Constantly connected – The effects of smart-devices on mental health

A number of studies have demonstrated the mental health implications of excessive Internet-browsing, gaming, texting, emailing, social networking, and phone calling. However, no study to date has investigated the impact of being able to conduct all of these activities on one device. A smart-device (i.e., smart-phone or tablet) allows these activities to be conducted anytime and anywhere, with unknown mental health repercussions. This study investigated the association between smart-device use, smart-device involvement and mental health. Two-hundred and seventy-four participants completed an online survey comprising demographic questions, questions concerning smart-device use, the Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire, the Internet Addiction Test and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales. Higher smart-device involvement was significantly associated with higher levels of depression and stress but not anxiety. However, smart-device use was not significantly associated with depression, anxiety or stress. These findings suggest that it is the nature of the relationship a person has with their smart-device that is predictive of depression and stress, rather than the extent of use

The media use of diaspora in a conflict situation : A case study of Venezuelans in Finland

Many Venezuelan emigrants have an emotional connection and/or they have family members and friends in the country of origin, and that is why they seek to find reliable information on the conflict situation in Venezuela. Therefore, they keep in touch with family members, read mainstream news and use different social media platforms. Thus, what kind of impact the conflict has on the media use and how events reported in the media are interpreted is investigated in this study of Venezuelan diaspora in Finland by using social media ethnography. There are internal and external factors behind the media use. External factors come from societies of the host and origin countries. Internal factors rise from family connections and identity construction concerning personal national identity or political activism.Peer reviewe

Research priorities for freshwater mussel conservation assessment

Freshwater mussels are declining globally, and effective conservation requires prioritizing research and actions to identify and mitigate threats impacting mussel species. Conservation priorities vary widely, ranging from preventing imminent extinction to maintaining abundant populations. Here, we develop a portfolio of priority research topics for freshwater mussel conservation assessment. To address these topics, we group research priorities into two categories: intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are indicators of organismal or population status, while extrinsic factors encompass environmental variables and threats. An understanding of intrinsic factors is useful in monitoring, and of extrinsic factors are important to understand ongoing and potential impacts on conservation status. This dual approach can guide conservation status assessments prior to the establishment of priority species and implementation of conservation management actions.NF-R was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship (Xunta de Galicia Plan I2C 2017-2020, 09.40.561B.444.0) from the government of the autonomous community of Galicia. BY was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (no. 0409-2016-0022). DLS was supported by the G. E. Hutchinson Chair at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. AO was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (no. 17-44-290016). SV was funded by European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI- Operacional Competitiveness and Internacionalization Programme, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958 and National Funds by FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2013. NF-R is very grateful to the University of Oklahoma Biological Survey for providing space to work in the U.S. and especially to Vaughn Lab members. Authors are very grateful to Akimasa Hattori, Allan K. Smith, Andrew Roberts, Daniel Graf, David Stagliano, David T. Zanatta, Dirk Van Damme, Ekaterina Konopleva, Emilie Blevins, Ethan Nedeau, Frankie Thielen, Gregory Cope, Heinrich Vicentini, Hugh Jones, Htilya Sereflisan, Ilya Vikhrev, John Pfeiffer, Karen Mock, Mary Seddon, Katharina Stockl, Katarzyna Zajac, Kengo Ito, Marie Capoulade, Marko Kangas, Michael Lange, Mike Davis, Pirkko-Liisa Luhta, Sarina Jepsen, Somsak Panha, Stephen McMurray, G. Thomas Watters, Wendell R. Haag, and Yoko Inui for their valuable contribution in the initial selection and description of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. We also wish to thank Dr. Amanda Bates, Chase Smith, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government

International practices, beliefs and values in not-for-profit financial reporting

Financial reporting is an important aspect of not-for-profit organisations’ (NPOs’) discharge of accountability, particularly for donations and funding. Nevertheless, NPO financial reporting lacks a global approach. Drawing on a multi-national survey attracting more than 600 respondents, this paper utilises a pattern-matching methodology to capturing institutional logics. We uncover tension between NPO financial reporting practice (underpinned by symbolic and material carriers of a local financial reporting logic), and a majority belief that NPO international financial reporting standards should be developed and followed. Conflict between local practice and stakeholder beliefs is evident. Significant belief differences across key stakeholder groups will likely impact NPO financial reporting development

Problematic smartphone use: an empirically validated model

Given the prominent role that smartphones have in everyday life, research in the field has proliferated. From a theoretical perspective, problematic smartphone use (PSPU) is described as a multi-faceted phenomenon entailing a variety of dysfunctional manifestations (e.g., addictive, antisocial and dangerous use). To date, however, there is still a lack of empirical evidence supporting the identification of PSPU as a potential behavioural addiction. Driven by theory, the aim of the present study was to provide an empirically validated model by testing the contribution of specific factors leading to PSPU. Relationships among individual characteristics (internalised psychopathology, impulsivity and personality traits) and PSPU uses (addictive, antisocial and dangerous) were investigated according to the updated version of the theoretical framework provided by the Pathway Model of problematic smartphone use (Billieux et al., 2015). An online survey was administered to a convenience sample (N = 511) of smartphone users in order to examine their daily engagement, problematic usage patterns and related psychological correlates. Path analysis revealed important information about different PSPU components and results are discussed in light of the available literature. Recommendations for future research are proposed to further investigate the problematic behaviour, including the study of additional variables, such as the fear of missing out (FoMO), nomophobia and excessive social media use

Decision-making processes of public sector accounting reforms in India—Institutional perspectives

While International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) convergence has been the face of the global accounting standardisation movement for the past few decades, accounting reforms in the public sector had started to gain momentum from the late 1990s. This paper examines the reasons for the adoption of public sector accrual accounting reforms in India. It explores the various sources of pressure influencing these reforms and the ways in which these pressures are balanced and addressed by key decisionmakers in the national and transnational contexts of an emerging economy like India. This study finds that demands for greater accountability from the public in the national context (demand pressures) as well as requests for greater transparency from international financial institutions in the transnational context (supply pressures) are two major sources of pressure that are balanced by the state in its quest for greater legitimacy. This is demonstrated through a triggering event such as political scandals evoking responses from the government to reinforce its weakened legitimacy by adopting public sector accounting reforms. Extant literature on public sector accounting reforms, mostly focuses on the phases where the standards are being actually implemented by the country. Studies exploring decision-making processes that lead to actual implementation of accrual accounting reforms are limited. This study contributes to existing literature by examining the decision-making process that ensues before the actual use of international standards in public sector accounting reforms and demonstrates the significant role that institutional influences play in defining such decision-making processes. The role of these institutional influences also draw attention to the probable disparities between rationales and actual reasons for government accounting reforms undertaken by developing countries