Loneliness, friendship, and facebook intrusion. A study in Poland, Slovakia, Syria, Malaysia, and Ecuador

With the increasing popularity of Facebook, a new social phenomenon connected with its extensive use has appeared: namely, Facebook intrusion. The main aim of the study was to examine the mediating role of loneliness in the relation between friendships and Facebook intrusion. We analyzed data from five countries: Poland (N = 399), Slovakia (N = 266), Syria (N = 475), Ecuador (N = 327), and Malaysia (N = 241). The total sample consisted of 1731 participants who had Facebook accounts; 61% of the participants were women. We administered the Facebook Intrusion Scale, the Loneliness Scale, and the Friendship Scale. The results indicated differences in the role of loneliness and friendship in Facebook intrusion, depending on the country. Among young Polish people, friendship decreases loneliness and loneliness decreases Facebook intrusion. Whereas among Ecuadorians friendship decreases loneliness, while loneliness increases Facebook intrusion

Email is Evil! Behavioural Responses towards Permission-based Direct Email Marketing and Gender Differences

Purpose This study aims to assess consumers’ beliefs in three Middle Eastern Arab countries regarding attitudinal and behavioural responses towards permission-based direct email marketing (hereafter DEM) and the moderating role of gender in the hypothesised path model. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised path model by using data collected from 829 respondents. Findings The findings show that attitude was found to fully mediate the relationship between beliefs and behavioural responses towards permission-based DEM. Gender moderates the relationship between beliefs and attitudes and responses to permission-based DEM. Notably, female respondents were found to react more actively when exposed to permission-based DEM. Research limitations/implications Further qualitative research is needed to learn more about how and why individuals develop behavioural intentions in certain ways towards opt-in DEM. In addition, neuropsychology approaches such as eye-tracking are endorsed for future research to gain more insights and conquer biases associated with self-reporting procedures in countries where such technologies are deemed as legal and ethical to be used with human subjects. Practical implications Advertisers promoting products and services in the Middle Eastern Arab context should take further steps to enhance the quality of information (including cultural sensitiveness) and the perceived entertainment value that could be delivered to consumers through permission-based DEM, especially for female internet users. Additionally, this study highly recommends the double opt-in approach to permission-based DEM. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to address the gender role as a moderator of the path depicting the effectiveness of permission-based DEM approach in the Middle East (Arab counties) from beliefs to behavioural responses via attitudes

Impact of green training on environmental performance through mediating role of competencies and motivation

This work aims to examine the impact of green training on green environmental performance through the mediating role of green competencies and motivation on the adoption of green human resource management. The convenience sampling technique was employed to collect data through an online survey undertaken at public and private universities in Malaysia. The analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.25 and Smart PLS v.3 software, with the aim of testing the predefined hypotheses. It was revealed that green training has a significant impact on green environmental performance, and all six dimensions of green competencies, namely, skills, abilities, knowledge, behavior, attitude and awareness, were also green motivations. Both green competencies and motivations positively and significantly mediated the relationship between green training and environmental performance

Investigating Master-Slave Architecture for Underwater Wireless Sensor Network.

A significant increase has been observed in the use of Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) over the last few decades. However, there exist several associated challenges with UWSNs, mainly due to the nodes' mobility, increased propagation delay, limited bandwidth, packet duplication, void holes, and Doppler/multi-path effects. To address these challenges, we propose a protocol named "An Efficient Routing Protocol based on Master-Slave Architecture for Underwater Wireless Sensor Network (ERPMSA-UWSN)" that significantly contributes to optimizing energy consumption and data packet's long-term survival. We adopt an innovative approach based on the master-slave architecture, which results in limiting the forwarders of the data packet by restricting the transmission through master nodes only. In this protocol, we suppress nodes from data packet reception except the master nodes. We perform extensive simulation and demonstrate that our proposed protocol is delay-tolerant and energy-efficient. We achieve an improvement of 13% on energy tax and 4.8% on Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), over the state-of-the-art protocol

A Systematic Review of Human-Computer Interaction and Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare with Artificial Intelligence Techniques

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the emerging technologies. In recent decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has gained widespread acceptance in a variety of fields, including virtual support, healthcare, and security. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a field that has been combining AI and human-computer engagement over the past several years in order to create an interactive intelligent system for user interaction. AI, in conjunction with HCI, is being used in a variety of fields by employing various algorithms and employing HCI to provide transparency to the user, allowing them to trust the machine. The comprehensive examination of both the areas of AI and HCI, as well as their subfields, has been explored in this work. The main goal of this article was to discover a point of intersection between the two fields. The understanding of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), which is a linking point of HCI and XAI, was gained through a literature review conducted in this research. The literature survey encompassed themes identified in the literature (such as XAI and its areas, major XAI aims, and XAI problems and challenges). The study's other major focus was on the use of AI, HCI, and XAI in healthcare. The poll also addressed the shortcomings in XAI in healthcare, as well as the field's future potential. As a result, the literature indicates that XAI in healthcare is still a novel subject that has to be explored more in the future

Total Quality Management Boosters and Blockers in a Humanitarian Setting: An Exploratory Investigation

Utilizing qualitative techniques, this research is aimed at investigating total quality management (TQM) implementation practices within a humanitarian setting. The extensive survey instrument of professionals working for the United Nations (UN) organizations operating in the Middle East is used to reveal TQM use within international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) that provide humanitarian relief. With the goal of helping organizations to address anticipated difficulties in implementing TQM practices that improve performance of humanitarian interventions, this study identifies and examines the boosters and blockers of successful implementation of the TQM practices. The most prominent themes that were identified relate to availability of funding, management commitment to quality, partnerships and communication channels, and knowledge sharing

of Research in Interactive Marketing Email is Evil! Behavioural Responses towards Permission based Direct Email Marketing and Gender Differences

Purpose – This study assesses consumers’ beliefs in three Middle Eastern Arab countries regarding attitudinal and behavioural responses towards permission-based Direct Email Marketing (hereafter DEM) and the moderating role of gender in the hypothesized path model. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modelling was used to test our hypothesized path model, utilizing data collected from 829 respondents. Findings – Our findings show that attitude was found to fully mediate the relationship between beliefs and behavioural responses towards permission-based DEM. Gender moderates the relationship between beliefs and attitudes, and responses to permission-based DEM. Notably, female respondents were found to react more actively when exposed to permission-based DEM. Research limitations/implications – Further qualitative research is needed to learn more about how and why individuals develop behavioural intentions in certain ways towards opt-in DEM. Also, neuropsychology approaches such eye-tracking are endorsed for future research to gain more insights and conquer biases associated with self-reporting procedures in countries where such technologies are deemed as legal and ethical to be used with human subjects. Practical implications – Advertisers promoting products and services in the Middle Eastern Arab context should take further steps to enhance the quality of information [including cultural sensitiveness] and the perceived entertainment value that could be delivered to consumers through permission-based DEM, especially for female internet users. Additionally, this study highly recommends the double opt-in approach to permission-based DEM. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to address the gender role as a moderator of the path depicting the effectiveness of permission-based DEM approach in the Middle East (Arab counties), from beliefs to behavioural responses via attitudes

In search of quality evidence for lifestyle management and glycemic control in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our purpose was to evaluate the impact of lifestyle behavior modification on glycemic control among children and youth with clinically defined Type 2 Diabetes (T2D).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a systematic review of studies (randomized trials, quasi-experimental studies) evaluating lifestyle (diet and/or physical activity) modification and glycemic control (HbA1c). Our data sources included bibliographic databases (EMBASE, CINAHL^®, Cochrane Library, Medline^®, PASCAL, PsycINFO^®, and Sociological Abstracts), manual reference search, and contact with study authors. Two reviewers independently selected studies that included any intervention targeting diet and/or physical activity alone or in combination as a means to reduce HbA1c in children and youth under the age of 18 with T2D.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our search strategy generated 4,572 citations. The majority of citations were not relevant to the study objective. One study met inclusion criteria. In this retrospective study, morbidly obese youth with T2D were treated with a very low carbohydrate diet. This single study received a quality index score of < 11, indicating poor study quality and thus limiting confidence in the study's conclusions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is no high quality evidence to suggest lifestyle modification improves either short- or long-term glycemic control in children and youth with T2D. Additional research is clearly warranted to define optimal lifestyle behaviour strategies for young people with T2D.</p

Alternative medicine and herbal remedies in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: A systematic review

Objectives: To systematically review and discuss the current evidence from placebo-controlled clinical trials that investigated the use of alternative medicines and herbal remedies in the management of erectile dysfunction (ED). Methods: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)- based systematic review using specific keyword combinations was conducted on the PubMed and Scopus databases. Randomised controlled trials investigating herbal medicine in at least one group and using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) as an outcome in patients primarily diagnosed with ED were included for review. Results: Following the literature search, screening and eligibility analysis, a total of 42 articles were included. The 42 articles were categorised as single herb extractions (n = 14), combination herbal formula (n = 5), combination of herbal formula and non-herbal nutraceuticals (n = 7), non-herbal nutraceuticals (n = 5), acupuncture and moxibustion (n = 2), diet and nutrition (n = 3), exercise (n = 5), and topical treatments (n = 1). Based on the results, Korean ginseng, Pygnogenol and Prelox, Tribulus terrestris, Lepidium meyenii, L-arginine, acupuncture and lifestyle interventions were the more predominantly investigated treatments interventions for ED. Conclusions: Panax ginseng, Pygnogenol, Prelox and Tribulus terrestris have promising evidence as herbal products, alongside L-arginine as a nutritional supplement, for ED based on IIEF outcomes, and warrant further clinical investigation. The mechanisms of action remain unclear, but each of these appears to in part increase nitric oxide synthesis. Importantly, improved diet and exercise should be considered, particularly in patients with obesity or diabetes mellitus