Substantial research on the evaluation of residential services for people with learning difficulties emerged over the last ten years in the UK. Reviews some of the major findings…
Abstract
Substantial research on the evaluation of residential services for people with learning difficulties emerged over the last ten years in the UK. Reviews some of the major findings (N = 14). Their measures on the effectiveness of services were based on three components: the reduction of clients’ challenging behaviour; the level of engagement between staff and clients; and clients’ community involvement. An overall impression showed inconsistency and controversy in the first two components but a negative trend in the third. Discusses some methodological issues and suggests other components for service evaluation research.
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Taking a philosophical approach, ancient Greek philosophers and Christians began to investigate the concept of quality of life. Later, such philosophical pursuit was replaced by…
Abstract
Taking a philosophical approach, ancient Greek philosophers and Christians began to investigate the concept of quality of life. Later, such philosophical pursuit was replaced by the school of positivism, which indicated that science was and still is the only valid form of enquiry. Through such positivistic science the metaphysical nature of the concept of quality of life is thought to be uncovered. However, the later Wittgensteinian philosophical thoughts demonstrated that there is no metaphysical understanding of any concepts but there is only knowledge of playing language games. In the light of this philosophy, prior to any scientific investigations, researchers have already understood and agreed on the concept of quality of life by playing language games. From the above philosophical analyses, outlines some implications for health care research.
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Wilson K.S. Leung, Sally P.M. Law, Man Lai Cheung, Man Kit Chang, Chung-Yin Lai and Na Liu
There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks…
Abstract
Purpose
There are two main objectives in this study. First, we aim to develop a set of constructs for health task management support (HTMS) features to evaluate which health-related tasks are supported by mobile health application (mHealth app) functions. Second, drawing on innovation resistance theory (IRT), we examine the impacts of the newly developed HTMS dimensions on perceived usefulness, alongside other barrier factors contributing to technology anxiety.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a mixed-method research design, this research seeks to develop new measurement scales that reflect how mHealth apps support older adults’ health-related needs based on interviews. Subsequently, data were collected from older adults and exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the validity of the new scales. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze survey data from 602 older adults.
Findings
The PLS-SEM results indicated that medical management task support, dietary task support, and exercise task support were positively associated with perceived usefulness, while perceived complexity and dispositional resistance to change were identified as antecedents of technology anxiety. Perceived usefulness and technology anxiety were found to positively and negatively influence adoption intention, respectively.
Originality/value
This study enriches the information systems literature by developing a multidimensional construct that delineates how older adults’ health-related needs can be supported by features of mHealth apps. Drawing on IRT, we complement the existing literature on resistance to innovation by systematically examining the impact of five types of barriers on technology anxiety.
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Man Lai Cheung, Wilson K.S. Leung, Man Kit Chang, Randy Y.M. Wong and Sin Yan Tse
Despite the promising development and marketing potential of the metaverse, our understanding of how realistic metaverse environments impact user engagement and behaviours remains…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the promising development and marketing potential of the metaverse, our understanding of how realistic metaverse environments impact user engagement and behaviours remains limited. This study investigates the role of perceived realism in influencing user engagement, thereby affecting external search behaviour and visit intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
We surveyed 270 active metaverse users to test the research model. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results of our study show that three dimensions of realism – avatar involvement, perceptual pervasiveness and social realism – significantly enhance user engagement, which in turn influences external search behaviour and visit intention. In contrast, simulation realism and freedom of choice have minimal effects on absorption and dedication.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlights the role of perceived realism in enhancing user engagement with the metaverse and its impact on physical world behaviours. It contributes to metaverse literature by demonstrating that engagement within the metaverse significantly influences physical world behaviours, including visit intentions and external search behaviours.
Practical implications
This study offers practical guidance for developers to enhance user engagement in metaverse environments. Specifically, our findings advocate for visual and audio quality enhancements, greater persuasiveness of virtual spaces, improved avatar representativeness and a closer alignment of metaverse activities with real-life events.
Originality/value
This study advances the theoretical understanding of perceived realism by examining how its dimensions – such as visual and audio quality, avatar representativeness and alignment with real-life events – impact user engagement in the metaverse. It also explores how this engagement influences offline behaviours, thus bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactions.
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This study aims to examine the symbolic meanings of the local shopping malls inscribed by the shoppers from the sociocultural lens other than merely departing from the economic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the symbolic meanings of the local shopping malls inscribed by the shoppers from the sociocultural lens other than merely departing from the economic dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, Kwai Chung Plaza was adopted as the case study. The author interviewed 12 local shoppers through an in-depth individual interview. All interviewees were selected through convenience and snowball sampling. All names of the participants in this paper are kept pseudonymous to protect their privacy.
Findings
An integrated model, which consists of three major levels, namely, the spatial, individual and community levels, has been formed to show that the shopping mall was not merely a place for buy-and-sell transactions but rather a place that could be understood as an extension of the street, a body of collective memories and a place for Hongkongers.
Research limitations/implications
The most significant limitation of this study was the lack of a diversified demographic profile adding that the sample was restricted to the young generation. It is recommended that future research should consider including interviews with middle-aged and old-aged shoppers to ensure the generalizability of results. Future research may also consider examining other small/medium-sized shopping malls for comparison.
Originality/value
The findings demonstrated the diversified social roles and functions of the local shopping malls in a community. In addition, the present study, to the author’s knowledge, is one of the few scholarly discussions on small/medium-sized shopping malls from a sociocultural perspective.
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This bibliography contains references to papers, conference proceedings, theses and books dealing with finite strip, finite prism and finite layer analysis of structures…
Abstract
This bibliography contains references to papers, conference proceedings, theses and books dealing with finite strip, finite prism and finite layer analysis of structures, materially and/or geometrically linear or non‐linear.
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Chunxiao Yin, Yongqiang Sun, Yulin Fang and Kai Lim
Although microblogs have become an important information source, the credibility of their postings is still a critical concern due to the open and unregulated nature. To…
Abstract
Purpose
Although microblogs have become an important information source, the credibility of their postings is still a critical concern due to the open and unregulated nature. To understand the antecedents of microblog information credibility, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the dual-role of cognitive heuristics (i.e. the additivity and bias roles) and the effect of gender differences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data via an online field survey of active microblog users, and a total of 204 valid responses was received.
Findings
This study demonstrates the dual-role of source credibility and vividness, the additivity role of microblog platform credibility, and the bias role of social endorsement. Furthermore, this study also found out gender difference that the additivity role of cognitive heuristics was stronger for men while bias role was stronger for women.
Research limitations/implications
This research enriches the microblog literature by examining the cognitive heuristic determinants as key predictors of microblog information credibility, and contributes to the information credibility literature by identifying and analyzing the dual-role effect of cognitive heuristics and corresponding gender differences.
Practical implications
This study can help organizations better manage their reputation, especially during the reputation crises, and also serves as a reminder to microblog platform operators of the importance of their microblog platform credibility.
Social implications
This study can help organizations better manage their reputation, especially during the reputation crises, and serves as a reminder to the microblog platform operators of the importance of their microblog platform credibility.
Originality/value
This study investigates the dual-role effect of cognitive heuristics (i.e. the additivity role and bias role) and corresponding gender differences that are less touched on before, and thus provides a more nuanced understanding of the more complex effects of cognitive heuristics.
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Man Lai Cheung, Hiram Ting, Jun-Hwa Cheah and Mohamad-Noor Salehhuddin Sharipudin
Using the stimulus-organism-response model as the theoretical basis, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a social media-based destination brand community (SMDBC…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the stimulus-organism-response model as the theoretical basis, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a social media-based destination brand community (SMDBC) on tourists’ emotions, and the subsequent effect on the intention to co-create value and visit.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework was tested using survey data from 551 Chinese social media users who were followers of Japanese social media pages. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling was adopted to perform the latent variable analysis.
Findings
The findings reveal that SMDBC plays a considerable role in shaping tourists’ emotions, including joy, love and positive surprise, which, in turn, have a significant impact on consumers’ intention to co-create value and visit. Contrary to previous studies, the effect of joy on tourists’ intention to co-create and visit is found to be insignificant.
Research limitations/implications
The present study elucidates the importance and relevance of SMDBC in evoking tourists’ positive emotions, and subsequently their intention to co-create value and visit. Future research is recommended to compare and contrast SMDBC with other marketing and branding activities to provide greater insights into the phenomenon in a dynamic environment.
Practical implications
This study enables academics and business practitioners to better comprehend the effectiveness of SMDBC in driving tourists’ favourable assessment and behavioural intentions to improve resource allocation. In particular, destination marketers are recommended to optimise SMDBC and encourage discussion on SMDBC among users.
Originality/value
As literature in relation to the importance of SMDBC in evoking tourists’ emotions incorporating its link with tourists’ intention to co-create value and visit is relatively scarce, this study contributes to the branding and destination tourism research by empirically articulating the relevance of SMDBC in stimulating tourists’ emotions and subsequently value co-creation and visit intention.
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Man Lai Cheung, Wilson K.S. Leung and Haksin Chan
Young consumers have increasingly adopted wearable health-care technology to improve their well-being. Drawing on generation cohort theory (GCT) and the technology acceptance…
Abstract
Purpose
Young consumers have increasingly adopted wearable health-care technology to improve their well-being. Drawing on generation cohort theory (GCT) and the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study aims to illuminate the major factors that drive the adoption of health-care wearable technology products by Generation Z (Gen-Z) consumers in Hong Kong.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administrated online survey was used to collect data from a sample of Gen-Z consumers in Hong Kong with experience in using health-care wearable technology. Data analysis was performed using partial least-squares-structural equation modeling to verify four hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that consumer innovativeness (CI) and electronic word-of-mouth referral (EWOM) are significant predictors of perceived credibility, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, which subsequently drive online engagement intention and adoption intention (AI).
Practical implications
This research provides practical guidance for marketers of health-care wearable technology products. In particular, CI and EWOM hold the key to young consumers’ product perceptions (and thereby their online engagement and AIs).
Originality/value
This research leverages the insights of GCT to enrich the TAM, specifically by including CI and EWOM as antecedents and online engagement as a consequence in the context of health-care wearable technology. The results of an empirical study enhance theoretical understanding of Gen-Z consumers’ perceptions and behavioral intentions toward health-care wearable technology. They also point to actionable recommendations for marketing this new technology to young consumers.
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Since the launch of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong cinema is believed to have confronted drastic changes. Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the launch of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003, Hong Kong cinema is believed to have confronted drastic changes. Hong Kong cinema is described to be dying, lacking creative space and losing local distinctiveness. A decade later, the rise of Hong Kong – China coproduction cinema under CEPA has been normalized and changed the once pessimism in the industry. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Hong Kong cinema adjusted its production and creation in the first 10 years of CEPA.
Design/methodology/approach
Beginning with a review of the overall development, three paradigmatic cases are examined for reflecting upon what the major industrial and commercial concerns on the Hong Kong – China coproduction model are, and how such a coproduction model is not developed as smooth as what the Hong Kong filmmakers expected.
Findings
Collectively, this paper singles out the difficulties in operation and the limit of transnationality that occur in the Chinese context for the development of Hong Kong cinema under the Hong Kong – China coproduction model.
Originality/value
This is the author’s research in his five-year study of Hong Kong cinema and it contributes a lot to the field of cinema studies with relevant industrial and policy concern.