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1 – 4 of 4Technology has become all-pervasive and one of the essential requirements of life. The blessings of science and technology are countless, and today, it is almost impossible to…
Abstract
Purpose
Technology has become all-pervasive and one of the essential requirements of life. The blessings of science and technology are countless, and today, it is almost impossible to imagine life without applications of technology. And at the same time, positive psychologists have advocated practicing gratitude for the betterment of personal and professional growth and development. But ironically, the area of gratitude toward technology remains unexplored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference in gratitude for the technological and non-technological aspects of life.
Design/methodology/approach
The first study compared gratitude for three parameters – sense of abundance, social appreciation and appreciation for others. The second study was based on the “counting blessing” exercise, in which respondents were asked to write five things for which they feel grateful in life. The Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare the ranked data. In the third study, respondents were distributed into two groups. Both groups were given a puzzle to solve; first, group members were informed that they would interact with other human beings, and the second group was informed that they would interact with bots.
Findings
All three studies concluded that respondents are relatively less grateful for the contributions of technologies.
Originality/value
This is probably the first study that investigated gratefulness for technology.
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Naval Garg, Sarika Kumari and B.K. Punia
The study explores the relationship between workplace spirituality and work stress among university teachers. It also investigates the mediating effect of constructive deviance…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the relationship between workplace spirituality and work stress among university teachers. It also investigates the mediating effect of constructive deviance amid the association between workplace spirituality and stress among Indian university teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
The association between spirituality and stress is studied using correlation and multiple regression. The mediating effect of constructive deviance is examined using the Sobel test and bootstrapping estimates using Hayes' PROCESS macro. The hierarchical regression is used to report direct and indirect effects.
Findings
Findings reveal a significant negative association between the six dimensions of workplace spirituality and stress. The results also concluded the mediation effect of constructive deviance, which means workplace spirituality promotes constructive deviance that influences educators' stress levels.
Originality/value
The study is based on primary data collected by the author. It is one of the first explorations of the mediating effect of constructive deviance in the relationship of six dimensions of workplace spirituality and work stress among teachers.
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Naval Garg, B.K. Punia, Vanshikha Kakkar and Sarika Kumari
Most of the studies in the field of homesickness are confined to students; this study aims to explore the feeling of homesickness among working professionals. Also, it tends to…
Abstract
Purpose
Most of the studies in the field of homesickness are confined to students; this study aims to explore the feeling of homesickness among working professionals. Also, it tends to examine individual differences in the experience of homesickness across employees of different gender, ages, experience, family type, etc. The study also aspires to compare homesickness among military and civil employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The study explores five dimensions of homesickness, namely, missing family, missing friend, rumination about home, feeling lonely and adjustment problems. The collected data is subjected to reliability, validity and confirmatory factor analysis. Further, t-test and analysis of variance are used to explore homesickness differences across soldiers and corporate employees.
Findings
The study reveals that homesickness is significantly higher for employees in the male, unmarried, nuclear family, above the age of 45 years, and below the graduation category. Also, defense people experience more homesickness than civilian employees.
Originality/value
This study is one of the pioneer studies that compare homesickness among defense and civilian employees. Also, variables such as type of family, the experience of employees and marital status have hardly been explored in the literature of homesickness.
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Sarika Sharma, Anagha Vaidya and Kumari Deepika
In today’s dynamic situation, innumerable challenges are posited in the education sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher educational institutes (HEIs) are compelled to…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s dynamic situation, innumerable challenges are posited in the education sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher educational institutes (HEIs) are compelled to adopt digital technologies and technology-mediated learning in the teaching-learning processes. The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors affecting learning effectiveness, learning satisfaction and the mediating role of prerecorded videos from the learners’ perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-designed structured questionnaire based on previous similar studies is adopted as a survey instrument. It consists of 22 questions to address the five constructs of the proposed hypothesized conceptual model, developed for the study. Data of 311 students from HEIs of Maharashtra state in India were collected. Confirmatory factor analysis is carried out to test the model fitness, reliability and validity, and structural equation modeling is applied to conduct path analysis and hypotheses testing of the model.
Findings
Hypotheses testing reveals that perceived usefulness (PU) significantly affects the perceived learning effectiveness, which again affects the learning satisfaction of the students. In addition, perceived ease of use affects the PU as suggested in the technology acceptance model. The prerecorded videos have a moderating role to play in the computer self-efficacy and the perceived learning effectiveness of the students. This research will provide meaningful acumen to enhance the overall learning process among students in urban as well as rural India.
Originality/value
This study explores the technology-mediated learning during the unexpected and dynamic situations of the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of higher education in India. For sustainable use of technology-assisted learning, educators must understand the key factors that influence students’ learning effectiveness and satisfaction. The research outcomes will lead toward developing the human capacities, as the prerecorded videos at the HEIs of India will provide new approaches for effectively adopting digital technologies and technology-mediated learning.
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