Trust Relationships Research Articles

Consensus Reaching with Dynamic Trust Relationships and Cost-Learning in Group Decision Making

Consensus Reaching with Dynamic Trust Relationships and Cost-Learning in Group Decision Making

Adoption of e-wallets: trust and perceived risk in Generation Z in Colombia

Purpose This study aims to explore the development of trust in relation to security and privacy concerns, as well as the influence of perceived risk on the intention to use e-wallets. The research focused on the Colombian context because of its characterization as an underdeveloped financial system that has experienced considerable security and privacy violations in recent years. Additionally, this geographical area is relatively under-researched, and the target demographic for this investigation was Generation Z, given their pivotal role in driving the adoption of e-wallets. Design/methodology/approach Based on measurement scales that had already been tested in the academic literature on mobile payment systems, a questionnaire was developed and distributed electronically. A total of 424 responses were obtained from young Colombians. Structural equation modeling (SEM), specifically the PLS-SEM method, was used to process the data to study the explanatory and predictive power of the proposed model. Findings The findings revealed that security and privacy have a positive and significant effect on perceived trust, and that this at the same time has a positive and significant effect on attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease and intention to use, as well as a significant but negative effect on perceived risk. On the other hand, perceived risk showed an inverse, but not significant, relationship with intention to use. Originality/value This research explored the adoption of e-wallets by young people in Colombia, which has been widely claimed in the academic literature. In a turbulent context with a high distrust of financial institutions, as well as a change in digital money consumption patterns, it is critical to understand the factors that contribute to the adoption of mobile payment services. The findings, in addition to contributing to the academic debate, have important implications for e-wallet providers, as they offer information that allows designing strategies to attract and keep current and potential users. At the same time, the recommendations by the authors allow the design of tools, especially related to security and privacy, to improve their trust and build loyalty, thus contributing to the consolidation and development of the mobile payment system.

Persistent pain, long-term opioids, and restoring trust in the patient-clinician relationship

The erosion of trust in the patient-clinician relationship is an underappreciated, and vital, component of the prescription opioid crisis. Drawing from lived experience of patients and clinicians, and a narrative evidence review, this report discusses how opioid use for persistent pain can impact the patient-clinician relationship from the vantage points of the patient and the family physician. For patients, the stress of dealing with persistent pain, misalignment with clinicians regarding goals of care, experiences of disrespect and stigma, fear of abrupt tapers, and frustration with a fragmented health system, all combine to breed a lack of trust. Clinicians, for their part, experience challenges due to inadequate resources for pain management and opioid safety, pressure to deprescribe opioids rapidly, inconsistent prescribing practices of colleagues, ‘policing’ opioid prescriptions when concern arises for opioid use disorder and adversarial relationships with frustrated patients wary of clinician intentions. As a result, many clinicians struggle to maintain a therapeutic relationship with patients in great need of empathy and healing. To support implementation of evidence-based guidelines and achieve public health goals of safer prescribing and reducing harm from prescription opioids, we recommend steps health systems and clinicians can take to rebuild trust in the patient-clinician relationship, enable patient-centered pain care, and embed patient perspectives into opioid safety processes. PerspectiveErosion of patient-clinician trust is a barrier to implementing evidence-based guidelines that aim to improve opioid safety. This paper explores lived patient and clinician experiences and recommends steps for health systems and clinicians to rebuild this trust as a strategy to actualize the benefits of adherence to these guidelines.

Strategic behavior in multi-criteria sorting with trust relationships-based consensus mechanism: Application in supply chain risk management

Strategic behavior is common in multi-criteria sorting, where manipulated alternatives are allocated to the target category to achieve the intended goal. Engaging in such strategic behavior in sorting consensus often comes at a cost, which is closely tied to the degree of preference adjustments and the level of trust relationships among decision makers. This study investigates strategic behavior using piecewise cost-based consensus mechanism in social trust network. Firstly, the trust relationship dependent piecewise cost is formally defined and formulated by considering the impact of trust relationship on the preference adjustments willingness to achieve sorting consensus. Then, based on the trust relationship dependent piecewise cost, a preference strategic manipulation model is proposed to achieve strategic behavior in sorting consensus, which is implemented by minimizing the cost of strategically guiding decision makers in adjusting their preferences. Considering that social trust network affects strategic manipulation, a preference-network collaborative strategic manipulation model is further proposed, which is designed to strategically guide decision makers in adjusting both their preferences and social trust networks. Moreover, the practicality of proposed strategic manipulation models is exemplified through a case study on supply chain risk management and their performance is validated via simulation analysis.

TrustGNN: Graph Neural Network-Based Trust Evaluation via Learnable Propagative and Composable Nature.

Trust evaluation is critical for many applications such as cyber security, social communication, and recommender systems. Users and trust relationships among them can be seen as a graph. Graph neural networks (GNNs) show their powerful ability for analyzing graph-structural data. Very recently, existing work attempted to introduce the attributes and asymmetry of edges into GNNs for trust evaluation, while failed to capture some essential properties (e.g., the propagative and composable nature) of trust graphs. In this work, we propose a new GNN-based trust evaluation method named TrustGNN, which integrates smartly the propagative and composable nature of trust graphs into a GNN framework for better trust evaluation. Specifically, TrustGNN designs specific propagative patterns for different propagative processes of trust, and distinguishes the contribution of different propagative processes to create new trust. Thus, TrustGNN can learn comprehensive node embeddings and predict trust relationships based on these embeddings. Experiments on some widely-used real-world datasets indicate that TrustGNN significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods. We further perform analytical experiments to demonstrate the effectiveness of the key designs in TrustGNN.

An interactive iteration consensus based social network large-scale group decision making method and its application in zero-waste city evaluation

The construction of zero-waste (ZW) cities receives increasing attention from the Chinese government. The evaluation is essential to make policy variations according to the actual situation in each place. Previous assessments of ZW cities have primarily relied on historical data, which fails to account for the subjective preferences of various stakeholders. For example, it is challenging to capture residents' subjective opinions about the development of a ZW city. This paper presents a social network large-scale group decision-making method for evaluating the construction of ZW city. First, experts' evaluation opinions and trust relations are used to develop an improved clustering method. The weights of the clusters are then determined using internal-external cohesion indices and the number of experts, with experts' weights defined by their similarity-trust degree. An optimization model based on interactive iteration consensus is formulated, considering the fairness and rationality of allocation schemes. Additionally, a new social network large-scale group decision-making method is presented. Finally, the proposed method is illustrated with a case study of selecting a national-level ZW city in Jiangsu Province.

Building Trust and Loyalty in the Workplace

This article explores practical strategies for managers and executives to increase trust and loyalty in employee relationships. The article outlines how trust is built over time through consistency, integrity, and care. Specific guidance is provided around communicating expectations, pay transparency, work-life balance, career development, culture, and recognition. Fulfilling implicit and explicit psychological contracts through these approaches deepens employee loyalty and commitment. Case studies then demonstrate how appreciation, recognition, and social/fun activities further strengthen bonds. Real-world industry examples show the concepts applied successfully in technology, healthcare, and retail contexts. The article argues that prioritizing relationships through integrity and compassion lays the groundwork for resilient, high-performing organizational cultures where leaders leave a lasting positive legacy.

Parents’ experiences of perinatal child protection processes: A systematic review and thematic synthesis informed by a socio-ecological approach

BackgroundNationally and internationally, researchers and practitioners are increasingly expressing concerns regarding the number of babies removed by child protection systems soon after birth and how child protection processes in the perinatal period (conception to one year following birth) impact families. AimThis systematic review synthesises qualitative studies to gain an understanding of the experiences and needs of pregnant women, mothers, and fathers involved in perinatal child protection processes that occur in health, welfare, and legal systems. MethodsMulti-disciplinary electronic databases (13) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed journal articles written in English and published since 2000. Twenty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. Analysis adopted a socio-ecological approach and thematic synthesis. An expert advisory group comprised of lived experience advisors, service providers, and academics contributed to development of the thematic framework. ResultsAlthough the reviewed studies were conducted between 2005 and 2023 with diverse participants from six countries, they highlight parents’ similar experiences of perinatal child protection processes. Parents’ experiences are synthesised according to spheres of the socio-ecological model:(i) At the individual level, parents described their love, hope, confusion, fear, agency, and anguish.(ii) Within relationships parents recounted broken parent-baby bonds, limited personal and professional support, and the implications of trauma and trust for parent-professional relationships.(iii) When engaging with organisations parents reported pervasive surveillance and harmful processes, inadequate communication and support, and power imbalances.(iv) At policy and societal levels parents’ experiences pointed to dominant Western norms and values, increased poverty and homelessness, compromised rights, and prejudicial perinatal policies.Also synthesised are parents’, professionals’, and researchers’ recommendations for improving perinatal child protection processes and supporting families. ConclusionsOver the last 20 years, qualitative studies from around the globe have consistently reported the adverse biopsychosocial impacts of removing babies from their families. Addressing poverty and trauma, redressing power imbalances, and mitigating the enduring impact of perinatal child protection processes is critical for parents’ to be able to keep or be reunified with their babies. Shifts at institutional, policy, and societal levels are needed to: prioritise prevention and early intervention; enable relational practice and cross-sector collaboration; and move beyond traditional Western notions of family. Centring parents’ voices in efforts to improve child protection processes before and after birth will help inform the delivery of early and appropriate support to meet parents’ identified needs and promote family wellbeing.

Facilitating Health-Promoting Self-Care in Older Adults: A Theory Synthesis.

The authors describe the development of a model that focuses on how primary care providers can facilitate health promotion in older adults. The health-promoting self-care in older adults (HPSOA) model was developed through a synthesis of key concepts from the Health Promotion model and the Modeling Role Modeling Theory. Walker and Avant's strategy for theory synthesis was used in its development. The model prioritizes rapport building to foster a trusting patient-provider relationship and focuses on long-term solutions to health promotion. Further model use through testing, research, and application in practice is recommended.

The nurse consultant in remote medical monitoring: an innovative, patient-centered approach

Telemedical monitoring of heart failure patients is revolutionizing the traditional approach to care, thanks to the crucial role played by nurse consultants. Based on two years' experience in a telemonitoring unit, where the practice model is outside the conventional nursing context, we aim to highlight this innovative method, which is helping to improve the care and benefits of patients with chronic pathologies. This patient-centered approach offers holistic, individualized care through personalized remote monitoring, fostering a relationship of trust and encouraging patient autonomy.

Suitability of smoking cessation support from social and community service organizations: perspectives of Dutch clients.

Social and community service organizations (SCSOs) may be a promising new environment to more successfully reach people with a lower socioeconomic position (SEP) for smoking cessation support. However, studies that investigate clients' perspectives of the suitability of SCSOs as a setting to discuss smoking are scarce. This study aimed to (i) investigate the suitability of smoking cessation support provided by SCSOs, according to people with a low SEP, and (ii) explore their reasons for considering it suitable or unsuitable. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 individuals with a low SEP who smoked regularly (N = 14) or had smoked regularly (N = 5). They have been in contact with SCSOs in a specific neighborhood in Amsterdam. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach. Participants generally considered SCSOs as suitable for providing smoking cessation support, as professionals are involved, build a relationship of trust, and offer personalized and holistic support. SCSOs are located nearby and familiar, they provide support in both group and individual settings and might offer additional supportive (group)activities. A number of participants expressed doubts about the waiting time for support, the fact that the needed support might exceed professionals' expertise, and the lack of aftercare. SCSOs can be an additional opportunity for providing smoking cessation support that aligns with the circumstances of lower SEP people. To harness the potential, smoking cessation could be integrated into education programs and training among professionalscould be promoted. Policy changes within and outside SCSOs would be needed.

L’annonce en oncologie pédiatrique – retour d’expérience sur les formations par méthode de simulation dans le GOCE (Grand Ouest cancer de l’enfant)

The announcement of a cancer diagnosis is a crucial moment in the management of the disease, as it is the starting point for a relationship of trust between patient and caregiver. In 2005, this issue led to the creation of an announcement system as part of the 2003-2007 cancer plan, but its implementation in practice remains uncertain. Pediatric oncology has its own specificities, with a triangular relationship and the need for doctors to adapt to the child's age. These skills require special training, and training opportunities vary from one area to another. To this end, the Angers and Caen centers have developed simulation exercises for training in pediatric oncology announcement. These consist of a theoretical part, followed by an announcement interview with actors, then a debriefing. Evaluation questionnaires are completed by learners before and after the session, and have highlighted the usefulness of this training, particularly in helping them to feel better prepared to face this stressful moment. As simulation has proved its educational value in the healthcare field, GOCE has developed simulation-based training courses for interns/CCAs/assistants in the territory. These courses are much appreciated and are proving extremely useful in clinical practice. This has led the SFCE to extend these courses to all CCAs and young PHs in pediatric oncology in France.

Consensus methods with Nash and Kalai-Smorodinsky bargaining game for large-scale group decision-making

With the significant advancements in communication technology, group decision-making (GDM) can now be implemented online, allowing a large number of decision-makers (DMs) to participate concurrently. However, current methods for large-scale group decision-making (LSGDM) are primarily suitable for 20 to 50 DMs, and their effectiveness in scenarios involving thousands or even tens of thousands of participants has yet to be fully validated. Furthermore, as the number of participants increases, the evaluation information becomes increasingly diverse and complex. At the same time, the social networks associated with the DMs typically become sparse, making information sharing and consensus building more challenging. In light of these challenges, we develop two new methods based on cooperative games to effectively address the challenges in super LSGDM. First, we propose a two-stage semi-supervised fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering method with trust constraints, which aims to address the issue of sparsity in relationships within large-scale social networks. This method utilizes trust relationships as reliable resources and prior knowledge to guide and supervise the clustering process. On this basis, we discuss three scenarios from the perspective of cooperative games: (i) subgroup optimal consensus adjustments in non-cooperative situations, (ii) group optimal consensus adjustments in cooperative situations, and (iii) subgroup optimal consensus adjustments in cooperative situations. Subsequently, we view the consensus adjustment allocation as a cost cooperative game problem and propose two new LSGDM consensus methods based on Nash Bargaining (NB) and Kalai-Smorodinsky Bargaining (KSB). Finally, experiments on real datasets demonstrate the superiority and reliability of our proposed LSGDM methods.

The effect of simulated problem learning in nursing ethics on moral sensitivity, empathy and critical thinking of nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

AimCompare the effects of Simulation with problem-based learning (SPBL) and Problem-based learning (PBL) in nursing ethics education on nursing students’ moral sensitivity, empathy, critical thinking, test scores and teaching satisfaction. BackgroundPromoting nursing students’ individual and ethical and abilities through education is an essential way to improve their ethical performance and build trustful relationship with patients. Despite significant efforts in this area, few have evaluated the effectiveness of Simulation with problem-based learning and Problem-based learning as applied to nursing ethics education. DesignA quasi-experimental design based on a non-equivalent control group pre-test/post-test. MethodsA quasi-experimental design was used. Participants were 161 undergraduate nursing students from two levels of a university, 88 subjects in the experimental group were taught using Simulation with problem-based learning and 73 subjects in the control group were taught using Problem-based learning. A pre-test, post-test and questionnaire were used to assess the effectiveness of student nursing ethics education. χ2 test was used to examine group differences in students’ characteristics and satisfaction with teaching post-intervention. Student’s t-test was used to assess group differences in scale scores and test scores. ResultsCompared to the pre-test, empathy as well as critical thinking were significantly higher in the PBL group (P<0.05), but there was no significant change in moral sensitivity (P>0.05); moral sensitivity, empathy and critical thinking were significantly higher in the SPBL group (P<0.05). Moreover, this study also showed that improvement in moral sensitivity, empathy, critical thinking and grades was more significant in the SPBL group of nursing students compared to the PBL group (P<0.05) and no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of teaching satisfaction (P>0.05). ConclusionThe use of Simulation with problem-based learning in nursing ethics education has a positive impact on nursing students' competency development and knowledge acquisition. Nurse educators should consider this teaching method and promote change to increase the effectiveness of nursing ethics education.

Sino-Italian Relations after the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract The fluctuations of Italy’s China policy have been attracting attention. The only G7 country to join Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, Italy was also the first European participant to withdraw in 2023. While scholars have investigated the rationales and implications of Rome’s actions, no satisfactory explanation has been provided as to why the Chinese government chose not to escalate tensions over Italy’s exit decision. This article argues that, faced with a degradation of trust in relations with the West, China has been attempting to balance its more assertive foreign policy with the need to strengthen its reputational security. Results from an original survey on the opinions about China held by Italian university students are then used to empirically assess China’s reputation among a strategically attentive public. Research findings from the 1,072-strong sample show that reputational capital resides with Chinese society more than with the PRC state, and that while the PRC is widely expected to match the US in economic might and global influence, Beijing’s policies in key realms such as the Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic have been counterproductive for the preservation of China’s reputational security among individuals who are likely to play a key role in future Sino-Italian relations.

The contest for workplace employee representation: still seeking answers?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate union and non-union’s mechanisms ability to “contest” the realm of workplace employee representation at two UK sites. The paper directly compares one union and one non-union mechanism of employee representation at separate sites by employing three “dilemmas” of employee representation: confidentiality, challenge and trust. The paper contributes to enduring debates about the efficacy of employee voice in UK organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a qualitative and inductive case study approach in two organisations, drawing upon semi-structured interviews, archival documentation, company meetings and a trade union officer diary to record the employee representatives use of voice to influence company decision-making.FindingsThe paper shows how the union achieved improved pay and a more trusting relationship with managers in comparison to the non-union mechanism, which failed to influence managers’ decisions at the site and fell into demise.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations are that the paper covers one geographical area and interviews were made with employee representatives and HR and management. The access was limited by the respective case study management regime/s. The data are acknowledged as now historical but remain relevant as a means of understanding wider debates on employee representation and voice. These limitations are now acknowledged in the revised edition of the manuscript, as suggested by the reviewers.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are that the paper shows how employee representatives face similar dilemmas in their operational roles and activities. If these dilemmas are managed with efficacy for members, then this can result in good outcomes for those members and legitimacy for the workplace employee representatives. We also suggest that the use of employee voice as a practical concept is seen here – the practical use of the factors comprising voice in the literature is used to show representatives' abilities to influence management decision-making.Social implicationsThe significance of having a voice at work that raises the profile of employee representatives and their members emerges from this paper. An effective voice mechanism can promote improved employment relations in a workplace setting.Originality/valueThis paper develops knowledge about dilemmas as important and enduring issues for employee representatives, which, when inconsistently managed, can lose them the support of the workforce or, alternatively, empower them to challenge and sometimes alter management decisions.

Criteria and tools for improving trust relations between dairy cluster stakeholders

The article shows the necessity and timeliness of building trusting relationships between stakeholders in projects to create a dairy cluster - an association of institutionally independent enterprises integrated into an inter-industry complex, in order to obtain a synergetic result from balanced cooperative relations between them. The cluster should take into account the interests of all its participants, so maintaining trust between them is necessary for the formation of the food chain in the dairy business, which in turn serves as a catalyst for the effective development of the dairy industry, increasing the volume of production and quality of dairy products. The aim is to study the influence of factors on the common interest, partnership between stakeholders in the project environment, as well as the development of methodological and practical recommendations for the application of tools of effective interaction between them, which contributes to the success of the project and the achievement of common goals. Methods - abstract-logical to identify problems and causes, online survey of respondents using Google-form, Cronbach's Alpha modeling methods are used to assess the reliability and internal consistency of questions in the model created in the Smart PLS program when analyzing complex relationships between latent variables (constructs) that cannot be measured directly. In the course of the study 76 respondents from all regions of Kazakhstan, which are potential stakeholders in the activities of the dairy subcomplex, were interviewed. Results - reliability and validity of the chosen conceptual model were established, the necessity of deepening the hypotheses put forward during the life cycle of the project on the functioning of the dairy cluster was proved. Conclusions - innovative entrepreneurship cannot be successful without managing the process of forming an atmosphere of trusting relations along the entire chain of the production process - from investors to consumers.

The effect of academic librarians’ trust and relationships on their knowledge-sharing practice using the theory of planned behaviour

This study investigates how trust and relationships influence knowledge-sharing practices among academic librarians in Malaysia. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the research examines how trust affects librarians’ attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, ultimately shaping their intentions and knowledge-sharing behaviours. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from librarians in selected public and private university libraries in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia. The findings reveal a significant positive impact of trust and relationships on librarians’ willingness to share knowledge. The study also highlights that trust and positive relationships can indirectly influence knowledge-sharing practices by first shaping librarians’ attitudes, perceptions of social pressure, and confidence in their ability to share knowledge effectively. These results emphasize the importance of fostering a supportive library culture to promote knowledge sharing. Practical steps for libraries to cultivate such an environment are discussed, including (e.g. team-building activities and training programmes). Finally, the implications of these findings are explored, offering valuable insights for future research and library management practices.

민법 개정안에서 의사표시의 유효성

This article analyzes the main contents of the proposed amendments to the Civil Code suggested by the Civil Code Amendment Committee, which was launched on June 16, 2023, in relation to the validity of declarations of intent from a legislative policy and comparative law perspective. First, the proposed amendments maintain the current law for Articles 107, 108, and 110, except for minor modifications in wording. Next, the proposed amendment to Article 109 on mistakes explicitly includes mistakes regarding the juridical act's necessary basis (Grundlagenirrtum) and mistakes induced by the other party as grounds for avoidance. It also modifies the wording of the essential part requirement to clarify the subjective and objective causal relationships as its meaning. Furthermore, it exceptionally allows avoidance even when the declarant is grossly negligent, provided that the other party is also grossly negligent. These changes reflect both case law and comparative law. However, the proposed amendment does not accept the declarant's liability for damages in case of negligence and leaves the possibility of contract modification in case of mutual mistakes to doctrine and case law. Meanwhile, the newly introduced Article 110-2 recognizes a new ground for avoidance when the declarant makes a declaration of intent under undue interference in their decision-making due to a state of psychological dependence or a close relationship of trust. This rule attempts to introduce the common law doctrine of undue influence and protect the autonomy of intent in a manner equivalent to fraud and duress. The content and direction of the above-mentioned amendments appropriately reflect the current state of our doctrine and case law and align with recent legislative trends from a comparative law perspective.

Teachers’ perceptions of enabling and hindering factors in child abuse disclosures

ContextIt is well argued in literature that teachers are ideally placed to observe and monitor children for signs of abuse and neglect, there are categories of abuse which are more difficult to observe in the school context, such as sexual abuse and rely on children ‘telling’ about their experience. For numerous and complex reasons, children find it difficult to ‘tell’; however, there are enabling factors that support children in this process. AimThe aim of this paper is to outline primary or elementary school teachers’ opinions on the enabling and hindering factors to children talking and telling about abuse in the school environment. MethodsA qualitative research study was undertaken in the Irish context with 21 primary school teachers. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with all participants and as part of each interview, teachers elaborated on the barriers and facilitators which enable children to disclose abuse in the school environment. FindingsParticular barriers to children reporting in the school environment relate to how difficult it is for children to tell, the lack of meaningful collaboration between schools and the Child and Family Agency who have statutory responsibility in the Irish context for dealing with child protection reports and the lack of training available for teachers. Enablers to children telling in the school environment include the relationship of trust built between teacher and child and the implementation of a personal safety skills programme. ImplicationsThis research highlights that teachers can create the conditions that support children talking about abuse and they must be properly supported and adequately trained to support them in doing so.