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In recent decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) have increasingly adopted marketing-oriented approaches. While the adoption of marketing was slower in Europe and Spain, it has become a vital tool for HEIs, both to stay competitive in a changing socio-economic context and to face the challenges posed by the transition to the University 2.0 model. This study aims to analyse the historical evolution of communication techniques used by universities, bringing into focus the relevance of social networks in the most recent decades.

This research methodology consists of two components. Firstly, a comprehensive analysis of the available data is conducted to investigate the earliest marketing and communication actions involving universities, as well as their evolution over time, contextualizing this within the significant shifts in the social, political and technological background. Secondly, a specific focus is placed on the contribution of social media, particularly Twitter, as a powerful tool in creating a university brand and effectively promoting educational institutions, especially during the last stage of this historical evolution. To identify and analyse these trends, Natural Language Processing is used, specifically by leveraging topic modelling techniques.

The results of this analysis offer insights into the evolution of marketing communication applied by Spanish universities and show the increasing importance of social networks and the use of specific topics and contents to enhance their impact on engagement.

This study contributes to the literature by using a novel methodological approach to the research on the historical development of communication in universities in Spain, providing guidance to manage their social media strategy to differentiate themselves, increase engagement and foster brand loyalty.

This article analyzes the relationships between different conceptions of time, socioeconomic development and cultural values.

We focus on three major aspects of time, namely, 1) duration, 2) orientation and 3) tempo. Furthermore, we draw on modernization theory to distinguish between agrarian/traditional and industrial/modern societies and their respective cultural values.

Analyses indicate that agrarian/traditional societies with cultural values such as collectivism, survival, religiosity and hierarchical structures are marked by subjective/cyclical/inaccurate, past-oriented and slow-paced conceptions of time. In contrast, industrial/modern societies with cultural values such as individualism, self-expression, secularism and egalitarianism are marked by objective/linear/accurate, future-oriented and accelerated conceptions of time.

This paper introduces an original conceptualization of the three dimensions of time – duration, orientation and tempo – previously overlooked in the literature. Additionally, it provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the relationships between time, culture and socioeconomic development.

At the beginning of the 21st century, a new class of information workers, the “information have-less” has risen. This class of workers alleviates the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) revolution on poverty and unemployment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the presence of this class of workers in Egypt and assess the size and potential growth of this category of workers.

The study clarifies the conceptual framework of the new division of labor, in the information age. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Information and Decision Support Center websites provided secondary data for this study. These data are used to assess the size of “the information have less” in Egypt.

The division of work and class, in the 21st century, depends on the level of skills possessed to work with ICTs. So, class and labor nowadays could be divided into self-programmable labor (Innovators). Information have-less labor class, adding value to the economy by learning skills and presenting repetitive work. Generic labor class, who cannot work with ICTs, and work in jobs, that do not need computers or other ICTs. The study has shown that the “information have-less” labor class is present in Egypt since the beginning of the 21st century, in all its categories; entrepreneurism, the service sector and the manufacturing sector. There are approximately 50% of this labor class in the service sector and only 13% of the information have-less works in manufacturing sector despite the great opportunities that Egypt has to expand manufacturing to absorb more employment. The inclusion of information technology (IT), in all domains, has not decreased employment in Western countries but has reallocated information have-less employment toward the service sector, and there would probably be the same effect in Egypt.

The study highlights the need for Egyptian policymakers to encourage the manufacturing and service sectors to provide huge working opportunities. The Egyptian government has to change the educational policies, at all stages, to include digital learning skills so IT can be incorporated in a wide range of economic activities. Further research includes: conducting a survey to measure the contribution of the entrepreneurial part of the information have-less employment in Egypt. In addition, a model may be developed, by the researcher to examine the reallocation of employees in Egypt.

Studying employment, in Egypt, using the conceptual framework of the information age is rarely being done.

Purpose: This chapter aims to enlighten the stakeholders on the role and contribution and the issues and challenges of large-scale industries in the wake of the globally unified economies.

Need for the study: Large-scale industries are one of the pillars of any nation and can exercise an immense impact on the numerous facets of the economy of any country. Their role and contribution can benefit all the stakeholders, especially in today’s integrated and interdependent world economies. Hence, there is an absolute need to highlight the issues and challenges and suggest measures to overcome them to promote a resilient global economy.

Methodology: The study gathered data from secondary sources like textbooks, articles, and the internet.

Findings: The findings of the study state that large-scale industries are enormous contributors to employment creation, development of the economy, growth of revenue, research and development (R&D) and innovation, export promotion, and infrastructure. The significant challenges include regulatory compliance, workforce management, economic volatility, political instability, supply chain management, environmental compliance, and technology and infrastructure.

Protectionism, deregulation, public–private partnership, privatisation, and environmental regulation are significant government decisions that affect large-scale industries. The study identifies tax incentives, easy access to financing, and domestic and international trade policies to safeguard large-scale industries’ interests.

Practical implications: Large-scale industries contribute towards the growth of global economic resilience in terms of employment generation, technological advancements, and innovation, fostering international trade in today’s interconnected world.

This paper aims to explore how the competence-based vocational education and training (VET) curricula facilitate shaping of work values of VET students. It discusses methodological and ideological orientations of competence-based VET in teaching work values and discloses the typical characteristics of teaching work values in the VET system of Lithuania.

A quantitative research approach leading to a survey method is adopted to investigate how VET students acquire and apply work-related values and attitudes to work.

The survey of the VET students has disclosed that students are open to accepting different values of work, including cognitive values, social prestige and altruist values. However, orientation of the VET curricula to and provision of instrumental values lead to relatively weak internalization of the work values related to societal and spiritual dimensions.

The paper provides empirical evidence regarding the implications of the competence-based curricula for teaching students work values in the school-based VET.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing Palestinian consumer attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI)-powered online banking, focusing on performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions while considering the moderating role of trust in financial institutions.

To test the hypotheses, an empirical study with a questionnaire was carried out. The study was completed by 362 Palestinian customers who use online banking services.

The findings of this paper show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions significantly influence consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking. Furthermore, trust in financial institutions as a moderating variable strengthens the impact of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions on consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking. Therefore, more studies should focus on certain fields and cultural contexts to get a more thorough grasp of the variables influencing adoption and acceptability.

The study's findings may be specific to the Palestinian context, limiting generalizability. The reliance on self-reported data and a cross-sectional design may constrain the establishment of causal relationships and the exploration of dynamic attitudes over time. In addition, external factors and technological advancements not captured in the study could influence Palestinian consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking.

Financial institutions can leverage the insights from this research to tailor their strategies for promoting AI-powered online banking, emphasizing factors like perceived security and ease of use. Efforts to build and maintain trust in financial institutions are crucial for fostering positive consumer attitudes toward AI technologies. Policymakers can use these findings to inform regulations and initiatives that support the responsible adoption of AI in the financial sector, ensuring a more widespread and effective implementation of these technologies.

This research delves into Palestinian consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking, focusing on trust in financial institutions. It aims to enrich literature by exploring this under-explored area with meticulous examination, robust methodology and insightful analysis. The study embarks on a novel journey into uncharted terrain, seeking to unearth unique insights that enrich the existing literature landscape. Its findings offer valuable insights for academia and practitioners, enhancing understanding of AI adoption in Palestine and guiding strategic decisions for financial institutions operating in the region.

Based on the learning and attitudinal theories, this study aims to investigate the direct effect of two type of experiences, attitude and the indirect impact of fashion innovativeness, materialism and financial pressure on Generation Z’s secondhand clothing (SHC) purchase intention.

A total of 180 usable surveys were gathered from Generation Z participants and analyzed by a partial least-square-structural equation model.

The results show that attitude (SHC hygiene vs SHC fashion style) and past experiences (daily use occasion vs particular use occasion) directly affect SHC purchase intention. Furthermore, materialism, financial pressure and innovativeness drive attitudes toward SHC fashion style.

This study extends the current SHC literature by integrating two dimensions of experience (daily use occasion vs particular use occasion) and attitude (attitude toward SHC hygiene vs attitude toward SHC style).