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Previous discussions have characterized hookup culture as ambiguous by nature, but social psychological theory tells us people dislike ambiguity in practice. Meanwhile, a myriad of undefined relationship terms (e.g., talking to, hanging out, having a thing) arose and have remained in use. I examine (1) whether these different “situationship” labels have distinct affective meaning and (2) what that suggests for those occupying the concomitant identities (i.e., assess the behavioral and emotional consequences of being “someone in a _____ relationship”).

Using affect control theory and a sample of young adults in defined (N = 50) and undefined (N = 43) relationship types, I test if affective ratings of various relationship label identities are statistically distinct. I then computationally model social events with each relationship label as actor (X identity performs [behavior]), compare their differing levels of social discomfort, and empirically predict the emotions each identity would feel.

Undefined relationship labels are not synonymous. Correspondingly, the nature, emotions, and expected behaviors of the individuals with those labels' related relational identities are not equivalent. In cultural evaluation, all undefined relationship labels are lower than all defined relationship labels. In event simulations, predicted deflection levels and actor consequent emotions (how normative is it and how jarring does it feel) were patterned by the labels' cultural evaluation ratings, these correlate with relationship commitment level.

By interpersonal necessity, individuals make fine distinctions in shared meanings within a cultural context of constant redefinition. Physically and emotionally negative behaviors are culturally more expected and accepted in undefined contexts by the culturally-understood nature of – and shared perspectives of participants concerning – those relationships’ parameters.

This study examines the ethical and social consequences of the accelerated adoption of new technologies. An empirical approach is employed to explore the impacts of rapid technological integration on societal norms, ethical considerations, and individual behaviours. Responses from 305 participants are analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), focusing on perceived usefulness, ease of use, relative advantage, personal innovativeness, and fear of missing out (FOMO). The findings unveil intricate interactions between technological advancements and ethical–social dynamics, underscoring challenges and opportunities. This study offers critical insights for policymakers, technology developers, and society at large, aiming to encourage a more ethically informed and socially conscious approach to technology adoption.

Answering two questions: What do people believe is the gender makeup of different occupations? If there is a systematic difference between the actual and perceived gender composition what factors predict or mediate this difference?

We integrate three occupation-level datasets: ratings of perceived gender composition and cultural sentiments (EPA ratings) for every 2010 Census occupation collected for this study, occupational characteristics from O*NET, and demographic characteristics from the 2015 to 2019 Current Population Survey. Regression models examine the association between sentiments and objective occupational traits on the perceived gender composition net of the actual gender composition.

While respondents underestimate extreme values, perceptions largely reflect actual composition. Gendered sentiments had a significant independent effect on gender composition perceptions. Examining the relationship between objective occupational features, sentiments, and perceptions allows scholars to better understand the links between structural conditions, gendered beliefs, and social action. If individuals underestimate the extent of gender segregation and view some occupations as more diverse than they are, they may be more willing to consider occupations inconsistent with their gender identity. On the other hand, if they misperceive gender composition because of cultural sentiments, they may choose an occupational course somewhat different from their intentions.

Research on gender composition typically employs either a macro approach based on governmental statistics or a micro approach that examines a limited number of occupations. This is the first study to conduct a complete census of every Census occupation for perceived gender composition and cultural sentiments.

Sites of armed conflict produce significant human suffering. Children are some of the most tragic victims of these conflicts, and their suffering is often used as a colloquial measure of suffering at large. Children in conflict zones are likely to experience trauma and associated negative mental and physical health consequences such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One way that children and youth cope with their circumstances in these environments is through creative outlets such as art and poetry. Not only does trauma influence the content of children’s art, but the creation of art also influences children’s responses to trauma and conflict. Furthermore, in the same way that children may humanize those living in conflict zones, so too does their art. While the art of children typically lacks the sophistication of high art or classic poetry, there is a genuineness to their work that resonates with others and allows them to see the conflict through a child’s eyes. This chapter covers the relationships between armed conflict, trauma, and children, followed by art as a form of resistance generally, then finally the role of art and poetry as a form of children’s resistance.

The emergence of consumerism has led to regulatory measures being integrated into business practices, but the influence of consumers in developing countries remains limited, resulting in businesses being less responsive. The digital retail landscape is undergoing a transformative revolution, driven by Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 technological advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI), wearables, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and blockchain technology. This development focuses on convenience, personalisation, and emotional connections. Companies are adapting to modern consumer behaviour through various strategies, including online shopping, mobile commerce, data analytics, technology integration, user reviews, and contactless payments. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this seismic shift in the retail industry, and online retail is expected to continue to grow post-pandemic, driven by these technologies. AI enhances the customer experience, wearables provide interactive engagement, VR offers immersive shopping, AR merges online and physical shopping, and blockchain ensures secure transactions in the emerging metaverse. As retail converges with the metaverse, the potential for borderless and personalised shopping experiences is enormous. Advances in VR technology could lead to interconnected virtual spaces that seamlessly connect physical and digital retail, providing immersive and personalised shopping experiences. However, challenges such as cost, learning curves, digital security, legal ambiguity, data privacy, financial risk, and ethical considerations need to be addressed through vigilant and informed consumer engagement in this evolving digital landscape.

The digital content distribution environment is undergoing a dramatic transformation due to the convergence of internet of things (IoT) and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, which provide users with personalised and immersive experiences. OTT streaming platforms have not only grabbed the attention of customers for entertainment and quality content for binge-watch but also successfully changed the industry market trends. An empirical analysis of the deployment of IoT technology in OTT platforms is presented in this chapter. This chapter tries to explore the perception of viewers towards adoption of IoT in OTT streaming platforms. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology-2 (UTAUT2) model is the main framework for this chapter, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and stepwise regression is applied to analyse the responses. Findings suggested the consumer characteristics have significant effect on the attitude of the consumers. On the other hand, security and privacy issues with data become major obstacles. In order to balance innovation and user protection, the study concluded with recommendations for OTT service providers and legislators on how to support the responsible and successful implementation of IoT technology in the media and entertainment sector. The findings highlighted that viewers are adopting IoT while streaming OTT platforms. This chapter will help the interested parties and organisations by providing them insights regarding consumer behaviour across OTT services which they can utilise to formulate strategies.

This article shows how different data sources can be combined to learn about the evolution of gender norms over time. First, data on job advertisements from 1950 up to 2020 reveal that there was a significant change among Swiss employers' stated preferences regarding their prospective employees' gender. More specifically, the proportion of gender-neutral job posts increased from five to almost 95% within the observation period. To further corroborate and contextualize this finding, I complement it with time series on the relative frequency of several specific queries, such as equality between men and women, from Google's German language book corpus. These additional series are broadly consistent with the evolution of the share of gender-neutral job posts. However, it also appears that there are two distinct narratives, one concerned with the personal sphere, identity, and intimate relationships, the other with the political and public realm. Interestingly, the narrative on personal relations set off considerably earlier than the change in the proportion of gender-neutral job ads. Overall, the evidence from the different data series shows that gender norms have changed substantively, yet in a complex manner, over the past decades.

This paper aims to identify potential barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption for manufacturers and examine the changes that must be made to production processes to implement Industry 4.0 successfully. It aims to develop technology by assisting with the successful implementation of Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing process by using smart system techniques.

Multiple case studies are used in this paper by using the smart system and Matlab, and semi-structured interviews are used to collect qualitative data.

Standardization, management support, skills, and costs have been cited as challenges for most businesses. Most businesses struggle with data interoperability. Complexity, information security, scalability, and network externalities provide challenges for some businesses. Environmental concerns are less likely to affect businesses with higher degrees of maturity. Additionally, it enables the Technical Director’s expertise to participate in the measurement using ambiguous input and output using language phrases. The outcomes of the numerous tests conducted on the approaches are extensively studied in the provided method.

In this research, a multiple-case study aims to carry out a thorough investigation of the issue in its actual setting.

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the conditions and motivations that influence teachers to adopt innovations.

Using Diffusion of Innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and Self-Determination theory (Ryan and Deci, 2017), data from two surveys (n = 568; n = 108) and qualitative follow-up interviews of Early Adopter teachers (n = 16) were triangulated to discern relationships among their identification as Early Adopters, satisfaction of their basic psychological needs (BPN) and their implementation of an educational innovation.

Early Adopters had a positive and statistically significant relationship with the implementation of the innovation. Satisfaction of teachers’ BPN had the largest impact on innovation.

The findings are preliminary and based on a small sample size of teachers. Reliability of the measure of BPN was not as high as the standard, but it did have the largest impact on implementation. Additional studies should explore the connections among Early Adopter teacher motivation, leadership and the satisfaction of their BPN.

School leaders should leverage the influence of Early Adopters to support innovation, and they should provide additional time, training and resources to supports teachers’ BPN.

This study examines how to identify and support Early Adopter teachers as enablers of change within schools. We know of no other studies that have used both Diffusion of Innovation theory and Self-Determination theory to understand the motivations of Early Adopter teachers.

This paper aims to determine the impact of perceived virtuality on team dynamics and outcomes by adopting the Input-Mediators-Outcome (IMO) framework. Further, it also investigates the mediating role of team processes and emergent states.

The authors collected survey data from 315 individuals working in virtual teams (VTs) in the information technology sector in India using both offline and online questionnaires. They performed the analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

The authors investigated two sets of hypotheses – both direct and indirect (or mediation interactions). Results show that psychological empowerment and conflict management are significant in managing VTs. Also, perceived virtuality impacts team outcomes, i.e. perceived team performance, team satisfaction and subjective well-being.

The interplay between the behavioural team process (conflict management) and the emergent state (psychological empowerment) was examined. The study also helps broaden our understanding of the various psychological variables associated with teamwork in the context of VTs.

Findings from this study will aid in assessing the consequences of virtual teamwork at both individual and organisational levels, such as guiding the design and sustainability of VT arrangements, achieving higher productivity in VTs, and designing effective and interactive solutions in the virtual space.

The study examined the interplay between behavioural team processes (such as conflict management) and emergent states (such as psychological empowerment). The study also theorises and empirically tests the relationships between perceived virtuality and team outcomes (i.e. both affective and effectiveness). It may serve as a guide to understanding team dynamics in VTs better.

This exploratory study attempts to enhance the current understanding of the research and practice of VTs within a developing economy.