Search Results (563)

The transition to university is a critical period of academic, social, and emotional adjustment. Social media plays a central yet complex role, offering opportunities for connection while also posing risks to wellbeing, productivity, and social integration. This study explores how first-year undergraduates experience and interprets their social media use during this transition. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, nine focus groups were conducted with 40 first-year students at a UK university. Analysis generated a model conceptualising social media as a ‘double-edged sword’ within the broader social transition. Five interrelated themes were identified: social transition, polarised attitudes, quality of social connection, wellbeing support, and quantity and form of use. Social media supported early connection-building, maintaining peer ties, and accessing support, yet excessive or passive use intensified social comparison, fear of missing out, and academic distraction. Students recognised problematic use themselves, often prompting peer intervention to restore balance. Form, purpose, and perceived impact shaped experiences more than time spent. Findings highlight the importance of student agency, peer networks, and institutional support, offering implications for promoting healthy social media practices, wellbeing, and smoother transitions to university life. Full article

Background/Objectives: Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in healthcare promises improved diagnostic accuracy, patient safety, and operational efficiency. However, AI acceptance among healthcare workers remains limited due to knowledge gaps, risk concerns, and governance challenges, particularly in developing countries like Saudi Arabia, where rapid healthcare modernization faces unique infrastructure, organizational, and cultural challenges. This research investigates the factors influencing AI acceptance among medical practitioners, nurses, administrators, and students in Saudi Arabian hospitals to identify key determinants and barriers to adoption. Methods: This cross-sectional study employed an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework integrated with ethical considerations from the Model for Ethical Assessment and Analysis of AI in Medicine (MEAAM). A structured bilingual questionnaire was administered to 119 healthcare professionals and students across Saudi Arabia, measuring constructs including Awareness and Knowledge, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, Social Influence, Trust, Perceived Risk, Ethical Governance, and Price Value. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for quantitative analysis, supplemented by thematic analysis of open-ended qualitative responses. Results: The PLS-SEM analysis explained 59.8% of variance in behavioral intention to adopt AI (R² = 0.598). Awareness and Knowledge emerged as the strongest predictor (β = +0.505, p < 0.001), followed by Performance Expectancy (β = +0.229, p < 0.05) and Social Influence (β = +0.123). Perceived Risk functioned as the primary barrier (β = −0.185, p < 0.05). Qualitative findings identified infrastructure gaps, regulatory ambiguities, and training deficiencies as major implementation barriers, while emphasizing opportunities in diagnostic accuracy and remote monitoring. Conclusions: AI acceptance in Saudi healthcare is primarily driven by knowledge, with perceived usefulness and peer support as secondary facilitators, while safety and accountability concerns remain substantial obstacles. Successful AI integration requires coordinated efforts in education, transparent governance frameworks, and institutional support. This study contributes theoretically by validating extended UTAUT in a non-Western healthcare context and practically by providing evidence-based strategies for sustainable AI adoption that enhance healthcare quality while respecting professional roles and ethical principles. Full article

Psychosocial stressors are increasingly recognized as critical determinants of workplace safety, yet their mechanisms in construction settings remain poorly understood. This study examines how family–work conflict (FWC) is associated with safety behavior among construction workers, with mental and physical fatigue as parallel mediators and perceived supervisor support (PSS) as a moderator. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, cross-sectional data were gathered from 527 construction workers across three regions of Jordan and analyzed using Hayes’ PROCESS macro. The findings indicate that FWC is negatively associated with safety behavior both directly and through its positive associations with elevated fatigue levels. Supervisor support was found to attenuate the FWC-to-physical-fatigue pathway and buffer safety behavior under high-conflict conditions. These associations should be interpreted as statistical patterns consistent with the proposed theoretical model rather than evidence of causal relationships, given the cross-sectional design. Theoretically, the study extends COR theory into occupational safety by distinguishing two fatigue dimensions and demonstrating a boundary condition for resource loss. Practically, the findings support supervisor-led safety programs and organizational fatigue management as complementary strategies for addressing psychosocial risk factors in high-risk construction environments. Full article

Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has emerged as a critical mode of international trade; however, product uncertainty and transaction risk remain persistent barriers to purchase decisions. While digital platforms have developed various solutions, the role of offline experiential knowledge in shaping online purchase behavior remains underexplored. This study examines how tourism-derived information influences purchase intention in CBEC. Drawing on transaction cost theory and uncertainty reduction theory, we propose that tourism-derived information enhances product familiarity and perceived diagnosticity, which subsequently reduce product uncertainty and increase cross-border purchase intention, and further examine the moderating role of transaction uncertainty. A four-week survey in March 2026 collected data from 325 Chinese consumers who had visited Korea and encountered Korean cosmetics and beauty products; data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results show that tourism-derived information significantly enhances product familiarity and perceived diagnosticity while directly reducing product uncertainty; reduced product uncertainty, in turn, positively influences purchase intention. Transaction uncertainty strengthens the negative effect of product uncertainty on purchase intention. By reconceptualizing tourism experience as an experience-based informational resource in CBEC and providing a multidimensional perspective on consumer uncertainty, this study contributes to consumer behavior research in digital commerce and offers practical insights for CBEC platform operators and cross-border retailers. Full article

Background: In the context of population aging and the growing burden of chronic conditions, promoting exercise participation has become an important strategy for supporting healthy aging. However, older adults with chronic conditions often face multiple constraints related to symptom burden, risk perception, and everyday life. A theory-informed understanding of the determinants of exercise participation in this population is therefore needed. Methods: This study adopted a theory-informed qualitative descriptive design and conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 30 community-dwelling older adults with chronic conditions. Purposive sampling was used to ensure variation in age, sex, chronic condition type, and exercise participation. Data were analyzed using the framework method guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), and the resulting themes were subsequently mapped onto the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation–Behavior (COM-B) model. Results: Participants were aged 60–86 years, and most were women, had low educational attainment, came from rural backgrounds, and lived with multimorbidity. Participants described exercise participation as a day-to-day process of negotiating symptoms, risk, functional boundaries, and everyday responsibilities rather than as a simple matter of willingness. Although most participants recognized the value of exercise, many lacked disease-specific knowledge about suitable exercise types, safe intensity, progression, and warning signs. Symptom burden and functional limitations constrained exercise, but many participants used symptom-based self-regulation strategies, such as resting, slowing down, or modifying activity when discomfort occurred. Family members, peers, health professionals, and community resources could either facilitate exercise or restrict it, depending on their accessibility, continuity, specificity, and practical relevance. Continued participation was closely linked to perceived benefits, controllable risk, self-efficacy, positive emotional experience, and immediate bodily feedback. Conclusions: Exercise promotion for older adults with chronic conditions should move beyond general advice and provide disease-adapted exercise education, symptom-based self-regulation strategies, family and peer support, professional guidance, age-friendly community resources, and feedback mechanisms that support long-term maintenance. Full article

The adoption of large language models (LLMs) is reshaping how organizations approach automation, decision-making, and user engagement across sectors. This study investigates the trends, theoretical frameworks, and adoption factors influencing the integration of LLMs in five key domains: education, commerce, banking, healthcare, and service. By employing a systematic literature review and meta-analysis, this paper synthesizes research published between 2022 and early 2026, corresponding to the period when LLMs became widely accessible for public and enterprise use, to evaluate both conceptual and empirical dimensions of LLM adoption. The review identifies the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, including its extensions, as the most frequently applied frameworks. It also highlights the growing incorporation of complementary models such as the diffusion of innovation, the information system success model, and self-determination theory. The meta-analysis examines 59 pairwise relationships drawn from 154 studies with a cumulative sample size of 88,886 participants. Using correlation coefficients, $I^2$ statistics, and Egger’s test, the analysis reveals strong, consistent associations between behavioral intention and both use behavior and actual use, while also identifying high heterogeneity across contexts. Constructs such as trust, hedonic motivation, and personal innovativeness emerged as influential but were underrepresented in the theoretical modeling. The study underscores the importance of facilitating conditions, infrastructure, and organizational readiness for enabling sustained use while also drawing attention to gaps in addressing perceived risks, privacy concerns, and ethical implications. Full article

With the rapid expansion of the pet economy, owner–pet matching outfits have grown increasingly popular among pet owners. Grounded in the extended theory of planned behavior, this study investigates the key determinants of pet owners’ purchase intentions and actual purchase behaviors toward owner–pet matching outfits, and explores the moderating effect of aesthetic risk on the intention–behavior transition. Questionnaire survey data from 222 pet owners were collected for empirical analysis, and regression analysis was adopted to verify the proposed research hypotheses. The empirical results reveal that subjective norms exert a direct promotional effect on consumer purchase behavior and indirectly boost such behavior through the partial mediating role of purchase intention. By contrast, behavioral attitude is positively associated with purchase intention and further stimulates purchase behavior via a full mediating pathway of purchase intention. Perceived behavioral control displays a significant positive direct impact on purchase behavior yet yields no significant effect on purchase intention. Furthermore, purchase intention serves as a robust positive predictor of purchase behavior, whereas aesthetic risk significantly weakens the association between purchase intention and purchase behavior. Brands are suggested to foster consumers’ favorable behavioral attitudes by optimizing product design, enriching practical functions, and minimizing potential risks to pets in owner–pet matching outfits. Meanwhile, enterprises should actively shape supportive subjective norms to popularize the owner–pet matching outfit wearing lifestyle. Additionally, brands need to enhance consumption accessibility through diversified sales channels, reasonable pricing strategies and abundant product style options. This study pioneers the application of the extended theory of planned behavior to the emerging field of owner–pet matching outfits, empirically verifying the positive effects of behavioral attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on consumers’ purchase intention and purchase behavior. Full article

Opioid misuse continues to be a major public health issue in the United States. Older adults (≥65) are at particular risk of harm from opioids due to changes in opioid pharmacokinetics with age; however, healthcare professionals lack training and confidence in addressing opioid harm reduction strategies in this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to improve healthcare professional knowledge and beliefs regarding opioid harm reduction strategies amongst older adults. An 8 h interprofessional conference was conducted 1 May 2025 to educate healthcare providers about opioid misuse prevention strategies for older adults. This study utilized a quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design to assess changes in healthcare professional knowledge and beliefs before and after the conference. Healthcare professionals in the U.S. were recruited to participate in the conference via email listservs with national reach, predominantly concentrated in Alabama. Data were collected at pre- and post-conference via an anonymous online survey informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior and Health Belief Model. Primary outcome measures included: (1) knowledge of opioid use and misuse in older adults (5 items); (2) prescribing and dispensing attitudes surrounding opioids and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) (5 items); (3) perceived susceptibility to harm from opioids (4 items); and (4) perceived barriers to opioid harm reduction in older adults (17-items). Constructs were measured using multiple-choice questions (knowledge) and Likert-type scales (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Secondarily, intention to join a Microsoft Teams working group for ongoing collaboration was assessed through a single categorical (Yes/No/Unsure) multiple-choice question at post-conference. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and differences in mean knowledge, attitudes, susceptibility, and barriers scale scores from pre- to post-conference were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (alpha = 0.05). Of N = 75 survey respondents, the majority were White (86.7%), female (74.7%), 50 years of age on average, and employed as pharmacists (68%). Overall, mean (SD) knowledge (83.73% [19.92] versus 90.67% [12.45]; p = 0.011) and perceived susceptibility (3.82 [0.63] versus 4.03 [0.63]; p = 0.002) increased from pre- to post-conference, while perceived barriers decreased (2.71 [0.54] versus 2.54 [0.58]; p = 0.001). Despite an upward trend, there was no statistically significant change in the mean prescribing and dispensing attitudes from baseline to post-conference. Additionally, 34.7% intended to join the Microsoft Teams working group at post-conference. Findings support the utility of interprofessional educational interventions to increase healthcare provider knowledge and beliefs regarding opioid harm reduction strategies amongst older adults. Full article

This article describes the use of dialogue, through the format of critical conversations, as a creative and reflective anti-racist tool to develop understanding of departmental values of anti-racism, equity and social justice with colleagues across academic, technical, and leadership roles. The project focused on the development and facilitation of spaces for dialogue between staff members employed in an education department in a university in a city in the Southwest of England. Making use of concepts from Smith and Lander’s critical pedagogy and critical race theory as well as philosophy for children (P4C), we developed a framework used by adult participants to encourage the development of racial literacy through reflexive practice. More than seventy staff members were invited to attend five sessions over a six-month period. During each session, staff members were given pre-prepared stimuli designed to encourage ‘epistemological shudders’ that stimulate dialogue in relation to professional roles and responsibilities of anti-racism, equity and social justice within our working context. Each session was facilitated by two colleagues, given the agency to make use of the stimuli within the sessions in any way they chose, together with their participants. Feedback from each session was non-mandatory and informal. In this article, we capture our reflections on the processes of developing and adapting P4C within a university education department. We believe that this evolving model acts as a valuable tool for dialogues, particularly when attempting to encourage discussion of topics perceived as providing professional risk due to their sensitive and controversial status within education and more broadly. Full article

Background: In an era of sedentary lifestyles and multifaceted health challenges, adopting health behavior (HB) is essential to address the health problems threatening the physical health of university students. This study aimed to explore the factors associated with HB among university students. The University Student Health Behavior Model (USHBM) was developed based on the theory of planned behavior and incorporated health consciousness (HC), health knowledge (HK), and risk perception (RP). Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 384 university students in China. Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate the hypothesized relationships of the USHBM. Results: HK significantly and directly predicted behavioral intention (BI) (β = 0.421, p < 0.001). Perceived behavioral control (PBC) emerged as the strongest associated factor of BI (β = 0.417, p < 0.001). HC was significantly and positively related to attitude toward behavior (ATT) (β = 0.451, p < 0.001), subjective norm (SN) (β = 0.332, p < 0.001), and PBC (β = 0.357, p < 0.001). Furthermore, RP functioned as an associated factor of HB (β = 0.411, p < 0.001). Additionally, RP was significantly and positively associated with the adoption of HB. Conclusions: The findings provided an in-depth understanding of university students’ HB. According to the findings, practical implications for enhancing university students’ HB were discussed. Full article

Seasonal workers in the tourism sector are exposed to significant psychosocial risks, such as work overload, emotional exhaustion, and precarious employment conditions. Despite growing interest in positive organizational psychology, little is known about how organizational culture impacts perceptions and experiences of seasonal workers in Italy. This study explores the role of positive organizational culture in promoting well-being among seasonal workers in the tourism sector, examining their direct perspectives on organizational climate, work challenges, and individual and organizational resources. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with seasonal workers employed in the hospitality industry in Italy. Data were analyzed through an integrated mixed-method approach combining Grounded Theory methodology with quantitative lexical analysis using T-LAB software, ensuring both analytical rigor and interpretive depth. Five macro-categories emerged inductively from the data: trust and relations, coping strategies and emotions, perceived justice, teamwork, and meaning of work. These were integrated into a core category defined as flourishing at work, interpreted through the lens of Seligman’s PERMA model. These findings suggest that well-being in seasonal work is an active and relational achievement, sustained by emotional self-regulation, perceived fairness, and collective identity. The results carry direct implications for organizational policies and psychosocial risk prevention strategies in precarious work contexts. In particular, positive organizational culture and environments can act as protective factors against psychosocial risks, with direct implications for organizational policies, psychosocial risk prevention, and evidence-based workplace interventions. The specificity of the analysis method offers an original contribution by integrating qualitative and quantitative textual analysis to investigate psychosocial well-being in an under-explored population: Italian seasonal workers. Full article

Traditional food systems are increasingly threatened by industrialised agri-food production based on standardised processes, economies of scale, and lower production costs. This transformation risks undermining not only the economic viability of artisanal producers but also the cultural heritage, pastoral knowledge, and territorial identities embedded in traditional foods. This study contributes to rural studies and food heritage research by examining whether consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for traditionally produced foods can sustain endangered rural production systems within competitive PDO markets. Focusing on Fiore Sardo PDO cheese, the study combines a Bertrand duopoly framework with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to connect market competition, consumer beliefs, and support for traditional agri-food systems. Data from 1640 Italian consumers were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings show that attitudes towards cultural preservation, social recognition of traditional production, and perceived support for shepherd communities significantly influence consumers’ willingness to purchase and pay premium prices for traditionally produced cheese. Consumers associate artisanal production not only with superior sensory quality and authenticity but also with the protection of cultural identity, traditional pastoral practices, and rural landscapes. By integrating behavioural and economic perspectives, the study demonstrates that willingness to pay operates as a market mechanism through which consumers actively contribute to the resilience of traditional food systems facing industrial competition. The study advances existing literature by showing how cultural values, behavioural intentions, and market dynamics jointly shape the economic sustainability of traditional foods. Full article

Climate change is significantly impacting sustainable agriculture and poses a threat that is likely to motivate farmers to adapt by applying AI technology to reduce risks, costs, expenses, and the impact on greenhouse gas emissions. In other contexts related to climate change, it is important to assess whether perceived climate threats and perceived vulnerability to climate change influence farmers’ intention to use artificial intelligence and whether farmers believe AI is an effective method for addressing climate change, as well as their confidence in its effectiveness. This research examines whether the ability to learn about AI independently affects the intention to use AI, aligning with Protection Motivation Theory. It further evaluates whether perceived ease of use of AI influences perceived usefulness, considering the core factors of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness based on the Technology Acceptance Model as influencing the intention to use AI. Furthermore, it investigates whether PEOU (Perceived ease of use) and PU (Perceived usefulness) affect attitude (a key factor in the Theory of Planned Behavior) and subjective norm (another core factor in TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior)) influencing farmers’ behavioral adaptation to AI use. Therefore, exploring farmers’ behavioral intention to use AI integrates three theories: PMT (Protection Mo-tivation Theory), TPB, and TAM (Technology Acceptance Model), presenting them as a conceptual model to examine the motivating factors influencing behavioral change. This research surveyed 471 farmers in Thailand using data analyzed from PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Mod-eling). The findings revealed that only eight hypotheses (AI self-efficacy, PEOU, PU, ATT (Attitude), and SN (Social Norm)) significantly influenced the intention to use AI, while three hypotheses (PS (Perceived severity), PV (Perceived vulnerability), and RE (Response efficacy)) did not. This will be useful for planning or strategizing AI adoption among farmers, focusing on reducing problems and obstacles from insignificant factors to achieve sustainable agriculture and minimize the impact that may lead to inequality from AI use, or the AI divide, in the future. Full article

Personalized advertising is now routine in digital commerce and new media, but relevance does not always translate into acceptance. When consumers read tailored messages as signs of tracking or inference rather than as useful assistance, they may feel exposed and avoid the advertising. Drawing on advertising avoidance theory, privacy calculus theory, and control agency theory, this study examines a privacy-risk account of personalized advertising avoidance. Survey data from 502 consumers and structural equation modeling show that privacy concern, privacy fatigue, and prior negative experiences are directly associated with advertising avoidance. Privacy concern, prior negative experiences, and perceived personalization are also positively associated with perceived risk; perceived industry self-regulation is negatively but non-significantly associated with perceived risk; and perceived risk is positively associated with advertising avoidance. These results position perceived risk as a close downstream appraisal through which consumers make sense of data-driven targeting. The study contributes to digital commerce and interactive marketing research by showing that consumers evaluate personalized advertising not only as a cue of relevance, but also as a possible source of privacy vulnerability. It also offers implications for transparent targeting, visible user control, platform governance, and less intrusive personalization. Full article

This paper describes the development and design of Nutrition for Athletes: A Focus on Dietary Supplements, an online educational intervention created for varsity athletes at the University of Guelph. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the program aimed to improve athletes’ nutrition and dietary supplement-related knowledge while modifying attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intentions, and behaviors associated with dietary supplement use. Formative research with the target population revealed widespread misconceptions, strong social influences, and high perceived benefits of supplement use, which highlighted the need for an intervention focused on reshaping underlying beliefs. The program covered topics related to sports nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, and risks of supplement use, and was integrated into the university’s learning management system. Each unit was mapped onto relevant TPB constructs, with an emphasis on correcting inaccurate beliefs and promoting a food-first approach. The program’s effectiveness was evaluated through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing knowledge and TPB constructs. This paper outlines the theoretical framework, development process, and content structure of the intervention, and presents a model that can be replicated in future educational programs. Full article