Search results

An important facet of student’s sense of belonging is students’ relationships with, and time spent in, the university campus. The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion that access to campus “green space”, including parks, fields and gardens, may bolster students’ sense of belonging, improve well-being feelings and promote place attachment.

The authors surveyed students in different locations (including three green and one non-green campus spaces) across a large UK campus-based Northern institution. 146 students participated in the study in one of the four campus locations. The authors investigated how being in green spaces on campus may impact students’ sense of belonging, well-being and place attachment. The authors also qualitatively explored students’ perceptions of campus spaces through Ahn’s (2017) 10 Words Question measure.

Analyses demonstrate that students surveyed in green spaces reported significantly more positive sense of belonging, compared to students surveyed in non-green campus spaces. Campus location did not impact well-being, however. Students associated green spaces on campus with “calm”, “positive emotion” and “nature” words and non-green spaces with “busy”, “social” and “students”.

Taken together, the results of this paper suggest that access to green spaces can be important for campus sense of belonging. Thus, efforts should be made to ensure the sustainability of these important spaces across university campuses.

This study crucially examines how occupying green spaces on university campuses may impact students’ feelings of belongingness. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that uses field-based methods to understand students’ feelings whilst occupying green spaces.

This study aims to examine the role of safety governance in ensuring public–private interface ecosystems in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to highlight the role of safety governance in the complex interfaces of pandemic response mechanisms. The analysis is conducted at the national level, considering safety governance issues in terms of test, confirmed cases, fatality rates, vaccination rate, medical capabilities, Information and communications technology capability, Hofstede’s cultural index (individualism and power distance scores), public safety, personal privacy and national health capabilities.

Using multigovernance theory and technology, organization and environment theory, the authors present a research model that defines four independent factors and country level performance outcomes and conducted analysis of variance tests.

Research findings suggest that countries are classified by diverse groups using multiple criteria (e.g. country size, Hofstede’s cultural indexes, ICT capabilities and Governance index). Countries indicate differences in their policy approaches according to their private and public ecosystems. COVID-19 response performance indicators are substantially different.

This study provides the relevance of the multigovernance theory. The empirical results suggest that effective crisis governance is characterized by vertically integrated organizational hierarchies with horizontally connected communication channels that seek maximum voluntary participation and a high level of motivation of informed societal members as a whole. Crisis events occur occasionally, and livelihood routines demonstrate incredible human agility. Gaining insight of the findings from this article may be useful to respond to future crisis events.

This significant study highlights the political and social factors that define response patterns of different countries regarding COVID-19 response mechanisms. With the wide vaccination administration, the COVID-19 landscape shows differences in these countries. This study is rare in providing research framework using Hofstede cultural value and examines with actual data provided by each national government, World Health Organization and credible information sources.

An increasing aging population and an increasing number of people suffering from musculoskeletal disorders have increased the demand for wearable robots. Comfortable, wearable robots that can be worn like clothing are currently being investigated. However, the embedded components may be displaced owing to the flexibility of the fabrics, which can lower the sensing accuracy and limit natural body movements. This study aims to develop clothing-type wearable platforms to minimize the displacement of embedded components such as sensors and actuators while maintaining comfort.

Four designs were developed using materials with different seam lines, that can serve as anchoring details, and flatlock stitches considering body movements and musculoskeletal structures. The wear evaluation experiment was filmed using a speed camera and analyzed using the TimeViewer software and SPSS 26.0. Based on these results, four clothing-type wearable platform designs were developed.

The variation in the location of a point in the armhole among the designs was marginal. Participants were satisfied with the functionality, practicality, wearability, efficiency and ease of use of the developed designs. A final clothing-type wearable platform was developed by applying a design with the least change in location, a suitable design for each area and wear comfort.

The results of this study contribute to the development of wearable robots by establishing clothing design data to minimize changes in sensor and actuator movements.

The global COVID-19 crisis posed many managerial and leadership challenges for principals. More specifically, after the crisis passed noticeable changes in school climate manifested and affected principal management style. The present study examined perceptions of principals regarding school climate and its impact on management style. The research literature clearly affirms the profound impact of school climate in terms of the relationship between students and school leaders. The study focused solely on religious high schools because, in Israel, the negative impact of the pandemic was most marked there.

The study was qualitative in nature, and included semi-structured interviews with 10 religious school principals in Israel. Study participants were asked about the existing school climate and their management style in light of the COVID-19 period.

This study indicated that positive school climate and interpersonal relationships between principals and students were affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Study participants reported that principals had to work arduously in the post-COVID-19 period to restore and improve positive school climate and consequently their management style also needed altering. Specifically, restoring open lines of communication and a sense of belonging as the main components of the school climate were the main foci of principal work. The principals' management style had to be more open and inclusive to restore a sense of belonging and security among students.

The study highlights the importance of an open and inclusive management style to restore positive school climate after crises.

Branded merchandise and licensed apparel comprise a substantial portion of revenue for many organizations and public figures that choose to employ such an endeavor. Endorsement deals with apparel manufacturers have historically been utilized for athletes looking to supplement their salaries and establish greater brand awareness. However, as some athletes establish ownership of their logo and become less reliant on companies such as Nike and Adidas for merchandise distribution, assessing the influence of various entity's logos on the athlete brand has become worthy of analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence that cobranded merchandise has on consumers when the athlete logo is displayed next to another team or manufacturer logo.

Using an online panel and survey, a final sample of 127 participants completed a questionnaire to examine their attitudes towards various athlete brand elements. ANCOVA's and MANCOVA's were utilized to assess significant findings, holding the variable of identification constant.

The results revealed that only the perceptions of merchandise quality significantly varied between an athlete brand and an apparel manufacturer (i.e. Nike) co-brand. The findings indicate that athletes should look to co-brand with high brand awareness manufacturers, and that there is no significant difference between consumers' perceptions of athlete brands when co-branding with team brands.

This is one of the first studies to evaluate the relationship between the athlete brand and external entities from a consumer perspective.

Many educators are increasingly acquainting themselves and becoming adept with interactive technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality. Some of them are also looking forward to using Metaverse applications, as they want to benefit from its immersive three-dimensional capabilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to critically review the extant literature to investigate how, why, where and when the Metaverse can be used for educational purposes. This study also discusses opportunities, challenges and risks related to this disruptive technology.

A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses rigorous protocol is used to search, extract, scrutinize and synthesize content from high-impact articles focused on the use of the Metaverse technology in the realms of education. Afterwards, this study theorizes on the costs and benefits of using this interactive technology with students.

A number of researchers are already experimenting with virtual technologies that are very similar to the Metaverse, in different contexts. This research indicates that most students are lured by immersive multi-sensory three-dimensional environments as well as by virtual reality applications that could simulate real-life situations and provide engaging experiences with virtual representations of people, places and objects. On the other hand, this study reveals that educators ought to consider the potential pitfalls of the Metaverse, including privacy breaches and security risks, as well as possible addictions and the development of mental health issues, among others.

Students and educators can use the Metaverse to catapult themselves in a simulated digital universe that could reconfigure their sensory inputs, definitions of space, time and points of access to information. This research calls for the development of regulatory instruments, including sound principles, guidelines and procedures that are intended to safeguard and protect Metaverse users.

This contribution implies that there is scope for educators to continue developing the Metaverse’s virtual spaces to improve their students’ motivations, aptitudes and learning outcomes. This study clarifies that the use of the Metaverse in education can create infinite possibilities to enhance their knowledge, competences and abilities through its immersive applications. Yet this paper also raises awareness about possible challenges in the short term as well on other risks associated to the prolonged use of this captivating technology.

This study aims to investigate the rising trend of virtual influencers – digitally created characters with human-like attributes. It aims to evaluate and compare their effectiveness with human influencers in terms of brand attitudes and purchase intentions. It uncovers the mechanisms underlying the differences in effectiveness observed between virtual influencers and their human counterparts.

The research uses a 2 (influencer type: human vs virtual) × 3 (product type: functional vs symbolic vs experiential) between-subjects design. Through a pilot study (n = 334) and a main study (n = 352), the research examines the interactive effects of influencer and product type on brand attitude and purchase intentions. Hypotheses were developed and tested using moderating mediation models centered on authenticity and product–endorser fit.

Virtual influencers are perceived as less authentic than human influencers across all product types, negatively influencing brand attitude and purchase intention. However, the extent to which influencer type affects brand attitudes and purchase intentions, mediated by product–endorser fit, varies based on the product type.

This research emphasizes two key mechanisms – authenticity and product–endorser fit – influencing the effectiveness of virtual influencers. It suggests that aligning virtual influencers with suitable product types can offset their perceived authenticity deficit, significantly affecting their endorsement effectiveness.

This paper aims to discuss characteristics of Korea’s system responses with a research framework of the structure, conduct and performance theory and explain the role of information, communication technologies (ICT) and Big Data from a technology-mediated control (TMC) perspective.

This study examines the contextual nature of Korea’s diagnostic, preventive and treatment efforts. Particular attention is paid to issues related to the effective use of Big Data analytics and its applications, reporting mechanisms and public safety measures. The research model defines key factors in assessing the effectiveness of Korea’s responses.

Findings of this research suggest: effective strategic planning and operational execution use well-tested and designed crisis-responsive manuals; linkage role of ICT/Big Data is prominent in trace, test and treat and participation (3T + P); and aggressive epidemic investigations require synergistic efforts of national and local government units, broad societal support and participation and contribution of global firms offering their domestic and global supply chain network capabilities.

The Korean Government's effective response experiences suggest the synergy of political, social, cultural and technological factors. Future studies may explore how personal privacy and public safety are both achieved in different social–cultural–political contexts (Ahn et al., 2020; Delgado et al., 2020; Sharma and Bashir, 2020). Other emerging organizational issues and international comparative studies are worth further investigation in future studies.

This case study suggests how to apply ICT capabilities for organizing a national response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) pandemic. Public and private partnership in the framework of sociotechnological synergy (i.e. integration of ICT and social orchestration) is essential for the 3T process. In support of public policy initiatives, global firms share their IT infrastructure and supply chain integration experiences to accommodate global-level crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study extends the TMC framework to a national level. In the adapted TMC framework, the control source, control target and linkage mechanism are specified. Using TMC, this shows the dynamic roles of ICT/Big Data in Korea’s COVID-19 response experiences.

The impacts of the COVID-19 are rapid and enormous. Despite the controversial early policy decisions and the rapid rise of confirmed patients, the world has recognized Korea’s effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rapid development of Muslim travelers traveling to halal destinations stimulated this study to elucidate revisit intention based on the fundamental aspects of Muslim behavior, namely, Islamic belief and practice. First, the purpose of this study is to shed light on how Islamic belief affects the Islamic practice of Muslim travelers. Second, it verifies the effects of Islamic practice on halal destination attributes and destination attractiveness. Third, this study also identifies halal destination attributes that affect destination attractiveness, functional value and emotional value. Fourth, it further explores the effects of destination attractiveness on both functional value and emotional value. Finally, this study examines how both functional value and emotional value affect revisit intention.

The respondents of this study are Muslim travelers who visited one of the four favorite halal destinations in Indonesia from 2019 to 2020. Using purposive sampling methods, this study successfully collected responses from 317 respondents, and then the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results of this study demonstrate, first, Islamic belief positively and significantly affects Islamic practice. Second, Islamic practice positively and significantly impacts halal destination attributes and destination attractiveness. Third, halal destination attributes positively and significantly affect destination attractiveness, as well as both functional value and emotional value. Fourth, destination attractiveness positively and significantly impacts both functional value and emotional value. Finally, this study that found only emotional value positively and significantly impacts revisit intention, while functional value does not successfully increase revisit intention.

This study contributes to the crucial aspects of Muslim travelers’ behavior based on the fundamental of Islamic teaching include Islamic belief and practice. Moreover, this framework also contributes to the explain Muslim travelers revisit intention to halal destination using the means-ends theory.

Communities representing groups of agents with similar interests or functions are one of the essential features of complex networks. Finding communities in real-world networks is critical for analyzing complex systems in various areas ranging from collaborative information to political systems. Given the different characteristics of networks and the capability of community detection in handling a plethora of societal problems, community detection methods represent an emerging area of research. Contributing to this field, the authors propose a new community detection algorithm based on the hybridization of node and link granulation.

The proposed algorithm utilizes a rough set-theoretic concept called closure on networks. Initial sets are constructed by using neighborhood topology around the nodes as well as links and represented as two different categories of granules. Subsequently, the authors iteratively obtain the constrained closure of these sets. The authors use node mutuality and link mutuality as merging criteria for node and link granules, respectively, during the iterations. Finally, the constrained closure subsets of nodes and links are combined and refined using the Jaccard similarity coefficient and a local density function to obtain communities in a binary network.

Extensive experiments conducted on twelve real-world networks followed by a comparison with state-of-the-art methods demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

The study also contributes to the ongoing effort related to the application of soft computing techniques to model complex systems. The extant literature has integrated a rough set-theoretic approach with a fuzzy granular model (Kundu and Pal, 2015) and spectral clustering (Huang and Xiao, 2012) for node-centric community detection in complex networks. In contributing to this stream of work, the proposed algorithm leverages the unexplored synergy between rough set theory, node granulation and link granulation in the context of complex networks. Combined with experiments of network datasets from various domains, the results indicate that the proposed algorithm can effectively reveal co-occurring disjoint, overlapping and nested communities without necessarily assigning each node to a community.

This study carries important practical implications for complex adaptive systems in business and management sciences, in which entities are increasingly getting organized into communities (Jacucci et al., 2006). The proposed community detection method can be used for network-based fraud detection by enabling experts to understand the formation and development of fraudulent setups with an active exchange of information and resources between the firms (Van Vlasselaer et al., 2017). Products and services are getting connected and mapped in every walk of life due to the emergence of a variety of interconnected devices, social networks and software applications.

The proposed algorithm could be extended for community detection on customer trajectory patterns and design recommendation systems for online products and services (Ghose et al., 2019; Liu and Wang, 2017). In line with prior research, the proposed algorithm can aid companies in investigating the characteristics of implicit communities of bloggers or social media users for their services and products so as to identify peer influencers and conduct targeted marketing (Chau and Xu, 2012; De Matos et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2016). The proposed algorithm can be used to understand the behavior of each group and the appropriate communication strategy for that group. For instance, a group using a specific language or following a specific account might benefit more from a particular piece of content than another group. The proposed algorithm can thus help in exploring the factors defining communities and confronting many real-life challenges.

This work is based on a theoretical argument that communities in networks are not only based on compatibility among nodes but also on the compatibility among links. Building up on the aforementioned argument, the authors propose a community detection method that considers the relationship among both the entities in a network (nodes and links) as opposed to traditional methods, which are predominantly based on relationships among nodes only.