Partial Support Research Articles

CSR and ownership structure: Moderating role of board characteristics in an emerging country context

AbstractThe existing literature on the impact of ownership structure on corporate social responsibility (CSR) showed inconsistent results and disregarded the possibility of non‐linear patterns in the relationship. The present study examines the non‐linear relationship between ownership structure (family, foreign, institutional, and government) and CSR expenditure of listed non‐financial service sector firms in India. Further, the moderating effect of board variables, including board size, board independence, multiple directorships and gender diversity, is explored in the ownership structure‐CSR nexus. Based on a balanced panel dataset of 243 non‐financial service sector companies listed in India, the study observed an inverse U‐relationship between institutional ownership and CSR. The study also found that family, foreign, and government ownership positively influence the firm's social engagement. However, the study could find partial support for the moderating role of the four board characteristics; board size, board independence, multiple directorships and gender diversity in ownership‐CSR association. The study contributes to existing CSR and corporate governance literature by exploring one of the major factors (ownership structure) impacting CSR and the role of board variables in the association.

Farming system diversification: An insight on strengthening the livelihood in a hilly ecosystem

To make Indian agriculture remunerative, and enhance farmers’ income, the Government of India initiated a mission for doubling the farmers’ income (DFI) by 2022. For DFI under a conventional cropping system, the agriculture sector needs to grow @15% per annum. Therefore, there is a need for reorienting the conventional cropping system with a more productive alternative integrated farming system, combining on and off-farm occupations with high technological support. With this background, the present study was carried out in a cluster of villages where interventions through a research institution (Farmer FIRST project) were made. Such interventions were undertaken in a cluster of 7 villages involving 500 farm families (2016–19). The technological gaps were identified through benchmark surveys using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and extensive farmers' group discussions. During this, farmers’ skills and managerial capabilities were explored, and 16 interventions of various farming modules and sub-modules attributed to higher income were identified and implemented. The farmers were continuously provided technological and partial input support in terms of capacity building and seeds, fertilisers and similar others. The results indicated that mushroom production had high potential for supplementing farm income (117% per farm family). The income from food grains increased by 81% whereas, income from seasonal and off-season vegetable crops increased by more than double. Dairy farming exhibited 52.38% increase in income. In absolute terms, the dairy had maximum contribution in increasing income by ₹24,014 followed by food grains (₹13,251). The intervention modules increased the average per-farm family income by ₹46,979, which was highly significant (P<0.01%). The income of 40% of the farm families increased by more than double, while the income of 1% of the farmers increased by >75% in just 2 years. Overall, when four modules and sub-modules of the model were put together, the total farm income per family increased by 67% from ₹70,290 (2016–17) to ₹1,17,269 (2018–19).

A Comparison of In-Person and Remote Administration Results of the SCAN–3 for Adolescents and Adults: Tests for Auditory Processing Disorders Screening Subtests

Purpose: Many standardized assessments in speech-language pathology can be administered via telepractice. However, the literature is limited on reporting the equivalency of assessment administration between in-person and remote testing. The SCAN–3 for Adolescents and Adults: Tests for Auditory Processing Disorders (SCAN-3:A) is widely used by speech-language pathologists and audiologists to screen for auditory processing disorder (APD). The purpose of this study was to compare in-person and remote administration results on the screening subtests of the SCAN-3:A to determine test–retest consistency across the two settings. Method: Eleven undergraduate and graduate students with normal hearing were administered the Gap Detection, Competing Words–Free Recall (CW-FR) and Auditory Figure Ground (AFG) screening subtests from the SCAN-3:A both in-person and via telepractice with the order counterbalanced across administrations. Specific modifications were made to accommodate remote assessment. Results: Screening pass/fail decisions were above 80% agreement for each of the three subtests. Significant correlations ( p < .05) between in-person and remote scores were found for the CW-FR and AFG subtests. The mean score difference between administration type was not significant for the CW-FR subtest ( p = .921) but was significant for the AFG subtest ( p < .05). Conclusions: These preliminary findings provide tentative, partial support for remote administration of the SCAN-3:A with adherence to specific recommendations. Some technical challenges were reported as well as other logistical limitations associated with remote administration. Recommendations to accommodate telepractice considerations for remote screening of APD are provided. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25632135

Neoliberal Feminism and Women's Protest Motivation

A popular form of neoliberal feminism seeks to advance gender equality in leadership and beyond by encouraging women to be resilient as individuals. By locating career advancement as within an individual's control, recent research has shown that this focus subtly shifts the blame for gender inequality onto women and reduces support for needed structural changes to tackle gender discrimination. We extend research into neoliberal feminism by examining anticipated negative effects on women's protest motivation. Across four studies in the United Kingdom (total N = 1,168), undergraduate women students and employed women with university degrees in both the control and resilience conditions first read about gender inequality. Participants in the neoliberal feminist conditions then read messages promoting individual resilience as key to women's advancement (Study 1–3) or participated in activities designed to build their own resilience as individuals to help them advance (Study 4). In Studies 1, 3, and 4, participants in the neoliberal feminist conditions compared to the control had lower collective action intentions – a negative effect that was either indirect, via reduced perceptions of gender discrimination (Studies 1 and 4) and reduced anger over inequality (Study 1), or direct (Study 3). Together, these studies provided partial support for our hypothesis that neoliberal feminism can undermine women's protest motivation. Future research can help establish how contextual and other factors contribute to the strength of these effects and explore how feminists can better harness messages of resilience. To advance gender equality, our findings suggest that advocates should focus less on individualistic solutions and more on addressing structural barriers, laying the groundwork for effective protest action and social change. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843241238176 .

The Significance of Innovation Orientation in Firm Performance: Technological Capabilities as A Moderating Role

Entrepreneurial marketing is considered to be suitable for small businesses. However, innovation orientation as an Entrepreneurial marketing dimension is a critical instrument that small and medium-sized businesses can use to obtain a competitive advantage. Thus, the general objective of this study is to explore and describe the significant relationship between innovation orientation and firm performance in SMEs in Khartoum-Sudan utilizing technological capabilities as a moderating variable. The resource-based view provides the theoretical foundation for this study regarding the effect of innovation orientation on firm performance through technological capabilities. In this manner, our study is quantitative. Reliable with the purpose of this study. Furthermore, our study relied on the “Positivism philosophy”, a deductive approach to theory development. Accordingly, overall, 255 responses were received in responding to our online questionnaire. To analyze the data firstly Principal Component Analysis, Correlation, and Rotation matrix were utilized to test the appropriateness of the study pre-model and check the validity of the questionnaire measurements. secondly, we used Path analysis to examine the significant relationships between study variables. Consequently, the findings confirm both significant and insignificant relationships between innovation orientation and firm performance. Our analysis revealed significant relationships between innovation orientation, technological capabilities, and firm performance indicators such as profitability, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Moreover, we found that technological capabilities play a crucial moderating role in enhancing the effects of innovation orientation strategy on firm performance. Anyhow, these results confirmed the partial support of the study’s hypotheses.

Estimating Soil Erodible Fraction Using Multivariate Regression and Proximal Sensing Data in Arid Lands, South Egypt

Estimating soil erodible fraction based on basic soil properties in arid lands is a valuable research topic in the field of soil science and land management. The Proximal Sensing (PS) technique offers a non-destructive and efficient method to assess wind erosion potential in arid regions. By using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) models and combining soil texture and chemical properties, determined through Visible-Near Infrared (vis-NIR) spectroscopy in 96 soil samples, this study aims to predict soil erodibility, soil organic matter (SOM), and calcium carbonate equivalent (CaCO3) in arid lands located in Elkobaneyya Valley, Aswan Governorate, Egypt. Results showed that the soil erodibility fraction (EF-Factor) had the highest values and possessed a strong relationship between slope and SOM of 0.01% in determining soil erodibility. The PLSR model performed better than SVM for estimating SOM, CaCO3, and EF-Factor. Furthermore, the results showed that the spectral responses of CaCO3 were observed in separate places in the wavelengths of 570, 649, 802, 1161, 1421, 1854, and 2362 nm, and the wavelengths with SOM parameter were 496, 658, 779, 1089, 1417, 1871, and 2423 nm. The EF-factor shows the highest significant correlation with spectral reflectance values at 526, 688, 744, 1418, 1442, 2292, and 2374 nm. The accuracy and performance of the PLSR model in estimating the EF-Factor using spectral reflectance data and the distribution of data points for both the calibration and validation data-sets indicate a good accuracy of the PLSR model, with RMSE values of 0.0921 and 0.0836 Mg h MJ−1 mm−1, coefficient of determination (R2) values of 0.931 and 0.76, and RPD values of 2.168 and 2.147, respectively.

Correlated Equilibria for Mean Field Games with Progressive Strategies

In a discrete space and time framework, we study the mean field game limit for a class of symmetric N-player games based on the notion of correlated equilibrium. We give a definition of correlated solution that allows us to construct approximate N-player correlated equilibria that are robust with respect to progressive deviations. We illustrate our definition by way of an example with explicit solutions. Funding: O. Bonesini acknowledges financial support from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [Grant EP/T032146/1]. M. Fischer acknowledges partial support through the University of Padua [Research Project BIRD229791 “Stochastic mean field control and the Schrödinger problem”].

Memory biases for gender-typed images in a gender-diverse group of children.

Self-socialization accounts of gender development suggest that children attend more to people of their own gender, activities associated with their own gender and stereotype-consistent examples in their environment. Evidence comes from research showing children's memory biases for such stimuli. This study sought to replicate these memory biases in 367 6- to 11-year-old transgender, cisgender and nonbinary children. Children were shown stereotype-consistent and counter-stereotypical images related to feminine- and masculine-typed activities performed by girls/women or boys/men. Results showed that transgender and cisgender children showed better recall for activities related to their own gender than the other gender. Neither group showed better recall for own-gender characters, and transgender children better recalled other-gender characters. None of the three groups better recalled stereotype-consistent than counter-stereotypical images in probed recall, although all groups showed better recall for counter-stereotypical than stereotype-consistent images in free recall. These findings provide partial support for self-socialization accounts of gender development.

A fresh-cut papaya freshness prediction model based on partial least squares regression and support vector machine regression

This study investigated the physicochemical and flavor quality changes in fresh-cut papaya that was stored at 4 °C. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to evaluate the freshness of fresh-cut papaya. Aerobic plate counts were selected as a predictor of freshness of fresh-cut papaya, and a prediction model for freshness was established using partial least squares regression (PLSR), and support vector machine regression (SVMR) algorithms. Freshness of fresh-cut papaya could be well distinguished based on physicochemical and flavor quality analyses. The aerobic plate counts, as a predictor of freshness of fresh-cut papaya, significantly correlated with storage time. The SVMR model had a higher prediction accuracy than the PLSR model. Combining flavor quality with multivariate statistical analysis can be effectively used for evaluating the freshness of fresh-cut papaya.

Discrimination of five commercial Guibourtia wood species using terahertz time domain spectroscopy combined with machine learning approaches

Abstract Terahertz waves hold significant potential for applications in wood identification, owing to their good penetration and distinctive fingerprints in wood. This study focuses on wood samples from five different Guibourtia species as the research objects. The terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is employed to acquire the spectroscopic signals of the wood samples and to extract their optical parameter data. The THz refractive indices are dimensionally reduced through principal component analysis (PCA), and three machine learning models, namely partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM), are employed to classify the wood of five different Guibourtia species. Time delays of the wood samples from five different Guibourtia species are concentrated in the range of 60–62 ps and exhibit different amplitudes in the frequency domain. Refractive indices showed significant variations within the THz band. PCA for dimensionality reduction of terahertz time-domain spectral data significantly improves the recognition rate of machine learning models. Applying PCA to the refractive index data, the RF model achieves a highest recognition rate of 96.9 % and an overall classification accuracy of 98 %. Current results demonstrate that THz-TDS enables rapid, accurate, and non-destructive classification and identification of wood from the Guibourtia species.

Stable recovery of approximately block k-sparse signals with partial block support information via weighted $$\ell _2/\ell _p\,(0<p\le 1)$$ minimization

Stable recovery of approximately block k-sparse signals with partial block support information via weighted $$\ell _2/\ell _p\,(0<p\le 1)$$ minimization

Nondestructive freshness evaluation of mackerel fish using Vis/NIR hyperspectral imaging and multivariate analysis

Nondestructive freshness evaluation models for chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) fillets were developed using visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) hyperspectral imaging and multivariate regression analysis. Total 96 mackerel samples were investigated during 6 days of storage under five different conditions for measurement of pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), and K values along with acquisition of hyperspectral images. With partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector regression (SVR) along with wavelength selection method using Variables Importance in Projection (VIP) scores, performances of PLSR, VIP-PLSR, SVR, and VIP-SVR models were evaluated and compared. The VIP-PLSR models showed the best performance for predicting the freshness indicators, with R2 values of 0.86, 0.86, and 0.91 for pH, TVB-N, and K values, respectively. Furthermore, it was shown that the identification and removal of noise pixels from the hyperspectral data based on correlation analysis was effective in improving the regression results.

Whistleblowing, Morality, Good Corporate Governance, The Role of Accountant as A Moderation Variable to Fraud Intention

Purposes - This study aims to investigate the problem solved and resolved by accountants in the country of Indonesia with various educational backgrounds, the scope of business, and experience in their job to examine fraud intention, with the whistleblowing system as a trigger and other variables like good corporate governance, Morality, the role of the accountant as additional variable moderate provides insights on the moderating effect to fraud intention. Design/methodology/Approach - Data was gathered using a questionnaire survey involving 291 respondents with accountant backgrounds. This study used quantitative research with smart pls 3.3 .3 and also the grand theory of agency theory and fraud triangle theory as a guide to conclude this study. Findings - The results show that there is a positive relationship between morality, Whistleblowing system, and Good Corporate Governance, to fraud intention. The moderate variables provide partial support that the role of accountants has a positive significant impact with good corporate governance to the fraud intention.  Research limitation/implications - The role of accountants in moderating whistleblowing against fraud in the future should be added with other dimensions such as professional skepticism, competence, and perceived behavior. Practical implications – this study contributes to the development of ideas to reduce fraud intention through critical studies of any variables including whistleblowing, Good Corporate Governance, Morality, also the role of accountants. Social Implications – this study argues that consistently by the major of morality personal is a must behave in a social environment, especially in the organization of a company or other society. Originality/Value – this study uses the role of the accountant as a proxy to contribute to the analytical fraud diamond theory. There is limited implication between whistleblowing the fraud intention because whistleblowing depends on practically system good corporate governance.

Enhancing understanding of social media literacy to better inform prevention of body image and eating disorders.

Research has revealed an important role for appearance-focused, and in particular photo-based, social media in the development of body image and eating pathology. Social media literacy is a multifaceted construct involving purposeful selection and exposure to social media content and use of protective filtering (deliberately screening and interpreting information in a protective manner), as well as implementing critical skills related to understanding the unrealistic nature of social media content, limiting appearance comparisons with images, and contributing to social media (comments and images) in ways that limit the pursuit of appearance ideals. Previous work has provided partial support for these facets as related to lower levels of body image and eating concerns. However, additional conceptual and measurement work is needed to advance understanding of this protective role and how to foster social media literacy. Although data are scarce, targeting social media literacy in prevention and intervention programs may also be valuable. In this perspective piece, key features that we identify as priorities for future prevention and intervention efforts include developing interventions that target the implementation of social media skills beyond their acquisition. In addition, leveraging social media user generated content for prevention purposes would likely be useful, as would embedding micro-skill delivery within platforms.

International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Global Mapping Programme: Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP) country-level report.

Latin American countries are improving childhood cancer care, showing strong commitment to implement the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, but there are scant publications of the situation at a continental level. As part of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Global Mapping project, delegates of each country participating in the Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP) and chairs of national pediatric oncology societies and cooperative groups were invited to provide information regarding availability of national pediatric cancer control programs (NPCCP), pediatric oncology laws, pediatric oncology tumor registries, and training programs and support to diagnosis and treatment. Nineteen of the 20 countries participating in SLAOP responded. National delegates reported nine countries with NPCCP and four of them were launched in the past 5years. National pediatric tumor registries are available in eight countries, and three provided published survival results. Fellowship programs for training pediatric oncologists are available in 12 countries. National delegates reported that eight countries provide support to most essential diagnosis and treatments and 11 provide partial or minimal support that is supplemented by civil society organizations. Seven countries have a pediatric oncology law. There are three international cooperative groups and four national societies for pediatric oncology. Despite many challenges, there were dramatic advances in survivorship, access to treatment, and availability of NPCCP in Latin America. Countries with highest social development scores in general provide more complete support and are more likely to have NPCCP, training programs, and reported survival results.

Research on Quality Detection of Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Fruit Based on UAV Multi-Spectrum

To enhance the accuracy of multispectral detection using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), multispectral data of jujube fruit with different soluble solids content (SSC) and moisture content (MC) were obtained under different relative azimuth angles. Prediction models for SSC and MC of jujube fruit were established using partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machines (SVM), respectively. The findings revealed that the MC of jujube fruit had the best prediction effect when the relative azimuth angle was 90°, while the SSC of the jujube fruit had the best prediction effect at an azimuth angle of 180°. Then, the spectral reflectance data corresponding to the eight relative azimuth angles were used as input variables to establish a jujube fruit quality detection model. The results showed that the prediction model for MC and SSC, established using the angle fusion method, had higher detection accuracy compared to the prediction model established at a single angle. This research provides a technical reference for improving the accuracy of outdoor jujube fruit quality detection using spectral technology.

Integration of electronic nose, electronic tongue, and colorimeter in combination with chemometrics for monitoring the fermentation process of Tremella fuciformis

This study proposes an efficient method for monitoring the submerged fermentation process of Tremella fuciformis (T. fuciformis) by integrating electronic nose (e-nose), electronic tongue (e-tongue), and colorimeter sensors using a data fusion strategy. Chemometrics is employed to establish qualitative identification and quantitative prediction models. The Pearson correlation analysis was applied to extract features from the e-nose and tongue sensor arrays. The optimal sensor arrays for monitoring the deep fermentation process of T. fuciformis were obtained, and four different data fusion methods were developed by incorporating the colorimeter data features. To achieve qualitative identification, the physicochemical data and principal component analysis (PCA) results are utilized to determine three stages of the fermentation process. The fusion signal based on full features proves to be the optimal data fusion method, exhibiting the highest accuracy across different models. Notably, random forest (RF) is shown to be the most accurate pattern recognition method in this paper. For quantitative prediction, partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector regression (SVR) are employed to predict the sugar content and dry cell weight during fermentation. The best respective predictive R2 values for reducing sugar, tremella polysaccharide and dry cell weight are found to be 0.965, 0.988, and 0.970. Furthermore, due to its ability to capture nonlinear data relationships, SVR had superior performance in prediction modeling than PLSR. The results demonstrated that the combination of electronic sensor fusion signals and chemometrics provides a promising method for effectively monitoring T. fuciformis fermentation.

Detection of Hardening in Mangosteens Using near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging

Mangosteens can develop a postharvest physiological disorder, called “hardening”, which affects their marketability and is not detectable using visual inspection. The hardening disorder of mangosteens was determined by firmness value using the texture analyzer. Near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) in the region of 935–1720 nm was tested as a possible rapid and non-destructive method to detect this disorder. The spectra from a region of interest of mangosteens were acquired and used for analysis. Calibration models for firmness of a similarly sized group and a mixed-size group were established using partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machine regression (SVMR). Chemometric algorithms were investigated in order to determine the optimal conditions for establishing the models for firmness. The optimum model was obtained when the fruit were graded into similarly sized groups. Using partial least squares regression (PLSR), the correlation coefficient of prediction (Rp) was 0.87 and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was 6.25 N. The predictive images for firmness of the fruit were created by interpreting predicted firmness visualized as colors in every pixel. From the data, it was concluded that NIR-HSI can potentially be used to visualize hardening of individual mangosteens based on their predictive images.

Fear of Recurrence Among Lung Cancer Survivors: A Theoretical Model Validation.

Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) significantly impacts the treatment and prognosis of lung cancer survivors. However, the mechanisms and factors contributing to FCR and its related consequences in lung cancer remain poorly understood. To evaluate the validity of the Lee-Jones Theoretical Model of FCR in lung cancer survivors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 257 lung cancer survivors who had undergone surgical treatment 1 year prior. The participants completed a comprehensive set of questionnaires, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed model. The analysis confirmed direct relationships between family resilience, coping behaviors, illness perceptions, FCR triggers, and FCR. Fear of cancer recurrence was also found to have a direct negative impact on quality of life (QOL). Furthermore, levels of family resilience, coping behaviors, illness perceptions, and FCR triggers indirectly influenced QOL through their association with FCR. This study provides partial support for the validity of the Lee-Jones Theoretical Model of FCR in lung cancer survivors. The findings contribute to a better understanding of FCR in this population and lay the groundwork for targeted interventions. Effective strategies to reduce FCR in lung cancer survivors should focus on enhancing family resilience, improving disease cognition, minimizing FCR triggers, and guiding patients toward adopting positive coping styles, ultimately improving their QOL. Fear of cancer recurrence plays a vital role in relationships between internal and external cues and QOL. We can construct interventions to enhance the QOL of survivors based on the FCR influencing factors.

Developmental changes in school burnout: The importance of sleep and problematic Internet use.

School burnout remains a prevalent problem among adolescents; it is associated with low academic achievement and school dropout risk, in turn linked to a whole host of deleterious developmental outcomes. The current longitudinal study sought to better understand the developmental course of school burnout by testing whether poor sleep and problematic internet use each uniquely and additively explained the variance in school burnout over time. Data were collected four times over 18 months, 6 months apart from N = 405 adolescents, grades 9 to 11. Sleep quality, but not quantity, was significantly associated with the school burnout intercept (β = -0.29); no effects were found for the slope. Problematic internet use was also significantly associated with the intercept (β = .44), but not the slope. In a combined model, both sleep quality and problematic internet use significantly predicted the school burnout intercept. The slope was only predicted by age (β = -0.21). The study found partial support for the hypotheses that both poor sleep quality and problematic internet use predicted school burnout, intercept only, not the rate of change. The evidence suggests that school burnout increased across high school; however, the rate of increase slowed with age. In contrast to some previous work, study findings highlight the importance of separately considering both poor sleep and problematic internet use in understanding the development of school burnout during adolescence. N = 229.