Information-rich Environment Research Articles

Understanding teacher judgments of student motivation: The role of (un-)available cues

BackgroundAccurately judging student motivation enables individualized and student-centered instruction. However, teachers in school tend to judge student motivation inaccurately. Low availability of motivation-related cues, like mastery-approach goals and work-avoidance goals, may explain neglecting these cues in judging motivation. Instead, gender and academic achievement might be overly utilized because they are easily available. AimTo test teachers’ utilization of highly and equally available cues when judging student motivation. MethodsIn the first vignette experiment, pre-service and in-service teachers (N = 205) judged eight fictitious students’ motivation sequentially. Teachers received either achievement goal cues (EG1) or additionally gender and academic achievement cues (EG2), creating an information-adequate environment. In Experiment 2, newly recruited pre-service and in-service teachers (N = 213) evaluated the same vignettes in the same groups, but vignettes were presented simultaneously, and cues had to be memorized, resulting in an information-rich environment. Teachers then formed judgments based solely on their memory without further access to the vignettes. ResultsWhen teachers judged student motivation sequentially, they strongly used mastery-approach goals and work-avoidance goals—regardless of whether other cues were available. In memory-based judgments, teachers primarily used gender and academic achievement. ConclusionsResults demonstrate that in information-rich environments where cues have to be memorized, teachers tend to overlook motivation-relevant cues. Instead, they focus more on cues that do not inherently indicate motivation. These findings suggest that teachers could benefit from assessment environments, like formative assessment, that allow for the direct processing of available cues to better judge student motivation.

Risk disclosure, earnings smoothing and firm perceived risk

Purpose This paper aims to examine the association between perceived firm risk and two reporting mechanisms: risk disclosure and earnings smoothing in the UK context. Design/methodology/approach This study juxtaposes three competing views, the “null”, the “divergence” and the “convergence” hypotheses, and empirically investigates whether risk disclosure and earnings smoothing affect firm perceived risk for a sample of large UK firms with rich and poor information environments. This study also uses the global financial crisis as an external shock on overall risk in the economy to investigate when and how managers use these two reporting mechanisms to shape the firm perceived risk. Findings This paper documents that risk disclosures have no significant effect on investors’ risk perceptions, consistent with risk disclosures containing boilerplate and generic statements about firm risk. This paper also finds that earnings smoothing reduces investors’ risk perceptions, reflecting investors’ interpretations about future firm performance. Additional tests reveal that earnings smoothing is not associated with perceived firm risk for firms with rich information environments and expanded risk disclosures. Furthermore, reporting smooth earnings decreases perceived firm risk following the global financial crisis. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and measures of earnings smoothing as well as post-filing perceived firm risk. Research limitations/implications This study does not distinguish between the garbling role and the informational role of earnings smoothing. The risk disclosure measurement used in this study, developed based on UK annual reports, may limit the generalizability of findings to other countries. Practical implications The findings suggest that managers should revise their risk disclosure strategies to provide in-depth details on firm risk. Investors might require information and thorough assessment to evaluate investment risks when firms provide generic risk disclosures and smoothed earnings by consulting sources like financial intermediaries. Regulators should keep an eye on firms reporting boilerplate risk disclosures and on how smoothing earnings impacts the firm perceived risk following economic turmoil, to guide interventions that promote market stability. Originality/value The findings provide new insights into when and how managers use their financial reporting discretion to make firms appear less risky and, therefore, influence investors’ risk perceptions.

Leader Attention to Information and Sustainability Performance

In contemporary business practice, sustainability has emerged as a focal point for understanding value creation. This study examines how leader attention influences sustainability performance. Specifically, it investigates two dimensions of leader attention: search intensity, which pertains to the depth and thoroughness of exploration, and search selection, which involves the criteria used to prioritize sustainability issues. This study employed a quantitative approach utilizing a survey methodology. Data collection of 30 SMEs was conducted through a postal survey, targeting the Malaysian service sector listed in the directory of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM). Data is analyzed using PLS-SEM to investigate perceptions regarding leader attention towards corporate sustainability performance. Employing the ABV theory, the findings indicate that search intensity positively impacts both corporate financial and non-financial performance, highlighting the importance of comprehensive information-gathering and analysis processes. However, the study does not find a significant relationship between search selection and financial performance, suggesting a limited impact of specific information search strategies. These results underscore the pivotal role of leader attention in shaping organizational sustainability performance. The study contributes to understanding how leader attention enhances sustainability and provides valuable insights for organizations. Despite its contributions, future research could explore mechanisms through which search intensity influences financial outcomes and consider moderating factors across industries and regions. In conclusion, this research emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making and comprehensive information search processes for corporate financial and non-financial performance in today's information-rich environment.

Informing or guiding? The influence of party politicisation of the European Union on public opinion formation

How do individual predispositions towards national politics influence public opinion formation on the EU? This article addresses this question by unveiling the moderating role of party politicisation of the EU. Through debate and competition, political parties can affect how individuals rely on their predispositions towards national politics to form their views on the EU. Using individual-level and country-year-level data from 25 EU countries, results reveal that citizens are less likely to rely on short-term utilitarian appreciations of the national economy or trust in national institutions as the degree of party politicisation of the EU increases. The way individuals activate predispositions that reflect hostility towards immigrants is not dependent on the levels of party politicisation of the EU. The findings highlight that party politicisation of the EU informs public opinion by creating an information-rich environment; however, it does not guide individuals to mobilise and activate their cultural predispositions towards immigration.

Bridging Linguistic Gaps: Developing a Greek Text Simplification Dataset

Text simplification is crucial in bridging the comprehension gap in today’s information-rich environment. Despite advancements in English text simplification, languages with intricate grammatical structures, such as Greek, often remain under-explored. The complexity of Greek grammar, characterized by its flexible syntactic ordering, presents unique challenges that hinder comprehension for native speakers, learners, tourists, and international students. This paper introduces a comprehensive dataset for Greek text simplification, containing over 7500 sentences across diverse topics such as history, science, and culture, tailored to address these challenges. We outline the methodology for compiling this dataset, including a collection of texts from Greek Wikipedia, their annotation with simplified versions, and the establishment of robust evaluation metrics. Additionally, the paper details the implementation of quality control measures and the application of machine learning techniques to analyze text complexity. Our experimental results demonstrate the dataset’s initial effectiveness and potential in reducing linguistic barriers and enhancing communication, with initial machine learning models showing promising directions for future improvements in classifying text complexity. The development of this dataset marks a significant step toward improving accessibility and comprehension for a broad audience of Greek speakers and learners, fostering a more inclusive society.

Understanding and Combating Misinformation: An Evolutionary Perspective.

Misinformation represents an evolutionary paradox: despite its harmful impact on society, it persists and evolves, thriving in the information-rich environment of the digital age. This paradox challenges the conventional expectation that detrimental entities should diminish over time. The persistence of misinformation, despite advancements in fact-checking and verification tools, suggests that it possesses adaptive qualities that enable it to survive and propagate. This paper explores how misinformation, as a blend of truth and fiction, continues to resonate with audiences. The role of narratives in human history, particularly in the evolution of Homo narrans, underscores the enduring influence of storytelling on cultural and social cohesion. Despite the increasing ability of individuals to verify the accuracy of sources, misinformation remains a significant challenge, often spreading rapidly through digital platforms. Current behavioral research tends to treat misinformation as completely irrrational, static, finite entities that can be definitively debunked, overlooking their dynamic and evolving nature. This approach limits our understanding of the behavioral and societal factors driving the transformation of misinformation over time. The persistence of misinformation can be attributed to several factors, including its role in fostering social cohesion, its perceived short-term benefits, and its use in strategic deception. Techniques such as extrapolation, intrapolation, deformation, cherry-picking, and fabrication contribute to the production and spread of misinformation. Understanding these processes and the evolutionary advantages they confer is crucial for developing effective strategies to counter misinformation. By promoting transparency, critical thinking, and accurate information, society can begin to address the root causes of misinformation and create a more resilient information environment.

The impact of industry competition on the value relevance of goodwill impairments across different information environments

Building upon prior studies that explore the impact of competition on financial reporting quality, this paper investigates the influence of industry-level competition on the value relevance of goodwill impairments. Additionally, it examines whether this impact is more pronounced for firms operating in countries with rich information environments. We analyze 21,224 firm-year observations from companies in 21 countries that reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We find that companies facing higher product market competition tend to report impairment losses that are relevant to investors’ equity valuation decisions. This is consistent with the notion that companies in competitive industries are subject to greater scrutiny and have fewer incentives to manipulate their impairment reporting. We also find that the impact of industry competition on the value relevance of goodwill impairments is more pronounced in the rich information environments of market-based economies than bank-oriented economies. These findings underscore the impact of competition and its interplay with the information environment on the market perception of accounting information that is subject to managerial discretion.

Mapping the research landscape of recommender systems for digital libraries

Background of the study: In today’s information-rich environment, researchers face the difficulty of managing information overload and struggle to identify meaningful information among a plethora of choices. A recommender system plays a crucial role in assisting users in discovering relevant information from a digital library. Purpose: This study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of research publications on recommender systems for digital libraries. Method: The research method involved the quantitative bibliometric approach to analyse the research publications from the Web of Science and Scopus databases using Biblioshiny. The dataset retrieved comprises 374 documents published between the period of 2004-2023. Findings: The study's findings highlight that the number of publications was notably high in 2009 and 2018 within the analyzed period. The most significant contributors are Porcel C, Herrera-Viedma E, and Beel J. There is a considerable international collaboration between the countries- China, USA, and Germany. Conclusions: This study indicates an emerging interest in recommender systems for digital libraries with the continuous evolution of new recommendation models. There is a huge potential for research considering the availability of multimodal data, the continuous evolution of new technologies such as deep learning, and opportunities for the development of an architecture for integrating different digital libraries.

Can Critical Audit Matters Be a Signal of Poor Accruals Quality?

SUMMARY We investigate the relationship between critical audit matters (CAMs) and accruals quality. We find that companies with a higher number of CAMs in their audit reports are associated with poorer accruals quality, and this association appears to be driven by recurring rather than nonrecurring CAMs. An examination of specific CAM topics shows that revenue CAMs are associated with lower revenue-related accruals quality, and tax CAMs are associated with poorer tax-related accruals quality, suggesting that CAMs are indicators of poor accruals quality. A cross-sectional analysis shows that the CAM signal about poor accruals quality is attenuated for companies when the information environment is richer, suggesting that a rich information environment restrains the use of discretion in accruals estimation such that CAMs no longer indicate poor accruals quality. Overall, our findings suggest that CAMs can provide a relevant signal of financial reporting quality in certain circumstances. JEL Classifications: M41; M42; M48.

A Framework Design of Web-based Knowledge Management System with NoSQL Database

In today's dynamic and information-rich environment, effective knowledge management has emerged as a critical determinant for organizations seeking to take advantage of intellectual resources. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic to expect experts who lack a background in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to possess an advanced level of technological proficiency or linguistic analytical skills. This study provides a comprehensive framework targeted at developing a Web-based Knowledge Management System (WKMS) coupled with chatbot application that is precisely tuned to meet the complex challenges of organizing, disseminating, and utilizing knowledge related to agriculture sector. This paper elaborates on a framework from both functional and technical perspectives, including the identification of knowledge origins, the establishment of mechanisms for capturing and sharing knowledge, and the facilitation of collaborative knowledge generation. This study employing a methodological approach and adopts a three-tier architecture for framework construction, coupled with text processing for data preparation. The findings emphasize that a successful WKMS should prioritize not only technology infrastructure but also strategies for building a culture favorable to information exchange. This paradigm lays the groundwork for enhanced discovery, innovation, and decision-making in a variety of professional fields by fusing theoretical insights and pragmatic considerations.

Enhancing Resilience in Primary Education: Addressing Societal Challenges and Fostering Holistic Student Development

This study explores educational resilience in primary education, focusing on how teachers can effectively nurture this crucial trait amidst rapid societal changes and an information-rich environment. Utilizing qualitative focus group discussions with ten primary school teachers, the research examines four key themes: student-teacher dynamic, peer influence, family and community engagement, and school environment. The findings reveal that while teachers recognize the importance of building resilience in students, they face challenges due to curriculum demands and resource limitations. Teachers expressed a desire to foster empathetic relationships, positive peer interactions, and engage families and communities but often found these goals hindered by systemic constraints. This research underscores the need for a holistic approach to education beyond traditional academic learning. It highlights the need for professional development, strengthened school-community partnerships, and educational policy reforms that prioritize comprehensive student development. The study concludes that fostering resilience in primary education requires addressing classroom practices and systemic barriers, aligning with contemporary resilience theories and emphasizing the need for classroom interventions to support students' overall well-being and competence.

Founding complexes of multi-stage mathematical and informational tasks in the hybrid intellectual environment of school mathematics

Introduction. The development of educational motivation and creativity of each student is possible in the conditions of complex knowledge level adaptation with the support of hybrid intelligent systems. The multiplicity of goal-setting and choice, the symbiosis of mathematical and computer modeling become the real result of founding complexes mastering multi-stage mathematical and informational tasks in student’s research activity in secondary school. These processes lead to each student’s self-organization and cultures dialogue, support for the development of scientific knowledge methods and modern achievements in science adaptation to school mathematics. The main objective of the study is the development of methodological, substantive and technological foundations of the design and actualization of digital transformation processes and hybrid intellectual environment support of student’s scientific potential growth. Support of hybrid intellectual environment in the development of hierarchical bases and founding complexes of multi-stage mathematical and informational tasks in student’s research activities are revealed. Materials and methods. Using the methods of visual modeling and founding of personal experience, the architecture, parameters and functional organization of the intellectual management of each student’s design and research activities in a rich information and educational environment of complex mathematical knowledge mastering are determined. Founding complexes research of multy-stage mathematical and informational tasks are presented as mechanism of each student’s scientific potential growth. Mathematical and computer modeling is the main instrument of modern achievements in science adaptation to school mathematics. Results. We propose the following typology and stages of design levels of student’s research activity in hybrid intellectual environment: search-reproductive, empirical, theoretical and creative. The architecture, content and structure support of hybrid neural environment determine the factors of effective growth of each student’s scientific potential. The technological stages of founding procedures into the adaptation processes of complex knowledge introduction (modern achievements of science) to school mathematics reveal the orientation and essence of pedagogical innovations. The model of founding generalized cluster for the adapting process of complex knowledge mastering (using the example of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic) integrates the motivational, meaningful and applied complexes to support the creative activity of each student. Conclusions. The implementation of these stages led to synergetic effects manifestation and phenomenological type of modeling reflection of generalized construct essence and each student’s research activity with hybrid neural environment to support the growth of student’s scientific potential.

Online teaching as supplementary tool during lockdown among undergraduate medical students in an Indian medical college

Abstract Introduction: Education is undergoing profound changes due to permanent technological innovations. During covid pandemic, students were struggling with authentic study material due to the sudden lockdown. Objectives: In order to supplement and assess the impact of online lectures during covid pandemic a course was designed using an online learning management system (LMS), ‘Moodle’ (modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment. Methods: The teaching approach was supported by multimedia didactic materials to introduce the concepts of Web-based learning environments. We assessed the student’s online activity logs to know the student’s interests and engagement. The study was conducted among 170 first-year MBBS students of batch 2020. The five-point Likert scale was used to measure student attitudes related to supplementary material use. Results: The majority of students gave positive feedback: 79% of students were in agreement that supplementary material added extra interest to the topic and 88% stated that it was useful and relevant. Students displayed positive attitudes towards using LMS and gained adequate knowledge in an information-rich environment. Conclusion: The integration of Moodle in Physiology teaching improved student’s interest and motivation as suggested by student’s active participation to access supplementary resources. Such efforts also give insights to course administrators for setting teaching plans and providing meaningful learning experiences.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS ON THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS IN IT EDUCATION

This manuscript explores the heightened importance of information, information technology, and computer modeling in the training of engineering bachelor's degree students in the context of a rapidly developing global information society. It discusses the creation of an intellectually rich information and professional environment in higher education institutions, aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of modeling, optimization, and design tasks. These tasks are vital for the professional advancement of students in an increasingly informatized world. Addressing the gap between current teaching practices in computer-mathematical modeling and the growing utilization of CALS-based information technologies, the study introduces an information-subject environment (ISE). This environment is designed to enhance the students' informational and constructive competencies by integrating various components, including general technical disciplines, database structures, optimization methods, and the construction of information models. The manuscript also highlights the significance of situational technological processes in manufacturing, where multiple input parameters are considered, requiring sophisticated methods of mathematical statistics and experimental design. Concluding, the manuscript emphasizes the necessity of developing new teaching technologies and engaging students in project-research activities, ultimately aiming to bolster their professional competencies in line with the demands of the global information society.

Firm Information Environment & The Uniqueness Challenge of Corporate Strategy

This paper examines how a firm’s information environment influences the uniqueness of its corporate strategy. Because unique strategies impose a greater information burden on investors to assess, they can be discounted on the market, leading managers to compromise on the uniqueness of their strategies. While richer information environments can allow investors to more accurately value–and thus, firms to adopt–more unique strategies, they can also signal the strategy’s value to competitors and immediately invite imitation or retaliation, which can erode the expected competitive advantage. Therefore, I examine the challenge faced by managers in adopting unique strategies and in response to changes in their firm’s information environment. I find that better information environments increase strategy uniqueness, but not for complex firms and not when competition is intense. Exploiting a plausibly exogenous shock to the information environment that accounts for its potentially endogenous nature provides further evidence of the effect.

Review on Human-Computer Interaction: An Evolution of Usablility

Abstract: This paper's goal is to give a broad overview of the field of Human-Computer Interaction. The basic definitions and terminology are covered, as well as a study of existing technologies and recent breakthroughs in the field, popular architectures used in the design of HCI systems, including unimodal and multimodal configurations, and HCI applications. A major goal of human-computer interaction research is to make systems more usable, valuable, and to give users with experiences tailored to their specific knowledge and goals. In an information-rich environment, the challenge is not just to make information available to individuals at any time, in any place, and in any form, but also to keep it up to date as per current trends and demands. Keywords: HCI - Human Computer Interaction, Multimodal HCI, Unimodal HCI, MMHCI - Multimodal HCI, UX - User Experience.

Consistent and conflicting information in floods and bushfires impact risk information seeking, risk perceptions, and protective action intentions

A core challenge for emergency services agencies is encouraging people to take protective action in a noisy, information-rich environment. This challenge is heightened when the environment is filled with conflicting information. While investigations of conflicting information are prevalent in temporally distant health contexts such as smoking cessation, where the effects of the protective action (i.e., quitting) take years to be realised, studies have yet to examine the impact of conflicting information when the potential outcome of the protective action (e.g., saving your life) has greater temporal immediacy. In this study we compare how social cues (media, peers, commercial weather forecaster) and environmental cues (weather conditions) that are consistent/conflict with an emergency warning message, impact community risk information processing, risk perceptions, and protective action intentions. The research finds risk perception is higher and intention to undertake protective action and information sharing is more likely when there is consistency between the emergency warning message and the socio-environmental cues, whereas heuristic information processing, self-efficacy, and information seeking are more likely to occur in the presence of conflicting cues. The research moves beyond high-level discourse about conflicting information ‘causing confusion’ in the community to a more nuanced, empirical understanding of the complexities of conflicting information across multiple stages of the decision-making process, in a context with greater temporal immediacy for action. Practical suggestions are made for agencies managing conflicting information when the conflict comes from socio-environmental cues. Future research is warranted for replication and to test mitigation strategies for conflicting information.

Measuring the teacher's readiness to manage of student’s mathematical and computer modeling in the development of complex systems and knowledge

Introduction. In recent years the development of student’s creativity and self-organization has been the basic trend of mathematical education in schools and universities due to the need of large amounts of information process, the variability and uncertainty of external factors impact, the increasing role of competencies importance in practice-oriented tasks solving. The works of philosophers, psychologists, and teachers show that the main means of these problems solving in modern world can be overcoming difficulties in complex systems and knowledge study by students based on a symbiosis of mathematical and computer modeling (including modern achievements in mathematics, robotics, information and intelligent systems). Pedagogical experience, theory and practice, requests and challenges of real life show that the teacher's readiness to manage the process of mastering complex systems and knowledge in mathematical education plays a central role in determining the various levels of intellectual and personal development success (including the formation of mathematical literacy) of students. The purpose of the study is to identify of teacher’s personal, subject and professional deficits and their meters in readiness for the management and interpretation of student’s complex systems and knowledge as a factor of personality development, using original competence meters in the form of case tests. Materials and methods. Personality-activity, competence-based, integrative and synergetic approaches are implemented, diagnostic materials of case tests for measuring teachers' professional deficits, methods of content analysis, founding of personal experience and visual modeling of determining criteria, features, content and structure of teacher’s readiness to manage the processes of student’s complex systems mastering based on the interpretation of mathematical and computer modeling methods. The results of the study. Revealed that the criteria, content and structure of teacher's readiness to manage of student’s complex systems and knowledge development are identified; teacher’s professional deficits in the readiness to manage of student’s complex systems and knowledge development are identified; approaches, directions and methods for creating a rich information and educational environment for complex systems and knowledge development (including robotic systems, virtual and augmented reality technologies, elements of fractal geometry, fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic, etc.) are developed based on a symbiosis of mathematical and computer modeling. Conclusions. The state of personal, subject and professional competencies expression should determine the teacher’s value-motivational, personal-adaptive, cognitive, procedural and generalizing-transforming readiness to manage the mastering processes and ways of complex systems and knowledge adapting (modern achievements in science) to student’s current state of experience, the presenting variability of generalized constructs forms and means, the possession of methods mathematical and computer modeling, samples and standards of popular applications of complex knowledge to real life, technologies and productions. The experiment was conducted on representative sample of mathematics teachers of Perm Region in Russia with the identification of teacher’s patterns and professional deficits in the context of complex systems and knowledge teaching possibility.

The phenomenon of complex knowledge in teaching mathematics as a factor of mathematical literacy forming of school students

Introduction. Mathematics teaching based on the development of complex knowledge generalized constructs (for example, modern achievements in science) becomes an effective direction for the formation of school student’s mathematical literacy with a significant applied and mathematical-informational potential of personal development. The purpose of the study: to develop a technology for student’s mathematical literacy formation during the development of complex mathematical knowledge and in the context of universal educational actions actualization by means of mathematical and computer modeling. Materials and methods. The research materials are based on the historiogenesis and actualization of mastering processes of complex mathematical knowledge by students as an effective mechanism for personal development. A synergetic approach, digitalization tools and visual modeling methods are being implemented to adapt the mastering processes of complex knowledge to school mathematics with the effect of student’s mathematical literacy forming. The choice and justification of methods for personal experience founding create the effect of core actualization of universal educational actions, manifest themselves in the processes of students ' activities individualization. The results of the study. For the first time, a technology for student’s mathematical literacy formation based on the symbiosis of mathematical and computer modeling in mathematics development of complex knowledge has been developed. The founding clusters and research and adaptation technology of hierarchies of complex multi-level knowledge (including modern achievements in science) to school mathematics are constructed. The stages and means of visual modeling and personal experience founding with the effect of student’s mathematical literacy forming in a rich information and educational environment are clarified. Conclusion. Educational practices have shown the high efficiency of this method to school student’s mathematical literacy forming in the process of modern achievements mastering in science. Such didactic solutions and practices are characterized by the ability to fully meet the needs of each school student in self-education and self-actualization when complex knowledge constructs mastering and set the value imperative of personal development, including mathematical literacy.

Overreaction or Underreaction to Intra-Industry Earnings Information Transfer: A Cross-Country Analysis

ABSTRACTWe apply the moderated confidence hypothesis (MCH) to investigate overreaction and underreaction in intra-industry earnings information transfers in an international setting. MCH predicts that late announcing firms' investors overreact (underreact) to early announcing industry peers' earnings news when early announcing peers' earnings news is imprecise (precise) signals of late announcing firms' earnings. Consistent with this notion, we find that late announcing firms' investors overreact to early announcing peers' earnings news in a large sample of international firms. To the extent that the country-level information environment and culture share the precision of peers' earnings as signals of each other's earnings, we find that late announcing firms' investors are more likely to underreact in countries with a richer information environment, are more likely to overreact in countries with higher individualism, and are less likely to overreact in countries with higher uncertainty avoidance.JEL Classifications: M41; G41; G15.