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This paper aims to study the cross-modal correspondence between a visual stimulus (i.e. glossiness), haptic perception and consumers’ reactions (internal responses and behavioral intentions).

Using an experimental design, three experimental studies have been conducted to test the effect of a glossy (versus matte) packaging upon the perception of haptic features of a packaging (roughness, thickness and lightness), internal reactions (perceived product quality and product attractiveness) and behavioral intentions (purchase intention and willingness to pay).

This paper evidences the significant impact that glossiness bears on the haptic perception of a packaging material as well as upon internal reactions and behavioral intentions. A new conceptual framework combining the SOR model and the cross-modal correspondences is validated.

The results encourage further research to explore the wide range of potential cross-modal correspondences between visual stimuli and haptic perception.

The results highlight the critical influence of visual cues for managers, especially for online shopping or advertising. Even if consumers cannot touch the product, it is possible to induce haptic perception through visual cues and to influence the internal reactions and behavioral intentions.

This research demonstrates that the packaging texture and weight can be visually induced through glossiness.

This study aims to determine the effects of wall covering materials (wood, concrete and metal) used indoors on participants’ perceptual evaluations. The differences among participants’ perceptual evaluations regarding indoor physical environmental factors by occupation and gender were examined.

Cafes were selected as research environments. Virtual experimental spaces using three different wall covering materials were modelled and participants’ assessment of the physical environmental factors of these virtual spaces was measured through a detailed questionnaire.

Cafes using light-coloured wall covering materials were perceived more favourably than cafes using dark-coloured wall covering materials, and cafes with light-coloured wooden wall coverings were considered as a warmer material than cafes using concrete and metal. Participants who received design education (architect, interior architect) perceived physical environmental factors of cafes more negatively than those who did not receive design education (lawyer, economist, accountant, etc.). Male participants evaluated the physical environmental factors of cafes more positively than female participants for all adjective pairs. Except for two adjective pairs, no significant difference was found among the evaluations according to genders for the other adjective pairs.

This study revealed new results about customers’ choices of wall covering materials and offered designers new alternatives for materials that can be used in the design of cafes.

The current work aims to introduce the concept of conflict perception and construct a scale that measures individual differences in perceptions about conflicts along religious, national and material dimensions. The concept and the measure are developed in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

The research design combines three methodological elements: 14 focus groups in Israel and the West Bank, which represent diversity in place of residence, religion, age and political background; an expert panel review; and a survey of 411 student respondents that was conducted between September 29 and October 9, 2013, among university students in Israel and Palestine.

The findings show that conflict perception is an individual’s subjective view regarding the essence of the conflict and its central issues, the identities of the parties involved and their motivations, which may include material, ideological or symbolic motives, or any combination thereof. A novel scale consisting of five statements that can measure conflict perception that was developed, validated and implemented via a survey sample showed that Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel have a religious perception of the conflict, whereas Jews have a national perception of the conflict.

First, the paper introduces a new concept that sheds additional light on the micro foundations of peoples’ attitudes in conflict situations. Second, it develops and validates a measurement tool for conflict perception that may be usable, with necessary adjustments, in other conflicts. Third, it demonstrates that parties to the conflict do not necessarily share similar perceptions about the conflict, a finding with far-reaching consequences for conflict resolution at both the scholarly and policy levels.

As more owners seek to develop sustainable buildings, the construction industry is adapting to new requirements in order to meet owners' concerns. Recently, a significant change in the construction industry has been the increased interest in sustainable materials. Sustainable materials are the potential resource to mitigate the impact on the environment and bring significant economic, social, and environmental benefits. For an efficient materials selection process, the content of information should match decision makers' needs and requirements. Although the availability of various information sources on sustainable materials is increasing, researchers have not agreed upon a clear designation, often leading to imprecise definition of the term and its usage. This paper seeks to address these issues.

This study attempts to understand sustainability by concentrating on how this term is reflected in construction materials' images and perceived by design and construction students and practitioners. A measurement instrument is developed based on a literature review and further tested with web‐based evaluation of brick to measure user‐based assessment of product sustainability.

Results of exploratory factor analysis are used to refine the instrument and indicate the main sustainability factors which may be used as guidelines for information developers to present suitable information in materials' databases.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how perceptions may affect decision making to increase the understanding of issues affecting knowledge in product sustainability and awareness of sustainable materials.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of total rewards components (monetary, material and non-monetary) on happiness of employees working in Indian technology-based new ventures. Further, with the theoretical lens of social exchange theory, the mediating role of work engagement between total rewards perceptions and work happiness relationship has also been evaluated.

A survey of 201 employees working in Indian technology-based new ventures was conducted. Structural equation modeling was utilized to measure the proposed theoretical model. Regression analysis was conducted to test the direct effects of the hypothesized relationships. Sobel test and bootstrapping analysis were utilized to test the indirect effects of the proposed hypothesized relationship.

The findings supported the hypotheses that employees’ perceptions of total rewards have a significant impact on employee work engagement and happiness at work. However, individual component of total rewards, i.e. monetary rewards, demonstrated an insignificant impact on the employee work happiness. Work engagement was positively related to work happiness and fully mediated the relationship between total rewards perceptions and work happiness.

Special attention should be given to enhance the material and non-monetary rewards, specifically strengthening the feeling of appreciation, learning and growth opportunities and improving feedback functions. Given the challenges of new ventures (productivity and efficiency of talent), management of total rewards mix should be considered as the main concern of human resource (HR) managers and management (founders). The paper also provides important implications for designing a reward system that enhances employee productivity and efficiency in the unstructured and ambiguous work environment of new ventures.

The present study has significant contributions to the HR, entrepreneurship and positive psychology literature. It is an attempt to understand the association between total rewards components and work happiness via mediating mechanism, i.e. work engagement in new ventures. It also extends research in the entrepreneurial context. The emergence and growth of new ventures in India has meant a growing importance for understanding employees’ needs and expectations and guaranteeing their happiness. The findings of the study contribute to social exchange theory, Vroom’s expectancy and self-determination theory. This research is also a rare investigation of employees’ perspectives in an entrepreneurial context.

Sports garments play an important role in the well-being of an athlete by protecting the wearer from changing environmental conditions and providing a comfortable feel. Clothing requirements have changed in recent years and demand for apparel with a higher comfort performance has been rising. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ expectations and perception of comfort and to examine how different textiles are perceived by consumers to provide useful knowledge that allows to engineer comfort into fabrics and sports garments.

This online survey comprised 292 respondents, classified by sex, age, nationality and physical activity. The respondents were asked a total of 18 questions through the Bristol Online Survey tool to explore expectation, perception and preference of clothing comfort, specifically of sportswear.

Fit and comfort are closely linked together, both forming part of the clothing comfort concept. When purchasing garments online, the haptics of fabrics were identified as a crucial missing parameter. However, priorities of attributes within the concept varied according to the person’s sex and nationality. Women put more emphasis on garment fit and showed a higher need for tactile input, whereas men prioritised physiological comfort descriptors, i.e. properties which facilitate thermoregulation. Furthermore, there is an increased importance of physiological comfort parameters for people exercising for 10 or more hours per week. Finally, it was possible to identify common associations and preferences for textile materials (cotton, polyester, cotton/polyester blend and wool). However, consideration should be taken concerning sex and nationality.

Sex and nationality are parameters modulating the clothing comfort concept and the conceptualised feel of materials. Therefore, the sex and nationality of the end-consumer should be considered during the development phase of sports garments and particular attention should be given to the targeted market in which these will be sold.

This study aims to determine the effects of three different carrier system materials (laminated wooden beams, post-tensioned concrete beams and steel beams) used widely in interior spaces on the perceptual evaluations of respondents.

The large opening Olympic swimming pool space was chosen as the research environment. A total of 376 university graduates participated. After experiencing the 360-degree virtual images of the experimental spaces, a “spatial perception” questionnaire was applied to these respondents.

The spaces using the laminated wood beams in the carrier system were perceived as warmer, lighter, more attractive, more spacious, more informal, closer, more well-planned, freer, simpler, more peaceful, more exciting, and uncrowded compared to the spaces that used post-tensioned concrete beams and steel beams. The architect respondents made more negative perceptual evaluations for all the adjective pairs compared to the respondents in the other professional groups. Respondents who were males, and in the 26–35 years of age group, perceived more positively the physical environmental factors of the virtual swimming pools compared to females, and the 36 years of age or above age group.

The results set forth that the structural elements of buildings, such as ceilings, walls and furnishings, were not only systematic elements used in the formation of the structure, they were also important environmental factors in the perceptual evaluation of the space.

This study aimed to identify barriers impeding circular economy (CE) uptake in the construction industry in literature, categorize them for the development of a framework and to seek the interrelationships among the categorized barriers. This allowed for identifying integrated solutions to holistically address the barriers. The study also sought to identify the “hot” themes, the knowledge gaps and future research directions on barriers impeding CE.

Forty-eight relevant articles were desk reviewed from different construction peer-reviewed journals and published conference papers. A scientometric analysis allowed for co-occurrence of keywords relating to CE. A content analysis enabled the identification of 79 barriers impeding the uptake of CE in the construction industry which were further categorized into six distinct categories for the development of a framework showing the interrelationships among the categorized barriers.

The identified barriers include construction sector inertia, lack of design standards, lack of knowledge, awareness and understanding, design cost, and perception of second-hand materials as substandard among others. The study categorized the identified barriers for better understanding into six different groups: cultural barriers, social barriers, environmental barriers, economic barriers, technical barriers and technological barriers. Strategies to address the barriers were also proposed. The interrelationships among the various barriers were also shown in a proposed framework to educate professionals on the interconnectivity of the barriers.

Categorization of the various barriers impeding CE uptake contributes to the body of knowledge. Also, the interrelationships among the various categorized barriers in the framework will enable construction professionals make informed decisions regarding the successful integration of CE in the industry, better appreciate the barriers that impede CE uptake and apply strategies to holistically address the barriers. This will expand current knowledge outside the narrow scope of isolated barriers.

To the global construction industry, the review presents a list of barriers and their interrelationships that could provide implementation strategies for the uptake of CE in the industry.

The geographical scope of this study is not limited, and therefore encourages wide applicability of the findings to the global construction industry.

The preferences and adoption of recycled materials by consumers are subject to a variety of factors, such as enablers and barriers. Despite this, there exists a paucity of research concerning stakeholders' perceived value and real purchase decision towards recycled products. Consequently, this research study aims to fill this gap by investigating stakeholders' perceived value of recycled products derived from construction and demolition (C&D) waste and its effect on purchase decisions.

Research data were collected from 219 valid questionnaires completed by Chinese stakeholders. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then employed to test eight hypotheses.

The results show intrinsic cue (materials) and extrinsic cue (brand) influence the stakeholders’ judgment on C&D waste recycled products’ value and then their purchase intention. However, cues such as quality, word-of-mouth, price, policy and advertised have not play a significant role in practice.

This research study verified the significance of brand and material cues on decision making for purchasing C&D waste recycled products, providing new insights to policy making to enhance the uptake of C&D waste recycled products in construction industry.

The purpose of this paper is to explore students' perceptions and views of the instructors, in relation to information and communications technology (ICT) education in library and information science (LIS) programs.

A questionnaire survey was carried out among students from the two LIS departments in Kuwait. A focus group was conducted with faculty members of the two institutions, who provided qualitative input about the instruction of ICT, needed changes, and relevance of market needs.

Participants showed dissatisfaction with the currently available ICT courses in the LIS programs. Students pointed out deficiencies and inadequacies in ICT resources and facilities, and suggested upgrading software and hardware. They appeared to be satisfied with the ICT skills being targeted by LIS programs. They also appeared to be satisfied with the ICT instructors. The study pointed out a need for collaboration with professional forums for continuing education programs and the need for revisions in curricula to introduce more focused courses that meet the needs of the ever‐changing market requirements and give the students access to professional bilingual materials. The faculty members noted the demands of the job market and proposed measures for addressing them through enhanced course content and improved opportunities for hands‐on instruction.

Earlier studies reported in the literature have discussed ICT education in broader terms. This study reports the situation of ICT education in IS programs in Kuwait, focusing on specific areas such as resource, curricula, and instructors.