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Enforcing employee compliance with information systems security policies (ISSP) is a herculean task for organizations as security breaches due to non-compliance continue to soar. To improve this situation, researchers have employed fear appeals that are based on protection motivation theory (PMT) to induce compliance behavior. However, extant research on fear appeals has yielded mixed findings. To help explain these mixed findings, the authors contend that efficacy formation is a cognitive process that is impacted by the cognitive load exerted by the design of fear appeal messages.

The study draws on cognitive load theory (CLT) to examine the effects of intrinsic cognitive load, extraneous cognitive load and germane cognitive load on stimulating an individual’s efficacy and coping appraisals. The authors designed a survey to collect data from 359 respondents and tested the model using partial least squares.

The analysis showed significant relationships between cognitive load (intrinsic, extraneous, and germane) and fear, maladaptive rewards, response costs, self-efficacy and response efficacy.

This provides support for the assertion that fear appeals impact the cognitive processes of individuals that then in turn can potentially affect the efficacy of fear and coping appraisals. These findings demonstrate the need to further investigate how individual cognition is impacted by fear appeal design and the resulting effects on compliance intention and behavior.

This study investigates the impact of temporary employment on various forms of financial distress for firms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors apply a logit model to evaluate the differences in the probabilities of experiencing financial distress for firms with or without temporary reemployment and for firms with different intensities of temporary workers. As an additional test, an ordinal logistic model is applied to reflect different degrees of financial distress.

Our main results indicate that firms with temporary employment are more likely to experience financial distress than firms without temporary employment, regardless of the severity of financial distress. Among firms with temporary employment, our analysis suggests that a firm’s likelihood of experiencing financial distress depends on its relative share (quantile) of temporary workers.

Our findings provide valuable insights for evaluating the impact of temporary employment on firms’ vulnerability during the COVID-19 crisis and suggest strategies for firms to enhance resilience to similar future crises.

Our study is the first one that explores the relationship between temporary employment and financial distress. Firms around the world have been pursuing flexible labor to improve resilience and firm performance. The pandemic may further ramify this trend, creating a future “new normal” regarding employment relationships, job segmentation and gender equality in the job market. This article adds a new dimension to the evaluation of the new normal, which may help firms evaluate the consequences of temporary employment, especially in times of crisis.

This research aims to understand the smartphone security behavior using protection motivation theory (PMT) and tests the current PMT model employing statistical and predictive analysis using machine learning (ML) algorithms.

This study employs a total of 241 questionnaire-based responses in a nonmandated security setting and uses multimethod approach. The research model includes both security intention and behavior making use of a valid smartphone security behavior scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) – explanatory analysis was used in understanding the relationships. ML algorithms were employed to predict the accuracy of the PMT model in an experimental evaluation.

The results revealed that the threat-appraisal element of the PMT did not have any influence on the intention to secure smartphone while the response efficacy had a role in explaining the smartphone security intention and behavior. The ML predictive analysis showed that the protection motivation elements were able to predict smartphone security intention and behavior with an accuracy of 73%.

The findings imply that the response efficacy of the individuals be improved by cybersecurity training programs in order to enhance the protection motivation. Researchers can test other PMT models, including fear appeals to improve the predictive accuracy.

This study is the first study that makes use of theory-driven SEM analysis and data-driven ML analysis to bridge the gap between smartphone security’s theory and practice.

This paper aims to understand if buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, a digital type of credit that targets young consumers, acts as a protective or a risk factor for food insecurity among young consumers in Australia.

The study uses survey data from a representative sample of young consumers aged 18–24 from all internal states and territories in Australia. Propensity score matching is used to test two hypotheses: BNPL drives young consumers to food insecurity, and food insecurity leads young consumers to use BNPL.

There is evidence that BNPL use is driving young Australian consumers to experience food insecurity, but there is no evidence of food insecurity driving the use of BNPL services.

The evidence of BNPL driving young consumers to experience food insecurity calls for the adoption of practices and stronger regulation to ensure that young users from being overindebted.

Although the link with more traditional forms of credit (such as personal loans) and consumer wellbeing has been explored more broadly, this project is the first attempt to have causal evidence of the link between BNPL and food insecurity in a high-income country, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. This evidence helps to fill the gap about the protective or risky nature of this type of digital financial product, as experienced by young Australians.

Adopting adaptive behavior has become a basic measure for farmers because the increasingly severe climate change is affecting agricultural production. Perception is a critical first step in adopting adaptive behaviors. Livelihood resilience represents a farmer's ability to adapt to climate change. Therefore, this article aims to explore the impact of livelihood resilience and climate change perception on the climate change adaptation behavior of farmers in the Qinling Mountains region of China.

In this study, 443 micro-survey data of farmers are obtained through one-on-one interviews with farmers. The Logit model and Poisson regression model are used to empirically examine the impact of farmers' livelihood resilience and climate change perception on their climate change adaptation behaviors.

It was found that 86.68% of farmers adopt adaptive behaviors to reduce the risks of facing climate change. Farmers' perception of extreme weather has a significant positive impact on their adaptive behavior under climate change. The resilience of farmers' livelihoods and their perception of rainfall have a significant positive impact on the intensity of their adaptive behavior under climate change. Climate change adaptation behaviors are also different for farmers with different levels of livelihood resilience.

Based on the results, policy recommendations are proposed to improve farmers' perception of climate change, enhance the sustainability of farmers' adaptive behavior to climate change, strengthen emergency management and infrastructure construction and adjust and upgrade farmers' livelihood models.

The purpose of this paper is to find out what role intermediaries have in facilitating communication with victims and prisoners at Parole Board (PB) oral hearings.

A survey was designed and administered to 39 PB members to find out their perceptions of, and experiences with, the use of intermediaries. Frequency tables and verbatim quotations are used to report the results.

Overall, participants had not experienced any use of intermediaries with victims or family members presenting victim personal statements at an oral hearing. Further, there had been limited use of intermediaries for prisoners attending oral hearings. Nevertheless, there was a good recognition of a range of communication needs that a prisoner might present with at a hearing. There was also general support for the use of intermediaries with some caution about possible delays to procedural fairness.

The early identification of communication support needs for prisoners and victims attending an oral hearing is essential. The PB should raise awareness with the PB Membership about the role of intermediaries. The PB should continue to develop guidance and policy surrounding intermediaries. Prison lawyers and HM Prison and Probation Service may require specialist training in identifying communication needs in vulnerable prisoners and identifying when a communication specialist might be required for an oral hearing.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first published paper examining the role of intermediaries at PB oral hearings. It builds on the evidence base of the use of intermediaries in other criminal justice contexts.

Consumer well-being in health-care settings is often undermined by information asymmetries, uncertainty and complex choices. Men are generally less motivated to adopt support tools designed to facilitate shared decision-making (SDM) and increase involvement in health service delivery. This study aims to examine the effects of sports team metaphors in a male-centered decision aid on empowerment and preparedness within a sleep apnea treatment context, a common disease among men. Individual-level factors that influence the decision aid experience are also considered.

An online panel sample of 296 US men was randomly assigned to a generic or gender targeted decision aid. The scenario-based method was used to simulate the decision aid experience. A one-way MANOVA tested the effects of gender targeting on SDM-related outcomes. Structural equation modeling was then undertaken to analyze relationships between self-construal and these outcomes.

Participants who experienced the gender-targeted decision aid reported higher levels of empowerment and preparedness. The positive relationship between collective interdependence and empowerment was stronger among those who received the targeted decision aid. The positive relationship between empowerment and preparedness was also significantly stronger in the targeted group. Empowerment mediated the effect of self-construal on preparedness.

Little to no research has evaluated the effectiveness of sports team metaphors in improving SDM and facilitating health-care value cocreation. Results provide insight into how to enhance service design and delivery for men facing medical decisions.

This study aims to evaluate the readiness of library professionals in Pakistan for metaverse technology adoption. It assesses their familiarity with the metaverse, identifies potential applications within libraries, pinpoints skill gaps, and unravels challenges hindering integration.

Employing a quantitative survey design, a survey was conducted from November 15, 2023, to December 15, 2023, targeting library professionals in Pakistan. The survey gathered data on familiarity with the metaverse, perceived applications in libraries, self-assessed proficiency in metaverse-related skills, and perceived challenges to metaverse adoption.

Library professionals in Pakistan exhibit moderate familiarity with the metaverse, demonstrating higher proficiency in certain aspects such as virtual reality and digital assets but a lesser understanding of legal/regulatory challenges and societal impacts. Perceived highly impactful applications in libraries include virtual meetups, immersive learning programs, collaborative research spaces, and virtual librarian-led tutorials. Challenges hindering metaverse adoption include budget constraints, limited technical expertise, concerns about privacy/security, and resistance to change.

The study’s limitations include the sample size and the specific data collection timeframe, which might limit generalizability. The findings offer implications for training programs, resource allocation, and policy formulation to facilitate metaverse integration in Pakistani libraries.

This study contributes original insights into the metaverse readiness of library professionals in Pakistan, offering a comprehensive analysis of their familiarity, perceived applications, skill gaps, and challenges, enabling tailored strategies for metaverse integration in library services.

This article aims to explore the impact of climate disasters on small-scale farmers’ willingness to cooperate and explore the mediating effect of social capital.

The study investigates farmers’ willingness to cooperate through a framed field approach and surveys the information of individuals and villages, including climate disasters and social capital, using a structured questionnaire from rural communities in Jiangxi and Sichuan, China.

The results show that climate disasters and social capital are significant and positive determinants of farmers’ willingness to cooperate. In specific types of climate disasters, drought is positively associated with farmers’ cooperation willingness. Moreover, the mediation effect of drought on farmers’ willingness to cooperate through social capital has been demonstrated to be significant although negative, whereas the mediation effect of flood on farmers’ willingness to cooperate through social capital is significant and positive.

First, given the limited studies focusing on the impact of climate disasters on small-scale farmers’ willingness to cooperate, the authors complement the existing literature through a framed field experiment approach by designing a scenario that every farmer may encounter in their production activities. Second, the study figures out the roles of drought and flood as different kinds of climate disasters in farmers’ decision-making of cooperation and sheds light on the positive impact of climate disasters on small-scale farmers. Finally, this paper provides empirical evidence of social capital as a potential channel through which climate disasters could possibly affect farmers’ willingness to cooperate.

The purpose of this study is to better understand how students of French agricultural education position themselves in the face of climate change and get involved in its fight.

This paper is based on a survey carried with 300 French students enrolled in the Brevet des Techniciens Supérieurs Agricoles class. A statistical analysis highlights the sensitivity of students to climate change and a simple econometric modelling examines the determinants of this sensibility. Finally, a qualitative study based on semi-directive interviews characterise the role of students as intermediaries of knowledge and innovative practices.

This study reveals that if the students ensure a function of intermediation inside rural where they act as true operators of institutional change, their role is less significant inside school and social networks.

The analyses should be further developed by examining more precisely the place and roles of students in the creation and coordination of local collective structures acting for the defence of the climate.

The results show that the territories and the projects developed there can be relevant points of reference for introducing innovative teaching approaches to introduce climate change in the classroom.

Young people’s commitment to the fight against climate change is strengthened by their concrete involvement in territorial development projects. Indeed, those territories specifically in rural areas appears as a space for innovation in environmental practices.

The originality of the study lies in its focus on the role of schools, living territories social networks as cultural spaces for shaping and transforming young people’s beliefs about climate change.