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This article presents findings on the relationship between social interactions in remote learning environments and the perceived effectiveness of remote learning. Specifically, it examines the impact of teacher-student interactions and student-student interactions on perceived effectiveness of remote learning, with a focus on how students’ attitudes towards remote education mediate this relationship. Additionally, it explores the moderating effects of cultural context and study form (full-time vs part-time) on these dynamics.

A quantitative research design was used, employing a structured survey questionnaire to collect data from a diverse group of students from Poland, India, Indonesia and the UK. The study involved 1,883 students and analysed the data using statistical methods to assess both mediation and moderation effects. The study employed data obtained from a survey of universities in four countries conducted between 2021 and 2022.

The results emphasise the significant influence of both teacher-student and student-student interactions on students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of remote learning. Positive attitudes towards remote learning were found to mediate this relationship, amplifying the beneficial effects of social interaction. Furthermore, the study reveals that cultural context and study form moderate these relationships, with varying impacts observed across different cultural backgrounds and study arrangements. The study has implications for theory, research, policy implementation and practice in improving education programs.

The comparative analysis included only four countries, which may have affected the overall representativeness of the results. Because the study is limited to students from Poland, India, Indonesia and the UK, the findings may not fully capture the diversity of remote learning experiences across other cultural and socioeconomic contexts. As a result, there may be challenges in generalising these findings to all higher education settings globally. Future research is recommended to include a more extensive sample from additional countries and regions to validate the current results and enhance their generalisability. Therefore, it is worth continuing research in this area, considering more countries and potential moderating factors.

This research contributes original insights into the dynamics of remote learning during a global crisis, offering an understanding of how social interactions, student attitudes and contextual factors shape perceived effectiveness. These findings provide critical guidance for educators, policymakers and institutions seeking to optimise remote education strategies in diverse cultural and educational settings.

The link between sleep disturbance and aggression among forensic psychiatric patients is well established. However, the relationship between subjective experience of sleep quality and sleep hygiene, reported head injury, age, neuropsychological functioning and risk within these populations remains poorly understood. A study is described examining the relationships between these factors in a sample of individuals deemed a “grave and immediate” risk toothers. The aim of this study is to explore these relationships in more detail.

A service evaluation project examining the prevalence of self-reported sleep dysfunction, age and the relationship with neuropsychological functioning, reported head injury and dynamic risk appraisals of a UK high secure psychiatric patient sample is described (n = 84).

Self-reported poor sleep quality and poor sleep hygiene is present among 65% of patients, especially those in admission and high dependency wards. Whilst there are no differences between those with a self-reported head injury history in sleep quality, there is in sleep hygiene. Older patients also report more sleep hygiene problems. The combination of poor sleep quality, poor sleep hygiene and performance within selective aspects of executive functioning tasks has some relationship with dynamic risk.

The importance of sleep management and cognitive remediation is discussed, as is the need for more robust research and inclusion of an assessment of sleep within forensic neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship of sleep disturbance, neuropsychological functioning and head injuries and risk within a high secure psychiatric patient sample.

This study aims to examine the extent to which information asymmetry affects investment efficiency and whether the presence of blockholders moderate this relationship.

We employ the data of firms listed on the Malaysian stock exchange for the period 2010–2018, to compose our sample. Our final sample includes the 100 largest non-financial firms based on market capitalization. Collectively, these 100 companies contribute 84.2% to the total market capitalization (MYR 1,730bn) which is representative of the whole market. The ordinary least squares regressions were used as the main estimation technique. The system generalized method of moments, two-stage least squares and propensity score matching were also used, to address potential endogeneity concerns.

We document a positively significant association of information asymmetry with investment inefficiency. These results imply that information asymmetry reduces investment efficiency and enhances sub-optimal investments. We also document that blockholders negatively moderate the relationship of information asymmetry with investment inefficiency. Further analyses show that investment inefficiency is higher in low-growth firms than in high-growth firms because of higher information asymmetry.

We focus on Malaysia, which is a predominantly common-law Anglo-Saxon country. Graff (2008) documented that the investors are treated differently across legal systems and there are differences between the continental European and Anglo-Saxon countries. La Porta et al. (1999) documented that investors tend to have more legal protection in Anglo-Saxon countries. Therefore, our results may not be generalized to countries with different legal systems.

An important implication of our findings is that stakeholders may encourage the presence of blockholders and give them a voice to weaken the positive relationship between information asymmetry and investment inefficiency.

This study contributes to the contingency literature by investigating the moderating effect of an important governance mechanism, i.e. the presence of blockholders on information asymmetry-investment efficiency nexus. Despite being important, this moderating effect has been largely overlooked in the literature. Our study contributes by providing an understanding of how blockholders can influence investment decisions, offering insights for academics, investors and policymakers focused on improving the efficacy of investment decisions and governance structure.

This study primarily investigated the tendency of management students to exhibit bias blind spots on three biases related to career decision-making. Second, it also explores how different decision styles, namely rational and intuitive, relate to bias blind spots, considering career exploration as a key factor that might influence this relationship.

To gather data from 277 second-year MBA students specializing in management and business administration from two southern states of India. SPSS software was used to measure the bias blind spot score, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

The research findings highlight that students exhibit a bias blind spot tendency during self and environment exploration, and the decision styles indirectly affect bias blind spots through the mediating effects of career exploration.

These findings have implications for future research in career psychology, career guidance, and social psychology and for developing interventions to enhance career exploration behavior and decision-making styles to mitigate cognitive biases in career decision-making.

This study aims to shed light on the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) decision-making process and how members’ participation affects the decision-making.

This study applied a qualitative approach to capture experiences, thoughts and opinions on NGO internal democracy. The study was conducted on the Tanzanian mainland, covering two NGOs. Data were collected through interviews and document reviews. The analysis of the data was conducted using a thematic approach.

The results reveal that, while NGOs are making promising progress in consolidating internal democracy and the annual general meeting remains the highest decision-making body, some members have been reluctant to attend such meetings, hence failing to participate. This has implications for NGOs strategic decision-making.

The study focused on only two NGOs. This opens room for more studies to capture members’ opinions and experience on NGOs decision-making processes.

This study suggests considering the use of digital platforms as a way of improving members’ participation in NGOs decisions, reducing costs and increasing flexibility. Also, NGOs have to educate members, improve the level of internal accountability and strengthen leadership to attract members’ participation. This would help to realize the Tanzania National Strategy for NGOs Sustainability 2022/2023–2026/2027 for enhancing the capacity of NGOs to deliver their missions. This is relevant, especially in developing countries where there is a struggle to establish strong NGOs.

Most studies focused on the role of NGOs in promoting democracy; few have interrogated their internal democratic arrangements. This study interrogated the internal democracy of NGOs and the way it affects members’ participation in decision-making.

This paper aims to compare the effects of social procurement policies on companies in the Victorian and Scottish construction industries. Scotland and Victoria have led the way in the recent revival of social procurement.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 27 organisations and 28 participants who have experience of implementing social procurement policies into the construction industries of both jurisdictions.

Findings contribute important new comparative insights from multiple stakeholder perspectives, into the effects of social procurement policies on firms operating in the construction industries of the two jurisdictions. Findings indicate an increasing awareness of social procurement in the construction industries of both Scotland and Victoria. However, differences in policy design determine the nature and extent of this awareness, the level of empowerment felt by actors and the social impact these new policies have in practice. It is concluded that to maximise the social impact of social procurement policies into major industries like construction, policymakers need to carefully consider supply-side limitations, the political context into which social procurement is being implemented and the way they prescribe what types of social value they want to create and for whom.

Successful social procurement policy implementation into the construction industry can have significant positive social implications for the communities in which the industry builds due to the large numbers of people it employs and its large multiplier effect into the wider economy.

By investigating the effects of social procurement policies on a cross-section of organisations from across the construction industry supply chain, this international study, contributes new comparative insights to the emerging bodies of research on the impact of public procurement on companies in major industries like construction.

In most Sub-Saharan African countries, a widely adopted policy to increase access to healthcare is the complete or partial removal of health user fees. This paper examines the effect of removing health user fees on the cognitive development of children in Ghana.

The study uses the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey (GSPS) and a difference-in-differences method to analyze the impacts of free healthcare.

The findings show that improved access to healthcare enhances the cognitive ability of children. More importantly, children who received free healthcare in early life experienced significant improvement in their cognitive ability. The benefits are also huge for girls and children from low-income families. The findings further show that maternal health, the timely receipt of vaccinations and regular infant health visits are important operative channels through which improved access to healthcare affects children’s cognitive ability.

There are several studies on the effects of eliminating health user fees on various outcomes, but only a few focus on children’s outcomes. This study contributes to the literature by focusing on a vital child outcome, cognitive ability and exploring the timing and pathways through which abolishing health user fees affect cognitive development in children. Because cognitive ability is crucial for educational and labor market outcomes, the findings are useful for policymakers in determining the population to target and the timing of interventions that yield huge impacts when designing health intervention programs in developing countries.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0739.

Governments in developing countries seeking to meet their infrastructure backlog are increasingly turning to public–private partnerships (PPP) due to a lack of public funds. However, while there are factors which drive the current uptake of projects, there are challenges with attracting private finance, and it is not clear what incentives can be used to attract more private participation, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Therefore, this study aims to examine challenges, drivers and incentives that affect private participation in PPP projects in Zambia.

The study used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with participants who had first-hand experience working on the administration of PPP projects. The participants were predominantly from the public sector, and so the results are largely a public sector perspective on the matter.

The findings show that bureaucracy and a poor business environment emanating from poor policies, long procedures and a poor economic environment are the main challenges affecting PPP projects. The current demand for the projects is being driven by a stable business and economic environment while incentives include enhancing the business environment by improving procedures and policies.

The study contributes to extant literature by proposing an overarching theory about the challenges affecting the implementation of PPP projects in Zambia, in particular, and in SSA, in general. The results show areas where governments and government agencies responsible for PPP projects can focus attention to promote private participation.

Paper-based records management systems remain dominant in Tanzanian Government organisations despite the increase in digital records management systems adoption across the globe. To create an understanding of this state, this study aims to investigate the use of records management systems in Tanzanian public sector organisations.

A descriptive research design was used in this study, alongside quantitative and qualitative approaches. A total of 81 respondents were drawn from three public sector organisations. To get a sample, non-probability (convenience and purposive) sampling techniques were used. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire and interview methods were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data. To analyse quantitative and qualitative data, the researchers used a mixed-methods analysis.

The study reveals different types of records management systems used in public sector organisations. Besides, the findings suggest that a large proportion of records are created through the digitisation of existing records. Aside from that, the study has revealed different types of records managed in the systems by government organisations. According to the study, there are various factors that determine the effective use of records management systems in public sector organisations.

The implications of the present study are diverse. Specifically, its findings expand the theoretical body of knowledge by adding new insights regarding records management systems usage in government offices. The findings also provide the government with a basis for formulating and improving legal and regulatory frameworks to enhance records management. Apart from this, the findings are likely to benefit records practitioners by orchestrating inclusive strategies that will promote, not only effectiveness, but also sustainability in records management.

In Tanzania, a few studies have been conducted to examine digital records management practices and systems. These studies have not extensively highlighted the systems used to manage the records. This makes little to be known on the systems used to manage records in government offices. The present study has ascertained records management systems used in public sector organisations.

This paper aims to investigate the motivational drivers for knowledge sharing (KS) through the application of mobile social networking (MSN) and their influence on employee productivity in the Malaysian construction industry.

The data was collected by distributing a self-administered questionnaire among employees working in the construction industry. A total of 250 questionnaires were collected and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. This study used a variety of analysis methodologies including correlation analysis, reliability and validity testing, as well as a structural model in evaluating the relationships between KS, motivational factors and influence on productivity.

The empirical results of this study reveal that utilitarian motivation is positively related to internal and external KS. Similarly, internal and external KS have a positive influence on productivity, while internal and external hedonic motivation does not show any significant relationship with productivity.

Considering the paucity of evidence regarding the determinants of KS motivational drives on employee productivity in the Malaysian construction industry, this study enriches the social cognitive theory-based literature on KS.

This study provides some insights to the players in the construction industry in implementing the most appropriate KS promotion strategies that could potentially influence employee productivity. Organisations in the construction industry that place great emphasis on utilitarian motivation including competency, reward and incentives are more likely to have a better influence on KS and, in turn, positively impact employee productivity.

This study meaningfully contributes to enhancing the understanding of the motivational drivers for sharing knowledge on MSN and its influence on productivity. The findings of this study potentially assist construction practitioners in developing a holistic blueprint for managing their KS towards improving the overall productivity of their employees.