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A specific area of interest in the coaching literature is focused on exploring the intersection of personality and coaching; however, research has yet to explore whether coaching exerts reciprocal effects on personality traits (i.e. if personality trait change can accompany coaching). Utilizing the explanatory theoretical framing of the Demands-Affordances TrAnsactional framework (Woods et al., 2019), we propose that coaching may indirectly facilitate personality trait change by firstly enabling the coachee to reflect on their behaviors, second, implement desired behavioral changes which consequently facilitate personality trait change.

A quasi-experiment was conducted to explore coaching and personality trait change. Students participating in a demanding, work-based team simulation (N = 258), were assigned to either an intervention group (and received one-to-one coaching) or a control group (who received no intervention). Personality traits were measured before and after coaching and positioned as the dependent variable.

Results indicate that participants in the coaching group exhibited significant changes in self-reported agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion and core self-evaluations, which all significantly decreased after coaching; however, no change was observed for the control group.

We provide the first exploration of coaching and personality trait change, contributing to both the coaching literature, by providing evidence regarding the efficacy of coaching to facilitate personality trait change in coachees, and the personality literature, by highlighting coaching as an important tool for those interested in personality trait change. Our research also has implications for other interventions such as mentoring, as we provide support for the notion that interventions can support personality trait change.

Blockchain is an innovative and emerging technology that allows the structuring of open data in a secure and decentralized manner. This technology, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), is a driver of digital transformation that permeates all sectors of the economy. In this context, it becomes relevant to understand the applicability of AI and blockchain in education, more specifically their use in higher education. Thus, the following problem arises: how can blockchain technology and AI be applied to higher education? To answer this problem, the following objective was set: to map by means of a scoping review how AI and blockchain can be applied in education as a technology for higher education. To this end, a bibliometric search was conducted in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases, adopting the PRiSM methodology for scoping review. The results showed that blockchain and AI can be used in higher education through a smart contract that serves to motivate teamwork and student involvement in activities performed in the school context and also to increase machine reliability by establishing a chain of information. It is also concluded that these technologies will help form a generation ready to work in a more collaborative way, adopting attitudes of sustainability in its local and global context for solving complex problems of everyday life in the 21st century.

In India, 52% of e-commerce consumers actively engage in hyperlocal commerce, representing a substantial increase in online purchasing and hyperlocal services over the past two years. How individuals discover, select, and acquire products and services has been significantly altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital payments and contactless deliveries have become indispensable in the current dynamic environment, affording consumers enhanced security and convenience. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has enabled the widespread adoption of contactless payments, including Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) chip cards, which eliminate the need for customers to swipe their cards during physical transactions. Particularly in the fast food, pharmaceutical, and supermarket industries, the symbiotic relationship between e-commerce and contactless payments has experienced significant expansion in India. This chapter investigates the synergies between cashless, contactless, and autonomous purchasing in the digital age. This research examines these technologies’ reciprocal reinforcement and interconnections, focusing on their profound influence on retail transactions and purchasing experiences. The progressive development of payment systems is evidenced by the expanding prevalence of contactless transactions, facilitated by innovations such as the “tap to pay” feature partnership between Paytm and Kotak Mahindra. The year 2023 is anticipated to witness several significant developments, including the expansion of virtual retail, the push for contactless transactions, and the establishment of initiatives such as the open network for digital commerce. The range of applications for frictionless, contactless, and autonomous shopping is extensive, encompassing mobile payment applications such as Apple Pay and Google Pay and proprietary apps developed by retailers to enhance the purchasing experience.

This study assesses the impact of biogas adoption on household energy use and livelihood improvement. Also, this study aims to clarify the benefits of biogas adoption as a pathway to sustainable household energy.

The study explored the benefits of adopting biogas uptake. Fourteen sustainability indicators were identified, validated and categorized.

Adopting biogas technology provides numerous benefits, including better air quality, reduced deforestation and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Households can replace up to 4.5 tons of wood fuel, cutting CO₂ emissions by around 6.75 tons annually. This shift saves approximately US$25 (Ksh.3223) monthly and frees up 45.5 h per week, enabling families to pursue additional income-generating activities. Biogas also produces digestate, a natural fertilizer that improves soil fertility, water retention and reduces erosion while minimizing the need for chemical fertilizers. Integrating biogas in livestock housing reduces odors, pathogens and methane emissions.

The findings demonstrate numerous social, economic and environmental implications of biogas use.

Health benefits include lower exposure to smoke and particulate matter, particularly benefiting women and children by reducing respiratory issues, improving lighting and enhancing educational opportunities. Biogas further improves hygiene, promotes cleanliness, strengthens energy security and alleviates energy poverty. In addition, the construction, operation and maintenance of biogas systems create jobs, and the use of digestate enhances agricultural productivity.

This study provides a unique and thorough analysis of the benefits of biogas, offering valuable insights and outlining a sustainable approach.

The paper aims to explore the relationship between accounting and racial violence through an investigation of sharecropping in the postbellum American South.

A range of primary sources including peonage case files of the US Department of Justice and the archives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) are utilised. Data are analysed by reference to Randall Collins' theory of violence. Consistent with this theory, a micro-sociological approach to examining violent encounters is employed.

It is demonstrated that the production of alternative or competing accounts, accounting manipulation and failure to account generated interactions where confrontational tension culminated in bluster, physical attacks and lynching. Such violence took place in the context of potent racial ideologies and institutions.

The paper is distinctive in its focus on the interface between accounting and “actual” (as opposed to symbolic) violence. It reveals how accounting processes and traces featured in the highly charged emotional fields from which physical violence could erupt. The study advances knowledge of the role of accounting in race relations from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, a largely unexplored period in the accounting history literature. It also seeks to extend the research agenda on accounting and slavery (which has hitherto emphasised chattel slavery) to encompass the practice of debt peonage.

This chapter examines two 21st-century Disney fairy tale adaptations, Frozen (2013) and its sequel Frozen II (2019), focussing on the representation of male characters and the discourse on masculinity that can be inferred from both films.

Despite featuring two prominent female protagonists – Queen Elsa and Princess Anna – and dealing with themes such as sisterhood and female bonding, a close reading of the two films reveals that they are as much about masculinity as they are about femininity. For instance, filmmakers introduce heterosexual romance where there was none before, as well as male characters Prince Hans and Kristoff, who are not present in the literary source that they draw from, Hans Christian Andersen's ‘The Snow Queen’ (1844).

Furthermore, these male characters are given names, personalities, and motivations, which cannot be said of previous Disney fairy tale Prince Charming-type figures. Therefore, Hans and Kristoff are proposed to be variations of this archetype and can be read as an attempt on Disney's part to complicate it, undermine the patriarchal masculinity that it stood for in its previous Disney renderings, and propose alternative models for the implied 21st-century audience.

Although Prince Hans is initially presented as a stereotypical Disney fairy tale prince, he is eventually revealed to be a narcissistic lover and a patriarchal villain. Kristoff, by contrast, is the humble, lower-class, sensitive ‘new’ man who is presented as a socially acceptable alternative and finally takes Prince Charming's place by becoming the princess's love interest and partner. Frozen can be read as a cautionary tale that urges young women to choose their romantic (male) partners wisely and warns both male and female audiences against the dangers of fragile patriarchal masculinity.

This paper aims to contribute to research on hybrid organisations operating within the information and communication technology for development paradigm to foster socio-economic inclusion through the capacity building of marginalised individual youth to enable their entry and participation in the formal labour market.

Using a qualitative research design, the authors investigated impact sourcing service providers and their beneficiaries to unpack how hybrid organisations fulfil their social mission and to provide a nuanced understanding of their needed capabilities. Data triangulation through document analysis, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted for the empirical findings’ robustness and in-depth analysis.

This paper illuminates how hybrids strived to build beneficiaries' capabilities through empirically grounded approaches of “standardised” and “individualised” skills development, which were strongly connected to the perceived capabilities among the beneficiaries. Organisations that practiced the “individualised” approach imparted technical knowledge and, depending on individual needs, relevant social skills. Critically, the empirical findings call into question the effectiveness of the scalability model, as the results showed that the creation of standardised, low-skilled and low-paid jobs contradicts the idealised self-help status that employment advocates. In addition, the findings underline the central role of constant experimentation, resilience and organisational learning in revamping capabilities of hybrid organisations. Remarkably, compared to organisations committed to the “standardised” technical competency path, the results underscored the difficulties that organisations taking an “individualised" approach face in developing organisational capabilities for their financial sustainability. Further, organisations engaged in standardised” skills development were found to readapt their business model to the economic value and kept the wording of dual mission as a narrative.

The paper makes a conceptual and empirical contribution bringing together two separately developed literature strands – the organisational capability approach and – the individual capability approach, to enhance a more profound understanding of how both capabilities are connected to each other in the dual-mission orientation of hybrids embedded in resource-poor environments, global value chains, Global South, hybrid organisations, organisational and individual capability building.

This study examines the transformation of labour non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Mainland China since the enactment of the 2017 Overseas NGO Management Law, which aims to regulate foreign concerns functioning outside the direct control of the state. It focuses on the extent to which these organisations have responded to the rapidly changing political and social environment by altering their goals and strategies in support of migrant workers. It also considers the relevance of Western social movement theories (SMTs) to China's grassroots labour movement in the 2020s. 

The research is based on case studies of ten labour NGOs operating in Beijing, Tianjin and Yunnan. It draws upon fifteen semi-structured interviews with the founders, leaders and activists affiliated with those organisations, as well as records and documented information of each of those organisations.

While the power and influence of labour NGOs markedly diminished, most have been able to adapt their goals and the strategies remain sustainable amidst both China's changing political and social climates and the global pandemic. It suggests that conventional SMTs can still offer valuable insights into understanding the development of labour NGOs in China, although they might not fully interpret the specific conditions and challenges faced by these organisations.

This study stands out as one of very few to offer empirical evidence on the inner workings of China's labour NGOs over the last six years. It also contributes to our understanding of social movements in a non-Western context.

The purpose of this paper was (1) to examine the underexplored intersection of sports betting and favorite team loyalty, and (2) to assess differences in gambling behavior among sport bettors by varying levels of team loyalty.

A total of 1,555 National Football League (NFL) bettors and non-betting NFL fans were surveyed to assess media consumption across a mix of team loyalty attitudes and betting behaviors.

Statistically significant differences were found between four types of NFL fans (casual, team loyalty-dominant, betting-dominant and hybrid) as it relates to media consumption in various forms. Most notably, the results suggested symbiosis between the activities.

The symbiosis finding, though preliminary, suggests the activity provides an additional platform for consumers to connect with spectator sport. Furthermore, the act of betting, like participation in fantasy sports, appears to spur consumption of the NFL product generally. The study, however, was limited to NFL fans, did not specify the method for sports betting, nor the intensity of gambling.

Teams should not worry that betting detracts from fan engagement with the team product. Also, leagues and media providers should continue to highlight betting content as participants consume at higher rates than non-participating sports fans.

Team fandom may potentially moderate problem behavior among bettors. The betting results indicate being a loyal team fan lowers one’s gambling spend per month and largest bet compared to non-loyal bettors. However, the hybrid fan showed significantly higher media consumption levels.

Sports fans have more opportunities to interact and engage with their favorite games than ever before. However, consumers have limited amounts of time and money, and this study is one of the first to examine differences in fan interests and behaviors related to sport betting and team loyalty and the resulting viewership and consumption behavior.