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Online communities of practice offer the potential for the development of a shared understanding regarding knowledge and skills related to a particular field or practice. Online communities of practice also offer researchers a means to analyze discussions to determine themes related to practices within a given field. This chapter presents two studies that have examined discussions that have occurred among members of a large assistive technology (AT) Listserv. The purpose of the studies was to identify and examine themes grounded in the conversations and experiences of those individuals actively engaged in AT service delivery. Findings are presented and implications of using online communities of practice within research as well as a means for knowledge and skill development are discussed.

Consideration can be defined as the process of giving careful thought to something. When an IEP team considers the instructional programming and related goals and objectives for a student identified eligible for special education services, the process gives careful attention to a multitude of factors from different perspectives that result in individualized instruction for that student. Similarly, when assistive technology is considered for students with certain learning characteristics, careful attention must be given to ensure that the recommended assistive technology is required for the student to be successful and reflects an appropriate match between him/her and the tools (Zabala, 1995, 1996). For example, given that prescription eyeglasses can be considered assistive technology, and that a certain degree of visual acuity is generally needed in order for an individual to visually access print, one can see the importance of ensuring that the prescription is indeed required for an individual to perform and is appropriately matched to the visual needs of the individual. If eyeglasses are arbitrarily assigned to an individual, they may serve as an obstacle for the individual to see properly, thus, hampering his/her overall performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact firm proximity to financial centers has on announcement returns and time to deal completion for mergers and acquisitions.

Using a data set of merger and acquisition activity from 1986 to 2014, target and acquiring firms are classified as rural or urban based on their geographic proximity to major financial centers. The impact of this proximity on short-term acquisition announcement returns and on the amount of time required to complete the transaction are tested.

Markets react more favorably to the acquisition of firms headquartered in a rural area, likely due to increased information advantage on the part of the acquiring firm. Furthermore, the acquisition of a rural firm requires greater time to completion.

Acquiring firms may be able to use information asymmetry to their advantage when acquiring firms located in a more rural setting with higher levels of information asymmetry. However, this requires the acquiring firm to generate an informational advantage and will also require a greater time commitment on average to complete the deal.

While prior literature has demonstrated that the distance between target and acquirer can affect acquisition returns and time to deal completion, this study adds to the literature by demonstrating that the geographic location of the target firm relative to major financial hubs can have a unique effect on mergers and acquisitions as well.

The main issue of stakeholders’ inclusion nowadays is the establishment of relationships between policy actors and creation of a supportive environment for stakeholder participation to allow a straightforward stakeholder inclusion with a meaningful contribution to policy making. The concept of a collective identity describing how shared values, shared activities and a shared identity lead to social cohesion between a large number of people, could suggest a hint for stakeholder empowerment. We argue that a proper inclusion leads towards empowerment of stakeholders only where efforts to build collective identity are allocated. Otherwise, stakeholder inclusion is only about static participatory governance where knowledge collection predominates over knowledge sharing and co-production. The goal of the present chapter is to trace formal governance networks as a participatory governance mechanism and analyse stakeholder perspectives to be empowered to act in a formal governance network presuming that the network structure creates an environment where a collective identity is being built.

The formal governance networks of 2013 led by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Education and Science were reconstructed on the bases of documents available in the organisations. The structure of the governance networks of 2013 is analysed as a precondition for an organisational collective identity to form.

The structure of the governance networks leads us to the conclusion that stakeholders are expected to be knowledge providers instead of being knowledge co-producers.

The networks demonstrate that the process of sharing knowledge and values is not recognised as an important element of participatory groups and efforts made to build a collective identity are too scarce.

The aim of this study is to examine the behavioral intention (BI) to adopt the Coinbase Wallet by Spanish users.

A survey was administered to individuals residing in Spain between March and April 2021. There were 301 questionnaires analyzed. This research applies a new predictive model based on technology acceptance model (TAM) 2, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model, the theory of perceived risk and the commitment trust theory. A mixed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM)/fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodology was employed for the modeling and data analysis.

The results showed that all the variables proposed have a direct and positive influence on the intention to use a Coinbase Wallet. The findings present clear directions for traders, investors and academics focused on improving their understanding of the characteristics of these markets.

First, this study addresses important concerns relating to the adoption of crypto-wallets during the global pandemic. Second, this research contributes to the existing literature by adding electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), trust, web quality and perceived risk as new drivers of the intention to use the Coinbase Wallet, providing unique and innovative insights. Finally, the study offers a solid methodological contribution by integrating linear (PLS) and nonlinear (fsQCA) techniques, showing that both methodologies provide a better understanding of the problem and a more detailed awareness of the patterns of antecedent factors.