Purpose: The purpose of this paper is, first, to examine student perspectives of their university experience in terms of the soft employability skills they develop; second, how prepared those students feel for the future employment market and finally investigate whether there are differences in perceptions between Chinese and Malaysian students given their different educational experience.Design/methodology/approach: In this study, 361 predominantly Chinese undergraduate students at two universities, one in China and the other in Malaysia completed the 15-item Goldsmiths soft skills inventory using an online survey.Findings: The results, analysed using factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that the university curriculum develops student soft skills, particularly in the Malaysian university and supports the relationship between soft skill and student preparedness for employment. The results also indicate that compared with the respondents from the Chinese university, the Malaysian university respondents were more likely to be positive to statements concerning their respective university’s ability to develop their soft skills.Research limitations/implications: Such findings have implications for education providers and business in that it is important for universities to embed soft skills into the curriculum in order to develop graduate work readiness.Originality/value: What this research contributes is not only consolidation of existing research in the contemporary context of a disruptive jobs market, it takes research forward through analysing student perceptions from two universities, one in Malaysia and the other in China, of the skills they develop at university and the importance of soft skills to them and their perceptions of future employment and employability. Such research will provide insight, in particular, into the role of education providers, the phenomena of underemployment among graduates in China, and be of practical significance to employers and their perception that graduates lack the necessary soft skills for the workplace (Anonymous, 2017a; Stapleton, 2017; British Council, 2015; Chan, 2015).

Background: Resilience is vital for facing natural disasters and public health challenges. Despite the significance of resilience-building activities, there is a scarcity of locally-tailored planning and response strategies, leaving communities incapable of addressing the unique challenges posed by natural disasters and public health crises. This study aims to explore how the “One Community at a Time” approach enhances community resilience in facing natural hazards and public health challenges.Methods: A systematic review was conducted over journal articles published from January 2001 to April 2023 through PRISMA approach. Multiple databases such as Web of Science and Scopus were thoroughly searched. We used independent screening by two researchers and painstaking data extraction using standardized forms. This approach was adopted to assure the reliability, validity, and precision of our study selection and analysis. The included studies’ quality was evaluated by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.Results: In the evaluation, 35 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion and underwent in-depth examination. Several major components of “One Community at a Time” have been identified, including social capital and networks, local knowledge and learning, effective governance and leadership, preparedness and response capacity, and adaptive infrastructure and resources. This framework highlights the significance of individualized approaches to resilience-building initiatives, recognizing that each community has specific strengths, needs, and challenges.Conclusion: Relevant stakeholders can adapt suitable resilient strategies to help prepare and recover from natural hazards and public health challenges. By adopting a localized strategy, stakeholders can collaborate to develop a culture of readiness and resilience, ultimately leading to more sustainable and resilient communities. This framework advises community-based groups, local government, and other stakeholders on prioritizing partnerships, preparedness planning, community participation, and leadership as essential components of creating and maintaining resilience. “One Community at a Time” framework offers practical guidance for community-based organizations, local government, and other stakeholders to prioritize partnerships, preparedness planning, community participation, and leadership as essential components of creating and sustaining resilience.

Introduction: This study aims to explore the potential of big data technologies for controlling COVID-19 transmission and managing effectively. Material and methods: A systematic review guided by PRISMA guidelines has been followed to obtain the key elements. Results: This study...

Family education policy plays a crucial role in modernizing family education. By examining the temporal and spatial evolution of this policy, its inherent logic, constructs, and optimal pathways can be better understood. The study analyzed local family education policy documents, extracting six major themes using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model, and presented them according to the calculated mean theme probability. The themes include parental ability, school security, institutional environment, government support, social coordination, and high-quality development. Parental ability and government support were found to be particularly prominent, suggesting that many local policies focus on enhancing parents' skills for delivering family education and bolstering the government's role in public affairs. This combines the dual responsibilities of being an educational entity and accountable subject in the joint development of family education. Understanding the characteristics and variations in temporal and spatial distribution can enrich family education policy design, fostering the high-quality development of family education initiatives. Based on the findings, the study proposes three optimization paths for policy design: promotion and empowerment (building a multi-cooperative system), regional interconnection (understanding the current state of local policies and leveraging their strengths), and breaking barriers (simultaneously promoting the inclusiveness of family education and brand development). This study emphasizes the needs of customizing family education policy based on the temporal and spatial features and local requirements for maximum outputs.

Despite global progress in LGBTQ+ rights, sexual minorities in China face significant societal pressures and legal ambiguities, which remain poorly understood. This study explores the potential mediating role of proactive and preventive coping strategies in the relationship between perceived stress and outness levels among Chinese LGBTQ+ individuals. Survey data from 267 Chinese LGBTQ+ individuals aged 16–42 revealed high levels of perceived stress within this community. Both proactive and preventive coping strategies significantly mediated the negative impact of perceived stress on outness levels. These findings contribute to the understanding of LGBTQ+ community’s perceived stress and outness status in China, highlighting the need for inclusive policies and support systems to improve their mental health and social well-being.