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The purpose of this study is to understand the values consumers pursue and roles consumers partake in selfie practice.

A qualitative research method was adopted. In-depth interviews were conducted with selfie enthusiasts. Data were analyzed with grounded theory approach.

Diverse activities and reflections pertaining to selfies were analyzed, which uncovered three consumer roles departmentalized and the nine values that selfie practice generates for consumers. The three roles are subject, photographer and user of selfies, and the roles are orchestrated together or selectively performed if necessary. In consequence of the interplay of performances and expectations of the roles, consumers pursue and gain four collaboratively created values and five individually created values.

Findings of the study expand the understanding of values of selfie practice and consumer roles in Web 2.0.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate both nutrient and phytochemical content of Swiss chard grown under different fertilization and irrigation treatments and the effect of these treatments on the tested parameters.

Samples of fresh Swiss chard were collected from the experimental field of Ljeskopolje, Montenegro, where chard was grown under different fertilization and irrigation treatments. Swiss chard samples were analyzed for nutritional and antioxidant parameters.

In this study, the authors found that 100 g of Swiss chard is a good source of total chlorophyll (47.13 mg), carotenoids (9.85 mg), minerals as well as vitamin C (26.88 mg) expressed as mean values. Total phenol and flavonoid compounds content were (138.59 µg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and 11.91 µg catechin equivalent (CAE) per mg of water extract, respectively), also expressed as mean values. The total antioxidant capacity (IC50 values) determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay ranged from 2.93 to 4.44 mg/mL of aquatic water extract. Different fertilization regimes affected the following parameters: phosphorous, protein content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and vitamin C (p<0.05), while different irrigation regimes did not have any effect on the tested parameters (p>0.05), while interaction effect between fertilization and irrigation was found only for sodium and copper (p<0.05).

Swiss chard produced in Montenegro on a sandy clay loam soil with acid reaction contains appreciable amount of minerals, crude fibers, vitamin C, chlorophylls, carotenoids and polyphenols. The nutrient and phytochemical content of chard is equal or superior to other green leafy vegetables which are considered as functional food. It was identified as a potentially rich source of essential nutrients and phytochemical compounds. The promotion of higher consumption and production of Swiss chard may represent a natural and sustainable alternative for improving human health.

The chapter examines the current trade war between the United States and China and its impact on the two countries’ military industrial complex in relation to economic growth and development. The trade war has both positive and negative impacts on the country’s economic growth and development. Both countries depend heavily on each other for trade and account for an incredibly significant portion of the global trade. The trade war also impacts on the military industrial complex with respect to the defense budgetary allocation and trade in arms. One of the rationales for the trade war by the Trump Administration is to boost up the domestic economy, which would benefit the military industrial complex. Likewise, the retaliatory tariffs by China are designed to protect the domestic economy and showcase its ability to withstand and challenge the United States. The military industrial complex is important to both the countries. The chapter applied a quantitative design with canonical correlation method to multiple regression, where there are multiple intercorrelated outcome variables relative to military industrial complex and the processes of economic growth and development. It shows that trade wars in the form of increased imposed tariffs on each other by the United States and China has had no significant adverse effect on the Military Industrial Complexes of the two biggest economies of the world.

The unexpected Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010–2012) aroused different attempts of interpretation among analysts and practitioners. While some attributed the crisis to a “contagion” effect of the Subprime Mortgages Financial Crisis in the United States (2007–2009), others saw in it an expression of deeper fundamental economic imbalances.

This chapter presents an evaluation of whether there is convergence or divergence in the sectorial international competitiveness of the Eurozone area countries. A Dynamic Panel Data analysis on country-level exports for all Eurozone members for a period that goes from 1993 to 2014 finds significant evidence of international competitiveness convergence in four- out of 10-export sectors, and no significant evidence of divergence in the rest. While that evidence is not consistent with the high expectations generated by monetary integration more than 15 years ago, those four sectors correspond to high value-added economic activities and, in that sense, indicate a more homogeneous productive modernization process is taking place in the area.

The authors analyze the effects of political freedom and personal freedom on the spread of COVID-19 in a cross-country study. The authors also investigate how income inequality, urbanization and previous experience with a similar respiratory epidemic/pandemic, such as SARS and MERS, affect the spread of COVID-19.

The authors employ data from 102 countries to examine the relationship of countries' economic and sociopolitical factors, such as political freedom and personal freedom and their COVID-19 infection cases per million population at 120 days, 150 days and 180 days after the reported 10th infection case. The authors also include the log term of real GDP per capita to control for counties' economic development and regional dummies to control for regional-specific effects.

Results of this study show that personal freedom, rather than democracy, has a significant positive effect on countries' COVID-19 infection cases. On the contrary, democracy has a negative impact on the infection rate. The authors also find that socioeconomic factors such as higher income inequality and urbanization rate adversely affect the COVID-19 infection cases. A larger older population is associated with fewer infection cases, holding everything else equal. Previous experiences with the coronavirus crisis affect countries only at the 120 days mark. Real GDP per capita has no significant effect.

The main contribution of this paper is to jointly explore personal freedom, which implies a social framework with more emphasis on self-value and self-realization and political freedom, that is, democracy. The authors show that it is personal freedom, rather than democracy, that contributes to higher COVID-19 infection cases. Democracy, on the other hand, reduces the number of infection cases.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2021-0769

Competitiveness is vital to attracting FDI into a country, which has led us to investigate the determinants of FDI in the top 15 most competitive countries in the Asia Pacific region.

We have analysed political stability alongside other commonly studied determinants of FDI. We have employed a panel data fixed-effect model on a 14-year sample data (2000-2013) involving the top 15 most competitive Asia Pacific countries. The Global Competitiveness Index was taken as the yardstick to identify these countries. We have used fixed effect, GMM-system, and Panel ARDL tests for robust results.

The GDP, trade openness and political stability positively influenced FDI inflows while inflation rate negatively impacted FDI inflows in the selected countries. Political stability was the most influential variable in the presence of other indicators. GDP, openness, and political stability exhibit significant long-run relationship with FDI inflows.

To increase FDI flows, regulators should focus on building the image of the country, and possibly the region, by ensuring stable economic and political environment, maintaining macroeconomic stability through bi- and multi-lateral arrangements with neighbouring countries.

Regional relationships with neighbouring countries can be considered as the building blocks for attracting FDIs. These relationships can be strengthened based on liberal trade policies, openness in capital control, and cooperation in terms of political actions. One such recent issue in regional political cooperation include actions to reduce terrorism and corruption that help boost the confidence of the investors.

This paper aims to provide a macro perspective on diffusion structure research, and to investigate the deep structure of international technology diffusion and structural differences between technology diffusion networks. This work also provides an understanding of the nature of globalization. Globalization has highlighted changes in socioeconomics and is reshaping the world. However, when comparing endogenous factors, exogenous factors are complex and demonstrate themselves as network phenomena. These network phenomena compose themselves as neither sole nor independent units. Countries in the global network act interdependently, and heavily influence one another.

This study utilizes social network analysis to investigate the structural configuration of international technology diffusion. This investigation uses a sample of 42 countries over the period from 1997 to 2008. The data set contains two categories: bilateral trade flow and aggregate R&D expenditure. Meanwhile, this study uses block model analysis to reveal a network structure, which can precisely illustrate a global network configuration.

The findings not only illustrate the pattern change of diffusion from a cascade-like to radial-like structure, but also present the structural configuration of technologically advanced countries and their competitive positions.

In the shift to a diffusive structure, time and space are represented in new ways. Therefore, radial-like diffusion structure can provide some technological development approaches for countries interested in exogenous effects for technological growth and managing their international relation.

This study is the first to use a multilateral perspective and longitudinal data to examine a cross-country network structure, to provide an understanding of the nature of globalization, its conceptualization and how influence and effects are transmitted through the interconnectedness of international technology diffusion.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of low temperature fractional crystallization to increase polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content of fish oil. Effects of temperature, stages of crystallization, rate of cooling, agitation and addition of primary nucleus on separation efficiency were evaluated. Low temperature crystallization of triacylglycerols (TAGs) was used to increase PUFA content of fish oil (initial PUFA content ∼30 g/100 g oil).

To optimize the fractionation process, the effect of fractionation temperature (7, 5, 0 and −5°C), crystallization procedures, cooling rate, agitation and addition of primary nucleus on PUFA content was evaluated.

The best relationship between PUFA concentration (45.8 g/100 g oil) and PUFA yield (51.5 per cent) was attained by performing two-stage crystallization of TAGs at the final temperatures of 5 and 0°C under slow cooling rate (3°C h−1 for first fractionation procedure and 0.7°C h−1 for second stage, until the final fractionation temperature, 0°C, was reached) and slow agitation (3 rpm) and in the presence of primary nucleus, which resulted in 50 per cent increase in PUFA content over the original fish oil.

Determination of iodine and saponification values, refractive index, solid fat content, melting point, cholesterol content of original oil and final fractionated product with the highest PUFA ratio showed that fractionation significantly alters physical and chemical properties of the fraction.

Comparison of iodine value, saponification value, refractive index, solid fat content, melting point and cholesterol content of original oil and the final fractionated product (with the highest PUFA ratio) showed that the fractionation process significantly alters mentioned properties of the initial oil.