Search results

The environment in which users acquire medical and health information has changed dramatically, with online health communities (OHCs) emerging as an essential means for accessing health information. It is imperative to comprehend the factors that shape the users' compliance willingness (UCW) to health information in OHCs.

This study adopted the information adoption model (IAM) and theory of planned behavior (TPB) to investigate the influence of argument quality (AQ), source credibility (SC) and subjective norms (SN) on UCW while considering the two types of online health information – mature and emerging treatments. The authors conducted an explanatory-predictive study based on a 2 (treatment types: mature vs. emerging) * 2 (AQ: high vs. low) * 2 (SC: high vs. low) scenario-based experiment, using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

SC positively influences AQ. AQ, SC and SN contribute to information usefulness (IU). These factors positively affect UCW through the mediation of IU. SN were found to improve UCW directly. Moreover, the moderating effect of SC on AQ and IU was more substantial for emerging treatments.

The research model integrates IAM and TPB, considering information types as an additional variable. The approach and findings provide a valuable explanation for UCW to health information in OHCs.

The rise of communication software has changed our work style. The objectives of this study are: (1) to explore the effect of supervisors making after-hours work requests using communication software (SWRUCS) on employees’ job stress, quality of life and (2) to examine the moderating effect of personality traits and the cross-level contextual effect of social support.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain information from 357 employees.

The results suggested that SWRUCS exacerbated job stress, which negatively impacted on quality of life and well-being. Moreover, different personality traits can either increase or decrease the positive or negative effect of SWRUCS on job stress. This study also revealed that social support can reduce employees’ job stress in a cross-level fashion. Furthermore, social support, especially organizational and supervisory support, can decrease the negative effect of job stress on employees’ quality of life and well-being.

Theoretically, this study has broadened the research scope of the organizational application of communication software, and practically, this study has demonstrated the reason why organizations should provide social support and select employees with suitable personality traits.

To develop electrode materials for supercapacitor with superior electrochemical performance and simple preparation process, the purpose of this study is to prepare flexible CC/NiS/a-NiS electrodes with self-supporting structure by loading hydrothermally synthesized a-NiS particles along with nano-NiS on carbon cloth by electroplating method.

The effects of current densities, temperatures and pH values on the loading amount and uniformity of the active substances during the plating process were investigated on the basis of optimization of surface morphology, crystalline structure and electrochemical evaluation as the cyclic voltammetry curves, constant current charge–discharge curves and AC impedance.

The a-NiS particles on CC/NiS/a-NiS were mostly covered by the plated nano-NiS, which behaved as a bulge and provided a larger specific surface area. The CC/NiS/a-NiS electrode prepared with the optimized parameter exhibited a specific capacitance of 115.13 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g and a Coulomb efficiency of 84% at 5 A/g, which is superior to that of CC/NiS electrode prepared by electroplating at a current density of 10 mA/cm², a temperature of 55°C and a pH of 4, demonstrating its fast charge response of the electrode and potential application in wearable electronics.

This study provides an integrated solution for the development of specifically structured NiS-based electrode for supercapacitor with simple process, low cost and high electrochemical charge/discharge performance, and the simple and easy-to-use method is also applicable to other electrochemically active composites.

Nature’s evolution has shaped intelligent behaviors in creatures like insects and birds, inspiring the field of Swarm Intelligence. Researchers have developed bio-inspired algorithms to address complex optimization problems efficiently. These algorithms strike a balance between computational efficiency and solution optimality, attracting significant attention across domains.

Bio-inspired optimization techniques for feature engineering and its applications are systematically reviewed with chief objective of assessing statistical influence and significance of “Bio-inspired optimization”-based computational models by referring to vast research literature published between year 2015 and 2022.

The Scopus and Web of Science databases were explored for review with focus on parameters such as country-wise publications, keyword occurrences and citations per year. Springer and IEEE emerge as the most creative publishers, with indicative prominent and superior journals, namely, PLoS ONE, Neural Computing and Applications, Lecture Notes in Computer Science and IEEE Transactions. The “National Natural Science Foundation” of China and the “Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology” of India lead in funding projects in this area. China, India and Germany stand out as leaders in publications related to bio-inspired algorithms for feature engineering research.

The review findings integrate various bio-inspired algorithm selection techniques over a diverse spectrum of optimization techniques. Anti colony optimization contributes to decentralized and cooperative search strategies, bee colony optimization (BCO) improves collaborative decision-making, particle swarm optimization leads to exploration-exploitation balance and bio-inspired algorithms offer a range of nature-inspired heuristics.

The application of indigo dyes in the denim industries has been criticised due to the introduction of non-renewable oxidation products into the environment. Previous studies have investigated that reducing sugars can be used as green alternatives to sodium dithionite in the indigo dyeing of cotton fabric owing to their reduced and stable redox potential in the dye bath. The purpose of this study was to dye denim cotton fabric with indigo dye using various reducing sugars and alkalis. The use of sucrose and potassium hydroxide (KOH) for indigo dyeing has been explored for the first time.

A mixed factorial design with four variables including alkali, pH, number of dips and type of reducing sugar at different levels was studied to identify a significant correlation between the effect of these variables on the colour strength and fastness properties of the dyeings.

Investigations were made to examine the significant factors and interactions of the selected responses in the eco-friendly dyeing method. This process has the potential to reduce the load of sulphite and sulphate generated in the dyebath due to the use of a conventional reducing agent, sodium dithionite. The colour strength of the dyeing reduced with fructose was found to be better than other reducing sugars and significantly influenced by the number of dips, pH levels and the interaction between pH and reducing sugars. Using fructose for indigo dyeing with two dips at a pH of 11.5, using KOH as an alkali, results in higher colour strength values. The fastness properties of the indigo-dyed sample with reducing sugars ranging from fair to good or good to excellent. Specifically, colour change receives a rating of grey scale 3–4, staining 4–5, dry rubbing 4 and light fastness 3–4. These assessments hold true across various factors such as the type of reducing sugar, alkali, pH and the number of dips. The optimised parameters leading to improved colour strength and fastness properties are also discussed.

This dyeing technique is novel and a green alternative to dithionite denim dyeing. This process is found to be useful for indigo dyeing of denim fabric leading to reduced and stable redox potential in the dyebath and acceptable colour strength of the dyed fabric.

Land value varies at a micro level depending on the location’s economic, geographical and political determinants. The purpose of this study is to present a comprehensive assessment of the determinants affecting land value in the Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala.

The global influence of the identified 20 explanatory variables on land value is measured using the traditional hedonic price modeling approach. The localized spatial variations of the influencing parameters are examined using the non-parametric regression method, geographically weighted regression. This study used advertised land value prices collected from Web sources and screened through field surveys.

Global regression results indicate that access to transportation facilities, commercial establishments, crime sources, wetland classification and disaster history has the strongest influence on land value in the study area. Local regression results demonstrate that the factors influencing land value are not stationary in the study area. Most variables have a different influence in Kazhakootam and the residential areas than in the central business district region.

This study confirms findings from previous studies and provides additional evidence in the spatial dynamics of land value creation. It is to be noted that advanced modeling approaches used in the research have not received much attention in Indian property valuation studies. The outcomes of this study have important implications for the property value fixation of urban Kerala. The regional variation of land value within an urban agglomeration shows the need for a localized method for land value calculation.

This paper aims to investigate the dynamic volatility connectedness among 13 G20 countries by using the volatility indices.

The connectedness approach based on the time-varying parameter vector autoregression model has been used to investigate the linkage. The period of study is from 1 January 2014 to 20 April 2023.

This analysis revealed that volatility connectedness among the countries during COVID-19 and Russia–Ukraine conflict had increased significantly. Furthermore, analysis has indicated that investors had not anticipated the World Health Organization announcement of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Contrarily, investors had anticipated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, evident in a significant rise in volatility before and after the invasion. In addition, the transmission of volatility is from developed to developing countries. Developed countries are NET volatility transmitters, whereas developing countries are NET volatility receivers. Finally, the ordinary least square regression result suggests that the volatility connectedness index is informative of stock market dynamics.

The connectedness approach has been widely used to estimate the dynamic connectedness among market indices, cryptocurrencies, sectoral indices, enegy commodities and metals. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of the previous studies have directly used the volatility indices to measure the volatility connectedness. Hence, this study is the first of its kind that has used volatility indices to measure the volatility connectedness among the countries.

In this study, we drew on the theories of social exchange and social learning and hypothesized that the online social capital (SC) and offline SC of social networking affect the online self-disclosure (OSD) of individuals through social self-efficacy (SSE).

After retrieving 514 valid questionnaires, we used structural equation modeling to analyze the data.

The results indicated that the users’ SSE affected their OSD, and that both online and offline bridging and bonding SC increased their SSE. However, online bonding SC directly affected their OSD, whereas online bridging SC did not considerably affect their OSD. Given these findings, we presented both theoretical and practical implications to elucidate SSE and OSD behavior from the perspective of online and offline bridging and bonding SC.

In this study, we drew on theories of social exchange and social learning to examine the effects of online and offline bridging and bonding SC on users’ SSE and OSD on SNSs. Given the importance of SC and SSE in social relationships and the effects of OSD on SNSs, our goal was to provide SNS marketers with a thorough understanding of how to facilitate SSE and OSD from the perspective of online and offline bridging and bonding SC.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influenced employee engagement in the context of remote work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare them with antecedents of employee engagement in traditional workplaces.

This study adopted an integrative literature review design of 27 empirical and conceptual peer-reviewed journal articles from a host of academic databases. Data were analyzed via a matrix and mapped onto individual and organizational antecedents of employee engagement.

This study identified 18 antecedents of remote work, which were categorized into individual antecedents, for example, mindfulness and digital literacy, as well as organizational antecedents, for example, job autonomy and supportive leadership. These findings were compared with antecedents of employee engagement in traditional workplaces to generate new knowledge about the impact of remote work on employee engagement as a result of the large shift to remote work in 2020.

This study synthesizes the most recent literature on antecedents of employee engagement in remote work settings as the result of the pandemic and contrasts these new approaches with previously identified antecedents of employee engagement in traditional workplaces.

This study aims to construct a mental health service system for middle school students in the post-COVID-19 era with the framework of Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) and analyze the influencing factors of the mental health service system to study the implementation strategies of quality-oriented mental health services in middle schools.

This study was conducted in Tianjin, China, from September to November 2022, and 350 middle school students from Tianjin Public Middle School were selected as subjects. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data. In this study, the Six Sigma DMAIC method, sensitivity analysis method, exploratory factor analysis and principal component analysis were used to analyze the mental health services provided to middle school students.

Based on the Six Sigma DMAIC framework, this study indicates that the contribution rate of the mental health service process factor is the largest in the post-COVID-19 era. The mental health cultivation factor ranks second in terms of its contribution. Mental health quality and policy factors are also important in the construction of middle school students’ mental health service system. In addition, the study highlights the importance of parental involvement and social support in student mental health services during the post-COVID-19 era.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a study on middle school students’ mental health in the post-Covid-19 era has not yet been conducted. This study developed a quality-oriented mental health system and analyzed the influencing factors of mental health for middle school students based on data analysis and the Six Sigma DMAIC method.