Higher Rank Research Articles

The Effect of Harvest Area, Rice Productivity, and Population Density on Food Security in NTT Province 2018-2023

Food security is one of the main keys to realizing the welfare of the people in Indonesia. Currently, Indonesia is still experiencing serious food security problems, especially rice availability. Based on the Central Bureau of Statistics 2024, the highest level of insecurity across Indonesia is in East Nusa Tenggara Province, with a value of 14.68%. Meanwhile, the population in East Nusa Tenggara Province is quite large, with more than 5 million people. If the level of vulnerability is at the highest rank, it can be said that East Nusa Tenggara Province has very low food security. This study aims to analyze the effect of rice harvest area, rice productivity, and population density on food security in 21 districts and 1 city of East Nusa Tenggara Province from 2018 to 2023. This study uses secondary data in the form of panel data. The sample used in this study is data from 22 districts and cities in East Nusa Tenggara Province for 6 periods, with details, namely 22 x 6 = 132. This study found that simultaneously, the variables of rice harvest area, rice productivity, and population density in East Nusa Tenggara Province had a significant effect on food security. While partially obtaining results, namely the variable area of rice harvest and rice productivity, there is a significant effect on food security. The total population variable has no significant effect on food security.

Quality of basketballs of international level sports using an intelligent decision algorithm involving multiple experts

In the competitive climate of international sports, quality assessment of basketballs assumes a critical function to guarantee performance at its best. The research proposes a new intelligent decision-making method developed to measure the global quality of professional competition basketballs. To efficiently address uncertainty and imprecision present in expert judgments, we utilize circular picture fuzzy values (CPFVs), which provide a versatile framework for representing vagueness in judgment. Addressing multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) issues involving interdependent criteria, we propose aggregation operators in the framework of Aczel–Alsina (A–A) operations under a circular prioritized picture fuzzy (CPPF) setting. In particular, we introduce two novel operators the Cr-PPF Aczel–Alsina geometric (Cr-PPFAAG) and the Cr-PPF Aczel–Alsina average (Cr-PPFAAA) as generalizations of A–A t-norm and t-conorm operators for ordered fuzzy data. We analyze the mathematical properties and relationships among these operators and embed them into a MADM model. An empirical case study investigates five prominent global basketball brands on six quality features, e.g., the durability of the material, consistency of the bounce, quality of grip, and air retention. The results of the evaluation place the Brand at the highest rank with a cumulative score of, followed by Brand ranks the lowest with 0.61. Comparative evaluation verifies the superior performance of the suggested model in dealing with ambiguity and generating strong, consistent rankings compared to other methods. The study provides real-world guidance for sports associations, manufacturers, and procurement decision-makers when choosing high-quality basketballs that comply with international performance standards and enhance professional play.

Global research hotspots and trends in the field of surgical treatment of congenital tracheal stenosis in infants and children over the past 40 years: A bibliometric and visualization study

Congenital tracheal stenosis (CTS) is a rare and highly fatal airway obstructive disorder. Recent years have seen the recognition of several forms of surgery as safe and effective means of improving the survival of children with CTS. It is important to complement the comprehensive and systematic pulse combing analysis of this research field. In order to give future researchers ideas and references, we examine the literature on the surgical treatment of CTS during the past 40 years and compile a summary of the cutting-edge trends and research hotspots in this area. A search was conducted through the Web of Science database’s core dataset for relevant publications pertaining to the surgical treatment of CTS from 1983 to 2024. CiteSpace 6.3, VOSviewer 1.6.18, Scimago Graphica 1.0.26, R-bibliometrix 4.6.1, and Pajek 5.16 tools were used for analysis and visualization. 327 publications total were found. With 82 papers, the US ranked first. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children National Health Service Foundation Trust was ranked first for institutions with 24 papers. With 48 papers, the Journal of Pediatric Surgery had the top spot among journals, while Elliott MJ had the highest ranking among authors with 15. Study keywords were sliding tracheoplasty, congenital long tracheal stenosis, airway reconstruction, interventional procedures, airway stenting, intact tracheal rings, degradable airway stents, modified sliding tracheoplasty, trachelectomy, difficult intubation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, central airway stenosis, balloon-expandable metal stents, airway mucosa, Pierre Robin sequence, ventilation. The existing body of research indicates that there is still a great deal of untapped potential in the surgical treatment of CTS. The research hotspot is the clinical efficacy study of selecting the optimal timing and sequence of surgical procedures for the treatment of CTS combined with cardiovascular disease, the use of extracorporeal circulatory devices as an aid to reduce the surgical mortality rate, and the exploring preoperative predictive risk by reviewing patient cases to explore preoperative predictive risk factor studies. The reliability and feasibility of a new index to objectively assess tracheal flow function before and after surgery, new bioabsorbable scaffolds with longer degradation times and increased radial expansion, and new technologies such as visualization surgery.

Logarithmic operators in $c=0$ bulk CFTs

We study Kac operators (e.g. energy operator) in percolation and self-avoiding walk bulk CFTs with central charge c=0c=0. The proper normalizations of these operators can be deduced at generic cc by requiring the finiteness and reality of the three-point constants in cluster and loop model CFTs. At c=0c=0, Kac operators become zero-norm states and the bottom fields of logarithmic multiplets, and comparison with c<1c<1 Liouville CFT suggests the potential existence of arbitrarily high rank Jordan blocks. We give a generic construction of logarithmic operators based on Kac operators and focus on the rank-2 pair of the energy operator mixing with the hull operator. By taking the c\to 0c→0 limit, we compute some of their conformal data and use this to investigate the operator algebra at c=0c=0. Based on cluster decomposition, we find that, contrary to previous belief, the four-point correlation function of the bulk energy operator does not vanish at c=0c=0, and a crucial role is played by its coupling to the rank-3 Jordan block associated with the second energy operator. This reveals the intriguing way zero-norm operators build long-range higher-point correlations through the intricate logarithmic structures in c=0c=0 bulk CFTs.

A study of calibration as a measurement of trustworthiness of large language models in biomedical natural language processing

Abstract Objectives To assess the calibration of 9 large language models (LLMs) within biomedical natural language processing (BioNLP) tasks, furthering understanding of trustworthiness and reliability in real-world settings. Materials and Methods For each LLM, we collected responses and corresponding confidence scores for all 13 datasets (grouped into 6 tasks) of the Biomedical Language Understanding & Reasoning Benchmark (BLURB). Confidence scores were assigned using 3 strategies: Verbal, Self-consistency, and Hybrid. For evaluation, we introduced Flex-ECE (Flexible Expected Calibration Error), a novel adaptation of ECE that accounts for partial correctness in model responses, allowing for a more realistic assessment of calibration in language-based settings. Two post-hoc calibration techniques—isotonic regression and histogram binning—were evaluated. Results Across tasks, mean calibration ranged from 23.9% (Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome extraction) to 46.6% (Relation Extraction). Across LLMs, Medicine-Llama3-8B had the best mean overall calibration (29.8%), and Flan-T5-XXL had the highest ranking on 5/13 datasets. Across strategies, Self-consistency (mean: 27.3%) had better calibration than Verbal (mean: 42.0%) and Hybrid (mean: 44.2%). Post-hoc methods substantially improved calibration, with best mean calibrated Flex-ECEs ranging from 0.1% to 4.1%. Discussion The poor out-of-the-box calibration of LLMs poses a risk to trustworthy deployment of such models in real-world BioNLP applications. Calibration can be improved post-hoc and is a recommended practice. Non-binary metrics for LLM evaluation such as Flex-ECE provide a more realistic assessment of trustworthiness of LLMs, and indeed any model that can be partially right/wrong. Conclusion This study shows that out-of-the-box calibration of LLMs is very poor, but traditional post-hoc calibration techniques are useful to calibrate LLMs.

The Social Network of Otolaryngology: Collaborative Publishing Relationships by Gender.

This study aims to evaluate if gender differences exist in social connectedness (betweenness centrality) and professional impact (h-indices) within Otolaryngology when controlling for variables such as academic rank, subspecialty, and geographic region. Physician faculty (n = 2494) from 129 US ACGME accredited otolaryngology programs were identified. Characteristics included gender, academic rank, sub-specialty, and SCOPUS IDs. The co-authorship network was visualized and consisted of 2265 physicians (nodes) connected by 28,408 collaborative relationships (edges). The professional connectedness of physicians was calculated using betweenness centrality (BWC), which quantifies how frequently a physician node appears on the shortest path between two other nodes. Analysis employed ordinal regression fitting semiparametric multivariable cumulative probability models. Among 2265 faculty physicians identified, 69% were male, 26% were female, and 5% were unknown. Female faculty had lower h-index and BWC scores compared to their male colleagues. When controlling for subspecialty and region, male and female assistant professors did not show evidence of a difference in BWC scores (odds ratio (OR) = 0.96, p = 0.80). However, among associate and full professors, males tended to have higher BWC compared to female counterparts (OR = 1.47, p = 0.0086 for associate and OR = 2.05, p < 0.0001 for full professors). Analysis of our co-authorship network showed that current male and female Otolaryngology faculty have equivalent academic impact and professional connectedness at lower academic ranks but diverge at higher ranks. These findings suggest that increased efforts to support female academic development at the mid-career level may reduce the observed gender disparities at higher academic ranks. N/A.

Comparisons of nonpharmacological caregiver interventions for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Comparisons of nonpharmacological caregiver interventions for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Multiomics-based analysis of key genes, metabolites and pathways unveils mechanism associated with social rank in Chickens.

Multiomics-based analysis of key genes, metabolites and pathways unveils mechanism associated with social rank in Chickens.

Influence of digitalization on inter-university competition

Introduction. The The relevance of the study is driven by the growing impact of digitalization on higher education. As universities strive to enhance their competitiveness, their performance in international rankings becomes particularly important, serving as a benchmark for educational quality. The aim of this article is to determine the impact of digitalization on improving the competitiveness of universities. Methods. To analyze the impact of digitalization on university competitiveness, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. Two main data sources were utilized: academic articles published between 2013 and 2023, and data from the official websites of major international rankings such as Webometrics, ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities), QS, and THE (Times Higher Education). A correlation analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient was conducted to explore the relationship between university digitalization and rankings. The criteria included the number of online learning programs, the volume of digital content produced (e.g., articles and multimedia resources), and online visibility measured by external links to university websites and citation counts. Ranking data were examined for positions in Webometrics, ARWU, QS, and THE, with a particular focus on digital metrics such as web presence and the availability of academic resources. Statistical significance was assessed using a threshold of &lt;0.05 to determine the strength of the relationship between digital engagement and university rankings. KEYWORDS Results. Significant correlations were found between university rankings in Webometrics and other major international rankings, including ARWU, QS, and THE. In particular, a strong positive correlation (r = 0.738; p &lt; 0.01) was observed between Webometrics and ARWU rankings, which primarily measure research outcomes. Moreover, a moderate correlation (r = 0.58; p &lt; 0.01) was identified between Webometrics and THE rankings, emphasizing research quality and indicating that universities with strong online citations tend to perform better in research-based rankings. Further analysis revealed that the production of digital content (e.g., the number of academic publications and multimedia resources) and online visibility (measured by external links and citation counts) were significant predictors of a university’s overall ranking. Universities that actively engaged in creating and disseminating digital content, including open-access resources and online courses, scored higher in Webometrics rankings, which in turn positively influenced their positions in traditional rankings like QS and THE. Conclusion. The study demonstrates the significant impact of digitalization on shaping inter-university competition and enhancing the global competitiveness of higher education institutions. Universities characterized by extensive digital content, robust online visibility, and the integration of advanced digital tools consistently achieve better outcomes in both research-specific and broader international rankings. The findings underscore the importance of aligning institutional strategies with digitalization trends to maintain and improve high rankings. To enhance competitiveness, universities should prioritize digitalizing educational and administrative processes, including the adoption of innovative technologies, the development of online learning platforms, and improvements to their digital infrastructure.

Beyond the Alpha: Extra‐Pair Paternities and Male Reproductive Success in a Primate Multilevel Society

ABSTRACTIn social mammals, dominance status and tenure length are often important determinants of male reproductive success. Nevertheless, alternative strategies, such as extra‐pair mating, and the active role of females in securing reproductive benefits can substantially modify patterns of paternity. To date, many studies have had short observation periods and small sample sizes, constraining understanding of how male social status, tenure length, and female mating strategies jointly affect male long‐term reproductive success, especially in species with complex social systems. Using longitudinal demographic and genetic data from a free‐ranging population of a golden snub‐nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) multilevel society in the Qinling Mountains, central China, we investigated how leader males' ranks and tenure lengths influence their reproductive success through within‐unit and extra‐unit paternities. We found that although high rank increases the likelihood of producing within‐unit paternity offspring in the short term, tenure length is a stronger determinant of long‐term reproductive success via both within‐unit and extra‐unit paternities. Females may gain direct benefits from producing extra‐pair paternity offspring by reducing the risk of infanticide through mating with all‐male band males and/or by selecting high‐ranking leader males for better access to resources. Moreover, females may also accrue additional indirect benefits from producing extra‐pair paternity offspring when more adult males are available in the breeding band. Our findings highlight extra‐pair paternity as a reproductive strategy for both male and female golden snub‐nosed monkeys to optimize reproductive success, which may also play a role in maintaining stability in this complex primate society.

Assessment of communication channels in cocoa farming: Utilization, impact and constraints, in Ekiti West Local Government Area

The study was established on primary data obtained from a multistage random sample of 185 Cocoa farmers selected from 6 political wards. Interview schedules and semi-structured questionnaire were used to elicit data from the respondents which was then analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The Mean age of farmers was found to be 36years and more than half of the respondents (50.81%) were married. Male Cocoa farmers were predominant at 61.19%. Results further showed that 89.5% of respondents were literate and the mean scores recorded for farming experience and household size were 4years and 6 persons respectively. The most accessible and frequently utilized channel was Mobile phones with a mean score of 2.82. Interpersonal channels like Group discussions (96.76%), Extension agent (96.22%) and On-farm demonstration (93.51%) were however the most widely preferred communication channels in the study area but not readily accessible. With regard to perceived effects of channels utilization on farming practices, respondents stated that Cocoa plantation management systems have been enhanced significantly with mean score of 3.99. The major constraint that affected communication channels utilization was identified to be inadequate enabling infrastructure (22.04%). The highest ranking with regard to the measures for enhancing communication channels utilization was provision of access roads, electricity and other enabling infrastructure (=3.94). The Chi-square (χ2) test of independent analysis showed that Chi-square (χ2) values of Education (68.287), Gender (49.250), Farm size (40.004) and Farming experience (57.258) had significant relationship with frequency of communication channel’s utilization with χ2 at P &lt;0 .05. These findings underscore the need for the provision of low cost micro credit facilities and provision of enabling infrastructure to ensure effective use of interpersonal and mass media channels, community resource centers establishment, employment and training of extension agents for frequent accessibility to Cocoa farmers Suggested measures include the expansion of digital infrastructure, capacity-building programs to improve technological proficiency among farmers, and policy reforms aimed at integrating modern communication tools into the agricultural extension framework.

Understanding Motorist Preferences for Fuel Stations in Ado Ekiti Metropolis

Background: The increasing competitive markets for petrol station services has made customers more selective on the quality of services they expect, thereby making the service providers more committed to service offerings. Aims: This study examined the determinants of patronage in filling stations in Ado Ekiti Metropolis. Methods: The study uses a sample size of 316 from the 1500 population of motorist chosen through a convenience sampling. The method of data analysis used was simple regression. Results: The study found out that there is a significant and positive relationship between service quality and motorists’ patronage of petrol station in Ado-Ekiti metropolis, there is a significant relationship between price and motorists’ patronage of petrol station in Ado-Ekiti metropolis, there is a significant relationship between location and motorists’ patronage of petrol station in Ado-Ekiti metropolis and there is a significant relationship between trust and motorists’ patronage of petrol station in Ado-Ekiti metropolis. Conclusion: The study concluded and implies that location, trust, service quality and price contributes to patronage in the highest ranking respectively.

Analysis of Agricultural Performance of BRICS Countries and Türkiye with CRITIC-Based Grey Relational Analysis Method

The purpose of this study is to use the CRITIC (Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation) and GRA (Grey Relational Analysis) approaches to assess the agricultural performance of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and Türkiye. The following criteria are applied in order to assess each country's agricultural performance: Livestock Production, Primary (Ton/Population), Crops Production, Primary (Ton/Population), Gross Production Value (constant 2014-2016 thousand US$) (Value/Hectare), Agriculture Self-sufficiency (Export/Import) (%), Agriculture Methane (CH4) Emission from Agriculture (Value/Agricultural Land) in million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (Mt CO2e), Agriculture Employment (as a percentage of total employment), and Fertilizer consumption (kilograms per hectare of arable land), Arable land (% of land area). The years 2000, 2010, and 2022 are all included in the analysis. According to the GRA approach, South Africa had the worst agricultural performance in all reviewed years. While Russia had the highest rank in 2000, Brazil rose to the top ten years later, in 2010, its rank remained unchanged in 2022. Specifically, the top and bottom-ranked nations remain unchanged from 2010 to 2022. In terms of Türkiye, it ranked fourth in all studied years.

Network Pharmacology-Based Approach to Unveil the Therapeutic Mechanism of Vibirnum opulus L. on Glomerulonephritis

This research was carried out to investigate the potential targets and pathways of the effective compounds of Vibirnum opulus L., which is considered to be an ethnopharmacologically effective plant in the treatment of kidney diseases, on glomerulonephritis (GN) disease. Plant contents were obtained from review articles on plant contents in the literature. Target genes of GN disease were searched from the GenCards database and linkage analysis was obtained with Cytoscap 3.10.0. The compound target and disorder target intersection was imported into the STRING database to create a PPI network. GO and KEGG analyses and functional enrichment analyses were applied to define the biological functions of the targets. The binding capabilities of key targets and active ingredients were simulated by docking study. A total of 9 active components of the plant content were compiled. The compound target network has 125 nodes and 358 edges. Bioactive contents with a higher afinity score are rutin and quercetin. The protein with higher ranking in the PPI network are TP53, SRC and EGFR. GO and KEGG assay presented that the treatment of GN by V. opulus mainly involves the generation of cellular response to chemical and oxidative stress, tyrosine kinase activity, transcription regulatory complex and other biological processes. The results of KEGG enrichment analysis indicate that V. opulus mainly involves some pathways such as chemical carcinogenesis-receptor activation, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in the treatment of GN. Molecular docking data presented that rutin and quercetin have highest affinity score with TP53, SRC and EGFR proteins. This results reveals the active compounds and potential molecular pathways of V. opulus in the treatment of GN and presents a source for further basic studies.

The impact of gender factor on the formation of career aspirations of military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine

The article examines the prevalence of a discrepancy in career aspirations among students attending military academies, with a particular focus on differences based on gender. The study uses the psycholinguistic research method, specifically a free association experiment. Two stimulus words were selected for the psycholinguistic experiment: ‘career’ and ‘family’. The word ‘family’ serves as an auxiliary stimulus in the experiment. A total of 102 students, all of whom were currently ranked as lieutenants and in their fifth year of studies at the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology, participated in the experiment. The sample consisted of 74 male (n = 72.5%) and 28 female (n = 27.5%) participants. The study findings show that primary career motivation for both male and female respondents is the acquisition of social prestige, demonstrated through high status and rank identification, as well as a stable financial situation. Gender differences in career orientation lead to variations in conflict behavior strategies. Both men and women may use cooperation and competition strategies equally. However, in situations of conflicting interests, women tend to orient their social interaction towards confrontation and antagonism. The majority of both male and female respondents view the family as a potential for career advancement. However, some male respondents may experience high inter-role conflict between work and family. Women have various methods of resolving the role conflict between work and family. These include remaining childless, delegating child-rearing duties to their parents, and minimizing work responsibilities to allocate their physical and psychological resources to their family. To create more opportunities for women’s career success, it is recommended that military organizations provide training in integrative career approaches that can help service women approach career development in terms of their professional competencies rather than gender role stereotypes.

The Apex of Privilege: Ming Court Painting in the Late Fifteenth Century

Abstract This article investigates the irregular promotion paths of court painters and the subtle evolution of the style of Ming court painting during the reigns of Emperor Chenghua (r. 1464–1487) and Emperor Hongzhi (r. 1487–1505). The vibrant artistic activities and the congregation of renowned painters in the imperial court during the slightly earlier Xuande reign (1425–1435) have led scholars to argue that Ming court painting reached its pinnacle under Xuande. The advancements in court painting during the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods, when court painters achieved their highest ranks, are less recognized. This study, therefore, examines the privileges awarded to court painters through imperial edicts during these later periods and explains how the distinct artistic interests and tastes of the two emperors nurtured court painting and shaped its features in the late fifteenth century.

Comparative Study of Person Re-Identification Techniques Based on Deep Learning Models

Person re-identification (Re-ID) is crucial in intelligent surveillance, requiring precise identification of individuals across multiple camera viewpoints. Traditional distance-based methods, such as Euclidean and Cosine, struggle with challenges like posture variations and occlusions, limiting their effectiveness. This study explores deep metric learning models, specifically Siamese and Triplet networks, to improve Re-ID performance. We evaluate these methods on the Market-1501 dataset using Cumulative Matching Characteristic (CMC) and Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) curves. Our findings reveal that the Triplet network outperforms traditional approaches at higher ranks, achieving Rank-5 accuracy of 78.6% and Rank-10 accuracy of 93%, while its Rank-1 accuracy remains low (0.06%). In contrast, Euclidean and Cosine distances show poor Rank-1 performance (2% and 0.30%, respectively), highlighting their limitations. Additionally, incorporating VGG16 enhances feature extraction, improving recognition by capturing fine-grained spatial details. This comparative study highlights the effectiveness of deep metric learning and underscores its potential for real-world surveillance applications. However, the computational demands of deep networks present challenges for real-time deployment. Future research should focus on optimizing model efficiency, reducing computational costs, and extending evaluations to real-time scenarios.

A new super narrow-ranged endemic Phoxinus minnow (Leuciscidae) from the Caucasus

A new species, Phoxinus ayukensissp. nov., from the Kuban basin (Northwestern Caucasus) is described. This species has an extremely narrow range of approximately 5–7 km in a seasonally almost drying stream within the karstic region. The new species has a moderate genetic distance in cytochrome b mtDNA (p-distance = 0.026 ± 0.005) from geographically and genetically close species in the Kuban basin—P. adagumicus—and differs from all known Phoxinus species by a highly increased number of scales in the lateral series: 87–105 (mean 97.7), differs from other species from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus (P. adagumicus, P. chrysoprasius, P. colchicus, and P. isetensis) by an increased frequency of occurrence of seven rays in the pelvic fin (ca. 35%) and an increased number of scales between bases of dorsal and anal fins (32–41, mean 36.7). Morphologically, the new species is the most different from the other Caucasian species, but it is closer to the Northern minnow P. isetensis; that might be explained by phenotypic convergence caused by adaptation to cold waters. The range of the new species is limited by waterfalls in the upper reach of the Ayuk Stream, where subterranean water outlets probably contributed to its survival. The role of Pleistocene glaciations in shaping the modern distribution and environmental differences in evolutionary divergence of Caucasian Phoxinus is highlighted. Low genetic diversity coupled with extremely limited range within the seasonally half-drying stream suggests a high rank of protection for new species.

UNVEILING THE DYNAMICS OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO): STRATEGIES, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE TRENDS IN DIGITAL MARKETING

This paper addresses the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is essential in increasing the exposure of a website and consequently making it more visible to users. SEO efforts are grouped as on-page, off-page, and technical SEO. On-page SEO includes optimizing the content, adding title, meta, and image tags, and adjusting the URLs of target websites. Promoting domain authority through backlinking, competitor analysis, and link-building strategies is called off-page SEO. Technical SEO is all about enhancing mobile accessibility, XML sitemap, robots. txt, and the security of a website so that search engines can crawl and index it more effectively. In order to capture the attention of search engines, optimizers must be well-versed in its algorithm ranking factors and ensure that the page aims to answer a user’s inquiry as well as target certain phrases that assist with higher ranking. There is an emphasis on the need for ethical SEO, and optimizers need to keep adapting to new algorithm updates if they want to remain competitive. The discussion of future perspectives raises the introduction of voice search and AI to digital marketing, which encourages pursuing deeper research.

From Classroom to Boardroom: Employer Perspectives of Business Graduates’ Information Literacy Skills

Information literacy includes the ability to locate, use, and manage information. While many libraries and academic programs incorporate information literacy into undergraduate business instruction and assignments, the linear and ordered nature of the curricula may not prepare students for the ill-structured and ever-changing work environments they will encounter after graduation. To understand the gaps between the current academic environment and the professional world that our business graduates will enter, we interviewed four employers in a pilot study to examine their expectations and perspectives regarding the abilities of new business hires to find and utilize information in the workplace. All the employers were from large, multi-national companies that hire extensively from our R1 university and other high ranking undergraduate business programs. We used a combination of deductive and inductive qualitative analyses to identify these major themes in the interview transcripts: gathering and using information; evidence and synthesis; using specific types of information; learning; navigating internal systems; satisfaction with new hires; and data. Our findings are useful to us, and potentially to other librarians and instructors at institutions with undergraduate business programs, to integrate into business information literacy instruction in a way which best prepares students for the information work environments they will encounter after graduation.