Conceptual Model Research Articles

Channel diversity, constructive and destructive conflicts: the moderating role of network centrality

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of channel diversity on constructive and destructive conflicts in manufacturer-distributor relationships, as well as the mediating role of distributor opportunism and the moderating role of distributor network centrality. Design/methodology/approach This paper collected channel dual data to represent channel behavior in manufacturer-distributor relationships accurately. Using 208 matched manufacturer distributor bilateral data from Chinese B2B firms validate the conceptual model. This paper tested the proposed hypothesis using AMOS 24.0 software. Findings Channel diversity strengthens constructive conflict and weakens destructive conflict between manufacturers and distributors. Distributor opportunism plays a mediating role between channel diversity and constructive conflict. Distributor network centrality reinforces the positive impact of channel diversity on constructive conflict and the impact of channel diversity on destructive conflict. Originality/value This research contributes significantly to developing channel diversity and conflict theory by expanding the dyadic view to a network view. It also provides valuable insights for managers, highlighting the importance of maintaining a good relationship with distributors with high network centrality. The research results allow the constructive aspects of channel conflict to manifest fully and enhance the effectiveness of channel management. Distributor firms should prioritize communication and contact with network members to increase their network centrality, enabling them to take more initiative, exert influence and establish advantageous cooperative partnerships with manufacturers.

Hypothetical mechanisms driving physical activity levels in ethnic minority groups living in Europe: a systematically identified evidence-based conceptual systems model

BackgroundIn Europe, physical activity levels tend to be lower in ethnic minority groups than the general population. Interventions and policies based on research examining isolated determinants of physical activity have had limited success in increasing physical activity levels. This study used systems dynamics theory and the capability approach theoretical framework to develop a conceptual model of how individual characteristics, institutional and physical environments and the migration context may interact to promote or hinder physical activity in ethnic minority groups living in Europe.MethodsA systematic update of Langøien et al.’s 2017 review of the determinants of physical activity in ethnic minority groups living in Europe was conducted. Our target population included individuals of all ages who reported a familial migration background from any low- and middle-income countries or belonging to minority indigenous population in Europe. Outcomes pertaining to non-work related physical activity of light, moderate or vigorous intensity performed in any setting were included. Included studies provided an evidence base from which to derive the causal loop diagrams comprising our conceptual model. Sub-system causal loop diagrams were interpreted in co-author review sessions to explicate non-linear system mechanisms, such as reinforcing and balancing feedback loops.ResultsForty-one studies were identified, of which the majority was qualitative. The conceptual model consisted of 4 causal loop diagrams relating to psychosocial constructs; sociocultural constructs; health and health communication and social and material resources, in interaction with environmental/migration context. Four hypothetical mechanisms were identified, e.g. hypothesizing that participation in organised activities leads to increased self-efficacy, thereby enabling further participation.ConclusionsThis study contributes an evidence-based conceptual systems model which elucidates how low levels of physical activity in ethnic minority groups in Europe could be supported by reinforcing and balancing mechanisms involving factors relating to physical and institutional environments, migration context and individuals. A pluralistic approach to literature review, integrating complexity methods such as CLDs into more conventional systematic literature review, supports novel insights into how factors could interact to support persistently low levels of activity, moving beyond the identification of potential relationships between isolated factors to indicating the ways in which these relationships are sustained and could be modified by intervention or policy.

Exploring family supportive supervisor behaviours from a police perspective to ensure life satisfaction: an empirical investigation using importance-performance analysis

PurposeThe primary aim of this research is to analyse the impact of family-supportive supervisor behaviours (FSSB) on the level of life satisfaction among individuals working in the police force. FSSB is informal support by supervisors, which is an emerging topic. Further, this study examines the intermediary role of career calling and job embeddedness in the association between supportive family behaviours of supervisors and life satisfaction. However, only limited studies have been conducted on how informal support by the supervisor performs for police personnel. This research aims to fill this gap.Design/methodology/approachFor the purpose of data collection from police personnel, we used a structured questionnaire. Variance-based partial least squares structural equational modelling (PLS-SEM) methodology was applied using SmartPLS software to investigate the conceptual model of the study. Additionally, using importance-performance map analysis (IMPA), we evaluate the importance and performance of each construct.FindingsThe data analysis findings indicate that job embeddedness and career calling function as complete mediating factors in the association between FSSB and life satisfaction. Additionally, the study revealed that career calling is the most performing construct for promoting life satisfaction but is not perceived as important by the police department.Originality/valueAccording to the authors’ knowledge, there has been no research in the Indian context that examines the effects of supervisor family supportive behaviours, especially among police. The incorporation of career calling and job embeddedness as mediators provides a novel perspective in the examination of the correlation between FSSB and life satisfaction.

Digital nomads: a systematic literature review and future research agenda

Purpose This study aims to address the need for robust conceptual foundations in the digital nomadism discourse through a systematic literature review (SLR). It delves into digital nomadism within sustainable tourism, providing valuable insights to foster community development. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a rigorous eight-step process that combines an SLR and a system dynamics approach. In the SLR phase, the authors use the theory, context, characteristics and methodology framework to identify key variables for a dynamic model of sustainable tourism through digital nomadism, following detailed search and selection criteria based on PRISMA guidelines. The second phase uses causal loop diagrams (CLDs) from the literature review to visualize relationships and inform future research directions. The CLD model is validated through literature-based and stakeholder interaction processes, focusing on the social, economic and environmental dimensions, resulting in the development of a robust conceptual model. Findings This study identified 28 theories, including agency–structure theory, travel career ladder theory, stakeholder theory and grounded theory, among others. Semi-structured interviews were the primary research method. Major themes explored encompass community interactions, work lifestyles, cultural aspects, financial considerations, infrastructure and policy. The proposed conceptual model aims to scrutinize relationships across economic, environmental and social dimensions, providing a foundation for investigating and promoting sustainable tourism. Research limitations/implications Policy implications involve refining taxation policies to maintain tax bases, promoting collaborative economic models and enforcing environmental regulations. Additionally, integrating community planning infrastructure and implementing demographic strategies to manage potential population shifts are crucial. Policies supporting education, skill transfer, health and well-being initiatives contribute significantly to fostering sustainable tourism practices and enhancing community vitality. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first in the digital nomadism space to propose a conceptual model for sustainable tourism adoption.

Conceptual Model of and Intervention Development for Unplanned Suicide Attempts.

More than half of those who die by suicide do not communicate about suicide prior to their death. This project describes the emotional state and decision-making among "unplanned" attempt survivors to inform a conceptual model and suicide prevention interventions. This qualitative study purposefully sampled patients who reported having no suicidal thoughts on a standardized mental health questionnaire within 60 days (about 2 months) prior to a nonfatal suicide attempt documented in the health record. Participants verbally consented to telephone interview participation. Semistructured audio-recorded interviews elicited suicide attempt survivor descriptions of their emotional state and experiences in the days, hours, and minutes leading up to their suicide attempt. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory. The biopsychosocial theory of emotion regulation informed conceptual model development. Participants (N = 26) described 2 distinct "phases" prior to the attempt. First, a phase of increasing life stressors, transitory and nonspecific suicidal thoughts, and a reluctance to disclose experiences. Second, an overwhelming emotional state led to a sudden suicide attempt and nondisclosure due to the rapidity and intensity of the experience. These results informed the conceptual model and intervention development to manage unplanned and overwhelming urges to attempt suicide. Qualitative analysis informed the development of an intervention for the high-intensity "hot" period preceding an attempt, including specific steps to manage a highly intense emotional state in combination with overwhelming urges to kill oneself. Future research is needed to evaluate whether and how this intervention helps support people with a chance of "unplanned" suicide attempts.

Mobility and growth in confined spaces are important mechanisms for the establishment of Bacillus subtilis in the rhizosphere.

The rhizosphere hosts complex and abundant microbiomes whose structure and composition are now well described by metagenomic studies. However, the dynamic mechanisms that enable micro-organisms to establish along a growing plant root are poorly characterized. Here, we studied how a motile bacterium utilizes the microhabitats created by soil pore space to establish in the proximity of plant roots. We have established a model system consisting of Bacillus subtilis and lettuce seedlings co-inoculated in transparent soil microcosms. We carried out live imaging experiments and developed image analysis pipelines to quantify the abundance of the bacterium as a function of time and position in the pore space. Results showed that the establishment of the bacterium in the rhizosphere follows a precise sequence of events where small islands of mobile bacteria were first seen forming near the root tip within the first 12-24 h of inoculation. Biofilm was then seen forming on the root epidermis at distances of about 700-1000 µm from the tip. Bacteria accumulated predominantly in confined pore spaces within 200 µm from the root or the surface of a particle. Using probabilistic models, we could map the complete sequence of events and propose a conceptual model of bacterial establishment in the pore space. This study therefore advances our understanding of the respective role of growth and mobility in the efficient colonization of bacteria in the rhizosphere.

Can frontline employees help consumers improve their financial planning behavior? Implications from triadic analysis

PurposeAs consumer debt can substantially impair subjective well-being, it is crucial for research to gain insights into how consumers can be motivated to improve financial planning. This paper aims to investigate how frontline employees in financial services can help consumers regulate their financial planning behaviors and how financial service providers can effectively support their frontline employees in this effort through leadership and organizational climate.Design/methodology/approachWe incorporate regulatory focus theory and conservation of resource theory to develop a conceptual model that we test in a triadic study with a unique dataset collected from consumers, frontline employees, and managers in the banking sector.FindingsWe find that frontline employees must pay attention to the details of consumers’ needs and customize the service to those needs to trigger consumer promotion focus and stimulate consumers’ financial planning behaviors. Moreover, our results emphasize that the organization must act as an integrated entity. Thus, a manager’s servant leadership and an organizational climate of customer stewardship are crucial for frontline employees to transform consumers’ financial planning behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe study highlights frontline employees’ key role in motivating consumer financial planning behavior, offering a new perspective in transformative service research on enhancing financial well-being.Practical implicationsThe findings provide financial service providers with actionable implications for enhancing consumers’ financial planning. This benefits both consumers and financial institutions, as customers with greater spending power can buy more financial products.Originality/valueThis study advances transformative service research on consumer financial planning behavior, which has largely focused on consumer-related or society-level variables, by exploring the role of frontline employees and organizational support in terms of leadership and climate.

Leveraging gamification for tourism marketing activities: Toward a comprehensive conceptual model

Gamification has become one of the most effective ways to generate customer engagement. However, there needs to be more structured research on the drivers of the adoption and sustained use of gamification in travel and tourism research. Drawing upon the uses and gratifications theory and the technology acceptance model, this research examines the individual motivational drivers for adopting gamification in the context of tourism services. We employed a combination of partial least squares—structural equation modeling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis on the data gathered from 680 users of various online travel agencies. Our findings show that individual motivational dimensions of uses and gratifications significantly influence perceived usefulness and ease of use in gamified marketing activities. Our analysis demonstrates five configurations leading to a high level of adoption of gamified marketing activities. This study extends the use of gamification in the tourism industry, offering insights into enhancing customer motivations for adopting and effectively utilizing game mechanics and dynamics in marketing activities. Furthermore, through a novel framework, this study advances the uses and gratification theory at the intersection of gamification research and tourism literature.

Building the fracture network model for the Okuaizu geothermal field based on microseismic data analysis

Understanding flow behavior in a geothermal reservoir is important for managing sustainable geothermal energy extraction. Fluid flow in geothermal reservoirs generally occurs in complex existing fracture systems in which the reservoirs are situated in highly fractured rocks. To simulate a discrete fracture model, the location and orientation of the fracture were computed using statistical processes and observational data. In many cases, estimating the location and orientation of fractures from 1D borehole logging data is challenging. In this study, we used microseismic data to build the fracture network systems and extract the detailed positions and dimensions of the fractures. We used the microseismic data recorded at the Okuaizu Geothermal Field, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, from 2019 to 2021. First, we located the hypocenters, removing the effect of uncertainty in the velocity structure of the geothermal fluids. We relocated and clustered the seismic events based on waveform similarity. We analyzed each cluster to define the fracture orientation using principal component analysis (PCA) and focal mechanism (FM) analysis. We used the P polarity with the S/P ratio as a constraint for a better fault-plane solution. With PCA, we can extract the fracture dimension of each cluster. Our cluster analysis showed that the clusters were not always planar fractures, and we interpreted them as fracture zones. Based on the consistency between PCA and FM, each cluster/fracture zone was classified into three conceptual models to characterize the fracture network system in this field. This model showed variations in the orientation of small fractures within the fracture zone. We characterized the spatial variation in fracture distribution and orientations in the reservoir and demonstrated the fracture network system of this field. The fracture zone near the injection well has a N–S strike, and the dip is above 80°; however, the fracture zone in the northeastern part of the injection well has a NW–SE strike with a dip between 60° and 80°. The fracture network system estimated in this study is crucial for robust reservoir modeling because our model is more realistic, observation-orientated, and includes local anomalies of reservoir properties.Graphical

Attentional selection and communication through coherence: Scope and limitations.

Synchronous neural oscillations are strongly associated with a variety of perceptual, cognitive, and behavioural processes. It has been proposed that the role of the synchronous oscillations in these processes is to facilitate information transmission between brain areas, the 'communication through coherence,' or CTC hypothesis. The details of how this mechanism would work, however, and its causal status, are still unclear. Here we investigate computationally a proposed mechanism for selective attention that directly implicates the CTC as causal. The mechanism involves alpha band (about 10 Hz) oscillations, originating in the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus, being sent to communicating cortical areas, organizing gamma (about 40 Hz) oscillations there, and thus facilitating phase coherence and communication between them. This is proposed to happen contingent on control signals sent from higher-level cortical areas to the thalamic reticular nucleus, which controls the alpha oscillations sent to cortex by the pulvinar. We studied the scope of this mechanism in parameter space, and limitations implied by this scope, using a computational implementation of our conceptual model. Our results indicate that, although the CTC-based mechanism can account for some effects of top-down and bottom-up attentional selection, its limitations indicate that an alternative mechanism, in which oscillatory coherence is caused by communication between brain areas rather than being a causal factor for it, might operate in addition to, or even instead of, the CTC mechanism.

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress and Mental Health in a Sample of University Students: The Mediating Role of Resilience and Psychological Well-Being

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most stressful events in recent times across the world. The long-term effect of these experiences raises several concerns, including the development of post-traumatic stress symptomatology. However, little is known about the psychological processes that mediate this association. The aim of this study was to explore the association of emotional exhaustion and anxiety in post-traumatic stress symptomatology, and the mediating role of resilience and psychological well-being in university students. A total of 526 university students of both sexes participated in this study, and they were aged between 17 and 62 years old. Symptoms of anxiety and emotional exhaustion were significantly higher in females, in contrast, males showed on average more resilience and psychological well-being. Additionally, participants with COVID-19 infection had higher levels of emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and PTSD. The results indicated that the variables were correlated with each other (p < 0.001). A conceptual model was confirmed that describes anxiety and emotional exhaustion as predictors, post-traumatic stress symptomatology as an outcome variable, and resilience and psychological well-being as mediators. Resilience and psychological well-being can be important protective factors for adaptive responses in stressful situations. The findings obtained in this study will provide a theoretical basis for designing targeted interventions to improve psychological health, whether for crisis intervention, the process of adapting to higher education, or for recovery plans from psychological trauma.

Revisiting Dominance in Population Genetics.

Dominance refers to the effect of a heterozygous genotype relative to that of the two homozygous genotypes. The degree of dominance of mutations for fitness can have a profound impact on how deleterious and beneficial mutations change in frequency over time as well as on the patterns of linked neutral genetic variation surrounding such selected alleles. Since dominance is such a fundamental concept, it has received immense attention throughout the history of population genetics. Early work from Fisher, Wright, and Haldane focused on understanding the conceptual basis for why dominance exists. More recent work has attempted to test these theories and conceptual models by estimating dominance effects of mutations. However, estimating dominance coefficients has been notoriously challenging and has only been done in a few species in a limited number of studies. In this review, we first describe some of the early theoretical and conceptual models for understanding the mechanisms for the existence of dominance. Second, we discuss several approaches used to estimate dominance coefficients and summarize estimates of dominance coefficients. We note trends that have been observed across species, types of mutations, and functional categories of genes. By comparing estimates of dominance coefficients for different types of genes, we test several hypotheses for the existence of dominance. Lastly, we discuss how dominance influences the dynamics of beneficial and deleterious mutations in populations and how the degree of dominance of deleterious mutations influences the impact of inbreeding on fitness.

Patient Experience with Chronic Refractory Gout and Its Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life: Literature Review and Qualitative Analysis.

Patients with chronic refractory gout face a considerable burden of disease due to unexpected flares characterized by severe and debilitating pain, which can lead to chronic pain and joint damage. This study aimed to understand the symptoms and impacts of chronic refractory gout on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A targeted literature review was conducted to identify and review key articles describing the symptoms and impacts of gout, and articles examining the psychometric performance of the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) in gout. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 participants with chronic refractory gout. The results were used to develop the conceptual model and determine the appropriateness of the SF-36 and HAQ-DI in evaluating HRQoL in this population. Most frequently reported symptoms included bodily pain (n = 18, 90.0%), joint swelling (n = 18, 90.0%), joint tenderness (n = 18, 90.0%), and joint pain (n = 16, 80.0%). Most frequently reported impacts were difficulties climbing a flight (n = 20, 100.0%) or several flights of stairs (n = 20, 100.0%), climbing five steps (n = 19, 95.0%), completing chores (n = 19, 95.0%), and running errands and shopping (n = 19, 95.0%). All assessed items from SF-36 and HAQ-DI were reported by ≥ 25% (n = 5) of participants and mapped sufficiently to concepts elicited by participants. Patients with chronic refractory gout report symptoms and impacts that are highly bothersome and burdensome to everyday life. Items included in the HAQ-DI and SF-36 mapped directly to these symptoms and impacts and are relevant to understand the burden of disease of chronic refractory gout.

A framework to improve causal inferences from visualizations using counterfactual operators

Exploratory data analysis of high-dimensional datasets is a crucial task for which visual analytics can be especially useful. However, the ad hoc nature of exploratory analysis can also lead users to draw incorrect causal inferences. Previous studies have demonstrated this risk and shown that integrating counterfactual concepts within visual analytics systems can improve users’ understanding of visualized data. However, effectively leveraging counterfactual concepts can be challenging, with only bespoke implementations found in prior work. Moreover, it can require expertise in both counterfactual subset analysis and visualization to implement the functionalities practically. This paper aims to help address these challenges in two ways. First, we propose an operator-based conceptual model for the use of counterfactuals that is informed by prior work in visualization research. Second, we contribute the Co-op library, an open and extensible reference implementation of this model that can support the integration of counterfactual-based subset computation with visualization systems. To evaluate the effectiveness and generalizability of Co-op, the library was used to construct two different visual analytics systems each supporting a distinct user workflow. In addition, expert interviews were conducted with professional visual analytics researchers and engineers to gain more insights regarding how Co-op could be leveraged. Finally, informed in part by these evaluation results, we distil a set of key design implications for effectively leveraging counterfactuals in future visualization systems.

Insights into Spectral Distortion and Nonlinearity in UV-Vis and Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Molecular Fluorophore Solutions: Effects of Cascading Optical Processes (Part IV).

Reproducibility and linearity are crucial benchmarks for any measurement technology. However, UV-vis and fluorescence spectral distortion and nonlinearity are prevalent, even in seemingly simple fluorescent solutions that comprise only one dissolved molecular fluorophore, without exogenous absorbing or scattering species. In this report, we introduce an analytical model for the quantification of fluorescence interference on UV-vis measurements and a conceptual model for mechanistically understanding the impacts of higher-order cascading optical processes on fluorescence measurements. The experimental UV-vis transmittance can be dominated by interfering fluorescence, even for fluorophore solutions with theoretical absorbance values far below the instrument's linear dynamic range (LDR). Absorption-inner-filter-effect (aIFE) correction drastically improves the fluorescence LDR. However, the efficacy of aIFE correction hinges on two competing factors that strongly depend on the fluorophore's optical properties: the degree of fluorescence interference in UV-vis and the significance of secondary or higher-order emission triggered by fluorophore absorption of emitted photons. Our research sheds light on the remarkable complexity of cascading optical processes that can occur even in the simplest fluorescent solutions. It emphasizes the necessity of critically evaluating optical spectroscopic measurements of fluorescent solutions to improve the reliability of analyzing and interpreting optical spectra. Moreover, it lays the groundwork for future development of methods capable of handling challenging samples that exceed the capabilities of the current tools.

Defining contemporary outdoor physical activity: A critical interpretive synthesis

Outdoor physical activities (OPAs) are known to provide economic and social benefits across a number of sectors and industries (Buckley, 2007; Carpenter, 2013; Clough et al., 2016). However, the loosely constructed meanings attached to its various typologies create an ambiguity impacting our understanding of OPA as a holistic term. This study aimed to construct a new, unified definition of OPA, as experienced by adult participants, and develop a conceptual model of shared characteristics that provides clarity and informs practice. Through conducting a Critical Interpretive Synthesis (Dixon-Woods et al., 2006) of existing definitions within academic literature (N = 133), three arguments were established. These suggest that all OPAs share characteristics relating to sensation seeking, emphasise the importance of the settings in which they take place, as well as the wellbeing outcomes they offer. A model detailing these arguments is presented and each argument is critically discussed. Management implicationsThe management implications of this research are fourfold and can be summarised by the following points.1)Through understanding the three characteristic elements of OPA, leisure, tourism and recreational managers can be better informed as to the allocation of resources for the provision of services to meet the needs of participants.2)Through a greater understanding of OPA, interested parties who are marketing products and services to end users can ensure that the relationships they build are based on the evidenced characteristics described in the MOPAC model.3)A renewed understanding of OPA attributes can improve efficiency in the management of through better informed policy decision making.4)With OPA increasingly being used by healthcare professionals, this research can enable more informed and targeted activities that increase the efficacy of interventions using OPA.

The use of conceptual models to structure stock assessments: A tool for collaboration and for “modelling what to model”

Conceptual models are simplified representations of the main components and processes of a dynamic system, the mechanisms by which they are related, and the ways they are observed (i.e., the data generating processes). Constructing a conceptual model (CM) should be the first step when planning a new stock assessment or updating previous assessments, because it can improve the modelling process by guiding the workflow and “modelling what to model”. CMs should be built by summarizing information about a system while also proposing hypotheses or assumptions about the uncertainties and unknown aspects. Several steps are necessary to build a CM: 1) gather known information about the species and the fisheries that interact with it, 2) state the objectives of the stock assessment, 3) define the spatial scale, 4) define the temporal scale, and 5) outline components and processes of the system (biological, fisheries and observation processes) and what drives them. Initial draft CMs should be based on the best available science and constructed using the fundamental principles of ecology, socioecology, fisheries and other relevant sciences. CMs offer a framework for integrating knowledge across domains, and benefit from an elicitation process. The elicitation process is a set of deliberate activities (e.g., workshops) that allow other experts and relevant parties to contribute with their knowledge to enrich draft CMs. CMs are not static entities but rather dynamic constructs that can identify future research directions and evolve to incorporate new insights and knowledge. Fisheries systems for highly migratory pelagic species in the Pacific Ocean (north Pacific Albacore tuna, eastern Pacific Dorado, and south Pacific Swordfish) are used as examples to illustrate how to develop CMs, and demonstrate improvements to the subsequent assessment models following development of the CMs.

Solving the project scheduling problem with dependent resource constraints

ABSTRACT Most resource-constrained project scheduling problems consider resources that are independent of the job processing sequence. However, solving project scheduling problems in some industrial manufacturing is challenging because the required resources depend on the job processing sequence in existing scheduling approaches. To address this issue, this paper proposes a dependent resource-constrained project scheduling problem formulated with two types of models: a conceptual model and a binary integer programming model. The performance of four proposed algorithms – binary integer programming, reduced subproblem of the binary integer programming, job sequence assignment, and job as early as possible – is tested on 68 combinations of numerical simulation experiments. The computational results show that the job as early as possible algorithm can find a better approximate solution for solving real-world problems. This achievement aids project managers in generating activity schedules and finding the approximate minimum makespan for a project with dependent resource constraints.

Tidal connectivity modelling in wetlands associated with coastal lagoon of Punta Rasa natural reserve, Argentina

Tidal flows play a crucial role in connecting coastal lagoons to the sea through channels, in this way determining the hydrological dynamics of these environments. The Punta Rasa Natural Reserve (Ramsar site) is located in a transitional zone between the outer limit of the estuary of the Río de la Plata and the open sea. In this work, we study the northernmost lagoon at the end of the spit, which is connected to the sea by a narrow tidal channel. Wetlands are developing at the edges of the lagoon and in lower lying sectors. The aim of this study is to develop a conceptual model that explains the tidal connectivity of the coastal lagoon and to assess how it affects the marsh environments. Detailed topographic surveys were performed using Structure from Motion Multi-View Stereo from a UAV, while sea level data was analyzed using recordings at 20-min intervals over a five-year period. This dataset facilitated an analysis of the frequency of exceedances for threshold values of 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 m. The frequency analysis reveals that the highest exceedances of these thresholds occur during the summer months. When the water level reaches 1 m, the lagoon is fully connected to the sea via the tidal channel, resulting in complete inundation of the low marshland and the margins of the high marshland. At a tidal level of 1.4 m, the high marsh connected to the tidal channel and the coastal lagoon experience flooding. The results obtained in this study provides insights into modelling hydrological connectivity between marshes and the sea, as well as determining the frequency of tidal inundation in each wetland.

How can generative artificial intelligence improve digital supply chain performance in manufacturing firms? Analyzing the mediating role of innovation ambidexterity using hybrid analysis through CB-SEM and PLS-SEM

Artificial intelligence capabilities (AIC) can influence supply chain management (SCM) in multiple ways. This study explores how generative artificial intelligence capabilities (GAIC) could affect digital supply chain performance (DSCP) through ambidexterity innovation (AMI), which includes both elements, exploratory and exploitative innovations in the manufacturing firms (MFs) in Jordan as a developing and emerging economy. This study adopted a quantitative methodology for the data collection process applying a cross-sectional approach through testing deductive-hypotheses techniques. 263 valid surveys were used for analysis using hybrid analysis measurements (i.e., PLS-SEM, and CB-SEM). Further, it was applied data reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity tests. Additionally, examined the mediating effect of exploratory innovation (EXPI), and exploitative innovation (EXTI) on DSCP. The study findings assured that the proposed direct and indirect causal associations illustrated in the study model were accepted due to that all associations between the dimensions s were statistically significant. The findings of the GAIC supported a positive relationship between GAIC and the DSCP, GAIC on EXPI and EXTI, and EXPI and EXTI on DSCP respectively. Furthermore, the mediating effect of EXPI and EXTI is statistically significant, which was confirmed. This study developed a conceptual model to merge GAIC, AMI, and DSCP. This study provides new outcomes that bridge the existing research gap in the literature by testing the mediation model with a focus on the MF benefits of GAIC to improve levels of EXPI, EXTI, and DSCP in Jordan as a developing and emerging economy. Furthermore, this study is considered unique, as it was the first study in Jordan, and through applying hybrid analysis measurements using both PLS-SEM and CB-SEM methods.