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This systematic review paper aims to investigate seasonal ambient change’s impact on the incidence of falls among older adults.

The population, exposure, outcome (PEO) structured framework was used to frame the research question prior to using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis framework. Three databases were searched, and a total of 12 studies were found for inclusion, and quality appraisal was carried out. Data extraction was performed, and narrative analysis was carried out.

Of the 12 studies, 2 found no link between seasonality and fall incidence. One study found fall rates increased during warmer months, and 9 of the 12 studies found that winter months and their associated seasonal changes led to an increase in the incidence in falls. The overall result was that cooler temperatures typically seen during winter months carried an increased risk of falling for older adults.

Additional research is needed, most likely examining the climate one lives in. However, the findings are relevant and can be used to inform health-care providers and older adults of the increased risk of falling during the winter.

Construction remains a male-dominated industry with marked occupational segregation. Based on Gottfredson’s Circumscription and Compromise theory of career development, the purpose of this study is to outline the range of occupational alternatives that Building Engineering students in Andalusia (Spain) find acceptable for their future careers. These alternatives enable an analysis to be performed regarding the extent to which such segregation is related to their possible career aspirations.

A sample of 704 Spanish final-year Building Engineering students was drawn from a survey administered in person to all students attending each compulsory subject. A cluster statistical analysis was carried out to study how they are grouped according to their occupational preferences and perceived career barriers.

Men might choose their career options with a low level of compromise, and their range of satisfactory occupations corresponds to their main preferences: “Technical project drafting and development”, “Technical site management” and “Production site management”. Women, showing a higher perception of career barriers, have to exercise a higher compromise on their preferred options. They are likely to sacrifice their field of interest for the sake of prestige and are more likely than men to give up prestige to preserve options more closely related to their gender such as “Technical project drafting and development” and “Risk prevention and Health and Safety”. “Technical site management” shows the greatest perceived barriers, but its high preference level and the associated prestige render it likely to form part of the range of career aspirations for women. The employment options that women and men aspire to are more similar while they are still at university than when they later join the labour market. It is concluded that occupational segregation is a complex phenomenon that must be addressed from different perspectives. The responsibility of the business community is highlighted, and the implementation of actions in higher education is suggested.

The research contributes to the career development body of knowledge in male-dominated and gender-segregated occupational fields within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The focus is on the Building Engineering profession which remains largely under-researched

This study aims to examine the factors influencing early education teachers’ motivation, attitudes and beliefs toward science and continuing education. It also explores perceptions of parental involvement and cooperation among public and private institutions in Kosovo.

This study adopted a quantitative and cross-sectional design. Study variables were assessed using questionnaires with validated measures administered to 460 early education teachers from both public and private institutions.

Education teachers in the public sector had higher professional development, work experience and salaries, while private school teachers had higher education levels and worked with fewer children per class and more teachers per class. Public school teachers displayed better attitudes toward science and greater parental involvement. Attitudes toward science positively correlated with salary in both sectors. In the public sector, work motivation was correlated with experience, while in both sectors, it was linked to salary. Attitudes toward science were predicted by parental cooperation, teachers’ attitudes toward continuing education and work motivation.

This study provides insights into the distinct challenges and opportunities of integrating science into the curriculum in public and private early education institutions. The study emphasizes assessing needs and designing tailored, data-driven strategies to address barriers and leverage opportunities to improve teacher attitudes and parental engagement, ultimately strengthening science education and improving the quality of early education.

This study examines the application of arts-based research (ABR) methods in producing knowledge about the lived experiences of disasters, particularly focusing on the effects of flooding in an informal settlement in South Africa. It emphasizes the use of playdough sculpting as a tool for storytelling, aiming to address and reduce power imbalances between local participants and external researchers.

The study employed a qualitative approach, using playdough sculpting workshops conducted in the Quarry Road West informal settlement in Durban. These workshops were designed to capture the personal stories of individuals affected by the 2022 Durban floods. Data were collected through participant observation, photography and interviews, and were analyzed using a thematic framework to identify recurring patterns in the participants’ disaster experiences.

The research demonstrates that ABR methods, particularly playdough sculpting, effectively foster participatory engagement in disaster research. This method provided a platform for participants to describe their embodied experiences of the floods, addressing uneven epistemological power dynamics. It also highlighted the potential of ABR in facilitating the decolonization of disaster research by centering local narratives.

This study offers insights into the potential of ABR as a creative methodology in disaster research. It highlights how ABR can complement traditional research approaches by incorporating local perspectives and fostering more inclusive knowledge production in the context of disasters. The study also presents a ten-step guideline for applying playdough sculpting across various disciplines.

We propose an artistic logic of entrepreneurial action whereby individuals undertake entrepreneurial acts even without entrepreneurial intentions, creating a pretended reality through performance-like processes. We explore how these actions impact real-world entrepreneurship, challenging conventional venture creation and evaluation paradigms.

Artistic logic is developed and illustrated through an in-depth analysis of a qualitative case study of a pretend airline employing a constructivist-interpretive approach.

We identify four dimensions of artistic logic in entrepreneurial action, which underscore the capacity of artistic entrepreneurial performances to simulate real entrepreneurial experiences: leveraging a socio-economic situation, building an evocative image of a venture, attracting engagement and pretending.

The findings have significant implications for venture creation, offering entrepreneurs a framework for conducting expansive prototyping to develop, evaluate and actualise opportunities. Additionally, the findings can enrich entrepreneurial education by highlighting the value of expansive prototyping that immerses student entrepreneurs in the opportunity as a creative process.

Framing entrepreneurial action within the context of performance art as artistic logic bridges theoretical gaps between creativity, subversion and entrepreneurship, offering a novel perspective on venture simulation, creation and opportunity evaluation.

We aim to explore the role of digital technologies for enhanced sustainability, hope, empowerment, resilience and optimism (SHERO) among female entrepreneurs in the Caribbean and the importance of embeddedness and contextualisation as a premise for integrating gender as a socially constructed situational practice.

The study presents qualitative data results of semi-structured interviews with 30 female digital entrepreneurs who own and operate their businesses in a range of sectors in three national contexts in the Caribbean. Narratives of the participants were used to develop the themes that emerged from the interviews.

The Caribbean context is an overarching factor that influences every facet of the lived experiences of female digital entrepreneurs. From the different contextual dimensions, we gained insights into the nuances and paradoxes of dominant assumptions related to how digital technologies influence the business transformation of female entrepreneurship as it relates to sustainability, hope, empowerment, resilience and optimism. Through a contextual gendered lens, these five business areas are found to be overlapping and mutually reinforcing features of the lived experiences of female digital entrepreneurs.

The Caribbean region, comprising of small island developing states, epitomises a unique spatially fragmented entrepreneurial context described as islandness which also offers a “fresh” context within the Global South that captures the novelty and heterogeneity of female entrepreneurs in the digital space.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of titanium oxide (TiO₂) filler on the abrasive wear properties of bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites (BFRCs) using a Taguchi approach. The study aims to enhance the abrasive wear resistance of these composites by introducing TiO₂ filler as a potential reinforcement, thus contributing to the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials.

This study focuses on the fabrication of epoxy/bamboo composites infused with TiO₂ particles within the Wt.% range of 0–8 Wt.% using hand layup techniques. The resulting composites were subjected to wear testing according to ASTM G99-05 standards. Statistical analysis of the wear results was carried out using the Taguchi design of experiments (DOE). Additionally, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the influential control factors impacting the specific wear rate (SWR) and coefficient of friction (COF).

The study illuminates how integrating TiO₂ filler enhances abrasive wear in epoxy/bamboo composites. Statistical analysis of SWR highlights abrasive grit size (grit) as the most influential factor, followed by normal load, Wt.% of TiO₂ and sliding distance. Analysis of the COF identifies normal load as the primary influential factor, followed by grit, Wt.% of TiO₂ and sliding distance. The Taguchi predictive model closely aligns with experimental results, validating its reliability. The morphological study revealed significant differences between the unfilled and TiO₂-filled composites. The inclusion of TiO₂ improved wear resistance, as evidenced by reduced surface damage and wear debris.

This research paper aims to integrate TiO₂ filler and bamboo fibers to create an innovative hybrid composite material. TiO₂ micro and nanoparticles show promise as filler materials, contributing to improved tribological properties of epoxy composites. The utilization of Taguchi’s DOE and ANOVA for statistical analysis provides valuable guidance for academic researchers and practitioners in optimizing control variables, especially in the context of natural fiber reinforced composites.