Interpersonal Trust and Technology Trust in Information Systems Research - A Comprehensive Review and A Conceptual Model

Trust is a crucial factor in personal as well as online exchanges due to their impersonal nature. In the information systems discipline, past research proposed and tested interpersonal trust formation as well as continuance in several contexts. Extending beyond interpersonal relationships, trust has been extrapolated as technology trust and applied to various technology contexts such as recommendation agents, inanimate software and objects. This paper presents a comprehensive review of interpersonal and technology trust constructs as applicable to ecommerce and technology contexts. Based on findings from past research this paper synthesizes research on interpersonal trust, trustworthiness and trust modes, and proposes a combined model of trust constructs. Based on the literature review and results from past research, this paper identifies an important gap in literature and proposes bases of technology trust constructs as an important contribution to literature. The theoretical and managerial implications are presented.

Synergizing Folklore and Urban Values for Sustainable Liveability

The synergy between rural and urban values is depicted as the source for local and global sustainability. This paper asserts that the folklore tradition of the rural people of Bangladesh promotes sustainability through their respect for nature, spiritual education and the common future of generations. Such values are embedded in the country’s economy, schools, media and other institutions where these messages are taught, articulated and promoted. The positive spiritual dispositions of rural people in Bangladesh towards natural calamities allow them to interpret such events as nature's tools for managing sustainable liveability. Bangladeshi rural communities also enjoy self-reliant living without destroying the country's base of natural resources in contrast to the city dwellers. Thus, the paper aims to establish that the implements for achieving global sustainability could be embedded in “rural modernization” – a way of blending rural values and folklore in city life.

A Biblical Argument for Veganism

This paper argues that veganism is the ideal diet for a religious and spiritual biblically endorsed lifestyle. Both Christians and Jews are guided by the Old Testament’s injunctions and writings, which equally support a vegan lifestyle. Areas of discussion include G-d’s first intention, the biblical goals of preservation of health, compassion for animals, equitable sharing of food with the hungry, environmental protection and wellbeing, including conservation of resources, preserving and healing the world, seeking and pursuing peace. It concludes that in light of the animal, human and environmental impacts of modern livestock production and consumption, veganism is the moral, ethical and spiritually-supported choice for those who subscribe to lifestyles led and inspired by the stories, interpretations, commentaries, injunctions and guidance of the Hebrew bible. It also offers spiritually-directed followers a sacred way to actively, yet non-violently, oppose daily human, animal and environmental welfare violations caused by meat production and consumption.

The Current Status and Future Perspective of the Green Building Practices in Construction Projects

Green building practices (GBP) constitute the foundation of sustainable construction development. In order to fulfill the green building development in Qatar, this study will shed some light on the current status of GBP in Qatar’s construction projects and assess the level of intention of engineers to adopt GBP. A total of 378 valid questionnaires were gathered and analyzed using SPSS v23. The researchers found that the lack of knowledge of GBP and high costs of materials required for GBP use were among the factors that could keep engineers from adopting GBP. Importantly, the study found that engineers, regardless of their age group, roles, occupation, educational level, experience, and income, had the same level of intention to adopt GBP. This study could significantly help the government and decision makers improve and accelerate the implementation of GBP in Qatar’s construction projects.

Exploring Chinese Feng Shui Culture for Achieving Sustainability

This paper explores the origin, concept, and basic content of Chinese Feng Shui (geomancy) and makes a comparison with sustainable development principles to explore similarities and differences in philosophic thinking from environmental, social, and economic perspectives. It also attempts to acquire inspiration from Feng Shui for achieving ecological balance and harmony between humans and nature. The long history of the Chinese Feng Shui culture has important implications for extending the contemporary sustainable development theory, and this study argues that it can inform policy aimed at achieving sustainability in a more harmonious way.

The Role of Open Source Software in Mastering Technologies of an Information System and Its Implication to Technology Transfer

The philosophy and practice of open source software (OSS) affected not only software production but also implementation and use. However, little is known about the intricacies of implementation and use of domain-specific, frontend information systems compared to production. Especially, empirical studies that examine the learning mechanisms in OSS implementation in developing countries are scant. This paper fills the gap by investigating the implementation of an OSS in a resource-constrained setting. Drawing upon communities of practice and networks of practice theories, the paper examines the mechanisms of the OSS approach that enable knowledge circulation, technology transfer, innovation, and sustainability, and interrogates the technology transfer conceptualization in the light of the approach. It also highlights the measures practitioners and policymakers should take to benefit from OSS.

Shortest Path Method for Hardware/Software Partitioning Problems

Smart systems are becoming more present in every aspect of our daily lives. The main component of such systems is an embedded system; this latter assures the collection, the treatment, and the transmission of the accurate information in the right time and for the right component. Modern embedded systems are facing several challenges; the objective is to design a system with high performance and to decrease the cost and the development time. Consequently, some robust methodologies like the Codesign were developed to fulfill those requirements. The most important step of the Codesign is the partitioning of the systems' functionalities between a hardware set and a software set. This article deals with this problem and uses a heuristic approach based on shortest path optimizations to solve the problem. The aim is to minimize the total hardware area and to respect a constraint on the overall execution time of the system. Experiments results demonstrate that the proposed method is very fast and gives better results compared to the genetic algorithm.

Bulgarian Traditional Folklore Celebrating Food and Sustainability

Being an integral part of the past cultural heritage, the traditional Bulgarian folklore festivals, carnivals, and celebrations are continuing to promote sustainable practices that venerate and respect nature. The article focusses specifically on celebrations related to food and plant growing. It reviews the intangible cultural heritage of the Bulgarian folklore, including traditions whose roots originated from pagan rituals but continue to be observed now. A description of the Kukeri carnival, Trifon Zarezan, Baba Marta, Peperuda (Butterfly), Rose Festival, Nestinari dancing rituals, and Enyovden are provided within a sustainability context. A common feature between these celebrations is the respect for nature and its healing capacity with people being perceived as part of the natural world. These traditional folklore festivities have survived the test of time with very little commercialisation. Food plays a major role in them, but most importantly, they help maintain the community spirit and social bonding.

Sustaining Traditions and the Hollow World

This paper discusses evidence for the argument that contemporary society is undergoing a profound evolution of consciousness and practice in which sustainable traditional practices are continued, adapted, revived, and evolved. The framework that encourages this is described as a cultural hollowing out of the economic and political systems which have resulted in large-scale disenchantment and disengagement. Several examples of ways of responding to the hollow world by adopting more sustainable practices are presented, including making do, makeshift communities, the slow food movement, and the sharing economy. The importance of traditional knowledge is also emphasised. Time will tell whether the new practices will build up momentum and significantly transform the current economic order, but there is compelling evidence that large and increasing numbers of people in the developed countries are ‘voting with their feet' and disengaging from the great world.

The Role of Voluntary Work in Society During Periods of Crises and Wars

Voluntary work is considered one of important and effective means that is used to advance the status of societies and to meet necessary and urgent needs of its members, so its importance increases day after day, especially during circumstances' times, which society is exposed to destructive crises and wars. In developed or developing countries, they are able to meet and satisfy the needs of their members, so there was a need for another party to support and partner with government efforts and complement the role that government agencies play in meeting living, social, and economic needs, especially in conditions of instability, disintegration, and decrepitude that society experiences during crisis and disastrous wars that affect society and its members in various aspects of social, economic, security, and cultural life. The current study aims to identify the concept of voluntary work, its importance, types, and fields in society during wars and crises to identify the role that voluntary work plays within society in conditions of instability and cohesion that it suffers due to crises and wars.