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The study aims to present an agent-based simulation model (ABM) for exploring interorganizational coordination scenarios in local disaster preparedness. This approach includes local actors and logistical processes as agents to compare various strategic coordination mechanisms.

The ABM model, developed in the Latin American context, specifically focuses on a case study of Colombia. Three coordination mechanisms (centralized, decentralized and cluster-type) have been evaluated using three performance indicators: effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility.

Simulation results show that the decentralized scenario outperforms in terms of efficiency and flexibility. On the contrary, the centralized and cluster-type scenarios demonstrate higher effectiveness, achieving a greater percentage of requirements coverage during the disaster preparedness stage. The ABM approach effectively evaluates strategical coordination mechanisms based on the analyzed performance indicators.

This study has limitations due to the application of results to a single real case. In addition, the focus of the study is primarily on a specific type of disaster, specifically hydrometeorological events such as flash floods, torrential rains and landslides. Moreover, the scope of decision-making is restricted to key actors involved in local-level disaster management within a municipality.

The proposed ABM model has the potential as a decision-making tool for policies and local coordination schemes for future disasters. The simulation tool could also explore diverse geographical scenarios and disaster types, demonstrating its versatility and broader applicability for further insights and recommendations.

This chapter examines the impact of information digitization on the rise of misinformation, and the broader implications that this has for democracy. It is based on the Researching Students Information Choices (RSIC) project, which looks at how students evaluate scientific information on the internet.¹ Part of this study looked at container collapse.

In previous decades, information was contained in a physical book, newspaper, journal, magazine, or the like. These containers offered important contextual information about the origin and validity of the information. With information digitized, this context is lost. This can facilitate misinformation, as people might make incorrect judgments about information credibility because of the lack of context.

It is vital that citizens have the information literacy skills to initially evaluate information correctly. One possibility for misinformation being pervasive is that, once encoded, it becomes resistant to correction. This underscores the importance of teaching students to evaluate the credibility of information prior to the point of encoding.

To combat misinformation, librarians can teach students to evaluate containers and the indicators of credibility that they provide. Information containers can be evaluated prior to consuming information within a resource, while fact-checking only can happen after. Because of this, container evaluation can help prevent misinformation from being encoded. Our research demonstrates that this requires thoughtful engagement with the information resources and critical evaluation of the sources that produced them, and that students cannot accurately identify containers when they rely on heuristics like the URL and Google snippet.

The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize how managers of multinational enterprises (MNEs) manage risk, particularly in fragile and/or conflict-affected areas of operation. The authors suggest that MNEs consider reducing risk at its source rather than trying to avoid or react to risks as they occur. By incorporating peacebuilding strategies, managers may not only reduce investment risk but also contribute to stability and prosperity in the communities where they operate, and gain a competitive advantage in doing so.

The authors show how firms can take a more holistic approach to working in conflict-affected areas. They do so by overlaying conceptualizations of risk with those of peacebuilding and then use case examples to illustrate how such actions work in practice.

Using a series of examples, the authors find that MNEs that incorporate peacebuilding frameworks in their risk calculations in complex settings tend to have a better understanding of local environments and how they affect firm operations and profitability. These same MNEs may hold a long-term advantage over international competitors that do not share the same understanding.

The authors argue that the study of relationships between international businesses and society in conflict-affected or fragile areas of operation is under-developed and tends to focus on negative (risk-aversion) aspects as opposed to positive (value-added) opportunities. This paper offers new ways in which these relationships can be reconceptualized. The authors’ main takeaway is that a peacebuilding approach does not require corporations to be arbitrators of peace at the expense of profit. Rather, it is instead a broader way to conceptualize and weigh risk when working in the world’s most challenging regions. This approach is more likely to be in the long-term interest of both the firm and the local society where the firm operates.

The purpose of this paper is to examine, through a microeconomic analysis, the extent to which trip characteristics influence tourism expenditure in 14 emerging urban-cultural cities in Andalusia (Spain).

This analysis was carried out using an ordinary least squares method, which measures influence on tourism expenditure based on the trip characteristics of tourists visiting emerging urban-cultural cities. For this, the authors used 3,030 surveys conducted on tourists who, in 2013, visited 14 emerging urban-cultural cities in Andalusia (Spain).

It was confirmed that certain trip characteristics – type of accommodation, length of stay, trip planning and internet use – determine tourism expenditure in these destinations. The findings provide stakeholders in these destinations with information for the implementation of policies aiming to increase revenue in destinations where tourism development levels are still in their infancy and where, therefore, there are many unexploited opportunities.

First, this study identifies those trip characteristics which influence tourist expenditure in emerging urban tourist destinations. These destinations, to date, had not been previously analysed in expenditure segmentation studies. Second, aside from the factors traditionally analysed in scientific literature, other trip-specific variables were considered; these relate to the means by which tourists familiarise themselves with their destination and the way in which they plan their trip (use of the internet), as the rise of new technologies has radically changed tourism.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of sales, as a proxy for size, in moderating the impact of institutional incongruence between formal and informal institutions on the formalization of microenterprises in middle-income countries in Latin America.

The paper uses a probit regression model to examine business formalization as a binary outcome of formal and informal institutions. Data was collected through interviews and surveys across 52 municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. The study used a stratified sampling approach and was conducted between November 2022 and January 2023.

The results offer three key insights into the formalization of microenterprises in middle-income countries. First, we show that formal institutions do not significantly influence formalization decisions among microentrepreneurs in middle-income countries, challenging the traditional belief that formal institutions alone significantly influence formalization in these contexts. Second, we show that informal institutions are significant predictors of informality, especially among smaller microenterprises. Third, we highlight that the smaller the business, the stronger the negative effect of informal institutions on formalization, and thus, the institutional incongruence between formal and informal institutions decreases for larger businesses.

This paper contributes to management literature by shedding light on the drivers of formalization in middle-income countries, a departure from most formalization studies wherein the focus is primarily on low-income economies. The findings suggest that policymakers in middle-income countries should focus on enabling microenterprise growth through sales, rather than targeting specific demographic groups or relying solely on formal institutional enforcement to promote formalization.

El objetivo de este estudio es investigar el papel de las ventas, utilizadas como un indicador de tamaño, en la mediación del impacto de la incongruencia institucional entre instituciones formales e informales en la formalización de microempresas en países de ingresos medios en América Latina.

Utilizamos un modelo de regresión Probit para examinar la formalización empresarial como un resultado binario de instituciones formales e informales. Los datos se recopilaron a través de 110 entrevistas y encuestas en 52 municipios de la Región Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile. El estudio empleó un enfoque de muestreo estratificado y se llevó a cabo entre noviembre de 2022 y enero de 2023.

Nuestros resultados ofrecen tres ideas clave sobre la formalización de microempresas en países de ingresos medios. Primero, demostramos que las instituciones formales no influyen significativamente en las decisiones de formalización entre las microempresas en países de ingresos medios; esto desafía la creencia tradicional de que las instituciones formales por sí solas influyen significativamente en la formalización en estos contextos. Segundo, nuestro estudio muestra que las instituciones informales son predictores significativos de la informalidad, especialmente entre las microempresas más pequeñas. Tercero, nuestro estudio destaca que el efecto negativo de las instituciones informales sobre la formalización es más fuerte para negocios de menor tamaño; por lo tanto, la incongruencia institucional entre instituciones formales e informales disminuye para negocios de mayor tamaño.

Este artículo contribuye a la literatura iluminando sobre los impulsores de la formalización en países de ingresos medios, a diferencia de la mayoría de los estudios de formalización en la región latinoamericana que se centran principalmente en países de bajos ingresos. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que los responsables de políticas en países de ingresos medios deberían centrarse en impulsar el crecimiento de las microempresas a través de las ventas, en lugar de enfocarse en grupos demográficos específicos o depender únicamente del cumplimiento institucional formal para promover la formalización.

O objetivo deste estudo é investigar o papel das vendas, usadas como um indicador de tamanho, na mediação do impacto da incongruência institucional entre instituições formais e informais na formalização de microempresas em países de renda média na América Latina.

Utilizamos um modelo de regressão Probit para examinar a formalização empresarial como um resultado binário de instituições formais e informais. Os dados foram coletados por meio de 110 entrevistas e pesquisas em 52 municípios da Região Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile. O estudo empregou uma abordagem de amostragem estratificada e foi realizado entre novembro de 2022 e janeiro de 2023.

Nossos resultados oferecem três ideias-chave sobre a formalização de microempresas em países de renda média. Primeiro, demonstramos que as instituições formais não influenciam significativamente as decisões de formalização entre as microempresas em países de renda média; isso desafia a crença tradicional de que as instituições formais, por si só, influenciam significativamente a formalização nesses contextos. Segundo, nosso estudo mostra que as instituições informais são preditores significativos da informalidade, especialmente entre as microempresas menores. Terceiro, nosso estudo destaca que o efeito negativo das instituições informais sobre a formalização é mais forte para negócios de menor porte; portanto, a incongruência institucional entre instituições formais e informais diminui para negócios de maior porte.

Este artigo contribui para a literatura iluminando os impulsionadores da formalização em países de renda média, ao contrário da maioria dos estudos de formalização na região latino-americana, que se concentram principalmente em países de baixa renda. Nossos achados sugerem que os responsáveis pelas políticas em países de renda média deveriam focar em impulsionar o crescimento das microempresas por meio das vendas, em vez de se concentrar em grupos demográficos específicos ou depender exclusivamente do cumprimento institucional formal para promover a formalização.

The purpose of this study is a comparative analysis of psychological distress between online and on-campus learning among university students. The study was performed to investigate the comparative analysis of psychological distress between online and on-campus learning among university students.

This study is a quantitative, comparative study. Data were collected through convenient sampling technique from different university students. The sample size of the study was (n = 200) and the sample was taken from universities. Three scales, students’ readiness learning scale, DASS-21 Scale and on-campus learning scale, were used for data collection and the data were analyzed statistically. The analysis was carried out by the statistical tests correlation test, t-test and linear regression.

It was revealed through this study that on-campus learning is more preferred by the students than online learning. The findings were that online learning has more psychological distress among students than on-campus learning. Additionally, it was found that as compared to males, females have more tendency toward depression, anxiety and stress. Findings also revealed that married students have a larger tendency toward depression, anxiety and stress as compared to unmarried students. No socioeconomic significance difference was found. Moreover, it was revealed that working students prefer online learning to on-campus learning.

Learning has a significant impact on students’ future settlement, independence and well-being. The findings of this research study can contribute to understanding the educational system and determining which learning system is better for students and for the students’ mental well-being.

Learning has a significant impact on students’ future settlement, independence and well-being. This paper contributes by offering practical insights for educators and policymakers.