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This paper aims to explore sociocultural factors as determinants of entrepreneurial emergence and to examine their relative influence (i.e. the influence of each factor) on entrepreneurial emergence.

A survey design with a questionnaire instrument administered to 250 business owners selected randomly from a cross section of businesses was used. The data were analyzed using the descriptive method, pairwise comparison, Kendall’s W test and Mean Rank Statistics.

This study showed that the level of influence of sociocultural factors on the decision to own a business by an individual in Africa varies by factor. Family background is the factor that has the highest influence, whereas religious values has the least influence. Altogether, nine most significant factors influence the choice of business ownership in Nigeria and in Africa generally. These include family background, unemployment, family values, inadequate income, job displacement, stock of social capital, role models, social networks and lack of social security, in that order.

Although some scholars may have explored sociocultural factors as determinants of entrepreneurial emergence, there is no study on their relative influence on entrepreneurial emergence, at least not in the context of Africa or Nigeria in particular. This study extends previous studies by examining the relative influence of the factors, using Nigeria as a reference for Africa. A focus on their relative influence is a new perspective on the study of sociocultural factors as determinants of entrepreneurial emergence.

Passive design strategies contribute to improving indoor comfort conditions and reducing buildings' energy consumption. For several years, courtyards have received wide attention from researchers because of their significant role in reducing energy demand. However, the abundance of multi-story buildings and the courtyards' incompatibility with them, the courtyard is currently limited. Therefore, it is necessary to search for alternatives. This paper aims to bridge the gaps in previous limited studies considering skycourt as a passive alternative on the vertical plane of the facades in contrast to the courtyard.

This research presents an overview and a bibliometric analysis of the evolution of the courtyard to the skycourt via VOSviewer software and the bibliometrix R package.

The research provided various concepts related to skycourt as a promising passive design strategy, which can be suitable for multi-story buildings, starting with its evolution, characteristics, configurations, benefits, and challenges.

The findings can urge designers, researchers and policymakers to incorporate such an important passive alternative.

Researchers, instructors, educational specialists, faculty members, and decision-makers can provide design motivation for skycourt in buildings, in addition to achieving awareness about skycourt and its significant benefits and its role as an important passive design strategy.

The research highlights the possibilities of the skycourt and its role as a passive design element as an extension of the courtyard in addition to identifying design indicators that help designers determine the appropriate designs.

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using immersive virtual reality as an innovative and novel technology for managing depression, anxiety and psychological distress among patients with cancer.

The relevant literature was searched and extracted using the following online bibliographic databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, SAGE Journals and Science Direct, in addition, reference lists for all included studies were thoroughly examined to find relevant articles. This systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards. Several online databases were used to find eligible studies in peer-reviewed journals relevant to the study keywords. The included studies were systematic reviews and clinical trials that used immersive virtual reality–based intervention among patients with cancer and suffering from cancer-related fatigue, older than 18 years and were published in the English language from 2015 to 2024. Two researchers independently contributed to study selections, data extraction and evaluation from different aspects: quality assessment, risk of bias and study synthesis.

A total of 13 published studies were included in this review study: 7 articles were quantitative clinical trial studies and the other 6 were systematic review and meta-analysis studies. The quality of 7 included clinical trials was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool for quantitative studies, the overall result showed that 28.6% of studies rated with moderate quality, no study was rated with low quality and (71.4%) studies rated as high-quality study. As well as the quality assessment of all review studies showed that the majority of included systematic reviews and meta-analyses with a low risk of bias and high to moderate power of evidence. The result of this extensive and comprehensive review showed that immersive virtual reality has a significant positive impact on reducing depression, anxiety and psychological distress among patients with different types of cancer.

The findings of this systematic review provide compelling evidence for the transformative potential of immersive virtual reality as a therapeutic intervention for managing depression, anxiety and psychological distress in cancer patients. By synthesizing data from 13 rigorous studies, this review not only underscores the efficacy of this innovative technology but also highlights its role as a novel approach in the psychosocial care of individuals facing the challenges of cancer. This research opens new avenues for integrating immersive virtual reality into clinical practice, paving the way for future investigations that could further elucidate its mechanisms of action and optimize its application in oncology settings.

This study aims to understand how specific variables of companies, corporate governance and macroeconomic factors influence the indebtedness of Portuguese hospitals, a key sector in the economy.

To test the hypotheses, data from 256 Portuguese hospitals were used, in the period between 2015 and 2021. The models were estimated using the panel data methodology, specifically using the estimation method generalized method of moments (GMM) system, from Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998).

Using three measures of indebtedness to assess whether the determinants vary according to debt maturity, the results show differences in the sign and significance of the variables determining total indebtedness across short, medium and long-term debt.

This article appears to be original and significant as it provides detailed awareness of debt levels and their management, particularly in the context of ongoing debates about Portugal’s national health system.

The limited existing literature on the future research direction regarding how servitisation and the halal supply chain interact motivates this study. The paper aims to integrate servitisation into the halal supply chain by proposing an integration roadmap for successful adoption in the halal industry.

The study used the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method. Initially, 1,830 documents from Scopus and Web of Science were reviewed. After screening and refining, 1,241 documents remained. The authors then assessed these in full text, narrowing it down to 61 papers for the study.

The study discovered that the literature concerning servitisation and halal supply chains lacks essential conceptualisation, presenting an opportunity for exploration within the halal industry. Furthermore, it revealed that integrating servitisation into the halal supply chain can foster sustainable business growth and enhance customer satisfaction. Additionally, the study indicated that the interaction between servitisation and the halal supply chain may impact customers’ purchasing decisions and improve profit generation performance.

The study confirmed that integrating servitisation into the halal supply chain is crucial. The proposed roadmap aims to enhance the firm’s service delivery performance and impact customer purchasing behaviour through increased brand loyalty. In terms of industrial implications, the study offers guidance for industries transitioning to servitisation. The integration of servitisation in the halal supply chain can enhance efficiency and the ability to provide halal products that align with customer preferences and requirements.

This study suggests integrating servitisation into halal supply chains and provides a roadmap for exploring future research directions towards sustainable business growth. It not only offers thematic research direction but also practical insights. The roadmap can guide future research and development, enhancing business efficiency and customer experiences. This study reveals the potential of servitisation in halal supply chains and encourages further research on their interaction.

This study aims to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in efficiency measurement within higher education (HE). Specifically, it seeks to gather all relevant articles on the topic and subsequently categorize these studies using a flowchart based on two core aspects of the topic.

This study employs bibliometric and content analyses to conduct a systematic literature review. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review (PRISMA) framework is used to identify the search protocol, followed by analyses to classify and categorize articles.

The bibliometric analysis identifies prominent themes, methodologies and literature gaps. The content findings highlight key insights on higher educational institution (HEI) efficiency, including organizational structures, services and operational activities.

This research contributes to the existing knowledge by synthesizing global literature on HEI’s efficiency. Utilizing the flowchart developed by the authors, the study captures the state-of-the-art based on two critical aspects: methodologies and content. Insights from the analysis and subsequent classification of previous literature provide valuable directions for future research.

Sizing system is a fundamental topic in garment fitting. The purpose of this study was to assess the fit of existing police uniforms (shirt, jacket, overcoat and trousers) and develop a sizing system for upper and lower body uniforms of Amhara policemen in Ethiopia.

In total, 35 body dimensions of 889 policemen were taken through a manual anthropometric survey following the procedures in ISO 8559:1989 after each subject was interviewed on issues related to garment fit. The anthropometric data were pre-processed, key body dimensions were identified by principal components analysis and body types were clustered by the agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm and verified by the XGBoost classifier in a Python programming environment. The developed size charts were validated statistically using aggregate loss and accommodation rate.

About 44% of the subjects encountered fit problems every time they own new readymade uniforms. Lengths and side seams of shirts, and lengths and waist girths of trousers are the most frequently altered garment sites. Analysis of the anthropometric measurements resulted in 13 and 15 sizes for the upper and lower bodies, respectively. Moreover, the comparison of the developed upper garment size chart with the existing size chart for a shirt showed a considerable difference. This indicates that inappropriate size charts create fit problems.

The study considers the analysis of fit problems and sizing system development in a less researched country. Moreover, the proposed data mining procedure and its application for size chart development is unique and workable.