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Prefabricated products are continually entering the building construction market; yet, the decision to use prefabricated products in a construction project is based mostly on personal preferences and the evaluation of direct costs. Researchers and practitioners have debated appropriate measurement systems for evaluating the impacts of prefabricated products and for comparing them with conventional on-site construction practices. The more advanced, cost–benefit approach to evaluating prefabricated products often inspires controversy because it may generate inaccurate results when converting non-monetary effects into costs. As prefabrication may affect multiple organisations and product subsystems, the method used to decide on production methods should consider multiple direct and indirect impacts, including nonmonetary ones. Thus, this study aims to develop a multi-criteria method to evaluate both the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabrication solutions to facilitate decision-making on whether to use prefabricated products.

Drawing upon a literature review, this research suggests a multi-criteria method that combines the choosing-by-advantage approach with a cost–benefit analysis. The method was presented for validation in focus group discussions and tested in a case involving a prefabricated bathroom.

The analysis indicates that the method helps a project’s stakeholders communicate about the relative merits of prefabrication and conventional construction while facilitating the final decision of whether to use prefabrication.

This research contributes a method of evaluating the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabricated products. The research underlines the need to evaluate the diverse benefits and sacrifices that stakeholder face when considering production methods in construction.

This study constructed an information search process model based on costs and benefits to reflect different information search processes under different decisions from a behavioural economics perspective.

This study used a deductive approach to conceptualise the costs, benefits, and uncertainties of the information search process. Subsequently, we constructed an information search process model based on the costs and benefits using graphical reasoning, loss aversion theory, bounded rationality theory, the satisficing theory of behavioural economics, and the uncertainty changes of information search process.

The model revealed four types of user behaviours in the information search process: (1) avoiding search at the initiation of the search process; (2) exiting in the middle of a search; (3) stopping at the point of satisficing; and (4) continuing the search until experiencing physical discomfort.

The model constructed in this study treats the information search as a process based on costs and benefits with uncertainty. This model integrates information search avoidance and stopping into an information search process model. The model identifies users’ bounded rationality by evaluating ideal and real situations. Moreover, the model explains relative and absolute information overloads and the area beyond the user’s bounded rationality. These findings could help improve users’ information literacy and optimise information systems.

Turn-taking is beneficial to conversational search success, but the increase in turns and time can also increase the cognitive load of the user. Therefore, in this research paper, the authors view conversational search sessions through the lens of economic theory and use the economic models of search to analyze the various costs and benefits of information-seeking interactions.

First, the authors built a cost-benefit model for conversational search sessions by defining action types and performing an intellectual mapping of actual sessions into sequences of these actions (using thematic analyses). The authors used the hypothesized cost and benefit actions (obtained from the user-system dialogs), along with the number of turns, utterances and time-related parameters, to propose the mathematical model. Next, the authors tested the model empirically by comparing the model scores to the user satisfaction and task success scores (collected through questionnaires). By representing each session as a bag of actions, the authors developed linear regression models to predict task success and user satisfaction.

Through feature analysis and significance testing, the authors identify the different parameters that contribute significantly to user satisfaction and task success scores. Error analysis shows that the model predicts task success and user satisfaction reasonably well, with the average prediction error being 0.5 for both (on a 5-point scale).

The authors' research is an initial step toward building a mathematical model for predicting user satisfaction and task success in conversational search sessions.

The European Commission has established the reference value of the social discount rate (SDR) to be used in the cost-benefit analysis according to the subdivision of the states relating to the beneficiaries of the Cohesion Fund. This criterion does not allow to adequately consider the economic, social and environmental conditions of each European states for ensuring an equitable and inclusive growth. The aimof the work is to provide an innovative methodology for assessing the “adjusted” SDR according to the socioeconomic and environmental conditions that differently affect the sustainable development of each European state.

Through the implementation of a methodological approach that consists of ordered and sequential phases and the synergic adoption of the Multi-Criteria Techniques with the Data Envelopment Analysis, a corrective coefficient of the SDR established by the European Commission is determined.

The results obtained for the 27 European states highlight how the different conditions of each of them could affect the correct choice of the SDR to be used in the Cost-Benefit Analysis.

The proposed research represents a useful reference for identifying national reference SDR values for each European state, consistent with its specificities and with the goals of inclusive growth of the countries and of social and territorial cohesion. Furthermore, the traceability of the methodology in its phases will allow to adapt the SDR to sudden events or exogenous shocks.

This paper aims to explore global research on individuals’ awareness and behaviours related to the Circular Economy, aiming to deepen the understanding of how people engage with and contribute to CE practices.

Using a systematic literature review (SLR), this study methodically collects, codifies, analyses, synthesizes and interprets existing literature and research on Circular Economy. This approach aims for a comprehensive understanding of current global perspectives and practices.

The analysis reveals an increasing trend in empirical research focusing on Circular Economy strategies. This paper has identified 22 key strategies linked to public awareness and behaviours towards Circular Economy, noting that purchasing recycled products is the most commonly observed behaviour. The findings highlight the growing importance and complexity of individual roles in the Circular Economy.

The study underscores the importance of consumer behaviour in advancing Circular Economy practices. This paper observes that despite the growth in Circular Economy research, there is still a notable gap in awareness and behaviour, even in developed countries. This is attributed to a lack of conceptual understanding, educational disparities, resource limitations, a limited grasp of cost–benefit considerations and inadequate government support. The paper also explores regional and sector-specific variations in Circular Economy adoption, with insights from countries such as the USA, China, the UK, Germany, France and Norway.

This study underscores the importance of consumer behaviour in advancing Circular Economy practices. Despite the growth in Circular Economy research, there is still a notable gap in awareness and behaviour, even in developed countries. This is attributed to a lack of conceptual understanding, educational disparities, resource limitations, a limited grasp of cost–benefit considerations and inadequate government support. The paper also explores regional and sector-specific variations in Circular Economy adoption, with insights from countries such as the USA, China, the UK, Germany, France and Norway.

This research underscores the impact of demographic and sociocultural factors, including age, education, social norms and attitudes, on Circular Economy engagement. It identifies potential research areas, including examining cultural influences on social and personal norms related to circular behaviours. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the need for a coordinated, cross-sectoral effort to facilitate a sustainable transition to a Circular Economy, addressing barriers and fostering awareness and behaviours conducive to circular practices.

This study acknowledges challenges affecting the maturity of Circular Economy practices, including a lack of comprehension, educational disparities, resource constraints and limited government support. It also underscores the impact of social and cultural factors on Circular Economy engagement. It suggests promising avenues for future research, providing valuable insights into the state of Circular Economy practices and offering a roadmap for advancing global sustainability initiatives.

This study aims to develop and apply a process model for prioritizing and selecting basic research projects in developing countries.

Basic research is mainly funded by governments and since, unlike technological research, it does not have clear business goals, its prioritization is one of the complicated issues in formulating science and technology policy. Adopting a design science research methodology, the authors chose a general framework for project portfolio selection as an appropriate artifact for solving this problem. By customizing it for two specific features of this study, i.e. national scale of the problem and the basic nature of research proposals, the authors developed the proposed framework for solving the problem of priority setting.

The process for selecting basic research proposals consists of several steps, which can be categorized into eight steps including strategic decisions, preparation, pre-screening, evaluating individual proposals, screening, portfolio selection and monitoring. This study emphasizes the necessity of defining goals that can be evaluated for the national basic research portfolio, as a key strategic decision. Evaluating individual proposals is a peer-review-based process. In contrast, portfolio selection is done through a zero-one linear programming model. The validity of the proposed framework has been confirmed based on the data obtained from the Iran National Science Foundation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, in this research, for the first time, a mathematical model for prioritizing basic research at the national level has been presented, which effectively contributes to policymaking regarding the development of an optimum national research portfolio.

The purpose of this paper is to create optimally located Facilitation Centers on this tourist circuit, evaluated through network analysis, thus creating an effective linkage between tourism and economic activities of the craftsmen who are the custodians of the cultural heritage of Puri.

The craft villages lying in and around this tourist circuit are surveyed to establish socio-economic condition of artisans, significance of the craft and spatial distribution of craft villages and the willingness of artisans to travel closer to the transport spine. Network analysis is used to assess the suitability of Facilitation Center location using travel time and distance as parameters. Finally, the sustainability of the Facilitation Centers is evaluated using a cost-benefit analysis (CBA).

The Facilitation Centers can be spatially developed at the strategic locations to expand tourist market. This will help in leveraging the economic benefits of tourism to a marginalized rural artisan community by creating a sustainable model.

The focus on festival can help to protect local cultural traditions, develop tourism and promote the economic, social and cultural developments of the destination. Dispersal strategies adopted aim to increase visitors' satisfaction with the product and thus entice them to stay longer in the destination.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the significance of safeguards in digital ecosystems and their role in generating trust among participants. This paper argues that the right mix and number of safeguards are crucial for an ecosystem’s growth and success. It offers ecosystem orchestrators concrete guidelines for how to implement and monitor safeguards.

This research is based on both consulting experience and publicly available information on several digital ecosystems.

This research conceptualizes safeguards as precautionary mechanisms that mandate or promote desirable behavior in an effort to engender trust among ecosystem participants. Safeguards can take various forms, including passwords, escrow, user privacy controls, ratings and reviews and policies and contracts. Striking the right balance of safeguards – neither too few nor too many – is crucial for ecosystem orchestrators. This paper identifies the factors that determine the optimal mix of safeguards, including the power asymmetry between sellers and buyers, the sophistication of participants, the nature of transactions, the cost of negative outcomes and the cost-benefit tradeoff.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to illuminate the relationship between safeguards and trust in the context of digital ecosystem. It is also one of the few attempts to provide managerial guidance for ecosystem designers trying to structure their platform for trust.

The objectives of the proposed model are: aiding nursing staff in documentation tasks, which can be onerous and stressful; and helping management by offering an estimate of the nursing workload, which can be considered for administrative purposes, such as staff scheduling.

An exploratory-descriptive study was conducted in order to identify, investigate, and describe the problem of documenting nursing activities and workload estimation in an intensive care unit. Technological solutions were explored, and models were proposed to address these issues.

Cross-dataset experiments were performed, and the model was able to offer an adequate estimate of the nursing workload. The results suggest that continuous retraining is essential for maintaining high accuracy. While the proposed model was considered in the context of an adult ICU, it can be adapted to other contexts, such as elderly care.

While the proposed solution seems promising, further research is required, such as deploying this system in an ICU and facing challenges in the areas of computer security, medical ethics, and patient data privacy. More patients’ variables could also be collected to improve the workload estimates.

Nursing workload assessment is critical to improve the cost-benefit ratio in health care, offer high-quality patient care, and reduce unnecessary expenses, and this process is usually manual. An automated device can automatically document the amount of time spent in patient care activities in a more transparent, efficient, and accurate manner, freeing staff for more urgent activities and keeping management better informed about day-to-day nursing operations.

Researchers continue to address the concept of self-disclosure because it is foundational for helping social networking sites (SNS) function and thrive. Nevertheless, the authors' literature review indicates that uncertainty remains around the underlying mechanisms and factors involved in the self-disclosure process. The purpose of this research is to better understand the self-disclosure process from the lens of dual-process theory (DPT). The authors consider both the controlled factors (i.e. self-presentation and reciprocity) and an automatic factor (i.e. social influence to use an SNS) involved in self-disclosure and broaden The authors proposed a model to include the interactive facets of enjoyment.

The proposed model was empirically validated by conducting a survey among users of WeChat Moments in China.

As hypothesized, this research confirms that enjoyment and automatic processing (i.e. social influence to use an SNS) are complementary in the SNS self-disclosure process and enjoyment negatively moderates the positive relationship between controlled factor (i.e. self-presentation) and self-disclosure.

Theoretically, this study offers a new perspective on explaining SNS self-disclosure by adopting DPT. Specifically, this study contributes to the extant SNS research by applying DPT to examine how the controlled factors and the automatic factor shape self-disclosure processes and how enjoyment influences vary across these processes – enriching knowledge about SNS self-disclosure behaviors. Practically, the authors provide important design guidelines to practitioners concerning devising mechanisms to foster more automatic-enjoyable value-added functions to improve SNS users' participation and engagement.