Social Commitment Research Articles

Predictors of Purchase Decision on Products Advertised on WhatsApp: Perspectives from Postgraduate Students at Selected Universities in Lagos State, Nigeria

This study identified social media commitment, normative and informational social influences, social interaction ties, trust in online vendors, and purchase intention as factors predicting purchasing decisions on products advertised on WhatsApp. Monthly upkeep, sex and age of postgraduate students were moderating variables in the study. A survey was conducted using an online questionnaire administered to 314 postgraduate students from three purposively selected universities - the University of Lagos, Lagos State University and Pan Atlantic University. Using a multistage sampling technique, a population of users of the WhatsApp social platform was selected from two homogenous faculties with 12 departments. The study applied descriptive statistical procedures to answer five research questions and linear regression analysis to test three hypotheses using SPSS version 26. Findings revealed that social interaction ties, normative social influence, trust in online vendors, monthly upkeep and sex significantly predicted postgraduate students' purchase decisions on products advertised on WhatsApp. It was recommended that business owners and marketers should intensify their efforts to advertise products on WhatsApp, and also ensure timely delivery of products and services. Keywords: E-commerce, Online advertisement, Postgraduate students’ purchase decision, Predictors, Products, Social media, WhatsApp, Lagos State, Nigeria Journal Reference Format: Ogunsola K. & Mohammed S.B. (2023): Predictors of Purchase Decision on Products Advertised on WhatsApp: Perspectives from Postgraduate Students at Selected Universities in Lagos State, Nigeria. Social Informatics, Business, Politics, Law, Environmental Sciences & Technology Journal. Vol. 9, No. 2. Pp 43-64. dx.doi.org/10.22624/AIMS/SIJ/V9N2P3. www.isteams/socialinformaticsjournal

The educational and training profile of the Forestry Professional

The Asociación Mexicana de Profesionales Forestales convened the Forum "Defining the Profile of the Forestry Professional of the Future" toanalyze the educational training of the graduate and the professional forestry profile in Mexico, resorting to a prospective vision of their activity andtheir different sectors of influence, with the intention of improving their educational quality to protect, produce and restore according to the vocationsof forest ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. 160 expert participants selected by different institutions collaborated to carry out ajoint analysis of the situation of Forestry Professionals in the new realities, guiding their analysis in work tables, supported by a Delphic Study wherethey expressed their experiences, opinions and expectations; with this they were also able to collect their perceptions and accumulated experiences,clarify the new scenarios and collect proposals, transforming propositional attitudes into elements of analysis with new orientations of the forestrywork. Was used the Atlas Ti software for the qualitative analysis of text data, with semantic operations to extract meaning and statistical analysis ofthe indices of co-occurrences using levels of significance. They mentioned 726 "Dispositions" (Knowledge, Values, Habits, Attitudes and Aptitudes)that repeated were in total 1,405 with which, through sematic cuts, the Forest Profile was elaborated. The central part of it is nucleated by the Aptitudeof work in the field and the Value of social responsibility and the Environmentalist Attitude, the Attitude of social commitment, the Attitude ofentrepreneur, and the Attitude of innovation stand out. Additionally, it is assumed that the most important skills in the current forestry professional arethe Aptitude of management of tools and the Aptitude of management of specialized software, as well as the Teaching Aptitude, and promote theTechnical Knowledge and those of Forest Management.

The Hardening of the American Landscape

Problem, research strategy, and findings Patterns of change in urban surfaces have implications for equity, health, and environmental quality in future cities and for their adaptability to climate change. Relatively little detailed research has been done on the role of land use policies—particularly the recent generation of infill and climate adaptation policies—in shaping urban surfaces and related environmental systems. I used a novel approach integrating three methods—land use change models, urban form assessments, and policy-based scenarios—to evaluate patterns of change. I applied these methods to a case study simulation of future development in Denver (CO) and used a stormwater management example to evaluate the capacity of the local management system to treat expansion of the city’s hardscape. I found that the proportion of impervious cover in the city is projected to increase substantially, possibly to levels discussed in the literature as severely affected. A major social commitment to adaptation policies such as green infrastructure would be necessary to mitigate projected hardscape increases. Dispersed development strategies generate substantially more hardscape than geographically targeted development, which suggests that there is also untapped potential for climate adaptation in general land use policy. I share common limitations of scenario-based methods. Takeaway for practice Changes in the composition of urban surfaces in the next 2 decades could have significant environmental effects. In this research, I developed and tested methods that bridge infrastructure and land use planning practices—the public works and community planning silos in local governments—to evaluate these processes and effects. These methods should be useful in many cities.

A new contextual and comprehensive application of the UTAUT2 model post‐COVID‐19 pandemic in higher education

AbstractThis study examines tertiary students' behavioural intention to resume face‐to‐face mode of study, post‐COVID‐19. A modified UTAUT2 model of nine factors and a moderator is used to investigate the impact of these factors on developing country's tertiary students' behavioural intention. The influence of these students' behavioural intention on se behaviour is also examined. Using a quantitative research approach, data were gathered from 419 students at a regional university using convenience sampling technique. Data were analysed to test and validate the proposed model using covariance‐based structural equation modelling. The study's findings reveal significant positive relationships between social influence, hedonic motivation, facilitating conditions, commitment, behavioural intention and use behaviour. However, it did not find performance expectancy, effort expectancy, price value, trust and comfortability, reporting any significant positive influence on behavioural intentions. Additionally, the moderating analysis shows that COVID‐19 fear did not moderate or strengthen the association between behavioural intentions and use behaviour, given the insignificant interaction effect of COVID‐19 fear. This study provides novelty in the contextual application of the modified UTAUT2 model, post‐COVID‐19. The addition of three additional constructs (trust, commitment and comfortability) has further improved the predictive power of the model. Lastly, the new construct that emerged in recent literature, COVID‐19 fear, has been tested for the first time within the UTAUT2 model as a moderator between behavioural intentions and use behaviour. In terms of practical implications, this study first adds to the current literature on higher education, after the COVID‐19 situation, being useful to education scholars. Second, it also offers specific suggestions to educational institutions and policymakers who fund universities. Such suggestions include: involving students' families in orientation and open day events, featuring family and friend support in promotional activities, upgrading facilities, including more teaching and learning sessions with team‐based assessments, encouraging comfortable interactions and continuously practising COVID‐19 safety protocols.

Twenty-First-Century Crises and the Social Turn of International Financial Institutions

The early twenty-first century will be remembered as a time of constant crisis. These crises have created repeated global states of emergency, revealing gaps, and inadequacies in social protection systems worldwide. Alongside these crises, and as a response to them, social protection has grown into a paradigm of global governance. This development is also noticeable in the practices of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. At the heart of all social protection policies is the protection of vulnerable groups. Crises create new vulnerabilities and deteriorate the situation of those already vulnerable. The article explores the social protection endorsement of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund through the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows how crises have fueled their social protection endorsement, making protection of vulnerable groups a central outspoken policy preference. The article asks whether the policies adopted in response to the pandemic confirm their social protection commitment and what challenges remain.

Revamping the Workout Routine : An Overview of PoseNet Thunder-Driven Fitness Apps Incorporating Computer Vision and Machine Learning

In today's modern lifestyle, characterised by a sedentary routine, the prevalence of chronic diseases among individuals has increased significantly. Juggling a 9-5 job, family responsibilities, and social commitments leaves little time for commuting to a gym regularly. As a result, more people are opting to exercise at home, leveraging the convenience of having fitness resources available through their handheld devices. This shift towards home workouts is facilitated by the remarkable advancements in technology. Using Different innovative approaches leverage the power of deep learning algorithms to analyse exercise routines and classify different types of workouts. Through computer vision, the system can process visual information from workout videos, enabling the recognition and understanding of various body movements, postures, and exercise techniques. This provides users with valuable insights and feedback on their performance, ensuring that they are executing exercises correctly and effectively. The integration of deep learning, computer vision, and image processing technologies offers immense potential in the field of exercise analysis and classification. Consistently performing an exercise improperly may result in significant long-term injury. We propose a method to assess the user's body posture during a workout and compare it to a professional's reference work out to assist address this problem and provide visual feedback while conducting a workout. To detect faults and deliver remedial action to the user, we model the human body as a collection of limbs and assess angles between limb pairs. Our system builds on the latest advancements using deep learning for human body pose estimation.

Influence of cognitive and social change factors on E-vehicle switching intention: Evidence from Korea

E-vehicles have the potential to supplant the existing internal-combustion-engine-based transportation ecosystem and be a transformational technology with a huge impact on social change. The recognition of this capacity appears to be a major factor for people who consider switching to e-vehicles; however, the process of social diffusion by which this awareness spreads and the relevant critical mass points remain unclear. Moreover, studies have demonstrated only the effects of e-vehicle acceptance intention, purchase behavior, and customer perception on determining personal subjective norms; there is a lack of systematic research clarifying the effects of other factors. This study investigates the roles of crucial social factors and personal cognitive/psychological factors by drawing on social cognitive theory and commitment to change theory. We collected data from 247 internal combustion engine vehicle owners in Korea. The results supported seven of our hypotheses. Our findings explicate the factors that have a strong, significant influence on personal e-vehicle switching intention, particularly customer factors, and our approach is potentially generalizable to other transformational technologies.

From Manuscripts to Moderation: Sundanese Wisdom in Countering Religious Radicalism

Deradicalization has been a topic of interest among writers since the 19th century, when religious radicalism began to spread in the Islamic world. Tubagus Ahmad Bakri (TAB) wrote numerous religious texts against religious radicalism. His writings have contributed to developing a harmonious and tolerant social religious order. This writing attempts to map out the religious deradicalization concepts in the writings of Sundanese religious figures who made efforts to develop a comprehensive and tolerant religious ideology. This study shows how the Sundanese manuscripts have contributed to developing a moderate religious ideology that rejects radical religious texts and sets in motion an anti-radicalism social movement in the community. Employing the critical discourse analysis method, this study has revealed that TAB’s religious writings contain three important elements that counter religious radicalism: First, the importance of religious tolerance, the need for moderate religious understanding, and strong adherence to local wisdom. Second, rejection of radical religious texts, such as texts that prohibit having a madhhab, prohibition of istighasa, and declare making a pilgrimage to tombs as a misguided practice. Third, social commitment to religious moderation is marked by a movement of writing and translating religious books, community learning, and anti-radicalism campaign through community religious studies.

0256 Modeling Individual Sleep Needs from Wearable-Device Data

Abstract Introduction There are currently thought to be two processes that interact to regulate one’s sleep/wake cycle: a sleep homeostat, which depends on the amount of time you have been awake; and the circadian rhythm, an internal 24-hour molecular clock present in nearly every cell of the body. Both processes differ between individuals, whether that’s from a decision to pull an all-nighter or from a genetic inclination towards being an “early bird” or a “night owl”. This project focuses on building a model that can predict how sleep disruptions impact an individual’s sleep cycle, and the ability to recover from these disruptions. Methods A “two-process” model with the capability to simulate a theoretical sleep-wake cycle with disruptions was implemented in Python, and is being tuned using machine learning (ML) on actigraphy data. Actigraphy measures motion using a noninvasive accelerometer embedded into a wearable-device (e.g. FitBit), allowing for the study of sleep activity patterns in a real-world setting. Data was collected from approximately 20,000 individuals, who reside in 121 different countries. ML algorithm was trained and tested on synthetic data generated from the “two-process” model, and then applied to the actigraphy dataset to evaluate prediction accuracy. Results Our model has shown that recovery from sleep disruptions can be modeled mathematically, and can be individualized using actigraphy data. The mathematical model was able to successfully simulate the “two-process” interaction, and, by sweeping parameter values, those that yielded a single sleep bout of 8-9 hours/night were identified. ML algorithm tuning with actigraphy data is ongoing. Conclusion Our results suggest that it is possible to predict the sleep patterns of individuals despite disruptions in their schedules from sleep disorders, travel, work, or social and family commitments. Future research should focus on optimization of sleep in individuals using the informational output of our model, and extending it to incorporate the behavioral and/or clinical changes that have proven to improve an individual’s sleep. By incorporating this additional set of data, the resulting model can not only predict the impact of disruptions, but also provide recommendations for prevention and recovery based on an individual’s input about their lifestyle and their sleep. Support (if any)

The Unwieldy Otherwise: Rethinking the Roots of Performance Studies in and through the Black Freedom Struggle

This project presents a syllabus that emerged out of an ongoing set of discussions between the two co-authors about how Black, Southern theatre and performance traditions—as well as embodied and transmitted genealogies of community engagement and activism—informed the intellectual, social, and political commitments that have suffused performance studies from its origins as an academic discipline. These discussions allowed us to generate a syllabus that provides the raw materials for an alternative and potentially radically destabilizing pedagogical approach to narrating the historical roots and development of performance studies over the past half-century. Specifically, we ask what shifts might occur in the performance studies classroom by narrating the field’s origins through the Free Southern Theatre, founded as a multiracial artistic ensemble in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1964. Our syllabus incorporates the key strands woven into the Free Southern Theatre’s aesthetic and political interventions, including Africanist cultural forms (such as the story circle); influences from the artistic and theatrical avant-garde; and populist theatre projects that developed in tandem with the revolutionary energies of the anti-imperialist, anti-colonial, and anti-capitalist struggles of the student movements of the 1960s. We ask how these largely hidden histories of resistance and dramaturgies of evasion reorient the way performance studies syllabi of the future tell the story of who and what matters, and in so doing materialize pedagogies of field formation that get frozen in place.

Ethnocentric Conflict and Hatred in Olu Obafemi’s Near and Distant Cries

The continuous, unending and unabated killings from clashes between various ethnic groups in Nigeria have been continual features on the pages, screens and sounds of the various forms of media. The dramatic text employed in this study, Olu Obafemi’s Near and Distant Cries, portrays vividly the nearly-extinct polarised unity of our dear nation resulting from the clashes. These clashes have led to the death of thousands of people, displaced families, and turned children into orphans, wives into widows and husbands into single parents. This study thus explores the relationship between literature and society, taking into serious consideration the use of literature as a viable tool for resolving ethnic conflict and hatred in contemporary Nigerian society. It also highlights the solution required in curbing the excesses of parties involved in the continual conflicts. This paper concludes by highlighting and revalidating the social commitment of literature in the resolution of ethnic conflicts, ensuring peace and stability and promoting nation.

No End in Sight? A Greenwash Review and Research Agenda.

Greenwashing is more virulent than ever. A profusion of environmental, social, and governance and net zero commitments are becoming fraught with questionable and misleading claims. At the same time, we are no closer to solving the pressing environmental and social issues of our time. In this review, we seek to examine this shift and summarize changes in greenwash research into three key phases: (a) 1.0 Static Communication; (b) 2.0 Dynamic Management; and (c) 3.0 Narratives about the Future. We analyze current key areas of developing literature and point to numerous open questions for future research. Next, we go beyond much of the published work to examine emerging tactics and lay out a forward-looking agenda for future research. We also propose a model of Corporate Miscommunication, integrating various streams in greenwash research. In doing so, we seek to lay a pathway for greenwashing researchers to finally find that elusive "end" to greenwashing.

Examining The Factors Affecting Employee Performance of Higher Education Institution Employee in The New Normal Era

Job performance is one of the concerns of any organization, as it is one of the critical determinants of its success. Over the past decades, researchers gained much interest in explaining employee performance. This present study aims to contribute to the literature by examining the factors influencing employee performance and the mediating role of work discipline and job satisfaction in the context of higher education organizations. This research employs Social Exchange and organizational commitment theories to build the proposed framework. Data collected through a self-administrative survey at the higher education institution was used in this study. The sample of this research consists of 151 employees, both administrative staff and lecturers. The structural equation modeling results show that organizational commitment, work, and work discipline positively influence employee performance. In contrast, work environment and job satisfaction do not influence employee performance. The result also highlights that the work environment influences discipline, organizational commitment, and environmental job satisfaction. Moreover, the mediating role of job satisfaction and work discipline was found in this study. Furthermore, besides the direction for future research, this work contributes to the literature and organizational practice.

Service-Learning, an Experience in Higher Education Framed within the Context of COVID-19

This article presents a model for implementing the service-learning methodology based on the Sustainable Development Goals. This work describes the experience carried out during the 2020-2021 academic year with first-year students from the Degree in Pedagogy at the University of Valencia (Spain), an experience framed within the COVID-19 pandemic. The results prove the suitability of using this methodology to enhance the teaching competencies related to learning skills together with personal development skills. Planning teaching actions on the premise of solving actual problems helps the University contribute and generate an impact in terms of social commitment. In addition, the students show an increased level of motivation towards learning when developing socially useful projects.

Gamboa's World: Justice, Silver Mining, and Imperial Reform in New Spain

Gamboa's World: Justice, Silver Mining, and Imperial Reform in New Spain

Critical literacy: an approach to child rights education in Uganda and Canada

AbstractFor children to know how to fully participate in and most effectively lead the world they will inherit, they must learn how to critically engage with it and be knowledgeable about foundational rights and instruments that support such engagement. Together, critical literacy, which encourages the examination and interrogation of the underlying assumptions of dominant narratives and ‘legitimate’ knowledge, and children's rights education, which involves children in learning how to express their ideas and fully participate in society (as appropriate to their age and ability), offer a powerful approach—theoretical and pedagogical—to engage children in active engagement of the world, especially with respect to the promotion of social justice. However, the layers of complexity and risks associated with deep consideration of challenging topics require expert guidance and compassionate role modelling from teachers of young children. Our paper considers the intersections between critical literacy and global child rights with reference to a study conducted with young school children in Canada and Uganda to discuss how teachers can support meaningful learning experiences in the classroom that can promote children's agency and social justice commitments.

The Dual Legacy: Mahasweta Devi as a Reformer and Revolutionary

This article presents an in-depth exploration of Mahasweta Devi’s multifaceted persona— a celebrated author, social activist, and a prominent figure in the realm of socio-political reforms in India. She is known for her rich literary contributions. Her works primarily emphasized the plight and the struggles of the marginalized sections of the society, often acting as a bridge between them and the wider world. For Mahasweta Devi the creation of literature is a solemn and responsible vocation. She uses her art as a weapon to fight against the socio-economic injustice meted out to the marginalized in Indian society. Literature is intrinsic to her advocacy for social justice, establishing Devi as a thoughtful, committed reformer and revolutionary. Her writings are imbued with calls for change and revolution, exhibiting her profound abilities as a writer equipped with a reformist vision and revolutionary determination. Devi is not merely a writer, but a crusader with a mission— a social commitment to the upliftment of tribal communities. Her narratives hold significant social relevance, pushing the contours of contemporary Indian literature with their often radical and provocative themes. Yet, Devi’s influence transcends her literary contributions, reflecting her intense passion as a reformer and revolutionary. Her untiring activism targeted the systemic oppressions entrenched in the Indian society, particularly towards tribals and Dalits. She exposed the blatant violation of human rights, often confronting the authorities, embodying the spirit of a revolutionary. Drawing a trajectory of her influence, the article suggests that Devi’s radicalism, uncompromising in its advocacy for the dispossessed, established her as a reformer, pushing for change at both grassroots and policy levels. Her relentless pursuit for social justice and equality, while shedding light on how her literary works served as tools of resistance and activism. Drawing upon various examples from her seminal works like Draupadi, Rudali, and Mother of 1084, it unravels how her narratives portrayed the unvarnished reality of the oppressed, compelling her readers to confront uncomfortable truths. The article also examines her influence on various contemporary movements and how her ideologies continue to inspire activists and reformers today. It highlights the life and works of Mahasweta Devi, not only as a celebrated author, but also as a fearless reformer and revolutionary activist whose enduring legacy continues to inspire generations of activists and writers in their fight against social injustices.

Research on the Relationship between Internal Corporate Social Responsibility, Organizational Commitment, and Employee Innovative Behavior

Innovation is the core competitiveness of enterprises, and how to motivate employees to innovate is an important issue to be solved in enterprise management. The role of internal corporate social responsibility in motivating employees to innovate is worth exploring. Therefore, this study used empirical research methods to explore the relationship between internal corporate social responsibility, organizational commitment, and employee innovative behavior, where organizational commitment was a mediator. Through a questionnaire survey of 308 enterprise employees, this study drawn the following conclusions: (1) Internal corporate social responsibility positively and significantly affected employee innovative behavior and organizational commitment. (2) Organizational commitment positively and significantly affected employee innovative behavior. (3) Organizational commitment was a mediating variable between internal corporate social responsibility and employee innovative behavior. Based on the conclusions of the study, this study proposed suggestions on motivating employees to innovate, hoping to help enterprises develop and progress.

Social Motives and Group Commitment on Volunteer Involvement in Five Social Communities in The City of Bandar Lampung

AbstractVolunteers are people who decide to be involved in volunteering activities based on careful calculation. The activities by volunteers are voluntary and without expecting external rewards. The population in the study came from five social communities in Bandar Lampung: 1) Jendela Lampung Community, 2) Komunitas Peduli Generasi with Yayasan Rumah Singgah Peduli Lampung, 3) Komunitas Sedekah Lampung, 4) Komunitas Berbagi (Kombi), and 5) Itera Mengajar. From these five social communities, the researchers obtained a population of 202 volunteers. The researchers obtained a sample of 60 volunteers through purposive sampling techniques and screening. This study employed Likert scales data collection method, which includes a volunteer involvement scale, a social motive scale, and a group commitment scale. The data were analyzed using two predictor multiple regression analysis techniques assisted by the JASP 0.16.1.0 program for Windows. The results showed that the correlation value (r) was 0.337 with a significant p-value of 0.041 (p-value smaller than 0.05). The hypothesis is accepted; therefore, a significant relationship exists between social motives and group commitment on volunteer involvement. The R2 value of 0.155 states that the two independent variables effectively contribute 15.5%.Keywords: Volunteer Involvement, Social Motives, and Group Commitment

A Highly Condensed Social Fact: Food Citizenship, Individual Responsibility, and Social Commitment

The paper is based on the crucial value of food as “a condensed social fact”. The analysis focuses on food narratives, responsible consumption, battles for the food emancipation of subaltern and low-income subjects, and attention to the quality, fairness, and traceability of food products as an expression of individual agency, as well as an expression of public engagement with food democracy/citizenship conflicts and frictions. Preliminarily, the paper moves from a discussion of collective agency on food strategies and representations to a critical approach to food democracy and sustainable society. This public arena for food debates is then confronted with personal behaviors embodying food citizenship in the contemporary scenario of socio-economic and environmental transition. The paper addresses the following sustainable development goals: responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), ending hunger, food security, improved nutrition, sustainable agriculture (SDG 2), and health and well-being (SDG 3). Starting from the democratic/neoliberal dichotomy, the paper will consider food governmentality as a positive alternative to food emancipation and democracy, as well as a personal need and a neo-communitarian political approach opposed to agroindustry and food consumerism and dispossession. Three case studies, all situated in the central–southern Italian region of Molise, will discuss different models of food citizenship and governmentality, as well as the relationship between individual responsibility and desires and collective commitment and perspectives. These issues will be framed within a rural economy paradigm and articulated through an ethnographic methodology: local data collection, emic/ethic representations, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. This long-term observation has been realized in the framework of several projects that were coordinated and developed by the authors, who worked for several years in the regional territory, especially on projects focusing on local/regional/national policies of sustainable rural development and bio-cultural heritage conservation and valorization according to the mission of the research center, which they founded and coordinated over the last seven years. The case studies and discussion allow for some final consideration of the impact of individual and community agencies on the achievement of SDGs, the presence of not exclusively consumeristic and hedonistic behaviors, and the growing attention to ecological concerns being paid food producers and distributors, as well as new forms of rural–urban circularity and entanglements aiming toward greater awareness and democratization of food access, security, and sustainable agriculture.