Information Technologies and Consumers’ Well-Being: Latest Research and Future Research Directions

Since our 2021 call for a special issue in the Journal of Interactive Marketing on Information Technologies and Consumers’ Well-Being, interest in this topic has continued to grow. The database Business Source Premier identifies 76 publications since 2021 that have “technology” in the title and include “well-being” in the author-supplied abstract, as well as 447 publications with both “technology” and “well-being” in the abstract. Calls for special issues on technology and well-being topics have also appeared in other major marketing journals in the last two years, including the Journal of Consumer Affairs and Psychology & Marketing. This ever-growing interest in the topic of new technologies and consumers’ well-being can be explained by considering, on one side, the unprecedented development in information and communications technologies, and, on the other side, the increased usage of such technologies by large numbers of consumers in many countries around the world. The accelerating role that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in this process has been acknowledged (Amankwah-Amoah et al. 2021), with the result that new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, and augmented and virtual reality, among others, have become increasingly important in consumers’ everyday life and are changing consumers’ experiences in the context of products, services, and brands (Hoyer et al. 2020; Pantano and Scarpi 2022; Puntoni et al. 2021; Zarantonello and Schmitt 2023). Understanding how information technologies are affecting consumers’ well-being therefore represents an area of primary importance. A total of 39 papers from China, Finland, France, India, Italy, Lebanon, Poland, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom were submitted in response to our call for papers, and 12 of them successfully went through the review process and are presented in this special issue. These articles advance our understanding of the relationship between new technologies and consumers’ well-being from different perspectives and through the use of different research methodologies. The aim of this editorial is to discuss the state of current research on information technologies and consumers’ well-being. Accordingly, it provides an overview of the articles in the special issue and highlights how they contribute to the growing literature on the topic. It also identifies and outlines future research directions by indicating and discussing areas that require further investigation

Employee Engagement: Analysis of The Motivation to Stay or Leave The IT Directorate Of Bank Tangguh

Abstract. The aim of this study is to identify the factors of employee engagement which influence employees' motivation to stay or leave and to develop a retention strategy for IT employees in Bank Tangguh. After merging with its shareholder, Bank Tangguh has the eighth largest assets in the banking industry in Indonesia. This has enhanced the company's reputation and brand. However, a high rate of IT turnover is still a big challenge for Bank Tangguh Data for this issue are collected using questionnaires and interviews. This study uses the employee engagement model of Fajar & Bangun (2017) and the happiness drivers identified by Hills and Argyle (2002). The employee engagement factors are company brand, leadership, performance, the basics, post-merger drivers, happiness drivers. They are mapped against the engagement behaviors (say, stay, and strive). A normality test and reliability and validity tests are performed to ensure the proper instruments are being used. The results showed that there are three main reasons for employees to stay—performance, post-merger drivers, and the basic—and three main reasons to leave: the basic, performance, and leadership. Based on those findings, the author proposes a strategy to retentain IT employees in Bank Tangguh to reduce the turnover rate.Keywords: Employee engagement, retention, turnover, motivation, banking industryAbstrak. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor keterlibatan karyawan yang mempengaruhi motivasi karyawan untuk tinggal atau pergi dan untuk mengembangkan strategi retensi bagi karyawan IT di Bank Tangguh. Setelah bergabung dengan pemegang sahamnya, Bank Tangguh memiliki aset terbesar kedelapan di industri perbankan di Indonesia. Ini telah meningkatkan reputasi dan merek perusahaan. Namun, tingkat perputaran IT yang tinggi masih menjadi tantangan besar bagi Bank Tangguh. Data pada studi ini didapat melalui kuesioner dan wawancara. Studi ini menggunakan model keterlibatan karyawan Fajar & Bangun (2017) dan happiness drivers yang diidentifikasi oleh Hills and Argyle (2002). Faktor keterlibatan karyawan adalah merek perusahaan, kepemimpinan, kinerja, the basics, post-merger drivers, happiness drivers. Hal tersebut dipetakan terhadap perilaku keterlibatan (berpendapat, menetap, dan meninggalkan). Tes normalitas dan uji reliabilitas serta validitas dilakukan untuk memastikan instrumen yang tepat digunakan. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa ada tiga alasan utama bagi karyawan untuk menetap - kinerja, post-merger drivers, dan the basics - dan tiga alasan utama untuk meninggalkan: the basics, kinerja, dan kepemimpinan. Berdasarkan temuan tersebut, penulis mengusulkan strategi untuk kembali mempertahankan karyawan IT di Bank Tangguh untuk mengurangi tingkat turnover.Kata kunci: Keterlibatan karyawan, retensi, perputaran, motivasi, industri perbanka

Employee Engagement: Analysis of The Motivation to Stay or Leave The IT Directorate Of Bank Tangguh

Abstract. The aim of this study is to identify the factors of employee engagement which influence employees' motivation to stay or leave and to develop a retention strategy for IT employees in Bank Tangguh. After merging with its shareholder, Bank Tangguh has the eighth largest assets in the banking industry in Indonesia. This has enhanced the company's reputation and brand. However, a high rate of IT turnover is still a big challenge for Bank Tangguh Data for this issue are collected using questionnaires and interviews. This study uses the employee engagement model of Fajar & Bangun (2017) and the happiness drivers identified by Hills and Argyle (2002). The employee engagement factors are company brand, leadership, performance, the basics, post-merger drivers, happiness drivers. They are mapped against the engagement behaviors (say, stay, and strive). A normality test and reliability and validity tests are performed to ensure the proper instruments are being used. The results showed that there are three main reasons for employees to stay—performance, post-merger drivers, and the basic—and three main reasons to leave: the basic, performance, and leadership. Based on those findings, the author proposes a strategy to retentain IT employees in Bank Tangguh to reduce the turnover rate.Keywords: Employee engagement, retention, turnover, motivation, banking industryAbstrak. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor keterlibatan karyawan yang mempengaruhi motivasi karyawan untuk tinggal atau pergi dan untuk mengembangkan strategi retensi bagi karyawan IT di Bank Tangguh. Setelah bergabung dengan pemegang sahamnya, Bank Tangguh memiliki aset terbesar kedelapan di industri perbankan di Indonesia. Ini telah meningkatkan reputasi dan merek perusahaan. Namun, tingkat perputaran IT yang tinggi masih menjadi tantangan besar bagi Bank Tangguh. Data pada studi ini didapat melalui kuesioner dan wawancara. Studi ini menggunakan model keterlibatan karyawan Fajar & Bangun (2017) dan happiness drivers yang diidentifikasi oleh Hills and Argyle (2002). Faktor keterlibatan karyawan adalah merek perusahaan, kepemimpinan, kinerja, the basics, post-merger drivers, happiness drivers. Hal tersebut dipetakan terhadap perilaku keterlibatan (berpendapat, menetap, dan meninggalkan). Tes normalitas dan uji reliabilitas serta validitas dilakukan untuk memastikan instrumen yang tepat digunakan. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa ada tiga alasan utama bagi karyawan untuk menetap - kinerja, post-merger drivers, dan the basics - dan tiga alasan utama untuk meninggalkan: the basics, kinerja, dan kepemimpinan. Berdasarkan temuan tersebut, penulis mengusulkan strategi untuk kembali mempertahankan karyawan IT di Bank Tangguh untuk mengurangi tingkat turnover.Kata kunci: Keterlibatan karyawan, retensi, perputaran, motivasi, industri perbanka

Empowerment of Ecotourism Village: Integration of Community Empowerment and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Method

Empowering the community is an endeavor to prepare society for achieving progress, independence, and well-being within a sustainable social justice environment. Effective community empowerment must be tailored to the specific conditions of the target. Correspondingly, the objective of this program was to construct and empower an educational ecotourism village by implementing a hybrid method combining Sisdamas (Community Empowerment System) and Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). This hybrid approach was expected to facilitate the identification of existing community assets and enhance synergy among stakeholders in creating an educational ecotourism village. Moreover, integrating these two methods could result in an effective, efficient, and sustainable coaching process. Cigugurgirang village possesses several assets that can be developed into an agricultural educational tourism area, including orange gardens, grape vineyards, and ornamental plant areas. They serve as the initial foundation for asset identification. The evaluation of the coaching process incorporated the Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework analysis, yielding a value of 10.16:1. Thus, every investment of 1 million rupiahs would generate a social value of 10.16 million rupiahs. In summary, the present community empowerment program had a multi-faceted impact, encompassing economic, educational, and social benefits. Its primary focus was establishing a sustainable and socially just environment, utilizing a combination of methods to maximize effectiveness. Furthermore, SROI analysis underscored the significant social value generated by the program's investments

Immigration and Citizenship in Greece: Young people’s focus group discussions on the new Immigration Law

Η μελέτη διερευνά τις κοινωνικές αναπαραστάσεις της «ιδιότητας του πολίτη» στο λόγο ομάδων εστίασης νέων για το νέο μεταναστευτικό νόμο στην Ελλάδα. Οι συμμετέχοντες ήταν 42 φοιτητές του Αριστοτέλειου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης ηλικίας 19-26 χρόνων. Η ανάλυση, που βασίστηκε στις αρχές της ρητορικής ψυχολογίας και της κριτικής λογοψυχολογίας, ανέδειξε τρεις κύριες επιχειρηματολογικές γραμμές: Η πρώτη αφορά τους υποκειμενικούς δεσμούς των ατόμων με μια πολιτειακή κοινότητα και τη σχέση της πολιτικής συμμετοχής με την εθνική συνείδηση. Η δεύτερη αναπαριστά την «ιδιότητα του πολίτη» ως θεσμικό προνόμιο στη διάθεση της πολιτείας υποδοχής των μεταναστών, ενώ η τρίτη συνδέει την «ιδιότητα του πολίτη» με τους δεσμούς αίματος και την πολιτισμική ομοιογένεια και συνέχεια. Τα αναλυτικά ευρήματα συσχετίζονται με αυτά άλλων ερευνών που επισημαίνουν την πολυσημία και τις αντινομίες που χαρακτηρίζουν τις αναπαραστάσεις της «ιδιότητας του πολίτη» στον κοινό νου. The study explores the social representations of «citizenship» in young people’s focus group discussions on the new immigration law in Greece. The participants were 42 students at the University of Thessaloniki, aged between 19-26 years. The analysis, which was based on the principles of rhetoric and critical discursive psychology, revealed three main argumentative lines: The first concerns the subjective ties of people with a civic community and the relationship between political participation and national consciousness. The second represents citizenship as an institutional privilege which is made available by the nation-state, while the third connects citizenship with blood ties and cultural homogeneity and continuity. The findings are related to those of other studies that point to the polysemy and contradictions that characterize the representations of citizenship in common sense

Allele frequencies of Human Platelet Antigen 1 and Human Platelet Antigen 5 in the Maltese

Background: The human platelet antigen systems consist of antigenic polymorphisms that arise from single base pair substitutions leading to amino acid changes in platelet glycoproteins. These polymorphisms cause a variety of clinically significant conditions where platelet typing is essential for accurate diagnosis and subsequent treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the allele frequencies of Human Platelet Antigen-1 (HPA-1) and Human Platelet Antigen-5 (HPA-5) in the Maltese population and to compare these frequencies to those in other populations.Methods: This study was conducted on a total of 508 population DNA samples. Polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify segments of DNA spanning the single nucleotide polymorphism of interest for both the HPA-1 and HPA-5 systems. A restriction enzyme digest was then used to differentiate between the genotypes. The data was analysed by gender and nationality.Results and Conclusion: From this study it was determined that, for these two polymorphisms, the Maltese population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and that the local allele frequencies are similar to frequencies of geographically close populations. The frequencies of these two HPA systems are: HPA-1a/1a; 71.6%, HPA-1a/1b; 25.5%, HPA-1b/1b; 2.9%, HPA-5a/5a; 77.4%, HPA-5a/5b; 22.0% and HPA-5b/5b; 0.6%.peer-reviewe

Pathophysiology of age-related diseases

A Symposium regarding the Pathophysiology of Successful and Unsuccessful Ageing was held in Palermo, Italy on 7-8 April 2009. Three lectures from that Symposium by G. Campisi, L. Ginaldi and F. Licastro are here summarized. Ageing is a complex process which negatively impacts on the development of various bodily systems and its ability to function. A long life in a healthy, vigorous, youthful body has always been one of humanity's greatest dreams. Thus, a better understanding of the pathophysiology of age-related diseases is urgently required to improve our understanding of maintaining good health in the elderly and to program possible therapeutic intervention