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There is evidence that both hypnotherapy and virtual reality (VR) can be helpful in reducing perceived stress in the general population. This is a feasibility and acceptability trial of an intervention combining hypnotherapy and VR to establish its acceptability in students. This study aims to establish whether students found the experience acceptable, described any adverse effects and whether they reported feeling calmer after the experience.

The study was testing the hypothesis that students would attend the sessions and find the experience acceptable. A secondary hypothesis was that preliminary qualitative and quantitative evaluation of measures of stress and wellbeing would signal potential improvements.

All participants completed all three sessions. No side effects were reported. Visual analogue scales recorded each day assessing the immediate effect improved. At the end of the intervention, there was an increase in wellbeing of 2.40 (95% CI: 1.33, 3.53, p = 0.006), and a decrease in depression of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.40, 1.07, p = 0.010), reflecting large effect sizes of 0.76 and 0.83, respectively. Qualitative feedback was generally very positive.

This study is small with just 15 students and was over a short period of time. The recruitment method meant there was no way to establish whether the volunteer students were representative of the general student population in terms of mental wellbeing. There was no control arm.

The preliminary results suggest that a larger controlled trial is justified.

This VR experience may have benefit to university students and to the wider population.

This described the evaluation of a novel intervention for perceived stress combining hypnotherapy and virtual reality in a group of healthcare students, with promising results suggesting further evaluation is needed.

This study aims to examine member attachment in hybrid identity organizations (HIOs), assessing the distinct effects of identification with respect to two elements (normative and utilitarian) of a hybrid’s identity. Specifically, the author explored how such dual identifications influence commitment and exit/voice/loyalty.

To distinguish the effects of the two identities, the author used the mechanism of identity congruence – the gap between identity perceptions and expectations – as an analog of identification. The models of identity gap, commitment and exit/voice/loyalty were examined via a survey of agricultural cooperative members.

Both the social and economic forms of identity gap were significantly related to commitment and exit/voice/loyalty. In addition, commitment mediated the relationship between identity gap and exit/voice/loyalty.

The results demonstrate the distinctive effects of the dual identities and reinforce the importance of delineating such differences when examining identification in hybrid organizations.

Managers should recognize the duality inherent in hybrid organizational identification and understand the potential for different outcomes stemming from the separate identities.

This study represents the first quantitative examination of an integrated model of dual identification and commitment in HIOs. It is also unique in exploring the exit/voice/loyalty framework as a consequent of identification.

Due to white rice’s association with diabetes and other chronic diseases in many Asian countries, many industries are working to develop high-fiber rice substitutes with similar organoleptic characteristics. Konjac rice (KR) is a promising option, but maintaining its optimal fiber content for health benefits while preserving its ideal sensory profile remains a challenge. This study aims to investigate whether a KR formula, combining tapioca flour and glucomannan gel, possesses similar organoleptic attributes to white rice while preventing glycemic response elevation.

In a six-week randomized single-blind clinical trial, 13 normoweight nondiabetic subjects received varying konjac-based rice and white rice ratios. Blood glucose levels were measured at intervals, and glycemic response was assessed using incremental area under the curve (iAUC). Visual analog scale gauged satiety, and organoleptic properties were evaluated.

Substituting white rice with pure and partial konjac-based rice significantly lowered postprandial blood sugar levels and glycemic response (p = 0.002). iAUC for pure KR and KR 1:1 was notably lower than white rice (p = 0.002). Subjects reported a sense of fullness comparable to white rice, with no significant organoleptic score differences (p = 0.260).

The study’s generalizability is compromised due to the limited number of participants, impacting external validity. The examined parameters offer a rough understanding of konjac grain’s impact on postprandial glycemic responses but do not elucidate underlying mechanisms or the duration of its inhibitory effect on glucose absorption. Long-term effects on metabolic, hormonal parameters and the colon’s microbial flora composition and function remain unexplored, constraining comprehensive insights into konjac grain’s extended implications.

This study introduces a novel KR formula to address the escalating diabetes risks associated with white rice consumption. Substituting white rice with KR significantly reduces postprandial blood sugar levels, highlighting its potential in preventing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Tapioca flour enhances palatability, making KR a viable option. While promising, long-term effectiveness and safety require further research, emphasizing comprehensive lifestyle interventions. The study contributes valuable insights to innovative dietary strategies for prevalent health conditions, emphasizing the need for ongoing efforts in public health.

White rice, a staple in Asian societies, is linked to a heightened risk of T2D due to increased production and inadequate dietary fiber. This connection contributes to the economic burden on governments through health insurance and lost productivity. Encouraging alternatives rich in fiber can mitigate this burden, offering a socioeconomically beneficial solution to preventable chronic diseases.

This trial demonstrates konjac-based rice’s potential in curbing glycemic responses, hinting at its role in preventing T2D. Glucomannan’s viscosity, satiety induction and potential gut health impact are highlighted. Further research is warranted for long-term effectiveness and safety. These findings contribute to the growing evidence supporting glucomannan as a valuable tool in addressing prevalent health conditions.

The paper is devoted to modeling a pricing policy of competitive firms in a “closed” economy framework.

The proposed model can be regarded as an analog to CGE model and is based on the intersectoral balance methodology incorporating linear demand functions for goods and services.

By performing different model experiments, we show that a certain degree of competition can bring more profit to all competing firms, than in case of complete absence of such competition, what is also supported by empirical investigation. This finding implies that monopolies may perform worse than competitive firms, what contradicts with the modern provisions of economic theory, stating that monopoly is the most lucrative type of market structure for a producer. The discovered effect occurs due to the aggressive pricing policy, adopted by monopolies, spurring up the inflation spiral, which is most obvious if monopolies are strongly interdependent in terms of production matrix. This inflation spiral drives prices too high, what negatively reflects on firms’ costs and, consequently, results in monopolies receiving less profit.

The proposed model can also be useful for understanding and assessing various economic consequences after different external or internal shocks, what is especially crucial when conducting monetary or fiscal policy.

In this article, we reflect on how smart technology is transforming service research discourses about service innovation and value co-creation. We adopt the concept of technology smartness’ to refer to the ability of technology to sense, adapt and learn from interactions. Accordingly, we seek to address how smart technologies (i.e. cognitive and distributed technology) can be powerful resources, capable of innovating in relation to actors’ agency, the structure of the service ecosystem and value co-creation practices.

This conceptual article integrates evidence from the existing theories with illustrative examples to advance research on service innovation and value co-creation.

Through the performative utterances of new tech words, such as onlife and materiality, this article identifies the emergence of innovative forms of agency and structure. Onlife agency entails automated, relational and performative forms, which provide for new decision-making capabilities and expanded opportunities to co-create value. Phygital materiality pertains to new structural features, comprised of new resources and contexts that have distinctive intelligence, autonomy and performativity. The dialectic between onlife agency and phygital materiality (structure) lies in the agencement of smart tech–enabled value co-creation practices based on the notion of becoming that involves not only resources but also actors and contexts.

This paper proposes a novel conceptual framework that advances a tech-based ecology for service ecosystems, in which value co-creation is enacted by the smartness of technology, which emerges through systemic and performative intra-actions between actors (onlife agency), resources and contexts (phygital materiality and structure).

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, airports have begun implementing more digital technologies. While these technologies can enhance the airport experience for passengers on the autism spectrum, this population tends to be studied as a single segment. However, people on the autism spectrum have different preferences, skills and abilities and levels of acceptance of digital technologies. We aim to explore the acceptance of recently implemented digital technologies, self-service kiosks and other digital technologies such as biometric facial recognition in the airport environment among passengers on the autism spectrum, who are not a single segment.

We carried out an academic-industry collaboration project in 2022 at Barcelona’s Josep Tarradellas Airport with the Spanish airport operator Aena, Vueling Airlines, three associations representing people on the autism spectrum (stakeholders) and 60 participants on the autism spectrum recruited by the three associations. Interviews were conducted during the airport visits to compare airport experiences: Group 1 provided input on the traditional airport experience using manual or analogue processes, and Group 2 provided feedback on the airport experience using digital technologies.

The use of cluster analysis revealed three distinct segments: traditional, automated with assistance from others and digital. Our findings provide airports with insights into recently implemented digital technologies at airports for passengers on the autism spectrum.

This article brings new knowledge about passengers on the autism spectrum and their relationship with digital technologies in the airport environment, a topic that has not been previously studied.

This research work had been a double objective, to help the students achieve the learning outcomes, scientific skills and on the other hand, to develop specific scientific sub-competences, all of these related not only with the conceptual knowledge but also with the knowledge of procedurals and epistemology.

A didactic sequence has been designed and applied with students of the University Catholique of Louvain (Belgium) in collaboration with teachers from the University of Zaragoza (also researchers in the knowledge areas of Electronics, Applied Physics and the Didactics of Experimental Sciences). Several methodologies were applied thorough the teaching-learning sequence as the flipped classroom is. A varied sample of assessment instruments was used.

The results suggest this sequence produces a more significant learning than a more conventional teaching, however there is no increase in the number of students who passed. The students explaining phenomena scientifically, evaluating and designing experiments and making researchable questions and interpreting data and scientific evidence, which are a consequence of the development of scientific knowledge (content, procedural and epistemic). In addition, the students kept motivated by this methodological change and maintained the perception of having achieved the expected learning according to the objectives of the course.

Until a few years ago, research in the didactics of experimental sciences, and the application in the classroom of the results obtained, was limited to education in non-university stages. The opportunity of this work is to expand knowledge in relation to the application of didactic strategies in physics education at a higher level.

This paper aims to unravel how family businesses can harness the power of gamification and to illuminate the hurdles that obstruct this path to success. The research identifies these challenges providing valuable insights into the application of gamification in family businesses and the role of supervision and engagement as moderator variables in this relationship.

Using a structural modeling approach in a qualitative research methodology, the authors collected responses from n = 200 participants. The results were analyzed using Spearman’s test and multiple linear regression.

The research findings reveal that family businesses need to carefully redefine costs when introducing gamification, considering both fixed and variable expenses. The moderating effects of supervision are crucial for user evolution and the correlation, while user engagement influences user and useability experience. Additionally, a positive attitude enhances engagement. Finally, the five key challenges lead to difficulties when implementing gamification strategies.

This research provides valuable insights for the literature on gamification and family business and offers practical guidance for family business owners seeking to introduce a tailored value proposition adapted to their unique organizational needs and challenges.

A novel approach is proposed which, through the integration of gamification strategies with family business dynamics, explores the unique challenges and opportunities that arise within this context. By focusing specifically on family businesses, this study highlights how generational differences, ownership structures and cultural resistance can impact the successful implementation of gamification.

Distance has been a core concept and issue in international business and management research. While scholars argue that distance through internationalization is increasing costs, distance is also associated with positive implications such as the integration of more diverse knowledge. Still, many firms struggle to manage distance effectively and efficiently in their multinational contexts. The purpose of this study therefore is to propose Open Strategy – increasing transparency and inclusion in the strategy process – as an attractive concept for managing distance.

This is a conceptual paper where the authors introduce Open Strategy to the IB community.

The authors argue that opening the strategy of multinational enterprises, enables firms to leverage diversity by re-combining the firms diverse and distant knowledge. It also reduces distance by moving beyond formal mechanisms of control and coordination to improve joint understanding, cooperative commitment and strategy implementation. The framework shows how firms can move beyond established dogmas in international business research by rendering their strategy processes more open.

Leveraging the Open Strategy literature, the authors are able to find a way to respond to the challenge of increasing distance, in fact even arguing that distance can be beneficial if framed as diversity.

This paper seeks to analyze how local media in Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria have integrated digital technologies and tools into their work and corporate communication during the pandemic.

The methodology used in the research is based on a qualitative approach reflected in the use of semi-structured interviews with 26 media professionals. The research questions were: (1) In terms of their use of digital technologies, what are the differences and similarities between Serbia, Bulgaria and North Macedonia? (2) How did the local media digitize their work and internal communication during the state of emergency in the target countries? (3) Is there a digital divide between local and national media?

The results show changes in the work conditions for local media during the pandemic, both regarding the needs of the public and media professionals, along with a greater call for the integration of digital technologies and tools relative to the pre-pandemic period. The integration of digital technologies into local media’s daily work and the mechanisms in which they can change the way of reporting, production and work environment in this part of the world has been underresearched.

This research is limited by the number of interviewed media professionals as well as the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results can be the basis for broader research on local media in Balkan countries that have not been the focus of academics so far.

The study looks at how digital technologies are integrated into media production processes as well as into internal strategic communication and work organization under the influence and conditions of the pandemic. This type of analysis has not yet been carried out in any of the three countries, and it is especially pertinent because it compares data from nations that are culturally similar yet have distinct political, social, and digital development and features. In addition to that, the study focuses on the impact of local media and thus contributes to theory further, as the impact of local media has been underresearched internationally despite its large influence on public opinion formation.