Strong Footing Research Articles

Religious Integration and the Development of Caodaism: An Overview

The formative stage of Cao Dai religion is closely connected to Vietnamese traditional myths, tales, doctrines and practices that are mostly transmitted orally down to the centuries. At the same time, Caodaism constantly maintained its links with religio-cultural elements of Chinese, Indian and Western origin. Due to this fact, Caodaism, with its synthesis of Eastern, Southeast Asian, Indian and Western elements specially from indigenous folk tales, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity, appeared as the religion of an acclaimed small group in 1926. This paper aims to examine how Caodaism evolved by a long-term process of Western and Asian acculturation. Thus, first to be considered is the significant role of socio- historical factors in creating a strong footing for the progress of Caodaism in Vietnam at the beginning of the early 20th century. Second, the process of Vietnamese acculturation is taken into consideration through which Caodaism borrowed diverse elements from different resources around it. Methodologically, a critical discourse analysis is adopted to consider the characteristics of Caodaism and its sociohistorical structure that is required to understand its historical origin and development. In conclusion, first, the study clearly demonstrates the close connection between Caodaism and the major factors of acculturation such as integration and assimilation for its development and diffusion around the South of Vietnam. Second, the current problem demands a careful consideration of some other crucial factors that might have influenced the rise and progress of Caodaism since its official journey in 1926. Philosophy and Progress, Vol#73-74; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2023 P 21-36

Bai and Old Western Chinese

Abstract Several scholars noted that the pronunciations of 天 “sky” tiān and 風 “wind” fēng in Bai appear to be akin to the western variants of the words attested in the paronomastic gloss dictionary Shìmíng 釋名. I will demonstrate in the current study that there are additional commonalities shared by both Bai and the ancient western dialect, termed Old Western Chinese (OWC) in this study. In both languages, one can identify words with zy- in Middle Chinese (MC) that are pronounced j-. Bai and Old Western Chinese use the same word (椹 shèn) for “fungus”. Furthermore, Old Chinese (OC) cluster *-p/t-s yields -t in both languages in lieu of yielding -j as observed in Middle Chinese. Last but not least, it appears that in both languages, words with *lˤ- (whence MC d-) and -ʔ (whence MC rising tone) are distinct from other words with d- in Middle Chinese. Hence, this paper puts the claim that Bai is akin to Old Western Chinese on a stronger footing. As a side note, judging from the fact that 四 “four” sì contains -t in Old Western Chinese and early Bai, its Old Chinese form most likely ends in *-[t]-s.

AN EXAMINATION OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: A REVIEW STUDY

In order to undertake any research a strong background study is always required. Research always stands on a strong footing in the form of comprehensive and extensive research review. A researcher has to always get conversant with the prevailing research domains, methods, instruments used by previous researchers for undertaking similar type of studies. Only then the researcher will be able to diagnose the vacuum in the research conducted till date and what addition to existing knowledge can be made by him/ her. Financial performance analysis of firms in similar industries has always been a hot favourite topic of researchers and its never ending as firms might perform well in one year and in other year might even experience depression. Hence, while undertaking research in financial performance analysis a strong base of deep review of existing knowledge is inevitably required. This paper has attempted to summarise the findings of some literature on performance analysis in finance terms already existing in research domain to facilitate research community to take such research ahead in future. KEYWORDS: Financial performance analysis, literature review

Balancing Work-Life: Examining the Career Decisions of Women Educational Leaders

This research study explores the growth of career patterns in women and the factors affecting their career decisions. For women to participate in society, the male-dominated culture was challenged when women decided to have a strong footing in leadership positions and at the same time balance work and life. Therefore, it was necessary to investigate what made these women career-oriented, while simultaneously managing their homes. This qualitative research using the narrative technique examined the causes that led women leaders to work toward their career development. It also investigated as to how this decision affected their lives. Through purposive sampling, eight department heads from different universities in Karachi were selected and interviewed. Through thematic analysis, the data was analyzed. This study implies that women are aware of the effects of their decisions still they pursue their careers because their cause is more important to them. In conclusion, this study contributes to understanding the factors influencing women's career decisions and the impact of these decisions on their lives.

The Effects of Environmental Analysis on Optimal Attainment of Local Government Administration Objectives in Developing Countries (A Study of Nigeria) 2015-2023

Environmental analysis in government administration is the process of assessing and evaluating the internal and external factors that can have an effect on an administration performance and strategy. Although the environmental analysis is important to figure administrations strength, weaknesses opportunity and threat and this knowledge can help to place her on strong footing to actualize set objectives. The study explored the Effects of Environmental Analysis on Optimal Attainment of Local Government Administration Objectives in Developing Countries with a focus on Nigeria. The study employed descriptive research design. Population of the study were drawn from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The data for the study were sourced through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive, correlations and regression analysis was applied to the study to evaluate the effects of the dependent variable on the independent variables through the aid of the statistical package SPSS 23. From the regression results its suffice to conclude that environmental analysis of Local government administration that is proxy with political, economic, social & legal, would have a meaningful influence on optimum actualization of local government objectives in Nigeria. The study recommended that local government administrators should prioritise analysis or evaluation of internal and external environment such as political, economic, social and legal state of their local government area pre and post inauguration.

Airport Carbon Emission Accreditation as a Policy Approach towards Net Zero Carbon 2050

Airport carbon emissions accreditation is a carbon management program for airports that can independently assess and recognize airport efforts to manage and reduce CO2 emissions. This proposal is an adaptation of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Program launched by the Airport Council International (ACI) SINCE 2009. In this program, concrete steps can be taken starting from identification, planning, prioritization, implementation, monitoring and improvement, determination, justification and demonstration. It is important to immediately begin identifying or censusing potential carbon emitters in all areas of airport resources which are then calculated so that the value of carbon emissions can be known quantitatively and specifically. Then further efforts such as lowering or even offsetting can be done in a more measurable manner. If the airport carbon offset policy, which replaces airport carbon emissions or other greenhouse gases in order to compensate for emissions, is implemented and becomes a global mandatory, it means that Indonesia has a fairly strong footing.

A Comparative Analytical Study of Some Biomechanical Variables and Their Relationship to The Accuracy of The Performance of The Shooting Skill of Jumping High in The Weak and Strong Foot the Players for Youth Handball

The research aims to identify the most important variables affecting shooting from jumping high and compare them for the two foot the weak and strong, where the researchers adopted the descriptive method, and the sample was chosen by the intentional method, which consists of (4) players from the Iraqi Sports Army Club, where these variables were studied and their impact on The accuracy of aiming at the two men, and the researchers concluded that most of the players have more accuracy in aiming at the strong leg than at the weak leg, which leads to the loss of many real opportunities during the match because of the players changing the situation or wasting the available opportunity when the position of correction is an opportunity for the weak leg.

Improving sensitivity in the deep regions of a volume conductor using electrical focused impedance methods.

Bioimpedance measurements are becoming important in probing the human body for diagnosis and monitoring. An age old 4-electrode technique called tetrapolar impedance measurement (TPIM), giving transfer impedance, cannot localize a specific zone besides having large zones of negative sensitivity. A new technique named the focused impedance method (FIM) from Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh used the algebraic average of two concentric and orthogonal TPIMs, localizing a zone of interest and having reduced magnitudes of negative sensitivity. Earlier, this was implemented with electrodes applied from one side of the human body giving information to shallow depths only. To get information from deeper regions, specifically, of the thorax, the same DU group placed two electrodes of a 4-electrode version of FIM at the front and two at the back in a horizontal plane of the thorax, using physics-based visualization. This was followed by a few quantitative studies using point sensitivity, which supported the concept. However, more quantitative studies still need to be performed, particularly using objects of finite sizes, in order to establish the technique on a stronger footing. The present study was taken up with this objective. A simplified approach was used in which the volume conductor was a rectangular non-conducting container filled with saline of uniform conductivity with an embedded spherical object - first an insulator and then a conductor. Electrodes were placed at specific chosen positions following the above visualization. Percentage change in transfer impedance with the object placed at different internal positions, compared to that without the object was obtained first using COMSOL simulation and then through experimental measurements. These were performed for both TPIM and FIM. The new configuration of 4-electrode FIM gave good depth sensitivity supporting the effectiveness of the new placement of electrodes.

Tidal Dissipation Regimes among the Short-period Exoplanets

The efficiency of tidal dissipation provides a zeroth-order link to a planet’s physical properties. For super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets in the range R ⊕ ≲ R p ≲ 4R ⊕, particularly efficient dissipation (i.e., low tidal quality factors) may signify terrestrial-like planets capable of maintaining rigid crustal features. Here, we explore global constraints on planetary tidal quality factors using a population of planets in multiple-planet systems whose orbital and physical properties indicate susceptibility to capture into secular spin–orbit resonances. Planets participating in secular spin–orbit resonance can maintain large axial tilts and significantly enhanced heating from obliquity tides. When obliquity tides are sufficiently strong, planets in low-order mean-motion resonances can experience resonant repulsion (period ratio increase). The observed distribution of period ratios among transiting planet pairs may thus depend nontrivially on the underlying planetary structures. We model the action of resonant repulsion and demonstrate that the observed distribution of period ratios near the 2:1 and 3:2 commensurabilities implies Q values spanning from Q ≈ 101–107 and peaking at Q ≈ 106. This range includes the expected range in which super-Earth and sub-Neptune planets dissipate (Q ≈ 103–104). This work serves as a proof of concept for a method of assessing the presence of two dissipation regimes, and we estimate the number of additional multitransiting planetary systems needed to place any bimodality in the distribution on a strong statistical footing.

Legal Underpinnings Drive ESG Amidst Global Flux

The paper studies the complex global dynamics governing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), including the evolving scope and structures of ESG frameworks. The impact of the significant expansion in the scope and spread of legal underpinnings over the last decade studied along with the increase in strategic applications of ESG like risk management. There is specific focus on developments the European Union, and an assessment of the impact of the changing ESG and regulatory scenario on India. The accelerated alignment of reporting standards, post the release of Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) guidelines has been complemented by legal and regulatory progress globally. The gradual development of legal underpinnings has put ESG or business sustainability on a stronger footing, by providing binding mandates to transition towards sustainability, albeit in varying in strength and forms across jurisdictions. The paper studies the development of these legal underpinnings and analyses how it has been critical in ensuring progress on the ESG front. These were critical in ensuring progress continued despite significant headwinds emerging of the Ukraine War and COVID-19, albeit in a slower but sustained manner. This contrasted with the scenario over the last four decades wherein vested interests could easily derail progress on climate change fronts in the absence of the legal underpinnings and binding mandates. This analysis is based on study of recent sustainability mechanisms, including a study of the architecture of the Paris Agreement, the TCFD guidelines, the compliance-based European Union (EU) Sustainability Action Plan in EU, and other international regulatory developments, including India’s BRSR and the recent regulatory proposals by RBI and SEBI etc. Global financial investors’ strong push for ESG based risk-assessment and investments is analysed along with the introduction of mandated ESG compliances for businesses and trade is pushing companies and countries with older ESG standards to respond, which has important implication for India and Indian businesses.

Solvable Dynamics of Coupled High-Dimensional Generalized Limit-Cycle Oscillators.

We introduce a new model consisting of globally coupled high-dimensional generalized limit-cycle oscillators, which explicitly incorporates the role of amplitude dynamics of individual units in the collective dynamics. In the limit of weak coupling, our model reduces to the D-dimensional Kuramoto phase model, akin to a similar classic construction of the well-known Kuramoto phase model from weakly coupled two-dimensional limit-cycle oscillators. For the practically important case of D=3, the incoherence of the model is rigorously proved to be stable for negative coupling (K<0) but unstable for positive coupling (K>0); the locked states are shown to exist if K>0; in particular, the onset of amplitude death is theoretically predicted. For D≥2, the discrete and continuous spectra for both locked states and amplitude death are governed by two general formulas. Our proposed D-dimensional model is physically more reasonable, because it is no longer constrained by fixed amplitude dynamics, which puts the recent studies of the D-dimensional Kuramoto phase model on a stronger footing by providing a more general framework for D-dimensional limit-cycle oscillators.

Asta-Ja Framework: A Peaceful Approach to Food, Water, Climate, and Environmental Security Coupled with Sustainable Economic Development and Social Inclusion in Nepal

Sustainable conservation, development, and utilization of natural and humanresources is necessary for accelerated economic growth and fast-pacedsocio-economic transformation of Nepal. Asta-Ja Framework, which is atheoretically grounded grassroots based peaceful and self-reliant planningand development approach, offers practical strategies for sustainable con-servation and development of natural and human resources enhancing food,water, climate, and environmental security, accelerated economic growth, andsocio-economic transformation of Nepal. Asta-Ja includes interconnectedeight resources in Nepali letter, Ja, – Jal (water), Jamin (land), Jungle(forest), Jadibuti (medicinal and aromatic plants), Janashakti (manpower),Janawar (animal), Jarajuri (crop plants) and Jalabayu (climate). Asta-JaFramework is a unifying framework for planning and resources develop-ment and has a strong footing on science, business, and eastern philosophy.While providing practical guidelines for achieving food, water, climate and environmental security, this article presents Nepal Vision 2040, which isdeveloped considering challenges that Nepal is currently facing and itsavailable Asta-Ja resources, envisioning that Nepal’s economic developmentreaching at the par of developed nations by 2040. Key strategic sectorsidentified in Nepal Vision 2040 include smallholder mixed-farming system,agro-jadibuti industrialization, protection of drinking water sources, climatechange adaptation, environmental pollution control, conservation of naturalresources, infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy, alleviation of inequali-ties, and good governance. This article demonstrates strategies for addressingsocial discrimination and inequalities through the process of Asta-Ja com-munity capacity-building and self-reliant development. Ecological balanceof Asta-Ja resources is necessary for sustainable natural resources, economicdevelopment, and community resiliency. The Government of Nepal is sug-gested to adopt Asta-Ja Framework as its national planning and developmentframework for sustainable economic growth and fast-paced socio-economictransformation of the country.

Kako status uzdužnog svoda stopala utječe na sportske rezultate košarkaša na Islandu?

Basketball is a highly anaerobic game, that consists of high-intensity efforts, such as jumping, landing, change of direction and sprinting, followed by lower-intensity efforts. Postural deformities can be a limiting factor in achieving maximal performances in basketball. Flat feet are one of the most common postural deformities and they can lead to poorer performances, discomfort, and pain. In this research we investigated the differences in certain sports performances among Icelandic basketball players in relation to the status of longitudinal arch of the feet. A sample of 143 basketball players (23 girls, age 12.7±1.4 and 97 boys, age 12.9±1.4 – development group; 14 women playing in the first Icelandic Division, age 21±6.6 and 9 men, age 22.2±3.7 playing in the first Icelandic division) were tested on a podoscope to establish the degree of feet flatness and all participants performed countermovement jump, drop jump, 20m sprint and T-test for agility. To assign players in group with or without flat feet, Clark’s angle has been used. Except in 20m sprint test, no differences were found between the groups with and without flat feet, which indicates that feet flatness was not a limiting factor in jumping and change of direction tasks but was in sprinting. We state that only strong and healthy feet might lead to excellent performance.

Correlation between Clark angle and Performances in Icelandic Female Basketball Players

Basketball is a highly anaerobic game, that consists of high-intensity efforts followed by lower-intensity efforts. Postural deformities can be a limiting factor in achieving maximal performances in basketball. Flat feet are one of the most common deformities and they can lead to discomfort and pain. In this research we made an attempt to link the degree of feet flatness with sports performances in elite Icelandic female basketball players. A sample of 15 basketball players was tested on a podoscope to establish the degree of feet flatness and all participants performed drop jump, countermovement jump, 20m sprint and agility t-test. No significant correlation was observed, which means that feet flatness was not a limiting factor. However, we state that only strong and healthy feet might lead to excellent performance.

The Garden Atonement and the Mormon Cross Taboo

The Garden Atonement and the Mormon Cross Taboo

Impact of militancy on human security in Niger delta: Evidence from food and environmental security

The inability to maximise the potential of nature in the Niger Delta; air pollution, unsafe drinking water, low yield of crops due to endless oil spillage and a threatened aquatic system mostly occasioned by the menace of Niger Delta militancy constitute threats to threats, fear and lack to individual wellbeing in the Delta region and this negates the narrative of human security. It is against this background, that this study leverages on relative deprivation theory to investigate the impact of food and environmental security on human security Niger Delta, Nigeria. The study measured human security with food security and environmental security. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and primary data were collected with the aid of questionnaire designed in a four Likert scale manner to extract information from purposively selected flashpoints of militancy in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. The population of the study is 5,378,500. This study engages Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) scientific sampling technique determination which recommends a sample size of 384 for a population above a million. Ordinary least square regression analysis was employed to analyse the data. The study revealed that food and environmental security have negative significant impact on human security in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. Based on these findings, the study concludes that a threatened food and environmental security predict human insecurity in Niger Delta, Nigeria. If food security and environmental security is assured and improved, then human security will be on a strong footing in the volatile region of Niger Delta. The study recommends that Federal and State Government should spend more on these critical platforms that explains human security by focusing on good governance as against militarization of the Niger Delta region.

Victorian Literary Businesses: The Management and Practices of the British Publishing Industry, by Marrisa Joseph

Reviewed by: Victorian Literary Businesses: The Management and Practices of the British Publishing Industry by Marrisa Joseph Troy J. Bassett (bio) Victorian Literary Businesses: The Management and Practices of the British Publishing Industry, by Marrisa Joseph; pp. xv + 229. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, $169.99, $129.00 ebook. In Victorian Literary Businesses: The Management and Practices of the British Publishing Industry, Marrisa Joseph promises an exploration of the business practices of the British publishing industry through the lens of "new institutionalism"—a perspective from organizational studies that here focuses on "how individuals and organisations formed specific business practices and why they became legitimised" in the literary marketplace (5). Though the book primarily aims to examine the years 1843 (the year Macmillan was established) to 1900, it ranges in time from the founding of Longman in the early eighteenth century to the final end of the Net Book Agreement in 1997, which ended fixed retail book prices. In her examination of the Victorian literary marketplace, Joseph offers separate chapters on authorship, the rise of literary agents, mass-market publishing, the history of Macmillan, and the development of professional associations where each nexus is discussed through the case studies of a handful of individuals or organizations, including A. P. Watt, Mudie's Select Library, and the Society of Authors. As a book historian, I welcome fresh insight into the business practices of Victorian authors and publishers, because so much remains that we do not know about the Victorian publishing world. For instance: how did authors contract with publishers and what forms did these contracts take? What were the internal day-to-day operations of publishers? What kinds of discounts were offered, and what deals did publishers have with booksellers, wholesalers, and libraries (for example, publishers' dinners)? How much did advertising cost and how did those costs affect revenues? And how did limited liability laws affect these businesses? Sadly, book historians may be disappointed in the book at hand, since some of the terrain it covers and conclusions drawn may seem overly familiar despite the business-theory lens. Such a broad-based study as that proposed here has potential for understanding the British publishing industry in its entirety, as well as the corresponding danger of spreading itself too thin. The third chapter of the book, on authorship, covers the history of copyright law, contracting practices between authors and publishers, the club life of male authors, and the position of women authors—topics that might merit detailed chapters of their own. Instead, the chapter gives a cursory treatment of its subjects, which, unfortunately, repeats many unsubstantiated claims about Victorian book history: that "royalty payments started to become more commonplace in the industry" around 1860 (50) (this is frankly unknown); that "publishing . . . through serials was generally the first stage in the product life of a literary title" (53) (for the vast majority of books it was not); and that women authors by necessity relied on anonymity and pseudonyms to hide their gender in the literary marketplace. The important examples of the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, and many others notwithstanding, research has documented a far greater number of women authors not resorting to that tactic. The chapter identifies developing professional practices by authors—in particular, contracts and networking—without digging too deeply into specific examples or attempting to complicate our understanding of these things. Likewise, the chapter on the development of the literary mass market attempts to cover the two-hundred-year transition from booksellers to publishers using the example of Longman, the role of Mudie as a key figure in the marketplace, and the development [End Page 491] of cheap fiction like yellowbacks by Routledge. The analysis of the three companies digs deeper, but the conclusion is underwhelming: "Their example was adopted and their practices accepted by many publishers in the industry" (139). On a much stronger footing, chapter 2, on the emergence of the literary agent, begins with an historical account of how informal literary "middlemen" evolved and culminated in Watt, whose business knowledge, social networking, and self-promotion created the exemplar for literary agents in the publishing world to follow (95). Here Joseph draws heavily on archival materials, as she does in...

The Legitimacy of Bottom-up Governance: The Role of Multi-Stakeholder GVC Partnerships in Ethiopia

Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have emerged as forms of collaborative, horizontal governance aimed at advancing the sustainable development of global value chains (GVC). Despite their recent popularity and good intentions, legitimacy deficits emerged, preventing more significant improvements in terms of sustainability. Consequently, academics and policy makers have called for more civil society organization (CSO) involvement in GVC governance. This article applies a grounded theory approach to a single, deviant case study: an EU-funded, CSO-led GVC MSI, consisting of public, private, and civil society organizations both in Europe and Ethiopia, which aims to promote a sustainable cotton and garment value chain of Ethiopian cotton to European consumers. To analyze the case, we conducted 69 in-depth semi-structured interviews. Our findings show the interplay between politically and socially driven legitimacy concerns in the context of CSO-led MSIs. Specifically, our results contrast the bottom-up nature of CSO-led MSIs against Ethiopia’s hierarchical, top-down structures deeply ingrained in local institutions. This global-local mismatch creates social legitimacy challenges for the project, which in return, contributes to both input and output legitimacy deficits. This is mainly visible from the lack of local ownership by ‘powerful’ project partners, whose presence in the project is paramount for social legitimacy, but whose specific interests also impede output legitimacy at the highest level. Overall, while CSO-led MSIs are confronted with similar legitimacy challenges than either traditional (global) or local MSIs, it is their strong footing in the local market that allows them to create value for stakeholders at the bottom (i.e., workers).

A Hand in Glove Theorem of Dividends and Earnings: Evidence from the Financial Sector of Pakistan

Purpose: The available literature on various sectors to examine the impact of earnings on dividend payments, indicates that still, extensive research lacks in the financial sector of Pakistan. The rationale behind paying higher dividends has been observed in emerging countries like Pakistan to maintain a strong financial footing. This study aims to investigate various factors that can influence dividend payouts. Design/Methodology/Approach: ARDL approach has been used to establish a long-term impact of selected variables on dividend payouts. Data of 50 financial listed firms for 2000-2021 has been used to subsume the impact of earnings-related variables on the dividend payouts of the financial companies of Pakistan. Findings: Results indicate that market capitalization, ROA, EPS, and firm size have a significant and positive impact on dividend decisions, while leverage generates a significant inverse impact on dividend declarations. The study also indicates discretionary accruals (a factor in earnings management under IAS) do not impact dividends significantly. ROE has no impact on the volume of dividends due to the specific nature of the firms under study. Implications/Originality/Value: The study demonstrates a conjecture that the financial sector must maintain its dividends not only to retain its old stakeholders but also to recruit new ones.

HEALTH SECURITY AND THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL VULNERABILITIES IN NIGERIA

&lt;div&gt;&lt;p class="Els-history-head"&gt;There is a growing recognition of the importance of health security to economic development globally. ‘Health security’ as a phenomenon continues to receive the attention of academics and policymakers in the course of ensuring a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being for all. Nigeria’s health policy equally gives a premium to this. The aim of this study, hinging on archival and qualitative research design, is to explore health security in Nigeria vis-à-vis the constraining social and environmental vulnerabilities. The discourse took into account unfolding social challenges and various environmental problems coupled with the high level of poverty. This article indicates that social and environmental uncertainties interact with many parts of the health care system in a variety of ways. This hurts health security in Nigeria as a result of poor infrastructure development, insufficient government financing, the lack of an integrated system for disease prevention and monitoring, frequent policy reversals, security issues, and unimpressive health indicators. Because of this and considering the state of the Nigerian health care that is worsening on a global standard, it is obvious that health security is yet to have a strong footing. For health security to have a meaningful impact on people's wellbeing, appropriate health services should be made accessible to those who need them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;