Aim/Purpose: This paper describes an empirical examination of how users’ willingness to disclose personal data is influenced by the amount of information provided on landing pages – standalone web pages created explicitly for marketing or advertising campaigns. Background: Provision of information is a central construct in the IS discipline. Content is a term commonly used to describe the information made available by a website or other electronic medium. A pertinent debate among scholars and practitioners relate to the behavioral impact of content volume: Specifically, does a greater amount of information elicit engagement and compliance, or the other way around? Methodology: A series of large-scale web experiments (n= 535 and n= 27,900) were conducted employing a between-subjects design and A/B testing. Two variants of landing pages, long and short, were created based on relevant behavioral theories. Both variants included an identical form to collect users’ information, but different amounts of provided content. User traffic was generated using Google AdWords and randomized between the page using Unbounce.com. Relevant usage metrics, such as response rate (called “conversion rate”), location, and visit time were recorded. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge on information provision and its effectiveness and carries practical and theoretical implications to practitioners and scholars in Information Systems, Informing Science, Communications, Digital Marketing, and related fields. Findings: Analyses of results show that the shorter landing pages had significantly higher conversion rates across all locations and times. Findings demonstrate a negative correlation between the content amount and consumer behavior, suggesting that users who had less information were more inclined to provide their data. Recommendations for Practitioners: At a practical level, results can empirically support business practices, design considerations, and content strategy by informing practitioners on the role of content in online commerce. Recommendation for Researchers: Findings suggest that the amount of content plays a significant role in online decision making and effective informing. They also contradict prior research on trust, persuasion, and security. This study advances research on the paradoxical relationship between the increased level of information and online decision-making and indicates that contrary to earlier work, not all persuasion theories‎ are ‎effective online. Impact on Society: Understanding how information drives behavior has implications in many domains (civic engagement, health, education, and more). This has relevance to system design and public communication in both online and offline contexts. Future Research: Using this research as a starting point, future research can examine the impact of content in other contexts, as well as other behavioral drivers (such as demographic data). This can lead to theoretical, methodological, and practical recommendations.

Aim/Purpose: The aim is to explore the informing flows framework as interactions within a PhD education practicing a work-integrated learning approach in order to reveal both the perspectives of industrial PhD students and of industry. Background: An under-researched field of university-industry collaboration is explored revealing both the perspectives of industrial PhD students and of industry. Methodology: Qualitative methods were applied including interviews and document studies. In total ten semi-structured interviews in two steps were conducted. The empirical context is a Swedish PhD program in informatics with a specialization in work-integrated learning. Contribution: By broadening the concept of work-integrated learning, this paper contributes empirical results on benefits and challenges in university-industry collaboration focusing on industrial PhD students and industry by applying the informing flows framework. Findings: Findings expose novel insights for industry as well as academia. The industrial PhD students are key stakeholders and embody the informing flows between practice and university and between practice and research. They are spanning boundaries between university and industry generating continuous opportunities for validation and testing of empirical results and models in industry. This may enable increased research quality and short-lag dissemination of research results as well as strengthened organizational legitimacy. Recommendation for Researchers: Academia is recommended to recognize the value of the industrial PhD students’ pre-understanding of the industry context in the spirit of work-integrated learning approach. The conditions for informing flows between research and practice need to continuously be maintained to enable short-term societal impact of research for both academia and industry. For practitioners: This explorative study show that it is vital for practice to recognize that challenges do exist and need to be considered to strengthen industrial PhD pro-grams as well as university-industry collaborations. Additionally, it is of importance to formalize a continuously dissemination of research in the industries. Future Research: Future international and/or transdisciplinary research within this field is encouraged to include larger samples covering other universities and a mix of industrial contexts or comparing industrial PhD students in different phases of their PhD education.

Aim/Purpose: The research problem of this study refers to the manner in which old and new mass media represented the significant social development surrounding two crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX airplane. Methodology: The study follows a qualitative case study methodology based on a sample of newspaper articles, TV programming, specialized technical publications, Twitter posts, and Facebook content. Contribution: The study contributes to understanding specifics and differences in representing extraordinary socio-economic events by different types of media. Findings: Key findings are that these media have constructed different realities surrounding the tragic events and exhibited informing distortions to different degrees. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practical implications of this study are relevant for the institutional and individual clients of informing with regard to selecting appropriate media for use. There are also implications for informers with regard to reducing distortions in informing. Recommendation for Researchers: Social media could be a channel for alternative learning rather than manipulation. Mainstream media were confirmed to be a loudspeaker for authorities as postulated in critical media research, and analytical media provided influential, deeper technical analysis. Future Research: As the Boeing case unfolds, it would be interesting to investigate any evolution in mediated realities.

Aim/Purpose: This study seeks to uncover the perceived quality factors of computer-mediated communication in business planning in which communication among teammates is crucial for collaboration. Background: Computer-mediated communication has made communicating with teammates easier and more affordable than ever. What motivates people to use a particular CMC technology during business planning is a major concern in this research. Methodology: This study seeks to address the issues by applying the concept of Information Product Quality (IPQ). Based on 21 factors derived from an extensive literature review on Information Product Quality (IPQ), an experimental study was conducted to identify the factors that are perceived as most relevant. Contribution: The findings in this study will help developers find a more customer-oriented approach to developing CMC technology design, specifically useful in collaborative work, such as business planning. Findings: This study extracted the three specific quality factors to use CMC technology in business planning: informational, physical, and service. Future Research: Future research will shed more light on the generality of these findings. Future studies should be extended to other population and contextual situations in the use of CMC.

Aim/Purpose: The present study aims to frame the relationship between job and personal resources (namely, organizational identification and emotional intelligence), burnout, and musculoskeletal disorders (i.e., back pain, upper limb pain, lower limb discomfort), into the theoretical framework provided by the JD-R health model. Background: Empirical research indicates a connection between burnout and the onset of musculoskeletal problems, one of the most important occupational health issues affecting all jobs and organizations. In light of the JD-R health model, we investigated the association between personal and job resources with burnout and musculoskeletal disorders. Methodology: An anonymous online questionnaire was answered by 320 workers (82.4% female, Mage = 42.18; SDage = 12.24) investigating their perceived level of burnout, the presence of musculoskeletal pain (back, neck, and shoulder), and their level of organizational identification and emotional intelligence. Descriptive analysis, correlation, and moderated mediation model were performed using SPSS. Contribution: We confirmed the role of personal and organizational resources in the salutogenic process considered by the JD-R health model. Emotional intelligence, decreasing the perceived level of burnout, limited the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, when organizational identification presented low and medium levels, the association between emotional intelligence and burnout strengthened. Findings: Our results showed a negative, indirect effect of emotional intelligence on musculoskeletal disorders via burnout. Moreover, we found a moderation of organizational organization, indicating that at low and medium levels of identification, the association between emotional intelligence and burnout is stronger. Recommendation for Researchers: In addition to work factors involved in the link between burnout and musculoskeletal disorders, it is also important to consider personal and emotional factors, which can decrease the occurrence of adverse consequences. Future Research: Future research developments could contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms linking emotional intelligence, burnout, and musculoskeletal problems, as well as consider objective indicators of burnout levels or consider using ecological data collection methodologies (e.g., ecological momentary assessment), to identify patterns and associations between burnout and musculoskeletal disorders.

Aim/Purpose: In this article, the subjective perspectives of young people in Ghana on the use of digital media are elaborated. The aim is to make the positions of young people visible in the often adult-dominated discourse on digital media and to overcome adult-centered considerations in academic and public debates. In addition, the focus on young people from the Global South is intended to help make their underrepresented voices present in this discourse. Background: Digital media devices and Internet access are conditional on people’s social, economic, and educational participation. Many people in the Global South in particular are not yet granted such access. For children and young people worldwide, the educational opportunities offered by digital media are associated with potential threats to mental health and well-being. However, young people’s views on digital media are rarely addressed, especially in the Global South. Methodology: Based on a qualitative thematic analysis of responses to open-ended questionnaire questions, young Ghanaians’ views on smartphone use and how it affects academic success are examined. Contribution: By focusing on the subjective perspectives of young people, especially from the Global South, voices that have hardly been heard in the discourse on digital media are made audible. This should help overcome the dominant adult-centered perspectives in this discourse. Findings: For young people in Ghana, digital media are part of their everyday lives and often necessary to succeed at school. At the same time, they are concerned about the dangers, e.g., from overuse or cybercrime, for which they have few strategies to deal with. In their answers, they refer to socio-culturally specific discourses and values as well as to generational hierarchies that they perceive and deal with, which go far beyond the topic of digital media use. This makes clear the social tensions in which the debate about digitalization is embedded. Recommendation for Researchers: Young people’s knowledge of and perspectives on digital media is an important resource for learning to use them in an emancipated way. Future Research: Future research should recognize young people as experts in their own right on the issue, explore ways to include their perspectives in the discourse on digital media use and work with them to harness the future potential of the technology and avoid risks.

Aim/Purpose: Embitterment comprises a stress-related response to unjust life experiences. Studies have found that it can have a toll on employees’ well-being. However, research on this matter is still in its infancy. Background: Within the scope of the present study, Ι sought to investigate how embitterment relates to burnout – the prolonged consequence of stress. This study further explored whether breaches of psychological contracts can trigger embitterment. Methodology: The study employed a cross-sectional design where two hundred and eight (N = 208) participants from the general population completed an online survey. Contribution: Findings suggest that the toll of embitterment might be much more than what research has suggested so far. Those who experience embitterment can become emotionally exhausted and cynical and these findings can be especially useful when identifying embitterment. Findings: It was found that embitterment related to higher burnout levels and more specifically emotional exhaustion and cynicism. No significant findings were revealed for the relationship between professional inefficacy and embitterment. Also, psychological contract breach was found to be a significant predictor of embitterment, supporting further the notion that perceptions of injustice can trigger feelings of embitterment. Results also showed that embitterment mediated the relationship between psychological contract breach and burnout. Recommendation for Researchers: The study highlights the notion that fairness is a key precursor of embitterment, and this finding is essential when developing interventions to prevent embitterment from arising. Future Research: Future research could use a longitudinal study design to unravel whether burnout represents a precondition or the consequence of embitterment. Future research should also include more objective measures. For example, it would be useful to pair self-report data with more objective measures on embitterment (e.g. clinical interviews).

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this qualitative study is to explore social workers’ representations of hate speech (HS), the effects it has on the community, and socio-educational actions aimed at combating it. Background: Hate speech is any form of communication that promotes discrimination, hostility, or violence towards individuals or groups based on their identity. Although its spread is facilitated by particular characteristics of the online environment (such as anonymity and ubiquity), HS has pervasive consequences even in offline reality. In the last year, several community-based projects involving social workers have been implemented to address the problem. Professionals who work with the community play a crucial strategic role in the fight against HS. Therefore, it is imperative to begin by considering their perspective to gain a better understanding of HS and how it can be controlled. Methodology: Following a psycho-sociological perspective, six focus groups were conducted with 42 social workers (19 females and 23 males) belonging to associations or organizations of a different nature, such as NGOs, local social promotion organizations, universities, private social organizations, whose mission included the theme of countering hate speech. Contribution: There are no studies in the literature that consider the views of operators working to counter hate speech within communities. Our study contributes to deepening the knowledge of the phenomenon and identifying the most suitable strategies to combat it, starting from an approach that does not only focus on the online or offline dimension but on an integrated “onlife” approach. The study offers an outline of how hate speech affects the daily lives of the communities in the cities of Torino, Palermo, and Ancona. Additionally, it proposes a grassroots strategy to address hate speech. Findings: The results suggest that strategies effective in countering hate speech in offline contexts may not be effective in online environments. The technological revolution brought about by social media has significantly expanded the potential audience while weakening traditional communities. Addressing hate speech in the present context requires efforts to rebuild fragmented communities, gaining a thorough understanding of how the new virtual public space operates, and prioritizing hate speech as a specific concern only after these initial steps. Recommendation for Researchers: Hate speech represents a violation of human rights and a threat to freedom of expression. The spread of hateful messages has a significant impact on society, as it can negatively influence social cohesion, diversity, and inclusion. Understanding the causes and consequences of hate speech can help develop effective strategies to prevent and counter it, which is a crucial challenge for both research and society as a whole. Studying hate speech should involve the use of interdisciplinary methodologies. Future Research: Future research should focus on comparative analysis at the European Union level to assess the ability of civil society in other countries to develop effective strategies against hate speech.

Aim/Purpose: To explore the incidence of addiction potential within the Iranian public working population, describing how many Iranian public employees fall within the diagnostic categories of low, moderate, and high addiction potential. Also, to investigate the predicting role of occupational variables such as perceived stress, job security, and job satisfaction on addiction potential and belonging to low, moderate, and high addiction potential diagnostic categories. Background: Substance addiction among employees can lead to several negative consequences at the individual and organizational levels. Also, it is the fourth cause of death in Iran. However, few studies have been conducted on the topic among employees, and non among Iranian employees. Methodology: The study participants were 430 employees working in governmental offices of the North Khorasan province, Iran. Descriptive statistical analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were conducted to explore the incidence of addiction potential within the analyzed population and to investigate whether occupational variables such as perceived stress, job security, and job satisfaction predicted low, moderate, or high addiction potential. Contribution: This paper suggests that perceived stress might act as a risk factor for developing addiction, whereas job security and job satisfaction might be protective factors against the likelihood of addiction development. Findings: More than half of the sample showed moderate to high addiction potential. Perceived stress was positively related to addiction potential. Job security and job satisfaction were negatively related to addiction potential. Recommendation for Researchers: When addressing the topic of substance addiction, researchers should focus on the preventative side of investigating it; that is, addiction risk rather than already unfolded addiction. Also, researchers should be mindful of the cultural context in which studies are conducted. Future Research: Future research might investigate other relevant occupational predictors in relation to employee addiction potential, such as leadership style, work-life balance, and worktime schedule, or expand on the relevant causal chain by including personality traits such as neuroticism.

Aim/Purpose: Parasocial relationships are today established on social media between influencers and their followers. While marketing effects are well-researched, little is known about the meaning of such relationships and the psychological mechanisms behind them. This study, therefore, explores the questions: “How do followers on Instagram interpret explicit fiction cues from influencers?” and “What does this reveal about the meaning of parasocial attachment?” Background: With a billion-dollar advertising industry and leading in influencing opinion, Instagram is a significant societal and economic player. One factor for the effective influence of consumers is the relationship between influencer and follower. Research shows that disclosing advertisements surprisingly does not harm credibility, and sometimes even leads to greater trustworthiness and, in turn, willingness to purchase. While such reverse dynamics are measurable, the mechanisms behind them remain largely unexplored. Methodology: The study follows an explorative approach with in-depth interviews, which are analyzed with Mayring’s content analysis under a reconstructive paradigm. The findings are discussed through the lens of critical psychology. Contribution: Firstly, this study contributes to the understanding of the communicative dynamics of influencer-follower communication alongside the reality-fiction-gap model, and, secondly, it contributes empirical insights through the analysis of 22 explorative interviews. Findings: The findings show (a) how followers rationalize fiction cues and justify compulsive decision-making, (b) how followers are vulnerable to influences, and (c) how parasocial attachment formation overshadows rational logic and agency. The findings are discussed with regard to mechanisms, vulnerabilities, rationalizations and cognitive bias, and the social self, as well as the ethics of influencer marketing and politics. Recommendation for Researchers: The contribution is relevant to relationship research, group dynamics and societal organizing, well-being, identity, and health perspectives, within psychology, sociology, media studies, and pedagogy to management. Future Research: Future research might seek to understand more about (a) quantifiable vulnerabilities, such as attachment styles, dispositions, and demographics, (b) usage patterns and possible factors of prevention, (c) cognitive and emotional mechanisms involved with larger samples, (d) the impact on relationships and well-being, and (e) possible conditions for the potential of parasocial attachment.

Aim/Purpose: This paper examines the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on professional skills in organizations and explores strategies to address the resulting challenges. Background: The rapid integration of AI across various sectors is automating tasks and reducing cognitive workload, leading to increased productivity but also raising concerns about job displacement. Successfully adapting to this transformation requires organizations to implement new working models and develop strategies for upskilling and reskilling their workforce. Methodology: This review analyzes recent research and practice on AI's impact on human skills in organizations. We identify key trends in how AI is reshaping professional competencies and highlight the crucial role of transversal skills in this evolving landscape. The paper also discusses effective strategies to support organizations and guide workers through upskilling and reskilling processes. Contribution: The paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining recent trends in AI's impact on professional skills and workplaces. It emphasizes the importance of transversal skills and identifies strategies to support organizations and workers in meeting upskilling and reskilling challenges. Our findings suggest that investing in workforce development is crucial for ensuring that the benefits of AI are equitably distributed among all stakeholders. Findings: Our findings indicate that organizations must employ a proactive approach to navigate the AI-driven transformation of the workplace. This approach involves mapping the transversal skills needed to address current skill gaps, helping workers identify and develop skills required for effective AI adoption, and implementing processes to support workers through targeted training and development opportunities. These strategies are essential for ensuring that workers' attitudes and mental models towards AI are adaptable and prepared for the changing labor market. Recommendation for Researchers: We emphasize the need for researchers to adopt a transdisciplinary approach when studying AI's impact on the workplace. Given AI's complexity and its far-reaching implications across various fields including computer science, mathematics, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences, integrating diverse perspectives is crucial for a holistic understanding of AI's applications and consequences. Future Research: Looking ahead, further research is needed to deepen our understanding of AI's impact on human skills, particularly the role of soft skills in AI adoption within organizations. Future studies should also address the challenges posed by Industry 5.0, which is expected to bring about even more extensive integration of new technologies and automation.

Aim/Purpose: The study aims to examine the mediating role of job motivation and affective and normative commitment on the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and job turnover intention. Background: POS refers to employees’ beliefs and perceptions concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions, cares about their well-being, and fulfils their socio-emotional needs. To date, research has shown that employee turnover is a complex construct resulting from the interplay of both individual and organizational variables, such as motivation and climate. Methodology: Cross-sectional data were collected from 143 employees of an Italian industrial company. Paper-and-pencil questionnaires were used to assess respondents’ POS, job motivation, affective and normative organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Contribution: Specifically, in this research, we aim at examining (i) the indirect effect of POS on turnover intention via (ii) job motivation and (iii) normative and affective commitment. Findings: Results show that high POS is associated with high levels of job motivation and affective and normative commitment, which in turn are negatively linked to turnover intentions. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should not lose sight of the importance of studying and delving into the concept of turnover intention given that, from an organizational point of view, losing personnel means losing competencies, which need to be replaced through assessment, selection, training, and development, processes that are often challenging and expensive. Future Research: Future research should further investigate the role of motivation and commitment, other than additional variables, for POS and turnover intention. Longitudinal studies and further testing are required to verify the causal processes stemming from our model. Future research could consider linking employees’ self-reported measures with objective data concerning turnover rates.

Aim/Purpose: This is an introductory paper for the developing special series on applied psychology and informing science. It takes into account the spirit of informing science to launch the first of three articles in the series on applied psychology. The paper concludes by raising questions for future investigations.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine Gen Z students located in a representative region of the United States when it comes to technology use, news and information gathering behaviors, civic engagement, and social concerns and whether differences exist based on institutional type. The purpose is to report this information so that academics can better understand the behaviors, priorities, and interests of current American students. Background: This paper investigates the mindset of Generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. Through the lens of the Theory of Generations, Uses and Gratifications Theory, and Intersectional Theory, this study aims to examine the Gen Z group and compare findings across populations. Methodology: An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2022. The survey included a combination of multiple responses, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open-ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by content and methodological experts to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. The survey was pilot-tested in 2018 before implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly before widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors, all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Contribution: This paper provides insight into the mindset of Generation Z students living in the United States, which is helpful to members of academia who should be informed about the current generation of students in higher education. Studying Generation Z helps us understand the future and can provide insight into the shifting needs and expectations of society. Findings: According to the findings, Gen Z are heavy users of digital technologies who use social media as their primary source for gathering news about current events as well as information for schoolwork. The majority of respondents considered themselves to be social activists. When institutional type was considered, there were notable differences with the students at the Historically Black College or University (HBCU), noting the greatest concern with a number of pressing issues, including racial justice/Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, gun violence, immigration reform, and human trafficking. Less significance across groups was found when LGBTQIA+ rights and climate change were considered. Recommendation for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate in daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. In other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Future Research: Future research will explore the role that influencers have in opinion formation and the information-gathering habits of Gen Z.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore students’ digital entrepreneurial intention (DEI) in Kuwait. Specifically, the aim is twofold: (i) to identify and examine the factors influencing and predicting students’ DEI, and (ii) to validate a model of DEI. Background: The advent of modern digital technologies has provided entrepreneurs with many opportunities to establish and expand their firms through online platforms. Although the existing literature on DEI has explored various factors, certain factors that could be linked to DEI have been neglected, and others have not been given sufficient attention. Nonetheless, there has been little research on students’ DEI, particularly in Kuwait. Methodology: To fulfill the research’s aims, a study was conducted using a quantitative method (a survey of 305 students at a non-profit university in Kuwait). Contribution: This study aimed to fill the research gap on the limited DEI research among Kuwait’s students. Several recommendations were suggested to improve the DEI among students in Kuwait. Findings: The study identified five factors that could influence an individual’s intention to engage in digital entrepreneurship. These factors include self-perceived creativity, social media use, risk-taking and opportunity recognition, digital entrepreneurship knowledge, and entrepreneurial self-perceived confidence. Significant solid correlations were between all five identified factors and DEI. However, only self-perceived creativity and entrepreneurial self-perceived confidence were identified as significant positive predictors of DEI among undergraduates in Kuwait. Nevertheless, the main contributor to this intention was the students’ self-perceived confidence as entrepreneurs. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should conduct further longitudinal studies to understand better the dynamic nature of DEI and execution. Future Research: Additional research is required to utilize probability sampling approaches and increase the sample size for more generalizable findings.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of the present study is to investigate how pre-game superstition and anxiety can drive the consumption and purchase of sports products and objects by triathletes. Methodology: We tested our hypotheses via a cross-sectional study on a sample of N=124 triathletes. Contribution: The originality of our work stands in the provision of empirical evidence on the role of superstition and anxiety in characterized consumer decision-making of triathletes. Theoretically and practically, our results can extend our knowledge of the role of cognitive factors in consumer behaviors among athletes. Findings: The results of the Structural Equation Modelling provided evidence of our hypothesized relationship between pre-game anxiety and superstition, and cognitive biases. Pre-game anxiety increases the level of incidence of specific cognitive biases characterized by intuitive and implicit thinking, while superstition leads to more rational and personal cognitive biases, which affect their purchasing of sports products before games and competitions.

Aim/Purpose: This study offers an important contribution to the literature on couple social comparisons by showing how different aspects of comparisons are related to relationship quality. Background: Making social comparisons is a daily tendency of human beings that does not only occur on an individual level but also in the context of romantic relationships. This phenomenon is widespread among couples, though partners differ in terms of their propensity to make couple social comparisons. The literature has shown that all these facets of couple social comparison play an important role in relationship functioning. Methodology: In the current study of 104 young adults in a heterosexual relationship, we investigated the association of couple social comparison propensity, explicit couple social comparisons, and implicit couple social comparisons with couple relationship quality in terms of commitment and relationship satisfaction. Contribution: So far, studies have not tested all these aspects in predicting partners’ relationship quality. Findings: Results showed that commitment was negatively predicted by relationship social comparison propensity and positively predicted by implicit couple social comparisons, while relationship satisfaction was positively predicted by both implicit and explicit couple social comparisons. Recommendation for Researchers: Our results have implications for couple interventions. In preventive interventions, sustaining a positive view of one’s relationship may promote relationship satisfaction and commitment. Future Research: Future research should adopt a dyadic design to investigate cross-partner associations.

Aim/Purpose: This review paper aims to unveil some underlying machine-learning classification algorithms used for political election predictions and how stack ensembles have been explored. Additionally, it examines the types of datasets available to researchers and presents the results they have achieved. Background: Predicting the outcomes of presidential elections has always been a significant aspect of political systems in numerous countries. Analysts and researchers examining political elections rely on existing datasets from various sources, including tweets, Facebook posts, and so forth to forecast future elections. However, these data sources often struggle to establish a direct correlation between voters and their voting patterns, primarily due to the manual nature of the voting process. Numerous factors influence election outcomes, including ethnicity, voter incentives, and campaign messages. The voting patterns of successors in regions of countries remain uncertain, and the reasons behind such patterns remain ambiguous. Methodology: The study examined a collection of articles obtained from Google Scholar, through search, focusing on the use of ensemble classifiers and machine learning classifiers and their application in predicting political elections through machine learning algorithms. Some specific keywords for the search include “ensemble classifier,” “political election prediction,” and “machine learning”, “stack ensemble”. Contribution: The study provides a broad and deep review of political election predictions through the use of machine learning algorithms and summarizes the major source of the dataset in the said analysis. Findings: Single classifiers have featured greatly in political election predictions, though ensemble classifiers have been used and have proven potent use in the said field is rather low. Recommendation for Researchers: The efficacy of stack classification algorithms can play a significant role in machine learning classification when modelled tactfully and is efficient in handling labelled datasets. however, runtime becomes a hindrance when the dataset grows larger with the increased number of base classifiers forming the stack. Future Research: There is the need to ensure a more comprehensive analysis, alternative data sources rather than depending largely on tweets, and explore ensemble machine learning classifiers in predicting political elections. Also, ensemble classification algorithms have indeed demonstrated superior performance when carefully chosen and combined.

This article is part of the 2024 BCLT-BTLJ-CMTL Symposium.  Leo Yu The national security concerns surrounding TikTok appear straightforward: it is China. To many policymakers and scholars, the mere connection to China warrants severe measures, including either divestment to an American firm or a complete shutdown. What renders China’s involvement ...

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By Barbara Rasin, J.D. Candidate, 2027 In Anderson v. TikTok, decided in in late summer 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that TikTok’s “For You Page” algorithm was sufficiently creative to bar its protection under §230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). This is a significant step towards ...

The post Expanding TikTok’s Liability for the “For You Page” appeared first on Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

Nan WU,Xiaocong LAI,Mei CHEN,Ying PAN, Vol.E107-D, No.11, pp.1433-1443
With the development of the Semantic Web, an increasing number of researchers are utilizing ontology technology to construct domain ontology. Since there is no unified construction standard, ontology heterogeneity occurs. The ontology matching method can fuse heterogeneous ontologies, which realizes the interoperability between knowledge and associates to more relevant semantic information. In the case of differences between ontologies, how to reduce false matching and unsuccessful matching is a critical problem to be solved. Moreover, as the number of ontologies increases, the semantic relationship between ontologies becomes increasingly complex. Nevertheless, the current methods that solely find the similarity of names between concepts are no longer sufficient. Consequently, this paper proposes an ontology matching method based on semantic association. Accurate matching pairs are discovered by existing semantic knowledge, and then the potential semantic associations between concepts are mined according to the characteristics of the contextual structure. The matching method can better carry out matching work based on reliable knowledge. In addition, this paper introduces a probabilistic logic repair method, which can detect and repair the conflict of matching results, to enhance the availability and reliability of matching results. The experimental results show that the proposed method effectively improves the quality of matching between ontologies and saves time on repairing incorrect matching pairs. Besides, compared with the existing ontology matching systems, the proposed method has better stability.
Publication Date: 2024/11/01

Zhigang WU,Yaohui ZHU, Vol.E107-D, No.11, pp.1385-1395
This article focuses on improving the BiSeNet v2 bilateral branch image segmentation network structure, enhancing its learning ability for spatial details and overall image segmentation accuracy. A modified network called “BiconvNet” is proposed. Firstly, to extract shallow spatial details more effectively, a parallel concatenated strip and dilated (PCSD) convolution module is proposed and used to extract local features and surrounding contextual features in the detail branch. Continuing on, the semantic branch is reconstructed using the lightweight capability of depth separable convolution and high performance of ConvNet, in order to enable more efficient learning of deep advanced semantic features. Finally, fine-tuning is performed on the bilateral guidance aggregation layer of BiSeNet v2, enabling better fusion of the feature maps output by the detail branch and semantic branch. The experimental part discusses the contribution of stripe convolution and different sizes of empty convolution to image segmentation accuracy, and compares them with common convolutions such as Conv2d convolution, CG convolution and CCA convolution. The experiment proves that the PCSD convolution module proposed in this paper has the highest segmentation accuracy in all categories of the Cityscapes dataset compared with common convolutions. BiConvNet achieved a 9.39% accuracy improvement over the BiSeNet v2 network, with only a slight increase of 1.18M in model parameters. A mIoU accuracy of 68.75% was achieved on the validation set. Furthermore, through comparative experiments with commonly used autonomous driving image segmentation algorithms in recent years, BiConvNet demonstrates strong competitive advantages in segmentation accuracy on the Cityscapes and BDD100K datasets.
Publication Date: 2024/11/01

Product innovation has become a crucial part of the sustainability of the coconut agro-industry in Indonesia, covering upstream and downstream sides. To overcome this challenge, it is necessary to create several model stages using a hybrid method that combines machine learning based on multiple criteria decision making and mass balance analysis. The research case study was conducted in Tembilahan district, Riau province, Indonesia, one of the primary coconut producers in Indonesia. The analysis results showed that potential products for domestic customers included coconut milk, coconut cooking oil, coconut chips, coconut jelly, coconut sugar, and virgin coconut oil. Furthermore, considering the experts, the most potential product to be developed was coconut sugar with a weight of 0.26. Prediction of coconut sugar demand reached 13,996,607 tons/year, requiring coconut sap as a raw material up to 97,976,249.

In Italy, the reimbursement provided to healthcare organisations for medical and surgical procedures is based on the diagnosis related group weight (DRGW), which is an increasing function of the complexity of the procedures. This makes the reimbursement an upper unlimited function. This model does not include the relation of the volume with the complexity. The paper proposes a mathematical model for the optimisation of the reimbursement by determining the optimal mix of volume/procedure, considering the relation volume/complexity and DRGW/complexity. The decreasing, linear, and increasing returns to scale have been defined, and the optimal solution found. The comparison of the model with the traditional approach shows that the proposed model helps the healthcare system to discern the quantity of the reimbursement to provide to health organisations, while the traditional approach, neglecting the relation between the volume and the complexity, can result in an overestimation of the reimbursement.

Automated Data Augmentation via Wikidata Relationships Oyesh Singh, UMBC10:30-11:30 Monday, 21 October 2019, ITE 346 With the increase in complexity of machine learning models, there is more need for data than ever. In order to fill this gap of annotated data-scarce situation, we look towards the ocean of free data present in Wikipedia and other […]

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A new paper describing a system integrating a GDPR Ontology with blockchain to support checking data operations for compliance.

The post paper: Automating GDPR Compliance using Policy Integrated Blockchain appeared first on UMBC ebiquity.

Amazon Fire TV Commercials Guide Understanding Amazon Fire TV advertisements is essential for maximizing their marketing potential. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the various ad options on Amazon Fire TV, including inline ads, feature rotators, sponsored screensavers, and sponsored tiles. It also explores targeting and personalization features to tailor advertisements to [...]

Programmatic Ad Mediation Explained Programmatic ad mediation allows publishers to manage multiple ad networks from a single platform, maximizing revenue and efficiency. This article explores how it works, its benefits, and tips for selecting the right platform. Key Takeaways Programmatic ad mediation streamlines the management of multiple ad networks through a unified platform, [...]

What is Biddable Media? Biddable media refers to digital advertising space purchased through real-time bidding. It’s a flexible and efficient way to ensure your ads reach the right audience. This article will cover the basics of biddable media and its benefits for your marketing strategy. Key Takeaways Biddable media operates through a real-time [...]

Social exchange theory is a broad theory that has been used to explain trust as an outcome of various exchange relationships, and research commonly presumes trust exists between exchange partners that have prior relationships. In this paper, we contribute to social exchange theory by isolating the trust outcomes of interorganizational exchanges from other outcomes emphasized by learning and knowledge-based perspectives, and by specifying important boundary conditions for the emergence of trust in interorganizational exchanges. We make such a theoretical contribution within the domain of strategic alliances by investigating the effects of previous alliance agreements, or prior ties, between the partnering firms. We find that prior ties generally lead to learning about a partner's anticipated behavioral patterns, which helps a firm predict when self-interested behavior may occur and know how to interact with the partner during the coordination and execution of the alliance tasks. By contrast, it is evident that the kind of trust emphasized in social exchange theory is not generally rooted in prior ties and only emerges from prior relationships under certain conditions. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on social exchange theory and for delineating the theory's domain of applicability.

In this inductive study, we shift the focus of stigma research inside organizational boundaries by examining its relationship with organizational identity. To do so, we draw on the case of Keystone, a social enterprise in the East of England that became stigmatized after it initiated a program of support for a group of migrants in its community. Keystone's stigmatization precipitated a crisis of organizational identity. We examine how the identity crisis unfolded, focusing on the forms of identity work that Keystone's leaders enacted in response. Interestingly, we show not only that the internal effects of stigmatization on identity can be managed, but also that they may facilitate unexpected positive outcomes for organizations.

We consider how social and psychological connections among CEOs explain the propensity for corporate leaders to distance themselves socially from journalists who engage in negative reporting about firm leadership at other companies, and we examine the consequences for the valence of journalists' subsequent coverage. Our theoretical framework suggests that journalists who have engaged in negative coverage of a firm's leadership and strategy are especially likely to experience distancing from other leaders who (i) have friendship ties to the firm's CEO, (ii) are demographically similar to the CEO on salient dimensions, or (iii) are socially identified with the CEO as a fellow member of the corporate elite. Our theory and findings ultimately suggest that, due to the multiple sources of social identification between CEOs, journalists who engage in negative coverage of firm leadership tend to experience social distancing from multiple CEOs, and such distancing has a powerful influence on the valence of journalists' subsequent reporting about firm leadership and strategy across all the firms that they cover. We also extend our theoretical framework to suggest how the effect of social distancing on the valence of journalists' coverage is moderated by the early and late stages of a journalist's career.

Beside making organizations look like their peers through the adoption of similar attributes (which we call alignment), this paper highlights the fact that conformity also enables organizations to stand out by exhibiting highly salient attributes key to their field or industry (which we call conventionality). Building on the conformity and status literatures, and using the case of major U.S. symphony orchestras and the changes in their concert programing between 1879 and 1969, we hypothesize and find that middle-status organizations are more aligned, and middle-status individual leaders make more conventional choices than their low- and high-status peers. In addition, the extent to which middle-status leaders adopt conventional programming is moderated by the status of the organization and by its level of alignment. This paper offers a novel theory and operationalization of organizational conformity, and contributes to the literature on status effects, and more broadly to the understanding of the key issues of distinctiveness and conformity.

We advance a model that highlights contingent linkages between overconfidence and narcissism, entrepreneurial entry, and the successful realization of venture opportunities. Overall, our proposals point to a paradox in which entrepreneurs high in overconfidence and narcissism are propelled toward more novel venture contexts—where these qualities are most detrimental to venture success, and are repelled from more familiar venture contexts—where these qualities are least harmful, and may even facilitate venture success. To illuminate these patterns of misalignment, we attend to the defining characteristics of alternative venture contexts and the focal mechanisms of overconfidence and narcissism.

If partnering with local firms is an intuitive strategy with which to mitigate uncertainty in foreign ventures, then why don't organizations always partner with local firms, especially in uncertain settings? We address this question by unbundling the effects of uncertainty in foreign ventures at the venture and country levels. We contend that, while both levels increase the need for partnering with local firms in foreign ventures, country-level uncertainty increases the difficulty of partnering with local firms and decreases the likelihood of such partnerships. We also posit that experiential learning helps firms manage the two types of uncertainty, and thereby reduces the need for partnering—yet, experience in the host country makes partnering more feasible and increases the likelihood of such partnerships. To test our hypotheses, we conceptualize the decision to partner with a local firm in a foreign venture as a multilayered decision, and model it accordingly. Using a global sample of venture capital investments made between 1984 and 2011, we find support for the distinct effects of venture- and country-level uncertainty as well as for corresponding levels of experiential learning. These findings have implications for the literature on cross-border venture capital investment and international business in general.

While many studies explain how social science theories shape social reality, few reflect critically on how such theories should shape social reality. Drawing on a new conception of social welfare and focusing on financial regulation, we assess the performative effects of theories on public policy. We delineate how research that focuses narrowly on questions of efficiency and stability reinforces today's technocratic financial regulation that undermines social welfare. As a remedy, we outline how future management research can tackle questions of social justice and thereby promote an inclusive approach to financial regulation that better serves social welfare.

Firms play a crucial role in furthering social welfare through their ability to foster stakeholders' contributions to joint value creation, i.e., value creation that involves a public-good dilemma due to high task and outcome interdependence - leading to what economists have labeled the 'team production problem'. We build on relational models theory to examine how individual stakeholders' contributions to joint value creation are shaped by stakeholders' mental representations of their relationships with the other participants in value creation, and how these mental representations are affected by the perceived behavior of the firm. Stakeholder theory typically contrasts a broadly-defined 'relational' approach to stakeholder management with a 'transactional' approach based on the price mechanism - and has argued that the former is more likely to contribute to social welfare than the latter. Our theory supports this prediction for joint value creation, but also implies that the dichotomy on which it is based is too coarse-grained: there are three distinct ways to trigger higher contributions to joint value creation than through a 'transactional' approach. Our theory also helps explain the tendency for firms and their stakeholders to converge on 'transactional' relationships, despite their relative inefficiency in the context of joint value creation.

This study investigates Anglo expatriate managers learning, knowledge acquisition, and adjustment to the host culture when working within Anglo multi-national companies operating in China. A structural equation model based on data from 121 expatriate managers reveal that Anglo managers adjust more effectively when their learning styles are congruent with the demands of the host culture. Their levels of accumulated managerial tacit knowledge and adaptive flexibility were also associated with their learning styles which in turn led to more effective adjustment to the host culture. Implications for theory, global manager development, and expatriate management are provided.

The interview questions deal with the means by which Estonia and other republics of the former Soviet Union managed to transform their educational systems and the impact of the Soviet heritage on this transformation. An interview was conducted with Professor Olav Aarna. In 1991 Professor Olav Aarna became the rector of TUT. From 2000 to 2003 he held the position of rector of the first private university in Estonia - Estonian Business School (EBS). From 2003 to 2007 Olav Aarna was member of the Estonian Parliament, serving also as Chairman of the Committee for Cultural Affairs responsible for education, research, culture and sports affairs. From 1998-2000 he was Vice Chairman of Estonian National Council for Research and Development. His experience in the field of educational legislation stems from his advisory position to the Minister of Education of Estonia from 1990 to1992. His competence in the field of the Bologna process results from the development of higher education legislation in Estonia (2002-...) and the development of a higher education quality assurance system for Estonia (2008-...). Olav Aarna has consulted third countries in the national qualifications framework (NQF) development as a European Training Foundation (ETF) expert.

After new ventures have exhausted the limited financial resources of founders, family, and friends, they often pursue initial external capital. To secure investment, entrepreneurs can signal about their venture's latent potential by aligning themselves with reliable third parties. Such affiliations affirm the new venture's legitimacy and provide substantive benefits in the form of mentoring, access to resources, and ongoing monitoring. However, early stage financing is an especially "noisy" signaling environment owing to the large number of startups seeking funding, many of which will not survive. The real value of third party affiliations in this context resides in their ability to unlock the potential of other more pedestrian signals, such as the entrepreneur's characteristics and actions that might otherwise go unnoticed. We borrow from the sensemaking literature to explain how third party affiliation signals disambiguate signals with multiple possible interpretations so that potential investors interpret them positively. Findings support our theory that a startup's characteristics and actions are signals that remain relatively unnoticed unless a startup combines them with a third party affiliation that enhances the signal's value, thus increasing the likelihood of receiving external capital.

Accumulated knowledge on organizational justice leaves little reason to doubt the notion that organizational members benefit when leaders adhere to interpersonal justice rules. However, upon considering how justice behaviors influence subordinates' cognitive processes, we predict that interpersonal justice has a surprising, unintended negative consequence. Supervisors who violate interpersonal justice rules trigger subordinates to search for reasons why their supervisors are threatening them, causing subordinates to be more attuned to supervisors' individual characteristics and therefore unlikely to use stereotypes when evaluating them. In contrast, supervisors who adhere to interpersonal justice rules allow subordinates to divert attention away from them, leading subordinates' judgments of their supervisors to be influenced by stereotypes. Consistent with these predictions, in a survey we found that minority supervisors faced bias relative to Caucasian supervisors when supervisors adhered to—but not when they violated—interpersonal justice rules. We replicated this effect in an experiment and established that it is explained by an alternating pattern of stereotype activation and inhibition: participants viewed minority supervisors to be more deceitful than Caucasians when supervisors adhered to—but not when they violated—interpersonal justice rules. We then conducted exploratory analyses and identified one factor (unit size) that mitigates this troubling pattern.

We extend the knowledge-based perspective to consider the impact of spin-out founders on knowledge transfer to new ventures. We argue that existing theory largely ignores the founder's role as team catalyst who mobilizes a team and transmits the team's knowledge to a new venture. We address this gap by building theory on the role of a spin-out founder as a facilitator of co-mobility, and whose impact on firm outcomes is mediated by the size and organizational experience of the recruited team. The support for our hypotheses, through use of linked employee-employer US Census data from the legal services industry, has theoretical and practical implications for the knowledge-based view and human resource strategies for both existing and entrepreneurial firms.

How does the presence of domain experts on a corporate board—directors whose primary professional experience is within the focal firm's industry—affect organizational outcomes? We argue that under conditions of significant decision uncertainty, a higher proportion of domain experts on a board may detract from effective decision making and thus increase the probability of organizational failure. Building on exploratory interviews with board members and CEOs, we derive hypotheses from this argument in the context of local banks in the United States. We predict that the greater the level of decision uncertainty—due to rapid asset growth or operation in less predictable markets—the stronger the relationship between the proportion of banking expert directors and the probability of bank failure. Longitudinal analyses of 1,307 banks between 1996 and 2012 support this prediction, even after accounting for both the overall level of professional diversity among directors and banks' different propensities to have an expert-heavy board. We discuss implications for the key dimensions of board composition, the conditions under which the professional background of directors is more or less consequential, and the mechanisms whereby board composition affects organizational outcomes.

Social welfare, or the good society, is of central concern to the Academy of Management. In this paper, we review the concept of social welfare, suggesting that regardless of discipline, social welfare is defined as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. We then review the literature on the corporate objective within a market economy, where the dominant view is that of a single-objective function. Analyzing this view, we argue for a multi-dimensional objective for organizations in order to meet social welfare objectives: where decision making within a market economy better utilizes the benefits of markets. We suggest that improvements in social welfare are possible where markets are better-enabled to operate among stakeholders unconstrained by some single-valued objective. In doing so, we respond to the critics of stakeholder theory who argue that it is an untenable theory due to its inability to specify how stakeholder objectives are to be prioritized.

Drawing on theories of behavioral decision making and situational strength, we developed and tested a multilevel model that explains how the performance outcomes of personal initiative tendency depend on the extent of alignment between organizational control mechanisms and proactive individuals' risk propensities. Results from a sample of 383 middle managers operating in 34 business units of a large multinational corporation indicated that risk propensity weakens the positive relationship between personal initiative tendency and job performance. This negative moderating effect was further amplified when middle managers receive high job autonomy but was attenuated in business units with a strong performance management context. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on proactivity, risk taking, and organizational control.

In a series of qualitative and quantitative studies, we developed a model of the functions of positive work relationships, with an explicit focus on the role that these relationships play in employee flourishing. Stories that employees told about positive relationships at work revealed that relationships serve a broad range of functions, including the traditionally-studied functions of task assistance, career advancement, and emotional support, as well as less studied functions of personal growth, friendship, and the opportunity to give to others. Building on this taxonomy, we validated a scale - the Relationship Functions Inventory - and developed theory suggesting differential linkages between the relationship functions and outcomes indicative of employee flourishing. Results revealed unique associations between functions and outcomes, such that task assistance was most strongly associated with job satisfaction, giving to others was most strongly associated with meaningful work, friendship was most strongly associated with positive emotions at work, and personal growth was most strongly associated with life satisfaction. Our results suggest that work relationships play a key role in promoting employee flourishing, and that examining the differential effects of a taxonomy of relationship functions brings precision to our understand of how relationships impact individual flourishing.

Effectively capturing opportunities requires rapid decision-making. We investigate the speed of opportunity evaluation decisions by focusing on firms' venture termination and venture advancement decisions. Experience, standard operating procedures, and confidence allow firms to make opportunity evaluation decisions faster; we propose that a firm's attentional orientation, as reflected in its project portfolio, limits the number of domains in which these speed-enhancing mechanisms can be developed. Hence firms' decision speed is likely to vary between different types of decisions. Using unique data on 3,269 mineral exploration ventures in the Australian mining industry, we find that firms with a higher degree of attention toward earlier-stage exploration activities are quicker to abandon potential opportunities in early development but slower to do so later, and that such firms are also slower to advance on potential opportunities at all stages compared to firms that focus their attention differently. Market dynamism moderates these relationships, but only with regard to initial evaluation decisions. Our study extends research on decision speed by showing that firms are not necessarily fast or slow regarding all the decisions they make, and by offering an opportunity evaluation framework that recognizes that decision makers can, in fact often do, pursue multiple potential opportunities simultaneously.

We examine how top management team (TMT) misfit, defined as discrepancies between the TMT's functional roles and the qualifications of the managers who fill those roles, affects the evolution of TMT composition and structure in a longitudinal study of entrepreneurial ventures. We distinguish two types of misfit - overqualification and underqualification - and study how each is associated with TMT changes. We further consider the moderating effect of firm development. Results reveal that underqualified TMTs hire new managers to reinforce existing capabilities whereas overqualified TMTs elaborate their role structures. However, achieving developmental milestones (i.e., obtaining venture capital funding and staging an initial public offering) is a critical contingency to TMT change: absent these milestones, firms neither hire new managers nor add roles, even when they seemingly need to do so. These findings contribute to knowledge of how TMTs and new ventures evolve by underscoring the importance of simultaneously attending to TMT composition and structure.

In Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (3rd edition) (SCSR), David Chandler and William B. Werther Jr. advance the view that the ability of firms to create value for a range of stakeholders over the medium- and long-term requires that they embed CSR into their strategies and operations. Its focus on the integration of CSR into strategic planning and implementation distinguishes SCSR from competing business and society textbooks, which tend to survey the field or focus on the management of the firm's relationships with stakeholders and society.

Social enterprise has gained widespread acclaim as a tool for addressing social and environmental problems. Yet, because these organizations integrate the social welfare and commercial logics, they face the challenge of pursuing goals that frequently conflict with each other. Studies have begun to address how established social enterprises can manage these tensions, but we know little about how, why, and with what consequences social entrepreneurs mix competing logics as they create new organizations. To address this gap, we develop a theoretical model based in identity theory that helps to explain: (1) how the commercial and social welfare logics become relevant to entrepreneurship, (2) how different types of entrepreneurs perceive the tension between these logics, and (3) the implications this has for how entrepreneurs go about recognizing and developing social enterprise opportunities. Our approach responds to calls from organizational and entrepreneurship scholars to extend existing frameworks of opportunity recognition and development to better account for social enterprise creation.