Individual Roles Research Articles

Navigating Time-Inconsistent Behavior: The Influence of Financial Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitude on Hyperbolic Discounting

Hyperbolic discounting is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals prioritize smaller immediate rewards over larger future rewards. Time-inconsistent behavior is deemed irrational as it negatively impacts savings and investment, investment in financial knowledge, and long-term financial and personal well-being. This study hypothesizes that improving financial knowledge, promoting positive financial behavior, and fostering a future-oriented financial attitude can mitigate hyperbolic discounting bias and that these three components of financial literacy enable investors to make long-term economic decisions maximizing utility. We analyzed the responses of 114,170 active investors in Japan to examine the interactions between financial knowledge, behavior, and attitude. Our findings reveal a strong negative relationship between these dimensions and hyperbolic discounting, underscoring their crucial role in shaping individuals’ intertemporal preferences. For researchers, our results highlight the need to integrate multidimensional aspects of financial literacy into investigations of intertemporal discounting behaviors. Policymakers should implement holistic financial education programs that improve knowledge, transform behavior, and shape attitudes. Financial institutions and advisors should prioritize programs that mitigate hyperbolic discounting tendencies among clients. This study represents a significant advancement in the research on financial literacy, offering a comprehensive framework for future studies and practical applications aimed at improving financial decision-making outcomes.

Exploring effective (health) coaching relationships with the long-term unemployed

ABSTRACT This is the first exploratory study that centres on understanding what constitutes effective coaching relationships. Despite existing evidence highlighting the importance of the coaching relationship in achieving successful outcomes, there is limited knowledge on the specific components that make these relationships effective. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the cognitive structures and personal constructs that underpin effective (health) coaching relationships from the perspectives of health coaches, placement officers, and long-term unemployed clients with health restrictions. By employing Personal Construct Psychology and qualitative methods like Repertory Grid Technique, the study seeks to provide deeper insights into how these relationships are construed and what factors contribute to their effectiveness. The analysis identified 27 key themes that contribute to effective coaching relationships, highlighting the importance of relational constructs like trust, empathy, client readiness, and the individualised nature of perceptions, with different factors playing significant roles for different individuals. Repertory Grid Technique and Personal Construct Psychology proved effective in uncovering these cognitive structures. The study’s results offer practical implications for enhancing coaching practices, especially for vulnerable populations.

Music in the Air and in the Body: An Interoceptive System's Perspective on Musical Emotions, Awareness, and Time.

Performing and perceiving music requires the integration of multimodal information, including sensations of one's own body. Research on musical engagement investigated emotional responses and the peripheral physiological activations involved, as well as bodily action tendencies, effects on time perception, and the role of awareness and focus of attention. The concept of interoception dedicates a central role to the insular cortex, as suggested by Craig and others, and offers a unifying framework for studying music as an activity that has always had a key role for individuals, groups, societies, with a strong bodily component. Chances and challenges of an interoceptive perspective on music are discussed.

Forms of address and the Portuguese presence in Santos, Brazil

The city of Santos in Brazil is the only area in the state of São Paulo where the form of address tu is found (Modesto 2006). The contact between Brazilians of European descent and Portuguese immigrants, in the beginning of the 20th century, is a possible cause of this phenomenon (Pereira & Frutuoso 2007). The literature on language contact highlights three important social variables which may lead to linguistic change. The first of these variables, as stated by Ravindranath (2015), is related to demography. The city of Santos became home to many Portuguese immigrants back in the first decade of the 20th century. The second variable is space and mobility (Britain 2013). Due to sanitary reforms (Mello 2007), the city of Santos had its urban mobility and spatial arrangement transformed, and this reshaped how the Brazilian and the Portuguese immigrants would move around the city. The last social variable is described by Dodsworth (2017) as the social role of individuals within a community. In Santos, the Portuguese immigrants had important roles in labor unions and helped to organize many of the harbor workers (Maram 1979). These factors converged to create a "solidary" scenario in Santos, which may have favored the use of more solidary forms of address where interlocutors could engage on more equal terms (see Brown & Gilman 1960) such as tu. In order to verify how the forms of address were used by Portuguese immigrants in the state of São Paulo in the beginning of the 20th century, 114 personal letters (Museu de Imigração de São Paulo 2019) were analyzed. Those immigrants who lived by the coast presented a higher use of tu in relationships among peers. In Santos, linguistic and social variables seem to have favored the use of tu and its usage persists today.

Understanding Co-Offending Patterns and Criminal Mentorship Using Police Registry Data

ABSTRACT The current study examines registration data from the Dutch police pertaining to 2,757 individuals and 10 different crime categories, at the offense, individual, and network levels of analysis. Moreover, a novel estimate is introduced which identifies individuals’ tendency to operate as mentors or mentees in criminal networks. We find co-offending to be conditional on the type of crime and to typically involve groups of two to three offenders. Moreover, we find that men and those aged 18–25 are most likely to co-offend and that co-offenders typically do not show a preference for particular co-offenders. Individuals with central positions in the co-offending network were found to be older and to offend more frequently with a higher average of co-offenders per offense, than those less central. Lastly, we find the novel estimate to be a promising tool for identifying mentor and mentee roles in large quantitative network data. The results of the current study emphasize the importance of studying co-offending on different analytical levels, and to differentiate co-offending by different crime types, network positions, and individual roles, to better inform theory and policy.

Causes of Drug Use and Methods of Legal Treatment

Drug addiction or use dates back to ancient times, with its roots lying in the human use of certain plants containing substances that alter mental states, perception, and sensations for thousands of years. These substances were used either to experience pleasure, alleviate the pain of a particular patient, endure suffering, or forget a painful life and its burdens. Drugs play a significant role in encouraging individuals to commit various crimes due to their impact on the nervous and sensory systems. Furthermore, drug abuse has become one of the most pressing problems and challenges facing our society, posing severe threats to families and youth and warning of potential disintegration. Regardless of the form or type of drug, it remains one of the most dangerous social issues and plagues that harm our community due to its profoundly negative effects on individuals, families, and society at large.One of the causes behind the prevalence of drug use is the high unemployment rate and lack of job opportunities within Iraqi society, leading to idle individuals who, with excess free time, may turn to drug addiction. Additionally, poverty becomes a bias, with the influential factor being the creation of a strong and urgent desire that drives drug users to obtain substances by any means and gradually increase their dosage. Other significant causes of drug use or addiction include family environment, bad company, working conditions, general social influences, or the desire to escape from one's social or economic reality. In some cases, sudden wealth among certain families may also contribute to drug abuse. As a result, drug abuse has become a focal issue throughout Iraq due to its destructive impact on Iraqi society. It is a primary factor in numerous social, security, economic, and health problems, leading Iraqi society to invest considerable energy and financial resources in preventing its spread and mitigating its effects on individuals and the community. This has been addressed through various legal and other means. The significance of this study lies in understanding how drug users can reintegrate into society as normal individuals without suffering from physical or psychological disorders resulting from drug addiction. This can only be achieved through understanding and addressing treatment methods and attempts to eliminate the causes of drug use or addiction. Officials must exercise caution and consider this issue to ensure that drug users are free from drugs and their negative consequences

Spotting Leaders in Organizations with Graph Convolutional Networks, Explainable Artificial Intelligence, and Automated Machine Learning

Over the past few decades, the study of leadership theory has expanded across various disciplines, delving into the intricacies of human behavior and defining the roles of individuals within organizations. Its primary objective is to identify leaders who play significant roles in the communication flow. In addition, behavioral theory posits that leaders can be distinguished based on their daily conduct, while social network analysis provides valuable insights into behavioral patterns. Our study investigates five and six types of social networks frequently observed in different organizations. This study is conducted using datasets we collected from an IT company and public datasets collected from a manufacturing company for the thorough evaluation of prediction performance. We leverage PageRank and effective word embedding techniques to obtain novel features. State-of-the-art performance is obtained using various statistical machine learning methods, graph convolutional networks (GCN), automated machine learning (AutoML), and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). More specifically, our approach can achieve state-of-the-art performance with an accuracy close to 90% for leaders identification with data from projects of different types. This investigation contributes to the establishment of sustainable leadership practices by aiding organizations in retaining their leadership talent.

Bibliometric Analysis of Perceived Employability: Review and Research Agenda

The changing nature of employment relations between individuals and organisations has increased the role of individuals in maintaining their careers. Today’s era is characterised by ‘modern and boundary less’ careers, indicating the need for an in-depth analysis of perceived employability. For a long time, this multidisciplinary concept has captured the attention of scholars. However, holistic retrospection of this research is missing to date. Under this gap, this study aims to comprehensively analyse the literature on perceived employability through bibliometric tools. Therefore, a contextualised systematic literature review is presented in this study using citation analyses, co-citation analyses and bibliographic coupling. Relying upon the Scopus database, bibliometric techniques are used to map thematic and intellectual structures latent in 356 articles published on perceived employability. The top authors, countries, journals and major themes are identified, followed by bibliographic network-based content analysis. Five significant clusters identified by thematic analyses are extensively reviewed. Finally, the study revealed key research gaps that could guide future research. This study contributes by providing thematic clusters latent in the literature on perceived employability in combination with an extensive review.

Communication dynamics: Fintech’s role in promoting sustainable cashless transactions

The integration of Fintech is revolutionizing global financial engagement, moving away from traditional payment systems. This study, thus, explores the interaction between communication dynamics, Fintech use, intentions, cashless transactions adoption, financial literacy, personal innovativeness, and socioeconomic development in Pakistan. The study employs a dual methodology, encompassing “PLS-SEM and Probit Model alongside Propensity Score Matching technique.” The survey targeted small business owners and individuals involved in informal sectors, encompassing roles such as fruit and vegetable vendors, small shop owners, taxi drivers, and auto rickshaw operators. A total of 394 responses were analyzed. The findings highlight the facilitating role of individuals’ intentions to use cashless transactions, acting as a mediator through which Fintech use fosters actual behavior. Moreover, the study finds financial literacy and personal innovativeness as critical moderating factors. Adopting cashless transactions emerges as a pathway to enhanced financial inclusion, particularly impactful for small business owners. The achieved financial inclusion has the potential for profound financial inclusion implications, as evidenced by its positive effects on sustainable livelihoods, living conditions, and social development among small business owners and individuals operating within the informal sector.

Accepting or criticizing religion in the process of globalization

Religion, a belief system closely linked to social life, is the subject of research analyzing religious tolerance and criticism in the struggle for human rights. The issue of religious tolerance and criticism will be clarified based on human rights and religious rights. In addition, the relationship between personal ethics and religious ethics is also different, in which the method of combining humanistic philosophy and social philosophy is used to clarify the complex relationships between religion, people, and society, especially the power and role of individuals in religious communities. Research shows that religion influences behavior and shapes people's value systems and rules of life. However, these value systems sometimes lead to discrimination and conflict. From there, the article concludes that religion is a product of human beings, and its existence can be both a positive and an opposing force in society, depending on specific historical conditions. Studying religious tolerance or criticism is essential to building a harmonious society. People must respect the diversity of beliefs and seek common values in reclaiming human rights in globalization.

Cracking the Wealth Puzzle: Investigating the Interplay of Personal Finance, Expenditure Behavior, and Financial Management

This paper investigated the wealth puzzle by examining the relationships among personal finance (PF), expenditure behavior (EB), and financial management (FM). Data from a diverse sample of 2000 individuals across regions such as Kosovo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Turkey, Pakistan, Nepal, Uganda, Cameroon, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Albania, Oman, and Egypt were collected through an online questionnaire from 2023 to 2024, and processed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using AMOS and SPSS programs. Results revealed the robust relationships among PF, EB, and FM, indicating their resilience and strong internal consistency, and underscoring their pivotal role in shaping individuals’ financial stability and well-being. Notably, EB emerged as a crucial determinant, highlighting the importance of aligning spending habits with family priorities, moderating excesses, and consistently reviewing for improvements. Moreover, critical variables within PF and FM underscored the necessity for strategic financial planning, efficient spending optimization, and the cultivation of resilience against unforeseen financial obstacles. This research has significantly advanced the understanding of wealth dynamics and provided practical insights for policymakers and educators to design targeted financial education initiatives that can improve financial well-being and long-term prosperity. Future research should concentrate on understanding underlying mechanisms and assessing intervention effectiveness across more variables and countries.

Religious references in political campaigning: a comparative analysis of Latin America and Western Europe on social media

The relationship between religion and politics is receiving increasing attention in political science, although the focus is often on voter attitudes. Despite secularization trends, scholars expect a resurgence of religion in Western European party politics, where Christianity as a native identity is opposed to non-native Islam by populist radical right parties. In this context, it is primarily hostility toward other religious groups that structures religious elements in political communication. In most Latin American societies, religiosity plays a much greater role for individuals, which is reflected in the discourses of political elites who use genuine religious references to appeal to religious voters (“sacralization of politics”). Using data from my own recent research on content analysis of parties’ and candidates’ Facebook profiles, this article compares how political actors in Latin America and Western Europe use religious references in electoral campaigns and how salient these discourses are. The results help to explain the different prominence of religious discourses in different democratic regions and religious markets. The article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of religion in 21st century politics.

A metagenomic approach to demystify the anaerobic digestion black box and achieve higher biogas yield: a review.

The increasing reliance on fossil fuels and the growing accumulation of organic waste necessitates the exploration of sustainable energy alternatives. Anaerobic digestion (AD) presents one such solution by utilizing secondary biomass to produce biogas while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Given the crucial role of microbial activity in anaerobic digestion, a deeper understanding of the microbial community is essential for optimizing biogas production. While metagenomics has emerged as a valuable tool for unravelling microbial composition and providing insights into the functional potential in biodigestion, it falls short of interpreting the functional and metabolic interactions, limiting a comprehensive understanding of individual roles in the community. This emphasizes the significance of expanding the scope of metagenomics through innovative tools that highlight the often-overlooked, yet crucial, role of microbiota in biomass digestion. These tools can more accurately elucidate microbial ecological fitness, shared metabolic pathways, and interspecies interactions. By addressing current limitations and integrating metagenomics with other omics approaches, more accurate predictive techniques can be developed, facilitating informed decision-making to optimize AD processes and enhance biogas yields, thereby contributing to a more sustainable future.

Soil function-microbial diversity relationship is impacted by plant functional groups under climate change

Understanding the interactions between plant and soil microbial diversity is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental changes. While the individual roles of plant and microbial diversity in driving ecosystem functions have been widely investigated, their interplay especially under stress conditions remains largely underexplored. This study investigated how interactions between plant and microbial diversity affect key soil functions during and after drought. We simultaneously manipulated soil microbial diversity and plant species richness, while also considering the influence of plant functional groups (PFGs), to investigate their interactions and effects on key soil functions. Our results revealed independent and interactive effects of plant and microbial diversity in shaping soil functions. Microbial diversity loss significantly altered microbial community structure and impacted microbially-driven soil N and P pools and processes such as N-mineralization. These effects were modulated by plant species richness and varied across different PFGs. The relative influence of plant and microbial diversity on soil functions was context-dependent. Microbial diversity showed stronger effects on specific functions, such as phosphatase activity, and under the drought condition. Plant diversity, particularly through PFGs (e.g. legumes), played an independent role in shaping the microbial-driven soil functions. These findings advance mechanistic insights and highlight the importance of considering both above- and belowground biodiversity, along with their interactions, in shaping soil functions and ecosystem resilience, particularly under environmental stress. Further, it emphasizes the need to explicitly consider PFGs, along with above- and belowground biodiversity, as a strategy for preserving essential belowground functions in the face of ongoing environmental changes.

Interface of Human Resource Accounting with Accounting and Finance and Performance Evaluation

The purpose of this study is to report a link between the three disciplines of human resource accounting, accounting and finance and performance evaluation through a conceptual framework highlighting the interfaces between them. The term interface here refers to the points of interaction, connection or overlap between these three disciplines, highlighting how these disciplines interact, intersect or work together within the conceptual framework. The conceptual framework is designed based on a previous literature review. The final outcome of this study is a conceptual framework which reports the interface areas between human resource accounting and accounting and finance and between human resource accounting and performance evaluation, along with the individual roles of accounting and finance, human resource accounting, and performance evaluation disciplines in the interface development. This study contributes to the existing body of accounting literature by showing how accounting and finance lays down the foundation for the valuation and reporting of human resources in an organization, which in turn, facilitates in performance evaluation.

Levels and Performance Indicators of Business Under an Integral Theoretical Perspective Oriented Toward SDG

Objective: The sustainable development goals require companies to rethink the way in which economic and social value is created. This article aims to propose an alternative approach to studying business performance from an inclusive and sustainable perspective. Theoretical Framework: The contributions of organizational development theory are employed, and based on its principles, business performance, its levels, and indicators are characterized. Method: Documentary research was conducted, taking as a starting point the units of analysis proposed by organizational development theory. Results and Discussion: Variables associated with the organizational levels declared by organizational development theory were identified, and the benefits they bring to comprehensive business performance are supported. Research Implications: Business performance is characterized and classified based on the three levels of an organizational system: the individual level (personnel performance), the group and environment level (group performance), and the organizational level (organizational performance). Originality/Value: The literature is ambiguous when it comes to defining and measuring business performance. In many cases, the sole focus is financial performance. This paper highlights the need to broaden the framework for studying business performance and decent work by revaluing the role of individuals in achieving business organizational goals through work.

When Low Social Trust Undermines Social Marketing Campaigns: The Impact of Social Trust on the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns

Background Although COVID-19 social marketing vaccination campaigns have been developed and vigorously promoted to encourage citizens to vaccinate against COVID-19, many people have not responded to vaccination campaigns. Very little is known about the extent to which vaccination campaigns are effective at overcoming people’s resistance to getting the vaccine. Focus of the Article Integrating social trust into the elaboration likelihood model, the current study proposes a model to analyse the effectiveness of COVID-19 social marketing vaccination campaigns and to examine the extent to which social trust plays a role in influencing people’s perceptions of the effectiveness of COVID-19 social media vaccination campaigns. Research Hypotheses The study proposes hypotheses regarding the influence of argument quality and source credibility in COVID-19 vaccination campaigns on individuals’ perceptions of campaign usefulness. In addition, it suggests that source credibility and perceived usefulness of these campaigns play a role in shaping individuals’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. Furthermore, the study posits that both attitude and perceived usefulness contribute to individuals’ intentions to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Lastly, the study hypothesises that perceived social trust moderates the impact of perceived usefulness on vaccination intentions. Importance to the Social Marketing Field The study holds significant importance in the field of social marketing for several reasons. Firstly, it contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics influencing individuals’ perceptions, attitudes, and intentions related to COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. Secondly, by examining the impact of argument quality, source credibility, and social trust, the study provides valuable insights into the factors that can enhance or hinder the success of vaccination campaigns. The inclusion of perceived social trust as a moderating factor in the study further enhances its importance in the field of social marketing. Understanding the role of social trust in influencing the relationship between perceived usefulness and vaccination intentions is crucial for designing context-specific strategies that account for the broader societal dynamics. Methods Online survey data were obtained from 413 adult South Africans. The partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was used to examine the model and test the hypotheses. Results The study found that the quality of arguments in vaccination campaigns and the credibility of the message sources affected how people viewed the usefulness of the messages and their overall attitudes. Surprisingly, although attitudes influenced individuals’ intentions to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the perceived usefulness of the campaign had no direct impact on vaccination intentions. Notably, the results revealed that low social trust played a role in making the perceived usefulness of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign message insignificant in predicting vaccination intentions. Recommendations for Research/Practice Social marketers aiming to improve vaccination attitudes and intentions should focus on two key strategies: emphasising the usefulness of vaccination by highlighting its benefits and leveraging credible sources like healthcare professionals and community leaders to enhance message trust. In addition, this study emphasises the crucial role of social trust in shaping individual responses to vaccination campaigns. Building trust in governing institutions, healthcare systems, and science can significantly impact vaccination acceptance and promotion. Limitations The limitations include potential social desirability bias influencing responses, the need for longitudinal data to establish causality, and the possibility of other influential factors beyond the study’s scope, such as culture and health literacy.

Bitter Sweet Symphony? Insights into the discrepancy between managers and organizations towards ESG

The aim of this paper is to explore whether any discrepancy between individuals' cultural understanding and perceptions concerning ESG and the organizational cultural posture towards ESG is likely to arise, and what individual's characteris-tics may influence it. The study relies on Habermas' theory of Communicative Action, mobilizing the conceptualizations of anomie, to analyze data gathered through a survey answered by 136 Italian managers acting in highly ESG-exposed industries. Our results give evidence of the existence of ESG orientation discrepan-cy and suggest that certain individuals' characteristics such as age, job grade, and tenure influence its magnitude. The study contributes to ESG literature offering empirical ground for crucial yet overlooked issues relating to the role of individuals in ESG organizational processes change. Also, it has relevant implications for both companies and policymakers, pushing reflections on the need to avoid discrepan-cies toward more effective ESG practices.

The Efficacy of High-Fidelity Telesimulation in Preparing Nursing Students for Emergency and Critical Patient Care: A Prospective Study.

High-fidelity telesimulation can address the gap in nursing education caused by the pandemic by providing a simulated environment for students to practice skills that closely mimic real-life scenarios. This study was designed to determine the effect of a high-fidelity telesimulation teaching program on emergency and critical patient care-related knowledge, self-confidence, and critical thinking skills in nursing students. This randomized, single-blind controlled study was conducted on a sample of 84 nursing students who were evaluated using pretest and posttest measurements. The participants were randomized into a control group ( n = 43) and an experimental group ( n = 41). The control group received an in-person traditional teaching program, and the experimental group was taught using a high-fidelity telesimulation program. During the high-fidelity telesimulation, synchronous online tutorial learning and telesimulation were conducted every 100 and 300 minutes. The experimental group program included a lecture, simulation teaching videos, and demonstrations related to endotracheal intubation, 12-lead electrocardiography, protective clothing, and hybrid telesimulation learning. In each subgroup, the students executed a single high-fidelity telesimulation scenario in which they were assigned individual roles. The students in the other subgroups served as observers and engaged in the synchronous online debriefing. Teaching efficacy was evaluated using an objective structured clinical examination and a questionnaire designed for emergency and critical patient care. In the experimental group, levels of knowledge and self-confidence as well as critical thinking skills related to emergency and critical patient care were significantly higher than in the control group ( p < .05). High-fidelity telesimulation teaching is a feasible and reliable alternative to conventional in-person simulation for nursing students, particularly in situations where traditional clinical experiences are not possible.

Migration intentions in a politically divided context: The interactive roles of affective polarization and dyadic political attitudes

AbstractThis study examines migration intentions in a politically divided context, focusing on the interactive roles of individuals’ and the spouses’ affective polarization and political attitudes. Our study uses Hong Kong as a case study to elucidate migration intentions in the context of political polarization and increasing authoritarianism. We investigate how individuals facing the same political conditions exhibit varying inclinations to migrate. Our analysis is based on dyadic data from a representative household survey involving 1003 married couples. The findings reveal that spousal pro‐democratic attitudes and affective polarization are associated with stronger migration intentions, with significant implications for predicting migration patterns. Moreover, the study highlights the significance of the interactive role between individuals’ and the spouses’ political attitudes in shaping migration intentions. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between dyadic political attitudes, affective polarization, and migration intentions in highly developed societies with advanced economies.