Impact of belt and road initiative policy and interacting effect of renewable energy toward carbon neutrality.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents a comprehensive developmental blueprint that has been deployed across numerous Asian, European, and African nations, aimed at fostering economic growth and enhanced regional connectivity. However, concerns have been raised about its potential impact on the environment, specifically in the context of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Employing non-parametric analytical techniques, this research undertakes an empirical investigation into the relationship between economic growth (GDP), renewable energy consumption (REC), and CO2 emissions within the context of BRI participant countries, spanning the years from 2000 to 2018. The findings of this study reveal that REC exerts a pronounced and statistically significant mitigating effect on CO2 emissions, implying that an increase in REC corresponds to a reduction in CO2 emissions. In contrast, trade openness (TRADE) exhibits a positive and statistically significant influence on CO2 emissions, signifying that greater trade openness is associated with heightened CO2 emissions. However, the observed effects of GDP, fixed telephone subscriptions (FTS), and mobile cellular subscriptions (MCS) on CO2 emissions remain inconclusive, as their impact lacks statistical significance. The effect estimates of covariates on CO2 emissions using various models reveal that REC and TRADE significantly affect CO2 emissions, while GDP, FTS, and MCS still yield uncertain results. The outcomes draw attention to the necessity of implementing policies that encourage the use of REC and reducing trade openness as an efficient way of neutralizing CO2 emissions. This research provides valuable insights into the impact of the BRI on CO2 emissions and emphasizes the importance of addressing the environmental implications of this initiative. Policymakers should carefully consider these findings and develop effective strategies to foster sustainable development.

The HR revolution: Redefining performance paradigms in Pakistan's pharma landscape through moderating role of innovative climate.

The main objective of this research is to examine whether the implementation of new human resource management practices (NHRM) can enhance innovative performance (IP) by fostering innovation capability (NC). Additionally, it examines the moderating influence of an innovative climate (IC) and its associated attributes on the association with new human resource management and innovation capability, a factor that has been relatively overlooked in prior research. The study's data was obtained from 398 employees in the pharmaceutical sector of Pakistan, and hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to analyze the data. The results from the mediating and moderating analyses underscore the significance of NHRM practices, innovation capability, and an innovative climate, along with its specific attributes, in promoting innovative performance through factors such as operational efficiency, suitable practices, and employees' willingness to participate in organizational endeavors. Furthermore, the moderated mediation analysis findings reveal that the influence of innovation capability as a mediator is strengthened when the workplace climate is more conducive to innovation. These findings have implications for both theoretical understanding and practical application, particularly in similar developing countries. The study offers insights that can be generalized to developing nations with comparable economic and social structures.

How do anxiety and stress impact the performance of Chinese doctoral students through self-regulated learning?-A multi-group analysis.

Introduction: Highly accomplished doctoral students may suffer when they cannot manage their performance due to the crippling effects of anxiety and stress. This is even more likely to occur in the highly charged setting of competitive research. Using a structural equation modeling approach, this study examined how anxiety and stress impact the performance of Chinese doctoral students through self-regulated learning. Methods: A total of 491 doctoral students and recent completers representing 112 universities in China participated in this study. A 42-item five-point Likert scale survey was used to measure participants' perceived anxiety (emotional and physical reactions), stress (study- and research-related stress), self-regulated learning, and performance (task and contextual performance) in their doctoral studies. Specifically, the extent to which participants' self-regulated learning mediated the influence of anxiety and stress on their task performance and contextual performance in their doctoral studies, as well as significant structural equation modeling differences across demographic variables of gender (i.e., male versus female), major (i.e., arts versus sciences), status (i.e., individuals pursuing a doctoral degree versus recent completers), and age (i.e., 30 and younger versus over 30) were examined. Results and Discussion: The results indicated that self-regulated learning considerably affected task and contextual performance; stress had a considerable direct effect on task and contextual performance; the indirect influence of stress on task and contextual performance via self-regulated learning was significant; and there was a significant structural equation modeling difference between arts and sciences doctoral students. Educational implications are discussed.

Investigating the Impact of the Community of Inquiry Presence on Online Learning Satisfaction: A Chinese College Student Perspective.

Purpose: This study investigated how teaching, social, and cognitive presence within the community of inquiry (CoI) framework impacts Chinese college students' online learning satisfaction through self-regulated learning and emotional states. Methods: A total of 2608 Chinese college students from 112 universities completed a 38-item Likert scale survey measuring teaching, social and cognitive presence, self-regulated learning, emotional states, and online learning satisfaction after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted on December 7, 2022. The study examined the influence of teaching, social, and cognitive presence on online learning satisfaction, mediated by self-regulated learning and moderated by emotional states using SmartPLS. It also analyzed demographic differences using multi-group analysis in the model. Results: The results indicated a significant positive relationship between a) self-regulated learning and online learning satisfaction, b) teaching presence, cognitive presence, and self-regulated learning, but no relationship between social presence and self-regulated learning. Additionally, self-regulated learning partially mediated the relationship between teaching and cognitive presence and online learning satisfaction. In contrast, self-regulated learning did not mediate the association between social presence and online learning satisfaction. Positive emotional states moderated the relationship between self-regulated learning and online learning satisfaction. Implications: The study advances the knowledge of these factors influencing online learners' satisfaction, which can help create efficient programs and regulations for students, teachers, and policymakers.

A novel hybrid methodology to secure GOOSE messages against cyberattacks in smart grids.

IEC 61850 is emerging as a popular communication standard for smart grids. Standardized communication in smart grids has an unwanted consequence of higher vulnerability to cyber-attacks. Attackers exploit the standardized semantics of the communication protocols to launch different types of attacks such as false data injection (FDI) attacks. Hence, there is a need to develop a cybersecurity testbed and novel mitigation strategies to study the impact of attacks and mitigate them. This paper presents a testbed and methodology to simulate FDI attacks on IEC 61850 standard compliant Generic Object-Oriented Substation Events (GOOSE) protocol using real time digital simulator (RTDS) together with open-source tools such as Snort and Wireshark. Furthermore, a novel hybrid cybersecurity solution by the name of sequence content resolver is proposed to counter such attacks on the GOOSE protocol in smart grids. Utilizing the developed testbed FDI attacks in the form of replay and masquerade attacks on are launched and the impact of attacks on electrical side is studied. Finally, the proposed hybrid cybersecurity solution is implemented with the developed testbed and its effectiveness is demonstrated.

The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Green Purchase Behavior in Pakistan: A Multi-Group Analysis Between Infected and Non-infected.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on an individual's life have altered the consumer behavior. In the context of purchase and consumption, a shift from conventional to green purchase has been noticed. Although the factors underlying this shift were relatively unexplored, the study aimed to identify the factors that influenced a significant role in the green purchases during the outbreak and the relationship of these factors with green purchase behavior (GPB). Subsequently, this study investigates and interprets the role of fear of COVID-19 (FCV), psychological distress (PD), and mortality salience (MS) in predicting consumer's GPB. This research adopted a quantitative methodology using data collected from 432 respondents in various cities across Pakistan. Smart-PLS 3 was used to evaluate the measurement model, structural model, and multi-group analysis (MGA). Despite having the negative psychological and physical impact of the pandemic, a significant proportion of customers have switched to healthier and sustainable products. This research revealed that the FCV, PD, and MS plays a substantial role in adopting GPB. All the direct relationships were positive and significant. In addition, MS and PD partially mediate the effect of FCV on GPB. Furthermore, the MGA revealed that the infected respondents were interested in purchasing green products than uninfected respondents due to their FCV; conversely, the PD and MS were higher in uninfected individuals than infected ones. However, there is a vast literature on GPB, but little has investigated the cumulative impact of FCV, PD, and MS on GPB.

Financial Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Under Mediating Effect of Operational Self-Sustainability.

Operational and financial sustainability have, over time, remained as issues in the microfinance industry. The microfinance industry is struggling to gain self-sufficiency in Pakistan due to non-performing loans and operating costs. Simultaneously, deliberation on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also considered in academic literature and organizational practices. However, studies on CSR and financial performance in the microfinance sector are scarce, especially in Pakistan. CSR will develop customer attraction and loyalty, employee attraction, motivation and commitment, MFIs' reputation and access to capital, and eventually build financial performance. Interviews were conducted with branch managers of microfinance institutions to test previous questionnaires. A self-administered survey was conducted to collect data from the managers of the microfinance banks operating in Punjab. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to answer research questions using Smart PLS. Most of the microfinance institutions believe in social responsibilities but lacks fund allocation and approval from higher management, and results are in line with prior studies. These empirical findings lead to the perception that CSR is not a barrier performance in microfinance banks as they have access to capital. The results indicated a strong positive correlation between CSR and the financial performance of the MFIs. CSR also positively correlates with customer retention, employees' motivation and attraction, and business reputation. CSR was associated with access to capital but was found to be weak. The research also narrated the limitation and practical implications of the study. The study also discusses further research directions.

Influence of entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, alone and in combination with diatomaceous earth and thiamethoxam on mortality, progeny production, mycosis, and sporulation of the stored grain insect pests.

The stored grain insects cause great damage to grains under storage conditions. Synthetic insecticides and fumigants are considered as key measures to control these stored grain insect pests. However, the major issue with these chemicals is grain contamination with chemical residues and development of resistance by insect pests to these chemicals. Biological control is considered as a potential alternative to chemical control especially with the use of pathogens, alone or in combination with selective insecticides. The present study was conducted to evaluate the synergism of Metarhizium anisopliae with diatomaceous earth (DE) and thiamethoxam against four insect pests on the stored wheat grains. In the first bioassay, the M. anisopliae was applied at 1.4 × 104 and 1.4 × 106conidia/ml alone and in integration with two concentrations (250 and 500 ppm) of tested DE. The tested fungus when combined with DE and thiamethoxam possessed synergistic impact as compared to their individual efficacy. Adult mortality increased with respect to increased exposure interval and doses. In the second bioassay, M. anisopliae was applied at 1.4 × 104 conidia/ml individually and in combination with three concentrations (0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 ppm) of thiamethoxam. Results concluded that M. anisopliae integrated with DE and thiamethoxam provides more effective control of stored grain insect pests.