Search Results (31)

Building upon the job demands-resources model, this study examines how communication technology (CT) use in remote work relates to role clarity, coworker support, work overload, and, in turn, burnout to enhance sustainable worker and organizational workplace practices. By analyzing non-experimental survey data from 447 U.S. workers transitioning to remote work in 2020, we found that job demands/resources mediated the relationships between CTs and burnout, with each CT linked to specific demands/resources. Phone calls, email, and instant messaging were associated with role clarity and coworker support, mitigating burnout. Video calls were linked to higher work overload and increased burnout which can decrease worker and organizational sustainability. Our findings highlight the importance of CT use in relation to employee well-being. Supported by affordance theory, we found that each CT had unique associations with job resources and demands when CTs served as key communication channels during organizational transitions. Full article

The study aims to explore the impact mechanism of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication, introducing the mediating variable—flow experience—and the moderating variable—consumer–brand relationship norms. The study uses the approach of the experimental research. In Experiment 1, with the watch as the experimental product and the advertisement as the online scene, 62 subjects in the pre-experiment and 132 subjects in the formal experiment are recruited to verify the main effect of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication. In Experiment 2, with the tea bag as the experimental product and the online press conference as the online scene, 73 subjects in the pre-experiment and 185 subjects in the formal experiment are recruited to verify the mediating role of flow experience in the impact of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication. In Experiment 3, with the scented candle as the experimental product and the promotional video of the e-commerce store as the online scene, 81 subjects in the pre-experiment and 269 subjects in the formal experiment are recruited to verify the moderating role of consumer–brand relationship norms in the impact of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication/flow experience. The results show that brand ritual is more effective in promoting online word-of-mouth communication than random action, flow experience plays a completely mediating role in the impact of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication, and consumer–brand relationship norms play a moderating role in the impact of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication/flow experience. The study not only reveals the impact mechanism of brand ritual on online word-of-mouth communication, but also provides strong guidance for companies to utilize brand ritual, flow experience, and consumer–brand relationship norms to promote online word-of-mouth communication. Full article

Background: The intersection of occupational burnout and digital leisure activities has garnered increasing scholarly attention in recent years. However, limited research has examined how Chinese healthcare workers engage with short-form video apps as a stress management tool. Objectives: This study employs a serial multiple mediation model to explore the impact of occupational burnout on the use of short-form video apps and its subsequent effects on a sense of community, intrinsic rewards, and life satisfaction among Chinese healthcare workers aged 18–34. Methods: Data were collected through an online survey, with 362 valid responses, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, hierarchical regression, and mediation analyses, including serial mediation via SPSS 25.0. Results: The results demonstrate a positive direct association between occupational burnout and the use of short-form video apps. Furthermore, the relationship between the use of short-form video apps and life satisfaction was mediated through two distinct pathways, namely, a sense of community and intrinsic rewards. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the expanding body of literature on the role of digital media in stress management and well-being among healthcare workers, as well as highlighting evidence-based digital interventions to support healthcare workers’ well-being in high-stress settings. Full article

This study explores the Potaxie, Fifes, and Tilinx subcultures on TikTok, examining their origins, characteristics, and cultural significance. Originating from a viral video in 2020, the Potaxie subculture emerged within the Spanish-speaking LGBTQ+ community and evolved to symbolise inclusivity and gender equality. Potaxies use vibrant aesthetics influenced by Japanese and Korean pop culture to express their identities and resistance. In contrast, Fifes, associated with cisgender heterosexual men, embody traditional patriarchal values, often sexist and homophobic, creating a narrative of resistance between the groups. The Tilinx, symbolic descendants of the Potaxies, are inspired by ballroom culture and drag houses, with “Potaxie mothers” continuing the fight for inclusion and diversity. Using a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative analysis through the TikTok API and qualitative content analysis via MAXQDA and Python, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the subculture that accumulates over 2.3 billion interactions. The findings highlight how TikTok serves as a platform for identity construction, cultural resistance, and the redefinition of social norms. Additionally, the study examines how digital platforms mediate intersectional experiences, favouring certain types of content through algorithms, and how participants navigate these opportunities and constraints to express their intersecting identities. The implications for communication strategies, youth policies, educational plans, and research on the commercialization of these subcultures are profound, offering insights into the transformative potential of social media in shaping contemporary cultural and social narratives. Full article

The impact of the chief executive officer (CEO) narcissism on a firm’s performance has gained attention from the academic community. However, the extant literature has largely ignored the mediating mechanism of research and development (R&D) investment and the moderating roles of managerial discretion. Additionally, the measurement of CEO narcissism is rarely disclosed in the public database. Compiling a CEO narcissism index from a video survey, we systematically explore the effect of CEO narcissism on firm performance, the mediating role of R&D investment, and the moderating role of managerial discretion. Based on the upper echelons theory, using a sample of 183 Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2011 to 2019, we found that CEO narcissism positively and significantly impacts R&D investment and firm performance, and then R&D investment mediated the relationships between CEO narcissism and firm performance. In addition, we found that managerial discretion could affect the relationship between CEO narcissism and R&D investment. Specifically, CEO duality and CEO ownership will strengthen the positive influence of a CEO’s narcissism in corporate R&D investment. Our results suggest that CEO narcissism appears to be a stimulus to corporate R&D investment; thus, in recruiting top executives, their psychological traits, especially narcissism, should be given special consideration. Full article

What are the political, gender, and theological implications at stake when associating Jesus with modern combat and righteous violence? Jesus is rendered in combative form across media—i.e., live-action films and shorts, animated television, sketch comedy, graphic novels, and video games. This rendition occurs at a confluence of meaning, most immediately for the sake of generating comedy through juxtaposition (in this case, rendering the meek with a sword) and/or reaffirming Jesus’ prominent cultural value through an association with other popularly mediatized entities. Beyond these initial layers of significance, however, I argue that Jesus becomes associated with violence and brutality for the sake of de/legitimizing politically conservative ideologies with respect to Christianity and American exceptionalism, redeeming the crisis of “domesticated masculinity” and fortifying traditional masculine norms, and theologically reinstituting popular paradigms of low Christology. Ideological “manhood” remains traced to one’s ability to perform traditional gender roles (i.e., family provider, community protector, and father/procreator). To capture the discrepancy that Jesus of Nazareth, as presented in canonical gospels, largely concerns none of these roles, I analyze the hypermasculine Christ, and the various weapons he employs, as part of a popular genealogy of Western value systems and discourse. Though in this article I reference some examples of non-American media, I reserve my analysis and commentary for the stakes and implications of what it means for U.S. Americans to produce and consume such content. In short, I submit that popular America idolizes itself in the form—one amidst many—of a naïve, combative, and boorish Christ: an arrogant and, at times, narcissistic man with delusional views of the world made dangerous through invasive power and authority. Western entertainment has deemed the United States (through its fictional stand-ins) as morally failing yet still chosen. Within this logic, American Christians need not reform their ways as long as they cultivate evidence of their exceptionalism. Full article

Counseling can help alleviate tinnitus-caused emotional distress and correct misconceptions, making it an effective rehabilitation option for people with tinnitus. Advances in communication technology have increased the demand for computer-mediated tinnitus counseling; however, the effectiveness of such counseling in reducing tinnitus is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to determine the tinnitus-relieving effects of computer-mediated counseling. Thirty-six participants with tinnitus were randomly assigned to online counseling (15 participants) or video-based counseling (21 participants) groups, defining how remote counseling was conducted. Tinnitus counseling, comprising 100 items, lasted 2 weeks and was separated into six sessions for the online counseling group and 8–9 items daily for 12 days for the video-based counseling group. The effectiveness of counseling was determined based on score changes between baseline and 2-week follow-up using the Korean version of the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire and Visual Analog Scales for annoyance and loudness. While no significant improvements were observed in other domains, average emotional aspect-related scores showed significant improvements in both groups. Regarding individual results, four and seven participants in the online and video-based counseling groups reported significant improvements in the emotional domain, respectively. Overall, computer-mediated educational counseling might be a rehabilitation option for individuals with tinnitus. Full article

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) mediated interactions, such as audio and video calls, are part of all companies’ routines. Despite technological advances, no current ICT can perfectly mimic the unique characteristics of face-to-face interactions. As good-quality internal communication is critical to companies’ operations, the increased demand for work-from-home jobs raises relevant questions regarding employees’ capability to communicate properly. To better understand if the physical and temporal distance associated with the work-from-home represents a threat to employees’ capacity to establish clear communications, this study explores the internal communication experiences of full-time home-based telecommuters. Adopting a transcendental phenomenological strategy and based on a mix of purposeful and snowball sampling, 23 employees were interviewed online. Two additional interviews with top managers from a company where all employees work from home were also performed. Following a thematic analysis, results did not reveal a direct relationship between physical and temporal distance and the quality of internal communication. Indeed, the increased media options adopted by employees after starting to work from home contributed to improving internal communication quality. The main identified communication issues, such as information segregation, are related to how internal communications are managed, and may happen whether employees work side-by-side or physically apart. Full article

Cystic fibrosis requires regular monitoring and intervention by healthcare teams; despite that, adherence to therapeutic measures is less than desired. The evolution of technology has allowed much of the care provided in person to be replaced by a telehealth delivery model, but studies on telerehabilitation are scarce and dispersed. This scoping review aimed to identify which domains of rehabilitation intervention are mediated by information and communication technologies and how they are developed in the provision of care to children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. The data collection was conducted in February and June 2023, following the three steps recommended by the JBI for this type of review: (1) the search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, JBI, and Web of Science; (2) the bibliographic references obtained from the included articles were analysed; and (3) the grey literature was checked. The eligibility criteria were children and adolescents and rehabilitation interventions mediated by information and communication technologies. The five studies included in this review were subjected to analysis, and a narrative synthesis of the results was carried out. The interventions identified included physical exercise programs (60%), management of the therapeutic regimen (40%), and symptom control (40%). The information and communication technologies were web-based platforms, video games, and telephones. The use of telerehabilitation included face-to-face meetings to ensure participants performed the exercises correctly, monitor their response to exercise, and teach them how to avoid risky situations during home workouts. In all studies, exercise sessions were supervised by the participants’ parents or caregivers. Full article

Extensive empirical research has emphasized the benefits of integrating Online Teaching Video Cases (OTVCs) into pre-service preschool teacher education. However, there is a research gap concerning the perceptions and needs of pre-service preschool teachers regarding OTVCs. This cross-sectional study, therefore, investigated pre-service preschool teachers’ perceptions of usefulness and need pertaining to OTVCs and examined potential differences across course year levels. A self-designed questionnaire survey was completed by 744 participants from the Shandong Province (China), with a focus on five domains: actors showcased in the OTVCs, OTVC-mediated activities, learning facilitators, situations requiring OTVCs, and areas for improvement. The results revealed that the participants identified expert teacher demonstrations and collaborative learning experiences with peers and instructors as the most useful types of OTVCs. They expressed the need for OTVCs to assist them with job preparation and a desire to learn content knowledge and engage with larger communities of preschool practitioners. Interestingly, the findings revealed significant differences among participants of different year levels, with Year 3 participants finding OTVCs more useful and necessary in most domains. These findings will help preschool teacher educators improve the responsiveness of OTVC-based instruction, thereby providing online video resources tailored to the preferences and needs of pre-service preschool teachers. Full article

In many landscapes worldwide, fire regimes and human–fire interactions were reorganised by colonialism and continue to be shaped by neo-colonial processes. The introduction of fire suppression policies and state-centric property-rights systems across conservation areas and the intentional erasure of Indigenous governance systems and knowledge have served to decouple Indigenous fire-dependent communities from culturally mediated fire regimes and fire-adapted landscapes. This has driven a decline in anthropogenic fires while simultaneously increasing wildfire risk where Indigenous people have been excluded, resulting in widespread social–ecological vulnerabilities. Much contemporary fire research also bears colonial legacies in its epistemological traditions, in the global geographical distribution of research institutions, and the accessibility of research outputs. We report on a two-day workshop titled ‘Fire Management Across Contested Landscapes’ convened concurrently in Nairobi, Kenya, and London, UK. The workshop formed part of a series of workshops on ‘Decolonising Fire Science’ held by the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society, UK. The workshop in Nairobi invited diverse Kenyan stakeholders to engage in participatory activities that facilitate knowledge sharing, aiming to establish an inclusive working fire network. Activities included rich pictures, world café discussions, participatory art, and the co-development of a declaration to guide fire management in Kenya. Meanwhile, in London, Leverhulme Wildfires researchers explored participatory research methodologies including rich pictures and participatory video, and developed a declaration to guide more equitable research. There were opportunities throughout the workshop for participants in Nairobi and London to engage in dialogue with one another, sharing their experiences and understandings of complex fire challenges in Kenya and globally. Full article

Sociolinguistic styles and the resultant ascribed identities are understood as the product of simultaneous variables, leading to the notion of bricolage, or the co-occurrence of variables and their collective indexical meanings. Relatively little attention has been paid to these processes as they manifest on social media platforms. The goal of the current paper is to understand which linguistic and thematic features co-occur in the online production of the no sabo kid style and identity, which manifests as a form of linguistic discrimination towards U.S. Latinx youth. “Hashtag communities” were used to locate posts about no sabo kids on TikTok (N = 95), and videos were automatically and manually coded for salient linguistic and discursive resources in the online no sabo kid community. The results show the co-occurrence of code-switching and phonological and lexical variation, alongside discursive themes, namely ‘proficiency’, ‘ethnicity’, and ‘performative lexical gaps’. I argue that the no sabo kid hashtag community is a mediated manifestation of ideologies surrounding U.S. Latinx bilinguals, where a supposed lack of proficiency in Spanish and grammatical blending of Spanish and English index inauthentic ethnicity. Mediated instantiations of sociolinguistic styles shed light on how linguistic features become enregistered through multimodality and semiotic bricolage. Full article

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that affects a large number of young people in the world. The current treatments for children living with ADHD combine different approaches, such as pharmacological, behavioral, cognitive, and psychological treatment. However, the computer science research community has been working on developing non-pharmacological treatments based on novel technologies for dealing with ADHD. For instance, social robots are physically embodied agents with some autonomy and social interaction capabilities. Nowadays, these social robots are used in therapy sessions as a mediator between therapists and children living with ADHD. Another novel technology for dealing with ADHD is serious video games based on a brain–computer interface (BCI). These BCI video games can offer cognitive and neurofeedback training to children living with ADHD. This paper presents a systematic review of the current state of the art of these two technologies. As a result of this review, we identified the maturation level of systems based on these technologies and how they have been evaluated. Additionally, we have highlighted ethical and technological challenges that must be faced to improve these recently introduced technologies in healthcare. Full article

This paper draws on conceptualisations of language as heteroglossic practices to examine how the experienced bilingual science teacher navigates between the monoglossic ideology that is embodied in the official Namibian Language in Education Policy (LiEP) within a linguistically constrained Namibian bilingual context. This paper aims to support recent research that challenges monolingual and monoglossic language practices, which tend to ignore the linguistic resources that children bring to the classroom. Data were collected from a classroom including video and audio recordings of lessons, field notes and photographs. The data were analysed through socio-cultural discourse and fine-grained multimodal analytical methods. The data findings illustrate the moment where the science teacher was constrained by English monolingual policy to mediate learners’ access to science learning, and harnessed all linguistic resources that the learners bring to the classroom. Subsidiary to that, there were moments where the teacher worked flexibly across languages, discourses and modes to interrupt the monoglossic ideology that is embodied in the official Namibian Language in Education Policy (LiEP). The use of rich heteroglossic practices is a clear testimony to enhanced science meaning-making regardless of learners’ ‘limited proficiency in English. The findings highlight the need to support learners from linguistically diverse backgrounds through a deliberate inclusive language policy that harnesses the heteroglossic nature of communicative practices and prepares teachers for a multilingual reality. Full article

While learning management systems and video conferencing platforms have become a pivotal means for implementing emergency remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the integration of mobile technologies into online teaching has been largely recommended in order to create an interactive educational environment. Focusing on the case of an English Language Program in South Korea, this study investigates the actual use of mobile instant messaging (MIM) applications as a learning aid in online language classrooms and how this was implemented in creating interactive language learning environments during the current outbreak. Based on a questionnaire survey collected from 979 students, it then compares students’ level of perceived satisfaction with their language learning and communication in online language classrooms between the group of students that used MIM during instruction and the group that did not. The discussion presented in this paper provides language educators, school administrators and policymakers at all levels with practical suggestions and ideas to consider, given that our daily communication has become highly dependent on and is increasingly mediated by mobile digital communication technologies and new media. Full article