Human Development Research Articles

Development of new hormonal male contraception for the couple.

Current options for male contraception are limited to condoms, the withdrawal method, or a vasectomy. Studies indicate that men have expressed growing interest in bearing responsibility for family planning. To review prior studies investigating the role of an androgen-only or androgen with progestin regimen for hormonal male contraception and to provide an update of a promising new hormonal agent, a transdermal gel. Thus far, there have been six studies conducted in couples evaluating the contraceptive efficacy of an androgen-only or androgen co-administered with a progestin regimen for hormonal male contraception. The only ongoing study is by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, in collaboration with the Population Council. They have developed a novel transdermal gel containing testosterone and segesterone acetate (Nestorone), a progestin. An ongoing phase II study enrolling more than 460 couples has shown great potential with respect to the product's efficacy, safety, reversibility, and acceptability. As this agent advances in development, a rapid at-home test for sperm concentration will provide couples with immediate feedback regarding their potential for pregnancy. There is promise for the first-of-its-kind hormonal male contraceptive, a transdermal gel, to achieve market approval for distribution in the United States and elsewhere. Its safety, efficacy, reversibility, and user-control are all appealing qualities that make it readily adoptable for clinical practice.

Filial Piety, Longevity and the Start of Humanity

Abstract When human ancestors preferred to eat less and did not want to abandon their old parents in the mountains, they did something that violated the previous natural laws; that is, after the task of giving birth and raising children, they should no longer waste valuable resources. However, this brought unexpected results. Older parents can take care of their grandchildren, making families with grandmothers have more children than families without grandmothers. Therefore, filial piety may be the main reason why human beings stand out from the apes. Doing things without utilitarian motives but that may have lasting utilitarian results and recognizing the relationship between the results and the behaviors) is an important characteristic of this kind of filial piety that occurs and persists. Culture is something that transcends today’s utilitarianism, is willing to pay for the value of emotion, aesthetics and morality, and, ultimately, has utilitarian results. This trait has always been accompanied by human development as a human cultural gene.

Upset, yet loyal: employee voice amidst unionization at Starbucks

Research methodology The case data are from a mix of secondary sources, which included company documents, webpages and blogposts, autobiographies co-written by Schultz, newspaper stories, news media and other publicly available videos, magazine articles, photographs of signed unionization statements, and webinar interview. Case overview/synopsis In late autumn 2021, the global retail coffee and foodservice company Starbucks dealt with employees at a few USA stores who initiated unionization efforts in an attempt to change their workplace. Their actions triggered a wave of similar attempts at Starbucks stores across the USA over the next few years. Employees amplified their voices on social media, stating both their love for the company and their disenfranchisement. They claimed to have little input about policies and workplace decisions that affected them and that leadership had not heard or adequately responded to concerns with staffing, safety, equipment, and abusive customers. Walkouts were staged and employees at numerous stores pursued unionization. In 2023, Laxman Narasimhan replaced Howard Schultz as CEO. His tenure started with the challenge of reengaging employees who claimed their collective voice was unheard by leadership Readers will consider what employee voice means in the context of baristas working for a large corporation, and how their emotions, commitment to and respect for the organization, and their desire to be heard, related to efforts to unionize and maintain employment. Complexity academic level This case can be used as a unit review to cover several organizational behavior topics or can be used with specific concepts for graduate or undergraduate students. The placement within the semester plan depends on which unit/concepts the instructor will pair with it, such as emotions in the workplace, a module on loyalty, voice and exit, or the introduction of employee voice and engagement. It can also be used in conjunction with cross-level concepts such as trust and leadership. For courses focused on talent management, employee relations, or human resource development, the case could be used to introduce multiple concepts or as a concluding assessment. It would best pair with topics such as employee satisfaction, exit, voice and loyalty, inclusive decision-making or emotions in the workplace. For a course in labor relations, the case could introduce the idea that employees’ experiences, emotions, and perceptions may be related to efforts to unionize.

Childhood adversities and caregiving for older parents: Building capacity for a caring society.

This study investigates the relationships between childhood adversities and the provision of informal care for older parents in later life in China. The data came from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, N = 20,047). Using multilevel logistic regression models, we examined the relationships between adverse experiences in childhood and both the propensity and intensity of caregiving for older parents. Drawing on the regression results, we then estimated the total number of caregivers for older parents in China. Experiencing one additional childhood adversity was associated with a decrease of 8% in the odds of providing informal care (p<0.001). The association between childhood adversity and caregiving remained significant after socio-demographic factors and later life outcomes were controlled for. We estimated that 58.3 million middle-aged adults in China were providing care for parents in 2020. Had people experienced one fewer adversity in their childhood, there would have been 2.2 million more caregivers in 2020. Had they experienced two fewer adversities, there would have been 3.4 million more caregivers. The factors associated with informal caregiving can be traced back to early life experiences. To address the shortage of informal care supply, it is crucial to foster a caring culture from the very beginning of human development.

THE EFFECT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

The study examined the effect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on development in Nigeria. The ultimate goal of developing countries is to attain development. Most studies on the effect of Foreign Direct Investment on the development of the Nigerian economy used growth proxied by GPP as a measure of development. This study however uses the Human Development Index (HDI) which is a complementary measure of development as it considers the three aspect of development (health, knowledge and standard of living). Current data from secondary data source. were used Secondary data were collected and OLS estimation method was used for the analysis of data. The result shows that the stock of FDI inflow has a positive and statistically significant effect on Economic development in Nigeria. Therefore to experience sustainable development, government should aim at providing infrastructure and conducive trade and investment environment for both foreign and local investors.

In Situ Construction of CuTCPP/Bi4O5Br2 Hybrids for Improved Photocatalytic CO2 and Cr(VI) Reduction.

Global warming and heavy metal pollution pose tremendous challenges to human development, and photocatalysis is considered to be an effective strategy to solve these problems. Herein, copper(II) tetra (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (CuTCPP) molecules were successfully in situ loaded onto Bi4O5Br2 by a hydrothermal approach. A series of experimental results show that the light absorption capacity and photogenerated carrier separation efficiency were synchronously enhanced after the construction of CuTCPP/Bi4O5Br2 composites. Hence, the as-prepared composites possess significantly improved photocatalytic ability for both CO2 and Cr(VI) reduction. Specifically, CuTCPP/Bi4O5Br2-2 achieves a CO generation rate of 17.14 μmol g-1 under 5 h irradiation, which is twice as high as that of Bi4O5Br2 (8.57 μmol g-1). Besides, the optimized CuTCPP/Bi4O5Br2-2 also exhibits a removal rate of 61.87% for Cr(VI) within 100 min under irradiation. Furthermore, the mechanism of CO2 and Cr(VI) photoreduction was explored by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and capture experiments, respectively. This work can be a reference toward the construction of photocatalysts with high activity for solar energy conversion.

At the Origin of Brain Malformations: Embryology of the Central and Peripheral Nervous System

AbstractDevelopment of the central nervous system is a time-ordered and multistepped process that begins in the third week of development and continues after birth. Understanding of its normal embryologic development is fundamental to understand how specific malformations develop. This article provides a summary of human brain development and serves as a base to introduce the various malformations presented in this issue.

The impact of gamification on training, work engagement, and job satisfaction in banking

AbstractThis study contributes to the comparative analysis of outcomes between gamified and traditional training systems in the banking sector. On‐the‐job training is a vital aspect of the process of enhancing work performance within organizations. Thus, by employing a case‐based asymmetric configural approach rooted in nonlinear and contrarian case analysis, this research investigates the impact of gamified training on human resource development. A global empirical survey of 388 banking employees revealed that a combination of complexity theory and configural analysis provides valuable insights into the outcomes of both gamified and conventional training methods. In the face of increasing competition, banks are compelled to enhance their professionalism by boosting employee motivation. It becomes apparent that there is no straightforward, necessary and sufficient path available to guarantee high levels of engagement and job satisfaction. Notably, some of these results challenge the expectations of self‐determination theory (SDT), which posits the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs during training. These findings contribute to an enriched understanding of the nuanced application of complexity theory in the context of SDT research, particularly regarding the training and development of gamified systems for banking organizations and other service‐oriented sectors that can benefit from such innovative training approaches.

The impact of regional sports industry aggregation on residents’ health level in China

Health is the basis for human survival and development and is an important symbol to evaluate a country's economic growth and social progress. This article measures the degree of sports industry agglomeration in different regions of China and uses the Moran index to verify the existence of global autocorrelation in sports agglomeration. Next, the spatial Durbin model was used to verify the spatial spillover effect of sports industry agglomeration on the health level of residents, and the following conclusions were obtained.Firstly, there is spatial autocorrelation and heterogeneity in the clustering level of China's sports industry. The spatial distribution is extremely uneven, and different regions have formed relatively stable spatial patterns. Secondly, the degree of aggregation of the sports industry can reduce the number of per capita visits and have a positive spatial spillover effect on the health of residents. Not only can it promote the health level of residents in the province, but it also has spatial spillover effects on surrounding areas.Finally, based on the research results, the following conclusions are proposed in this article. Policy recommendations include increasing investment in sports talent cultivation, accelerating the construction of sports center cities, and increasing residents' attention to sports to improve residents' health.

Performance Evaluation of Carbon-Neutral Cities Based on Fuzzy AHP and HFS-VIKOR

Climate change threatens human survival and development. Cities, as the main gathering places for human production and life, serve as the focal points for the implementation of the policies related to energy efficiency, energy transition, and environmental protection. This study constructs an index system for the evaluation of carbon-neutral cities from the perspectives of carbon sources and carbon sinks. The system includes thirteen indicators under six dimensions. It combines objective and subjective data (i.e., statistical data and expert evaluations) by integrating two approaches: the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) and vise kriterijumska optimizacija i kompromisno resenje with hesitant fuzzy sets (HFS-VIKOR). We verify the efficacy of the proposed approach through a case study of thirteen low-carbon pilot cities in China. The results indicate that among these cities, Shenzhen performs the best, followed by Guangzhou and Hangzhou, while Kunming, Baoding, and Tianjin show poor performance in terms of carbon neutrality. Kunming and Baoding exhibit shortcomings mainly in carbon sources, while Tianjin faces deficiencies in both carbon sources and carbon sinks. Sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis show the availability and effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed radar chart further highlights the improvement directions for each city to achieve carbon neutrality.

Dams for hydropower and irrigation: Trends, challenges, and alternatives

Hydropower and irrigation are essential for achieving human development objectives and for climate mitigation and adaptation. These sectors depend on the same grey infrastructure, such as dammed reservoirs, which has created negative socio-ecological externalities and sectoral conflicts in the past. Yet, future needs for infrastructure in both sectors and their interdependencies remain unclear. We address this gap by applying data-fusion and machine-learning approaches and provide a comprehensive global overview and a new dataset that elucidates the role of existing dams and reservoirs for hydropower and irrigation. We then review projected demands for irrigation storage and hydropower by 2050 and analyze how projected growth aligns with the identified potential for irrigation and hydropower dams. Globally, projections point to an increased demand for hydropower in the order of 400 GW by 2050, which amounts to around 60 %–64 % of the identified potential and around +35 % compared to today. For irrigation, fully leveraging sustainable water resources would require 460 km3/yr of stored water, or around +70 % compared to today. Projected demands for hydropower and irrigation are larger than what future grey infrastructure could provide in many regions, especially in Europe, South Asia, and Africa. In such conditions, both sectors will be increasingly in competition for infrastructure. Our findings also highlight the need to study alternative solutions, such as other forms of renewable energy and nature-based solutions for water storage, to meet societal demands while avoiding negative externalities associated with grey water infrastructure.

METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE THEORY OF SOCIALIZATION AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT

Relevance. The report analyzes the methodological foundations of the study of personality socialization in the heuristic tradition of the Kyiv Philosophical and Psychological School. The laws of human development through socialization based on cultural forms are formulated. Methodology. A comprehensive approach (I. Sikorskyi, G. Chelpanov), which establishes the methods of metaphysics, theory of knowledge and logic in the theoretical arsenal of psychological science. Phenomenological approach (E. Husserl, G. Shpet), which considers the category of social existence in the trinity of individual, collective and corporate consciousness, and also uses the categories of form and content, phenomenon, meaning and sense, image and understanding as its interpretation based on one's own experience as central in the work of cognitive actions of human consciousness. Results. The use of a phenomenological approach allows us to assert that personality development appears as an active process that is carried out through the appropriation and transformation of cultural forms by a person as a subject of socialization and the formation of his own expanded identity based on them. The main mechanism of the conscious development of the personality in culture involves the following processes: 1) experiencing the significance of the new and its acceptance as a cultural form (emotional component); 2) reproduction as an interpretation of the new form in the categories of one's own experience (rational-creative component); 3) use of the understood content as a practical test of its ability (cognitive component); 4) the person's expansion of the borders of the Self or his identity through awareness of a new cultural form as part of his own experience (self-reflective meaningful component).

Ethnicity, culture and human development of Bangladesh’s tea workers

ABSTRACT This study sets out to investigate the human development situation of ethnic tea workers in Bangladesh against the underpinnings of human development theories by employing a qualitative research approach. We collected data for this study from people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and identities through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and direct observation. The study finds that human development of ethnic tea workers is extremely constrained by the lack of their freedom and adequate income, which is systematically created by the tea planters to serve their business interests. Tea workers’ social isolation from the mainstream Bangladeshi society, coupled with their traditional social life and poor socioeconomic conditions, also manufactured by the regulatory systems, remains the significant marker for the deterrent of their human development. Different traditional beliefs, rituals and practices of these ethic communities are also spotted as contributing factors for their poor human development situation, forcing them to sustain the legacy of working-class status of their predecessors and wind up in the tea plantations for generations.

Realising the human development promise in dual VET

ABSTRACT Despite growing consensus around the need for a more holistic vision of development, realising the human development potential of educational interventions has proven a challenging task. This Forum grapples with how these tensions manifest in the international transfer of dual models of Vocational Education and Training (dVET) to low- and middle-income countries. While dVET has gained global currency, its developmental potential has been primarily framed in economic terms. Conversely, its alignment with human development remains an abstract possibility and is often not reflected in the policy design of dVET transfer attempts. Each contribution to this Forum probes a different facet of these tensions, exploring how dVET can be calibrated in different contexts to realise its human development potential. Taking a practice-led approach and featuring representatives from cooperation agencies, consultancy groups, and research organisations, this piece contributes to ongoing debates about the possibility of effectively integrating human development thinking into education policy.

The place of legal obligations in the system of social obligations

The emergence and gradual development of human society, as well as the need to regulate relations between individuals within such a society, lead to the emergence of the first elementary rules of behavior. Undoubtedly, such rules arise spontaneously in the process of living together, have an oral form of expression and are supported by early traditions and customs. Gradually, the dynamic development of society causes complications and branching of ties between its members, giving impetus to the appearance of more regulated and established rules of behavior, namely, a system of social norms. The system of social norms is created and developed throughout the history of mankind, adapting to the emergence of new needs and interests of society. That is why this system is characterized by objectivity, as it expresses the laws of the development of society, its specificity, fixing stable and repeated social connections. At the same time, it is worth taking into account the subjective factor in the formation of social norms, since they cannot arise without the participation of public consciousness. The subjective nature of social norms is determined by the possibility of individuals and social groups to realize the needs of society in establishing value guidelines for behavior and to establish them in various rules or prescriptions, having formed a certain level of legal consciousness that would correspond to the level of development of society. So, on the one hand, social norms are created by people and have a conscious-volitional character, and on the other hand, they are determined by the action of objective laws that do not depend on a person. Thus, social norms can be defined as rules of behavior of a general nature existing in society, determined by objective laws, which express the will of a certain part of the population or the entire society and are provided by various means of social influence. At the nascent stage of the system of social norms, most of it consisted of social obligations and sanctions for their non-compliance, which were determined by the system of society at that time. Social duties arise together with the appearance in human society of the germs of morality and a person's awareness of his responsibility to his family and tribe. Accordingly, with the development of humanity and the diversification of social interactions, the institution of duty was modified, acquiring new features and giving impetus to the emergence of moral, religious, and later legal duties. A legal obligation arises and develops in a close relationship with other types of social obligations, in particular - moral, religious, corporate, so we consider it expedient to compare and compare them.

Psikologi Pendidikan di dalam al-Qur’an

Educational psychology is an important foundation in curriculum development and understanding student character. The Qur'an plays a central role in the perspective of Islamic education, emphasizing the concepts of extraordinary life. Islamic psychology enriches the view of psychology with religious values. Human beings in the Islamic view have unique potentials and special traits, such as learning abilities and good and bad tendencies. The Qur'an encourages people to make use of reason and go through the learning process, paying attention to the ethics of students towards teachers. The verses of the Qur'an reveal the motivation for learning through requests, commands, exhortations, and threats. It includes intrinsic drives such as curiosity and learning tendencies as well as extrinsic drives such as rewards and commands. The harmony between material and spiritual aspects is important in overcoming internal conflicts, while the positive human potential is often emphasized in the hope for change for the better. The Qur'an also describes man's psychological struggle between conflicting traits such as lust and spiritual instinct. By combining psychological views and religious teachings, this approach provides a rich foundation for human self-understanding and development in the context of education and life.

Effect of Brain-Based Instructional Strategies on Achievement in Science of Elementary School Students with different Learning Styles.

No two individuals are alike and so are their learning styles. Brain-based learning strategies that are based on the core principles of human brain development can be promising in improving the achievement of students catering to the need of diverse learners with varying learning styles. These strategies are having a sound basis in Neurosciences and these strategies can be instrumental towards students’ performance as well as retention. The current research attempts to examine the effect of these strategies on achievement in science of elementary students with different learning styles. The sample of 100 students was taken which was randomly divided into two groups namely Experimental and Control Group. The students in the experimental group who received teaching using brain-based instructional methodologies outperformed than students in the control group on achievement test. In addition, students in the experimental groups with accommodation and divergent learning styles had considerably higher mean scores on achievement in science as compared to convergent and assimilation learning styles. Hence, the students' achievement in science improved significantly when they were taught using brain-based teaching methodologies.

Reskilling and Upskilling the Workforce: Text Mining to Identify Patterns and Trends in Research

In the aftermath of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the seismic shifts triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor market has undergone a significant transformation, compelling a reassessment of workforce competencies. This study delivers a comprehensive analysis of the emerging trends in reskilling and upskilling initiatives, which are pivotal for adapting to these shifts. Employing text mining techniques through Voyant Tools, we meticulously examined a corpus of 68 academic articles from the Web of Science database, all related to workforce development. Our methodological framework encompassed a thorough statistical analysis to distill and scrutinize term frequencies, inter-term relationships, and the overarching sentiment within the scholarly dialogue. The outcomes of this inquiry provide a sophisticated understanding of the prevailing academic terrain, accentuating the central themes and lacunae in the extant research corpus. The revelations from this preliminary study make a significant contribution to the domain of human capital development. The findings lay down an empirical groundwork for future studies in this sphere, poised to furnish strategic insights crucial for crafting robust career development programs. By illuminating the imperative of perpetual learning and skill enhancement, this paper adds to the conversation on equipping a resilient workforce, ready to excel in the dynamic, tech-centric economy that lies ahead.

Organizational learning from failures: double moderating impact of organizational trust and owner-manager interest in human resource development

ABSTRACT This study examines how organisational learning processes, such as learning stocks, learning flows, and external learning affect Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) perceived recovery and organisational performance through learning from failure. The double moderated mediation impact of organisational trust and owner-managers’ interest in human resource development (HRD) in these relationships has been tested. About 400 SMEs were selected and a self-reported online survey was administered. Among them, 296 SMEs were analysed based on their experience in employee development. All three organisational learning activities have an impact on perceived failure recovery and organisational performance through learning from failure. Additionally, organisational trust and owner-managers’ interest in HRD moderates the relationship between organisational learning activities. However, owner-managers’ interest in HRD has a negative moderating effect, indicating that power-political relationships impede learning from failure. Using the method of self-reporting to identify the role of organisational learning from failure, this study addresses the lack of empirical research with an integrated approach on this topic. The findings have several academic and practical implications. Owner-managers must engage in various developmental activities to build trust among members and should create space and time where employees feel free to share ideas and reflect on their opinions.

The Power and Roots of Aspirations

Abstract Aspirations have become a common theme in empirical economics studies but there is no unified understanding of the range of outcomes they influence, the factors that shape them, and how to measure them. We survey this growing literature. We argue that there is compelling evidence to consider aspirations as a useful lens to analyze human behavior and development outcomes, at the individual and aggregate levels, in poorer and richer countries. The empirical evidence aligns with the theory that high aspirations can lead individuals to achieve better educational, labor market, and other outcomes and can contribute to making countries more equal and prosperous. The empirical evidence also confirms that the mix of social and circumstantial factors shaping aspirations tends to hinder the aspirations of the disadvantaged—such as the poor, immigrants, and women—and can contribute to vicious circles of poverty, high inequality, low social mobility, and low growth. However, high aspirations should not be considered an end in themselves as they can backfire, with deleterious effects, if unmatched with opportunities. Further, we argue that definitional and measurement issues can affect the understanding of the topic and that studies should more explicitly describe their measures of aspirations to ensure that divergent underlying concepts are not mistaken.