Acceptable Behavior Research Articles

Nutritional management and autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents unique challenges related to feeding and nutritional management. Children with ASD often experience feeding difficulties, including food selectivity, refusal, and gastrointestinal issues. Various interventions have been explored to address these challenges, including dietary modifications, vitamin supplementation, feeding therapy, and behavioral interventions. To provide a comprehensive overview of the current evidence on nutritional management in ASD. We examine the effectiveness of dietary interventions, vitamin supplements, feeding therapy, behavioral interventions, and mealtime practices in addressing the feeding challenges and nutritional needs of children with ASD. We systematically searched relevant literature up to June 2024, using databases such as PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Studies were included if they investigated dietary interventions, nutritional supplements, or behavioral strategies to improve feeding behaviors in children with ASD. We assessed the quality of the studies and synthesized findings on the impact of various interventions on feeding difficulties and nutritional outcomes. Data extraction focused on intervention types, study designs, participant characteristics, outcomes measured, and intervention effectiveness. The review identified 316 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The evidence indicates that while dietary interventions and nutritional supplements may offer benefits in managing specific symptoms or deficiencies, the effectiveness of these approaches varies. Feeding therapy and behavioral interventions, including gradual exposure and positive reinforcement, promise to improve food acceptance and mealtime behaviors. The findings also highlight the importance of creating supportive mealtime environments tailored to the sensory and behavioral needs of children with ASD. Nutritional management for children with ASD requires a multifaceted approach that includes dietary modifications, supplementation, feeding therapy, and behavioral strategies. The review underscores the need for personalized interventions and further research to refine treatment protocols and improve outcomes. Collaborative efforts among healthcare providers, educators, and families are essential to optimize this population's nutritional health and feeding practices. Enhancing our understanding of intervention sustainability and long-term outcomes is essential for optimizing care and improving the quality of life for children with ASD and their families.

Thematic Exploration and Analysis of Cybersecurity Policies of Businesses: An NLP-Based Approach

ABSTRACT Cybersecurity is a prime concern today for businesses due to the rapid increase in cyber-attacks, inadequate security controls, stricter regulations, and lack of security awareness among the workforce. A robust cybersecurity policy can address the security needs of businesses with directives on acceptable actions and behavior. Developing such a policy for business entities requires adequate skill and knowledge. Reviewing voluminous policy texts to identify best practices is also time-consuming. Therefore, the objective of this study is to provide a natural language processing (NLP)-based methodology that can quickly identify the significant topics and themes from the cybersecurity policies of leading global businesses. Text mining and Latent Dirichlet Allocation-based topic modeling technique have been used on cybersecurity policy-related textual contents obtained from 10 leading Fortune Global 500-listed business organizations and the extracted output is then mapped to the globally popular cybersecurity standard ISO/IEC 27,001:2022 to determine the relevancy. The study reveals significant topics and themes that can be used for the development or enhancement of cybersecurity policies to protect businesses from cyber threats.

Influences of Reciprocal Altruistic Preferences and Reference Low-Carbon-Level Effect on Carbon Emission Transfer Strategies of Supply Chains

Consumers’ low-carbon preferences will affect the decision-making behavior of supply chain members; an understanding of the influence mechanism of reciprocal altruistic preferences and reference low-carbon-level effect on carbon emission transfers in a supply chain is of great significance for optimizing transfer and reducing emissions and enhancing the overall emission reduction effect of the supply chain. By constructing a manufacturer-led differential game model, we analyzed the carbon emission transfer strategy of a supply chain under the influence of the reference low-carbon level effect and reciprocal altruistic preferences in scenarios with and without such preferences. The results showed that the reference low-carbon-level effect had a positive influence on the manufacturer’s transfers but not on the supplier’s acceptance of them. Moreover, reciprocal altruistic preferences increased both the transfer and acceptance of emissions while improving the low-carbon level of products. Under the influence of reciprocal preferences, the difference in the degree of altruism will also affect the carbon emission transfer and acceptance behavior of the manufacturer and supplier. When the supplier’s reciprocal altruism coefficient and the consumer’s memory parameter remain within a certain range, the transfers positively affect cooperation in the supply chain.

Analysing consumer switching behaviour and financial antecedents to determine the intention to use central bank digital currency: evidence from the Indian economy

PurposeThe present research aims to study the behavioural intention to use the digital currencies issued by the central bank through the lens of technology acceptance and switching behaviour perspective. The study also proposes to analyse the role of financial constructs to explain the adoption intention.Design/methodology/approachThe current study develops a model by integrating the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and the push–pull–mooring (PPM) theory of switching behaviour. It amends the same by including financial literacy, financial inclusion and trust. A sample data of 419 respondents has been collected through a structured questionnaire and the PLS-SEM approach has been used for data analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that UTAUT and PPM models can significantly predict individuals' readiness to adopt the central bank digital currency (CBDC). More precisely, performance expectancy, social influence, government support, relative advantage and task-technology fit jointly determine the adoption behaviour. Besides, the financial constructs also affect the intention to use CBDC.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is largely based on a quantitative approach with cross-sectional data from an Indian sample. Thus, the findings may benefit from a longitudinal approach with mixed-method data analysis. However, the study elaborates on several implications for policymakers and research scholars.Originality/valueThe present study uniquely integrates the technology adoption perspective with switching behaviour applied to the migration studies. Given the nascent stage of CBDC implementation in many countries, the current study uses a triangulation approach to enhance the understanding of its adoption behaviour.

Complexity and isotropization based extended models in the context of electromagnetic field: an implication of minimal gravitational decoupling

This paper formulates three different analytical solutions to the gravitational field equations in the framework of Rastall theory by taking into account the gravitational decoupling approach. For this, the anisotropic spherical interior fluid distribution is assumed as a seed source characterized by the corresponding Lagrangian. The field equations are then modified by introducing an additional source which is gravitationally coupled with the former fluid setup. Since this approach makes the Rastall equations more complex, the MGD scheme is used to tackle this, dividing these equations into two systems. Some particular ansatz are taken into account to solve the first system, describing initial anisotropic fluid. These metric potentials contain multiple constants which are determined with the help of boundary conditions. On the other hand, the solution for the second set is calculated through different well-known constraints. Afterwards, the estimated data of a pulsar 4U 1820-30 is considered so that the feasibility of the developed models can be checked graphically. It is concluded that all resulting models show physically acceptable behavior under certain choices of Rastall and decoupling parameters.

Evaluation of Preceding Variables Affecting Behavioral Use and Acceptance of Chord-Enabled Keyboard Among Students

For years, chord-enabled keyboards’ usage has stayed behind its famous counterpart, the standard QWERTY design. Recent trends in this type of keyboard prompted its usage among social media platforms focusing on productivity and efficiency. However, few studies have evaluated its acceptance and consumer usage behavior – especially in the current generation. To fill this gap, this study aimed to examine the factors that affect the acceptance and adoption of chord-enabled keyboards through Random Forest Classifier and Neural Network ensemble. Nine thousand nine hundred (9,900) data points were considered through the convenience sampling method utilizing online platforms. The results displayed that all the examined latent variables were deemed significant: Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, Facilitating Conditions, Price Value, Habit, Intention to Use, Usage Behavior, and Perceived Usability. Among all these, usage behavior was identified as the most influential variable affecting the acceptance of chord-enabled keyboards. Users are more likely to utilize chord-enabled keyboards due to their perception of increasing productivity in accomplishing their tasks quickly, efficiently, and comfortably in the face of multiple typing tasks. Moreover, the variables of Effort Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions were also considered significant but less influential among all latent variables – due to difficulty on adoption. The results shed light on the factors influencing chord-enabled keyboard acceptance. With this, keyboard manufacturers can utilize the results to improve the acceptance and adoption of chord-enabled keyboards to improve individuals' typing efficiency and productivity, which can be extended for promotion in different countries.

You say it‘s not me: the influence of offering external explanations of rejection and acceptance behavior on the perception of benevolence in borderline personality disorder

BackgroundInterpersonal impairments in patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are characterized by the fear of being rejected and high levels of loneliness. Potential underlying factors are alterations in the processing of social interactions and the associated perceptions of social partners. In this regard, BPD patients tend to attribute the cause of negative rather than positive events to their own person and to perceive others as less trustworthy than healthy controls (HCs). To date, no study has investigated whether the effect of experimentally influenced causal attributions of social interactions on the perception of a social partner differs between BPD patients and HCs.MethodsA new virtual reality paradigm was developed to investigate the perception of benevolence following the induction of social rejection and acceptance, while experimentally manipulating whether an external cause for this behavior was provided. The data of 62 participants (32 HCs, 30 BPD patients) were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Associations of benevolence ratings with attributional style, rejection sensitivity, self-esteem, childhood trauma, and loneliness were investigated via correlational and multiple linear regression analyses.ResultsAcross both groups, a social partner was rated as less benevolent following rejection than following acceptance. An external explanation mitigated this negative effect of rejection. Overall, benevolence ratings were lower in BPD patients than in HCs. This group difference was stronger following acceptance than following rejection. Independent of acceptance and rejection, an external explanation was associated with a higher level of benevolence only in the HC group. No associations of the effects of the experimental conditions with attributional style, childhood trauma, rejection sensitivity, self-esteem, or loneliness were found.ConclusionOur findings indicate that acceptance and provided external explanations for rejection have a less positive impact on the perception of a social partner’s attitude toward oneself in BPD patients than in HCs. More research is needed to identify predictors of benevolence perception and which steps of social information processing are altered. The therapeutic implications include the importance of strengthening the perception and enjoyment of being accepted as well as improving the mentalizing ability of BPD patients.

Driving towards the future: Investigating senior tourist acceptance factors of autonomous vehicles in travel and tourism

This paper investigates the role of autonomous vehicles in transforming mobility and tourism. By extending the understanding of self-driving cars within a tourism context, this paper enhances the Automation Acceptance Model and tests the effects of underexplored variables in tourism studies, such as social influence, prior knowledge, and openness to change as a moderator. Data were collected through a survey method, and responses from 269 participants were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). These results suggest that while the extension of the theoretical model is informative, the insignificance of six of the proposed hypotheses calls for deeper investigation in other contexts concerning user acceptance behaviors. This opens new directions for further research, particularly with regard to age, perceived safety, and the level of trust in the technology. The paper concludes with practical implications to help increase the acceptance of autonomous vehicles among senior tourists, discusses limitations, and provides recommendations for future investigation in this rapidly evolving area.

Which Factors Explain the Effectiveness of School-Based Interventions to Prevent Dating and Relationship Violence and Gender-Based Violence? Systematic Review of Mediation Analyses in Randomized Trials

Adolescent interpersonal violence, particularly gender-based violence (GBV) and dating and relationship violence (DRV), are important public health issues frequently addressed through school-based interventions. This brief report systematically reviews the published evidence on mediational pathways for school-based interventions to effectively reduce GBV and DRV. As part of a larger systematic review funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, we identified six randomized trials in which mediation analyses of either DRV or GBV perpetration or victimization outcomes for four different interventions were conducted. We synthesize findings narratively by outcome, type of mediator, and follow-up period (short term or longitudinal). A total of eight mediators were analyzed across all studies. We found clear support for mediation through violence acceptance and delinquent behaviors; inconsistent support for mediation through knowledge, school belonging, belief in the need for help, and gender-inequitable beliefs; and no support for mediation through conflict management skills or bystander actions. These findings provide helpful suggestions on effective pathways for intervention efficacy. Overall, however, there is a need for mediation analyses to be conducted more often in GBV/DRV intervention evaluations. We discuss implications of these findings and suggest areas for future research on mediated pathways for GBV/DRV reduction.

Study protocol of the planetary health action survey PACE: a serial cross-sectional survey to assess the readiness to act against climate change

IntroductionClimate change is a paramount global health threat with multifaceted implications. Societal change is required to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, as well as help people adapt to...

The impact of smart elderly care service acceptance on elderly service usage behavior in Xi’an: An analysis of mediating effects based on the UTAUT model and the moderating role of digital literacy

As the aging trend intensifies, the Chinese government prioritizes technological innovation in smart elderly care services to enhance quality and efficiency, catering to the diverse needs of the elderly. This study examines the acceptance and usage behavior of smart elderly care services among elderly individuals in Xi’an, using a modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model that includes digital literacy as a moderating variable. Data were collected via a survey of 299 elderly individuals aged 60 and above in Xi’an. The study aims to identify factors influencing the acceptance and usage behavior of smart elderly care services and to understand how digital literacy moderates the relationship between these factors and usage behavior. Regression analysis assessed the direct effects of Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), and Facilitating Conditions (FC) on usage behavior. These dimensions were then integrated into a comprehensive index Service Acceptance to evaluate their overall impact on usage behavior, with behavioral intention examined as a potential mediating variable. Results indicate that EE and SI significantly impact the adoption of smart elderly care services, whereas PE and FC do not. Behavioral intention mediates the relationship between these variables and usage behavior. Additionally, gender, age, and digital literacy significantly moderate the impact of service acceptance on usage behavior. This study provides valuable theoretical and practical insights for designing and promoting smart elderly care services, emphasizing the importance of usability and social promotion to enhance the quality of life for the elderly.

Empowerment through technology: domestic violence acceptance among Iraqi women in an intersectional context

BackgroundAcceptance of domestic violence against women refers to the belief that violence can be justified. Women’s attitudes towards domestic violence shape societal acceptance, victimization, disclosure, and help-seeking behaviors. This study explored the role of gender, socio-economic status, regional disparities, and empowerment in domestic violence acceptance among Iraqi women.MethodsUsing data from the 2018 Iraq Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 6) with 19,443 married Iraqi women, this cross-sectional study employed logistic regression analyses to investigate individual, interpersonal, community, and societal determinants of domestic violence acceptance.Results48.4% of married Iraqi women accepted domestic violence, with higher acceptance in South/Central regions (62–73%). Factors associated with higher acceptance included lower education (aOR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.35–0.45 for upper secondary education compared to preprimary or non), functional difficulties (aOR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.40–1.83), marriage to blood-related spouses (aOR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.36–1.54), and rural residence (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.15–1.33). Conversely, owning a mobile phone (aOR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.44–0.50) and using a computer/tablet (aOR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.30–0.38) were associated with lower acceptance.ConclusionThese findings, given the lack of research on domestic violence among Iraqi women, highlight the urgent need for policy discussions supporting Sustainable Development Goals on gender equity and well-being. Enhanced access to technology could help women have better access to resources, support systems, and information, which would lower acceptance for domestic violence.

Development and Empirical Validation of an Information Technology Acceptance Framework

This paper explores the constructs affecting IT acceptance in modern organisations using theoretical frameworks such as the TAM and the UTAUT models. Realising the drawbacks of such dichotomous models for capturing the dynamics of contemporary IT enablers and use processes, the present study plans to offer and test new antecedent and moderating constructs that may provide a more accurate picture of today’s IT deployment and utilisation. The type of research in the study is the quantitative research method, which is adopted in the study where the researcher adopted a structured questionnaire to be administered to 200 participants across the different sectors of the economy, such as health, education, and business. Hypotheses of primary concern are those related to the construct of IT acceptance, including perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, system transparency, perceived risk, and ethical concerns. The analysis of the data gathered is done using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) because of the possibility of analysing the associations between several variables. Behavioural construct analysis revealed a significant positive correlation with IT acceptance behaviours, with the value of R for the new construct being 0.935 and the R square value being 0.874, which means that newly derived constructs explain a fair percentage of IT acceptance behaviours. The findings, therefore, point out the lack of conventional frameworks in addressing the complex nature of IT use in various organisational and cultural environments. Full-spectrum system requirements in newly developing domains, such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain, require new fundamental concepts regarding user trust, system openness and ethical considerations. This work extends the IT acceptance literature by providing a better view of the determinants of IT uptake in modern organisations. In totality, the validated constructs have practical implications for organisations desirous of adopting new IT systems, particularly highlighting the role of trust and perceived risk and the need for transparency or the adoption of transparency to guarantee user satisfaction rates and consequent adoption of new IT systems. In conclusion, the study points to the need to develop new models that address today’s diverse IT contexts to inform the next generation of IT acceptance and adoption research.

Determinants of Generative AI System Adoption and Usage Behavior in Korean Companies: Applying the UTAUT Model.

This study addresses the academic gap in the adoption of generative AI systems by investigating the factors influencing technology acceptance and usage behavior in Korean firms. Although recent advancements in AI are accelerating digital transformation and innovation, empirical research on the adoption of these systems remains scarce. To fill this gap, this study applies the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, surveying 300 employees from both large and small enterprises in South Korea. The findings reveal that effort expectancy and social influence significantly influence employees' behavioral intention to use generative AI systems. Specifically, effort expectancy plays a critical role in the early stages of adoption, while social influence, including support from supervisors and peers, strongly drives the adoption process. In contrast, performance expectancy and facilitating conditions show no significant impact. The study also highlights the differential effects of age and work experience on behavioral intention and usage behavior. For older employees, social support is a key factor in technology acceptance, whereas employees with more experience exhibit a more positive attitude toward adopting new technologies. Conversely, facilitating conditions are more critical for younger employees. This study contributes to the understanding of the interaction between various factors in AI technology adoption and offers strategic insights for the successful implementation of AI systems in Korean companies.

Adoption and Use of Electronic Human Resources Management Systems for Service Delivery in Tanzania: A Case to Tanzania Airports Authority

This articles explores the adoption and utilization of Electronic Human Resources Management Systems (e-HRMS) for service delivery at the Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA). General objective was to assess the adoption and use of electronic human resource management systems for HR service delivery at Tanzania Airports Authority. The specific objectives of the study were to examine the practice of eHRMS adopted to support service delivery in the Tanzania Airports Authority, to examine the effort made by the government to enhance the usage and adoption eHRMS in service delivery at Tanzania Airports Authority and to identify the challenges in using e-HRMS in service delivery in Tanzania. The study utilized the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand user acceptance behaviour and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory to explore how e-HRMS spreads within the organization. Research adopted an explanatory research design and population of study was 60 staff. Data was collected through questionnaires from a purposively selected sample of 52 staff with qualitative data from interviews conducted with HR and IT officers. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis, while thematic analysis was applied to qualitative data. Findings reveal that TAA has implemented various e-HRMS practices, including digital storage of employee data, automated payroll systems, and streamlined recruitment and onboarding processes. Government support has been instrumental in these efforts through policy implementation, financial support and infrastructure development. However, several challenges hinder the full potential of e-HRMS at TAA, such as limited access to technology, unreliable power supply, skills gaps, resistance to change, and cost considerations. The study concludes that e-HRMS has significantly improved HR service delivery at TAA. Nonetheless, continuous efforts are necessary to address existing challenges. Enhancing technological infrastructure, providing comprehensive training, and implementing effective change management strategies are crucial for optimizing the benefits of e-HRMS. The articles recommends that TAA invest in reliable internet connectivity and IT hardware, provide ongoing training for employees, and develop robust change management plans.

LEGAL REGULATION OF THE APPLICATION OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN PUBLIC SERVICE IN UKRAINE

The article analyzes the legal regulation of the use of political correctness in public service in Ukraine under modern conditions. At the beginning of the study, the prerequisites for the emergence and conditions for the implementation of the idea of political correctness are mentioned. The meaning of the concept of «political correctness» is revealed from different angles, taking into account what exactly is included in it and in what context it is used. It is indicated that the use of political correctness in the public service contributes to the establishment of contacts between different categories of persons, the formation of friendly and neutral relations, the strengthening of humanistic attitudes in society and the strengthening of the public's trust in the government (official apparatus). The main part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the normative consolidation of the idea of political correctness in international and domestic legal acts. It is found out, that the provisions of the studied international documents contain norms that indirectly regulate the issue of ensuring political correctness in the sphere of public administration and in other social spheres. There is no clear normative definition of the concept of «political correctness» in their provisions. It is established that the national legislation also does not contain a normative definition of the concept of «political correctness», but only establishes the principles of «discrimination-free barriers». These principles are laid down in Art. 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine. On the basis of the specified constitutional norm, legal acts detailing the application of political correctness in public service in Ukraine were adopted at different time intervals. At the end of the article, it is concluded that political correctness in the modern world is an important element of everyday communication, especially in the field of public administration. Political correctness is a standard of socially permissible and acceptable behavior of public officials when communicating with different groups (age, ethnic, sexual, etc.) of the population with the aim of preventing any oppression or humiliation of human honor and dignity, by using stylistically neutral vocabulary and non-verbal communication.

Higher-Order Constructs of Injunctive and Descriptive Norm of Consumer Purchase Behaviour of Pirated Music Compact Discs

This study explores the higher-order constructs of injunctive and descriptive norm within the context of consumer purchase behavior of pirated music in Tanzania. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, the research aims to understand how subjective norm influence the decision-making processes of Tanzanian consumers regarding pirated music. A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 491 respondents, and data were analyzed using Smart PLS to test the relationships between the variables. These results have practical implications for marketers, business owners, and music promoters seeking to enhance CD sales among music users in Tanzania. Injunctive norm, which reflect perceived social pressures to conform to what is deemed acceptable behavior, and descriptive norm, which reflect perceptions of how others behave, were investigated as independent variables. Consumer behavior regarding the purchase of pirated music was the dependent variable. The findings reveal that both injunctive and descriptive norm have a significant impact on consumer behavior, affirming the strong influence of subjective norm on piracy-related decision- making. Based on these results, recommendations were made to Tanzanian consumers and policymakers. For consumers, the emphasis was placed on increasing awareness of the ethical and legal implications of purchasing pirated music. For policymakers, strategies were suggested to strengthen anti-piracy campaigns and to promote positive behavioral changes through normative interventions. These insights provide a valuable contribution to the understanding of consumer behavior in emerging markets, where social norms play a critical role in shaping illegal consumption patterns.

Enabling Social Robots to Perceive and Join Socially Interacting Groups Using F-formation: A Comprehensive Overview

Social robots in our daily surroundings, like personal guides, waiter robots, home helpers, assistive robots, and telepresence/teleoperation robots, are increasing day by day. Their usability and acceptability largely depend on their explicit and implicit interaction capability with fellow human beings. As a result, social behavior is one of the most sought-after qualities that a robot can possess. However, there is no specific aspect and/or feature that defines socially acceptable behavior, and it largely depends on the situation, application, and society. In this article, we investigate one such social behavior for collocated robots. Imagine a group of people is interacting with each other, and we want to join the group. We as human beings do it in a socially acceptable manner, i.e., within the group, we do position ourselves in such a way that we can participate in the group activity without disturbing/obstructing anybody. To possess such a quality, first, a robot needs to determine the formation of the group and then determine a position for itself, which we humans do implicitly. There are many theories which study group formations and proxemics; one such theory is f-formation which could be utilized for this purpose. As the types of formations can be very diverse, detecting the social groups is not a trivial task. In this article, we provide a comprehensive survey of the existing work on social interaction and group detection using f-formation for robotics and other applications. We also put forward a novel holistic survey framework combining some of the possibly more important concerns and modules relevant to this problem. We define taxonomies based on methods, camera views, datasets, detection capabilities and scale, evaluation approaches, and application areas. We discuss certain open challenges and limitations in the current literature along with possible future research directions based on this framework. In particular, we discuss the existing methods/techniques and their relative merits and demerits, applications, and provide a set of unsolved but relevant problems in this domain. The official website for this work is available at: https://github.com/HrishavBakulBarua/Social-Robots-F-formation

Understanding the drivers of consumers’ acceptance and use of service robots in the hotel industry

Purpose This study aims to discover factors and configurations that influence customers’ acceptance behaviors to investigate the current hospitality industry using service robots. Design/methodology/approach A mix of symmetrical and asymmetrical modeling methods was used for the data analysis. The symmetrical modeling was used to find the net effects, whereas asymmetrical modeling was adopted to find the combined configurations for hotel guests’ robot service acceptance behaviors. Findings The results revealed the significant effect of innovativeness, willingness to be a lighthouse customer, personal norms and concern about service robot performance on acceptance behaviors. In addition, the complex solution models using characteristics of tech-forward consumers, norms and attitude and uncertainty and concern were found. Practical implications The study shows directions to hotel marketers, to help them make customers adopt service robots. Originality/value The study explored customer service robot acceptance behaviors based on comprehensive theoretical backgrounds, including the technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior, norm activation model and service robot acceptance model.

Effect of adding dune sand to tuff in Saharan road construction

The south region of Algeria is characterized by a wide surface, a scattered population and a very small ratio of road length per habitant. To allow the development of agricultural, industrial and touristic activities between different cities in the south of Algeria, it is necessary to maintain and to develop the road infrastructure. However the development of these infrastructures necessitates the use of huge amount of certified aggregates from quarries which is not available in the vicinity of the need. For these raisons, in the framework of sustainable development, a strategy which consists in using local materials like fine sediments (dune sand) and other types of material is engaged. The materials constituting the road layers, until today, have been limited to certain so-called noble materials (gravel, aggregates, etc.), but these are being depleted as a result of the intensive exploitation and the scarcity of quality careers. Gypso-limestone encrustation tuffs, the most used materials in pavements (base course and base course) in the Saharan areas such as southern Algeria, have shown acceptable behavior for many years until these last days, when this type of material begins to present certain limits under the effect of the intensity of the traffic. In order to promote the abundant wind sands in these regions, we are interested in developing the dune sands in the pavement as a mixture with the tuffs. The present work presents a contribution to the study of the behavior of the tuff of the Adrar region (South of Algeria) alone and mixed with the sand dunes in different formulations. The aim is to evaluate the evolution of mechanical properties including resistance to simple compression, the ability to compaction and punching (RBC). The work also discusses the influence of the addition of cement in low levels on the performance of the mixture.