First-hand Data Research Articles

Subjective assessment of women's economic welfare in public sector organizations of Mardan, Northern Pakistan

PurposeThe measurement of women's economic welfare and exploring its underlying factors have been undervalued in the context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This study addressed this gap by focusing on assessing women's subjective economic welfare and its socioeconomic and cultural determinants in the education and health sectors within Mardan, Northern Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThe study used stratified random sampling techniques for the selection of sample respondents and collected data through a well-structured questionnaire. To measure women’s economic welfare, the study utilizes Lorenz curves, the Gini index, the Sen Social Welfare function and an individual's gross monthly income. Furthermore, the ordinary least squares method was utilized to analyze the determinants of economic welfare.FindingsThe findings show greater income inequality and a lower welfare level for women in the education sector compared to the health sector. Likewise, the study identifies several key determinants, such as age, educational qualification, job experience, respect for working women, outside and work-place problems and the suffering of family members of working women for their economic well-being.Originality/valueThis study makes valuable contributions to the literature by focusing on the cultural perspective of Pakhtun women in Mardan and providing a context-specific understanding of subjective economic welfare. Additionally, the authors collected first-hand data, which gave an original outlook on working women's current economic welfare level. Furthermore, this study undertakes a comparative analysis of working women's welfare in the health and education sectors. This comparison offers a more accurate portrayal of the challenges and opportunities specific to these occupations.Peer reviewThe peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0246

Changes to Domestic Spaces and Home-Based Business in Ho Chi Minh City: A Case Study of Nguyen Thien Thuat Apartment Blocks

This article examines the impact of home-based business on spatial changes and architectural transformation in old apartment buildings, locally called Chung Cu, an under-studied housing typology in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). This article elucidates how looking into local ideas and practices of domestic spaces with home-based businesses can broaden existing scholarship on home culture. The term ‘home-based business’ is used in this article to describe commercial and business activities run by local residents in their homes. This article analyzed and presented first-hand data in both textual and visual forms and suggests that given the historical and social changes, particularly since the 1960s, the resilience, and persistence of home-based business, as a constituent of local life in HCMC, have significantly contributed to the making and transformation of domestic spaces in the city.

Epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance, and outcomes of intra-abdominal infections in China (PRIME): Protocol of a multicenter, prospective, observational study

Introduction: Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) are a common cause of inpatient morbidity and poor clinical outcomes. Currently, epidemiological studies on IAIs are scarce and generally limited to single-center reports or regional initiatives in China. There is still a lack of epidemiological data on patients with IAIs. This study aims to provide an up-to-date investigation of the epidemiologic characteristics, microbiology, antibiotic treatments, risk factors, and outcomes of patients with IAIs in China, and to provide guidelines for clinical practice. Subjects and Methods: The PRIME study is a multicenter, prospective, observational study, which is conducted in 44 hospitals in China. The study is estimated to include 2250 eligible adult patients diagnosed with IAIs. Data including demographics, severity of disease expression, and microbiological data are collected by trained physicians at each center through a designed electronic data capture system. In addition, the application of antimicrobial therapy and source control, organ support, and clinical outcomes are also recorded. The primary outcome is 28-day mortality. Logistic regression analysis will be used to assess the potential risk factors for mortality. The study is designed to be carried out from November 2023 to November 2024. Results: The main demographics and clinical characteristics of all patients will be summarized. The spectrum and antimicrobial resistance information of pathogenic bacteria in patients with IAIs will be reported. The study will also compare differences in the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in different regions of China. Treatments against IAI, including infection source control and the application of antimicrobial agents, will be recorded and analyzed. The calculation of 28-day mortality rate and the assessment of risk factors for mortality will be conducted. Discussion: By conducting this multicenter observational study, we hope to provide first-hand data on the epidemiologic characteristics, antimicrobial resistance, and outcomes and the latest epidemiological insights of patients with IAIs in China. Conclusions: This multicenter observational study will provide the latest epidemiological insights of patients with IAIs in China.

Smartphone-based undergraduate research projects in an introductory mechanics course

At the University of Göttingen, we implemented undergraduate research projects into a first-year mechanics course for physics majors and teacher-training students. Our primary goal was to foster students’ affective factors and higher-order thinking skills in a self-directed, crosslinking, inquiry-based learning setting. A total of 160 students were organized into 40 small groups which worked on one of six open-ended experimental tasks, utilizing smartphone sensors for flexible first-hand data collection outside laboratories. The tasks originate from the Erasmus+ project DigiPhysLab and were significantly modified and opened to be used for undergraduate research projects. In this manuscript, we present the underlying rationales behind this program, outline the core concepts behind the developed experimental tasks, and explain the actual implementation. Additionally, we offer insights into the assessment process for the project work, including the evaluation of scientific posters and responses to eight reflection questions. To facilitate this, we have employed two rubrics to ensure a comprehensive evaluation process.

Psychological Safety and Career Success among Employees of Indian Start-ups: Mediating Role of Passion

India is one of the leading countries that have a favorable start-up ecosystem and is home to hundreds of start-ups and unicorns. From fintech and e-commerce to healthcare and agritech, these startups are disrupting traditional industries, leveraging technology to address unique challenges and tap into vast market opportunities. The start-ups' human resources policies are different, and they do not have complex human resources rules and policies to promote new ideas. The start-ups’ future is unpredictable, and they have a lot of uncertainty. Human assets work in start-ups to get a sense of career success despite the psychological fear about the future as they have a strong passion to succeed. This research seeks to explore the impact of psychological safety on the professional achievement of human resources within Indian startups, with a particular focus on the intermediary role of passion. This study adopts a descriptive approach and utilizes a survey-based research methodology to gather first-hand data from employees working within the realm of Indian startups. The study results convey that psychological safety impacts the overall career success of start-up employees, and it also significantly impacts the objective career success of the employees. Objective career success pertains to tangible accomplishments or results in a person's professional journey, which are usually quantifiable and evident to external observers. Further, it is found that passion mediates psychological safety and objective career success of the start-up employees significantly

THE EFFECT OF SATISFACTION WITH SERVICES AND TRUST IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS ON CITIZENS’ VOICE ORIENTATION: THE ROLE OF ETHICAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

This study investigates the causal relationships between satisfaction with services, trust in public organizations and the voice orientation of citizens through the perspective of the New Public Management. The moderating role of ethical public administration in these relationships is also investigated. Survey methodology with a sample of 586 citizens from Diyarbakır city is used to analyze proposed hypotheses. According to linear regression analyzes, political efficacy level of citizens is positively affected by satisfaction with services and trust in public organizations variables. On the other hand, political participation is only impacted by satisfaction with services positively. No significant relationship can be found between satisfaction with services and political participation. Public administration ethics has a positive moderator role on the relationship between satisfaction with services and voice orientation behaviors (political efficacy and political participation). It also positively moderates the relationship between trust in public organizations and voice orientation of citizens (political efficacy and political participation). This research provides findings about the New Public Management outcomes from different country contexts through first-hand data.

Jane Austen’s Implicit Feminist Literary Narrative: Breaking the Norms

This paper was conducted to apprise and depict Jane Austen’s feminist thought, highlighting the depiction of women in the contemporary Regency era and her fiction. For the study, first-hand data was acquired from the corpus of Austen’s literary narrative in the shape of dialogues and conversations among characters. For data analysis, the textual analysis tool was used. Data was analyzed under the feminist critical theory. The findings of the study show that Austen’s novels like Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility demonstrate female characters facing multiple moral and social restrictions. Being in an open conflict with the prevalent cultural and social attitude, they struggled for autonomy and feminine identity in society. In the course of this fight with the social structures, they underwent grave tests and situations, perfecting them morally and socially. Austen’s novels echo the idea of women being the foundational feminist element of her literary narrative. She has drawn heroines who were intelligent, strong, and autonomous. All these were the features of feminist ideal women. Besides, the findings also reveal the fact that feminine consciousness is reflected in Austen's earlier novels. Through her narrative, she struggled to change the attitude of contemporary society towards the institution of marriage, female inheritance, women’s education, etc., which are prime social problems.

Exploring the impacts of knowledge recombination on firms’ breakthrough innovation: the moderating effect of environmental dynamism

PurposeTo adapt to the rapidly changing market environment, firms must constantly adjust and change their knowledge base to develop new technologies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the improvement path of firms’ breakthrough innovation from the perspective of knowledge recombination in the context of dynamic change in the knowledge base. By analyzing the influencing mechanism of environmental dynamism on the relationship between the two, this paper provides a theoretical foundation for managers to make knowledge recombination decisions under a dynamic external environment while further enriching the firm’s innovation achievements.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from 220 manufacturing firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share stock from 2010 to 2018, an extensive panel data set was constructed to investigate the effect of knowledge recombination, which was divided into recombination creation and recombination reuse, on firms’ breakthrough innovation. In addition, the authors differentiated environmental dynamism as market dynamism and technological dynamism and then examined its moderating role in the above relationships.FindingsThe research results show that various recombination behaviors of knowledge elements have a differentiated effect on firms’ breakthrough innovation presented as follows: Knowledge recombination creation is significantly positively correlated with firms’ breakthrough innovation, while knowledge recombination reuse is significantly negatively correlated with firms’ breakthrough innovation. In addition, environmental dynamism has a considerable moderating effect between knowledge recombination and firms’ breakthrough innovation further, emphasizing that the moderating effect on different types of knowledge recombination behaviors is significantly distinct.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, given that this study refers to several Chinese noted databases to collect second-hand data for empirical analysis, future research could use first-hand data by collecting questionnaire survey and interview to provide a more practical and detailed research conclusion. Second, the authors focused on the contextual variable to explore the moderating role of environmental dynamism on the relationship between knowledge recombination and breakthrough innovation. Nevertheless, the indirect effects of other internal factors were not discussed. The authors advocate future studies to involve other moderators from employee social and phycological perspectives, such as trust in colleagues in the proposed theoretical models in this study.Practical implicationsThis study is conducive for managers to attach great attention to knowledge management practices in the firm and to understand the critical role of knowledge recombination in affecting innovation performance under dynamic environmental changes. Moreover, this study provides practical guidance and serves as a reference for firms to strengthen their knowledge recombination ability as full utilization of existing knowledge elements and exploration of new knowledge values.Originality/valuePrimarily, from the perspective of dynamic changes in the knowledge base, this paper explores how the knowledge recombination behaviors affect firms’ breakthrough innovation, thereby enriching and extending the relationship theory between knowledge recombination capabilities and breakthrough innovation, while new and valuable ideas are provided in the study of issues related to the firms’ breakthrough innovation; Moreover, this study analyzes the moderating effects of diverse types of environmental dynamism on the relationship between knowledge recombination and firms’ breakthrough innovation from a multi-dimensional perspective proposing that the moderating effects of environmental dynamism on different knowledge recombination behaviors are distinct.

Farmers' adoption of agriculture green production technologies: perceived value or policy-driven?

Understanding the underlying reasons for farmers' AGPT adoption in the context of resource environment tightening and agricultural carbon reduction has become crucial to promote agriculture sustainable development. This paper uses multiple ordered regression model and probit model to test the impact of farmers' perceived value on their adoption of agricultural green production technologies (AGPT) by using the first-hand data from 613 rice farmers in Hunan, and explores the effect and mechanism of policy subsidies and market incentives on the adoption of AGPT, and investigates the differences in the impact of perceived value on the adoption of green technologies in different production stages. The results showed that, (1)farmers' AGPT adoption is significantly affected by their perceived value, in which perceived benefits significantly promotes farmers' AGPT adoption, while the perceived risks is the opposite. But farmers' AGPT adoption in different production stages is influenced by different perceived value. The adoption of soil testing and fertilization technology (STFT) in the pre-production stage is significantly influenced by the perceived benefits; adoption of green pest control technology (GPCT) in the mid-production stage is significantly influenced by both the perceived benefits and the perceived risks; and adoption of straw return technology (SRT) in the post-production stage is significantly influenced by the perceived risks. (2) Farmers' adoption of green technologies can be encouraged by policy subsidies, which also have the moderating effect of decreasing the negative influence of perceived risks on farmers' adoption behaviour. (3) Further analysis reveals that market incentives can compensate for the limitations of policy subsidies, greatly promote farmers' adoption of AGPT, and regulate farmers' perceived risks and perceived benefits to encourage them to use green technologies. Consequently, the Government should actively publicize and organize training on agriculture green technologies, and provide diversified subsidy programmes for different green technologies. And governments should also improve the quality certification system and the market price mechanism for agricultural products, so as to help farmers adopting green technologies to achieve an increase in their income.

Reasons for non-evacuation and shelter-seeking behaviour of local population following cyclone warnings along the Bangladesh coast

Bangladesh has successfully reduced the number of deaths caused by tropical cyclones associated with storm surges in its territory. The factors responsible for this success include significant improvements in satellite-based cyclone detection, early warning systems, and emergency evacuation. However, during such events, some residents prefer to not evacuate the region. Based on the first-hand data generated through in-depth interviews, participant observations, focus group discussions with residents aged over 59 years, field visits, and investigations, in this study, we provide information on the shelter-seeking places in Bangladesh during the latest cyclones and analyse the reasons why some residents do not evacuate the affected regions post cyclone warning. The findings suggest that in Bangladesh, community trust in warnings increased from 56% during the 1991 Cyclone Gorky to 96% during the 2020 Cyclone Amphan. We identified 33 reasons for the preference of the population in Bangladesh living along the coast to not move to a cyclone shelter during emergencies; these reasons can be subdivided into six categories: 1) resilient housing, or the residents are living adjacent to strong buildings; 2) reasons associated with public cyclone shelters; 3) to protect livelihoods, properties, and personal belongings; 4) transportation problems and practical issues during the warning period; 5) interrelated community beliefs and perceptions; and 6) reasons directly associated with cyclone warnings. We identified the foundational reasons for the non-evacuation behaviour of the residents and analysed why they preferred to remain home or take shelter in adjacent strong building infrastructures. Notably, our study provides valuable insights into the factors that affect effective evacuation planning and cyclone disaster risk management along the Bangladesh coast.

The Inheritance and Development of Tibetan Traditional Weaving Techniques — An Anthropological Investigation into the ‘rtsed ther’ Weaving Technique in Tibet, China

Traditional weaving techniques represent a microcosm of the unique aesthetics of the Tibetan ethnic group and vividly demonstrate the spiritual and cultural connotations of the Tibetan people through intricate details, showcasing distinct regional characteristics. Case studies on traditional weaving techniques contribute to the preservation and development of Tibetan traditional crafts. This paper based on first-hand data collected through multiple field investigations in Rtse Thang, Lhoka in Tibet, aims at a comprehensive analysis of the natural geographic environment, historical origin, imminent crisis faced by the ‘rtsed ther’ weaving technique, and efforts made to revive and pass on this tradition. It argues that through further inheritance of and exploration into the ‘rtsed ther’ traditional weaving technique, Tibetan traditional weaving can be systematically preserved and promoted.

Structural differences and exploration potential of basins in the eastern and western branches of the East African Rift System

The East African Rift System (EARS) is the youngest rift with the eastern and western branches, consisting of multiple secondary rifts. It is generally characterized by low extent of exploration and great exploration potential. Identifying the differences in hydrocarbon accumulation conditions in various rifts is very important in providing guidance for hydrocarbon exploration and selecting favorable exploration targets in this area. Based on the interpretation of first-hand seismic-geological data, and combining other materials such as commercial databases and open access literature, the structural characteristics of the main rifts in the eastern and western branches of the EARS are comparatively analyzed; based on the anatomy of the discovered hydrocarbon reservoirs, the rifts of the EARS are classified into four types depending on their structural styles, including double-fault type, simple single-fault type, single-fault transfer type, and single-fault terrace type, and the control of structural style over hydrocarbon accumulation in the EARS is discussed. In the Western Branch of the EARS, large rifts such as the Albertine Rift and the Tanganyika Rift are mainly of double-fault type and single-fault transfer type, and only some small rifts are of the simple single-fault type. The rifts in the Eastern Branch of the EARS are generally small; the rifts in the northern section of the Western Branch are mainly of the simple single-fault type, and those in the southern section are mainly of the single-fault terrace type. The hydrocarbon potential of double-fault rifts is the greatest, followed by that of simple single-fault rifts and single-fault transfer rifts, and the hydrocarbon potential of single-fault terrace rifts is relatively limited. The results obtained from a comparative analysis of the structures, sediment fills, and reservoir elements of various rifts show that the west side of the Albertine Rift, the southeast of the Tanganyika Rift, the Kerio Rift, and the land in the northwest of the Turkana Rift have great exploration potential.

Local Impacts of a Global Commodity: Small Tea Growers in a Northern District of Bangladesh

This research explores the Small Tea Plantations (STP) in Romjanpara and Radhanagar villages of Atwari Subdistrict under the northernmost district of Bangladesh, Panchagarh and its impact on the local farmers. More specifically, how STP was integrated in the local farming, the socioeconomic conditions of the small tea growers and the problems they face in the trading of tea leaves. The northernmost part of Bangladesh was economically insolvent before the advent of STP. Now the economic condition is growing and more lands are coming under STP. But behind this scene, there are stories of class formation and exploitation of the small tea growers. The first-hand data is collected using Case Study, KII, FGD, Semi-structured Interview, and observation. Adopting Political economy of agrarian change as theoretical framework and based on qualitative interviews, this research provides an analysis of the socioeconomic conditions and problems that the small tea growers face. The findings show that the factories create and often perpetuate these problems and thus reproduce the existing socioeconomic differences.

Scenario Planning Analysis for Commercial Housing Developer Company (Case Study: PT. TRIFECTA ADI PERKASA)

Indonesia’s Law no.1 (2011) necessitates the provision of affordable housing by the government, implicating both public and private sectors. Intermediate commercial housing enterprise, PT Trifecta Adi Perkasa, navigates such a mandate amid various unpredictable elements using scenario planning. This approach involves exhaustive external and internal analyses using PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, and Resource-based methods, viewed through a SWOT framework. This multi-phase strategy incorporates first-hand and secondary data assessing current and impending property-related issues. The process culminates in four prospective strategies and an ensuing five-year operational plan, buffering against future uncertainties.

Studies on Air Pollution and Air Quality in Rural and Agricultural Environments: A Systematic Review

Studies on air quality in rural environments are fundamental to obtain first-hand data for the determination of base emissions of air pollutants, to assess the impact of rural-specific airborne pollutants, to model pollutant dispersion, and to develop proper pollution mitigation technologies. The literature lacks a systematic review based on the evaluation of the techniques and methods used for the sampling/monitoring (S/M) of atmospheric pollutants in rural and agricultural settings, which highlights the shortcomings in this field and the need for future studies. This work aims to review the study design applied for on-field monitoring campaigns of airborne pollutants in rural environments and discuss the possible needs and future developments in this field. The results of this literature review, based on the revision of 23 scientific papers, allowed us to determine (i) the basic characteristics related to the study design that should always be reported; (ii) the main techniques and analyses used in exposure assessment studies conducted in this type of setting; and (iii) contextual parameters and descriptors of the S/M site that should be considered to best support the results obtained from the different studies. Future studies carried out to monitor the airborne pollution in rural/agriculture areas should (i) include the use of multiparametric monitors for the contextual measurement of different atmospheric pollutants (as well as meteorological parameters) and (ii) consider the most important boundary information, to better characterize the S/M site.

Toxic effects on ciliates under nano-/micro-plastics coexist with silver nanoparticles

Owing to the degradation of plastics, microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) have remained the focus of global attention. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) could adversely affect marine organisms due to their broad application. So far, the combined effects of MPs/NPs (strong adsorbents) with AgNPs on marine organisms are scant. Thus, four sizes polystyrene beads (80 nm, 220 nm, 1.07 µm, and 2.14 µm) combined with AgNPs (30 nm) were assessed using ciliated protozoa Uronema marinum. Results showed that MPs/NPs dramatically decrease the abundance, biovolume, and carbon biomass of U. marinum. And, exposure could cause changes of antioxidant enzyme activity and antioxidant content on U. marinum. The combined toxicity of MPs/NPs with AgNPs to ciliates showed an enhanced effect compared to exposure alone. Additionally, the negative effects under exposure of NPs plus AgNPs were more significant than those of MPs plus AgNPs. Transcriptome sequencing showed that co-exposure could affect the energy metabolism and lipid metabolism of ciliates, even cause DNA and protein damage. Our study provided a novel insight and first-hand basic data for the understanding of combined toxicity of MPs /NPs with AgNPs on the basic trophic level ciliated protozoa in marine ecosystems.

Analysis of Users Balance Between Private and Public -- One Case from the TikTok

Information privacy is of paramount importance to everyone, but there are many Internet users privacy leaks. But inevitably, internet users need to provide some information of their own to satisfy a better web experience. Therefore, it is necessary to study the balance between personal information sharing and personal privacy. The studys goal is to develop a mathematical model that quantifies the trade-offs between individuals and society regarding the disclosure of private information. In the process of research, researchers use targeted questionnaires to obtain first-hand raw data, analyze users choices between sharing personal data and protecting personal privacy, and obtain users preferences for privacy protection measures. Through multi-dimensional statistical analysis of the questionnaire results, this paper reflects the current users awareness of personal privacy protection and the publics attitude towards the current phenomenon of privacy acquisition on social media. Furthermore, based on the original data of the questionnaire, it provides effective suggestions for researchers to modify the privacy protection policies of media platforms.

Exploring perceptions of travel-eligible individuals with dementia and hotel operators

ABSTRACT Although people with dementia have leisure travel needs, no scholars appear to have empirically explored how to meet this group’s needs as hotel guests. To bridge this research gap in tourism literature, the current study employed in-depth interviews to collect first-hand data from 15 travel-eligible tourists with early-stage dementia and 15 senior luxury hotel managers in China. Specifically, six key themes were extracted from Chinese hotel guests with dementia. Hotel managers’ commentary on meeting travel-eligible tourists with dementia’ needs during leisure travel led to three themes. Innovatively, this study further sheds light on possible contributions the tourism and hospitality industry makes to the global health field using the context of a vulnerable group – travel-eligible tourists in an ageing society.

Loanword adaptation of Japanese consonants in Kavalan

Abstract This paper is a first attempt to investigate loanword adaptation of Japanese consonants in Kavalan. Based on first hand data, the paper shows that when a Japanese consonant is adapted as the closest Kavalan consonant, the manner features are of higher phonological weight and are more faithfully retained than the place and voicing features. It is shown that for adaptations involving a change in the place of articulation, the change is generally minimal and confined within the same major place feature. This is except for the [ɸ] > [h] and the [ç] > [h] mappings which involve a change from [Lab] and [Cor] to [Phar]. It is argued that although the [ɸ] > [h] and the [ç] > [h] mappings may seem to suggest that loanword adaptation in Kavalan is based on phoneme-to-phoneme mappings, the adaptations of Japanese affricates and the word-medial nasal codas suggest otherwise; the change is in fact driven by place markedness. Together with the fact that native Kavalan phonotactics also plays a role in shaping the non-native sounds perceived, this paper argues that Kavalan loanword adaptation is best accounted for by a loanword theory which takes into account both perception and phonology.

Beyond alienability: factors determining possessive classes in Piaroa

Abstract This article focuses on possession marking in Piaroa, a Jodï-Sáliban language spoken along the Middle Orinoco River on the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Based on a corpus of first-hand fieldwork data and building on previous descriptions of Piaroa possession, I show that Piaroa nouns can be divided into four main possessive noun classes based not only on the alienability (i.e., obligatorily possessed vs. optionally possessed) contrast but also based on construction types (i.e., directly possessed vs. indirectly possessed). This article thus contributes to our crosslinguistic understanding of possession constructions and possessive noun classes by showing that alienability is not a sufficient criterion to account for the different possessive classes and splits in Piaroa adnominal possessive constructions, which require positing two concurrent but distinct systems of possessive classification.