Suchergebnisse

AbstractSocial media have surged prominently as communication channels for corporate social responsibility. However, little is still known about the performance of green versus non‐green communication across different social media. We contribute by examining whether the presence of green features in social media communication exerts a beneficial effect on consumer response in terms of likes, comments, and shares. We also investigate how this effect hinges upon the social media platform where the content is posted as well as the richness of the format (text, photos, videos) utilized for the diffusion. To our scopes, we use an ad hoc dataset of posts of two major large‐scale retailers in Italy across three major social media, namely Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Our results show that, while green content generally stimulates larger response than non‐green content, its effect varies across social media, with the highest effect being observed on Instagram (at least for likes) and the lowest on Twitter (at least for comments). Moreover, the extent to which the positive effect of green content increases as media richness increases (i.e., moving from only text to text plus photo, and then to text plus video) is also contingent upon the social media platform. On Facebook, the moderation of media richness is positive and significant, while being insignificant on Instagram. On Twitter, the moderation is even nonmonotonic in the sense that the highest (positive) effect of green content tends to be obtained for either low or high media richness. Our findings offer remarkable implications for firms engaging in environmental sustainability.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of climate smart agriculture knowledge transfers. As well as to examine the application of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) knowledge such as conservation agriculture, irrigation systems, integrated soil fertility management, bioenergy and agroforestry by smallholder farmers in Kenya.


Design/methodology/approach
The study applied comparative research methodology to compare climate smart agriculture knowledge application between smallholder participants in farmer field schools (FFS) and no FFS participation. This study used household data from 759 randomly selected rural agricultural households in three counties in Kenya. The study applied multivariate probit model to estimate CSA knowledge application by farmers who participated in field trainings and non-FFS participation farmers.


Findings
This study established that climate smart agriculture knowledge transfer through FFS increases farmers' application of critical aspects of climate smart agriculture knowledge practices such as irrigation system, conservation agriculture and soil and water conservation. Such aspects have been noted as effective interventions against adverse climate change effects such as persistent droughts and flooding and soil infertility. Further findings illustrated that farmers who received CSA knowledge transfers applied agricultural insurance to mitigate rising climatic risks on their farms. Knowledge transfer interventions targeting affordability through subsidizing agricultural insurance are probable and more cost-effective measures that can be used to reduce smallholder farmers' exposure to climate change-related risks.


Originality/value
This study provides information that was previously unknown about climate smart agriculture knowledge transfers and application among farmers who participated in field trainings and non-FFS participation farmers by using empirical data.

PurposeTraditionally, Task–Technology Fit (TTF) theory has been applied to examine the usefulness of technology in the work environment. Can the same approach (based on experience rather than tasks) be applied to non-work, cultural heritage environments? This is the question the authors ask in this study. This study proposes a new variation of TTF based on the experience economy model, namely Experience–Technology Fit (ETF), for the non-work environment, in particular, in the context of cultural heritage, where visitor experience is enhanced by extended reality technology, which combines immersive technologies and artificial intelligence.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a quantitative survey method, the empirical analysis seeks to determine the influence of Mixed Reality (MR) characteristics (interactivity, vividness), Voice User Interface (VUI) characteristics (speech recognition, speech synthesis) and experience economy factors (education, entertainment, esthetic, escape) on satisfaction, revisit intention and actual purchase to propose a new ETF model.FindingsVUI, MR, and experience factors were significantly associated with ETF; when combined with MR-based experience, ETF was significantly associated with satisfaction. This study's findings further demonstrate the relationship between users' satisfaction when engaging with MR-based experience and revisit intention, while purchase intention was significantly associated with the actual purchase.Originality/valueThe novel contribution of this study is the proposal of the EFT model, a new variation of TTF based on the experience economy model. Overall, this study expands the applications of TTF to an experience-oriented business, thereby broadening the authors' understanding of technological success with a specific focus on the technology fit of Extended Reality (XR) in the context of cultural heritage.

Heritage is both embroiled in, and constituted by, complex, intertwined and contradictory processes. Using ethnographic research, the paper illustrates how heritage-making driven by the Authorised Heritage Discourse (AHD) intersects with socio-spatial and economic processes of place-making in China. The findings reveal the complex, entangled relationship between heritage and place in which elite and non-elite groups participate and interact. Local heritage of Tanmen is active, power-laden and intersects with political, social and economic affairs and expectations, not least to support Chinese sovereignty claims over the South China Sea. This analysis reveals the interplay in Chinese top-down and bottom-up heritage-making processes, in which elite groups tend to dominate by means of ICH policies and local residents tend to internalise the AHD in an attempt to reap benefits or reputation from it. The paper argues that there is a mutually reinforcing relationship between the nation-state and the local in the heritagisation process of local heritage, that works to add a scenario to the multifaceted relationship between places at different scales in heritage literature. Politically charged heritage-making processes, including re-narrativisation, commercialisation and reworking memories, are explored in terms of their impact and intersection with the local place regarding issues of identity, memory, economy and the street landscape. Overall, this paper provides a case study that seeks to understand a specific version of the AHD that reflects Chinese policies, ideologies and aspirations. It aims to reveal the intersection of heritage-making with place-making, to help comprehend the complex, intwined concepts of heritage, power and place in a non-Western society.

AbstractResearch Question/IssueThis study investigates whether the impact of the mandatory adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on earnings management practices varies between family and non‐family firms. Specifically, we examine the effects of different family ownership configurations and the CEO family identity.Research Findings/InsightsWe find that firms in Taiwan use less accrual‐based earnings management (ABEM) under the IFRS but more real earnings management (REM). On average, IFRS adoption is less likely to result in upward ABEM and REM in family firms than in non‐family firms. However, family firms with greater family ownership, lower family cash–vote divergence, a founder CEO, or a professional CEO are more likely to promote the positive effect of the IFRS on ABEM and mitigate the negative effect of the IFRS on REM. Furthermore, these firms are less likely to substitute ABEM with REM after the transition to the IFRS.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsWhile recent literature has paid increasing attention to various governance characteristics that shape management's reporting incentives and, thus, affect the consequences of mandatory IFRS adoption, we focus on family firms in which the principal–principal agency relationship between controlling owners and other shareholders is salient. We highlight the effect of family owners' different agency features in relation to a structural change in the accounting regime.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThis study addresses how a firm's corporate governance influences the net benefits of implementing new accounting standards. Our evidence offers insights to policymakers and capital market participants, showing that variations in family owners' reporting incentives may have different impacts on the consequences of adopting the IFRS.

An electronic raster map of the ecological state of lands of Russian regions was prepared for the reference period from 2001 to 2020 based on the characteristics of the primary photosynthesis products derived from Earth remote sensing materials from space in the form of indicators of «productivity», land transformation and dynamics of organic matter content in the soil and their generalizing indicator of sustainable development goals - SDG 15.3.1. Land degradation indicator. T e calculation shows that 2.2 million square kilometers, which constitutes 13% of the territory of Russian Federation, belong to the category of degraded by the end of 2020. 45% of the territory is occupied by land from the stable category, which has not changed over the past 19 years. 41% of the territory belongs to the lands that have improved during the reference period. A statistically reliable nonlinear regular relationship of the indicator of the ecological state of lands of Russian Federation was established in the form of an indicator of the share of non-degraded lands, considering the share of non-established lands with the amount of specif c emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air from stationary sources located on the territory of the subject. T e threshold value of specif c emissions from stationary sources at the level of the subject of Russian Federation was established, amounting to 1610 kg per sq. km. T e probability of exceeding the threshold value of specif c emissions is 37%. T e risk of increasing land degradation with an increase in emissions is typical for 36% of territorial units of Russian Federation.

Background: Evidence suggests that people with disabilities are more likely to suffer from depression. Previous studies have focused on depressive disorders in specific disability types or age groups using small-scale cross-sectional samples. We investigated longitudinal trends in the prevalence and incidence of depressive disorders according to disability types and severity levels in the entire Korean adult population. Methods: The age-standardised prevalence and incidence of depressive disorders were investigated using National Health Insurance claims data from 2006 to 2017. The odds of depressive disorders by type and severity were examined using logistic regression after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities based on merged 2006 to 2017 data. Results: Both the incidence and prevalence of depressive disorders were higher among the disabled than the non-disabled, with the prevalence gap being larger than the incidence gap. In regression analyses, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities considerably reduced the odds ratios, particularly for incidence. The severity of disabilities was inversely associated with the incidence of depressive disorders. Brain injury and disabilities in major internal organs were associated with lower odds of developing depressive disorders than in non-disabled individuals. Conclusions: A significant proportion of depressive disorders in disabled individuals are caused by financial hardships or comorbidities rather than disabilities themselves. We must pay special attention to those who cannot access healthcare services due to severe disabilities and those whose depressive disorders are misdiagnosed as intellectual disabilities. More research is required to elucidate the causal mechanisms underlying depressive disorders in people with various types and severities of disabilities.

In the modern world, electronic governance systems are tools for the easy access to information and its practical usage. The basis for their adoption is the vision of productive communication between state and citizen. The systems are aimed to strengthen democratic institutions and develop civil society by ensuring human rights and freedoms.
Nevertheless, modern tendencies are accompanied with new challenges. In parallel with the process of digitalization, we encounter a set of problems related to information security such as issues of cybersecurity, non-reliable information, etc.
From the other side, digitalization brings an antidemocratic discourse on the implementation of the right of citizens' equal participation, the access and usage of all the necessary information and service portals, the functioning of sources which present public good and difficulties on proper feedback provision.
This work discusses the importance of electronic governance systems in Armenia in establishing society-state constructive communication and the main achievements and challenges on the way of their adaptation.
Nevertheless, modern tendencies accompanied with new challenges. In parallel with the process of digitalization, we encounter a set of problems related to information security such as issues of cybersecurity, non-reliable information, etc.
From the other side, digitalization brings an antidemocratic discourse on the implementation of the right of citizens' equal participation, the access and usage of all the necessary information and services portals, the functioning of sources which present public good and difficulties on proper feedback provision.
This work discusses the importance of electronic governance systems in Armenia in establishing society-state constructive communication and the main achievements and challenges on the way of their adaptation.

Objective We investigated secondary–task–based countermeasures to the vigilance decrement during a simulated partially automated driving (PAD) task, with the goal of understanding the underlying mechanism of the vigilance decrement and maintaining driver vigilance in PAD. Background Partial driving automation requires a human driver to monitor the roadway, but humans are notoriously bad at monitoring tasks over long periods of time, demonstrating the vigilance decrement in such tasks. The overload explanations of the vigilance decrement predict the decrement to be worse with added secondary tasks due to increased task demands and depleted attentional resources, whereas the underload explanations predict the vigilance decrement to be alleviated with secondary tasks due to increased task engagement. Method Participants watched a driving video simulating PAD and were required to identify hazardous vehicles throughout the 45-min drive. A total of 117 participants were assigned to three different vigilance-intervention conditions including a driving-related secondary task (DR) condition, a non-driving-related secondary task (NDR) condition, and a control condition with no secondary tasks. Results Overall, the vigilance decrement was shown over time, reflected in increased response times, reduced hazard detection rates, reduced response sensitivity, shifted response criterion, and subjective reports on task-induced stress. Compared to the DR and the control conditions, the NDR displayed a mitigated vigilance decrement. Conclusion This study provided convergent evidence for both resource depletion and disengagement as sources of the vigilance decrement. Application The practical implication is that infrequent and intermittent breaks using a non-driving related task may help alleviate the vigilance decrement in PAD systems.

Abstract
The production of paints, coatings and construction materials may generate nanoparticles (NP) with potential adverse health effects. We carried out a study aimed at investigating exposure biomarkers reflecting the internal dose of inhaled particles and NP. NTA was used to quantify particle number concentration and size in EBC collected at the end of shift in 81 workers employed in companies producing technological materials. External exposure was characterized in terms of particle number concentration, size and lung deposited surface area (LDSA) in the near operational field by using a set of DiSCmini. Three subgroups were identified: Low-Exposure (LE, n=30), High-Exposure (HE n=35), and non-occupationally exposed (UC, n=16). Comparisons between groups were made using non-parametric analyses. LE and HE workers showed significantly higher number of NP in EBC (p=0.024, p=0.041, respectively) as compared to UC. The HE groups showed higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers, such as IL-1β and IL-10 as compared to LE and UC (p=0.02, p<0.01, respectively). Positive correlations were observed between particle number concentration recorded by DiscMini and NTA data (Rho=0,225, p=0.04) and between the NTA and IL-10 and IL-1β (Rho=0.246, p=0.012; Rho=0.223, p=0.022, respectively). In contrast, LDSA did not correlate with NTA data. These findings provide evidence of the relationship between increasing exposure to NP and the burden of particles in the airways which, in turn, results in sustained inflammation. Given the lack of exposure biomarkers for dusts, these results are promising to investigate the relationship between internal dose of particles and changes in lung pathobiology.

Abstract

Objective
Anti 1-OHPyrG sheep Mabs have been raised, characterised and employed in a sensitive and specific ELISA. The development of a LF test will enable the manufacture of a simple, rapid and cost-effective point of use test. On-site screening will allow employers to immediately confirm safe working practice and significantly increase the efficacy of biomonitoring.


Methods
A quantitative LF test has been developed which employs an anti-1-OHPyrG sMab to capture the PAH metabolite. The captured metabolite is visualised through a second Mab raised against the sMab-1-OHPyrG immune complex. This sandwich assay provides a positive correlation between the assay signal and biomarker concentration. The LF test can determine biomarker concentrations in non-occupationally exposed individuals and performance has been determined in a comparative study.


Results
A specific LF immunoassay, with a measuring range of 20-500pg/ml of 1-OHPyrG, can detect increasing levels of PAH metabolite in urine due to lifestyle factors (e.g. smoking and consumption of chargrilled food) in samples from non-occupationally exposed individuals. The LF determined concentrations compared well to literature values. Urines determined by LF and ELISA were in excellent agreement (R2=97, N=8).


Conclusions
Antibodies enable the development of quantitative LF tests, providing "real-time" analysis to occupational health professionals. On-site testing allows the immediate confirmation of safe working practice and provides immediate reassurance to those involved in potentially hazardous activities. An 'app' to support LF testing is now under development and a survey of potential industry end-users has highlighted the desired features.

Emotions play a crucial role in maintaining motivation, one of the factors which affect one's learning achievement. The two opposing types of emotions have differing effects on thinking and reasoning; positive emotions facilitate rational thought whereas the reverse is also true. This qualitative study aims at investigating factors affecting students' emotions in completing their final projects, the thesis. More specifically, the study aimed to reveal factors triggering positive emotions among students and how to maintain them and factors causing the emergence of negative emotions and those exacerbating them. The participants of the study were students of a post-graduate degree in English education program who have written their thesis and completed their study. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews with the participants and were analyzed qualitatively using Jeong-Hee's (2016) principles of narrative data analysis. This research found that factors causing the emergence of students' emotions, both positive and negative emotions, consist of two: human and non-human factors. The human factors can be those relating to academic context (supervisors and classmates) and also familial context (parents, spouse and relatives) whereas the non-human factors are time and place for consultation, examinations, and also resources to support the writing of students' thesis. Interestingly, the triggers of negative emotions are also those identified as triggers of positive emotions, if accomplished in opposing directions. It is then recommended that all relevant parties should be aware of the potential roles they can play in relation to students' emotions; they can be causes of both positive and negative emotions as well as the ones who help to maintain and to worsen them.

Background: A lack of knowledge among patients of heart failure represents a significant problem that could lead to an increase in adverse outcomes, such as lengthening the hospitalization period and increasing the readmission rate. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the effect of mobile health education applications on the knowledge of patients of heart failure and identify the associated factors that would contribute to patients' knowledge of heart failure. Methods: A quasi-experimental design (two groups with pretest-posttest design) was used. A non-probability convenient sample of 160 patients was recruited. The participants were assigned randomly to an experimental group and a control group. The Dutch Heart Failure Knowledge Scale was used to assess the patients' level of knowledge. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test and multiple-regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The total number of participants was 126. The overall Jordanian patients' level of knowledge regarding the non-pharmacological management of heart failure was moderate (M = 9.4, SD = 2.07). Significant differences between study groups were found in terms of levels of knowledge. The intervention group (M = 12.26, SD = 2.36) had significantly higher mean scores of knowledge level of heart failure compared to the control group (M = 9.76, SD = 2.01); t = 6.361, p = 0.000). The result of the regression analysis was significant (adjusted R2 = 0.222, F (16,109)= 3.226, P=0.000). Conclusion: Mobile health education could be a promising solution for managing different chronic diseases, particularly HF. Implications for Nursing: Mobile health could be a more costeffective approach to patient education than other traditional approaches recently applied in clinical practice. Keywords: Heart failure, Patient education, Knowledge, Telehealth, Mobile health applications.

Abstract
The effectiveness of population-wide compliance to personal precautions (mask-wearing and hand hygiene) in preventing community-acquired pneumonia has been unknown. In Japan, different types of nonpharmaceutical interventions from personal precautions to containment and closure policies (CACPs, e.g. stay-at-home requests) were sequentially introduced from late January to April 2020, allowing for separate analysis of the effects of personal precautions from other more stringent interventions. We quantified the reduction in community-acquired pneumonia hospitalizations and deaths and assessed if it coincided with the timing of increased public awareness of personal precautions before CACPs were implemented. A quasi-experimental interrupted time-series design was applied to non–COVID-19 pneumonia hospitalization and 30-day death data from April 2015 to August 2020 across Japan to identify any trend changes between February and April 2020. We also performed a comparative analysis of pyelonephritis and biliary tract infections to account for possible changes in the baseline medical attendance. These trend changes were then compared with multiple indicators of public awareness and behaviors related to personal precautions, including keyword usage in mass media coverage and sales of masks and hand hygiene products. Hospitalizations and 30-day deaths from non–COVID-19 pneumonia dropped by 24.3% (95% CI 14.8–32.8) and 16.1% (5.5–25.5), respectively, in February 2020, before the implementation of CACPs, whereas pyelonephritis and biliary tract infections did not suggest a detectable change. These changes coincided with increases in indicators related to personal precautions rather than those related to contact behavior changes. Community-acquired pneumonia could be reduced by population-wide compliance to moderate precautionary measures.

Since the 2008 global economic crisis, the neoliberalization of nature and space, and consequently of environmental and planning policies, have exacerbated significantly. From infrastructure megaprojects, mining, fracking, waste disposal and land grabbing to shrinking access and loss of public green spaces, uneven gentrification and urban regeneration policies, public spaces, and natures within and beyond cities have been appropriated, privatized, commoditized, profoundly transformed and degraded with the aim to overcome recession and boost urban development. Despite the varying degree of success in pursuing urban growth, this has disproportionally affected people along lines of class, ethnicity, and gender, deepening environmental, social, and spatial inequality in many places across the globe. By drawing on my long-term research on biodiversity offsetting, the key argument I aim to advance in this essay is that since the 2008 financial crash, we have been witnessing the emergence of an increasingly symbiotic relationship between neoliberal conservation policies, infrastructure expansion and uneven urban development. This has been accompanied by the reframing of non-human nature as a movable amenity and has been intertwined with the new territorialities that the profound changes in global urban and economic geographies have brought about. This shift aims to legitimize and render common sense the idea that nature, either a protected area, a forest, an endangered species, or an urban green space, can be simply (re)located and (re)created where the interests of particular sections of capital dictate. Crucially, the underlying argument is not only that non-human nature should not be considered a barrier to infrastructure expansion and urban growth but perfectly compatible with it.