bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Working memory enhancement using real-time phase-tuned transcranial alternating current stimulation
Authors: Haslacher David , Cavallo Alessia , Reber Philipp , Kattein Anna , Thiele Moritz , Nasr Khaled , Hashemi Kimia , Sokoliuk Rodika , Thut Gregor , Soekadar Surjo R. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundPrior work has shown that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of parietooccipital alpha oscillations (8 – 14 Hz) can modulate working memory (WM) performance as a function of the phase lag to endogenous oscillations. However, leveraging this effect using real-time phase-tuned tACS was not feasible so far due to stimulation artifacts.Objectives/HypothesisWe aimed to develop a system that tracks and adapts the phase lag between tACS and ongoing parietooccipital alpha oscillations in real-time. We hypothesized that such real-time phase-tuned tACS enhances working memory performance, depending on the phase lag.MethodsWe developed real-time phase-tuned closed-loop amplitude-modulated tACS (CLAM-tACS) targeting parietooccipital alpha oscillations. CLAM-tACS was applied at six different phase lags relative to ongoing alpha oscillations while participants (N = 21) performed a working memory task. To exclude that behavioral effects of CLAM-tACS were mediated by other factors such as sensory co-stimulation, a second group of participants (N = 25) received equivalent stimulation of the forehead.ResultsWM accuracy improved in a phase lag dependent manner (p < 0.05) in the group receiving parietooccipital stimulation, with the strongest enhancement observed at 330° phase lag between tACS and ongoing alpha oscillations (p < 0.01, d = 0.976). Moreover, across participants, modulation of frontoparietal alpha oscillations correlated both in amplitude (p < 0.05) and phase (p < 0.05) with the modulation of WM accuracy. No such effects were observed in the control group receiving frontal stimulation.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of real-time phase-tuned CLAM-tACS in modulating both brain activity and behavior, thereby paving the way for further investigation into brain-behavior relationships and the exploration of innovative therapeutic applications.
Revolutionizing supply chain management: a critical meta-analysis of empowerment and constraint factors in blockchain technology adoption
Authors: Younis Hassan , Bwaliez Omar M. , Al-Okaily Manaf , Tanveer Muhammad Imran 
Published: May 2024

PurposeThis study conducts a thorough literature review and meta-analysis to explore the adoption of blockchain technology (BCT) in supply chain management (SCM). It aims to identify the potential benefits, challenges, and critical factors influencing the implementation of this technology in supply chains.Design/methodology/approachA systematic analysis of 157 highly cited publications is performed, offering insights into research trends, citations, industries, research methods, and contextual aspects. Thematic analysis is employed to uncover key findings regarding enablers, barriers, drivers, challenges, benefits, and drawbacks associated with BCT adoption in supply chains.FindingsThe analysis highlights the complexities and opportunities involved in adopting BCT in SCM. A proposed model aligns with five dimensions, including inter-organizational, intra-organizational, technological, legal, and to assist businesses in harnessing the potential of BCT, overcoming obstacles, and managing challenges. This model provides practical recommendations for navigating the intricacies of BCT implementation while balancing associated challenges and risks.Practical implicationsOrganizations operating in supply chains can leverage the insights gained from this investigation to position themselves at the forefront of BCT adoption. By implementing the proposed model, they can unlock benefits such as increased transparency, efficiency, trust, and cost reduction.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper lies in its extensive review of publications on Blockchain Technology adoption in supply chains. It offers insights into various aspects such as enablers, barriers, drivers, challenges, benefits, and drawbacks. Additionally, the paper presents a comprehensive model specifically designed for successful adoption of Blockchain Technology in supply chains. This model addresses multiple dimensions including inter-organizational, intra-organizational, technological, legal, and financial.
The where and the who of HRM decision-making: HRM decentralization and devolution
Authors: Hassan Nadima , Trullen Jordi , Valverde Mireia 
Published: May 2024

PurposeHRM decentralization and devolution have been highlighted as key HRM processes in organizations’ quest for increased flexibility. Although they have been extensively studied in the MNC and International HRM literature, they have mainly been examined on a separate basis, and their definition and operationalization have often been confused. Thus, we first clarify the difference between the two concepts by refining the definitions by Hoogendoorn and Brewster (1992), and then empirically examine how they are related.Design/methodology/approachThe relationship between HRM decentralization and devolution is examined by means of a survey in a large multi-country sample of multi-unit organizations.FindingsRegarding our clarification objective, we contend that devolution has to do with who takes responsibilities for HRM (i.e. line managers or HRM professionals) while decentralization refers to where HRM responsibilities are allocated (i.e. headquarters or increasingly local units). Regarding the relationship between the two concepts, the results show that higher levels of HRM decentralization are related to higher levels of devolution, but this association is attenuated in organizations with more powerful HRM departments.Originality/valueThe study contributes to theory and practice by disentangling, at the conceptual, operational, empirical and practical levels, two different but related HRM decisions (how much to devolve and how much to decentralize HRM) that organizations must make to efficiently cope with the characteristics of their own structure and competitive environment. It highlights the role of the relative power of HRM departments in how HRM responsibilities are ultimately distributed across the organization.
Impact of mobile learning technologies for interactive learning and wellbeing of construction management trainees in Pakistan: challenges and opportunities in post-pandemic paradigm
Authors: Asad Muhammad Mujtaba , Shah Sayeda Sapna , Churi Prathamesh 
Published: May 2024

Purpose
This study aims to determine the influence of Mobile learning (M-learning) technologies based on the gender orientation of vocational education construction trade trainees in Pakistan. Additionally, it explores the challenges associated with integrating M-learning technologies in vocational institutions of civil engineering. Further, this study will focus on the solutions to improve the accessibility of M-learning technologies after the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative method with a survey research design has been adopted in this study. In contrast, the target population was the trainees of vocational education institutions of civil engineering in Pakistan. Further, the data was collected using an adapted survey tool with a five-point Likert scale. Similarly, the data were analyzed through SPSS 27 software tool by using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings
The study's findings highlighted a positive influence of M-learning technologies based on the gender orientation of construction trade trainees from vocational institutions. Similarly, it is also specified that the challenges vocational trainees of the construction trade have faced while utilizing M-learning technologies were related. Hence, it is evident that the potential challenges of M-learning technologies integration and utilization are related to both gender orientations during a postpandemic situation in Pakistan.

Practical implications
In the Pakistani context, the M-learning technologies approach is recently introduced in the vocational education sector. Therefore, the utilization and integration of M-learning technologies are considered challenging tasks in the context. In this regard, this study helps to understand the acceptance, challenges and impact of M-learning technologies based on gender orientation among vocational institutions trainees of construction trade in Pakistan.

Originality/value
This study not only refers to the impact of M-learning technologies and their challenges but also highlights the current situation of M-learning in Pakistan, particularly construction engineering trainees in vocational education institutes.
From order-qualifier to order-winner? Mapping the e-retailing competitive priorities
Authors: Zighan Saad , Abuhussein Tala , Alkalha Ziad , Omar Firas Yousef 
Published: May 2024

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study is to investigate the strategic transition undertaken by e-retailers as they progress from meeting order-qualifier requirements to establishing order-winner elements within their operational frameworks. The overarching objective is to uncover how e-retailers can attain and sustain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a focus group strategy, which involved collecting qualitative data. Evidence was collected from 41 customers and 16 business managers. The template analysis method was employed to code and organise themes identified during these discussions systematically.FindingsThe study identified 34 operational dimensions. 19 dimensions are related to e-retailing platforms and transaction processes, and 15 measurements are related to product or service characteristics. These dimensions were grouped into threshold resources, distinctive resources, threshold competencies and distinctive competencies. Distinctive resources and distinctive competencies are the most critical dimensions of e-retailing. These dimensions are subject to the “more is better” rule. Nevertheless, threshold resources are essential for e-retailing to be considered in the marketplace. It represents the “Must-be quality element.”Originality/valueThis study introduces the concept of a “cumulative model” in e-retailing. It offers strategic guidance for e-retailers seeking to navigate the complex landscape of competitive priorities. Companies can enhance their differentiation edge by identifying and emphasising distinctive resources and competencies. The study offers a nuanced understanding of the interplay between order-qualifier and order-winner elements in the pursuit of sustained competitiveness within the dynamic e-retail industry.
Social infrastructuring in public libraries: librarians' continuous care in everyday library practice
Authors: Rivano Eckerdal Johanna , Engström Lisa , Färber Alexa , Hamm Marion , Kofi Jamea , Landau-Donnelly Friederike , van Melik Rianne 
Published: May 2024

PurposeAs social infrastructures, public libraries are increasingly recognised as providing more than access to books and information; librarians’ work is importantly centred around practices of care. However, the ways in which they provide care is poorly researched, let alone conceptualised. This paper explores how this important part of librarians’ daily work is practiced through the lens of infrastructuring.Design/methodology/approachThe paper first theoretically discusses the concepts of social infrastructuring, care and tinkering. Then, it turns to ethnographic research conducted in the public library networks of three European cities: Vienna (Austria), Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and Malmö (Sweden). The paper comprises empirical materials from all three countries and unpacks 16 librarians’ daily working routines of care through participant observations.FindingsThe empirical analysis resulted in three modes of social infrastructuring in public libraries: (1) maintaining, (2) building connections and (3) drawing boundaries. Practices of care are prominent in each of these infrastructuring modes: librarians infrastructure the library with and via their care practices. Whilst care practices are difficult to quantify and verbalise, they are valuable for library patrons. By using the concept of tinkering, the article conceptualises librarians’ infrastructuring enactments as crucial community-building aspects of libraries.Originality/valueBy focusing on the enactment of social infrastructuring, the paper goes beyond a descriptive approach to understanding public libraries as important social infrastructures. Rather, the paper unpacks how libraries come into being as infrastructuring agencies by highlighting what librarians do and say. Our international study articulates the importance of care practices in public libraries across different national contexts.
Enhancing transparency and accountability in public procurement: exploring blockchain technology to mitigate records fraud
Authors: Alves Batista Danielle 
Published: May 2024

Purpose
Fraud within the procurement process remains a persistent challenge, resulting in substantial financial losses and lack of social justice. This paper underscores the significance of records for the integrity of the procurement practices and proposes using blockchain technology to mitigate records fraud. Analyzing international regulations this paper highlights their emphasis on proper records management for promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity of procurement procedures. This paper aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between records management and procurement accountability while addressing blockchain technology's innovative use in mitigating records forgery and omission.

Design/methodology/approach
This research involves a comparative analysis of international regulations investigating their directives on the relevance of records in public procurement and a survey of records fraud cases in the Brazilian context to illustrate the significance of the problem and to indicate how blockchain technology can be applied as a solution to ensure accountability and prevent records forgery and omission.

Findings
The findings highlight the explicit importance ascribed to proper records management by international regulations, and indicates how blockchain technology can serve as a valuable resource to reduce the records fraud opportunity in public procurement.

Research limitations/implications
The research does not consider context-specific regulations. The survey of frauds is limited to the Brazilian context.

Originality/value
This research introduces a pioneering approach by investigating the use of blockchain technology to combat records forgery or omission in public procurement procedures.
Virtual Influencers in Consumer Behaviour: A Social Influence Theory Perspective
Authors: Davlembayeva Dinara , Chari Simos , Papagiannidis Savvas 
Published: May 2024

AbstractAlthough virtual influencers, that is, computer‐generated personas, have been a growing trend in marketing, we still know very little about their impact on consumers’ attitudes and behaviour. To bridge this gap, this study: (a) explores individuals’ acceptance of influences induced by virtual influencers and (b) investigates how influence acceptance translates into behaviour. Drawing on Social Influence Theory, we first conducted a comprehensive literature review to extract the key attributes of virtual influencers (i.e. warmth, relatedness, interactivity, competence, empathy, uniqueness, fairness and credibility) as enablers of engagement that can determine influence acceptance. Then, based on 601 survey responses and using a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis, we analysed the associations between the enablers of engagement, influence acceptance processes (i.e. compliance, identification and internalization) and behavioural responses (purchase intention and behaviour adoption). Our findings highlight various sets of virtual influencer attributes that lead to high degrees of compliance, identification and internalization, and behavioural responses. We contribute to the influencer literature by explaining the causes of the persuasiveness of virtual influencers and their effectiveness in stimulating behaviour. Our study also offers practical insights into how brand managers can leverage virtual influencers in online marketing strategies.
On the Impossibility of Neoliberal Success: A Response to Michael Jacobs
Authors: Innes Abby 
Published: May 2024

AbstractIn After Neoliberalism Michael Jacobs makes a compelling case for the systematic failures of neoliberal economic policies and in the neoclassical theories that justified them. He calls for an economics rooted in ontological institutionalism and for the (re)development of varied institutions charged with diverse social purposes. This response takes Jacobs’ critique further and states that neoliberalism fails because the neoclassical economics that underpins it is fundamentally utopian; and it is doomed to fail for the same ontological and epistemological reasons that condemned Soviet socialism. What these politically opposed doctrines hold in common is closed‐system economic reasoning from axiomatic deduction presented as ‘a governing science’. It follows that both must tend to fail on contact with a three‐dimensional reality in an always evolving, open‐system world, subject to Knightian uncertainty. The dark historical joke is that a machine models of the economy, both Soviet and neoclassical neoliberal economics, converge on the same statecraft of quantification, output‐planning, target‐setting, forecasting and the presumption of only ‘rational’—socially productive—firms. The result in both systems is state and economic failure and the creation of production regimes that are a grotesque caricature of those promised, only now in the midst of an ecological emergency. It follows that we need an urgent revival of analytical pluralism in government and a non‐utopian scientific realism about the true scope of the ecological crisis, so that Jacobs’ rich institutional ecosystem will have resilient foundations.
Early patient‐reported outcomes after robotic‐assisted versus video‐assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy
Authors: Lan Zihua , Zeng Cheng , Li Zijie , Xia Xin , Mo Aotian , Li Xianglin , Ben Xiaosong , Zhou Haiyu , Deng Cheng , Chen   Rixin   , Shi Qiuling   , Tang Yong , Qiao Guibin 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundRobotic‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) can achieve traditional clinical outcomes comparable to those of video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). However, patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) during the early period after RATS and VATS remain unclear. This study aimed to utilize longitudinal electronic PRO (ePRO) assessments to evaluate symptom burden and functional status between these approaches from patients' perspective.MethodsThis study comprised patients who underwent lobectomy via RATS or VATS for non‐small cell lung cancer. We collected multiple‐time‐point PROs data from the prospective longitudinal study via an ePRO system. Symptom severity and function status were assessed using the perioperative symptom assessment for patients undergoing lung surgery and were analyzed between groups using linear mixed‐effects models.ResultsOf the 164 patients, 42 underwent RATS and 122 underwent VATS. After propensity score matching (PSM), 42 RATS and 84 VATS exhibited similar baseline characteristics. During the 7‐day postoperative period, participants underwent RATS reported milder pain (p = 0.014), coughing (p < 0.001), drowsiness (p = 0.001), and distress (p = 0.045) compared with those underwent VATS. Moreover, participants in RATS group showed less functional interference with walking (p < 0.001) and general activity (p < 0.001). RATS exhibited a shorter postoperative hospitalization (p = 0.021) but higher hospital cost (p < 0.001). Meanwhile, short‐term clinical outcomes of operative time, dissected lymph node stations, chest tube drainage, and postoperative complication rates were comparable.ConclusionPROs are important metrics for assessing patients' recovery after lobectomy. Compared with VATS, RATS may induce less symptom burden and better functional status for patients in the early postoperative period.
Dietitians' perceptions of employment models used in Australian residential aged care facilities
Authors: Bartrim Karly , Wright Olivia R. L. , Moyle Wendy , Ball Lauren 
Published: May 2024

AbstractObjectivesThe qualitative study aimed to explore dietitians' perceptions of employment status and engagement models with residential aged care facilities (RACF) and the impact on work activities and resident care.MethodsDietitians currently working in RACF were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling, including contacting a list of dietitians who had previously consented to be contacted for research. A semi‐structured interview guide was developed by the research team, pilot‐tested and then used in each individual interview. Data were analysed using constant comparison and reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsThirty‐one dietitians (n = 29 female; median age, 39 years) with a range of experience working in different employment status and engagement models in RACF participated in an interview. Five themes were identified: (1) Being an employee allows for better integration and utilisation in the RACF, (2) Contract work creates a scarcity of time, (3) Ad hoc work does not meaningfully address nutrition challenges and may not be good for resident care, (4) Regularly scheduled visits support positive outcomes for residents and (5) Acknowledging many different employment models.ConclusionCharacteristics of engagement models likely affect dietitian work job satisfaction, individual resident care and food service in RACF. Regular dietetic engagement in RACFs is required to support resident‐centred evidence‐based dietetic practice and to improve residents' nutrition care. There is an opportunity for policy mandates to assist RACFs in regularly engaging a dietitian to ensure all residents have access to timely, high‐quality nutrition care.