the wind with height in the lowest few kilometers above ground level. These relationships may be useful for predicting short-term changes in supercell strength in real time.

Murmurs of Presence in Objects of Absence

This article takes two artifacts belonging to two people the author met in the course of many decades of research in and on Palestine—a British Mandate-era identity card and a set of framed photographs of a Palestinian village destroyed in the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948—as central objects of consideration in reflecting on how objects of absence incorporate historical and personal loss as well as continuing presence. The use of the term “objects of absence” to describe these materials points to how they are more than repositories of memory. They record, preserve, and animate forms of life that appear lost. Rather than being noisy eruptions into public life, their volume is more of a murmur. Their collective impact is in their repeated presence rather than their spectacular pronouncements. Palestinians preserve these objects for themselves, for their children and following generations, for their community, and for their nation. The work of these objects is thus personal and political, individual and collective. They help people locate themselves in the world, maintaining some continuity despite the devastation of the Nakba.

Reliable biogeography requires fossils: insights from a new species-level phylogeny of extinct and living carnivores.

A central objective of historical biogeography is to understand where clades originated and how they moved across space and over time. However, given the dynamic history of ecosystem changes in response to climate change and geological events, the manifold long-distance dispersals over evolutionary timescales, and regional and global extinctions, it remains uncertain how reliable inferences based solely on extant taxa can be achieved. Using a novel species-level phylogeny of all known extant and extinct species of the mammalian order Carnivora and related extinct groups, we show that far more precise and accurate ancestral areas can be estimated by fully integrating extinct species into the analyses, rather than solely relying on extant species or identifying ancestral areas only based on the geography of the oldest fossils. Through a series of simulations, we further show that this conclusion is robust under realistic scenarios in which the unknown extinct taxa represent a biased subset of all extinct species. Our results highlight the importance of integrating fossil taxa into a phylogenetic framework to further improve our understanding of historical biogeography and reveal the dynamic dispersal and diversification history of carnivores.

Health promotion

In 1986, the Ottawa Charter established health promotion as a central objective of governments in order to reduce health inequalities. It is a key concept that forms an integral part of nurses' training and missions.

The Evolution of Behavioral Strategies in the Game Theory Context of National Park Management: A Comparison of Central and Local Government Objectives

The Evolution of Behavioral Strategies in the Game Theory Context of National Park Management: A Comparison of Central and Local Government Objectives

Experiences and perspectives of individuals involved in Camp Abilities: A scoping review

Camp Abilities (CA) is an educational camp for children and youth with visual impairment (VI). Since its inauguration in 1996, CA has expanded nationally and internationally with three central objectives: (1) to offer a specific summer camp for youth with VI, exposing them to different sports through adapted teaching and modified equipment; (2) to enable young teachers to gain experience in teaching adapted physical activity; and (3) to conduct research on a geographically dispersed population. A first systematic review was carried out to summarize 24 quantitative studies conducted on CA. This second review aimed to identify and summarize qualitative studies conducted at CA ( n = 16 articles). Using thematic analysis, a qualitative synthesis was conducted to identify themes and main findings. Narrative conclusions were extracted from the studies to present the perspectives and lived experiences through the voice of the participants involved, namely, the athletes with visual impairment (AVI), the stakeholders (directors, coaches), and the parents of the athletes with VI. Findings indicated that AVI have reported meaningful experiences enabling them to connect with peers with VI, have experimented with a wide range of sports, outdoor activities, and self-determination opportunities through adapted teaching. The directors reported that CA had enabled them to develop a community service combining teaching and research on adapted physical activity and VI. Finally, parents reported that CA had helped their child overcome barriers to physical activity.

Suitable Water–Fertilizer Management and Ozone Synergy Can Enhance Substrate-Based Lettuce Yield and Water–Fertilizer Use Efficiency

As living standards rise, enhancing quality has become a central objective for many researchers. Soilless cultivation, known for its efficient use of resources, is increasingly used in vegetable production. It is critical to develop effective water and fertilizer management strategies to achieve high-quality yields and promote sustainable development in modern agriculture. This study employed an orthogonal experimental design to assess the impact of varying nutrient solution concentrations (50%, 75%, 100%, and 125% of Hoagland’s), lower irrigation thresholds (40%, 55%, 70%, and 85% field capacity (FC)), and ozone concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 4 mg·L−1) on lettuce growth, yield, quality, and water–fertilizer use efficiency. The results indicated that fixed nutrient solution concentrations and lower irrigation thresholds enhanced growth metrics for lettuce. Similarly, increasing ozone concentrations initially improved, then reduced growth metrics when the lower irrigation threshold was constant. Furthermore, maintaining stable ozone concentrations while raising the nutrient solution concentration initially boosted, then diminished, growth indicators. Optimal conditions for water and fertilizer management were identified at a nutrient solution concentration of 75% to 100% and an ozone concentration of 0 to 1 mg·L−1. Variance analysis highlighted the significant effects of nutrient solution concentration, lower irrigation thresholds, and ozone concentrations on lettuce yield, quality, and water and fertilizer use efficiency. Range analysis revealed the optimal management combination to be a nutrient solution concentration of 100%, an 85% lower FC irrigation threshold, and an ozone concentration of 1 mg·L−1, yielding 16.82 t·ha−1 of lettuce and a water use efficiency of 40.14 kg·m−3. These findings provide theoretical support for the sustainable advancement of soilless cultivation in contemporary agriculture.

Особенности налогообложения разработки минерально-сырьевых ресурсов: мировой и отечественный опыты

Building a balanced system for obtaining a fair share of resource rents is one of the central objectives for the governments in the countries, rich in mineral resources. The special attention is paid to the high-margin projects on extraction of the hydrocarbon raw materials. Thus, the state share in the exploitation of its natural resources includes a variety of components, type and scope of which are determined by the specific conditions of a mining project. The article reviews the main tax instruments used in development of the mineral deposits, also considers the main trends in development of the international tax systems and their reflection in the Russian practice. It is shown that the main directions of the fiscal policy include simplification and striving for simplicity of administration, transparency in contracts between investors and governments, focus on transfer price issues, transition from gross royalties to taxation of economic results. Peculiarities of the budget policy in Russia determine development of agreements between the governments of the mining regions and mining companies aimed at the infrastructure and social facilities development, as a form of indirect natural rents for the development of the territories and local communities.

Model‐free event‐triggered distributed coordination control for dual‐arm reconfigurable manipulators with unknown object constraints

AbstractIn this paper, a model‐free event‐triggered distributed coordination control of dual‐arm reconfigurable manipulators is presented for handling unknown object task. Firstly, based on Newton‐Euler algorithm and kinematic analysis, the dynamic models of the dual‐arm manipulators and grasped object are established, respectively. According to the load distribution method, the motion‐induced force is effectively distributed to each arm. Then the dynamics of single‐arm manipulator for handling task is obtained. Secondly, the adaptive algorithm based on gradient model is proposed to estimate the position of object's center of mass (COM). The fusion state variable function is improved to achieve coordination control, reflecting the tracking performance of the position and internal force. For the modeless reconfigurable manipulator, the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN)‐based observer is utilized to approximate the uncertain dynamics. Further, the aperiodic model‐free distributed coordination controller is obtained through event‐triggered mechanism. Next, the uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) stability of dual‐arm reconfigurable manipulators system is proved through Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the experimental results verify that the proposed coordination control approach is valid.

Synthesis of acetonitrile from NH3/syngas mixtures on molybdenum nitride: Insights into the reaction mechanism

Owing to their metallic-like surface electronic properties and their capacity to act as reservoirs and solid transfer agents for active nitrogen, transition metal nitrides are interesting as solid catalysts for C-C and C-N coupling reactions for the bottom-up production of higher (C2+) nitrogenated chemicals from unconventional carbon resources. The catalytically active state and reaction mechanism for the direct synthesis of acetonitrile from syngas/ammonia mixtures are studied on an unsupported Mo catalyst from complementary experimental and computational approaches. Temperature resolved X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy verify that an oxidic MoO3 catalyst precursor undergoes in situ (near-surface) nitridation, upon exposure to reaction conditions at 723 K, rendering Mo2N the actual working catalyst. Density Functional Theory mechanistic investigations on a γ-Mo2N(100) model surface point to a hydrogen-assisted CO dissociation on the nitride surface. Moreover, surface oxygen, evolved from CO dissociation, is predicted to play a central role as hydrogen acceptor, to enable the dehydrogenative NH3 dissociation. Direct condensation of CH and N adspecies proceeds with a low energy barrier of 33 kJ mol−1, which makes C-N coupling preferred over full hydrogenation of CHx species, in agreement with the experimental modest selectivity to methane (ca. 10 %). Both experimental and computational results indicate that HCN is a major intermediate product along the reaction pathway to acetonitrile. No energetically feasible associative reaction pathways could be identified for C-C coupling from HCN. The dissociation of the latter intermediate product is predicted to precede the reaction of CN adspecies to CHx. Similarly to NH3 dissociation, dehydrogenative HCN activation on the Mo2N surface is predicted to be facilitated through hydrogen abstraction by surface oxygen species, yet subjected to a comparatively higher energy barrier (>120 kJ mol−1), therefore likely to control the overall kinetics. These findings suggest that the enhancement of HCN dissociation is a central design objective towards Mo2N-based catalysts with advanced performance.

The renewable energy research contribution of Tanzania: A review

The central objectives of this study are to locate existing research on renewable energy, examine the energy policy of Tanzania, assess bibliometric factors, determine the direction of the current research, and comprehend unexplored research topics. This exploration focuses on a bibliometric-based study using computer-assisted software tools known as VOS viewer and RStudio in analyzing the Scopus data retrieved package for the key phrase of "Renewable energy" in the article titles published from 2002 to 2022. A total of 661 publications (which is only 0.45% and 6.3% of the global and continental publications from Africa respectively) were analysed after refining using different bibliometric criteria like study site, type of document, publication stage, language used in the document, and publication time interval. The results shows that Energy fuels, engineering, technology, environmental sciences, ecology, and business economics are the most frequently studied fields. Also, from a total of 661 publications, only 32 documents were published from Tanzania for 20 years from 2022 which is less than 2 publication/year. This study concludes that there is a notable lack of research output from Tanzania in this critical field. This gap underscores the need for greater investment in renewable energy research and development within the country, as well as targeted efforts to build research capacity and foster collaboration among academia, government, and industry stakeholders.

The Catholic university’s integral purpose: A multi-dimensional perspective

This study examines how contemporary frameworks of corporate purpose can inform the purpose of Catholic universities. It defines corporate purpose as a central objective that provides meaning to members and contributes to societal value, delineating inside-out and outside-in perspectives, and head, heart, and hands dimensions. Applying these frameworks to Catholic institutions, the paper discusses the importance of aligning purpose with Catholic beliefs, fostering intellectual inquiry, moral formation, and engagement with societal challenges. Then, it delves into how Catholic universities integrate organizational purpose with individual purposes both in Catholic and non-Catholic members. It examines the concepts of purpose fluidity and synergy, which enhance alignment between personal and organizational purposes. Strategies for promoting these concepts, such as clear communication and consistent management, are discussed. Ultimately, integrating these frameworks enhances our understanding of the multifaceted role of Catholic universities’ purpose in contemporary society.