Background Altruism is the core of nursing professionalism. Graduate nursing education in China started late and is still developing, exploring the current state of altruistic behavior and the perceived experience of altruism among graduate nursing students may have important implications for nursing education. Objective Explore the current state of altruistic behavior and the perceived experience of altruism among graduate nursing students in China. Research design This is a descriptive phenomenological qualitative research study, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. Seventeen graduate nursing (...) students from three schools were selected to participate in the study. Colaizzi’s analysis method was performed with NVivo software to develop common themes from the data. Ethical considerations The research proposal was approved by the Research Ethic Committee of Yangzhou University, China. Results Four themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews of the 17 participants: “Definition of altruism,” “Altruism in the nursing profession,” “Altruism applied in practice,” and “Factors influencing altruistic behavior.” Conclusions Although participants indicated that the concept of “altruism” was relatively new to them, altruistic behavior is common in both their work and life. Many factors influence the altruistic behavior of graduate nursing students, including the environment, personal factors, education, recipient factors, occupational factors, and gains and losses. Families, schools, and hospitals should create favorable environments to foster altruistic tendencies in students. (shrink)

PurposeThis study aims to examine the mediating role recovery plays in the relationship between resilience and posttraumatic growth among breast cancer patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was implemented between January 02, 2021 and April 29, 2021. A total of 789 breast cancer patients from eight hospitals in Liaoning province were selected for participation in this study. These participants completed questionnaires, which included the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, EGO Resilience Scale and the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery. The associated factors of PTG (...) were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. The proposed relationships among resilience, recovery, and PTG were checked by structural equation modeling analyses.ResultsThe average PTG score of breast cancer patients was 53.00 ± 28.30. PTG was positively correlated with both recovery and PTG.ConclusionBreast cancer patients were found to exhibit a moderate degree of PTG. Resilience was positively associated with PTG and recovery mediated the positive effect of resilience on PTG. Resilience might serve as a crucial protective factor that could explain positive growth in life-threatening illnesses through the mediating path of recovery. (shrink)

ObjectiveA form of pathological social withdrawal which is also called hikikomori has been proved its existence in China. But the prevalence and characteristics of hikikomori in China remain unknown. Past studies had investigated the hikikomori phenomenon in three cities of China. The purpose of this study is to discover the prevalence of hikikomori in a convenient online sample in China as well as the difference in demographic characteristics and other possible traits between hikikomori sufferers and the general population.MethodsA total of (...) 1,066 youths in China completed the online questionnaire, which consisted of questions about demographics, the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire, the Internet Addiction Test, the Loneliness Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. SPSS is used to evaluate the data.ResultsOf the 1,066 youths, 980 were identified as belonging to group A, 46 to group B, and 40 to group C. The hikikomori group accounted for 8.1%. The present data suggest that residence and loneliness are related to the occurrence of hikikomori. HQ-25 score of the hikikomori group was significantly higher than the comparison group. The UCLA score showed that those in the hikikomori group felt lonelier than those in the comparison. The regression model predicted hikikomori risk, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test value is 7.114 and P = 0.524 > 0.05.ConclusionThe grouping criterion in our present study is reasonable and such a grouping criterion can screen out potential populations of hikikomori. When people develop into hikikomori sufferers in the present, their social withdrawal behaviors and feeling of loneliness are both much more severe than in the past. The possible relationships between hikikomori and loneliness reflect the need to give the youths more social support, to help them connect with society. (shrink)

Understanding learners’ translating self-efficacy belief helps predict their ability to cope and translation performance during their career. Despite this connection, the assessment of self-efficacy during learning has been largely overlooked in translation research. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to examine belief in self-efficacy in a sample of Chinese translation learners. Scale items were collected and refined based on an expert-panel consensus opinion. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis across two independent samples revealed (...) and validated a three-dimensional structure: efficacy in internal competence, efficacy in psycho-physical competence, and efficacy in external competence. These findings provide supporting evidence for scale applications in educating translators. (shrink)

Urban space is the spatial projection of various social and economic activities. Given the complexity of urban functions and the ongoing expansion of urban areas, the spatial differentiation of various economic activities within cities tends to become more and more clear; moreover, there tends to be spatial inequalities in resource allocation. Taking Beijing as an example, this study develops a spatial accessibility model at the town level by integrating the spatial distribution of economic activities with the transport system and evaluating (...) the accessibility to various economic activities. The equality of the residents’ economic-related travel activity is also evaluated in line with the population distribution. The results show that the accessibility to economic activities generally decreases in going from the urban center to the peripheral suburbs, and this “core to edge” difference is readily apparent. In general, residents tend to choose areas to settle in which have a high degree of accessibility, however, the attractiveness of accessibility is constrained within certain limits, as evidenced by a reduction of population in the center of Beijing. Additionally, there are inequalities with respect to traveling experiences. For instance, 27.8% of residents experience very convenient travel conditions, mostly in the Xicheng, Dongcheng, and Haidian districts, and this equates to a high level of accessibility; about half of the residents in Beijing live in areas ranked as being of medium accessibility and where the distribution of economic activities and transportation facilities are insufficient. Residents living in the outlying Changping, Mentougou, Shunyi, and Fangshan districts have relatively poor access to transportation indicating a low level of accessibility. Overall, the evaluation method for spatial equality considers comprehensively the distribution of economic activities, transportation, and population distribution and can provide a reference framework for optimization of the urban spatial structure to improve urban spatial equality. (shrink)

This paper explores whether a Student’s choice of major leads to certain personality traits and the reasons for this phenomenon. Specifically, we look at evidence from two Chinese universities, both of which specialize in agricultural studies. Using the Sixteen Personality Factor questionnaire and the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory questionnaire, we collected data from two groups of students: those who study agriculture-related majors, and those who study non-agriculture-related majors. The surveys all showed no significant change in personality traits during Students’ (...) freshman year. However, after 3 years of university study, significant personality trait changes were noted between seniors in the ARM and NARM groups. Whereas ARM seniors tended to be socially shy and lower in communicative competence, NARM seniors were better at expressing themselves and communicating with others. Although a Student’s choice of profession has an influence on their personality traits, it is not the only factor. The differences between ARM and NARM training models and curricula are also undoubtedly significant. Moreover, the bias against ARM in Chinese society further magnifies the differences in personality traits among students with different majors. (shrink)

While an increasing number of organizations have introduced artificial intelligence as an important facilitating tool for learning online, the application of artificial intelligence in e-learning has become a hot topic for research in recent years. Over the past few decades, the importance of online learning has also been a concern in many fields, such as technological education, STEAM, AR/VR apps, online learning, amongst others. To effectively explore research trends in this area, the current state of online learning should be understood. (...) Systematic bibliometric analysis can address this problem by providing information on publishing trends and their relevance in various topics. In this study, the literary application of artificial intelligence combined with online learning from 2010 to 2021 was analyzed. In total, 64 articles were collected to analyze the most productive countries, universities, authors, journals and publications in the field of artificial intelligence combined with online learning using VOSviewer through WOS data collection. In addition, the mapping of co-citation and co-occurrence was explored by analyzing a knowledge map. The main objective of this study is to provide an overview of the trends and pathways in artificial intelligence and online learning to help researchers understand global trends and future research directions. (shrink)

ObjectiveType 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a high risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but the underlying mechanisms are not yet clearly understood. This study aimed to explore the functional connectivity (FC) and topological properties among whole brain networks and correlations with impaired cognition and distinguish T2DM from healthy controls (HC) to identify potential biomarkers for cognition abnormalities.MethodsA total of 80 T2DM and 55 well-matched HC were recruited in this study. Subjects’ clinical data, neuropsychological tests and resting-state functional magnetic resonance (...) imaging data were acquired. Whole-brain network FC were mapped, the topological characteristics were analyzed using a graph-theoretic approach, the FC and topological characteristics of the network were compared between T2DM and HC using a general linear model, and correlations between networks and clinical and cognitive characteristics were identified. The support vector machine (SVM) model was used to identify differences between T2DM and HC.ResultsIn patients with T2DM, FC was higher in two core regions [precuneus/posterior cingulated cortex (PCC)_1 and later prefrontal cortex_1] in the default mode network and lower in bilateral superior parietal lobes (within dorsal attention network), and decreased between the right medial frontal cortex and left auditory cortex. The FC of the right frontal medial-left auditory cortex was positively correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scales and negatively correlated with the blood glucose levels. Long-range connectivity between bilateral auditory cortex was missing in the T2DM. The nodal degree centrality and efficiency of PCC were higher in T2DM than in HC (P < 0.005). The nodal degree centrality in the PCC in the SVM model was 97.56% accurate in distinguishing T2DM patients from HC, demonstrating the reliability of the prediction model.ConclusionFunctional abnormalities in the auditory cortex in T2DM may be related to cognitive impairment, such as memory and attention, and nodal degree centrality in the PCC might serve as a potential neuroimaging biomarker to predict and identify T2DM. (shrink)

The growing uses of algorithm-based decision-making in human resources management have drawn considerable attention from different stakeholders. While prior literature mainly focused on stakeholders directly related to HR decisions (e.g., employees), this paper pertained to a third-party observer perspective and investigated how consumers would respond to companies’ adoption of algorithm-based HR decision-making. Through five experimental studies, we showed that the adoption of algorithm-based (vs. human-based) HR decision-making could induce consumers’ unfavorable ethicality inferences of the company (study 1); because implementing a (...) calculative and data-driven approach (i.e. algorithm-based) to make employee-related decisions violates the deontological principles of respectful employee treatment (study 2). However, this effect was attenuated when consumers had high (vs. low) power distance beliefs (study 3); the algorithm served as assistance (vs. replacement) for human decisions (study 4); or the adoption was framed as employee-oriented (vs. company-oriented) motivated (study 5). Our findings suggested that consumers are aversive to algorithm-based HR decision-making because it is deontologically problematic regardless of its decision quality (i.e. accuracy). This paper contributes to the extant understanding of stakeholders’ responses to algorithm-based HR decision-making and consumers’ attitudes toward algorithm users. (shrink)

In recent years, the logic of questions and dependencies has been investigated in the closely related frameworks of inquisitive logic and dependence logic. These investigations have assumed classical logic as the background logic of statements, and added formulas expressing questions and dependencies to this classical core. In this paper, we broaden the scope of these investigations by studying questions and dependency in the context of intuitionistic logic. We propose an intuitionistic team semantics, where teams are embedded within intuitionistic Kripke models. (...) The associated logic is a conservative extension of intuitionistic logic with questions and dependence formulas. We establish a number of results about this logic, including a normal form result, a completeness result, and translations to classical inquisitive logic and modal dependence logic. (shrink)

Children's utterances from late infancy to 3 years of age were examined to infer their conception of knowledge. In Study 1, the utterances of two English-speaking children were analysed and in Study 2, the utterances of a Mandarin-speaking child were analysed – in both studies, for their use of the verb know. Both studies confirmed that know and not know were used to affirm, query or deny knowledge, especially concerning an ongoing topic of conversation. References to a third party were (...) rare. By implication, 2-year-olds have a conception of knowledge that underpins their exchange of information in conversation. Implications for the child's developing theory of mind are discussed. (shrink)

Drawing upon career construction theory, we examined the mediating effect of deliberate practice on career adaptability and the effects of learning goal orientation and supervisor incompetence accusations as well as career development training on DP. Using data collected from 204 Chinese PhD students in three waves over a period of 2 months, we found that individuals who were inclined to learn new skills and obtain new knowledge were more likely to deliberately practice professional activities in their fields. When a PhD (...) student’s professional competence was questioned by his or her supervisor, the student was more prone to negative emotions and would reduce his or her effort in the development of expertise. CDT – contrary to expectations – negatively predicted DP of professional activities. One possible reason is that the participants in this study have strong autonomy so that those who really struggling are participating in training and seeking help and those who with strong professional abilities are not accessing training programs. Moreover, results showed that DP of professional activities significantly promoted PhD students to adapt to their academic circumstances. Implications for career-related practice within the academic domain are provided. (shrink)

Causalists and Evidentialists can agree about the right course of action in an (apparent) Newcomb problem, if the causal facts are not as initially they seem. If declining $1,000 causes the Predictor to have placed $1m in the opaque box, CDT agrees with EDT that one-boxing is rational. This creates a difficulty for Causalists. We explain the problem with reference to Dummett's work on backward causation and Lewis's on chance and crystal balls. We show that the possibility that the causal (...) facts might be properly judged to be non-standard in Newcomb problems leads to a dilemma for Causalism. One horn embraces a subjectivist understanding of causation, in a sense analogous to Lewis's own subjectivist conception of objective chance. In this case the analogy with chance reveals a terminological choice point, such that either (i) CDT is completely reconciled with EDT, or (ii) EDT takes precedence in the cases in which the two theories give different recommendations. The other horn of the dilemma rejects subjectivism, but now the analogy with chance suggests that it is simply mysterious why causation so construed should constrain rational action. (shrink)

Following the recent call for advancement in knowledge about business ethics in East Asia, this study proposes a complementary perspective on business ethics in South Korea. We challenge the conventional view that South Korea is a strictly collectivist country, where group norms and low trust determine the norms and values of behavior. Using the concept of civil religion, we suggest that the center of the South Korean civil religion can be seen in the affective ties and networks pervading the economic, (...) political, and social institutions, embedded in and guided by Confucian ideals. We argue that South Korea should be seen not as a collectivist low-trust society, but rather as an affective-relational society, in which the relational context determines whether collectivism or individualism prevails. Further, we assert that trust, the cohesive factor of affective ties and networks, has until now been inadequately captured by conventional surveys. Our proposed perspective contributes to a more holistic picture and a more firmly grounded understanding of business ethics in South Korea. (shrink)

This article presents two studies that examine cause-related marketing promotions that require consumers’ active participation. Requiring a follow-up behavior has very valuable implications for maximizing marketing expenditures and customer relationship management. Theories related to ethical behavior, like motivated reasoning and defensive denial, are used to explain when and why consumers respond negatively to these effort demands. The first study finds that consumers rationalize not participating in CRM by devaluing the sponsored cause. The second study identifies a tactic marketers can utilize (...) to neutralize consumers’ use of defensive denial. Allowing the consumer to choose the sponsored cause seems to effectively refocus their attention and increases consumers’ threshold for campaign requirements. Implications for nonprofits and marketing managers include a tendency for consumers to be more likely to perceive a firm as ethical and socially responsible when they are allowed to choose the specific cause that is supported. (shrink)

Quantum B-algebras, the partially ordered implicational algebras arising as subreducts of quantales, are introduced axiomatically. It is shown that they provide a unified semantic for non-commutative algebraic logic. Specifically, they cover the vast majority of implicational algebras like BCK-algebras, residuated lattices, partially ordered groups, BL- and MV-algebras, effect algebras, and their non-commutative extensions. The opposite of the category of quantum B-algebras is shown to be equivalent to the category of logical quantales, in the way that every quantum B-algebra admits a (...) natural embedding into a logical quantale, the enveloping quantale. Partially defined products of algebras related to effect algebras are handled efficiently in this way. The unit group of the enveloping quantale of a quantum B-algebra X is shown to be always contained in X, which gives a functorial subgroup X× of X. Similar subfunctors are obtained for the non-commutative extensions of BCK-algebras and effect algebras. The results of Galatos, Jónsson, and Tsinakis on the splitting of generalized BL-algebras into a semidirect product of a partially ordered group operating on an integral residuated poset are extended to a characterization of twisted semidirect products of a po-group by a quantum B-algebra. (shrink)

Adolescent smartphone addiction has increasingly attracted the attention of scholars because of the widespread use of internet technology in educational environments. In addition, previous studies have found that there is a complex relationship between smartphone addiction and self-consistency congruence, and subjective well-being. This research was conducted to examine whether subjective well-being would mediate the relation between self-consistency congruence and adolescent smartphone addiction, and whether gender would moderate the mediating process. A total of 1,011 Chinese adolescents completed self-report questionnaires measuring self-consistency (...) congruence, subjective well-being, and smartphone addiction. Self-consistency congruence was shown to be a significant predictor of smartphone addiction. Furthermore, subjective well-being partially mediated the association between self-consistency congruence and adolescent smartphone addiction. Gender could moderate the mediating process; as compared with boys, girls’ self-consistency congruence and subjective well-being are more easily mediated. We envision the findings as being helpful in guiding scholars who are developing interventions to minimize smartphone addiction and its disrupting effects in adolescents. (shrink)

As an important corporate governance mechanism, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance is theoretically associated with corporate financialization because it directly affects incentive constraints and risk preference of enterprise managers. However, whether there is a causal relationship in fact has not been sufficiently empirically investigated. Using a sample of Chinese non-financial listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2008 to 2020, this paper empirically analyzes how corporate subscription to directors’ and officers’ liability insurance affects corporate financialization and examines the mediating (...) role played by risk-taking, financing constraints, and audit quality. The study finds that corporate subscription to D&O insurance increases corporate financialization. In terms of the influential mechanism, subscription to D&O insurance promotes financialization by increasing risk-taking, alleviating financing constraints, and improving audit quality. In addition, the results in the heterogeneity analysis suggest that the promotion of financialization by subscribing to D&O insurance is more significant in state-owned enterprises, growth and decline stage enterprises, and non-dual-employment enterprises. (shrink)

Conflicts in land exploration are incisive social problems which have been the subject in many studies. Risk assessment of land conflicts is effective to resolve such problems. Specifically, fuzzy mathematics and the analytic hierarchy process were combined together to evaluate risk in land conflicts in our work, which is proved useful to solve uncertainty and imprecision problems. Based on the analysis of the principles for the risk assessment of a land conflicts index system, a set of risk assessment indexes using (...) the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was presented. The results show that the overall risk is at medium level, and the risk of the feasibility index and controllability index need to be paid more attention to. The contribution of this article is reflected in two aspects: the application of FAHP in risk assessments of land conflicts is effective and valid; it is helpful for governments to establish a stricter management system of work safety for conflicts in land exploration based on the risk assessment results. (shrink)

Phonological alternation (sound change depending on the phonological environment) poses challenges to spoken word recognition models. Mandarin Chinese T3 sandhi is such a phenomenon in which a tone 3 (T3) changes into a tone 2 (T2) when followed by another T3. In a mismatch negativity (MMN) study examining Mandarin Chinese T3 sandhi, participants passively listened to either a T2 word [tʂu2 je4] /tʂu2 je4/, a T3 word [tʂu3 je4] /tʂu3 je4/, a sandhi word [tʂu2 jen3] /tʂu3 jen3/, or a mix (...) of T3 and sandhi word standards. The deviant in each condition was a T2 word [tʂu2]. Results showed an MMN only in the T2 and T3 conditions but not in the Sandhi or Mix conditions. All conditions also yielded omission MMNs. This pattern cannot be explained based on the surface forms of standards and deviants; rather these data suggest an underspecified or underlying T3 stored linguistic representation used in spoken word processing. (shrink)

Siegel recently distinguishes between seven possible ways in which our perceptual access to social information can be biased by flawed practice of either individuals or social structures, two of which, namely attention and cognitive penetration, imply that it is the content of perception, as opposed to that of judgments, that is biased. Both attention and cognitive penetration, however, rely on cognitive states imposing top-down influences on perceptual states. As such, perceptual bias resulting from them is to a large extent merely (...) a derivation of cognitive bias. In this paper, I propose another way in which our perception can be biased, namely, as the result of faulty assumptions made by the visual system. Furthermore, I argue that in contrast to cognitive penetration and attentional direction, perceptual bias arising in this way is fundamentally perceptual and does not depend on inputs from one’s cognitive system. This sort of perceptual bias, if it exists, would have important implications for how we conceptualize social bias and pose special challenges to traditional interventions designed to counteract bias. (shrink)

China set the goal of expanding early childhood education in 2018, by encouraging the development of public interest kindergartens to provide high-quality, low-cost preschool services to the general public. This is in response to the challenges of accessibility, affordability, and accountability besetting China’s current ECE system. However, the transition toward PIK has been slow due to various complex problems, including the lackluster willingness of ECE providers to become PIK. To better understand the challenges leading to low participation, this study explores (...) the external pressures affecting ECE providers and evaluates the external factors that influence their level of social responsibility. A stratified-random sampling questionnaire survey solicited responses from 832 ECE personnel representing 261 kindergartens from across China. Our findings suggest that institutional pressure has a positive effect on social responsibility and inclusive participation. We also found that institution visibility positively regulates the relationship between institutional pressure and social responsibility. At the same time, the level of environmental perception positively governs the relationship between social responsibility and participation willingness. Kindergartens should have certain social values, including assuming certain behaviors and participating in social activities in the spirit of social service and ensure multiple subjects’ synergetic governance. (shrink)

With the rise of live streaming commerce, the relationship between consumers and content creators on the short-video platforms has become closer, forming a peculiar culture and language in each consumer community, which promotes the short-video platforms to become a natural breeding ground for forming consumer communities. While such communities give birth to its own language and culture from the interaction between content creators and consumers, this kind of co-creation can not only enhance the consumers’ trust to improve commodity premium space, (...) but also strengthen the ties within the community and spread the information outside the communities, and consequently, expand community scale. Based on the view of the value co-creation from the language and culture among content creators and consumers in the communities, this study starts from the point of product type, employs consumers’ Willingness to pay premium as a proxy variable of brand advocacy in the co-creation of cultural and language values in consumer communities, and conducts three single-factor experiments between two groups. By analyzing the experimental results, this study identified the influence under the potential relationship mechanism, social comparison, and found another variable that can moderate the relationship, consumer trust, portrays the relationship between the product types of the live streaming commerce and the consumers’ WoPP, and explores the mediating effect of social comparison and the moderate effect of consumer trust effect. This paper also analyzes and discusses the WoPP caused by the co-creation of cultural and language values co-created by creators and consumer communities. (shrink)

Devotion is associated with showing commitment to what individuals choose. But is perceived devotion influenced by how individuals react to what they did not choose? Two experiments (N = 1,000) indicate that rejecting alternatives is a key behavioral cue for assessing devotion. Study 1 documents the basic effect: individuals who reject alternatives were seen as more devoted than individuals who accept or are ambiguous toward alternatives. The result remained regardless of whether individuals self-identified with being devoted and exerted effort toward (...) their target of devotion. Rejecting alternatives predicted greater likelihood of being trusted and viewed as living a good life, mediated by perceived devotion. Study 2 examined whether people distinguish between different types of devotees who reject alternatives, in terms of the process (mindful vs. mindless) and nature (neutral vs. harmful to the self) of their choices. Individuals who engaged in harmful devotion were less likely to be perceived as devoted, trusted, or living a good life than individuals who did not. Individuals who mindlessly rejected alternatives were also evaluated more negatively than individuals who mindfully rejected alternatives. Altogether, these findings not only illuminate how rejecting alternatives inform our understanding of devotion but also reveal its broader impact on social evaluations. (shrink)

Marxist Philosophy in China is an important task is to use the basic theory of Marxist philosophy, viewpoint and method to sort, extract of traditional Chinese culture, philosophy. And the "legitimacy of Chinese philosophy," the discussion, while filling the job of "legitimacy" has also been a certain degree of skepticism. Including how to look at the cultural characteristics of Chinese philosophy, Western academic norms on how to look at the impact of Chinese philosophy and how to look at the transformation (...) of traditional Chinese philosophy, it is clear from the theoretical work to clarify the legality of the key. The main task of sinicizing Marxist philosophy is how to abstract philosophical thoughts from traditional Chinese culture with the guide of basic Marxist theories, viewpoints and methods. However, the validity problem of Chinese philosophy in a degree makes the validity of this project become a problem as well. How to understand the cultural identity of Chinese philosophy? How to evaluate the impact Western academic discourses left on Chinese philosophy? And how to judge the transformation of Chinese philosophy? We hold that theoretically, these three questions are the key points for the validity illumination of the project mentioned above. (shrink)

We show that there exists a properly Σ2 minimal degree b, and moreover that b can be chosen to join with 0′ to 0″ – so that b is a 0″ complement for every degree a such that 0′ ≤ a < 0″.

Although sustainable development is increasingly prioritised, many entrepreneurs remain skeptical about the appropriateness of sustainable practices for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), questioning the value of adopting green initiatives. Grounded in the resource-based view, this study investigates the mediating role of sustainable development practices in linking entrepreneurial and international orientations and business performance in SMEs. Data were gathered from 105 SME owners and senior managers across multiple sectors using the drop-off and pick-up method and analysed using partial least squares (PLS) (...) path modelling. The findings reveal that sustainable practices play a critical mediating role in enhancing business performance. Specifically, entrepreneurial orientation positively influences business performance indirectly through engagement in sustainable development practices, while international orientation does not produce a similar effect. This highlights the importance of aligning entrepreneurial traits, such as innovation, proactiveness, and risk-taking, with sustainability-oriented strategies. Additionally, the model’s predictive capability was assessed, and the study provides both theoretical insights into the mediating mechanisms of sustainability and practical recommendations for SMEs aiming to adopt sustainable business practices. (shrink)

This paper applies Bo Mou’s Constructive-Engagement Strategy of Comparative Philosophy (CESCP) to explore philosophical practice as a novel paradigm that applies philosophy to everyday life. The study advocates for a transformative methodology that seeks truth through critical engagement, joint contributions, and diverse methodological tools, advancing the discipline towards a comprehensive world philosophy. Philosophical practice, characterized by its engagement with human experience and existential inquiries, integrates Eastern and Western philosophies to guide individuals in the art of living. It offers a philosophical (...) alternative to psychological counseling, focusing on reasoning to address life’s challenges and ethical dilemmas. The paper examines the integration of Chinese philosophy, particularly Confucianism, into philosophical practice, highlighting its relevance for contemporary counseling. It discusses Confucianism’s impact on philosophical practice, advances in self-cultivation and gong-fu theory, and the holistic Confucian view of body-mind integration, contrasting it with some Western approaches. We conclude that the practical dimensions of Confucianism oppose Western theoretical philosophy but align with Western philosophical practice. By employing CESCP, this research enriches philosophical practice, integrating diverse philosophies while respecting each tradition’s context. The approach combines Eastern relational perspectives with Western analytical depth, enhancing philosophical counseling and contributing to a global philosophical dialogue. This fusion of horizons aims to foster cross-cultural understanding and develop universally relevant wisdom. (shrink)