Financial Literacy and Economics Education Among Young Adults: An Observation From Tunisia

Financial literacy is a key element in financial decision making and well-being, which may affect all areas of our lives. Inadequate levels of financial literacy, particularly among young adults, is a global problem. This study addresses the following questions: are young adults financially literate, and how can this be measured? This study examines financial literacy and economics education among university students in Tunisia. The findings suggest that university students have inadequate knowledge of personal investment. Most importantly, the authors find that financial illiteracy is prevalent. Although this study was limited to Tunisian students, applications to broader young adult populations, particularly in the assessment method, are easily made.     

Enantioselective assembly of multi-layer 3D chirality

The first enantioselective assembly of sandwich-shaped organo molecules has been achieved by conducting dual asymmetric Suzuki-Miyaura couplings and nine other reactions. This work also presents the first fully C-C anchored multi-layer 3D chirality with optically pure enantiomers. As confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis that this chiral framework is featured by a unique C₂-symmetry in which a nearly parallel fashion consisting of three layers: top, middle and bottom aromatic rings. Unlike the documented planar or axial chirality, the present chirality shows its top and bottom layers restrict each other from free rotation, i.e., this multi-layer 3D chirality would not exist if either top or bottom layer is removed. Nearly all multi-layered compounds showed strong luminescence of different colors under UV irradiation, and several randomly selected samples displayed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties. This work is believed to have broad impacts on chemical, medicinal and material sciences including optoelectronic materials in future.     

Blockchain technology awareness on social media: Insights from twitter analytics

PurposeThis study investigates the affective technology acceptance model applied to the case of blockchain through Twitter text mining.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis focuses on mapping the acceptance drivers of the blockchain technology by visualizing the users perception constructs through Blockchain hashtags. More than 5000 relevant tweets per day were collected between December 15, 2020, and January 15, 2021. The Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney tests were applied over the frequency of the characteristics and the emotions' measurements to validate the research hypotheses.FindingsThe results prove that users show more interest in security, shareability, and decentralization characteristics. Therefore, the blockchain technology usefulness is rather perceived in the informational domain, and the blockchain ease of use is further expressed in smart contracts as a use case. Blockchain benefits are more discussed than the drawbacks among Twitter users. Besides, positive feelings with strong emotions of trust and joy dominate among users. In summary, the results show significant awareness of users towards blockchain technology.OriginalityTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first study that explores the affective technology acceptance model with user-generated content analysis.     

Anti-migratory effects of Piper betle leaf aqueous extract on cancer cells and its microtubule targeting properties

Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B - 本文研究了槟榔 (Piper betle, PB)...     

Morning–evening difference of team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances in female team handball players

This study investigated the two different time-of-day effect on team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances. At two different time-of-day, fifteen young female team handball players performed different physical tests: HandGrip (HG) test, Ball-Throwing Velocity (BTV) test, Modified Agility T-test (MAT) and Repeated Shuttle-Sprint and Jump Ability (RSSJA) test. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale was determined following the termination of the last test. Measurements were performed at two separate testing sessions (i.e., in the morning (7:00–8:30 h) and in the early evening (17:00–18:30 h)) in a randomised and counter-balanced setting on non-consecutive days. The results showed that HG (P = 0.0013), BTV (P = 0.0027) and MAT (P < 0.001) performances were better in the evening compared with the morning. During RSSJA, both best and mean sprint times were shorter in the evening compared to the morning (P < 0.001). Moreover, during the latter test, mean jump performance was higher in the evening compared to the morning (P = 0.026). However, there was no morning–evening difference in the best jump performance during RSSJA. Likewise, jump performance decrement was not affected by the time-of-day of testing. On the other hand, RPE fluctuated, with morning nadirs and afternoon/early evening highest values. The findings suggest that in female team handball players, team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances were better in the afternoon than in the morning.     

Physiological responses to ball-drills in regional level male basketball players

The main aim of this study was to assess the physiological responses of male basketball players during usual basketball ball-drills. Fourteen male basketball players (age 18.9 ± 2.3 years) performed the following full-court (28 × 15 m) basketball ball-drills (3 × 4-min with 3-min passive rest): five-a-side (5v5), three-a-side (3v3) and two-a-side (2v2). A main effect (P < 0.0001) for ball-drills modes was evident for all variables (5v5 < 3v3 < 2v2). Mean [Vdot]O(2) during the 5v5, 3v3 and 2v2 were 39.0 ± 7.2, 42.0 ± 7.5 and 45.0 ± 6.5 ml · kg(-1) · min(-1) (69 ± 11, 74 ± 12 and 79 ± 11% of [Vdot]O(2peak)) respectively (5v5 = 3v3 < 2v2, P < 0.001). Mean blood-lactate concentrations for 5v5, 3v3 and 2v2 were 4.2 ± 1.8, 6.2 ± 2.3 and 7.8 ± 1.2 mmol (l(-1) respectively (5v5 < 3v3 < 2v2, P < 0.01). During the 5v5, 3v3 and 2v2 mean heart-rate (HR) was 84.0 ± 9.2, 88.0 ± 8.4 and 92.0 ± 5.6% of the individual peak respectively (5v5 < 3v3 < 2v2; P < 0.001). No significant differences were found between the regression-line slope (P = 0.86) and intercept (P = 0.45) of the HR-[Vdot]O(2) relationships of the multistage maximal fitness test (r(2) from 0.80 to 0.96, P < 0.001) and ball-drills (r(2) from 0.70 to 0.95, P < 0.001) conditions. Reducing the number of players over the same playing court resulted in increments in physiological demands. The 2v2 condition provided responses in the range of those reported to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness. The aerobic demands of ball-drills can be accurately assessed using heart-rate monitoring in basketball.     

A managerial perspective on institutions' administration readiness to diffuse blended learning in higher education: Concept and evidence

Abstract

There has been rapid development in Blended Learning (BL) diffusion and prior studies mainly focused on issues related to students and lecturers in improving teaching and learning outcomes, but very few studies focused on institution’s readiness and diffusion issues. Thus, there is need for institutional-based research to guide universities, colleges, and polytechnics to strategically diffuse BL. Accordingly, this study develops a model to investigate the variables and associated factors that influence institutions' administration readiness to diffuse BL initiatives based on Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) theory and institutional BL adoption framework that comprises of mature implementation stage of BL. Quantitative research approach was employed and data was collected using online survey questionnaire from 223 e-learning administrators/managers in Malaysia universities, colleges, and polytechnics. Next, Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed for data analysis. Results indicate that institutional structure, resource support, technology infrastructure, management strategies, and ethical considerations are key variables that positively predict administration readiness to diffuse BL initiatives in higher education. Additional results from Importance Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) in PLS-SEM suggest that institutional structure has the strongest effect on administrators’ readiness to diffuse BL and is also the most important variable that influences BL diffusion in institutions. Theoretically, findings from this study provide insights on how institutions’ administration perception and acceptance of BL approach can be enhanced. Practically, the developed model can be employed as a readiness tool to assess institutions current state in implementing BL environment and further provides a road map for future improvement.     

Repeated sprint ability in young basketball players: one vs. two changes of direction (Part 1)

The present study aimed to compare the changes of direction on repeated sprint ability (RSA) vs. intensive repeated sprint ability (IRSA) protocols in basketball. Eighteen young male basketball players performed on RSA [10 × 30-m (15 + 15-m, one change of direction)] and IRSA [10 × 30-m (10 + 10 + 10-m, two changes of direction)]. A correlation matrix between RSA, IRSA, “squat jump (SJ)–countermovement jump (CMJ)”, footstep analysis and total distance in Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 was performed. The best time, worst time, total time and the number of footsteps were significantly smaller in the RSA test compared to IRSA test (P < 0.001), even though they were significantly correlated with each other (r > 0.80, P < 0.05). Blood lactate level and fatigue index did not show any difference between tests. The sensibility of the two tests assessed by the Bland–Altman analysis revealed a small bias (<1.5%) for almost all variables. Moreover, almost all time variables of the two tests were significantly correlated with the SJ (r > 0.478, P < 0.05), CMJ (r > 0.515, P < 0.05) and Yo-Yo (r > 0.489, P < 0.05) performances. The IRSA provided a reliable method for assessing specific sprint ability (with 10-m legs for IRSA ~2.3 s vs. 15 m for RSA ~3 s) with a closer link to basketball game’s actions (~2 s). Besides, IRSA could be an appropriate choice for assessing both RSA and changes of direction capacities in basketball players.