Search results

Based on the theoretical predictions of media equation theory and the computers-are-social-actors (CASA) perspective, this study aims to examine the effects of performance error type (i.e. logical, semantic or syntactic), task type and personality presentation (i.e. dominant/submissive and/or friendly/unfriendly) on users’ level of trust in their personal digital assistant (PDA), Siri.

An experimental study of human–PDA interactions was performed with two types of tasks (social vs functional) randomly assigned to participants (N = 163). While interacting with Siri in 15 task inquiries, the participants recorded Siri’s answers for each inquiry and self-rated their trust in the PDA. The answers were coded and rated by the researchers for personality presentation and error type.

Logical errors were the most detrimental to user trust. Users’ trust of Siri was significantly higher after functional tasks compared to social tasks when the effects of general usage (e.g. proficiency, length and frequency of usage) were controlled for. The perception of a friendly personality from Siri had an opposite effect on social and functional tasks in the perceived reliability dimension of trust and increased intensity of the presented personality reduced perceived reliability in functional tasks.

The research findings contradict predictions from media equation theory and the CASA perspective while contributing to a theoretical refinement of machine errors and their impact on user trust.

The 2020 murder of George Floyd resulted in challenges to policing in the United States of America, but little is known about how police chiefs perceive them. At the same time, chiefs of police wield great influence over public perceptions of crime and disorder, the state of their profession, the laws and policies that govern the conduct of police officers and municipal public safety budgets. It is therefore critical to understand how police perceive the changes to their profession post-Floyd.

This study surveyed a randomly selected national sample of 276 municipal chiefs of police. Items probed resignations, recruitment, efforts to defund departments, community support, officer morale, suspects’ likelihood of obeying lawful orders and career risks that could inhibit proactive police work. It examined associations between perceptions and Census Bureau region, length of tenure as chief, size of police department, population served and the urban or rural designation of the jurisdiction.

Chiefs overwhelmingly reported recruiting qualified candidates had become much harder, and the present risks of proactive police work encourage inaction. Chiefs of agencies in the Northeast perceived more challenges than those in the South. Respondents with more years of experience were less likely to perceive the current situation as dire. Approximately 13.5% reported an attempt to defund their department, 56.8% of which yielded some success. Our study suggests an increase in the number and scope of challenges perceived by chiefs of police. Results vary by region and police chief years of experience.

This study provides researchers and practitioners with the perspectives of chiefs about the post-Floyd era that influence their decisions, policies and initiatives.

This paper aims to appraise the effectiveness of gender quotas in breaking the glass ceiling for women on boards (WoBs) in companies that are legally obliged to comply with quotas (listed companies and state-owned companies, LP) and in those that are not (unlisted companies and nonstate-owned companies, NLNP). Furthermore, it investigates the glass cliff phenomenon, according to which women are more likely to be appointed to apical positions in underperforming companies.

A balanced panel data of the top 116 Italian companies by total assets, which are present in both 2010 and 2017, is used for estimating ANOVA tests across sectors and fixed-effects panel regression models.

WoBs significantly increased in both the LP and the NLNP companies, and this increase was greater in the financial sector. Furthermore, the relationship between the percentage of WoBs and firm performance is not linear but depends on the financial corporate health. Specifically, the situation in which a woman ascends to a leadership position in challenging circumstances where the risk of failure is high (glass cliff phenomenon) is only present in companies with the lowest performance in the sample, in other words, when negative values of Roe and negative or zero values of Roa occur together.

These findings have relevant policy implications that encourage the adoption of gender quotas even in specific top positions, such as CEO or president, as this could lead to a “double spillover effect” both vertically, that is, in other job positions, and horizontally, toward other companies not targeted by quotas. Practical interventions to support women in glass cliff positions, on the other hand, relate to the extent of supervisor mentoring and support to prevent women from leaving director roles and strengthen their chances for career advancement.

The authors explore the ability of gender quotas to break through the glass ceiling in companies that are not legally obliged to do so, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, the glass cliff phenomenon in the Italian context.

The paper follows Jason Cope's (2011) vision of a holistic perspective on the failure-based learning process. By analyzing the research since Cope's first attempt, which is often fragmentary in nature, and providing novel empirical insights, the paper aims to draw a new comprehensive picture of all five phases of entrepreneurial learning and their interplay.

The study features an interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 failed entrepreneurs. Findings are presented and discussed in line with experiential learning theory and Cope's conceptual framework of five interrelated learning timeframes spanning from the descent into failure until re-emergence.

The study reveals different patterns of how entrepreneurs experience failure, ranging from abrupt to gradual descent paths, different management and coping behaviors, and varying learning effects depending on the new professional setting (entrepreneurial vs non-entrepreneurial). Analyzing the entrepreneurs' experiences throughout the process shows different paths and connections between individual phases. Findings indicate that the learning timeframes may overlap, appear in different orders, loop, or (partly) stay absent, indicating that the individual learning process is even more dynamic and heterogeneous than hitherto known.

The paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurial learning from failure, advancing Cope's seminal work on the learning process and -contents by providing novel empirical insights and discussing them in the light of recent scientific findings. Since entrepreneurial learning from failure is a complex and dynamic process, using a holistic lens in the analysis contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon as an integrated whole.

Design policy and regulations within our cities can significantly impact the accessibility and social participation of people with disability. Whilst public, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms are highly regulated spaces for this reason, very little is known about how wheelchair users use them or what wheelchair users think of current design standards.

This exploratory inquiry adopts an embodied approach to investigate the perspectives of powered and manual wheelchair users on public bathroom usage and design. The study encompasses twelve interviews, delving into how participants utilise accessible bathrooms based on mobility, disability, support levels, wheelchair types, urinary/bowel regimes and catheter use.

A thorough analysis of individual public bathroom elements (layout, toilet, handwashing and grab rails) discussed in the interviews reveals themes of safety, hygiene, planning/avoidance and privacy and dignity. Strikingly, many wheelchair users invest significant effort in planning for bathroom use or avoid public bathrooms altogether. The ongoing maintenance and regular cleaning of bathrooms, something not captured in regulatory standards, has been highlighted as something of critical importance to the ongoing accessibility and safety of public bathrooms for wheelchair users. This points to a relationship between the design and the maintenance of public bathrooms as influencers of health, well-being, community inclusion and the social participation of people with disability.

This qualitative research is exploratory and contributes to a growing body of evidence that explores how public spaces are experienced by diverse members of our communities, including people with disability. To date, there have been very few investigations into the embodied perspectives of wheelchair users about public bathroom design.

The findings can potentially drive innovative and inclusive approaches to bathroom design regulations that include operational and maintenance guidance.

The research aims to inform design regulations, standards development and practices of designers, architects, facilities managers, developers and planners, ensuring public spaces are designed to support more accessible, inclusive and socially sustainable cities.

Whilst wheelchair-accessible bathrooms have been designed and constructed for public use (in many countries) for many years, we know very little about how wheelchair users actually use them or what wheelchair users think of current design standards.

Climate change and global warming are two major ecological concerns. The construction industry has instituted measures such as green construction in response to these concerns. This study seeks to assess the views of architects on the uptake of innovative green construction (IGC) in Ghana.

This study applies the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate the factors influencing the decision to adopt IGC. A structured questionnaire was issued to architects who have been involved in the design and/or construction of green buildings in Ghana. The dataset was obtained from 61 architects and Partial Least Square was used to analyse the data.

The results show that two TPB factors; attitude and perceived behavioural control are significant determinants of architects’ intention to adopt IGC. Interestingly, behavioural intention did not have an influence on the actual behaviour of IGC adoption. However, perceived behavioural control had a significant impact on the actual adoption of IGC.

Contextually, the findings of the study will contribute to policy development and marketing of various green innovation within the Ghanaian construction milieu. Practically, the study will help encourage stakeholders to build the right capacity and competence towards the uptake of IGC.

The originality of the paper is based on the theoretical framework underpinning the study and the target respondents as the unit of analysis in assessing the full uptake of IGC in Ghana. The utility of the model evinces the role behavioural changes play in ecological development.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the price delay of cryptocurrencies to market news affects the herding behavior of investors, particularly during turbulent events such as the COVID-19 period.

The paper investigates the presence of herding behavior by using Cross-Sectional Absolute Deviation (CSAD) measures. We also investigate the herding activity in the crypto traders’ behavior during up and down-market movements periods and under investor extreme sentiment conditions. The speed of cryptocurrencies’ price response to the information embedded in the market is assessed based on the price delay measure proposed by Hou and Moskowitz (2005).

Our findings suggest that cryptocurrencies characterized by high price delays exhibit more herding among investors, thereby highlighting higher degrees of market inefficiencies. This is also apparent during periods of extreme investor sentiment. We also document an asymmetric herding behavior across cryptocurrencies that present different levels of price speed adjustments to market news during bullish and bearish market conditions. Our results are consistent and robust across different sub-periods, various market return estimations and different price delay frequencies.

The study provides crucial guidelines for investors’ asset allocation and risk management strategies. This study is also valuable to regulators and policymakers, particularly in light of the increasing importance of financial reforms aimed at mitigating market distortions and enhancing the resilience of the cryptocurrency market. More specifically, regulations that improve the market’s information efficiency should be prioritized to speed up the response time of cryptocurrency prices to market information, which can help reduce the investors' herding behavior.

This paper makes a novel contribution to the academic literature by investigating the unexplored relationship between cryptocurrency price delays and the presence of herding behavior among investors, especially in times of uncertainty such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study explored how information institutions can support the resilience of parents of adolescents affected by the Russia–Ukraine war. Ukrainian parents are facing major challenges of supporting their teenagers through a difficult developmental phase while also “buffering” their war-related hardships. By supporting parents, information institutions can also support children.

Fifteen parents were interviewed about mental health challenges and resources that are helpful and/or missing from their support systems. Recordings of participant narratives were analyzed using the qualitative thematic analysis technique.

The findings indicate that both teens and parents rely on internal resilience skills, family, friends and community resources to support themselves. However, a number of additional resources could be offered by information institutions, including content for (1) teens on developing skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, problem solving and academic pursuits; (2) parents on child development and opportunities in their host countries; both groups on (3) both groups on mental health first aid and safe spaces to meet peers. The study recommendations will be of interest to information professionals working with families, especially families affected by disasters.

The study relied on a small convenience sample of participants.

Study recommendations would be of interest to information professionals who develop and provide services to families affected by natural and manmade disasters.

Study recommendations improve understanding of the (potential) role of information institutions and libraries in strengthening family and community resilience.

The study offers a rare insight into experiences of war-affect families and provides evidence-driven recommendations for information institutions to support family and community resilience.

The study aims to investigate the characteristics of the current situation of library programs and explore the possible reasons behind the low participation in Hong Kong. It focuses on the development of library programs in the era of digital technology, which can lead to discussion and reflections on the further development of library programs with innovative technology services.

This study applied a mixed-method research approach to investigate the current situation of library programming and the reasons for low participation in Hong Kong. The first part analyzes the characteristics of library programs offered by the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) through data collection from the HKPL website. The second part of this study investigated the reasons behind the low participation in library programs through quantitative research through an online survey.

The findings show that current library programs were dominated by reading activities and children's programs to a great extent, which both users and non-users are not very interested in. Further, most respondents expressed more interest in cultural and leisure events and hands-on activities (especially new technologies related) than traditional library programming. Many lapsed and non-users chose not to attend the library programs for boredom and uselessness. As a result, there is a need for HKPL to adjust its services to stay relevant to the needs and interests of local communities.

Scant studies explored the reasons behind non-users of public library programs, especially in Asia. This research contributes to the literature by analyzing and proposing the characteristics of the current situation of library programs and exploring the possible reasons behind the low participation in Hong Kong.

This study aims to examine the extent to which traditional juristic approaches to determining intention in Islamic law are altered in the institutional framework and standard-setting project of the Malaysian state.

The study used the transnational law theory, which views normativity as culturally, socially and religiously embedded. The development of norms, customs and laws is also contingent on self-maximizing behavior. The Sharīʿa Advisory Council’s interpretation of the bayʿ al-ʿīnah standard is a case study of this approach to the development of law.

This study shows that traditional approaches to determining the validity of an Islamic contract have been displaced by the institutional logic of the state, which prioritizes uniformity and certainty in law and reflects liberal, Western and capitalistic values. Islamic standard setting is part of the state’s objective to uniformize law due to the globalization of financial markets. The normative collisions in the standard-setting project produce a new jurisprudence based on the state’s uniform and purposive determination of a contract’s validity.

Further research on institutional frameworks is needed to conceptualize how Islamic commercial principles and ethics can be incentivized in the state’s legal systems.

Few works, if any, have examined the interaction of the state’s institutional environment with jurists’ traditional approaches to determining contractual intention. Most scholarship assumes the decisive role of market forces, but the role of law and institutions in this context is under-researched.