Influence Of Institutions Research Articles

QUO VADIS SUSTAINABLE FINANCE? DRIVERS AND BARRIERS TO GREEN FINANCE TRENDS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

This article is in convergence with the newest and most trending movements of the last decades related to the reduction of pollution, created by the business sector on a global scale, as well as to the minimization of climate change. The contribution of this paper will be in terms of the operation of green finance in the framework of the sustainable economy, as well as to the results it produces. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the real possibilities of the institutional operations of what is proclaimed on the grounds of creating preconditions for green financing. For this purpose, the sample of the Western Balkans countries has been considered for examining the sustainability of green finances. The research first reviews the latest theoretical framework related to the applicability of green finances in transition economies. Through analysis, was gathered evidence of internal and external drivers that justify green financing as an efficient input of a sustainable economy. The influence of state institutions through establishing regulations and laws that stimulate private sector developments in the transition economy through green financing as the first impetus is reviewed. The issues related to climate challenges suggested by the Kyoto Protocol are summarized. Meanwhile, the last impetus is the considerable influence of the EU, stimulating alignment with European regulatory standards, as a prerequisite for membership. Meanwhile, the results suggest that although numerous projects and funding’s were dedicated to the green finance development path, these countries are lagging mostly on the implementation of green finance infrastructure, thus we cannot look forward to more substantial development.

Heart of Care: Embracing Grief and Growth in Oncology and Palliative Medicine

Introduction The emotional impact of patient loss in oncology and palliative care profoundly affects healthcare professionals. This study explores clinicians’ experiences, emotional reactions, and coping mechanisms in these fields, focusing on their professional and personal growth. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how healthcare professionals from different regions and with varying years of experience deal with patient loss, emphasizing cultural, social, and institutional influences on their coping strategies. Methods A mixed-methods approach combined qualitative and quantitative elements. Data were collected using a Microsoft® Forms© survey targeting oncology and palliative care healthcare professionals. The survey included questions on experiences with patient loss, coping strategies, personal and professional growth, and beliefs. Statistical methods and thematic analysis were used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data. Ethical approval was obtained, and the survey ensured participant anonymity and confidentiality. Results The survey received 125 responses from nineteen countries. Emotional reactions to patient loss were significant, with various coping strategies reported, including spiritual practices, self-care, and professional support groups. Personal and professional growth were key outcomes of dealing with patient loss. Themes like Emotional Impact, Coping Mechanisms, and Reflections on Death and Dying were prevalent. Analysis revealed no significant correlation between the time taken by the participants to complete the survey and years of healthcare experience. Conclusion Healthcare professionals in oncology and palliative care face significant emotional challenges due to patient loss. The study emphasizes the importance of diverse and effective coping mechanisms, the supportive role of personal beliefs and workplace environments, and the journey of personal and professional growth amidst these challenges. It highlights the resilience of healthcare workers and underscores the need for supportive systems in managing the emotional aspects of patient care.

Carbon neutralization frontier tracking

This systematic study on the international research trends in carbon neutrality underscores its critical role in combating global warming and advancing sustainable development. By leveraging the “Web of Science Core Collection” databases and employing CiteSpace software for visual analysis, we examined 2223 research papers to track the influence and trends of key countries, institutions, and authors. Our results reveal a significant increase in publication volume, indicating a robust development potential for carbon neutrality research. The study also identifies environmental science, environmental research, and energy and fuel science as central interdisciplinary hubs, highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration. Notably, China leads in publication output but has room for improvement in citation impact, suggesting a need for enhanced research quality and international visibility. The study's findings are instrumental for guiding future research directions, policy-making, and interdisciplinary cooperation, particularly in the fields of environmental science and energy, to accelerate progress towards carbon neutrality and global climate governance.

The WTO as Multilateral Diffusion Hub: Institutional Learning in WTO Disputes and the Design of Preferential Trade Agreements

Abstract Institutions are not created in a vacuum—but how do extant institutions influence design choices? Leveraging fragmentation in the global trade order, this paper stresses the relevance of experience and argues that the institutional influence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) extends beyond its jurisdiction through its centrality as multilateral diffusion hub: When states negotiate preferential trade agreements (PTAs), previous dispute settlement experiences in the WTO shape the design of dispute settlement mechanisms (DSMs). National bureaucracies undergo institutional learning processes when participating in multilateral trade disputes and subsequently conclude PTAs with DSMs that are similar to the institutions of the WTO, thus fostering their—decentralized—spread to the network of PTAs. The learning effect is particularly pronounced for states with low bureaucratic capacity. Employing a novel, unitary conceptualization of DSMs in terms of complainant rights shows that the results of this diffusion process generally entail increased levels of complainant rights in PTAs. Importantly, institutional learning is more than mere emulation: States also adapt institutional design to individual context by considering the prior dispute experience of their trading partners. A dual empirical strategy and interviews with PTA negotiators corroborate the learning effect and its relevance during PTA negotiations.

Trends in Malaysian Adolescents’ Mathematics Performance Across Two Decades: What Factors Matter?

The relationship between individual and school factors plays a crucial role in shaping adolescents' mathematics achievement. Individual factors, such as a student's motivation and educational expectation, directly influence their engagement and persistence in mathematical learning. Concurrently, school factors, including teacher quality and the availability of resources, create an environment that either fosters or hinders students' academic success in mathematics. Together, these factors underscore the need for a holistic approach to education that recognizes the interconnectedness of personal and institutional influences on student performance. Thus, this study investigates what individual and school factors have been associated with adolescents’ mathematics achievement over the last two decades. We examined six-wave data of Malaysia from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Multilevel modeling technique was employed for data composed of 5557, 5314, 4466, 5733, 9726, and 7065 eighth-grade students participating in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019, respectively. The results showed that 65.17%, 57.44%, 65.89%, 73.00%, 43.16%, and 61.69% of the total variance in mathematics achievement was due to school differences in these years. The findings also indicated that students with higher mathematics motivational beliefs scored higher. Students who more frequently spoke the language of the test at home achieved lower scores in the four waves of TIMSS; however, this trend changed in 2015 and 2019. Student educational aspiration emerged as a positive predictor of mathematics achievement in the last two assessments of TIMSS. Home educational resources and book ownership also significantly correlated with mathematics achievement. At the school level, teacher gender was negatively associated with achievement in all TIMSS waves except 2019. Students whom female teachers taught outperformed those whom male teachers taught. The longitudinal study of Malaysian students' mathematics performance reveals critical insights for educational stakeholders. The findings indicate that 43.16% to 73.00% of the variance in mathematical achievement is linked to school differences, underscoring the importance of equitable resource distribution. Moreover, students' motivational beliefs significantly influence their mathematics scores, suggesting a need for interventions that foster positive attitudes. The evolving correlation between home language proficiency and achievement emphasizes the necessity of integrating language support into educational strategies. Additionally, promoting educational aspirations is vital for enhancing performance, while the role of gender dynamics in teacher effectiveness warrants further exploration.

African Migration at a Crossroads: The Social and Theoretical Implications of Emerging International Migration Trends

This study examines international migration trends in Africa since the mid-1960s. It argues that African international migration trends are at a turning point that could significantly affect the future of migration studies. New African immigrant communities are emerging in Asia, South America, and other world regions, while the influence of state and non-state institutions is increasing. Moreover, interstate migration in Africa is now more disconnected from the legacies of the continent's colonial labor migration systems. By 2050, Africa is also expected to have the world's largest population in the age-groups that typically have the highest probabilities of migration, while per-capita incomes will increase in ways that could reduce the costs of migration. Although Africa's influence on future migration research is likely to increase, progress in developing theories to examine its emerging trends has been limited. With few exceptions, studies on migration in Africa focus on theory application rather than theory building. New theoretical approaches are therefore needed to adequately situate Africa's emerging migration trends within the larger context of migration studies. The building blocks for developing these theories include decolonial approaches that highlight African perspectives and the integration of the substantive influences of future migration trends into theory-building processes.

Інституціональні засади формування та розвитку стійкого ринку електронної комерції

This research examines the institutional aspects of developing a resilient e-commerce market in Ukraine. The institutional approach allows us to consider various aspects of formation, functioning, and changes within the social institutions and their influence of e-commerce solutions on individuals’ activities and social interaction. During the literature review, the various approaches to the essence of the institution as an economic category were considered. The author proposed considering the e-commerce institution as a socially formed system that structures interaction within the e-commerce market by implementing formal and informal rules that influence subjects’ activities by establishing restrictions and organizing motivational mechanisms that support the desired behavior to maximize the aggregate economic impact. The roles and functions of the leading institutional players, particularly state institutions, market institutions, research institutions, and public and non-profit institutions, are defined. The literature review determined that e-commerce adoption is significantly determined by the response to pressure from external agents (consumers and competitors) and internal agents (employees). The model of the institutional environment of the e-commerce system is presented. The proposed model is based on the interaction of e-commerce institutions that contribute to institutionalizing e-commerce technologies within the Ukrainian business environment. The institutional influence is being implemented by utilizing the interaction of the ‘business-government-society’ triad. Among the expected institutional effects of the general modernization of the socio-economic system, the harmonization of relationships between individual participants and the reduction of resource asymmetry can be highlighted. Three types of institutional pressures that influence the enterprises’ decisions to adopt and develop e-commerce systems are discussed, particularly coercive, regulatory, and mimetic types of pressure. The interaction of these types of institutional pressure thereby influences the enterprises’ perception of barriers and opportunities for adopting and utilizing e-commerce. Keywords: e-commerce, institutionalization, resilience.

Breaking barriers: unveiling motivations, challenges and policy recommendations for women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of social, financial and institutional factors on women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, emphasizing motivation’s role in addressing challenges. Women’s entrepreneurship holds economic significance, driving local economies and creating opportunities. Government efforts to support women entrepreneurs have increased, but research on this in developing economies, especially in Vietnam, is limited.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, examining social, financial and institutional influences and emphasizing motivation in overcoming challenges. Using a qualitative approach, it conducts in-depth interviews with 28 female entrepreneurs, analyzing data thematically. Methodologically, the study uses purposive sampling, triangulation and member checking to enhance credibility.FindingsFindings reveal key motivations like financial incentives, self-achievement and social impact. These motivations empower women to overcome financial constraints, skill gaps, limited support and societal perceptions. This research guides women entrepreneurs to enhance success through learning, persistence, skill development and self-awareness.Originality/valueThis paper presents a novel exploration into women’s entrepreneurship in Vietnam, offering original insights into the interplay of social, financial and institutional factors, with a spotlight on motivational drivers. It provides unique perspectives on their motivations, challenges and support mechanisms. The study’s contribution lies in its comprehensive understanding of women’s entrepreneurship dynamics in a developing economy like Vietnam, offering valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners and academics alike. Its originality lies in its holistic approach and nuanced examination, enriching the discourse on women’s entrepreneurship in emerging

A Structural Equation Modelling Approach in Assessing the Sustainability of Indonesian Smallholder Oil Palm Farming

Oil palm plantations (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) in Indonesia have been considered as a leading sector to increase the country's economic growth, create jobs, and improve the distribution of people's income The production of oil palm fruit commodities in 2019 reached a total of 51,443,315 tonnes (Director General of Plantations, 2020). Its export volume in 2019 was 29,135,179 tonnes, equivalent to US$ 20,802,708,000. Oil palm crop production in Indonesia is managed by three groups: state-owned plantation companies, private plantation companies, and smallholder plantations. Oil palm plantation areas spanned 14,677,560 hectares in 2019, 41% of which were community-based plantations. These areas produced 14,846,112 tonnes of palm oil in the same year, accounting for 16% of the national palm oil crop production volume (Directorate General of Plantations, 2020). The development of oil palm plantation areas has made a major contribution to the country's foreign exchange reserves, added to local revenue, encouraged the acceleration of economic development, and encouraged poverty alleviation in rural areas. This study aims to analyse the economic, social, environmental, institutional, and technological influences on the sustainability of independent oil palm farms in Sintang District. The research method used is the Structural Equation Model (SEM) operated through the AMOS programme. While the tools used in this study using a questionnaire with 216 respondents. From a total population of 491 respondents. The findings of this study indicate that the C.R value of the economic dimension is 4.026, social is 2.920, environmental is 3.237, institutional is 3.247, and technology is 2.694. This shows that there is a positive and significant relationship between the dimensions of the sustainability of independent oil palm farming.

Driving sustainable entrepreneurship: Institutional and psychological influences at the Macao food festival

This study examines the impact of institutional pressures on restaurant entrepreneurs' adoption of biodegradable cutlery and tableware at the Macao Food Festival. Through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis with 30 entrepreneurs, the study reveals that despite the increasing demand for sustainability, entrepreneurs often prioritise other business concerns. However, findings highlight that implementing regulations at the food festival can create learning opportunities that influence entrepreneurs' psychological mechanisms, leading to a favourable attitude, intention and behaviour towards sustainable practice. Drawing on Institutional Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the study develops an Integrated Model of Institutions and Planned Actions, shedding light on the institutionalisation process. Additionally, the 5Ps typology captures the diverse range of entrepreneurial attitudes towards sustainable practices. These insights provide valuable implications for policymakers and practitioners seeking to promote sustainable entrepreneurship in the restaurant industry.

Exploring intercultural communication: perspectives from internationalized staffrooms at a sino-french partnership institution

ABSTRACT This study investigates the dynamics of intercultural communication between international and Chinese teachers in staffrooms at a Sino-French partnership institution, focusing on identifying key challenges faced by international teachers. Employing qualitative research methods, this study explores how personal and institutional habitus influence international teachers’ perceptions and responses to intercultural communication nuances. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, the study highlights the role of field capital in determining their positioning in intercultural communication practice. Specific coping strategies employed by international teachers in response to habitus-field disjunctions are examined, including the promotion of social connections and the practice of strategic reticence. Additionally, the study explores temporal and hierarchical dissonances affecting international teachers’ career progressions, leading to the identification of a necessary strategic redistribution of intercultural capital for smoother integration. The findings indicate the complexities of intercultural communication, shedding light on both facilitators and barriers to integration, and instances of marginalization. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on internationalization in higher education by exploring the interplay between local and global perspectives, emphasizing the importance of creating an inclusive environment that respects and accommodates individuals from various cultural backgrounds, thereby promoting greater intercultural understanding and collaboration within the global academic community.

Institutional influences on healthcare service innovation: Lessons from German rehabilitation clinics.

In view of the growing need for rehabilitation worldwide due to demographic changes and health trends, healthcare organizations are facing increasing pressure to innovate. This study focuses on the institutional dynamics shaping service innovation in orthopedic rehabilitation settings in Germany. Using Scott's framework of institutional pillars and carriers, we conduct a multiple case study analysis. Based on interviews with physicians and managers from six different clinics, conducted in two rounds and supplemented by secondary data analysis, we investigate the influence of regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutions on healthcare service innovation. By distinguishing between the various institutional barriers and facilitators, our research provides valuable insights for healthcare practitioners and managers, equipping them with the necessary knowledge to effectively navigate and utilize the institutional environment.

Mind the gap: English teachers’ perceptions and practices of integrating social media into language classrooms in China

This study investigates the perception-practice gap among English teachers in China concerning the integration of social media into teaching, blending the Language Teacher Cognition (LTC) framework with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model. A mixed methods approach, including the adoption of online questionnaires, instructional documents and semi-structured interviews was utilised to investigate these research questions from different perspectives. We collected 119 valid questionnaires. From these, we selected seven volunteers—those who provided their contact information and represented a range of demographic profiles—for further study. Seven instructional documents were gathered from these volunteers. Subsequently, follow-up interviews were conducted with these selected participants to gain deeper insights into their experiences and perspectives. The study revealed a significant discrepancy between moderately high perceptions and relatively low practices. This dynamic and bi-directional gap is influenced by microscopic factors like schooling and affective issues, as well as macroscopic factors such as institutional and societal influences. These factors constitute a layered system. The findings illuminate the complexities underlying the perception-practice gap in English teaching with social media integration, offering theoretical, methodological, and practical implications.

Not well enough: acceleration, performance and psychologization in young people’s lives

ABSTRACT The pronounced increase in the number of young people struggling with mental health and wellbeing continues to puzzle researchers, politicians and practitioners. Discussions around this seem to fluctuate between individualizing understandings of the problem matter and more structural, institutional and cultural ones, calling for research exploring the role of the latter. In this paper, we present analyses of how broader societal frameworks linked to acceleration, performance and psychologization affect the wellbeing of young people. Based on a longitudinal qualitative study in Denmark with 37 young men and women between the ages of 16 and 24 struggling with wellbeing, this paper unfolds structural, cultural and institutional influences on mental health issues experienced by young people. The analyses are produced using a social-analytical lens of ‘diagnosis of the times’ to explore how young people’s subjective everyday life experiences of wellbeing and wellbeing struggles must be understood as interlinked with broader societal frameworks and expectations.

Abuses of the past by the Italian far right: a first assessment of the Meloni government

ABSTRACT Collective memory plays an important part in the ideational and cultural battlegrounds that characterise current European politics. The mobilisation and manipulation of the memory of Nazi-fascism, in particular, is a growing political and academic concern, related to the rise of far right parties throughout the continent and the mainstreaming of their ideas and positions. Focusing on the case of Italy, this article examines three recent examples of abuses of the country’s past committed by Fratelli d’Italia, a far right party with a direct lineage to fascism, and the pivot of the current Italian government. By analysing the three episodes in light of a conceptual triad of abuses of the dark past – historical reassessment; fake history; evocation-cum-denial of fascist connections – the article shows how post-fascist FdI has engaged in the whole gamut of memory abuses rapidly, and shortly after rising to power. This in turn raises concerns about the effects of such mnemonic manipulations on the cultural underpinning of Italian democracy, given the party’s current position of political, institutional, and cultural influence.

Science of science: A multidisciplinary field studying science

Science and knowledge are studied by researchers across many disciplines, examining how they are developed, what their current boundaries are and how we can advance them. By integrating evidence across disparate disciplines, the holistic field of science of science can address these foundational questions. This field illustrates how science is shaped by many interconnected factors: the cognitive processes of scientists, the historical evolution of science, economic incentives, institutional influences, computational approaches, statistical, mathematical and instrumental foundations of scientific inference, scientometric measures, philosophical and ethical dimensions of scientific concepts, among other influences. Achieving a comprehensive overview of a multifaceted field like the science of science requires pulling together evidence from the many sub-fields studying science across the natural and social sciences and humanities. This enables developing an interdisciplinary perspective of scientific practice, a more holistic understanding of scientific processes and outcomes, and more nuanced perspectives to how scientific research is conducted, influenced and evolves. It enables leveraging the strengths of various disciplines to create a holistic view of the foundations of science. Different researchers study science from their own disciplinary perspective and use their own methods, and there is a large divide between quantitative and qualitative researchers as they commonly do not read or cite research using other methodological approaches. A broader, synthesizing paper employing a qualitative approach can however help provide a bridge between disciplines by pulling together aspects of science (economic, scientometric, psychological, philosophical etc.). Such an approach enables identifying, across the range of fields, the powerful role of our scientific methods and instruments in shaping most aspects of our knowledge and science, whereas economic, social and historical influences help shape what knowledge we pursue. A unifying theory is then outlined for science of science – the new-methods-drive-science theory.

The Next Word: A Framework for Imagining the Benefits and Harms of Generative AI as a Resource for Learning to Write

AbstractIn Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler (1993) wrote: “Any Change may bear seeds of benefit. Seek them out. Any Change may bear seeds of harm. Beware” (p. 116). In this paper, we apply this command to a speculative examination of the consequences of text‐based generative AI (GAI) for adolescent writers, framing this examination within a socially situated “Writers‐in‐Community” model of writing (Graham, 2018), which considers writing as both an act of individual cognition and as situated within concentric circles representing nested social, material, and cultural contexts for writing. Through the lens of this model, we discuss representations of language‐related technologies in works by several well‐known authors of 20th‐century speculative fiction and contrast these speculative scenarios with examples from our recent research into student writers' use of ChatGPT and other GAI tools. Finally, we discuss (a) the limitations of these tools as lacking the ability to set goals and use these goals to compose a written work, which is a key component of an effective writing process and (b) what would be required to supporting students to write agentively in collaboration with these tools, despite these limitations. This discussion focuses on three principles: (1) centering human writers in collaborations with GAI; (2) setting writer goals to address historical, political, institutional, and social influences; and (3) critical agency in literacy with GAI.

Informal institutions’ influence on FDI flows: A configurational fsQCA analysis of corruption as part of the MNEs’ FDI motivation system

Previous research has emphasised the importance of examining institutional influences on FDI attractiveness. There is, however, relatively limited research with conflicting results exploring the relationship between informal institutional effects, such as level of corruption, and FDI motivation. Addressing this gap, we adopt a configurational fsQCA-based approach to link informal institutional influences to FDI motivation driving the presence or absence of FDI flows. Conceptualising corruption as bribery and unfair business practices, we extend our understanding of informal institutional quality impact on FDI inflows. Results reveal that informal institutional effects on FDI vary across regions, with several pathways explaining the presence or absence of FDI, according to the presence or absence of corruption. We add to previous studies by identifying the conditions that, when combined with corruption, are linked to the presence or absence of FDI. Results also indicate that whilst corruption appears unimportant in preventing FDI, and is of only secondary importance in driving FDI, it appears to have importance in determining the type of MNEs’ undertaking FDI. Overall, corruption is likely determining which companies invest in a country, rather than if, traditional reasons for FDI, particularly Resource and Market seeking, being key, with strategic and efficiency-seeking also being of secondary importance.

Understanding the Influence of Supranational Institutions on Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Understanding the Influence of Supranational Institutions on Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Progress and trends of research on mineral elements for depression

ObjectiveTo explore the research progress and trends on mineral elements and depression. MethodsAfter querying the MeSH database and referring to the search rules, the search terms were selected and optimized to obtain the target literature collection. We analyzed the general characteristics of the literature, conducted network clustering and co-occurrence analysis, and carried out a narrative review of crucial literature. ResultsBipolar disorder was a dominant topic in the retrieved literature, which saw a significant increase in 2010 and 2019–2020. Most studies focused on mineral elements, including lithium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and copper. The majority of journals and disciplines were in the fields of psychiatry, neuropsychology, neuropharmacology, nutrition, medical informatics, chemistry, and public health. The United States had the highest proportion in terms of paper sources, most-cited articles, high-frequency citations, frontier citations, and high centrality citation. Regarding the influence of academic institutions, the top five were King's College London, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Barcelona, INSERM, and Heidelberg University. Frontier keywords included bipolar disorder, drinking water, (neuro)inflammation, gut microbiota, and systematic analysis. Research on lithium response, magnesium supplementation, and treatment-resistant unipolar depression increased significantly after 2013. ConclusionGlobal adverse events may have indirectly driven the progress in related research. Although the literature from the United States represents an absolute majority, its influence on academic institutions is relatively weaker. Multiple pieces of evidence support the efficacy of lithium in treating bipolar disorder (BD). A series of key discoveries have led to a paradigm shift in research, leading to increasingly detailed studies on the role of magnesium, calcium, zinc, and copper in the treatment of depression. Most studies on mineral elements remain diverse and inconclusive. The potential toxicity and side effects of some elements warrant careful attention.