Coventry City owner Doug King outlines the real reasons behind Mark Robins' sacking from Sky Blues.

The way smart energy meters work in northern England and Scotland is causing issues for customers, BBC Panorama has been told. The body that represents energy companies, Energy UK, has […]

The post Smart meters in north/south divide, Bitcoin breaks through $82,000 barrier appeared first on Tech Digest.

This is an exceptionally long post detailing pretty much everything I learned at an event shortly before Christmas at Meta’s offices in San Francisco. I’ve been delayed in writing it up because of traveling back to the UK for Christmas and other commitments – and because I wanted to capture everything. It’s roughly written, and […]

This work describes a methodology that supports the design and implementation of software modules, which represent the individual and collaborative three-dimensional interaction process phases. The presented methodology integrates three modeling approaches: Petri Nets, a collaborative manipulation model based on the combination of single user interaction techniques taxonomy, and object-oriented programming concepts. The combination of these elements allows for the description of interaction tasks, the sequence of interaction processes being controlled by Petri Nets with the codes generated automatically. By the integration of these approaches, the present work addresses not only the entire development cycle of both individual and collaborative three-dimensional interaction, but also the reuse of developed interaction blocks in new virtual environment projects.

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Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to investigate if participation in business association’s programs through the traditional and new media platforms influences family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria to diversify into similar or different businesses. Background: Before the advances in information and communication technology, businesses were carried on via the traditional media. The application of these advances has changed the way business communications and transactions are conducted globally in both family and non-family businesses. Businesses are adapting to today’s turbulent environment by opening similar or different businesses in the same or different locations that are hinged on the traditional and new media platforms. Nigerians are largely involved in social network through the traditional (face-to-face contact) and new media (e.g., Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram). Moreover, in spite of the commonplaceness of family businesses in Nigeria, these businesses still experience weak diversification, bankruptcy and loss of socio-emotional wealth. Consequent upon the foregoing, this paper specifically investigates if involvement in social network via the traditional media (i.e., participation in business association’s meetings, workshops, seminars) and the new media (i.e., participation in the business association’s interactive sessions on trending business issues through the association’s online social platform like WhatsApp, Twitter), influence family businesses in South Eastern Nigeria to diversify into similar or different businesses. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative methodology. The qualitative data were generated via interview involving 30 purposively selected businesses from South Eastern Nigeria. This comprises 15 family businesses each that have respectively adopted related and unrelated diversification strategies. Two respondents (i.e., the business owner and a top level manager) each were drawn from the selected businesses. In all, 60 respondents were interviewed. Since the unit of analysis is the family business, the interview transcriptions from all the respondents were subjected to thematic content analysis on the basis of the family businesses. Contribution: Active involvement and participation in all the meetings, discussions, workshops and seminars of the social network via the traditional and new media platforms facilitates the adoption of related or unrelated diversification in family businesses. Moreover, the adoption of similar social network platforms like WhatsApp and Twitter in all the relationships among and between employees and managers, and the transactions of the businesses is one of the key factors for achieving successful related or unrelated diversification in family businesses. Findings: In spite of the risky nature of the business environment, the adoption of related diversification strategies is significantly influenced by resources such as business consultancy services garnered through the traditional and new media platforms of the social network. Also, family businesses that are actively involved in a social network where the actors interact through the traditional and new media are influenced by the resources acquired to consider adopting unrelated diversification. These resources include: better understanding of the nature of business challenges, environments and experiences; and different lines of businesses. Thus, the traditional and new media platforms are complementary in their roles. Recommendations for Practitioners: Family business owner-managers could use the findings to develop related or unrelated strategies for diversifying into existing or new markets. This can be through the localization of manufacturing plant, improvement of product packaging, sitting of sales outlet closer to the consumers, introduction of lower prices for products/services, introduction of new and better ways of service delivery, or development of more compelling promotion strategies. Recommendation for Researchers: As a veritable guide, this study could guide future researchers in the formulation of their objectives, selection of instrument for data collection and respondents, and adoption of method of data analysis. Impact on Society: Successful diversification suggests the establishment of new or more businesses. Consequently, these new or more family businesses are expected to translate to more employment opportunities and by extension reduction in unemployment and poverty rates in the society. Future Research: Further studies should be carried out to enhance the development of family businesses, contribute to the existing literature and ensure the generalization of the findings.

Aim/Purpose: Although the significance of data provenance has been recognized in a variety of sectors, there is currently no standardized technique or approach for gathering data provenance. The present automated technique mostly employs workflow-based strategies. Unfortunately, the majority of current information systems do not embrace the strategy, particularly biodiversity information systems in which data is acquired by a variety of persons using a wide range of equipment, tools, and protocols. Background: This article presents an automated technique for producing temporal data provenance that is independent of biodiversity information systems. The approach is dependent on the changes in contextual information of data items. By mapping the modifications to a schema, a standardized representation of data provenance may be created. Consequently, temporal information may be automatically inferred. Methodology: The research methodology consists of three main activities: database event detection, event-schema mapping, and temporal information inference. First, a list of events will be detected from databases. After that, the detected events will be mapped to an ontology, so a common representation of data provenance will be obtained. Based on the derived data provenance, rule-based reasoning will be automatically used to infer temporal information. Consequently, a temporal provenance will be produced. Contribution: This paper provides a new method for generating data provenance automatically without interfering with the existing biodiversity information system. In addition to this, it does not mandate that any information system adheres to any particular form. Ontology and the rule-based system as the core components of the solution have been confirmed to be highly valuable in biodiversity science. Findings: Detaching the solution from any biodiversity information system provides scalability in the implementation. Based on the evaluation of a typical biodiversity information system for species traits of plants, a high number of temporal information can be generated to the highest degree possible. Using rules to encode different types of knowledge provides high flexibility to generate temporal information, enabling different temporal-based analyses and reasoning. Recommendations for Practitioners: The strategy is based on the contextual information of data items, yet most information systems simply save the most recent ones. As a result, in order for the solution to function properly, database snapshots must be stored on a frequent basis. Furthermore, a more practical technique for recording changes in contextual information would be preferable. Recommendation for Researchers: The capability to uniformly represent events using a schema has paved the way for automatic inference of temporal information. Therefore, a richer representation of temporal information should be investigated further. Also, this work demonstrates that rule-based inference provides flexibility to encode different types of knowledge from experts. Consequently, a variety of temporal-based data analyses and reasoning can be performed. Therefore, it will be better to investigate multiple domain-oriented knowledge using the solution. Impact on Society: Using a typical information system to store and manage biodiversity data has not prohibited us from generating data provenance. Since there is no restriction on the type of information system, our solution has a high potential to be widely adopted. Future Research: The data analysis of this work was limited to species traits data. However, there are other types of biodiversity data, including genetic composition, species population, and community composition. In the future, this work will be expanded to cover all those types of biodiversity data. The ultimate goal is to have a standard methodology or strategy for collecting provenance from any biodiversity data regardless of how the data was stored or managed.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to examine the roles of key traits of m-university services and their users in promoting two crucial post-adoption outcomes of these services; namely, continuance usage intention and perceived value. Background: M-university (i.e., a university providing services via mobile technologies) has gained a great interest in the higher education sector as a driver of new business models and innovative service offerings. However, its assessment has been greatly overlooked, especially in evaluating the factors that drive the stakeholders’ continuance intention to use it and the determinants of its post-adoption perceived value. Consequently, research efforts undertaking such assessment facets empirically are highly required. Methodology: An integrated research model that enables such assessment was developed and evaluated using a quantitative research methodology. Accordingly, data were collected using a formulated closed-ended survey questionnaire. The target population consisted of the academic staff of a Saudi public university that has witnessed an extensive adoption of m-university services. The obtained data (i.e., 207 fully completed responses) were evaluated using the structural equation modeling approach. Contribution: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that gains the chance to provide the research community and m-service providers with new knowledge and understanding about the predictors that drive the continuance usage intention and value of m-university services. Findings: The findings showed that all of the examined traits of m-university services and their users (i.e., reliability, usability, customization, self-efficacy, and involvement) are having positive roles in promoting the continuance intention to use these services, while only two traits (i.e., reliability and involvement) contribute significantly to augmenting the perceived value. Recommendations for Practitioners: The study recommends developing effective design and implementation specifications that strengthen the contributions of the examined traits in the post-adoption stage of m-university services. Recommendation for Researchers: Further studies should be devoted to addressing the notable need to assess the factors influencing the adoption of m-university services, as well as to explore which ones are having significant roles in the attainment of post-adoption outcomes. Impact on Society: The empirical insights provided by the present study are essential for both university stakeholders and mobile service providers in their endeavors to improve the key aspects of the anticipated post-adoption outcomes of the provided services. Future Research: Further empirical investigations are needed to examine the roles of more m-university services and user traits in achieving a broad range of post-adoption outcomes of such services.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the factors driving individuals’ behavioral intention to use cryptocurrency in Saudi Arabia using the extended TRA model. Background: Despite the great potential of cryptocurrencies and the exponential growth of cryptocurrency use throughout the world, scholarly research on this topic remained scarce. Whereas prior studies are mostly done in developed countries or specific cultural contexts, limiting the generalizability of their results, they mainly used technology adoption models that cannot fully explain the acceptance of new technology involved with financial transactions such as cryptocurrency and provided contradictory evidence. Entire regions have been excluded from the research on this topic, including Saudi Arabia which has a high potential to increase the volume of cryptocurrency use. Methodology: This study extends the theory of reasoned action (TRA) with the factors from technology adoption models that proved relevant for this topic, namely perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, perceived innovativeness, and perceived risk with three sub-factors: security, financial, and privacy risk. Data are collected using a quantitative research methodology from 181 respondents residing in Saudi Arabia and then analyzed by several methods, including exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). Contribution: This study contributes to the scientific knowledge by extending the TRA model with a range of factors from the technology adoption field, thus enabling the analysis of this topic from human, financial, and technology perspectives and providing additional empirical evidence on the factors that previously either provided contradictory evidence or were not explored in this field. This research also provides the first empirical data on this topic in Saudi Arabia and enables further research on the topic and a comparison of the results. The study also contributes to practice by enhancing the actual understanding of the phenomena and providing valuable information and recommendations for governments, investors, merchants, developers, and the general population. Findings: The study found attitude, subjective norm, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness, privacy risk, and financial risk as significant predictors of the intention to use cryptocurrencies, whereas the influence of security risk was not found to be significant in Saudi Arabia. Recommendations for Practitioners: Using this study’s results, governments can create appropriate legal frameworks, developers can design fewer complex platforms, and merchants may create appropriate campaigns that emphasize the benefits of cryptocurrency use and transpire trust in cryptocurrency transactions by enhancing the factors with a positive impact, such as usefulness, enjoyment, and personal innovativeness while reducing concerns of potential users regarding the risky factors. By promoting a positive user experience, they can also improve attitudes and social norms towards cryptocurrencies, thus further stimulating the interest in their use. Recommendation for Researchers: As this study validated the influence of factors from technology, financial, and human-related fields, researchers may follow this approach to ensure a comprehensive analysis of this complex topic, especially as privacy risk was never examined in this context, while personal innovativeness, perceived enjoyment, financial, and security risk were explored in just a few studies. It is also recommended that researchers explore the impact of each part of subjective norms: social media, friends, and family, as well as how information on the benefits of cryptocurrencies affects the perception of the factors included. Impact on Society: Understanding the factors affecting cryptocurrency use can help utilize the full potential of cryptocurrencies, especially their benefits for developing countries reflected in safe, speedy, and low-cost financial transactions with no need for an intermediary. The research model of this study could also be used to investigate this topic in other contexts to discover similarities and differences, as well as to investigate other information systems. Future Research: Future studies should test this research model in similar and different contexts to determine whether its validity and study results depend on cultural and contextual factors. They can also include different or additional variables, or use mixed methods, as interviews would augment the comprehension of this topic. Future studies may also explore whether the impact of variables would remain the same if circumstances changed or use cases expanded, and how the preferences of the target population would change within a longitudinal time frame.

Aim/Purpose: In this study, we aim to investigate the impact of an important characteristic of textual reviews – the diversity of the review content on review helpfulness. Background: Consumer-generated reviews are an essential format of online Word-of-Month that help customers reduce uncertainty and information asymmetry. However, not all reviews are equally helpful as reflected by the varying number of helpfulness votes received by reviews. From consumers’ perspective, what kind of content is more effective and useful for making purchase decisions is unclear. Methodology: We use a data set consisting of consumer reviews for laptop products on Amazon from 2014 to 2018. A topic modeling technique is implemented to unveil the hidden topics embedded in the reviews. Based on the extracted topics, we compute the text diversity score of each review. The diversity score measures how diverse the content in a review is compared to other reviews. Contribution: In the literature, studies have examined various factors that can influence review helpfulness. However, studies that emphasized the information value of textual reviews are limited. Our study contributes to the extant literature of online word-of-mouth by establishing the connection between the diversity of the review content and consumer perceived helpfulness. Findings: Empirical results show that text diversity plays an important role in consumers’ evaluation of whether the review is helpful. Reviews that contain more diverse content tend to be more helpful to consumers. Moreover, we find a negative interaction effect between text diversity and the text depth. This result suggests that text depth and text diversity have a substitution effect. When a review contains more in-depth content, the impact of text diversity is weakened. Recommendations for Practitioners: For consumers to quickly find the informative reviews, platforms should incorporate measures such as text diversity in the ranking algorithms to rank consumer reviews. Future Research: Future study can extend the current research by examine the impact of text diversity for experienced goods and compare the results with search goods.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to examine the ten factors from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theories in order to analyze behavioral intentions to use the Indonesian online capital market investment platforms and the effect of behavioral intentions on actual usage. Background: The potential growth of capital market investors in Indonesia is large, and the low use of the Internet for investment purposes makes it necessary for stakeholders to understand the factors that affect people’s intentions to invest, especially through online platforms. Several previous studies have explained the intention to use online investment platforms using the TAM and TPB theories. This study tries to combine TAM, TPB, and UTAUT theories in analyzing behavioral intentions to use an online capital market investment platform in Indonesia. Methodology: The research approach employed is a mixed method, particularly explanatory research, which employs quantitative methods first, followed by qualitative methods. Data were collected by conducting interviews and sending online surveys. This study was successful in collecting information on the users of online capital market investment platforms in Indonesia from 1074 respondents, which was then processed and analyzed using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) with the IBM AMOS 26.0 application. Contribution: This study complements earlier theories like TAM, TPB, and UTAUT by looking at the intention to use online capital market investment platforms from technological, human, and environmental viewpoints. This study looks at the intention to use the online capital market investing platform as a whole rather than separately depending on investment instruments. This study also assists practitioners including regulators, the government, developers, and investors by offering knowledge of the phenomena and factors that can increase the capital market’s investment intention in Indonesia. Findings: Attitudes, perceived ease of use, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and national pride were found to be significant predictors of the intention to use online investment platforms in Indonesia, whereas perceived usefulness, perceived risk, perceived trust, perceived privacy, and price value were not. Recommendations for Practitioners: All practitioners must be able to take steps and strategies that focus on factors that have a significant impact on increasing usage intentions. The government can enact legislation that emphasizes the simplicity and convenience of investment, as well as launch campaigns that encourage people to participate in economic recovery by investing in the capital market. Meanwhile, the developers are concentrating on facilitating the flow of investment transactions through the platform, increasing education and awareness of the benefits of investing in the capital market, and providing content that raises awareness that investing in the capital market can help to restore the national economy. Recommendation for Researchers: Further research is intended to include other variables such as perceived benefits and perceived security, as well as other frameworks such as TRA, to better explain individuals’ behavioral intentions to use online capital investment platforms. Impact on Society: This study can help all stakeholders understand what factors can increase Indonesians’ interest in investing in the capital market, particularly through online investment platforms. This understanding is expected to increase the number of capital market participants and, as a result, have an impact on economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Research: Future research is expected to investigate additional factors that can influence individuals’ behavioral intention to use an online capital market investment platform, such as perceived benefits and perceived security, as well as the addition of control variables such as age, gender, education, and income. International research across nations is also required to build a larger sample size in order to examine the behavior of investors in developing and developed countries and acquire a more thorough understanding of the online capital market investment platform.

This conceptual research aims to connect aspects of learning activities of continuing education for professionals (CPE). The objective is to provide conclusions about modes of professional learning within diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) training. This interpretation is placed in context relating to the process of professional learning objectives. A CPE DEIB training plan is presented as an example of how to provide continuing professional education to adult learners within a DEIB curriculum (El-Amin, 2020). The purpose of incorporating the foundations of CPE into DEIB training permits organisations to strengthening organisational development and productivity. By connecting the foundations of curriculum design, alignment, assessment and mapping, and research-informed innovation, CPE aims to enhance the effectiveness of organisational DEIB initiatives. A CPE DEIB training plan emphasises the importance of accountability, employee involvement, and effective training to drive DEIB initiatives.

Learning objects originally developed for use in online learning environments can also be used to enhance face-to-face instruction. This study examined the learning impacts of online learning objects packaged into modules and used in different contexts for undergraduate education offered on campus at three institutions. A multi-case study approach was used, examining learning impacts across a variety of course subjects, course levels (introductory and advanced undergraduate), student levels (undergraduate and graduate), and instructional goals (i.e., replacement for lecture, remediation). A repeated measures design was used, with learning data collected prior to viewing the online module, after completion of the module, and at the end of the semester. The study provided a broad examination of ways that online modules are typically used in a college classroom, as well as measured learning effectiveness based on different instructional purpose and usage contexts. Results showed the effectiveness of the modules in serving as a substitute for classroom lecture, remediation of course prerequisite material, introduction to content with follow-up lab practice, and review for final exams. In each of these cases, the use of the modules resulted in significant learning increases, as well as retention of the learning until the end of the semester.

Aim/Purpose: Significant urban digital divide exists in Nairobi County where low income households lack digital literacy skills and do not have access to the internet. The study was undertaken as an intervention, designed to close the digital divide among low income households in Nairobi by introducing internet access using the domestication framework. Background: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to help reduce social inequality and have been hailed as critical to the achievement of the Sustainable Development goals (SDGs). Skills in use of ICTs have also become a prerequisite for almost all forms of employment and in accessing government services, hence, the need for digital inclusion for all. Methodology: In this research study, I employed a mixed methods approach to investigate the problem. This was achieved through a preliminary survey to collect data on the existence of urban digital divide in Nairobi and a contextual analysis of the internet domestication process among the eighteen selected case studies. Contribution: While there have been many studies on digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world, within the African continent, among genders and between rural and urban areas at national levels, there are few studies exploring urban digital divide and especially among the marginalized communities living in the low-income urban areas. Findings: Successful domestication of internet and related technologies was achieved among the selected households, and the households appreciated the benefits of having and using the internet for the first time. A number of factors that impede use of internet among the marginalized communities in Nairobi were also identified. Recommendations for Practitioners: In the study, I found that use of differentiated costs internet services targeting specific demographic groups is possible and that use of such a service could help the marginalized urban communities’ access the internet. Therefore, ISPs should offer special internet access packages for the low-income households. Recommendation for Researchers: In this research study, I found that the urban digital divide in Nairobi is an indication of social economic development problems. Therefore, researchers should carryout studies involving multipronged strategies to address the growing digital divide among the marginalized urban communities. Impact on Society: The absence of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) inclusion policy is a huge setback to the achievement of the SDGs in Kenya. Digital inclusion policies prioritizing digital literacy training, universal internet access and to elucidate the social-economic benefits of internet access for all Kenyans should be developed. Future Research: Future studies should explore ways of providing affordable mass internet access solutions among the residents of low-income communities and in eliminating the persistence urban digital divide in Kenya.

Aim/Purpose: The digital divide and educational inequalities remain a significant societal problem in the United States, and elsewhere, impacting low income, first-generation, and minority learners. Accordingly, institutions of higher education are challenged to meet the needs of students with varying levels of technological readiness with deficiencies in information and digital literacy shown to be a hindrance to student success. This paper documents the efforts of a mid-Atlantic minority-serving institution as it seeks to assess, and address, the digital and information literacy skills of underserved students Background: A number of years ago, a historically Black university in Maryland developed an institutional commitment to the digital and information literacy of their students. These efforts have included adoption of an international certification exam used as a placement test for incoming freshmen; creation of a Center for Student Technology Certification and Training; course redesign, pre and post testing in computer applications courses; and a student perception survey. Methodology: A multi-methodological approach was applied in this study which relied on survey results, pre and post testing of students enrolled in introductory and intermediate computer applications courses, and scores from five years of placement testing. Student pre and post test scores were compared in order to examine degree of change, and post test scores were also assessed against five years of scores from the same test used as a placement for incoming freshmen. Finally, a student perception and satisfaction survey was administered to all students enrolled in the courses under consideration. The survey included a combination of dichotomous, Likert-scaled, and ranking questions and was administered electronically. The data was subsequently exported to Microsoft Excel and SPSS where descriptive statistical analyses were conducted. Contribution: This study provides research on a population (first-generation minority college students) that is expanding in numbers in higher education and that the literature reports as being under-prepared for academic success. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of current studies examining the information and technological readiness of students specifically enrolled at minority serving institutions. As such, this paper is timely and relevant and helps to extend our discourse on the digital divide and technological readiness as it impacts higher education. The students included in this study are representative of those enrolled in Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, giving this paper broad implications across the country. Internationally, most countries have populations of first-generation college students from under-served populations for whom a lack of digital readiness is an also an issue therefore giving this study a global relevance. Findings: The digital divide is a serious concern for higher education, especially as schools seek to increasingly reach out to underserved populations. In particular, the results of this study show that students attending a minority serving institution do not come to college with the technology skills needed for academic success. Pre and post testing of students, as well as responses to survey questions, have proven the efficacy of computer applications courses at building the technology skills of students. These courses are viewed overwhelmingly positive by students with respondents reporting that they are a necessary part of the college experience that benefits them academically and professionally. Use of an online simulated learning and assessment system with immediate automated feedback and remediation was also found to be particularly effective at building the computer and information literacy skills of students. The total sample size for this study was over 2,800 individuals as data from 2690 IC3 tests administered over a five year period were considered, as well as 160 completed surveys, and pre and post testing of 103 students. Recommendations for Practitioners: Institutions of higher education should invest in a thorough examination of the information and technology literacy skills, needs, and perceptions of students both coming into the institution as well as following course completion. Recommendation for Researchers: This research should be expanded to more minority serving institutions across the United States as well as abroad. This particular research protocol is easily replicated and can be duplicated at both minority and majority serving institutions enabling greater comparisons across groups. Impact on Society: The results of this research help to shed light on a problem that desperately needs to be addressed by institutions of higher education, which is the realities of the digital divide and the under preparedness of entering college students in particular those who are from low income, first generation, and minority groups Future Research: A detailed quantitative survey study is being conducted that seeks to examine the technology uses, backgrounds, needs, interests, career goals, and professional expectations with respect to a range of currently relevant technologies.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discover usage differences in task performance by students of different cultures, by examining procrastination patterns from a national cultural perspective and exploring the effect of multicultural virtual teamwork on students’ individual procrastination. Background: This study aims to examine higher-education entrepreneurial learning in the context of multicultural virtual teamwork, as performed during participation on a Global Entrepreneurship course. Methodology: The methodology consists of quantitative comparative data analytics preceding and subsequent to intercultural team activities. This research is based on analyses of objective data collected by Moodle, the LMS used in the In2It project, in its built-in log system from the Global Entrepreneurship course website, which offers students diverse entities of information and tasks. In the examined course, there were 177 participants, from three different countries: United Kingdom, France and Israel. The students were grouped into 40 multicultural virtual (not face-to-face) teams, each one comprised of participants from at least two countries. The primary methodology of this study is analytics of the extracted data, which was transferred into Excel for cleaning purposes and then to SPSS for analysis. Contribution: This study aims to discover the effects of multicultural teamwork on individual procrastination while comparing the differences between cultures, as there are only a few studies exploring this relation. The uniqueness of this study is using and analyzing actual data of student procrastination from logs, whereas other studies of procrastination in multicultural student teams have measured perceived procrastination, collected using surveys. Findings: The results show statistical differences between countries in procrastination of individual assignments before team working: students from UK were the most procrastinators and Israeli students were the least procrastinators, but almost all students procrastinated. However, the outcome of the teamwork was submitted almost without procrastination. Moreover, procrastination in individual assignments performed after finishing the multicultural teamwork dramatically decreased to 10% of the students’ prior individual procrastination. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results from this study, namely, the decline of the procrastination after the multicultural virtual teamwork, can be used by global firms with employees all over the world, working in virtual multicultural teams. Such firms do not need to avoid multicultural teams, working virtually, as they can benefit from this kind of collaboration. Recommendation for Researchers: These results can be also beneficial for academic researchers from different cultures and countries, working together in virtual multicultural teams. Impact on Society: Understanding the positive effect of virtual multicultural teamwork, in mitigating the negative tendency of students from diverse cultures to procrastinate, as concluded in this study, can provide a useful tool for higher education or businesses to mitigate procrastination in teamwork processes. It can also be used as an experiential learning tool for improving task performance and teamwork process. Future Research: The relation between procrastination and motivation should be further examined in relation to multicultural virtual teams. Further research is needed to explore the effect of multicultural virtual teamwork during the teamwork process, and the reasoning for this effect.

The all-pervasive Internet has created serious problems, such as Internet overuse, which has triggered considerable debate over its relationship with addiction. To further explore its genetic susceptibilities and alternative explanations for Internet overuse, we proposed and evaluated four hypotheses, each based on existing knowledge of the biological bases of addiction, inattention, novelty-seeking, and harm-avoidance. Four genetic loci including DRD4 VNTR, DRD2 Taq1A, COMT Val158Met and 5-HTTLPR length polymorphisms were screened from seventy-three individuals. Our results showed that the DRD4 4R/4R individuals scored significantly higher than the 2R or 7R carriers in Internet Addiction Test (IAT). The 5-HTTLPR short/short males scored significantly higher in IAT than the long variant carriers. Bayesian analysis showed the most compatible hypothesis with the observed genetic results was based on attention (69.8%), whereas hypotheses based harm-avoidance (21.6%), novelty-seeking (7.8%) and addiction (0.9%) received little support. Our study suggests that carriers of alleles (DRD4 2R and 7R, 5-HTTLPR long) associated with inattentiveness are more likely to experience disrupted patterns and reduced durations of Internet use, protecting them from Internet overuse. Furthermore, our study suggests that Internet overuse should be categorized differently from addiction due to the lack of shared genetic contributions.

Aim/Purpose: This study builds upon existing research by investigating the elements contributing to or buffering the onset of burnout symptoms. We examine the relationship between empowering leadership and burnout, considering the concurrent mediation effects of interpersonal workplace conflict, work-home conflict, and support from coworkers. Background: Burnout is a phenomenon that has been widely considered in the scientific literature due to its negative effect on individual and organizational well-being, as well as implications for leadership, coworker support, and conflict resolution. A deeper understanding of burnout prevention strategies across various professional contexts is paramount for enhancing productivity and job satisfaction. Methodology: Using a survey-based cross-sectional design, we employed a combination of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to investigate the direct and indirect influences of empowering leadership on four dimensions of employee burnout, mediated by coworker support, interpersonal conflict at work, and work-home conflict. Contribution: This study provides initial insights into the direct and indirect influences of empowering leadership on various dimensions of burnout, highlighting the complex interplay with coworker support, work-home conflict, and workplace interpersonal conflicts. Ultimately, the study provides a comprehensive approach to understanding and mitigating burnout. Findings: Empowering leadership and coworker support can significantly reduce burnout symptoms, while high levels of work-home conflict and interpersonal conflict at work can exacerbate them. Our findings underscore the paramount role of interpersonal conflict in predicting burnout, urging organizations to prioritize resolving such issues for burnout prevention. Recommendation for Researchers: Following our findings, organizations should (a) promote empowering leadership styles, (b) foster coworker support and work-life balance, and (c) address interpersonal conflicts to reduce the likelihood of employee burnout while ensuring that these strategies are tailored to the specific context and culture of the workplace. Future Research: Future research should broaden the exploration of leadership styles’ effects on burnout, identify additional mediators and moderators, expand studies across sectors and cultures, examine differential impacts on burnout dimensions, leverage advanced analytical models, and investigate the nuanced relationship between work contract types and burnout.

Beside making organizations look like their peers through the adoption of similar attributes (which we call alignment), this paper highlights the fact that conformity also enables organizations to stand out by exhibiting highly salient attributes key to their field or industry (which we call conventionality). Building on the conformity and status literatures, and using the case of major U.S. symphony orchestras and the changes in their concert programing between 1879 and 1969, we hypothesize and find that middle-status organizations are more aligned, and middle-status individual leaders make more conventional choices than their low- and high-status peers. In addition, the extent to which middle-status leaders adopt conventional programming is moderated by the status of the organization and by its level of alignment. This paper offers a novel theory and operationalization of organizational conformity, and contributes to the literature on status effects, and more broadly to the understanding of the key issues of distinctiveness and conformity.

Most research on creativity describes it as a net positive: producing new products for the organization and satisfaction and positive affect for creative workers. However, a host of anecdotal and historical evidence suggests that creative work can have deleterious consequences for relationships. This raises the question: how does creativity at work impact relationships at home? Relying on work-family conflict and resource allocation theory as conceptual frameworks, we test a model of creative behaviors during the day at work and the extent to which employees spend time with their spouses at home in the evening, using 685 daily matched responses from 108 worker-spouse pairings. Our results reveal that variance-focused creative behaviors (problem identification, information searching, idea generation) lead to a decline in time spent with spouse at home. In contrast, selection-focused creative behaviors (idea validation) lead to an increase in time spent with spouse. Further, openness to experience moderates these relationships. Overall, the results raise questions about the possible relational costs of creative behaviors at work on life at home.

We examine when and why creative role identity causes entitlement and unethical behaviors and how this relationship can be reduced. We found that the relationships among the creative identity, entitlement, and dishonesty are contingent on the perception of creativity being rare. Four experiments showed that individuals with a creative identity reported higher psychological entitlement and engaged in more unethical behaviors. Additionally, when participants believed that their creativity was rare compared to common, they were more likely to lie for money. Moreover, manipulation of rarity of creative identity, but not practical identity, increased psychological entitlement and unethical acts. We tested for the mediating effect of psychological entitlement on dishonesty using both measurement of mediation and experimental causal chain approaches. We further provide evidence from organizations. Responses from a sample of supervisor-subordinate dyads demonstrated that employees reporting strong creative identities who perceived creativity as rare in their work-group rather than common were rated as engaging in more unethical behaviors by their supervisors. This paper extends prior theory on negative moral consequences of creativity by shedding new light on assumption regarding the prevalence of creativity and the role psychological entitlement plays.

Much to food and internet enthusiasts’ delight, Masoom’s Bakery has launched an impressive rendition of the dessert

HBO boss defends J.K. Rowling amid her divisive views

A new series about Harry Potter is in the works. However, questions have been raised over J.K. Rowling's involvement in the making amid her controversial views on gender.

HBO chief Casey Bloys, meanwhile, set aside these concerns...

Real reason why Ben Affleck 'eager' to finalize divorce with Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck is reportedly eager to finalize the divorce proceedings with Jennifer Lopez.

Revealing the reason, an insider told DailyMail that the 52-year-old filmmaker is "over the constant questions about...

The new Division BMX Parts are now in stock, like for example the Division BMX "Vitara Guard" Sprocket, which comes as guard sprocket CNC machined from one piece of 7075-T6 aluminum. The Division BMX "Vitara Guard" Sprocket can be utilized by the supplied adapter ring with either 19mm, 22mm and 24mm crank spindles.

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All the best,

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Students wearing face masks walk along a street amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 21, 2023. — AFP

RAWALPINDI: As intense smog continues to choke residents across Punjab, the provincial government on Tuesday ordered the closure of public and private schools and a...

The Washington Commanders woke up in second place in the NFC East on Monday morning. Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Commanders' third of the season, allowed the rival Philadelphia Eagles to slip into the top spot in the division.

Help to understand when divorce is appropriate for Christians by applying the intent of the Biblical instructions to the circumstances of our modern culture.

The EU BON project which is coordinated by the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin/Germany has started on 1 December and will continue for 4.5 years. The EU BON Kickoff Meeting will be held in Berlin from 13 to 15 February 2013.

With respect to EU BON’s objectives the International Symposium "Nature and Governance – Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface" will be held prior to the EU BON Kickoff Meeting from 11 to 12 February in Berlin with high-ranking speakers. You are most welcome to attend the Symposium.

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin is pleased to host this international symposium and will bring together high-ranking speakers and guests from worldwide to talk and discuss about these

Major Topics:

• What (data) policy needs
• The future of biodiversity information: new ways for generating, managing, and integrating biodiversity data
• How new approaches / models can link scales and disciplines
• Broadening the base and opening up: new ways to engage the public and stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring and assessments
• Résumé / conclusions

For more details, please have a look at the programme page.

The 1st day of the Symposium and the reception will be held "under the dinosaurs" in the central exhibition hall of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin.

The 2nd day will be held in the Seminaris Conference Center in the quiet south-west of Berlin. The closing of the Symposium will be celebrated as "Come together & Ice-Breaker for EU BON Kickoff Meeting" in the nearby beautiful Large Green House of the Botanic Garden Berlin.

If you want to take part, please register at the registration page.