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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues and challenges faced by headteachers in practicing the suggested distributed leadership (DL) approach in three primary schools to their middle layer leaders.

The study employed a case study design and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. A total of three headteachers were interviewed in examining and exploring challenges within the DL practices. The transcripts from the semi-structured interviews formed the basis of the findings.

The findings suggest that senior teachers lack confidence in making decisions and rely on the consent from headteachers even though they are empowered to make their own decisions. Another significant issue faced by headteachers when distributing their leadership is the ability, expertise, experience, and willingness of teachers to hold leadership roles and responsibilities.

The results are important since there have been few empirical studies on the issues and challenges faced by headteachers in practising DL approach in primary schools in the context of Malaysia. This initiative sidelines the traditional school leadership approach which emphasises on the accountability of headteachers as the sole school leader.

A review of existing management literature reveals that most of the literature is written entirely from a Western perspective without any references to practices in the East. In the fast‐growing construction market of China, managers from the West need to pay special attention to Eastern beliefs, cultures and management practices, including those passed down by prominent ancient Chinese sages. Zhuge Liang was an outstanding statesman and military scientist who lived around the period of the Three Kingdoms (ad 220‐289). He studied the Chinese classics and became talented and knowledgeable, rich in his thoughts and subtle in analysing critical political situations. The objectives of this paper are to explain Zhuge Liang′s Art of Management and by implications, provide some insights as to how effective construction project management can be developed through a better understanding of Zhuge Liang′s Art of Management.

States that much of the existing management literature was written entirely from a Western perspective without any reference to practices in the East. Explains that, in the booming East Asian market, project managers from the West would need to pay special attention to Oriental beliefs, cultures and philosophies. Attempts, for the purpose of integration, to put together the managerial grid framework from the West with an ancient Chinese strategic treatise written by Zhuge Liang 1,600 years ago. Suggests that there are many similarities between the “Managerial grid” and Zhuge Liang’s “Art of management” when used to resolve problems related to project management.

Much existing literature was written entirely from a Western perspective without any reference to practices in the East. In the booming east Asian market, project managers from the West would need to pay special attention to eastern beliefs, cultures and philosophies. Attempts to put together the managerial grid framework from the West with an ancient Chinese strategic treatise written by Zhuge Liang 1,600 years ago. Suggests that there are many similarities between the managerial grid and Zhuge Liang’s Art of Management when used for leadership development in construction project management.

This paper aims to explore the adsorption kinetics of syringin from Syringa oblata Lindl. leaves on macroporous resin and develop an efficient, simple and recyclable technology for the separation and purification of syringin.

Static adsorption and desorption properties of six resins were tested to select a suitable resin for the purification of syringin. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to estimate the adsorption behavior of syringin on AB-8 resin. Breakthrough point and eluent volume were determined by dynamic adsorption and desorption tests. High-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry was applied to identify the syringin in the purified product [syringin product (SP)]. Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of SP in vitro were evaluated by free radical scavenging ability and biofilm formation inhibitory tests.

AB-8 exhibited the most suitable adsorption and desorption capacity. Adsorption isotherm parameters indicated favorable adsorption between AB-8 and syringin. The optimal results were as follows: for adsorption, the sample concentration was 1.85 mg/mL, the sample volume was 3.5 bed volume (BV), the flow rate was 0.5 mL/min; for desorption, the ethanol concentration was 70%, the elution volume was 2.5 BV, the elution velocity was 1.0 mL/min. SP with 80.28% syringin displayed the potent antioxidant activities and inhibitory effects on biofilm formation of Streptococcus suis.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, there are no reports on purifying syringin from Syringa oblata Lindl. leaves using macroporous resins. This paper may also provide a theoretical reference for the purification of other phenylpropanoid glucosides.

Recently, the spread of malicious IT has been causing serious privacy threats to mobile device users, which hampers the efficient use of mobile devices for individual and business. To understand the privacy security assurance behavior of mobile device users, this study aims to develop a theoretical model based on technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT), to capture motivation factors in predicting mobile device user’s voluntary adoption of security defensive software.

A survey is conducted to validate the proposed research model. A total of 284 valid survey data are collected and partial least square (PLS)-based structural equation modeling is used to test the model.

Results highlight that both privacy concern and coping appraisal have a significant impact on the intention to adopt the security defensive software. Meanwhile, privacy security awareness is a crucial determinant to stimulate mobile device user’s threat and coping appraisal processes in the voluntary context. The results indicate that emotional-based coping appraisal of anticipated regret is also imperative to arouse personal intention to adopt the security tool.

This result should be of interest to practitioners. Information security awareness training and education programs should be developed in a variety of forms to intensify personal security knowledge and skills. Besides, emotion-based warnings can be designed to arouse users’ protection behavior.

This paper embeds TTAT theory within the mobile security context. The authors extent TTAT by taking anticipated regret into consideration to capture emotional-based coping appraisal, and information security awareness is employed as the antecedent factor. The extent offers a useful starting point for the further empirical study of emotion elements in the information security context.

Examines the recent research on advertising in mainland China over the 1979‐1998 period. Suggests that findings show a sustained effort in academic research/publications on advertising in China is in the early stage of its development and whilst many areas have been researched, there are many more yet to be touched. Concludes that the research is seldom based on established theoretical or conceptual framework and the research methods and types of analysis used have not been very advanced when compared to general advertising research.

Previous studies have identified concerns and anxiety in individuals who are without their mobile phones, which is known as nomophobia, an acronym for “no mobile phone phobia.” However, there is currently limited evidence of qualitative research that explores nomophobia. The purpose of this study is to explore personal experiences and individual meanings associated with mobile phone use and nomophobia.

To address this gap, the present study employed a Heideggerian phenomenological approach to investigate the issue. Ten college students, who have medium to high nomophobia were selected as respondents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, which were then transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

A deep understanding of the psychological dynamics, experiences, meanings, perceptions and beliefs of individuals regarding smartphone use can only be explored through a qualitative approach that presents personal statements of individuals through in-depth semi-structured interviews. This study contributes to a deep understanding of the psychological dynamic of nomophobia.

This study has limitations that must be carefully considered. First, the respondents came from a university with a sample size of 10 people, which may not fully represent the phenomenon of nomophobia among students due to differences in cultural and academic backgrounds. However, we addressed this limitation by selecting only students who scored moderate to high levels of nomophobia. Second, the researchers acknowledge that the sample used in the study may not be fully representative of the broader target population or a larger group, as previously mentioned. Therefore, generalizing the findings of this research must be done carefully, being cautious and thoughtful to avoid hasty conclusions.

In the functional context, it is recommended for individuals to be more mindful of their smartphone usage and strive to strike a balance between utilizing their device's capabilities for productive purposes and avoiding excessive dependency that may lead to distractions or information overload. This includes limiting excessive smartphone usage for entertainment purposes, restricting aimless and irrelevant Internet browsing and implementing effective time management when using smartphones. For smartphone users from the ontological context, the advice is to critically evaluate their digital presence and ensure that their online activities align with their true values and self-perception, promoting responsible and ethical smartphone use. Engaging in fasting or break sessions by completely turning off the smartphone at specific times and utilizing that time for activities such as reading books, writing and engaging in spiritual practices, or exercising is also advisable. In the anthropomorphic context, individuals are advised to reflect on the potential emotional dependence on their smartphones and consider establishing healthy boundaries to avoid excessive reliance on these devices to fulfill emotional needs. One practical recommendation is to engage in self-reflection, where individuals take some time to ponder their smartphone usage patterns and emotional attachment to the device. They should ask themselves why they feel the need to constantly check their phone and how it impacts their emotions and overall well-being.

This study contributes to a deep understanding of the psychological dynamics of nomophobia by exploring the experiences, meanings, perceptions, and beliefs of individuals regarding smartphone use.

The overall goal of this chapter is twofold. First, the authors aim to identify indigenous phenomena that influence employee turnover and retention in the Chinese context. Second, the authors link these phenomena to the contextualization of job embeddedness theory. To achieve the goal, the authors begin by introducing three macro-level forces (i.e., political, economic, and cultural forces) in China that help scholars analyze contextual issues in turnover studies. The authors then provide findings in the literature research on employee retention studies published in Chinese academic journals. Next, the authors discuss six indigenous phenomena (i.e., hukou, community in China, migrant workers, state-owned companies, family benefit prioritization, and guanxi) under the three macro-level forces and offer exploratory propositions illustrating how these phenomena contribute to understanding employee retention in China. Finally, the authors offer suggestions on how contextualized turnover studies shall be conducted in China.