Search Results (33)

How leaders communicate with followers is a core element of leadership. However, research on leader communication techniques remains fragmented, limiting our understanding of their differential effects on follower cognition, affect, and behavior. To facilitate systematic research comparing the effects of different communication techniques, we propose a framework for leader communication techniques. We hypothesize that different communication techniques can be categorized into cognitive, affective, and behavioral leader communication techniques that influence cognitive, affective, and behavioral follower outcomes, respectively. To test this assumption, we developed and pre-tested video vignette material, which we then used in a between-subjects experiment in the military context. We assigned 368 military recruits to one of the three conditions (cognitive versus affective versus behavioral) to examine how these techniques relate to proximal and distal follower outcomes. We found few differences in the impact of cognitive, affective, and behavioral leader communication techniques on follower outcomes. The leader was perceived similarly, regardless of the communication techniques used. Only for specific affective follower outcomes (i.e., warmth and charisma of the leader), affective leader communication techniques were more effective than cognitive and behavioral techniques. We discuss implications for leader communication research, outline practical implications for leaders, and propose directions for future research. Full article

Green advertising messages often face challenges of abstraction and outcome ambiguity. To address this, we apply the framing effect theory to explore how concrete versus abstract expressions in green advertising interact with consumer perceptions. Drawing on the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), we propose a congruence framework: concrete messages align with competence appeals, while abstract messages align with warmth appeals. Through two experiments, we demonstrate that such congruence significantly enhances green purchase intention. Experiment 1 establishes the interaction effect between message framing (concrete vs. abstract) and appeal type (competence vs. warmth), revealing that concrete–competence and abstract–warmth pairings outperform mismatched conditions. Experiment 2 further validates advertising attitudes as a mediator and product involvement as a moderator, clarifying boundary conditions. These findings advance the theoretical understanding of framing effects in sustainability communication and offer actionable strategies for marketers: aligning message specificity (concrete/abstract) with appeal dimensions (competence/warmth) can amplify consumer engagement, particularly when tailored to product contexts. Full article

Service robots (SRs) are increasingly deployed in commercial settings, yet the factors influencing their acceptance, particularly emotional design elements, remain understudied. This research investigates SR acceptance factors by integrating the technology acceptance model, the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) framework, Kansei engineering (KE), and social presence theory (SPT) to examine how design elements influence user responses to SRs. Using structural equation modeling of survey data from 318 shoppers and hotel guests in China, we tested relationships between CASA attributes, emotional perceptions, social presence, and usage intention. The results revealed that communication style produced the strongest effects across all emotional dimensions, with cuteness and coolness directly influencing usage intention, while warmth and novelty operate through social presence mediation. Multi-group analysis identified significant gender differences in response patterns: male users prioritized communication-driven perceptions while female users responded more strongly to coolness attributes. These findings extend our understanding of acceptance factors in service robot adoption, highlighting the critical roles of emotional design, communication style, and gender differences, while suggesting differentiated design approaches for diverse user segments. Full article

Background/Objectives: As the global population ages, it is becoming increasingly important to create sustainable, health-promoting environments that support healthy aging. This study explores seniors’ mealtime experiences in adult day centers (ADCs) in southern Israel, focusing on identifying health and well-being needs related to eating and dining behaviors through the lens of the healthy placemaking approach. Methods: Thematic analysis was used to analyze data from focus groups and interviews with ADC attendees and leaders across a multicultural sample of ADCs in southern Israel between April and November 2022. Results: Three main themes emerged from the study: (1) individual-level needs, which are met through meals or during mealtimes and include positive experiences, a sense of empowerment, and the cultivation of warmth and domesticity; (2) social needs, which are addressed through interactions during mealtimes and food-related behaviors, including building social connections, fostering community, and encouraging social engagement; and (3) sustainability, health, and environmental aspects, including promoting a healthy and disease-appropriate diet, alongside addressing ecological and food security concerns. Conclusions: We demonstrate the pivotal role of ADC meals in facilitating social engagement and fostering a sense of community among attendees. Additionally, we highlight the importance of centering attendees’ concerns and needs in the dining experience and promoting their active participation in decision-making processes. Transforming ADC meals through the healthy placemaking approach can promote healthy eating, enhance social interactions, and support sustainable environments. Full article

The advancement of ecological civilization has heightened the urgency for urban emission reductions. Currently, there is a significant gap in the quantitative assessment of the carbon neutrality benefit of developing underground space and overlaying urban green land. To address this, this study presents a carbon neutrality benefit assessment model based on building lifecycle theory. The model quantifies the carbon emissions of typical public buildings utilizing aboveground/underground space and assesses the carbon sink impacts of green lands. Notably, it introduces the innovative parameter of characteristic time to evaluate how the comprehensive development of underground space and aboveground urban green land contributes to achieving carbon neutrality. Case analysis of a typical shopping mall in northern China revealed that, in comparison to aboveground buildings, underground buildings exhibit higher energy consumption for construction and lighting; however, they demonstrate superior thermal performance, providing warmth in winter and coolness in summer. Furthermore, urban green spaces of equivalent building area can sequester a portion of the carbon emissions produced by underground buildings, resulting in a lower overall carbon emission profile for the underground space system throughout its lifecycle compared to that of the aboveground space system. Consequently, the development of underground spaces plays a crucial role in advancing carbon neutral objectives. The study also emphasizes the importance of selecting plant communities with enhanced carbon sequestration capacities and developing corresponding green spaces to better meet carbon neutrality objectives. This research offers a novel perspective for evaluating the carbon neutrality benefits of underground space systems, providing valuable design guidance for integrating urban underground and aboveground spaces. Full article

The ability to adapt interpersonal interactions to temperamental characteristics is essential for high-quality care. We analyzed how temperamental and self-regulation differences among children in residential care were related to the affective relationships and discipline styles of their caregivers. A total of 144 children aged 9–16 years (42.6% boys) and their caregivers from 22 residential care homes (Spain) participated. The Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R) was used to assess temperament, the Affect Scale and Rules and Demands Scale was used to assess children’s perceptions of affective relationships and discipline styles among their caregivers, and BRIEF-2 was used to assess children’s self-regulation. Perceived warmth/communication was significantly higher than criticism/rejection and children perceived more inductive than rigid or permissive styles. Temperamental-scale fear was positively related to warmth/communication and an inductive style, and negatively related to criticism/rejection and a rigid style, whereas high-intensity pleasure showed the opposite pattern. In addition, some self-regulation and temperament scales explained 26% of the perception of warmth/communication, while others explained 15% of the variability of the rigid discipline style used by care workers. These results can help care workers to adjust their educational strategies according to the temperamental characteristics of this specific population. Full article

The concept of joint attention holds significant importance in human interaction and is pivotal in establishing rapport, understanding, and effective communication. Within social robotics, enhancing user perception of the robot and promoting a sense of natural interaction with robots becomes a central element. In this sense, emulating human-centric qualities in social robots, such as joint attention, defined as the ability of two or more individuals to focus on a common event simultaneously, can increase their acceptability. This study analyses the impact on user perception of a responsive joint attention system integrated into a social robot within an interactive scenario. The experimental setup involves playing against the robot in the “Odds and Evens” game under two conditions: whether the joint attention system is active or inactive. Additionally, auditory and visual distractors are employed to simulate real-world distractions, aiming to test the system’s ability to capture and follow user attention effectively. To assess the influence of the joint attention system, participants completed the Robotic Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS) after each interaction. The results showed a significant improvement in user perception of the robot’s competence and warmth when the joint attention system was active. Full article

For the greater part of entrepreneurial history, entrepreneurship’s primary target was commercial, i.e., money generation for the entrepreneur and his or her stakeholders. However, starting in the 1980s, hybrid forms of entrepreneurship fusing the creation of non-financial value with entrepreneurial means have gained traction. Currently, several conceptually different forms, e.g., social, environmental, and community entrepreneurship, exist. Research yields various differences comparing commercial and hybrid entrepreneurship, particularly in the stereotypical perceptions of different entrepreneurs. Notwithstanding notable insights, entrepreneurial stereotype research suffers from three major shortcomings. First, stereotype differences are primarily examined by comparing commercial to hybrid entrepreneurs, neglecting stereotype differences inside hybrid entrepreneurship. Second, the scope of stereotypes investigated (e.g., warmth and competence) remains vague and lacks entrepreneurial specificity. Third, the robustness of entrepreneurial stereotypes under different institutional circumstances, e.g., in economy and culture, is unclear. The current study addresses these three shortcomings. Analyzing two samples from Kenya and Germany (N_total = 286) with repeated-measures analyses of co-variance, we find notable stereotype differences (i) inside hybrid entrepreneurs; (ii) regarding warmth, competence, and entrepreneurship-specific success indicators; and (iii) under different institutional circumstances. Despite acknowledgeable limitations, our work extends previous stereotype research by highlighting the necessity for a more fine-grained, specific, and inter-country perspective on entrepreneurial stereotypes. Full article

The present study examined the moderating role of maternal and paternal behaviors on the association between ADHD symptoms and antisocial behavior. The data are from a Swedish community-based study with 2886 adolescent participants, aged 13–15. We analyzed the adolescents’ self-reports of negative and positive parental behavior, ADHD symptoms, and antisocial behavior. Results show that ADHD symptoms significantly predicted levels of antisocial behavior in both maternal- and paternal-moderated regression models. Also, several significant interaction effects emerged. Fathers’ attempted understanding and mothers’ warmth significantly buffered the association with antisocial behavior. In turn, mothers’ negative behaviors—both coldness and rejection and angry outbursts—significantly enhanced the association with antisocial behavior, whereas only fathers’ angry outbursts emerged as a significant moderator. Thus, there is support for differential effects of maternal and paternal behavior on the association between ADHD symptoms and adolescent antisocial behavior. Full article

Empirical evidence supports the simultaneous relationship between parental warmth and child-to-parent violence (CPV). However, no studies analyze the lagged effects of perceived parental warmth and the potential impact of cognitive mechanisms legitimizing immoral behavior on this relationship. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of moral disengagement strategies (reconstruction of immoral behavior, obscuring personal responsibility, misrepresenting injurious consequences, and blaming the victim) in the relationship between the perceived paternal and maternal warmth dimensions (warmth-communication and criticism-rejection) during childhood and CPV towards the father and mother. The sample included 2122 Spanish adolescents (57.7% female) aged 13 to 18 years. The Child-to-Parent Violence Questionnaire (CPV-Q), the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMDS-S), and the Warmth Scale were used as assessment instruments. The results indicate that paternal and maternal warmth-communication is negatively associated with CPV, whereas paternal and maternal criticism-rejection and moral disengagement strategies are positively related to CPV. The mediation models show that the reconstruction of immoral behavior plays a crucial mediation role in the relationship between paternal and maternal warmth-communication and CPV as well as in the relationship between maternal criticism-rejection and CPV. The results emphasize the necessity of early prevention programs for parents promoting positive parenting practices, including parental warmth, to foster children’s adaptive socio-cognitive development. In addition, addressing moral disengagement in adolescents could help prevent or stop a pattern of violent behavior toward parents. Full article

The habitats protected by the European Union (EU) include most peat vegetation, such as mires, swamp mires, fens, and peat bogs—all belonging to the classes Oxycocco–Sphagnetea and Scheuchzerio–Caricetea fuscae and carrying the Habitat Codes 71xx and 72xx. These types of vegetation are typical of cold and cool temperate climates, while they become rarer in Southern Europe where Mediterranean influences prevail, representing relic fragments of the past glacial climatic conditions there. Because of their limited extension and the increasing warmth and drought due to climate change, they are seriously threatened. Even if many studies were performed, their richness and distribution across Europe are still not well–understood, and only a few examples are known from the Central and Southern Apennines to date. In order to provide the syntaxonomical classification of the alkaline fens referable to the EU Habitat 7230 found on the mountain plateaus of the Central Apennines, we analyzed their species structure and flora composition, together with their chorological and ecological characteristics. We also evaluated their conservation status, pressures, and threats. The alkaline fens of the Central Apennines are found to be poorer in diagnostic species when compared to similar communities of Central and Northern Europe. However, they are rich in the species of the surrounding meadows and pastures. Among them, the new subassociation Caricetum davallianae caricetosum hostianae is described. Full article

Conduct problems (CP) in childhood and adolescence have a significant impact on the individual, family, and community. To improve treatment for CP, there is a need to improve the understanding of the developmental pathways leading to CP in boys and girls. Prior research has linked the child’s fearlessness and callous–unemotional (CU) traits, as well as experiences of parental warmth and punitive parenting, to CP. However, few studies have tested the interplay of these factors in contributing to future CP development. The present study aimed to test the InterFear model, which suggests that fearlessness in early childhood leads to CP through an indirect pathway involving low positive parenting, high negative/punitive parenting, and callous–unemotional (CU) traits. The sample included 2467 Spanish children (48.1% girls; Mage = 4.25; SD = 0.91), followed up across a five-year period. Besides a direct association between fearlessness in early childhood and future CP, the results found an indirect pathway whereby fearlessness reduces positive parenting and increases punitive parenting, which contributes to the development of CU traits and sets the stage for CP in later childhood. The specific indirect effect from fearlessness to CP via CU traits accounted for most of the variance, suggesting the existence of a temperamental pathway independent of parental variables. Further, two additional indirect pathways, exclusive of fearlessness, were identified, which started with low parental warmth and positive parenting, leading to CP via CU traits. These findings support the InterFear model, demonstrating multiple pathways to CP with the involvement of fearlessness, parenting practices, and CU traits. This model might play a pivotal role in the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies for CP. Full article

In the first half of the twentieth century, scientific communities worldwide endeavored to diminish dependence on expensive and scarce animal fibers like wool and silk. Their efforts focused on developing regenerated protein fibers, including soy, zein, and casein, to provide comparable benefits to natural protein fibers, such as lustrous appearance, warmth, and a soft feel. The popularity and cost-effectiveness of mass-produced petroleum-based synthetic polymer fibers during World War II diminished interest in developing soy protein fiber. Realizing the ecological degradation caused by fossil fuels and their derived products, a renewed drive exists to explore bio-based waste materials like soy protein. As a fast-growing crop, soy provides abundant byproducts with opportunities for waste valorization. The soybean oil extraction process produces soy protein as a byproduct, which is a highly tunable biopolymer. Various functional groups within the soy protein structure enable it to acquire different valuable properties. This review critically examines scholarly publications addressing soy protein fiber developmental history, soy protein microstructure modification methods, and soy protein fiber spinning technologies. Additionally, we provide our scientific-based views relevant to overcoming the limitations of previous work and share prospects to make soy protein byproducts viable textile fibers. Full article

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology can be studied by examining the associated neurobiological factors or by looking at the environmental factors involved, such as parenting styles. Negative parenting styles have been associated with ADHD symptoms in childhood and adolescence. The present study aimed to analyze the predictive power of two parenting style dimensions (warmth–communication and criticism–rejection) and three factors about rule-setting and compliance (inductive, strict, and indulgent styles) in the explanation of ADHD symptoms (attention and hyperactivity) and associated emotional factors (anxiety and emotional regulation) considering parents’ and children’s perspectives. The results indicate that from the parents’ perspective, the criticism–rejection variable was the most important in explaining attention difficulties, anxiety and emotional regulation. From the children’s perspective, the strict parenting style was the most important variable in explaining hyperactivity and emotional regulation. In addition, for children, warmth–communication was significant in predicting fewer emotional regulation difficulties. Our results highlight the importance of considering family dynamics when assessing ADHD in order to implement comprehensive interventions that consider parental training in positive parenting styles. Full article

Online assessment of foreign-language learners, particularly of their oral skills, is a challenge for both students and teachers. Assessing language skills face to face, during a conversation between the examiner and the candidate, facilitates natural communication and is likely to provide a more accurate assessment of the student’s language proficiency level. A change in the scenario and the use of digital tools can intimidate students and take away the naturalness and warmth of the interview. The purpose of this paper is to examine the suitability of Blackboard Collaborate as a learning management system for assessing English speaking skill and other factors that influence students’ online performance. A total of 180 students from 7 different undergraduate programs in the fields of technology, environmental sciences and health sciences were assessed according to the structure of a standardized test. Using a mixed-methods approach, their results were contrasted with responses to a final survey to examine the positive or negative impact of online testing on students’ attitudes, performance and achievement. The Blackboard digital platform proves to be a suitable and convenient online framework for optimal speaking performance, and the examiner’s attitude is also a determining factor in students’ success. Full article