The current study looked at the impact of board of director characteristics on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Pakistani setting. The study further added to the body of knowledge by comparing the impact of board characteristics in family versus non-family businesses in an emerging market. The study’s sample consists of 139 non-financial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms from 2008 to 2019. The level of CSR among sample firms was assessed using a multidimensional financial approach. The random-effect model was (...) employed to test the study’s hypotheses. The findings support the dysfunctional view of the role of the board of directors’ in family-owned businesses. Overall, board size and CEO duality have a significant negative impact on CSR, whereas board independence has a significant positive impact. While these findings applied to both family-owned and non-family-owned businesses. It was discovered that among family-owned businesses, boards tend to look after the interests of family members, and thus are less likely to support CSR. The findings of this study will assist regulatory authorities, investors, and financial analysts in understanding CSR practices in Pakistani firms, allowing them to review the role of the board of directors in CSR among family and non-family-owned firms. (shrink)

Conservative agriculture practice adoption literature advocates that adoption is caused by many factors comprising cognitive, social, economic, personal, and CAP-related factors. Evaluating the adoption of CAPs as the outcome is complex and challenging with regression-based models as the systemic interdependencies of the factors offer diverse or varying results. Farmer production and environmental orientations as cognitive stances are notable interpreters of CAP adoption. The appetite level for risk-taking, innovativeness, and trust facilitates the adoption of CAPs. However, a causal-predictive technique should be (...) used to investigate the adoption of CAP. Hence, this study engages in a configuration approach using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyze the patterns of different types of farmers' orientations, personal level of trust on extension services, and innovativeness risk-taking attitude on the intention to adopt CAPs. The analysis is based on the 155-farmer data collected employing a structured interview from Pakistan. The results suggest that a higher level of environment orientation and innovativeness is sufficient to increase the intention to adopt CAPs. Moreover, a higher intention to adopt CAPs is achieved with a lower production orientation, a higher personal level of innovativeness, and a risk-taking attitude of the farmer. The innovativeness can help to develop the intention to adopt the CAPs among the environment and production-oriented farmers. Causal solutions offer a unique understanding that the farmers' environment and production orientation can combine to suggest inclined to adopt CAPs by having an attitude of innovativeness and risk-taking. The causal solutions achieved significant predictive validity in the holdout samples. Policy and farmer-level suggestions were made to raise the intention to adopt CAPs among the farmers. (shrink)

This research investigates the interlinkage between corporate social responsibility and ethical leadership in inducing employees’ socially responsible behaviors. Specifically, building on organizational identification theory and cue consistency theory, we develop and test an integrated moderated mediation framework in which employees’ perception of ethical leadership moderates the mediating mechanism between their perceptions of CSR, organizational identification, and SRBs. The findings highlight the need for consistency between employees’ perceptions of CSR and ethical leadership to foster their propensity to further social good through (...) relationship-building activities with their organization. The results, which largely verify the theoretical framework, contribute to and have implications for both research and practice. (shrink)

Purpose This study aims to statistically verify the links of income and education with information and communication technology diffusion across 191 countries of the world taking into account a total of 9 indicators best representing the socio-economic variables. Design/methodology/approach Multivariate regression analysis was used as a prime method to rigorously test the relationships of income and education with ICT diffusion across 191 countries. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used to analyze and predict patterns in the data. Findings The (...) results support the hypotheses that income and education are positively related to ICT diffusion. The findings statistically confirm that poverty is a leading cause of digital divide worldwide. Research limitations/implications Academic, policy and practice groups should work in collaboration to fight against digital divide. Present results also imply that digital divide shall never end but rather it can be controlled to an extent with multiple collaborative efforts. Originality/value Prior research assignments on the digital divide concentrate on exploring the links between few socio-economic and ICT variables in select few regions theoretically. The present work addresses this literature gap by developing and testing two hypotheses to statistically investigate the relationships between a broad set of socio-economic and ICT indicators. (shrink)

Purpose This paper aims to explore how older people in developed and developing countries are affected by the grey digital divide. It argues country type and culture influence older people’s willingness to access and learn internet skills. Using the knowledge from researchers informs policy, funding and delivery of appropriate skilling to minimize this divide. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature search using specific keywords to locate digital divide research, specifically pertaining to older people across country types. Findings Despite increased internet access and (...) affordability, older people still face challenges in learning internet skills. Country type, economic challenges and cultural beliefs need to be considered in minimizing the grey divide. Governments recognize the importance of funding such teaching but evidence-based research must continue to inform policy to maximize funding and solve the many physical age and cultural issues affecting older people’s access to internet skills learning. Originality/value This paper argues that research in developing countries into minimizing the grey digital divide is a crucial undertaking. As the internet continues growing in developing countries, finding solutions that consider cultural and age differences issues is crucial to the success of having internet literate societies that have growing populations of older people seeking to use it. (shrink)

Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study extends our understanding of the relationship between ethical leadership and employee work engagement, by exploring self-efficacy as an important mediating variable. In addition, we propose that the quality of LMX moderates the relationships such that the direct and indirect relationships between ethical leadership, self-efficacy, and work engagement are stronger when the quality of LMX is high. Data collected in two-waves from 373 respondents working in different manufacturing organizations of Pakistan supported our hypothesized theoretical (...) model. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

Virtue reliabilists argue that an agent can only gain knowledge if she responsibly employs a reliable belief-forming process. This in turn demands that she is either aware that her process is reliable or is sensitive to her process’s reliability in some other way. According to a recent argument in the philosophy of mind, sometimes a cognitive mechanism (i.e. precision estimation) can ensure that a belief-forming process is only employed when it’s reliable. If this is correct, epistemic responsibility can sometimes be (...) explained entirely on the subpersonal level. In this paper, I argue that the mechanism of precision estimation–the alleged new variety of epistemic responsibility–is a more ubiquitous phenomenon than epistemic responsibility. I show that precision estimation operates at levels that are not always concerned with the epistemic domain. Lastly, I broaden this argument to explain how all subpersonal epistemologies are likely to fall prey to the problem of demarcating cognitive agency and the problem of attributing beliefs. (shrink)

With the increasing growth of online shopping, businesses are intertwining to establish new shopping antecedents. Customer experience has steadily become the most important source of retailers’ long-term competitive advantage via difference. To preserve long-term and sustained consumer loyalty, retailers must continually improve the customer experiences. This study presents a framework for online retailing in a digital environment called the Online Customer Experience-Engagement Context model in the presence of value co-creation. Data was gathered from 189 people who purchased products online. For (...) additional analysis, testing the hypothesis, and model construction, SPSS 26 and Smart-PLS were used. The data was then evaluated further using descriptive statistics, path analysis, measurement, and structural model. The findings show that the online customer experience substantially influenced customer engagement, which improved customer loyalty. The VCC strengthened the link between online customer experience and customer engagement. It suggests that including consumers in co-creating a delightful online customer experience from time to time may be a valuable strategy for online retailers to increase customer engagement and loyalty. To create an overarching outcome, information integration theory, multi-attribute utility theory, and the attitude-behavior-context theory theories are converged to explain the proposed model in the study. (shrink)

The smart wearable device is a new breed of mobile device that offers diversified utilities for health, sport, and finance for consumers worldwide. The current study aims to investigate the provocation of the intention to use smart wearable payment devices among Malaysian consumers. The unified theory of technology acceptance and use of technology was employed with the cross-sectional survey-based data to explain the adoption of the smart wearable payment device. Furthermore, the UTAUT model was extended with trust and lifestyle compatibility (...) factors to investigate smart wearable payment device adoption. The survey-based data were collected through the online survey and analyzed through the symmetrical modeling approach of partial least squares structural education modeling to evaluate theoretical associations between the study constructs. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis was employed as an asymmetrical approach. As a result, it was found that the ease of use, lifestyle compatibility, and trust significantly impacted the intention to adopt smart wearable payment devices. However, social influence and facilitating conditions did not support the intention of adopting smart wearable payment devices. Adopting these devices requires policy and infrastructure development to harness the adoption of smart wearable payment devices. This paper is concluded with study limitations and future research suggestions. (shrink)

Is teaching possible? Is learning possible? Pedagogy as Encounter proposes that new and diverse forms of learning will appear if we abandon teaching as an explicit goal. Through these largely autobiographical vignettes, all grounded in Lacanian theory and critical global political economy, the author inspires a radical form of pedagogy.

Comprehensive analysis of proteins to evaluate their genetic diversity, study their differences, and respond to the tensions is the main subject of an interdisciplinary field of study called proteomics. The main objective of the proteomics is to detect and quantify proteins and study their post-translational modifications and interactions using protein chemistry, bioinformatics, and biology. Any disturbance in proteins interactive network can act as a source for biological disorders and various diseases such as Alzheimer and cancer. Most current computational methods for (...) discovering protein complexes are usually based on specific topological characteristics of protein-protein networks. To identify the protein complexes, in this paper, we, first, present a new encoding method to represent solutions; we then propose a new clustering algorithm based on the genetic algorithm, named PPI-GA, employing a new multiobjective quality function. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on two gold standard and real-world datasets. The result achieved demonstrates that the proposed algorithm can detect important protein complexes, and it provides more accurate results compared with state-of-the-art protein complex identification algorithms. (shrink)

The Wiener index WI is one of the connectivity parameters used to know the biochemical and physicochemical properties of compounds depending upon their molecular structures. Intuitionistic fuzzy graphs IFG s are a convenient tool to represent the objects and relations between them with two types of information using truth membership degree and falsity membership degree. This research work presents the concept of WI under the structure IFG s, I F trees, and I F cycles. Some bounds on WI are investigated. (...) The relationship between WI and connectivity index CI is also studied. In the end of this study, an application of the WI in transport network flow is proposed. (shrink)

This paper is an effort to critically evaluate Pakistan’s counterterrorism strategy, based on both military and non-military means. The paper argues that the counterterrorism strategy of Pakistan has proved ineffective and counter-productive to combat the homegrown threat of terrorism, unleashed by militant sectarian groups, following the Takfiri ideology. Although Pakistan’s Military claims that the latest on-going security operations, Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan and Khyber-II in Khyber Agency, have succeeded in clearing most of the area, however, the matter of fact is (...) that the security operations have not considerably damaged the ability of terrorists, particularly the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan, to plan and execute terrorist attacks. The terrorists’ network, their strength and structure have until now remained intact. The key to longterm prevention of terrorism, beyond security operations for clearing any area of the militants, is to discontinue the supply chain of terrorists. This requires the creation of a new counter-extremism religious narrative, which will help re-formulate a concrete and effective counter-terrorism strategy of Pakistan to ensure domestic peace and security. (shrink)

At the turn of the millennium, new sensibilities are opening for the human spirit. Dimensions of the mind long forgotten since the beginning of the ...

Unlike previous studies that examine the direct effect of employees’ perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) on affective organizational commitment (AOC), this article examines a mediated link through organizational trust and organizational identification. Social exchange and social identity theory provide the foundation for predictions that the primary outcomes of CSR initiatives are organizational trust and organizational identification, which in turn affect AOC. The test of the research model relies on data collected from 378 employees of local and multinational companies in South (...) Asia, as well as structural equation modeling to test the postulated relationships. Both organizational trust and organizational identification fully mediate the CSR–AOC link. However, the identification mechanism is significantly stronger than the trust mechanism in terms of building AOC from CSR. Out of four CSR components, CSR toward employees is the strongest predictor of employees’ trust, identification, and AOC, followed by CSR toward community, whereas CSR toward the environment has no effect. Finally, CSR toward community and employees are more associated with social exchange, whereas CSR toward consumers relates more to the social identity process. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to investigate the direct and indirect effects of protean career attitude on subjective and objective career success representing personal outcomes and task performance reflecting an organizational outcome. Drawing on the intelligent career framework, three knowing career competencies i.e., career insight (knowing why), networking (knowing whom), and career/job-related skills (knowing how) were hypothesized as mediators linking protean career attitude with its personal and organizational outcomes. Participants of the study were 241 senior faculty members and matched (...) supervisors from five large public sector universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Data were collected in two waves through a personally administered questionnaire and analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). Results showed that protean career attitude has direct positive impacts on subjective career success, objective career success, and task performance. Further, the mediating role of three knowing career competencies was partially supported. We contribute to the literature by proposing and testing a research model linking protean career attitude with its personal and organizational outcomes directly and indirectly through three ways of knowing. A number of practical implications along with future research directions are also discussed. (shrink)

Virtue reliabilism provides an account of epistemic integration that explains how a reliable-belief forming process can become a knowledge-conducive ability of one’s cognitive character. The univocal view suggests that this epistemic integration can also explain how an external process can extend one’s cognition into the environment. Andy Clark finds a problem with the univocal view. He claims that cognitive extension is a wholly subpersonal affair, whereas the epistemic integration that virtue reliabilism puts forward requires personal-level agential involvement. To adjust the (...) univocal view, Clark recommends a subpersonal epistemic integration account that also paves way for a wholly subpersonal epistemology. Accordingly, an epistemic agent can take responsibility for her reliable belief-forming process by way of entirely subpersonal mechanisms. The aim of this thesis is to argue against a subpersonal epistemology and the need for it. First, I bring into question the conditions that motivate extended cognition: the so-called ‘glue and trust’ requirements and the functional parity principle. Neither of these conditions demands that extension should be understood in entirely subpersonal terms. On the contrary, the glue and trust conditions suggest that agents should personally and actively engage with their external vehicles to extend cognition. Further, I consider an important disparity between the two kinds of integration. Integration that prompts extension can happen immediately, but the integration that makes a reliable belief-forming process knowledge-conducive is almost always a slow process. In light of this and other similar inconsistencies between the two integration accounts, I conclude that a type of univocal view is difficult to defend. And, since that type of univocal view is the main reason for a subpersonal epistemology, the need for it does not arise. Next, I locate Clark’s main motivation for his subpersonal epistemology in his account of the predictive brain. While the predictive brain provides useful insight into how an external process might extend one’s cognition, I show it runs into problems when it tries to account for epistemic integration. Then, I explore how the concept of epistemic defeaters informs epistemic integration. Agents have to meet a specific no-defeater condition to be sensitive to the reliability of their belief-forming processes and to employ them responsibly. In an entirely subpersonal epistemology, defeasibility theory has no means to explain how an agent is rendered sensitive to the reliability of her process. Subpersonal mechanisms can become sensitive to the new process, but that does not allow the agent to employ said process responsibly. Finally, I use an AI case, based on Amazon Alexa, to argue that all accounts of epistemic integration ought to explicitly describe how one’s subpersonal mechanisms link to one’s whole person, even if the link is weak and indirect. Without this connection between one’s subpersonal mechanisms and one’s person, it can become difficult to ascribe beliefs to the agent. This becomes apparent when Alexa leads to ever-increasing layers of cognitive, mental, and agential extension. (shrink)

In this study, we implemented a new numerical method known as the Chebyshev Pseudospectral method for solving nonlinear delay differential equations having fractional order. The fractional derivative is defined in Caputo manner. The proposed method is simple, effective, and straightforward as compared to other numerical techniques. To check the validity and accuracy of the proposed method, some illustrative examples are solved by using the present scenario. The obtained results have confirmed the greater accuracy than the modified Laguerre wavelet method, the (...) Chebyshev wavelet method, and the modified wavelet-based algorithm. Moreover, based on the novelty and scientific importance, the present method can be extended to solve other nonlinear fractional-order delay differential equations. (shrink)

It might sound rather convincing to assume that we owe the pleasure of reading the novel form to our elemental repository of physical perception, to our feelings. This would be true only if mere feelings could add up to something more than just emotions, to some deep understanding of the human. After all, a moment of epiphany, where we begin to realize things that dramatically disturb our normal state of mind, is not just emotional, nor indeed a simple moment. Despite (...) its root in the corporeal, a mo(ve)ment of affective realization reaches beyond the realm of the human and opens up the plane of virtual potentials. In this work, we intend to map out the points and relations of affective singularity that pervade the narrative of Toni Morrison’s Sula (1973). Also, we will discuss how these mo(ve)ments of sensation give form to Sula’s and Nel’s experiences and contribute to an affective transformation in morality and friendship. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to validate a scale to measure attitudes toward plagiarism. The survey questionnaire was administered to a purposive sample of 300 graduate Ph.D. students from private, state, and central universities. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate attitudes and subjective norms toward plagiarism. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency, composite reliability, and construct validity. Positive attitudes toward plagiarism, negative attitudes toward plagiarism, and subjective norms demonstrated a high level of convergence among the items (...) thereby supporting the convergent validity of these constructs. The study extends the theory of planned behavior to predict intentions to plagiarize. Positive attitudes, negative attitudes, and subjective norms were related to plagiarism. Positive attitudes toward plagiarism indicate an individual’s tolerance, acceptability, and positive perception toward an unethical task. Negative attitudes condemn plagiarism and the third dimension, subjective norms toward plagiarism, reflect the thinking and the occurrence of plagiarism and the acceptance of such behavior in academic and research settings. (shrink)

Previous developmental research shows that young children display a preference for ingroup members when it comes to who they accept information from – even when that information is false. However, it is not clear how this ingroup bias develops into adolescence, and how it affects responses about peers who misinform in intergroup contexts, which is important to explore with growing numbers of young people on online platforms. Given that the developmental span from childhood to adolescence is when social groups and (...) group norms are particularly important, the present study took a Social Reasoning Developmental Approach. This study explored whether children and adolescents respond differently to a misinformer spreading false claims about a peer breaking COVID-19 rules, depending on the group membership of the misinformer and their target and whether the ingroup had a “critical” norm that values questioning information before believing it. 354 United Kingdom-based children and adolescents read about an intergroup scenario in which a peer spreads misinformation on WhatsApp about a competitor. Participants first made moral evaluations, which asked them to judge and decide whether or not to include the misinformer, with follow-up “Why?” questions to capture their reasoning. This was followed by asking them to attribute intentions to the misinformer. Results showed that ingroup preferences emerged both when participants morally evaluated the misinformer, and when they justified those responses. Participants were more likely to evaluate an ingroup compared to an outgroup misinformer positively, and more likely to accuse an outgroup misinformer of dishonesty. Adolescents attributed more positive intentions to the misinformer compared with children, with children more likely to believe an outgroup misinformer was deliberately misinforming. The critical norm condition resulted in children making more positive intentionality attributions toward an ingroup misinformer, but not an outgroup misinformer. This study’s findings highlight the importance of shared group identity with a misinformer when morally evaluating and reasoning about their actions, and the key role age plays in intentionality attributions surrounding a misinformer when their intentions are ambiguous. (shrink)

The introduction of information and communication technologies in the workplace has extended the scope of bullying behaviors at work to the online context. However, less is known about the role of situational factors in encouraging cyberbullying behavior in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of perceived organizational politics in fueling cyberbullying in the workplace, and to examine the central role of negative emotions in this process. The sample comprised 279 faculty members of three large (...) public sector universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Results demonstrated that perceived organizational politics was positively associated with discrete negative emotions of anger and fear. Moreover, results indicated that anger was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, whereas fear was positively associated with face-to-face bullying victimization. Results also supported the idea that victims of face-to-face bullying may develop a positive attitude toward cyberbullying and retaliate against their more powerful face-to-face bullies online, possibly anonymously. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating that both forms of bullying can co-occur in the workplace as a consequence of perceived organizational politics, and the two roles—bully and victim—may be swapped among victims and perpetrators. (shrink)

During the COVID-19 outbreak, educational institutions were closed, and students worldwide were confined to their homes. In an educational environment, students depend on collaborative learning to improve their learning performance. This study aimed to increase the understanding of social media adoption among students during the COVID-19 pandemic for the purpose of CL. Social media provides a learning platform that enables students to easily communicate with their peers and subject specialists, and is conducive to students' CL. This study addresses the key (...) concept of CL during the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing social media use among students in higher education. The relationship between social media use and students' performance is crucial to understanding the role of social media during a pandemic. This study is based on constructivism theory and the technology acceptance model. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the conceptual model using SmartPLS. The research findings indicate that social media plays an important role during the pandemic because it provides opportunities for students to enhance CL under the aforementioned situations. This study makes noteworthy theoretical and practical contributions. (shrink)

We re-examine the construct of Moral Hypocrisy from the perspective of normative self-interest. Arguing that some degree of self-interest is culturally acceptable and indeed expected, we postulate that a pattern of behavior is more indicative of moral hypocrisy than a single action. Contrary to previous findings, our results indicate that a significant majority of subjects exhibited fair behavior, and that ideals of caring and fairness, when measured in context of the scenario, were predictive of those behaviors. Moreover, measures of Individualism/Collectivism (...) appear more predictive of self-interested behavior than out-of-context responses to moral ideals. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (shrink)

The world witnessed a major historical event in 1947 when subcontinent, which was governed as a one unit from Khyber to Burma since almost last one thousand years, partitioned by the ruling British Empire resulting into two states namely India and Pakistan. The major reason behind partition of the subcontinent was the religious and cultural differences between the Hindus and Muslims. This difference made them hostile towards each other and India having superiority in all aspects, compelled Pakistan to become a (...) security state right after its inception. To expand its superiority over the whole region, the Indian nuclear program started in 1944, even before its independence. India conducted first nuclear tests in 1974 and continued expanding its nuclear program. This forced Pakistan to work seriously on its nuclear program with a fast pace. India announced its formal entry to the nuclear weapons club in May 1998 with 5 nuclear tests at Pokhran, Pakistan, having nuclear capability at that time, replied back in merely two weeks with 6 nuclear tests and became the 7th nation in the world and first Islamic country to join the nuclear countries club. The lives of over a billion people are at mercy of the two nuclear powers state heads, especially India having an extremist government poses a serious threat to the peace of subcontinent which needs great attention especially from the global community otherwise a nuclear Armageddon could be expected. (shrink)

This research topic is very important and shows the social causes of poverty alleviation. Poverty is today’s biggest problem in Pakistan. This research made an effort to find out and to discuss the related elements of poverty. The Researcher proposed to study problems and prospects of hand embroidery in the cottage industries, Cottage industry sector plays a dominant role in the economic development of countries. In developing countries cottage industries are especially important in the context of employment opportunities, equitable distribution (...) of national income, balanced regional growth, and development of different areas. A sample of 70 home-based workers selected from convenience sampling in Gadap Town, Karachi. After assembling data, we found that the government is providing the required level of support to hand embroidery, Respondents cannot perform household chores along with their work and create differences in the domestic economic conditions. (shrink)

This research aspires to represent the subversion of pre-defined gender roles in the novels; The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto, Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed, and Stained by Abda Khan. The researchers aim to depict the destabilization of gender-based stereotyped identity from the Pakistani perspective. The selected method of study is Feminist Analysis by Tyson, which examines literature as a medium to represent feminist issues, whereas; the theoretical angle of “Matrix of Domination” from Collins’ Feminist/Gender theory is (...) used as a principle to analyze and depict the subversion of pre-defined gender roles in the selected novels. This study aims to establish the notion of gender as a social construct that could be subverted through literary discourses that have the potential to challenge the power-based gender roles within a patriarchal society. In this regard, different critical works of prominent theorists and writers have been discussed briefly in the literature review to project the significance of the works by contemporary Pakistani women writers as a medium to subvert identities formed by their society. Gender is also a means of power through which the dominant seeks to control the subordinate. The objective of this research is to suggest that gender is socially constructed, therefore, it can be deconstructed through literature. The selected novels exemplify the current gender inclinations of today’s Pakistan with the pen of female writers. Stereotyped gender identity is a socially constructed vice that divides humans into segments, hence it is required of the contemporary discourses to decenter such power discourses that perpetuate hegemonic boundaries and restrict the women into social shackles of imposed identities. (shrink)

In spite of scientific developments, paranormal beliefs remain widespread, especially in South Asian societies. Numerous disorders connected to possession and trance have been theorized in recent years. In this study, three community samples were used to develop a comprehensive scale of Belief in Jinn Possession Scale (BJPS) and to examine its consistency and relevance. The BJPS scale was proposed to be multidimensional with four factors displaying satisfactory internal consistency reliability estimated by the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) ( n = 300). (...) However, confirmatory factor analyses ( n = 300) reduced the number of factors to two. The BJPS demonstrated excellent reliability and statistically significant positive correlations among its factors of beliefs about signs of possession and beliefs about vulnerability and preventive measures. Convergent and discriminant validity ( n = 316) was supported by a high correlation between BJPS, Revised Paranormal Belief Scale (RPBS), and Paranormal and Supernatural Belief Scale (PSBS) and a low correlation between BJPS, Narcissistic Personality Inventory 16 (NPI-16), and Moral Identity Measure (MIM). These results suggest that the BJPS is a well-grounded and sound tool for evaluating one’s irrational beliefs about possession states in Pakistani culture, and it may be the first attempt to conceptualize possession. (shrink)

Strategic orientation and innovation are vital determinants for accelerating the performance of small-to-medium-sized enterprises. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence confirming the innovation at the product and process levels that instigated the SMEs’ performance. Moreover, the mediating effect of process and product innovation can play a significant role in strategic orientation and manufacturing SMEs’ performance. In this respect, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of product and process innovation between strategic orientation and the performance of Malaysian (...) manufacturing SMEs. The questionnaire survey gathered data from 360 manufacturing SMEs and was analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling to achieve these research objectives. The study analysis established that customer and entrepreneurial orientation significantly influence product and service innovation. However, the market orientation is significant for process innovation but insignificant for product-level innovation among SMEs. The study’s consequences exposed that process innovation has significantly mediated between the strategic orientation and SMEs performance. It implies that market, entrepreneurial, and customer-related strategies would substantially improve SMEs’ performance by harnessing innovation at product and process levels. The core insights provided by the current work are to strengthen the strategic orientation that can promote product and process innovation, thereby harnessing the SMEs’ performance. Additionally, the study’s significance and limitations were reported at the end. (shrink)

In this work, ZZ transformation is combined with the Adomian decomposition method to solve the dynamical system of fractional order. The derivative of fractional order is represented in the Atangana–Baleanu derivative. The numerical examples are combined for their approximate-analytical solution. It is explored using graphs that indicate that the actual and approximation results are close to each other, demonstrating the method’s usefulness. Fractional-order solutions are the most in line with the dynamics of the targeted problems, and they provide an endless (...) number of options for an optimal mathematical model solution for a particular physical phenomenon. This analytical approach produces a series form solution that is quickly convergent to exact solutions. The acquired results suggest that the novel analytical solution technique is simple to use and very successful at assessing complicated problems that arise in related fields of research and technology. (shrink)