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This study investigates the intricate relationships between transformational leadership behaviours (TLB), job satisfaction (JS), organizational commitment (OC), and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB) within the context of county governments in the United States. Drawing on a theoretical model that hypothesizes both direct and indirect effects of TLB on OCB, mediated by JS and OC, this research employs structural equation modelling to analyze survey data collected from 372 matched leader-follower pairs across various county governments. The findings substantiate the hypothesized model, revealing that TLB indirectly influences OCB through the mediating effects of JS and OC. Specifically, the study underscores the pivotal role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment as conduits through which transformational leadership exerts its positive impact on organizational citizenship behaviours. This research contributes to the literature by empirically validating a comprehensive model within the public sector context, thereby extending our understanding of the mechanisms through which transformational leadership fosters a conducive work environment that promotes OCB. The study's implications for leadership development and organizational policy within public sector organizations are discussed, alongside limitations and directions for future research.

The outbreak of the Coronavirus, which has caused a global crisis, has affected all aspects of human life. This pandemic has also seriously challenged the business environment, monetary and financial markets, and the performance of banks in countries. Accordingly, this paper aims to answer the question: “What is the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic crisis on the performance of the Canadian banking industry? Thus, the main purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the performance of the Canadian banking industry. For this purpose, the related literature was systematically reviewed to extract performance indicators. Then, a quantitative approach and a multiple case study strategy were used to examine the hypotheses and answer the questions. So, three Canadian banks including RBC bank, TD bank, and BMO were selected as cases. Document- and records-based method used to collect public data from official, and well-known economic and financial sources. For data analysis, structural equation analysis and correlation test were considered using Amos 28 and APSS 27. Based on the results, although the Covid-19 pandemic has shocked the Canadian banking industry, like many businesses, but because of its high capabilities, they have been able to manage the crisis well and come out of it successfully. The results show that the average profitability and efficiency of Canadian banks decreased slightly during the pandemic period, but it was not significant. In addition, during this period, business risk has increased slightly, but this situation has gradually returned to normal. Plus, some indicators such as the average of ROE, ROI, EPS, etc. after passing the initial shock, they have found a better position than the pre-crisis. Considering the newness of the pandemic and the lack of similar knowledge and experience that has surprised people, the results of this research contribute to the theoretical development of the literature, and its results can be used in the financial, banking, and commercial fields. Since the basis of the investigations was limited to the data of only three banks, therefore, it should be a little cautious in generalizing the results.

Advocates of blockchain claim widespread impact will be forthcoming shortly. However, the path of innovation in blockchain is uncharted. Investors will assess where blockchain innovation will profit first and most. The timing and impact of each blockchain innovation is a key consideration for business managers. Link, Ruhm, and Siegel (2014) suggest private equity investments forecast which innovations are likely to succeed. Previous research on private equity gives insight on why that ownership structure is especially successful. Private equity investments are collected for two periods and categorized according to basic blockchain components, basic cryptocurrency payment components, and decentralized applications, particularly applications in financial services. The results suggest investors have acted prudently, investing strongly in building blocks, payment systems and fundamental applications, showing a primary emphasis on refining blockchain and realizing standard blockchain protocols before investing in highly complex applications. Further, financial services applications dominate, suggesting investors see financial services as far and away the most likely industry for imminent deconstruction.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the Gross National Happiness indicator and the actual lifestyle of the people of Bhutan. Gross National Happiness is a macroeconomic indicator calculated in Bhutan. It was constructed in contrast to the Gross Domestic Product. Gross National Happiness is designed to guide the country's public policies. Using visual methods in anthropology, this study proposes an immersion in Lamshey, a village in Bhutan. The daily life of the inhabitants is then observed and analyzed with the way gross national happiness is measured. The sociology of quantification provides a framework for analysis that reveals important and new implications. Indeed, to bring together the experience of happiness as it is lived by the Bhutanese, it will be appropriate to distinguish three complementary "Gross National Happiness", according to whether it is measured, lived, or in its ethical dimension.

Efficiency in farming productivity and optimum utilization of resources in the agriculture sector in developing countries is a challenge that can be addressed with technological advancement. There is also a strong need to work on the farming community’s engagement to make better farming decisions. This study aims to create an expert knowledge-based system (KBS) in a mobile application to help Indian farmers improve their agricultural practices and increase crop productivity. A prototype mobile application, ‘Farm-n-Pedia,’ is designed and used to fulfill the farmers’ informational and engagement needs. It provides a tool for agriculture management using a single platform. The expert KBS incorporates a crowdsourcing system as part of the knowledge base and interface design. The mobile application enables the users to access the worldwide information they want, get personalized expert guidance, interact with the local agrarian community, know about the latest farming techniques and technology, crowdsource data collection and increase agricultural productivity.

The main purpose of this study is to measure up to what extent the independent factors defined by capital adequacy ratio, non-performing loans ratio, cost-income ratio, liquidity ratio, and loans-to-deposits ratio impact the financial performance of sixteen commercial banks operating in the United Arab Emirates using panel data for the period of 2013-2019. The secondary data was collected from banks and examined by applying standard descriptive statistics and the random effect model for hypothesis testing. It is concluded from the regression outcomes that non-performing loans ratio and cost-income ratio have a significant negative impact on commercial banks profitability in the United Arab Emirates, while capital adequacy ratio, liquidity ratio, and loans -to-deposits ratio all have a very weak positive relationship on the return on assets but they are not determinants of bank’s profitability due to the insignificant statistical impact on it. It is therefore suggested that to enhance financial performance and minimize the risk of non-performing loans in the future, banks must watch very carefully the loans’ performance and analyze thoroughly the clients’ credit history and ability to pay back their debts prior to any approval of loan applications. Furthermore, banks should continuously improve their assets utilization, liquidity, and techniques of managing operating costs, improve the impact of capital adequacy, and the use of deposits for lending activities from a weak positive impact to a significant positive impact on their profitability. The researchers recommend that future studies on credit risk management influence on banks’ financial performance should consider more independent variables and longer periods of study such as twenty or thirty years to have more accuracy and generalized results.  

Virtual healthcare information technologies (HIT) are being adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic. We propose that even after Covid-19, virtual HIT can still have great potentials to address the challenges brought by the aging population on healthcare systems. The key questions are (1) what kinds of virtual HIT will be useful for seniors and (2) how these HIT will affect senior citizens’ health-related quality of life (HRQL)? Centered on the concept of HRQL and grounded on task-technology fit (TTF) theory, this paper builds a framework of useful virtual HIT in the context of long-term care for seniors. The framework proposes senior citizens’ human characteristics (i.e. restricted mobility, deteriorated working memory and attention, and social isolation) will influence their health-related tasks (task adaptability, autonomy, and interdependence). A set of virtual healthcare systems can be designed to fit seniors’ tasks. These HIT will increase seniors’ HRQL through increased task-technology fit (i.e. quality of healthcare, timeliness of healthcare, and relationships with seniors). This framework can serve as a base for researchers and practitioners in their endeavor to design more suitable HIT for seniors.