Alexis Phaik Imm Goh

1. As global markets transition into a tech-powered future, the ‘skills earthquake’ is reshaping work identities. The World Economic Forum (2025a) identifies skill gaps as the primary barrier to bu...

This study proposed a new approach to wellness tourism through organizations’ offering of wellness services as part of Online-to-Office (O2O) services to their employees. Targeted group data from 319 participants found medical professionalism, medical reports’ accuracy, and privacy protection to influence their health check provider selection. Through certified medical advisement, R analysis, and filtering/sorting of 16523 sets of medical data, personalized health check packages for Generation COVID, Generation Y-Millennials, and Sandwich Generation were obtained. Together with medical services and wellness tourism providers, organizations could utilize these results to offer personalized wellness tourism packages to their employees accordingly, invoking a sense of Perceived Organizational Support (POS) among them. This proposed tripartite cooperation may offer a lifeline to all parties in this post-pandemic era.

Few studies have focused on the comparison between collaborative and individual digital game-based learning (DGBL) performance for students who study English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In collaborative DGBL, how the composition of foreign language anxiety (FLA) within groups of students affects students’ performance remains uncertain. This study aimed to examine the effects of anxiety composition on DGBL performance of primary school students with different FLA levels to inform collaborative DGBL instruction. Ninety-six fifth-graders from four classes were identified as low, moderate, and high anxiety students according to Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Two classes were randomly assigned into collaborative DGBL while the other two classes in individual DGBL. The students in the collaborative DGBL were further grouped into 12 heterogeneous groups with anxiety composition of Low & Moderate (LM), Low & High (LH), Moderate & High (MH), and Low, Moderate & High (LMH). Those in the individual DGBL underwent individual gameplay learning. It was found that either collaborative or individual DGBL effectively assisted the students to reduce their FLA. The results also showed that the students in the heterogeneous groups generally had better DGBL performance than those who worked individually. Particularly, groups with anxiety composition of LM outperformed those with LH, those with MH, and those with LMH. The study suggests group composition be considered a critical factor that may enhance students’ learning with FLA in collaborative DGBL.

A DC-DC converter with a 16:1 (V_in,max = 16V_in,min) wide input voltage operation is presented for auxiliary power supplies on solar power conversion circuits or railway vehicles. The solar cell output voltage is associated with the solar intensity (day or night) and geographical location. Thus, the wide input voltage capability of DC converters is required for photovoltaic power conversion. For low power supplies on railway vehicles, the nominal input voltages are 24 V~110 V for the electric door system, motor drive, solid state lighting systems and braking systems. The presented converter uses buck/boost and resonant circuits to achieve the wide input voltage range operation from 18 V to 288 V. If V_in stays on a low input voltage range (18 V~72 V), the buck/boost circuit is operated at a voltage boost characteristic. On the other hand, the buck/boost circuit is operated at a voltage buck characteristic when the input voltage climbs to a high voltage range (72 V~288 V). Thus, the buck/boost circuit can output a constant voltage. Then, the resonant circuit in the second stage is worked at a constant input voltage case so that the frequency variation range is reduced. Finally, to investigate the performance and effectiveness of the studied circuit, experiments with a 500 W prototype were conducted to investigate the performance of the studied circuit.

This article proposes an exploration of language as a cultural voice in the research of leadership, and the conception that the dyadic relationship between leader and follower can be further looked into semiotically within the discourses of language. In particular, this research hopes to bring into view the plausible relationship between Chinese politeness and leader–follower interactions as well as its impact on followers’ career development. The appropriate (non)usage of second-person pronoun nín (您) by followers while interacting with superiors is the exemplar vernacular examined in this article. We engaged 32 eMBA students on the usage of this second-person polite pronoun in official organisation settings. Many agreed that Chinese politeness is both expected and required by interlocutors involved, and it is a form of ‘face-giving’ and an acknowledgement of hierarchical differences. In most Chinese organisations, status and hierarchical positions are specified clearly and must be properly acknowledged as linguistic politeness is both expected and required. The authors hope to raise the possibility that the linguistic and cultural influences, particularly politeness, involved in face-to-face verbal interactions within formal Chinese corporate environment may signal a possible discursive variation in leader–follower communication studies.