Holistic Standpoint Research Articles

Liturgical Spaces and Devotional Spaces: Analysis of the Choirs of Three Catalan Nuns’ Monasteries during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Choirs in female monastic and convent communities are spaces whose complexity has been highlighted because of their multipurpose and multifunctional nature. Although they are within the community’s private sphere of prayer of the divine office, it has also been noted that they play a liturgical role as the space from which the nuns ‘hear’ and follow the celebrations taking place in the church and even in the choral altars. The devotional–liturgical binomial is joined by other contrasting terms, like esglesia dintra–sgleya de fora, indicating a duality, as follows: the claustration (as an enclosed, internal and private space of the nuns) and the external church accessible to priests and laypeople, as well as private devotion versus community devotion. The Poor Clares of the monastery of Sant Antoni i Santa Clara actually mentioned the choir altar as nostro altar, underscoring the close bonds that joined them to a liturgical table in this private space, as opposed to those of the esglesia defora. The objective of this article is to study the choirs of three female monasteries in Barcelona during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries—Sant Pere de les Puel·les (Benedictines), Sant Antoni i Santa Clara and Santa Maria de Pedralbes (both Clarissan)—from a holistic standpoint, including spaces, functions, goods, furnishings and decorations.

Socioeconomic Characteristics of Small-Scale Livestock Farmers on access to High-Value Livestock Markets in the Greater Giyani Local Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the socioeconomic characteristics of small-scale farmers that have an impact on their access to high-value livestock markets in Greater Giyani Local Municipality (GGLM) and make recommendations for improving their access. Theoretical reference: Many studie conducted indicate that high-value livestock market access by small-scale farmers requires a Consideration of global trends in the economic transformation that have a direct bearing on the current small-scale market access situation from a holistic standpoint, which is influenced by the socioeconomic status of livestock farmers. Method: The study adopted a quantitative research approach and employed clustered proportional random sampling. Two hundred and fifteen (215) Greater Giyani Local Municipality livestock small-scale farmers were randomly selected. Results and conclusion: The study revealed that the majority of the small-scale livestock farmers in the GGLM were male (62.8%) and elderly people (above 65 years) (45.1%). The study further revealed that the majority (67.9%) of the livestock farmers in the GGLM had no formal education. Youth participation in livestock farming was disappointing (12.1%). Inferential statistical analysis revealed that young adults and elderly small-scale livestock farmers were all significant and had a direct influence on access to high-value markets. Farmers will be encouraged to enrol on an adult learning center and youth will be encouranged to participate in livestock farming. Research implication: Based on the results of previous research, fewer youth are usually participating in farming when compared with older farmers. Originality/value: The study revealed that socioeconomic characteristics play a vital role on access to high-value livestock markets. However previous study has not covered much on the role of socioeconomic status.

Advanced Framework for Integrating Risks into an Organizational Setting

Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a systematic approach that strategically assesses risk management from a holistic standpoint, including the whole company or enterprise. The aforementioned approach is a top-down strategic methodology designed to detect, evaluate, and proactively address possible risks, threats, hazards, and other sources of damage that have the potential to impede an organization's operations and goals, or result in negative outcomes. ERM is a prominent framework that assists businesses in the identification, evaluation, and management of hazards at the enterprise level. Scholars identified many elements that serve as motivators for enterprises to participate in the process of ERM. These reasons include the likelihood of encountering financial hardship and the subsequent expenses, subpar profits performance, potential development prospects, and the autonomy of the board. The implementation of an effective risk management plan might potentially serve as a competitive advantage for organizations, facilitating their growth. This elucidates the extensive corpus of research devoted to ERM. This paper examines the fundamental connections between Enterprise Architecture and Risk Management and presents a proposed architectural framework for effectively incorporating risk considerations within the broader organizational context. This article presents a proposed strategy for attaining a comprehensive and shared perspective on hazards throughout an organization.

A brief review on integrated pest management of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) in cotton

An outline of integrated approaches to managing the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) within cotton crops is presented. The pink bollworm poses a notable menace to cotton production, necessitating a comprehensive strategy for its effective control. This assessment delves into the fusion of varied techniques for pest management, encompassing cultural, biological, and chemical methodologies, all aimed at mitigating the harm caused by the pink bollworm in an environmentally sound manner. Cultural practices like altering crop types, initiating early planting, and eliminating affected plant remains, disrupt the life cycle of the pest. Biological agents, such as Trichogramma wasps and natural predators, act as inherent checks on population expansion. The judicious application of insecticides, guided by monitoring methods, brings the integrated plan to fruition. The amalgamation emphasizes the importance of a holistic standpoint in curtailing the use of pesticides while upholding effective pest control. The triumphant execution of this approach necessitates the training of farmers, the dispersion of advanced technology, and collaboration among all stakeholders. The different studies underscore the viability of IPM as a sustainable and holistic strategy to manage pink bollworm infestations in cotton, ensuring enhanced yield and ecological equilibrium. Keywords: Pheromone trap, mass trapping, mating disruption, biological control and pesticides

Proposed Framework and Method for Integrating Risks into an Organizational Setting

Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a systematic approach that strategically assesses risk management from a holistic standpoint, including the whole company or enterprise. The aforementioned approach is a top-down strategic methodology designed to detect, evaluate, and proactively address possible risks, threats, hazards, and other sources of damage that have the potential to impede an organization's operations and goals, or result in negative outcomes. ERM is a prominent framework that assists businesses in the identification, evaluation, and management of hazards at the enterprise level. Scholars identified many elements that serve as motivators for enterprises to participate in the process of ERM. These reasons include the likelihood of encountering financial hardship and the subsequent expenses, subpar profits performance, potential development prospects, and the autonomy of the board. The implementation of an effective risk management plan might potentially serve as a competitive advantage for organizations, facilitating their growth. This elucidates the extensive corpus of research devoted to ERM. This paper examines the fundamental connections between Enterprise Architecture and Risk Management, and presents a proposed architectural framework for effectively incorporating risk considerations within the broader organizational context. This article presents a proposed strategy for attaining a comprehensive and shared perspective on hazards throughout an organization.

Literature Review Of M-Banking Experience In Generation X, Y, And Z: Study Of Antecedents And Outcomes

Customers are using mobile banking (M-Banking) as a handy way to manage their funds as the world gets more digital. Banking industry aim to provide customers a great experience across M-Banking channel to attract more customer, sustain their customer’s loyalty, and get higher revenue for the continuous usage in the future. In order to investigate the design of a customer experience from a holistic standpoint, this study expand on the literature that has already been written on the topic and give an overview of it in this paper. Understanding consumer behavior thus requires examination of the various patterns of personality traits and their impact over generations. This study also explains the comprehend of inter-generational relationship through their behavioral biases across generational cohorts. Few papers are examined through 12 journal articles published between 2008 and 2023 in top journal. The findings indicate that the customer experience is dynamic and proposed a broaden model to examine such as S-O-R framework to get better understanding. M-Banking experience’s antecedent and outcomes among generation X,Y, and Z is also approached such as how and to what extent an experience influence loyalty and continuous usage intention. In each of this area, this study identifies and discuss important issues worthy for further research.

Adoption of Electric Vehicles: Purchase Intentions and Consumer Behaviors Research in Turkey

Electric vehicles (EVs) hold promise for attaining sustainable development objectives and mitigating the effects of global climate change due to their substantial benefits, such as high energy efficiency and low carbon emissions. Research on purchase intentions and behaviors may accelerate the adoption of EVs. Considering that the number of studies on EVs increases in tandem with the size of the market and that mutual interaction supports this two-way growth, conducting studies on consumer behavior in this area in countries where the electric vehicle market is developing, such as Turkey, will provide valuable insights for both the industry and the government. In this study, published articles on the consumer behavior of current and potential purchasers of electric vehicles were analyzed on the axis of Turkey, and the trend of academic studies in the literature was systematized from a holistic standpoint. Co-citation, co-keyword, geographical, and thematic analysis were applied to articles about EV consumer behaviors published between 2004 and 2022 in journals indexed by WoS, Scopus, TR Index, and DergiPark. The results of this study can inform numerous inter-disciplinary studies and researchers on the consumer behavior of electric vehicles. The bibliometric analysis of academic studies on electric vehicle consumers not only closes the market’s knowledge gap and accelerates the adoption process by increasing consumer awareness, but also provides industry representatives and policymakers with insights for the expansion of the EV market.

Research on the impact of consumer privacy and intelligent personalization technology on purchase resistance

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of consumer privacy and intelligent personalization technology on purchase resistance using multidimensional development theory and the psychological contract violation model. From a holistic standpoint, this paper examines the internal mechanism of consumers’ resistance to personalized marketing, the different roles of situational factors and personal characteristics, and the stimulating factors of consumers’ psychological contract violation. The study concludes that psychological contract violation is the primary driver of consumer resistance to personalized marketing intent. The customization of perception, the enhancement of perception, and the legitimacy of the privacy policy are all negatively associated with the violation of psychological contracts with consumers. Personal innovation and online shopping experience are negatively correlated with consumers’ intention to resist personalized marketing; customization of perception has a significant direct effect on consumers’ resistance intention; There is no significant correlation between perceived improvement, privacy policy legitimacy, perceived privacy control, and consumers’ resistance intention. The contribution of this paper is to provide a new research perspective and theoretical explanation for a deeper understanding of consumers’ resistance to personalized marketing behavior.

Optimal control of renewable energy communities with controllable assets

Introduction: The control of Renewable Energy Communities (REC) with controllable assets (e.g., batteries) can be formalised as an optimal control problem. This paper proposes a generic formulation for such a problem whereby the electricity generated by the community members is redistributed using repartition keys. These keys represent the fraction of the surplus of local electricity production (i.e., electricity generated within the community but not consumed by any community member) to be allocated to each community member. This formalisation enables us to jointly optimise the controllable assets and the repartition keys, minimising the combined total value of the electricity bills of the members.Methods: To perform this optimisation, we propose two algorithms aimed at solving an optimal open-loop control problem in a receding horizon fashion. Moreover, we also propose another approximated algorithm which only optimises the controllable assets (as opposed to optimising both controllable assets and repartition keys). We test these algorithms on Renewable Energy Communities control problems constructed from synthetic data, inspired from a real-life case of REC.Results: Our results show that the combined total value of the electricity bills of the members is greatly reduced when simultaneously optimising the controllable assets and the repartition keys (i.e., the first two algorithms proposed).Discussion: These findings strongly advocate the need for algorithms that adopt a more holistic standpoint when it comes to controlling energy systems such as renewable energy communities, co-optimising or jointly optimising them from both a traditional (very granular) control standpoint and a larger economic perspective.

The psychosocial burden of hidradenitis suppurativa in Singapore

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic debilitating inflammatory skin disorder known to result in significant psychological symptoms and impaired quality of life. However, most of these studies are limited to western countries, with limited data from other sociocultural regions. To understand the psychosocial burden of HS in the Asian context, by exploring the correlation between objective disease measures with psychosocial health and work productivity. A prospective single-center questionnaire study was conducted. A total of 45 patients with HS completed a questionnaire and examination by a dermatologist. Higher objective disease severity scores (Hurley, physician global assessment, International Hidradenitis Suppurative Severity, and modified Sartorius) correlated with poorer quality of life (Dermatology Life Quality Index and Patient Global Assessment), increased anxiety and depression (hospital anxiety and depression scale) and at-work productivity loss. There was no significant correlation between objective disease severity and other domains Work productivity and activity impairment score or self-esteem (Rosenburg Self-Esteem Scale). The main limitation of our study is the small sample size, assessment at a single time point, and lack of control cohort. Our findings demonstrate the impact of HS on a patient's psychosocial well-being and emphasize the importance of treating patients from a holistic standpoint.

Unearthing the Dynamics of Indonesia’s Geothermal Energy Development

Indonesia has one of the world’s biggest geothermal energy reserves, accounting for 28.61 Gigawatts of electric energy (GWe). However, as of 2022, the installed geothermal capacity in Indonesia was only around 2.175 GWe, just 7.6% of its estimated potential. Geothermal energy development is required for Indonesia to empower sustainable energy systems and achieve its target of reaching 7.2 GW of geothermal energy by 2025. The geothermal energy sector is viewed as a complex dynamic system, with complicated challenges, including technical, financial, infrastructure, and many other issues. The purpose of this paper is to understand the complex nature of geothermal systems in Indonesia. To that end, this paper examines the geothermal development from a systematic and holistic standpoint, employing the interview technique to enable the conceptualization of the geothermal systems using the system dynamics (SD) approach. The SD model exhibits several underlying and important factors influencing the development of geothermal energy in Indonesia, such as capital investment, the collection of upstream data to reduce risk, infrastructure construction, pricing, incentives, permit procedures, environmental concerns, and public acceptance.

Social value appraisal: cutting the Gordian knot

PurposeSocial initiatives must disclose their results to access support. However, there is no theoretical consensus about how to do it. It is still necessary to understand the value creation in social initiatives because they may or not have economic goals. However, these goals serve to make the social ones feasible. This study aims to cut this Gordian knot by providing measures aligned to the value theory but developed by the social lens. It offers a non-economic-focused approach to dealing with assessment complexity and with multiple stakeholders’ needs for information.Design/methodology/approachA consolidation research path is suggested by three composed measures built upon tested and reliable scales. These value measures are discussed through narratives from Portuguese investors and social entrepreneurs in a mixed-methods design. Content analysis and online survey provided data for descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha test.FindingsThe analyses supported the value measures. Thus, they allow an effective way to assess and report the social value created. It also highlighted a potential use in preventive and corrective approaches helpful for several organizations that pursue social goals.Research limitations/implicationsThe measures were tested based on social entrepreneurs' opinions. Future studies can include beneficiaries' opinions, allowing comparisons that can help to set more realistic goals and better investment criteria.Originality/valueThe relationship between investors and initiatives can improve, boosting their impact on society. The measures can highlight prioritization choices that influence the way value is created. Hence, they serve as a sensemaking from a holistic standpoint.

Redefining employee engagement and its significance

Employees in today's firms want to work in an atmosphere where they can give their all and be there for each other when things go tough. Organizations struggle to successfully manage personnel and turn workers into engaged colleagues prepared go the additional mile in their pursuit of organisational excellence and value maximisation. This article discusses the topic of employee job engagement as well as its relevance in today's workplace. It discusses its history, definitions, theoretical frameworks, employee categorization based on participation, then lastly the study's reason and relevance. Work engagement is a complex construct whose dynamics have been studied from numerous angles. To get a clear knowledge of the architecture from a holistic standpoint. The classic and recent research studies elucidating many characteristics on work engagement have been thoroughly studied, with the hypothesis employed acknowledged.

THE PHENOMENON OF "ECOLOGICAL SELF-AWARENESS" AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ECOLOGICAL TOURISM

The concept of "ecological self-awareness" is an integral part of ecological tourism. Ecological tourism is considered in a broad and a narrow aspects. In a broad aspect ecotourism is a market capitalization of the environmental benefits of some regions and the whole country. The Purpose of the research is to detect the influence of ecological self-awareness on the development of ecological tourism. For the first time, from the individual-centered, humanistic, holistic standpoint, the category of ecological self-awareness is defined as complex mental phenomenon, which integrates cognitive, emotional, value and behavioral components, which enhance the attitude of individuals towards ecotourism. The data were collected from the experimental and the control groups by calculating the empirical parameter value. The scale of ranks were used to measure the results. The results show positive changes in ecological self-awareness in the experimental group. The dynamics of the changes in the experimental group is much higher than in the control group. This fact let us assert that the applied formation technology has its effectiveness. The ecological self-awareness is directly related to ecological education and influences the development of ecotourism.

Policy implications of standalone timing versus holistic timing of infrastructure interventions: Findings based on pavement surface roughness

Abstract Transportation agencies routinely make repair decisions in numerous contexts which include the timing of different repair treatments over an extended period. The timing policy may be characterized either by a standalone manner that maximizes the outcome or utility of individual treatments at a given time, or by a holistic manner that maximizes the utility of all treatments together within a given horizon period. This study begins with a hypothesis that the effect of the sum of treatment prescriptions may be different from the sum of the effect of individual treatment prescriptions. The paper discusses separate practical applications where each of these two situations is pertinent. The study is based on the use of surface roughness as the indicator of pavement performance, and therefore, the framework includes the development of treatment-specific treatment performance jump and performance loss models in terms of roughness. The framework also includes identification of the optimal roughness thresholds for each pavement treatment as a standalone activity, followed by a determination of the thresholds for each treatment from a holistic standpoint. The latter involves the establishment of an optimal repair schedule over the pavement life cycle and recording the resulting roughness thresholds at which each treatment is recommended for application within the optimal schedule. Then the paper presents a case study to demonstrate application of the framework, and to compare the optimal-schedule thresholds versus the stand-alone thresholds. The case study involved fourteen treatment types, two surface material types (rigid and flexible) and three road functional classes. The results suggest that in this context of highway management, the optimal triggers associated with individual standalone repair treatments are not necessarily the same (and yield inferior outcomes) compared to the application thresholds of those treatments when they are considered within an optimized life-cycle schedule. The results can provide guidance to agencies as they examine or update their current roughness thresholds for each standard treatment and their long-term condition-based or time-based repair schedules. The paper’s framework and results can also help agencies assess the consequences of deviations from a repair timing policy (delayed or hastened applications) due to lack of funds and other causes.

Exploring the social and emotional representations used by students from the University of the Basque Country to face the first outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, COVID-19, a new emerging infectious disease (EID), was spread throughout the world, including Europe. Spain, in particular, witnessed a significant outbreak of the pandemic. In consequence, all classes were cancelled and the Government declared a state of emergency, ordering the lockdown of the entire population from March to May. The aim of this research is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the representations of young university students from the University of the Basque Country and their emotional response when the crisis started. A free-association exercise was completed by 503 students from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (Northern Spain). To analyze the content, the Reinert method was used with the Iramuteq software for lexical analysis. The results showed that students placed COVID-19 at a distance from the self, pointing out issues related to social response and disinformation, while showing concerns for self-related issues that are linked to negative emotions, academic consequences, and potentially close victims. The students’ concerns were categorized at four main levels: the communicative-informative level, health-emotional level, community-social level, and academic level. All of this has created overwhelming feelings of nervousness, along with anger and emotional fatigue. These results indicate the necessity for universities to work from a holistic standpoint, not only in terms of responding to academic needs but also from psychological, communicative, social, health, and well-being perspectives.

Destructive nature of manipulative content, created by leaders of totalitarian pseudo-religious cults

Purpose of the study is the analysis characteristics of the manipulative content, created by members of the totalitarian pseudoreligious groups, as well as the consideration of the manipulative techniques, which the criminals use to destructively influence both individual and social consciousness in pursuit of achieving their goals, constitutes the purpose of this study. The materialistic theory of knowledge, as well as the fundamental principles of philosophy and the legal theory, formed the methodological frameworks of this work. The theoretical principles of psychological and sociological knowledge were based on the concept of a systematic (holistic) study of a personality from the holistic (gestalt) standpoint. The manipulative content, which the members of the totalitarian pseudo-religious groups post on social networks, evidently shows all signs of the hidden psychological impacts aimed at both conscious and unconscious components of the human psyche. Those who create such content actively use the resources of the well-known search engines, adapting them to their specific needs. When rites and ceremonies are performed, manipulative in-fluences are mixed in nature (being verbal, visual, and kinesthetic) and are deeply traumatic for the participants’ psyche. While sustainable development is impossible without creating a safe environment in the broadest context.

Effect of Protected Areas on Human Populations in the Context of Colombian Armed Conflict, 2005–2018

It is widely recognised that conservation policies in protected areas must also favour the development and viability of human populations. Although much research has focused on economic consequences, understanding the real impact of conservation on local populations requires a more holistic standpoint. Using quasi-experimental matching methods and a diachronic perspective, the biodemographic and socio-economic effects of Colombia’s National Natural Parks (NNPs) were evaluated (all in a context of internal conflict and post-conflict). The analyses were made for the set of NNPs and then grouped into four natural regions (Andes, Caribbean, Amazon-Orinoquía and Pacific) and two conflict intensities. Differences were found mainly for NNPs with low-intensity conflict, but only for biodemographic variables, not for socio-economic ones. Starting from a situation of disadvantage, a relative improvement in the conditions of the NNP municipalities was observed throughout the 13-year period in relation to the control group. Results should be taken with caution due to the conflict situation, but the lack of correlation between biodemographic and socio-economic aspects highlights the need to include more complex approaches in protected area management policies.

Supply Chain 4.0: A Survey of Cyber Security Challenges, Solutions and Future Directions

Supply chain 4.0 denotes the fourth revolution of supply chain management systems, integrating manufacturing operations with telecommunication and Information Technology processes. Although the overarching aim of supply chain 4.0 is the enhancement of production systems within supply chains, making use of global reach, increasing agility and emerging technology, with the ultimate goal of increasing efficiency, timeliness and profitability, Supply chain 4.0 suffers from unique and emerging operational and cyber risks. Supply chain 4.0 has a lack of semantic standards, poor interoperability, and a dearth of security in the operation of its manufacturing and Information Technology processes. The technologies that underpin supply chain 4.0 include blockchain, smart contracts, applications of Artificial Intelligence, cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things and Industrial Internet of Things. Each of these technologies, individually and combined, create cyber security issues that should be addressed. This paper explains the nature of the military supply chains 4.0 and how it uniquely differs from the commercial supply chain, revealing their strengths, weaknesses, dependencies and the fundamental technologies upon which they are built. This encompasses an assessment of the cyber risks and opportunities for research in the field, including consideration of connectivity, sensing and convergence of systems. Current and emerging semantic models related to the standardization, development and safety assurance considerations for implementing new technologies into military supply chains 4.0 are also discussed. This is examined from a holistic standpoint and through technology-specific lenses to determine current states and implications for future research directions.

DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF MANIPULATIVE CONTENT, CREATED BY CRIMINAL LEADERS OF TOTALITARIAN PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS CULTS WITH MODERN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Purpose of the Study: The analysis characteristics of the manipulative content, created by members of the totalitarian pseudo-religious groups, as well as the consideration of the manipulative techniques, which the criminals use to destructively influence both individual and social consciousness in pursuit of achieving their goals, constitutes the purpose of this study. Methodology: The materialistic theory of knowledge, as well as the fundamental principles of philosophy and the legal theory, formed the methodological frameworks of this work. The theoretical principles of psychological and sociological knowledge were based on the concept of a systematic (holistic) study of a personality from the holistic (gestalt) standpoint. Main Findings: The manipulative content, which the members of the totalitarian pseudo-religious groups post on social networks, evidently shows all signs of the hidden psychological impacts aimed at both conscious and unconscious components of the human psyche. Those who create such content actively use the resources of the well-known search engines, adapting them to their specific needs. When rites and ceremonies are performed, manipulative in-fluences are mixed in nature (being verbal, visual, and kinesthetic) and are deeply traumatic for the participants’ psyche. Applications of this Study: The results can be useful for the classes on Information security. With all cultural and linguistic, legal, and general social context of communications, our findings have practical importance for assessing the hidden content of the religion-related topics. Novelty of this study: The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the author analyzed the methods, which the criminal leaders of pseudo-religious groups and movements use for creating and disseminating their manipulative messages. Moreover, the author formulated his proposals regarding the prevention of crimes committed with information technologies in the sphere of religious relations.