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This chapter combines quantitative studies of the connections between stressors and performance in accounting settings and identifies the mediators and moderators of stressors–performance relationships. Using meta-analyses and path analyses, this research compiles 72 studies to investigate the relationships of stressors with accountant and auditor performance. As hypothesized, bivariate meta-analyses results indicate that work-related stressors negatively affect performance, and burnout and stress are negatively related to performance, whereas motivation is positively related to performance. Moreover, a meta-analytical structural equation modeling indicates that role stressors have significant direct and indirect effects (through burnout and stress) on job performance. Accumulation of multiple samples through meta-analysis bolsters statistical power compared to single-sample studies and thus reveals the sign of residual direct effects of role stressors on job performance in accounting settings.

The insecurity generated, today in various parts of the planet, by the various conflicts that arise in the violence in large cities, has motivated the academy to research the solutions and strategies adopted by local governments in the fight against crime. The volume of data generated by several universities over the past 50 years has increased exponentially. Consequently, researchers struggle to process essential data in today’s competitive world. The aim of this study is to explore and provide an overview of the studies carried out in the field of action to combat crime in different countries.

The Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched for publications from January 1945 to September 3, 2020 on the topic of policing strategies in titles, abstracts and keywords. References were analyzed using the R bibliometrix package, and abstracts were analyzed using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) with collapsed Gibbs sampling for topics related to policing and related subjects.

As a result of the research, this paper can assert that in the last 50 years, 3,361 authors have produced 2,085 documents on the theme of policing strategy and related subjects in 58 countries. Scientific production in this area grows at a rate of 5.10 per year. The USA is the leading country in publications with 42.58%, followed by the UK with 8.39% and Canada with 4.07%. As for journals, the highlight is Policing, Policing and Society and Police Quarterly, which account for more than 15.44% of all indexed literature. Regarding the authors, the highlight is Weisburd and Braga. As a result, the LDA grouped the latent words in the articles analyzed by themes studied and presented the list of articles by themes. The thematic map identifies the following themes as basic research subjects: community policing, problem-oriented policing, predictive policing, fear of crime and social control.

As the main implication between the combination of the bibliometric analysis method with the probabilistic topic modelling, is the emergence of a primordial step in the systematic literature review process, as this method allows to explore and group a large volume of data. Another practical implication that is intended is to provide the beginning researcher or any other reader with a panoramic view of the main authors who study the themes that impact police activity in any city in the world, which are the countries and reference centers of the study on the subject and, finally, the evolution of the main themes researched in the police area.

The value of these studies is summarized in the presentation of an overview on the theme in the last 50 years, offering the opportunity for other researchers to use this research as a starting point for other analyses.

This paper aims to develop a fuzzy risk assessment model for construction projects procured with target cost contracts and guaranteed maximum price contracts (TCC/GMP) using the fuzzy synthetic evaluation method, based on an empirical questionnaire survey with relevant industrial practitioners in South Australia.

A total of 34 major risk factors inherent with TCC/GMP contracts were identified through an extensive literature review and a series of structured interviews. A questionnaire survey was then launched to solicit the opinions of industrial practitioners on risk assessment of such risk factors.

The most important 14 key risk factors after the computation of normalised values were selected for undertaking fuzzy evaluation analysis. Five key risk groups (KRGs) were then generated in descending order of importance as: physical risks, lack of experience of contracting parties throughout TCC/GMP procurement process, design risks, contractual risks and delayed payment on contracts. These survey findings also revealed that physical risks may be the major hurdle to the success of TCC/GMP projects in South Australia.

Although the fuzzy risk assessment model was developed for those new-build construction projects procured by TCC/GMP contracts in this paper, the same research methodology may be applied to other contracts within the wide spectrum of facilities management or building maintenance services under the target cost-based model. Therefore, the contribution from this paper could be extended to the discipline of facilities management as well.

An overall risk index associated with TCC/GMP construction projects and the risk indices of individual KRGs can be generated from the model for reference. An objective and a holistic assessment can be achieved. The model has provided a solid platform to measure, evaluate and reduce the risk levels of TCC/GMP projects based on objective evidence instead of subjective judgements. The research methodology could be replicated in other countries or regions to produce similar models for international comparisons, and the assessment of risk levels for different types of TCC/GMP projects (including new-build or maintenance) worldwide.

The purpose of this paper is to narrow the diverse views of the industry stakeholders on two controversial issues, namely the scope of core competence of building services engineers (BSEs) and the statutory role that they should play, which were encountered in an extensive research study on the building services profession of Hong Kong.

An expert panel was formed and the Delphi method was applied to resolve the controversies. In the Delphi process, every panel member was provided with complete opinions expressed by all other panel members in each round of the deliberation.

Sufficient support was found for the proposition that professional BSEs should be competent in handling air‐conditioning, electrical, fire services, and plumbing & drainage works, and that the government authorities should mandate the design and compliance certification of electrical and fire services installations by BSEs.

Although the Delphi method has not been hitherto applied to resolve the controversies addressed in the study, it was proven to be a very effective tool in seeking majority opinions from a group of experts. The same approach may be taken in similar studies in future.

The core competence identified should be made as a minimum requirement for practitioners who wish to practise as professional BSEs. The views and comments given by the expert panel members are informative references to public policy makers.

This was the first ever study conducted in an attempt to identify the core competence and statutory role of BSEs in Hong Kong.

This chapter presents the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the course of studies and life career skills development of undergraduate students at the University of Macedonia, a mid-sized public Greek University. It describes a multivariate methodology research that investigated how the students, first-hand experienced the unexpected changes from face-to-face on campus to synchronous online education during the lockdown and how they coped with these changes. Change is considered and described as a main component within current life and career trajectories addressing chaotic and unpredictable circumstances while Chaos Theory of Careers (CTC) offers the theoretical background of the chapter. The research followed the mixed methods paradigm: a multilevel embedded sequential explanatory design including a participant selection model and multivariate data analysis methods. A survey (N = 621) was conducted; individual interviews and focus groups’ discussions further explained the quantitative findings. The emerging clusters of students revealed similarities in feelings, motivation, adaptation, and life career skills development. The first cluster comprised of older, digitally high-skilled students, with the required technological equipment, adaptable to change, self-regulated, strongly in favor of synchronous online education; in the second cluster were grouped the younger, digitally medium-skilled students, who regularly participated in both modalities, critically recognized the advantages of either one, feeling strongly in favor of a combination; finally, the third cluster included digitally medium-skilled students who found serious difficulty in using online platforms, dissatisfied with social isolation and distant interaction, strongly preferring face-to-face instruction, valuing direct physical contact, social connection, and networking.

Libraries worldwide, including Hong Kong, increasingly use social media tools to introduce and promote their services and resources to users. Instagram, in particular, is used to target younger users. This study investigates the effectiveness of Instagram in promoting library services and university students' perceptions of the value of Instagram as a learning support tool.

A major academic library in Hong Kong was chosen for this study. Library users' habits, perceptions, preferences, and views on Instagram's effectiveness as a learning support tool were compared in two age groups. The data were collected using a survey based on the 5E Instructional Model.

Despite the significantly higher frequency of Instagram use by younger students, the results showed that Instagram was probably an ineffective promotion platform for either age group because of low user engagement, relatively neutral perception of Instagram as a learning support tool, and notably low user acceptance of Instagram as a promotional tool.

Studies of student perspectives on various social media tools have increased; however, few have explored the use of Instagram, especially in Hong Kong or Asia. This study provides researchers and librarians with practical insights into current Instagram users' engagement, perceptions, and preferences and their view of its effectiveness as a learning support tool. The study also provides suggestions for improving the current situation.

To review and address current approaches and limitations to modeling change over time in social entrepreneurship research.

The article provides a narrative review of different practices used to assess change over time. It also shows how different research questions require different methodologies for assessing changes over time. Finally, it presents worked examples for modeling these changes.

Our review suggests that there is a lack of research in social entrepreneurship that takes into account the many different considerations for addressing how time influences outcomes.

This chapter introduces an analytic technique to social entrepreneurship that effectively models changes in predictors and outcomes even when data are non-normal or nested across time or levels of analysis.

Fire regulations of different countries require that a monthly test is carried out on each battery back‐up emergency lighting to check for functionality. Existing practice requires a team of maintenance staff to carry out the test manually at each lighting point, which is unreliable, inefficient and tedious. An innovative maintenance system is proposed to cater for this issue. It has several advantages over the existing practice – high reliability, cost effectiveness and user friendliness. With simple modification and the inclusion of LonWorks technology, an intelligent control node is proposed for carrying out the test regularly and sending the test results to a main terminal at a remote centre over a control network. Any defective lighting point can be easily spotted and repairs can be carried out promptly. Also, the system can be integrated with the existing building automation system to form an integrated system to facilitate building management.