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This chapter explores the problems of social exclusion and inclusion in the fields of arts and culture. After a theoretical elaboration of the key concepts, the chapter investigates interconnected topics of (1) social features of cultural and creative work with the focus on the importance of economic, social and cultural capital, (2) the difficulties of achieving social inclusivity in the cultural and creative sector, and (3) the possibility of fostering communication amongst disparate social groups. The concepts of exclusion and inclusion deal with the ability and opportunities citizens have to participate in economic, social, political and cultural activities. Even though policy documents highlight the agenda of social inclusion, participation and the importance of opening cultural programs to wider social circles of workers and audiences, inclusion is still difficult to achieve. Research has shown that, even though this line of work is marked by atypical forms of employment, burnout syndrome and exploitation, cultural workers are still motivated by the idea of working for the community and bringing positive social change. However, previous research has also shown that the wider community often does not recognise these endeavours. The aim of the chapter is to articulate potential elements of exclusivity of cultural and creative work. In doing so, the ambivalent identity configuration of cultural and creative workers that simultaneously occupy social positions of symbolic privilege and economic deprivation is taken into consideration as a potential bridge for fostering communication and solidarity amongst other marginalised and disparate social groups.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the convergence of linguistic features between physicians and patients with chronic diseases facilitates the effectiveness of physician–patient communication in online health communities (OHCs). Drawing on communication accommodation theory (CAT), the authors develop a research model that illustrates how the convergence of semantic features (language concreteness and emotional intensity) and stylistic features (language style) influence patient satisfaction and compliance. The model also incorporates the moderating effects of the physician's social status and the patients' complications.

The data, collected from a prominent online health platform in China, include 15,448 consultation records over five years. The logistic regression is leveraged to test the hypotheses.

The findings reveal that convergent semantic features, such as language concreteness and emotional intensity, along with stylistic features like language style, enhance patient satisfaction, which in turn leads to increased compliance. Additionally, the physician’s social status strengthens the effect of convergent emotional intensity but weakens the effect of convergent language concreteness. The physician’s social status has no significant impact on the link between convergent language style and satisfaction. Patients' complications weaken the effect of satisfaction on their compliance.

This study contributes to the CAT and OHC literature by enhancing the understanding of the role of linguistic convergence in the effectiveness of online physician–patient communication and provides managerial implications for physicians on how to accommodate their communicative styles toward chronic patients to improve patient satisfaction and compliance.

Increased urbanization has resulted in physical environments, including servicescapes, dominated by functional designs, with nature’s presence becoming scarcer. While “biophilia” designs have received attention in fields like environmental psychology and architecture, studies on biophilia in servicescapes remain scant, fragmented and often contextual. The purpose of this study is to do a semi-systematic review of studies on biophilia in physical servicescape designs (interior and exterior), identify prevailing critical gaps and develop a comprehensive framework for theory advancements in biophilic servicescapes.

Drawing from a critical review of 56 servicescape studies over 33 years and incorporating theoretical frameworks from environmental psychology, this paper introduces a typology of biophilia in physical servicescapes that includes direct, indirect and human–nature relationships. Furthermore, this study develops a conceptual framework using the Stimulus-Organism-Response model to systematically synthesize biophilia’s overall applicability in servicescapes for consumers and service employees, incorporating moderating factors related to service, servicescape and user types.

This review investigates the emergence and definition of biophilia in servicescapes, examines the benefits of biophilic design for consumers and service employees and highlights key design strategies. In the absence of robust frameworks to assess biophilia’s impact on consumer and employee responses, this paper presents a comprehensive framework and offers guidelines for future research in retail environments and servicescapes.

Drawing from the synthesis of research on biophilia in servicescapes, this study introduces a framework that demonstrates how antecedent variables, including both direct and indirect biophilic elements, foster human–nature relationships that lead to affective, cognitive and behavioral responses. These effects are moderated by situational factors (e.g. service and servicescape types) and individual differences (e.g. personality, values and nature-relatedness). Ultimately, these responses influence approach or avoidance behaviors in consumers and employees, with a taxonomy detailing responses aligned with biophilia.

This chapter explores the transformative potential of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with virtual reality (VR) in developing adaptive learning and development (L&D) programmes. Traditional L&D methodologies are increasingly inadequate in the face of rapidly changing business environments. AI and VR technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to personalise learning experiences, enhance engagement and improve outcomes. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of current trends, applications, challenges and future directions of AI and VR in L&D. Key findings emphasise the role of these technologies in fostering continuous learning cultures, addressing individual learner needs and enhancing organisational effectiveness. Practical insights and case studies are included to guide HR professionals in leveraging AI and VR for innovative and effective L&D programmes.

This study aims to assess the predictive performance of various factors on Bitcoin returns, used for the development of a robust forecasting support decision model using machine learning techniques, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the authors investigate the impact of the investor's sentiment on forecasting the Bitcoin returns.

This method uses feature selection techniques to assess the predictive performance of the different factors on the Bitcoin returns. Subsequently, the authors developed a forecasting model for the Bitcoin returns by evaluating the accuracy of three machine learning models, namely the one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN), the bidirectional deep learning long short-term memory (BLSTM) neural networks and the support vector machine model.

The findings shed light on the importance of the investor's sentiment in enhancing the accuracy of the return forecasts. Furthermore, the investor's sentiment, the economic policy uncertainty (EPU), gold and the financial stress index (FSI) are the top best determinants before the COVID-19 outbreak. However, there was a significant decrease in the importance of financial uncertainty (FSI and EPU) during the COVID-19 pandemic, proving that investors attach much more importance to the sentimental side than to the traditional uncertainty factors. Regarding the forecasting model accuracy, the authors found that the 1D-CNN model showed the lowest prediction error before and during the COVID-19 and outperformed the other models. Therefore, it represents the best-performing algorithm among its tested counterparts, while the BLSTM is the least accurate model.

Moreover, this study contributes to a better understanding relevant for investors and policymakers to better forecast the returns based on a forecasting model, which can be used as a decision-making support tool. Therefore, the obtained results can drive the investors to uncover potential determinants, which forecast the Bitcoin returns. It actually gives more weight to the sentiment rather than financial uncertainties factors during the pandemic crisis.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to have attempted to construct a novel crypto sentiment measure and use it to develop a Bitcoin forecasting model. In fact, the development of a robust forecasting model, using machine learning techniques, offers a practical value as a decision-making support tool for investment strategies and policy formulation.

Construction remains a male-dominated industry with marked occupational segregation. Based on Gottfredson’s Circumscription and Compromise theory of career development, the purpose of this study is to outline the range of occupational alternatives that Building Engineering students in Andalusia (Spain) find acceptable for their future careers. These alternatives enable an analysis to be performed regarding the extent to which such segregation is related to their possible career aspirations.

A sample of 704 Spanish final-year Building Engineering students was drawn from a survey administered in person to all students attending each compulsory subject. A cluster statistical analysis was carried out to study how they are grouped according to their occupational preferences and perceived career barriers.

Men might choose their career options with a low level of compromise, and their range of satisfactory occupations corresponds to their main preferences: “Technical project drafting and development”, “Technical site management” and “Production site management”. Women, showing a higher perception of career barriers, have to exercise a higher compromise on their preferred options. They are likely to sacrifice their field of interest for the sake of prestige and are more likely than men to give up prestige to preserve options more closely related to their gender such as “Technical project drafting and development” and “Risk prevention and Health and Safety”. “Technical site management” shows the greatest perceived barriers, but its high preference level and the associated prestige render it likely to form part of the range of career aspirations for women. The employment options that women and men aspire to are more similar while they are still at university than when they later join the labour market. It is concluded that occupational segregation is a complex phenomenon that must be addressed from different perspectives. The responsibility of the business community is highlighted, and the implementation of actions in higher education is suggested.

The research contributes to the career development body of knowledge in male-dominated and gender-segregated occupational fields within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The focus is on the Building Engineering profession which remains largely under-researched

In recent years, both G7 and BRICS countries have witnessed a noticeable increase in economic policy uncertainty, prompting concerns about its ramifications on global financial markets. This study aims to investigate how economic policy uncertainty influences the transmission of investor sentiment within the G7 and BRICS groups.

Employing the asymmetric time-varying parameter-vector autoregression model and the quantile regression techniques, this research analyzes the interconnectedness of investor sentiment within the G7 and BRICS groups and the impact of geopolitical risks on these spillovers.

Investor sentiment within the G7 group exhibits higher interconnectedness levels than the BRICS group. However, in both groups, “negative biases” exist in sentiment transmission, as indicated by elevated total connectedness indices during pessimistic periods. Furthermore, larger markets, such as the UK, the United States and Russia, tend to act as net transmitters within these networks. The magnitude of sentiment spillover among investors intensifies during periods of heightened economic policy uncertainty, particularly during downturns in sentiment and at higher quantiles of investor sentiment interconnectedness.

These findings offer several implications for economic policymakers amidst the globalization of financial markets. This research provides novel insights into the asymmetric transmission of investor sentiment under economic policy uncertainty, highlighting the differing roles of larger markets and the varying degrees of sentiment interconnectedness between the G7 and BRICS groups.

The purpose of this study is to revisit the conventional wisdom about a key contribution [i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis] in the field of strategic management. The societal context and the role of academics, consultants and executives is taken into account in the emergence of SWOT analysis during the 1960–1980 period as a pivotal development within the broader context of the satisfactory, opportunities, faults, threats (SOFT) approach. The authors report on both the content and the approach, so that other scholars seeking to invigorate indigenous theories and/or underreported strategy practices will thrive.

Applying a historiographic approach, the authors introduce an evidence-based methodology for interpreting historical sources. This methodology incorporates source criticism, triangulation and hermeneutical interpretation, drawing upon insights from robust evidence through three iterative stages.

The underreporting of the SOFT approach/SWOT analysis can be attributed to several factors, including strategy tools being integrated into planning frameworks rather than being published as standalone materials; restricted circulation of crucial long-range planning service/theory and practice of planning reports due to copyright limitations; restricted access to the Stanford Research Institute Planning Library in California; and the enduring popularity of SOFT and SWOT variations, driven in part by their memorable acronyms.

In the spirit of a renaissance in strategic planning research, the authors unveil novel theoretical and social connections in the emergence of SWOT analysis by combining evidence from both theory and practice and delving into previously unexplored areas.

Caution is advised for scholars who examine the discrete time frame of 1960–1980 through mere bibliometric techniques. This study underscores the risks associated with gathering incomplete and/or inaccurate data, emphasizing the importance of triangulating evidence beyond scholarly databases. The paradigm shift of strategic management research due to the advent of large language models poses new challenges and the risk of conserving and perpetuating academic urban legends, myths and lies if training data is not adequately curated.

In the evolving digital work landscape, where cyberloafing has become a notable challenge, this study aims to investigate the mechanisms through which organizations can effectively reduce such behaviors. Specifically, the research explores the role of employee adaptability in mitigating cyberloafing, taking into account the influences of temporal leadership, teamwork attitudes, and competitive work environments.

Utilizing the broaden-and-build theory and the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, we analyzed data from 245 employees through structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate how various factors influence cyberloafing.

The results indicate that employee adaptability significantly mitigates cyberloafing and serves as a mediating factor between temporal leadership, teamwork attitudes, and the impact of competitive work environments on cyberloafing. Temporal leadership and teamwork attitudes positively correlate with increased adaptability, thereby reducing cyberloafing. Conversely, competitive work environments, while slightly enhancing adaptability, substantially increase cyberloafing.

The study contributes new insights into the dynamics of cyberloafing, emphasizing the critical roles of adaptability, teamwork attitudes, and temporal leadership in reducing such behaviors. It underscores the need for organizations to foster a supportive culture that minimizes competitive pressures and promotes teamwork and leadership strategies conducive to high productivity and minimal cyberloafing. This research offers practical implications for designing workplace strategies aimed at boosting productivity and curbing undesirable online behaviors during work hours.

This study aims to explore how rapport is operationalised in police interviews with victims in the United Kingdom and Spain. Rapport is considered a key element in the success of investigative interviewing and therefore, police interviewers are trained to use rapport-building techniques throughout the interview. Previous research has enabled us to understand what rapport is and how it works in interviews with victims (Abbe and Brandon, 2012; Dando et al., 2016; Walsh and Bull, 2010). However, it has been highlighted that the expression of rapport may vary between cultures (Matsumoto and Hwang, 2021), as there are cultural and linguistic differences concerning interactional factors.

To uncover this, British and Spanish police interviewing guidelines are examined with regard to rapport techniques and how they are conceptualised. Then, a discourse-pragmatic and ethnographic approach is applied to real interviews with victims in the United Kingdom and Spain, to analyse what happens in real practice and how rapport with victims is expressed linguistically in British English and European Spanish.

The study unfolds certain linguistic subtleties in relation to “face-related issues” that need to be considered for future research on rapport in investigative interviews with victims, particularly in multicultural interviewing contexts.

The findings from this study contribute to a better understanding of how rapport is operationalised in different contexts and how the expression of rapport is tied to cultural and linguistic patterns that influence how people communicate.