The management practices, problems and improvement pathways of textile retail supply chains in Bangladesh are not well documented, as they link millions of consumers with the manufacturers, wholesalers and importers. To fill this void, this study examines the practices of SCM, capability factors and operational constraints in domestic textile retail sector in Bangladesh. A concurrent mixed methods design was used. A quantitative survey was conducted on 422 textile retail outlets with different sizes, areas and product specializations. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, independent-samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were used. Twenty-two semi-structured key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with retailers, suppliers, wholesalers, logistics actors, technology providers and institutional stakeholders, and analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Existing SCM practices and operational constraints were the two most significant predictors of SCM outcomes (β = 0.278, p < 0.001 and β = −0.295, p < 0.001, respectively). Each of the three capabilities – inventory planning capability, supplier relationship capability, and technology-enabled capability – made positive contributions. Results were significantly different between small and large businesses, and between experienced and inexperienced businesses, but were not different between product categories. Ten themes emerged qualitatively, indicating that the structural characteristics of the sector are seasonal demand cycles, informal supplier relationships, memory-based inventory systems and organizational readiness deficits. Operational constraints are systemic and are co-produced by actors in the supply chain, and need to be addressed collectively rather than individually at the level of the firm. Relationships with suppliers are a form of resilience capital that is underutilized. Inventory planning is the area of the sector with the highest consequence and lowest development. A sequenced approach of basic inventory discipline, structured supplier collaboration, incremental digitalization and enabling institutional support is needed to modernize the supply chain sustainably. The results provide a focus for the SCM literature to move away from the export-oriented garment industry in Bangladesh and towards the comparatively under-researched retail textile industry.

Financial exclusion remains a critical barrier to sustainable economic development in emerging economies, particularly among microentrepreneurs who depend on informal financial credit (IFC) to sustain their livelihoods. This study aims to examine the determinants and consequences of IFC utilization and their relationship with distinct delinquency patterns among microentrepreneurs in the Peruvian Amazon. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 310 microentrepreneurs from the central market of Yurimaguas during the first quarter of 2024 using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Four determinants of IFC—motivation, lender choice, loan conditions, and financial stress—were tested alongside their influence on three delinquency types: accidental, intentional, and negligent. The results indicate that psychological motivation and social lender choice are the primary and statistically significant drivers of IFC utilization, whereas loan conditions showed no significant association. Regarding delinquency outcomes, IFC is significantly and positively associated with accidental and intentional delinquency, yet paradoxically shows a significant negative association with negligent delinquency, suggesting that trust-based social enforcement mechanisms embedded in informal lending relationships may constrain negligent default behavior. These differentiated effects underscore the dual nature of informal credit as both a livelihood-sustaining mechanism and a source of financial vulnerability. The findings contribute to the understanding of financial sustainability in excluded populations by providing empirical evidence that effective interventions must address the psychological and relational dimensions of credit behavior, rather than focusing solely on structural loan characteristics. Key limitations include the cross-sectional design, which precludes causal inference, and the geographic focus on a single market in the Peruvian Amazon, which restricts generalizability. This study offers actionable insights for policymakers and microfinance institutions seeking to design inclusive financial strategies aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

BackgroundMentorship is widely recognized as a critical element of surgical residency training and careers. As more general surgery residency programs look to implement program-wide mentorship interventions, best practices for fostering effective, enduring mentoring relationships remain poorly described.MethodsCurrent general surgery residents at an academic medical center participated in individual semi-structured interviews exploring perspectives on mentorship. Interviews were transcribed and de-identified prior to thematic coding using Dedoose.ResultsThere were 20 participants (8 interns, 7 mid-level residents, and 5 chief residents; representing 36% of the residency program), with a median age of 30 years and 50% of the cohort identifying as women. Four major themes emerged: (1) mentorship needs evolve throughout training, with an early emphasis on identifying research projects and later shifting toward career development; (2) mentorship needs are often met through multiple mentors including near peers and faculty who fulfill diverse roles; (3) informal relationships are perceived to be more meaningful than formal assignments but require residents to actively seek mentorship; and (4) responsiveness and investment are considered essential qualities of effective mentors.DiscussionGeneral surgery residents may benefit from programs which help facilitate the formation of mentorship teams comprised of both formal and informal relationships to meet the dynamic needs of residency. Near peer mentors may be particularly valuable in the composition of mentorship teams. Future work is needed to identify effective strategies for supporting residents through major transitions and cultivating behaviors that empower trainees to form the informal mentor-mentee relationships that best meet their needs.

ABSTRACT This study examined how participation in the Technology-Mediated Lesson Study (TMLS), a hybrid professional development programme, shaped collaboration, advice-seeking, and friendship networks among rural chemistry and biology teachers in a Western US state over three years. Using Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models (SAOMs) in RSiena, the study analysed how structural, individual, and programme-level factors influenced network formation and change. The networks remained sparse, with geographic distance strongly constraining interactions. Teachers formed ties through reciprocity and triadic closure, and advice-seeking and friendship networks showed steady growth. TMLS participation significantly increased the likelihood of forming new ties, including long-distance connections that bridged regional boundaries. Participants became central actors in both professional and personal networks, demonstrating that hybrid programmes can foster multiplex connections that promote and sustain reform efforts. These findings highlight the potential of well-designed professional development to reduce isolation, expand super-organisational engagement, and support collaborative communities for rural teachers. Programmes that combine structured collaboration with opportunities for informal peer relationships can enhance professional growth and build more sustainable networks in geographically dispersed settings.

This paper looks at the Bangladeshi apparel industry and critically draws on theories of labor control to examine how market and non-market actors control apparel workers and exploit their labor power at the bottom of a global value chain, reinforcing the capitalist system locally and globally. My research draws on a wide range of empirical evidence collected from 20 apparel factories in Dhaka City, Bangladesh and secondary evidence and identifies a new regime of labor control. I call this regime of labor control social despotism—a regime that deploys legal means, illegal coercion, informal power relations, and structural violence to govern and exploit workers. Social despotism is created by two reinforcing forms of oppression: instrumental oppression and structural oppression. Market actors organize instrumental oppression to normalize coercion in the factory, creating the forced consent of workers to their exploitation. Market and non-market actors organize structural oppression, limiting workers’ collective bargaining power within the factory and marginalizing their existence in social life. Both forms of oppression are present throughout four distinct phases of labor control: 1) searching for the cheapest labor forces and manufacturing sites; 2) recruiting workers; 3) organizing work; and 4) socializing, rewarding, and punishing workers.

Abstract Forests are shaped not only by ecological processes but also by the actions and interactions of those managing them. In state‐managed multifunctional forests, forest district managers play a central role in translating policies into practice. Although their actions are often situated and discretionary, it remains unclear how shared species drive collaboration, and how these interactions relate to perceived management effectiveness. Understanding these dynamics is critical for improving adaptive capacity and advancing social‐ecological system governance. We applied a social‐ecological network approach to examine patterns of horizontal collaboration among forest district managers in a German state forest company. We integrated spatial, ecological and social relational data to explore how collaboration aligns with species occurrence and how these dynamics relate to self‐reported management effectiveness. District managers are conceptualised as environmental street‐level bureaucrats, whose discretion and interactions shape governance on the ground. Our findings show that interactions are regionally clustered and shaped by spatial proximity and species co‐occurrence. Collaboration is selective rather than uniform, concentrating on species perceived as manageable, visible or politically sensitive, such as capercaillie, red deer, lynx and wolf. Managers more embedded in social networks report higher perceived effectiveness, indicating a possible relationship between collaboration intensity and self‐reported management capacity. Social‐ecological alignment appears to be driven less by shared species co‐occurrence and more by perceived relevance and institutional attention. Species that are politically sensitive or legally complex tend to attract more cross‐boundary collaboration, whereas less visible or routine management coincides with fewer interactions. This pattern reflects a selective form of alignment shaped by institutional priorities, societal expectations and situated managerial discretion. These insights highlight the need to account for informal relations and contextual factors in forest governance. Strengthening adaptive capacity may depend not only on formal networks but also on supporting flexible, trust‐based collaboration on ecologically and socially relevant issues. Governance is shaped by relations, perceptions and ecological realities, not policy alone. A relational perspective is essential for understanding and improving how forest governance works in practice. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

ABSTRACT In the Swedish national context, class mobility and work are commonly framed as pathways to inclusion and belonging. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this article examines this promise by exploring how class-mobile racialized second-generation migrants in Sweden negotiate belonging in and through work, both within workplaces and in relation to the imagined national community. By integrating boundary scholarship with research on belonging and racism, the article advances a processual understanding of racialized class mobility. The findings show that professional inclusion at work is shaped by racialized demands of Swedishness that structure everyday interactions, evaluations of competence, and access to informal relations. At the level of the imagined national community, professional status becomes a resource that must be continuously mobilized to assert legitimacy rather than a stable basis for belonging. The analysis thus shows that while professional status enables workplace inclusion, belonging through work remains conditional at the national level.

This article examines the role of lobbying in the formation and maintenance of the shadow economy. The article analyzes how lobbying activities aimed at creating and maintaining a favorable legal and regulatory environment for certain economic entities can contribute to the development of informal economic relations, tax evasion and violation of antimonopoly legislation. The study revealed a clear stratification of lobbying groups by degree of influence and priorities. It has been established that the most influential players are budget-forming exporters (fuel and energy complex, military-industrial complex), whose interests systematically dominate government policy. Significant differences in lobbying strategies between industry groups were identified, as well as specific mechanisms of lobbying influence on the expansion of the shadow economy. The decisive factor was the degree of institutionalization of lobbying practices, which determines their transparency and legal legitimacy. The results obtained indicate the need for a differentiated approach to the regulation of lobbying activities. The revealed dual nature of lobbying requires the development of a balanced system of measures to preserve its positive functions while minimizing corruption risks. The issue of transparency in the interaction between business and government agencies deserves special attention, since it is information asymmetry that creates the prerequisites for the development of shadow schemes. Effective regulation should take into account the industry specifics of lobbying practices and their impact on the competitive environment. The conducted research has confirmed the key role of lobbying as an institution for coordinating economic interests in the modern economy. To increase the effectiveness of state economic policy, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive system for regulating lobbying activities based on the principles of public accountability and conflict of interest control. Further research should be aimed at quantifying the impact of lobbying and comparative analysis of various models of its regulation. A promising area is to study the digital transformation of lobbying practices and their adaptation to changing economic conditions.

Health and social care systems are increasingly investing to foster integration of services in order to guarantee a holistic and continuous answer to population’s complex needs. Recently, a primary care reform has been introduced in Italy aimed at strengthening the primary care system thanks to the standardization of the Community Health Centers model. This model includes a specific stress on the participation of community and the local actors – e.g. institutions and third sector associations – into the definition of needs and answers in specific territories. Furthermore, there is a stress on the need for a multidisciplinary approach to guaranteeing coordination inside the CHCs between different professionals who are called to build coherent and comprehensive answers for individuals and communities. In this context, relationships are fundamental and a relational research approach could be central in supporting the planning, monitoring, and management of integrated professional responses for specific communities. In this work, we present a pilot case study settled in a specific excellent CHC in Tuscany. The research is aimed at testing a Social Network Analysis approach to collect information useful for developing network interventions (Valente 2007) according to the internal and external relational system among services, that can impact the integration of their activities at a meso-level (interaction between services). The head of the health district and the managers of the CHC were involved in developing the questionnaire. Each professional was then invited to respond on behalf of the reference service, about the existence, frequency, and nature of the internal relationships with other services and with the local health authority services outside the CHC. Preliminary results were elaborated to show the current networks among internal services and with external LHA other services. Researchers discussed the evidence with professionals and managers, who explained some specific situations by highlighting how the knowledge between services is fostered by contemporary presence into the CHC – thus supporting the co-location feature. Similarly, co-location demonstrated to be a boost variable for collaboration (Bonciani and Barsanti, 2019): in particular, distance limits the possibility of having time to interact with other professionals, at least in an informal way. The informal relationships were reported as fundamental, but more formal practices were called for guaranteeing a continuity in the collaboration among different services. Finally, the interaction with services outside of the institution (i.e. social services from the local municipality) can be harder because of physical and cultural barriers. The case study is a first pilot for the overall implementation of a monitoring survey regarding the relationships inside and outside the services operating in CHCs. In fact, to design and implement network interventions aimed at improving the integration of different services inside the primary care centers, updated information is needed to address the structural influences on individuals’ actions. The next step of the research is to developing proposals of network interventions for the specific CHC and to expanding the analysis to other CHC in Tuscany and in other contexts to test the scalability of the tool.

The article provides a comprehensive economic and statistical analysis of the employment of persons with disabilities in the Russian labor market based on microdata from the 2023 Labor Force Survey. Unlike previous studies, which treat persons with disabilities as a homogeneous group, this article analyzes the intragroup characteristics of employment among persons with disabilities. The relevance of this study is conditioned by demographic challenges, labor shortages, and the need to address the socio-economic integration of persons with disabilities. The employment rate of persons with disabilities of working age is low (19.8%) and significantly lower (by 60 percentage points) compared to the rest of the working population. The stagnation of this indicator over the past five years is an unfavorable trend. It has been shown that the sectoral and occupational structure of employment among persons with disabilities is skewed toward low-skilled activities with low entry barriers. Persons with disabilities are significantly more likely to be employed in agriculture and in unskilled positions than employees without disabilities, and less likely to be employed in positions requiring high qualifications. They are characterized by higher levels of non-specialized work and educational mismatch, as well as a high concentration of employment in the informal sector. Four internally heterogeneous groups of employed persons with disabilities have been identified based on their employment status. The highest quality jobs are held by persons with disabilities who are employed in the corporate sector, while the least protected groups are home-based agricultural producers and informal sector workers, who typically have informal employment relationships and whose jobs do not match their education and specialization. It is shown that the level of education is a key factor determining entry into a more prosperous employment group. The results obtained indicate that the current task is not only to increase the level of employment of persons with disabilities, but also to improve the quality of their jobs.

Interorganizational knowledge sharing is vital for scaling digital transformation efforts that span multiple organizations and system-wide change. However, existing frameworks provide limited insights into the cross-level dynamics that shape how learning ecosystems emerge, evolve, and operate across multiple organizations. This gap leaves practitioners without clear guidance on how multilevel contextual conditions and mechanisms interact to influence the development and sustainability of formal and informal knowledge-sharing relationships. This study aimed to examine how knowledge is orchestrated across organizations in the digital transformation of health care, identifying key factors that foster an evolving interorganizational learning ecosystem. We developed an integrative model that explains how these influences give rise to diverse modes of collaboration and partnership. We adopted a qualitative approach using a multilevel perspective to examine visions and experiences across individual, organizational, interorganizational, and sectoral levels. Drawing on a formative evaluation (2018-2023) of England's Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) program, we used multiple case studies and conducted interviews with experts both within and beyond organizational settings for data collection and adopted a grounded theory approach to analyze the data. The study identified a set of interconnected factors operating at the macroenvironmental, interorganizational, organizational, and individual levels that influence how interorganizational relationships and partnerships are initiated, structured, and sustained. Macro-level influences included policy developments, program mandates, technology supplier strategies, and intermediary actions. Interorganizational mechanisms involved relational recognition, collective identity, governance structures, proximity, and coordination practices. Organizational factors included external search strategies, absorptive capacity, past collaboration experience, and internal knowledge routines. Individual-level mechanisms encompassed intrinsic and extrinsic motivations as well as personal inhibitors. Synthesizing these findings, we have proposed an integrative model that positions relationship type along a 2D spectrum (formal-informal, internal-external origins) and illustrates how different factors trigger, mandate, control, and enable the evolution of an interorganizational learning ecosystem. This study advances the theoretical understanding of learning ecosystems by explaining how multilevel contextual conditions activate mechanisms that give rise to diverse and evolving forms of interorganizational collaboration. Practically, we offer diagnostic and reflective tools that support policymakers and practitioners in assessing contextual conditions, selecting appropriate knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and monitoring how learning ecosystems develop over time. Our findings provide actionable guidance for designing and sustaining interorganizational learning systems capable of supporting digital transformation at scale.

How police leaders provide development opportunities, promote, and recognize achievements have discernible effects on employees’ commitment and police culture, which can be damaged through negative perceptions. This qualitative case study of one Canadian police organization explores sworn police officers’ ( n = 17) understandings of informal relationships and its effects on officers and their organization. Semistructured interviews were conducted with officers who fell into two groups (leaders; n = 10 and nonleaders; n = 7), alongside four pre-interview orienting vignettes that identified potential scenarios related to informal relationships in policing. We found three primary themes: (1) rational reason—how officers perceive their organization to make fair decisions; (2) organization viewed as unsophisticated—the lack of appreciation for the strength of “weak ties” in career advancement processes; and (3) nepotism—the need for transparency about opportunities for all employees to develop. We conclude with practical organizational considerations.

The cohabitation of informal relationships and same-sex marriages contracted outside Poland determines the legal situation of children from such households. Citizenship is acquired by birth, as minors acquire Polish citizenship if at least one of their parents is a Polish citizen. A foreign birth certificate is proof of birth, and its probative value does not depend on entry in the Polish civil registry system. In the case of children born in a civil partnership, the difficulty lies in documenting the acquisition of citizenship, rather than the citizenship itself. Citizenship can be proven by transcribing a foreign birth certificate, which is necessary to issue a Polish passport and assign a personal identification number (PESEL). In such cases, the problem is the transcription of the birth certificate of a child born in a relationship not recognized by Polish law, which only recognizes heterosexual marriages. It is necessary to balance the constitutional protection of heterosexual marriage in Poland with the best interests of children having same-sex parents.

This study aims to describe how MSME owners understand the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how this understanding relates to their practices. To explore the meaning, experiences, and interpretations of CSR by business actors, this study employs a phenomenological approach and an interpretive paradigm as a lens for addressing the research problem. This approach was chosen because it enables researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of the subjective experiences of MSME owners, including the values, beliefs, and considerations that shape their actions. The findings reveal that MSME owners' understanding of CSR is generally confined to informal social relationships, such as assisting neighbors, contributing to community activities, or maintaining good relations with the surrounding environment. CSR is not yet perceived as part of a structured business strategy nor as an ongoing responsibility inherent to business operations. Moreover, resource constraints including limitations in time, labor, and financial capacity emerge as key factors restricting CSR implementation at the MSME level. Business owners tend to prioritize the continuity of daily operations, leading them to view CSR activities as additional efforts undertaken only when circumstances allow.

This study examines the illegal levy practices carried out by illegal parking attendants from a criminological perspective through the Differential Association Theory. The research aims to analyze how illegal levy behavior is formed, studied, and maintained through social interaction between actors in public spaces. The method used is an empirical juridical approach with a descriptive-analytical nature that combines legal analysis with social realities in the field. Data was obtained through observation, interviews, and literature studies, then analyzed qualitatively. The results of the study show that the practice of illegal levies by illegal parking perpetrators is not just a spontaneous individual action, but is a pattern of deviant behavior learned in a certain social environment. This practice persists because of social tolerance, weak supervision and law enforcement, and the existence of informal power relations between perpetrators and the community. In practice, illegal levies are often accompanied by psychological pressure and non-verbal intimidation that encourages public compliance and normalizes illegal practices in daily life. From a criminological perspective, these behaviors are reproduced through repeated social interactions, collective justification, and learning techniques in the group of actors. This study concludes that illegal illegal parking levies are not only a violation of the law, but also a social phenomenon formed through the learning process, so its countermeasures require an integrated legal and criminological approach.

ABSTRACT Global increases in meat production have intensified interest in alternative livestock systems that can address environmental, social, and economic challenges. Transitioning toward sustainable livestock (SL) systems requires adaptive governance arrangements that integrate local knowledge into broader policy design. Yet, in Latin America, such transitions are constrained by institutional weakness, sectoral antagonism, and informal power relations. This article analyzes the adaptability of multilevel governance for SL initiatives in Jalisco, Mexico (2016–2024), a key REDD+ implementation area. Using document analysis, interviews, and workshops with government and non‐government actors, the article examines how intersectoral collaboration, learning, and legitimacy evolved across governance levels. The findings show that adaptive governance emerged through informal coordination among environmental and forestry authorities, and civil society actors, supported by local learning platforms such as livestock field schools. However, limited engagement of agricultural authorities, reliance on external funding, and fragmented mandates constrained polycentricity and institutional integration. Despite actors' use of diverse labels—sustainable, regenerative, or low‐emissions livestock—collaboration converged on the shared goal of sustainable rural development. Adaptation occurred primarily through social learning and local brokerage rather than formal institutional reform, revealing both the potential and limits of adaptive governance under conditions of sectoral asymmetry. The study advances adaptive governance and policy implementation research by demonstrating how collaboration, learning, and legitimacy coevolve within fragmented, low‐capacity governance settings typical of the Global South.

Research background and purpose Amidst growing pressure for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) transparency, this study questions the effectiveness of formal governance mechanisms, such as high-quality audits, when they operate within a complex institutional environment where informal relationships play a significant role. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of financial statement audit quality on environmental transparency, while also investigating the moderating role of political connections in this relationship within listed real estate firms in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a panel data regression method with a Fixed Effects Model (FEM) on an unbalanced sample of 654 firm-year observations from 70 firms over the period 2015-2024. Audit quality is measured by a dummy variable for Big4 firms, while political connections are identified through the manual collection of leadership background data. The reliability of the findings is reinforced by a series of robustness checks, including the System GMM model and Driscoll-Kraay standard errors. Findings The research findings indicate that audit quality has a positive and statistically significant impact on the level of environmental transparency, confirming the existence of a “disciplinary spillover effect.” However, the core finding is that this positive impact is significantly weakened by the presence of political connections in the leadership. Further analysis also reveals that this “shielding” effect is most pronounced in private firms, while it is not statistically significant in state-owned enterprises. Value added and limitations The study's contribution lies in elucidating the complex interaction between formal (auditing) and informal (political connections) institutions, while also identifying a critical boundary condition for the effectiveness of governance tools. These findings carry important implications, cautioning investors and policymakers that relying solely on formal governance mechanisms is insufficient. Nevertheless, the study is limited by its focus on the real estate sector and its use of a binary measure for audit quality, opening avenues for future research.

This study aims to understand the agency and existence of women coffee workers in Jember through café and coffee shop practices, using Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical framework, namely habitus, and forms of capital. A qualitative approach explored the gender dimensions, legitimacy, and cultural dynamics that distinguish café and coffee shop practices for women to thrive. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and then analyzed using a thematic approach. The results showed that women in cafés tend to have high cultural capital through mastery of modern coffee serving techniques and service aesthetics, which creates bourgeois legitimacy. In contrast, women in coffee shops rely on community-based social capital to build interpersonal relationships that create popular legitimacy. Masculine and feminine dimensions also influence coffee consumption practices, with male customers demonstrating cultural dominance by expecting female service. Although women in cafés are often seen as an aesthetic element that enhances the place's attractiveness, their habitus remains a decisive factor in the business's success. In coffee shops, more informal relationships reflect local traditions that strengthen customer loyalty. This research concludes that women's agency in the coffee sector is strongly influenced by the habitus played in the doxa of coffee aena. As such, café and coffee shop practices reflect differences in bourgeois and popular legitimacy relevant to social and cultural dynamics in Jember.

The present study bridges a gap in the current body of scholarly research by conducting an extensive analysis of the semantic and connotative development of the lexical item 'brother' as it evolves into the modern slang 'bro'.While semantic generalization and slang analysis are recognized phenomena, there is still a lack of studies that systematically account for the specific contextual factors, interpersonal dynamics, and subtleties of connotative shift that underpins intra-slang semantic shifts.The goal of the current research study is to fill this gap by examining the development from 'brother' to 'bro', tracing the changes in social intimacy, identity construction, and cultural expression, and thereby contributing to a more detailed insight.The study uses a qualitative content analysis methodology based on a collection of naturally occurring linguistic data from social media platforms.The analysis shows the semantic generalization of 'bro'.The word has lost its original meaning of denoting mainly familial or formal fraternal relationships and now encompasses a wide variety of informal social relations, serving primarily as a mode of address for male acquaintances, an expression of camaraderie, an informal interjection, and much more.Connotatively, 'bro' has come to develop a multifaceted profile of connotations that have ranged from positive connotations of camaraderie and neutral address to negative stereotypes, and a far cry from the connotations of loyalty and familial obligation traditionally attached to 'brother'.The findings highlight the fact that slang forms an important and innovative part of linguistic systems, which illustrates processes of semantic generalization and bleaching, in addition to processes of pragmatic re-analysis.The shift from 'brother' to 'bro' involves not just lexical reduction, but can be described as a wholesale reorganization of social and pragmatic salience, in which 'bro' can be seen as an identity resource and a device for social alignment.This linguistic evolution, often facilitated by digital communication platforms, reflects larger societal trends of informality, efficiency and expressiveness in modern discourse.

State apparatus neutrality is a constitutional principle central to the integrity of electoral governance in democratic states governed by the rule of law. This article examines the implementation of Article 4 of Bawaslu Regulation No. 6 of 2018 concerning the supervision of neutrality of the State Civil Apparatus (ASN), the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) in West Tulang Bawang Regency. Using a qualitative socio-legal approach, the study integrates doctrinal legal analysis with empirical field research. The framework of siyāsah tanfīdhiyyah is employed as a normative–analytical instrument grounded in the principles of amānah, justice (al-‘adl), accountability (mas’ūliyyah), and oversight (al-raqābah). The findings indicate that, while supervisory mechanisms comply procedurally with regulatory standards, their substantive effectiveness is constrained by fragmented sanctioning authority, limited institutional capacity, uneven internalization of neutrality norms, and entrenched informal power relations. The article argues for an integrative governance approach that combines regulatory coherence, institutional effectiveness, and ethical internalization of public authority.