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This essay undertakes a critical investigation of Wang Anyi’s short story, The Destination , employing Erich Fromm’s humanist psychoanalysis to elucidate the complex interplay between societal transformation, the erosion of authentic love, and the resulting existential anxieties within the context of contemporary Chinese modernity. The analysis focuses on the protagonist, Chen Xin, and his return to a radically transformed Shanghai, a disorienting architectural and bureaucratic maze that disrupts historical continuity. This spatial disorientation, the essay argues, mirrors Chen Xin’s strained familial ties, which exemplify Fromm’s notion of alienated pseudo-love, wherein genuine emotional intimacy is replaced by commodified social exchanges operating under the pressures of a state-capitalist regime. Fromm’s contrast between a way of life focused on owning and controlling things, versus one that emphasizes being present, growing as a person, and forming meaningful relationships, reveals a subjectivity caught between the pressure of inherited ideologies and the basic human need for love, care, and real emotional connection in a globalized and increasingly commodified society.

Enterprise risk management (ERM) represents a new paradigm that supports organizations in identifying, evaluating, and managing risks. Several factors encourage different organizations, especially banks, to design and apply ERM; among them, the possibility of financial problems and related costs, financial performance decline, growth opportunities, and independence of the board of directors can be pointed out. In addition, applying a suitable risk management strategy is a competitive advantage for supporting companies. Following the previous comprehensive studies, the present study was done by integrating a meta-composition approach and multivariate fuzzy network analysis. In this research, to identify effective factors on ERM based on empirical evidence and selection of studies, description and classification of selected articles, analysis of the content of selected research articles, and finally, the importance and refinement of the identified factors based on the Delphi expert opinion polling technique, and multivariate fuzzy network analysis was discussed. The study aimed to identify and rank the factors affecting the effectiveness of ERM of the firms accepted in selected banks in Iran. While reviewing studies, a semi-structured interview was conducted using an Exploratory-Descriptive Qualitative (EDQ) research design to determine the factors that affect ERM effectiveness. The interviewed experts were comprised of 20 university professors, CEOs, financial analysts of investment and brokerage companies, and senior auditors with accounting and management education. The literature review and the results of the interviews indicate five main themes that classify the factors affecting ERM effectiveness in firms. In this study, key factors were identified, and then the fuzzy Delphi technique was employed to rank and find the weight of the factors. The results showed that corporate governance, financial indicators, environmental indicators, company characteristics, and management indicators effectively enhance ERM's effectiveness. Accordingly, capital market analysts and investment companies should take a broader perspective and make decisions based on companies' financial risks instead of paying attention to companies' profitability and stock price changes. The results demonstrated that five factors determine ERM effectiveness: 1. corporate governance indicators (monitoring the board of directors and ownership structure), 2. Financial indicators (return on assets (ROA), earnings volatility, merger and acquisition (M&A) activities, financial deficiency, and capital opacity), 3. Environmental indicators (performance excellence, industry competition, audit firm credibility, environmental uncertainty, and industry), 4. Firm characteristics (financial leverage, firm size, and growth opportunities), and 5. Management indicators (management career and business diversity).

Reading comprehension is a fundamental skill for language learners, yet EFL students often encounter obstacles in developing this ability. Grounded in the sociocultural theory, the current study explored the impact of teacher interactional scaffolding and peer collaborative scaffolding on the reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners in a blended learning context. A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating quantitative analysis of pre-and post-reading comprehension tests as well as qualitative examination of semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that both teacher interactional scaffolding and peer collaborative scaffolding significantly enhanced learners' reading comprehension. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the two scaffolding approaches. Qualitative data analysis uncovered EFL learners' positive attitudes toward both forms of scaffolding, citing the dynamic support, collaborative problem-solving, and development of metacognitive skills as key benefits. The study underscores the pivotal role of scaffolding in facilitating EFL reading comprehension, with teacher interactional and peer collaborative scaffolding serving as complementary pedagogical strategies. Implications of this research include the need for EFL instructors to incorporate a judicious blend of teacher-led and peer-mediated scaffolding techniques to optimize learners' reading comprehension development. Additionally, the study highlights the adaptability of scaffolding approaches to blended learning environments, where the interactions between teachers, peers, and learners may necessitate innovative scaffolding implementations. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on the efficacy of sociocultural learning principles in enhancing EFL reading comprehension.

With the advent of advanced technology, a substantial proportion of reading takes place online. Reading engagement is an important factor which makes considerable contributions to reading comprehension. However, there is no valid and reliable measure for assessing learners' online reading engagement. Accordingly, this study constructed and validated a scale to gauge LORE. Initially, 20 EFL learners and 20 teachers were interviewed and based on the results of thematic analysis and extant components in the literature, an initial draft of the LORE was prepared. This draft became subject to expert opinion in a panel of three PhD holders in TEFL. Afterwards, the scale was distributed to 335 learners. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's Alpha yielded satisfactory psychometric properties for the 21-item scale consisting of six factors including affective, behavioral, cognitive, linguistic, agentic, and social dimensions. The analysis of aggregate means revealed that learners were highly engaged in behavioral and affective aspects, moderately engaged in the cognitive and agentic facets, but they had low levels of engagement in linguistic and social dimensions. Based on the results, the scale can be safely used to measure EFL learners' online reading engagement. Moreover, it is recommended that EFL teachers take measures to foster learners' linguistic and social engagement.