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This study aims to explore the impact of mobile learning on educating Iranian adult neo-literates within courses held by Iranian Literacy Movement Organization.

A concurrent mixed-methods design was used to investigate to what extent the adult neo-literates in Shiraz, Iran, were ready to use mobile phones in their courses. The qualitative section involved merging and summarizing basic themes into organizing themes. The themes were then integrated to create a single global theme.

The results showed that the participants were ready to embrace m-learning. Instrumentality was the most influential factor contributing to neo-literates’ readiness for m-learning. Findings also showed that from learners’ standpoint, mobile phones presented some unique features, enabling them to integrate elements from both distance and face-to-face courses. They also believed that mobile phones or other information and communications technology gadgets provided better opportunities for learning, although they fall short of fully replacing human instructors.

The limitations of the study were the participants’ limited familiarity with the research procedure and the impossibility of holding joint gatherings at specific locations.

This applied study helps the literacy movement to take strong steps toward creating an educational environment that guarantees learning anytime and anywhere for its learners.

The fundamental purpose of this study is to analyse the determinants of higher education quality in Afghanistan based on insights from student perceptions. Understanding this part holds paramount importance in enunciating sound policies for the smooth functioning of the higher education sector of Afghanistan.

This study aims to classify students' background and demographic data, distinguishing their perception of higher education quality using a deductive research approach. A sample of 418 students from five top private universities in Afghanistan was chosen to assess their perceptions of higher education dimensions by employing a multinomial regression analysis.

The findings indicate that extracurricular activities, students' scholarship status, parents' education, age, previous academic results and the university they attend significantly impact their perception of the quality of higher education.

This research is essential for education policymakers and university administrators. These findings can be replicated to develop regulations and target specific groups of students to ensure a favourable academic environment and boost the brand image of their universities. This would ensure long-term quality improvement and assurance outcomes, allowing higher education institutions to compete with regional and international institutions.

This study contributes to identifying the determinants of higher education quality based on the perceptions of the students in Afghanistan.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the perceived level of Jordanian nurses’ competencies in offering care to the community during a disaster.

A correlational descriptive design was used to assess nurses’ competencies in offering care for the community during a disaster.

A total of 370 nurses (55 % males) aged 25−55 agreed to participate. The mean score of competencies of nurses who offer care to the community during the disaster was 2.11 (SD = 0.59) points. The results of correlation coefficient tests revealed a significant positive correlation between stated competencies level and nurses’ sex, receiving disaster education and training with rpb (371) = 0.13, p < 0.01; rpb (598) = 0.15, p = 0.004; rpb (598) = 0.21, p < 0.001, respectively. Furthermore, the “care of communities” subscale had a weak positive correlation with the.

Nurses play a critical role in disaster response. However, there was a gap in nurses’ competencies for disaster, which shows there is a crucial need to include disaster management courses in the nursing curriculum and update disaster management courses in hospitals based on nurses’ needs to improve their competencies during disasters.

The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the extent of forward-looking (FL) disclosures and explore the impact of corporate governance (CG) on FL disclosures in integrated reporting (IR) in the context of the banking industry in Bangladesh.

Twenty-two listed banks in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) are selected as a sample from 2018 to 2022. For content analysis purposes, the study has developed an unweighted self-constructed disclosure index with 58 items and extracted data manually from the integrated annual report. Furthermore, descriptive statistics is conducted to analyze the extent of FL disclosures, and a pooled ordinary least squares regression model is used to examine the impact of CG (directors’ ownership, institutional ownership, foreign ownership, board of directors, independent directors, female directors and audit quality) on the FL disclosures.

This study reveals that the banking industry’s average FL disclosure score is only approximately 43%, indicating a meager degree of disclosures in Bangladesh’s well-structured sector. This study also finds that directors’ ownership, foreign ownership, female directors and audit quality have a statistically significant and positive relationship with FL disclosures at a 5% significance level. By contrast, institutional directors and the board of directors have a substantial but negative impact on FL disclosures. However, the other exponential variable, independent directors, has no impact on FL disclosures.

This study has some limitations, such as: i) the sample size is restricted to 22 banks, whereas nearly 36 banks are listed in the DSE. The sample size should be increased for better results. ii) The study only considers the banking sector with a small sample, but other sectors have been omitted from the sample. iii) The data have been extracted from the annual report, but other relevant sources such as banks’ websites, prospectuses, press releases, and media releases are not considered. iv) Finally, the self-constructed unweighted disclosure index is affected by subjective judgment. For depth analysis, a weighted method for content analysis purposes will be applicable.

Since there is no specific guideline for FL disclosures, this study suggests that the practical implication is for the regulatory body and policymakers to take the initiative to design a framework for FL disclosures that will improve disclosure quality. Second, they can investigate the independent director’s role in the banking sector to discover the existence of old-boy network problems.

Investors will benefit from the proper judgment about the firm’s forward-looking disclosures, hence making effective decisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no particular study has been conducted on CG mechanisms and FL disclosures in the IR perspective of the banking sector in Bangladesh. So, this study may contribute to the existing literature.

This study aims to review the results of relevant studies to shed light on social trust-building in different contexts and the factors that affect it in disaster risk management.

This systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses model. The study keywords were searched for in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases on August 2021. The inclusion criteria were English-written articles published in social trust and disaster relief efforts. Exclusion criteria were lack of access to the full text and article types such as nonoriginal articles.

Out of 1,359 articles found, 17 articles were included in the final analysis using four general categories: six articles on the role of local government in trust-building (local governments), five articles on the role of social media in trust-building (social media), four articles on the role of social capital in trust-building (social capital) and two articles on the importance of community participation in trust-building (community participation).

Understanding the role of social trust and the factors which influence it will help the development of community-based disaster risk management. Therefore, disaster management organizations and other relief agencies should take the findings of this study into account, as they can help guide policymaking and the adoption of strategies to improve public trust and participation in comprehensive disaster risk management. Further studies recommended understanding people’s experiences and perceptions of social trust, relief and disaster preparedness.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between board gender equality and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the European banking sector. The study examines whether and how the presence of women on the board of directors (BoD) influences ESG dimensions.

The authors analyzed a sample of 72 European Union banks for the period 2015–2021 and developed an econometric model applying unbalanced panel data regression with firm fixed effects and controls per year. To test the research hypotheses, the authors considered gender equality in terms of female participation on the BoD and measured ESG dimensions by using the ESG score provided by Refinitiv.

The findings suggest a significant positive relationship between the number of women on BoD and the ESG performance of European banks only up to a certain threshold of female directors (at least three women). The study also explores how the proportion of women on BoD influences the individual ESG pillars. The results show that the percentage of female directors has a positive and statistically significant impact on the social dimension of the ESG framework.

The investigation is highly relevant to investors considering ESG issues in their decision-making process. The overall findings support policymakers and regulators on how to improve ESG performance through the design and the application of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms. From a managerial perspective, the study suggests that managers and CEOs should focus their efforts on establishing the right gender combination of directors on bank BoDs.

This paper offers an in-depth examination of the CG practices of banks, and it attempts to bridge the gap in prior literature on the determinants of ESG issues in the European banking industry. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first that investigates the relationship between the representation of women on BoDs and the ESG dimensions measured by the Refinitiv Eikon score. The use of critical mass theory adds a fresh perspective to the literature on ESG in Europe since the influence of board gender diversity on ESG performance of the European banks is still unaccounted for. This study addresses this pressing research issue drawing on resource dependence, agency and legitimacy theories.

Interorganizational collaborations are crucial for delivering high-quality, integrated healthcare services. To maximize the benefits of these collaborative networks, effective governance structures and mechanisms must be in place. While previous studies have extensively examined organizational-level factors, such as partner capabilities and backgrounds, this study focuses on network-level factors, including collaboration structures and tie characteristics that shape effective network governance.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to identify and synthesize the key network-level factors influencing governance structures and mechanisms in healthcare networks.

The review identified 22 critical factors, categorized into three primary groups that impact network governance. These findings offer a robust foundation for developing context-sensitive governance models tailored to healthcare systems.

This study provides valuable insights for healthcare practitioners, policymakers and researchers by highlighting key factors that can improve interorganizational collaboration within healthcare systems. The findings contribute to both theory and practice, with the potential to enhance healthcare service delivery and patient outcomes.

This study is the first to systematically identify and categorize the network-level factors that influence governance structures and mechanisms in healthcare networks, providing a comprehensive and novel contribution to the field.

Responsiveness is one of the key components of good governance and one of the ultimate goals of health systems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the importance and level of health system responsiveness (HSR) from the perspective of people with disabilities in Iran.

This cross-sectional study was carried out using multi-stage sampling in Kurdistan province in 2020. Of 1,067 participants, 889 and 520 had used outpatient and inpatient services, respectively. HSR questionnaire developed by World Health Organization was completed.

The dimensions of prompt attention (97%) and social support (81%) were the most and the least important dimensions for the respondents, respectively. In general, 43.6% of the respondents reported a “poor” status for HSR.

Designing targeted interventions to increase the level of health system responsiveness, especially with a focus on dimensions that are important to respondents but have weak performance, such as communication, confidentiality and autonomy, is suggested based on the findings of this study.

This is the first study performed on HSR from the perspective of people with disabilities in Iran. The findings of this study could be of interest to health policy makers to understand and improve healthcare experiences for marginalized populations globally.

Normal-weight obesity (NWO), characterized by normal body mass index (BMI) but excess body fat, is a potential contributor to chronic diseases. This study aims to assess the relationship between this phenomenon and some metabolic factors in a population of Iranian employees.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on Iranian employees from the baseline data of Employees Health Cohort Study, Shiraz, Iran. Anthropometric measures, including weight, height, waist circumference and percentage of body fat, were obtained from the cohort database. The participants were divided into three groups: healthy, normal-weight obese and overweight/obese. Metabolic variables including blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, lipid profile, liver function enzymes and metabolic syndrome were assessed in relation to the study groups.

A total of 985 participants aged 25–64 years were included. Males with NWO had significantly higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels compared to the healthy group in the fully adjusted model. Also, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly lower among females with overweight/obesity than healthy group when adjusted for age and energy intake. Furthermore, after adjusting for age and energy intake, both genders in the overweight/obese group showed significantly elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure, while this was not observed for the NWO group. Lastly, metabolic syndrome was more prevalent in NWO as well as overweight/obesity.

These findings further encourage identification of excess body fat, even in normal-weight individuals, to prevent chronic metabolic diseases. Special attention should be paid to subgroups with sedentary occupations, as they may be at increased risk for NWO-related health issues.

The present study aims to investigate factors influencing Gen-Z consumers' “green food purchase intention” and “healthy lifestyle”. Guided by the attribution theory, “perceived usefulness of green food”, “food safety concerns” (internal attributes), “perceived threat of environmental problems” and “green peer influence” (external attributes) are considered the predictors of “attitude towards green food”, which eventually lead to a healthy lifestyle and green food purchase intention. Besides, “fear of pandemic recurrence” and “greenwash” are tested as moderators.

The Structural Equation Modelling-Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) technique was employed for the model testing. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among Gen-Z Chinese adults, which yielded 556 complete, valid responses.

The findings indicate that “consumers' attitudes towards green food” are positively influenced by “perceived threat of environmental problems”, “perceived usefulness of green food”, “concerns about food safety”, and the influence of “green peers”. In addition, results revealed that “attitude toward green food” exerts a positive effect on “healthy lifestyle” and “green food purchase intention”. The study supports the moderating role of “perceived greenwash” in the relationship between “attitude” and “intention to purchase green food”. However, there was no evidence to support the moderating effect of “fear of pandemic recurrence” in relation to a “healthy lifestyle”.

This study is a pioneer in utilizing the attribution theory to predict the drivers of a “healthy lifestyle” and the “intention to purchase green foods”. Furthermore, this study predicted the moderating influence of “fear of pandemic recurrence” on the relationship between attitude and “healthy lifestyle”, a link that has not been tested in previous research. Furthermore, it introduces a novel examination of the moderating effect of “perceived greenwash” on the relationship between “attitudes” and “purchase intentions”.