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Given the urgency of corporate engagement in sustainable development, companies seek ways to involve their employees in sustainability efforts. In this regard, gamified systems have gained attention as a novel tool to promote sustainable employee behavior. However, as the research field matures, researchers and practitioners are confronted with a scattered academic landscape that makes it difficult to grasp how gamification can be designed to engage employees in sustainable behavior and to understand how gamification effects unfold at psychological, behavioral and corporate levels of sustainability.

This paper uses a systematic literature review to consolidate the existing knowledge on gamification designs and their effects on sustainable employee behavior.

Studies have explored a variety of utilitarian and achievement-, immersion- and social-related gameful affordances to promote positive behavior- and system-related psychological effects as a basis for employee engagement in sustainable behavior. However, the evidence regarding their impact on rational decision-making processes and overcoming the intention-action gap inherent in sustainability is still limited. Nevertheless, several studies in focused areas indicate the potential to elicit behavioral changes that drive sustainability outcomes at the corporate level as well.

Our study provides three main contributions. First, we develop a conceptual framework that illustrates how gamification can drive sustainable behavior in the workplace. Second, we derive seven agenda points to guide future research on gamification for corporate sustainability. Third, we deduce three practical approaches to use gamification as a strategic intervention to promote sustainable behavior in organizations.

This study’s objective is to offer a process to adapt the Kano model as a quality management (QM) tool for prioritizing students’ sustainability transformation requirements of higher education institutions (HEIs).

Data for this study were gathered from business students enrolled in bachelor’s programs at two state universities in the USA and one public university in Germany. In total, 239 students participated in the survey. For the Kano analysis, instead of selectively applying various evaluation rules and quality criteria, an integrative-sequential analysis process involving three steps is employed to enhance classification quality.

Results show that sustainability transformation expectations and their priority orders differ across the countries studied. Although the Kano model as a QM tool has not been extensively used by HEIs to gauge students’ sustainability expectations, it offers significant potential as part of a comprehensive process to translate stakeholder sustainability needs into HEIs’ actions.

As the first study adapting the Kano model as a QM tool for use in HEIs’ sustainability transformations, our study contributes to the growing body of research on incorporating QM tools and customer and stakeholder orientation into the sustainability context at HEIs.

The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which work practices promote work-life balance when family time is available (as a spillover effect from work to personal life) and how differently they affect men and women.

A quantitative and longitudinal approach is taken based on data from a large database made up of 71,758 workers from 36 European countries, collected in 2021 by the European Working Conditions Survey. After preliminary analysis (including exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis), the partial least square method was used to test the hypothesis of the conceptual model.

The results of this study reveal that some work practices (autonomy and confidence at work) positively affect work-life balance. The time available for family and domestic care positively affects work-life balance, and this effect is more relevant for women than for men.

These results are important for organizations that wish to promote not only family-friendly work practices but also above all gender-friendly work practices.

Based on a large sample of European workers, this study makes an important contribution by filling the gap on the understanding and importance of mechanisms outside the organizational context for promoting work-life balance through work practices, thus extending the notion of spillover effects while considering gender differences.

Under the trend of global economic integration and the new context of stagflation, frequent fluctuations in international interest rates are exerting far-reaching impacts on the world economy. In this paper, the transmission mechanism of the impact of fluctuations in international interest rates (specifically, the American interest rate) on the bankruptcy risk in China's pillar industry, the construction industry (which is also sensitive to interest rates), is examined.

Using an improved contingent claims analysis, the bankruptcy risk of enterprises is calculated in this paper. Additionally, an individual fixed-effects model is developed to investigate the mediating effects of international interest rates on the bankruptcy risk in the Chinese construction industry. The heterogeneity of subindustries in the industrial chain and the impact of China's energy consumption structure are also analysed in this paper.

The findings show that fluctuations in international interest rates, which affect the bankruptcy risk of China's construction industry, are mainly transmitted through two major pathways, namely, commodity price effects and exchange rate effects. In addition, the authors examine the important impact of China's energy consumption structure on risk transmission and assess the transmission and sharing of risks within the industrial chain.

First, in the research field, the study of international interest rate risk is extended to domestic-oriented industries. Second, in terms of the research content, this paper is focused on China-specific issues, including the significant influence of China's energy consumption structure characteristics and the risk contagion (and risk sharing) as determined by the current development of the Chinese construction industry. Third, in terms of research methods a modified contingent claim analysis approach to bankruptcy risk indicators is adopted for this study, thus overcoming the problems of data frequency, market sentiment and financial data fraud, which are issues that are ignored by most relevant studies.

This paper explores the engagement of architecture and design-related disciplines within the built environment with social media. The study aims to identify key themes, assess the methodologies used and compare the approaches across different disciplines.

The research employs a semi-systematic literature review coupled with thematic analysis. This approach allows for a comprehensive examination of existing studies, identifying key themes, trends and gaps in the current knowledge base. Through this methodology, the paper synthesises diverse perspectives and insights from a wide range of sources.

Social media data is a valuable tool for understanding architecture and the built environment, but there is a significant divergence in methodologies across disciplines. There is a growing advocacy for mixed-method approaches that would benefit from critical engagement with data that’s underpinned by theoretical frameworks. Such approaches enhance research robustness, support multidisciplinary collaboration and improve the applicability of social media data in design practices.

Despite the proliferation of literature on social media and the built environment, there remains a lack of nuanced understanding regarding thematic variations within individual design disciplines and the specific research methodologies they employ. This paper critically reviews existing research to offer current insights, research gaps and potential future research directions on social media and architecture/design-related disciplines in the built environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered daily life for Gen Z. The purpose of this study was to examine parental perceptions of the pandemic’s effects on their children’s peer relationships. As children sought peer connection during the pandemic, technology usage soared. The second purpose of the current study was to assess how greater time on social media affected adjustment among Gen Z and whether this effect was mediated by experiences of cyber victimization.

In total, 250 U.S. parent-child dyads participated in the study. Parents reported on their children’s social media use and described how they believed the pandemic affected their children’s peer relationships. Child participants were transitioning to middle school and reported on cyber victimization and adjustment.

Thematic analysis of parental reflections revealed three themes: children spent more time online since the onset of the pandemic, there were negative implications of increased time online and there were positive and protective implications of being online. Analysis also indicated significant indirect effects of social media use on internalizing and externalizing problems through victimization.

Parents reported Gen Z continues to use electronic forms of communication and social media at high rates even after pandemic-related restrictions eased with some suggesting that their children prefer digital over face-to-face communication because they have become accustomed to this way of connecting and may find it easier than in-person interaction. Current findings highlight concerns about this increased time online as social media use negatively affected adjustment via cyber victimization.

The societal, economic and personal costs of aggression are indisputable. Impulsivity and childhood trauma (CT) play a role in aggression but less is known about the potential mechanisms underlying these associations. This study aimed to investigate the influence of CTs and impulsivity on aggression in the general population.

A total of 178 participants (aged 18–86, M = 30.93, SD = 14.50) including 65 men (36.5%), 110 women (61.8%), 3 participants self-identified (1.7%)(n = 2 nonbinary, n = 1 gender fluid) of the UK adult population completed an online survey. Questionnaires measured impulsivity (Short UPPS-P), adverse childhood experiences (CT Questionnaire) and aggression (Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire).

Emotional neglect and abuse were the most endorsed CTs (abuse and neglect). As predicted, results showed the impulsivity facet “negative urgency” was associated with the behaviour, emotions and cognitions of aggression. Findings showed a distinct effect of both impulsivity and emotional abuse on physical aggression, which may reflect a pathway in which impulsivity influences adverse childhood experiences and future violence. Types of aggression may have potentially distinct pathways. This study discusses the reasons for these observed results and future research.

The originality/value of the paper lies in the acknowledgement of the role of negative and positive urgency in behaviours related to emotional dysregulation. It also highlighted the importance of examining different types of aggression. There was a distinct effect of both impulsivity and CTs on physical aggression and hostility. Further research in larger samples should examine pathways in which impulsivity mediates the effects of adverse childhood experiences and adulthood aggression. These collective insights can help further our understanding of the role adverse and traumatic events in childhood and impulsivity has on aggression and may be relevant to tailored support and intervention strategies for individuals expressing aggressive behaviours.