117,277 research outputs found
Culture in the design of mHealth UI:An effort to increase acceptance among culturally specific groups
Purpose: Designers of mobile applications have long understood the importance of usersâ preferences in making the user experience easier, convenient and therefore valuable. The cultural aspects of groups of users are among the key features of usersâ design preferences, because each groupâs preferences depend on various features that are culturally compatible. The process of integrating culture into the design of a system has always been an important ingredient for effective and interactive human computer interface. This study aims to investigate the design of a mobile health (mHealth) application user interface (UI) based on Arabic culture. It was argued that integrating certain cultural values of specific groups of users into the design of UI would increase their acceptance of the technology. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 135 users responded to an online survey about their acceptance of a culturally designed mHealth. Findings: The findings showed that culturally based language, colours, layout and images had a significant relationship with usersâ behavioural intention to use the culturally based mHealth UI. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample and the data collected of this study were restricted to Arab users and Arab culture; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to other cultures and users. Second, the adapted unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model was used in this study instead of the new version, which may expose new perceptions. Third, the cultural aspects of UI design in this study were limited to the images, colours, language and layout. Practical implications: It encourages UI designers to implement the relevant cultural aspects while developing mobile applications. Originality/value: Embedding Arab cultural aspects in designing UI for mobile applications to satisfy Arab users and enhance their acceptance toward using mobile applications, which will reflect positively on their lives.</p
Do different subjective evaluation criteria reflect distinct constructs?
This is not the published version. Published version available from: http://journals.lww.com/jonmd/pages/default.asp
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Did the market overreact to the mandatory switch to IFRS in Europe?
Despite studies which indicate that mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) reduced the cost of capital for adopting firms and improved analystsâ forecasts, the evidence supporting any improvement in accounting quality is mixed. In a European wide country study, we calculate a broadly based measure of earnings management defined as accruals which are unrelated to current activity or past-current-future cash flows. At the individual country level we find that accounting quality improved only in France, Germany and Netherland, which are categories as âlegal origin countriesâ. Moreover, based on an equity valuation model adjusted for earnings quality, we find that, in most European countries, the market overreacted to the impact of mandatory IFRS adoption. Further test shows that investors do not seem to understand the exact components of the financial statements that IFRS will have impact on
'Possunt, quia posse videntur': They can because they think they can. Development and Validation of the Work Self-Efficacy Scale: Evidence from two Studies
Self-efficacy (SE) has been recognised as a pervasive mechanism of human agency influencing
motivation, performance and well-being. In the organisational literature, it has been mainly
assessed in relation to job tasks, leaving the emotional and interpersonal domains quite unexplored,
despite their relevance. We aim to fill this gap by presenting a multidimensional work
self-efficacy (W-SE) scale that assesses employees' perceived capability to manage tasks (task SE),
negative emotions in stressful situations (negative emotional SE), and their conduct in social
interactions, in terms of both defending their own point of view (assertive SE) and understanding
others' states and needs (empathic SE). Results from two independent studies (Study 1, N=2192
employees; Study 2, N=700 employees) adopting both variable- and person-centred approaches
support the validity of the scale. Findings of factor analyses suggest a bi-factor model positing a
global W-SE factor and four specific W-SEs, which are invariant across gender and career stages.
Multiple regressions show that global W-SE is associated with all considered criteria, task SE is
associated positively with in-role behaviours and negatively with counterproductive behaviours;
negative emotional SE is negatively associated with negative emotions and health-related
symptoms; empathic SE is positively associated with extra-role behaviour; and, unexpectedly,
assertive SE is positively associated with counterproductive work behaviour. However, results
from a Latent Profile Analysis showed that the relationship between the SEs and criteria is
complex, and that W-SE dimensions combine into different patterns, identifying four SE configurations
associated with different levels of adjustment
Strong correlations between text quality and complex networks features
Concepts of complex networks have been used to obtain metrics that were
correlated to text quality established by scores assigned by human judges.
Texts produced by high-school students in Portuguese were represented as
scale-free networks (word adjacency model), from which typical network features
such as the in/outdegree, clustering coefficient and shortest path were
obtained. Another metric was derived from the dynamics of the network growth,
based on the variation of the number of connected components. The scores
assigned by the human judges according to three text quality criteria
(coherence and cohesion, adherence to standard writing conventions and theme
adequacy/development) were correlated with the network measurements. Text
quality for all three criteria was found to decrease with increasing average
values of outdegrees, clustering coefficient and deviation from the dynamics of
network growth. Among the criteria employed, cohesion and coherence showed the
strongest correlation, which probably indicates that the network measurements
are able to capture how the text is developed in terms of the concepts
represented by the nodes in the networks. Though based on a particular set of
texts and specific language, the results presented here point to potential
applications in other instances of text analysis.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Manager's degree of JIT involvement, locus of control and managerial performance
The competitive global environment has lead many firms into adopting practices that focus on eliminating inefficiencies across the enterprise and its supply chain. The Just-in-Time philosophy is one such practice, however, research has predominantly focused on its technical features and on organisational variables, with surprising little research at the individual level. This paper examines JIT at an individual level and argues that the managerâs locus of control orientation would interact with their degree of JIT involvement to affect managerial performance. The results of a survey of 60 managers employing JIT, demonstrate that an increased degree of JIT involvement leads to a more positive effect on managerial performance for internal locus of control managers than for external locus of control managers
Evaluating the Differences of Gridding Techniques for Digital Elevation Models Generation and Their Influence on the Modeling of Stony Debris Flows Routing: A Case Study From Rovina di Cancia Basin (North-Eastern Italian Alps)
Debris \ufb02ows are among the most hazardous phenomena in mountain areas. To cope
with debris \ufb02ow hazard, it is common to delineate the risk-prone areas through
routing models. The most important input to debris \ufb02ow routing models are the
topographic data, usually in the form of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The quality
of DEMs depends on the accuracy, density, and spatial distribution of the sampled
points; on the characteristics of the surface; and on the applied gridding methodology.
Therefore, the choice of the interpolation method affects the realistic representation
of the channel and fan morphology, and thus potentially the debris \ufb02ow routing
modeling outcomes. In this paper, we initially investigate the performance of common
interpolation methods (i.e., linear triangulation, natural neighbor, nearest neighbor,
Inverse Distance to a Power, ANUDEM, Radial Basis Functions, and ordinary kriging)
in building DEMs with the complex topography of a debris \ufb02ow channel located
in the Venetian Dolomites (North-eastern Italian Alps), by using small footprint full-
waveform Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data. The investigation is carried
out through a combination of statistical analysis of vertical accuracy, algorithm
robustness, and spatial clustering of vertical errors, and multi-criteria shape reliability
assessment. After that, we examine the in\ufb02uence of the tested interpolation algorithms
on the performance of a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based cell model for
simulating stony debris \ufb02ows routing. In detail, we investigate both the correlation
between the DEMs heights uncertainty resulting from the gridding procedure and
that on the corresponding simulated erosion/deposition depths, both the effect of
interpolation algorithms on simulated areas, erosion and deposition volumes, solid-liquid
discharges, and channel morphology after the event. The comparison among the tested
interpolation methods highlights that the ANUDEM and ordinary kriging algorithms
are not suitable for building DEMs with complex topography. Conversely, the linear
triangulation, the natural neighbor algorithm, and the thin-plate spline plus tension and completely regularized spline functions ensure the best trade-off among accuracy
and shape reliability. Anyway, the evaluation of the effects of gridding techniques on
debris \ufb02ow routing modeling reveals that the choice of the interpolation algorithm does
not signi\ufb01cantly affect the model outcomes
Freshwater ecosystem services in mining regions : modelling options for policy development support
The ecosystem services (ES) approach offers an integrated perspective of social-ecological systems, suitable for holistic assessments of mining impacts. Yet for ES models to be policy-relevant, methodological consensus in mining contexts is needed. We review articles assessing ES in mining areas focusing on freshwater components and policy support potential. Twenty-six articles were analysed concerning (i) methodological complexity (data types, number of parameters, processes and ecosystem-human integration level) and (ii) potential applicability for policy development (communication of uncertainties, scenario simulation, stakeholder participation and management recommendations). Articles illustrate mining impacts on ES through valuation exercises mostly. However, the lack of ground-and surface-water measurements, as well as insufficient representation of the connectivity among soil, water and humans, leave room for improvements. Inclusion of mining-specific environmental stressors models, increasing resolution of topographies, determination of baseline ES patterns and inclusion of multi-stakeholder perspectives are advantageous for policy support. We argue that achieving more holistic assessments exhorts practitioners to aim for high social-ecological connectivity using mechanistic models where possible and using inductive methods only where necessary. Due to data constraints, cause-effect networks might be the most feasible and best solution. Thus, a policy-oriented framework is proposed, in which data science is directed to environmental modelling for analysis of mining impacts on water ES
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