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Phil Mogg is talking about the time in August 2022 when he almost died of a heart attack. 'I'm good now. I think,' he says, grinning, checking his pulse theatrically. [...]

Venus lingers after sun-set. Saturn reaches opposition Sept. 8 and Neptune reaches opposition on the 20th. Jupiter dominates Taurus and Mars improves as it passes into Gemini. Mercury makes its [...]

Venus is a bright eve ning star for a short period after sunset, beckoning skywatchers to view the oncom ing string of planets. Saturn puts on a great show when [...]

In the autumn of 1987, Tony Martin received a phone call from his manager, inviting him to take a drive around the pair's native Birmingham. At the time, Martin was [...]

The planets are spreading out this month. Mercury and Venus lie in the evening sky; after midnight the next set of planets rises one after the other, led by Saturn. [...]

In late June last year, Louder, Classic Rock magazine's website, re-posted an epic interview with Nazareth's Pete Agnew and Dan McCafferty. First published way back in 2004, and conducted over [...]

June's pre-dawn sky finds six planets strung along the ecliptic, spanning 72[degrees] on the 1st. In order of increasing elongation from the Sun, they are Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune, [...]

The dramatic tale of Deep Purple's sixth album has rightly been etched into rock music folklore for more than half a century. Frankly, if you haven't heard it, then you're [...]

The evening sky loses its last planet early in May, shifting the attention of planetary observers to the morning. Try to glimpse Jupiter before it's lost in the Sun's glow [...]

When Terrorvision frontman Tony Wright is asked how it feels for his band to be releasing their first album in 13 years, there's a note of triumph in his voice [...]

Purpose: The demand for functional foods has also increased with increased health awareness, especially in the post-pandemic era. Consumers tend to seek relevant information to assist their purchase decision-making. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is perceived as an innovative source of information as extensive information can be obtained from electronic platforms such as social media. However, the role of the eWOM on functional food purchase intention (PI) is still undiscovered. Therefore, the study's main objective is to investigate the role of eWOM on functional food PI through an extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 223 valid responses were gathered in this study and analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings: To be completed Research limitations/implications: The finding first revealed that attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), health consciousness (HC), and eWOM significantly influence functional foods PI. Besides, eWOM also significantly affects ATT, SN, perceived behavioural control (PBC), and HC. In addition, the findings also found that eWOM indirectly significantly influences functional food PI through ATT and SN. Practical implications: This study successfully verified the crucial role of eWOM on functional foods PI, which is theoretically essential as it provides evidence of the role of eWOM on PI. Besides, the practical implications derived from the study's findings are also discussed in this study. Originality/value: The study proposed a novel research framework that provided solid evidence of the effect of eWOM on functional food PI by extending the TPB model. The finding proved that eWOM has a significant direct effect on the constructs in the framework and influenced PI indirectly through ATT and SN. Keywords: electronic word-of-mouth, functional foods, theory of planned behaviour, health consciousness, purchase intention, Introduction Internal and external factors influence consumers' purchase intention (PI) (Sun et al., 2022). Word of mouth (WOM) is perceived as affecting consumers' purchase behaviour (Garcia-Salirrosas & Rondon-Eusebio, 2022; Lin [...]

It's here at last! The April 8 total eclipse of the Sun is visible from a narrow track spanning North America from southwest to northeast. While the majority of people [...]

The evening sky of springtime hosts Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus. It's a good last chance to catch the richness of the jovian atmosphere, plus a few interesting events involving the [...]

There's sluggish, there's long-winded, there's slow, there's languid and unhurried. Then there's the speed at which Pallas seem to operate, which can best be described as glacial. Prog's correspondent has [...]

Farewell to 2023, a year in which rock music continued to flourish once again, after the buffer that was the covid interlude stopped everything in its tracks. Tours grew bigger [...]

Jupiter is the highlight of evening observation for anyone with a telescope. Its moons dance around the planet and intriguing transits and occultations occur. Meanwhile, Saturn is very low in [...]

From the outset, Praying Mantis were more melodic and tune-conscious than their rivals in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. In an era when blood, studded wristbands, bullet belts [...]

The new year begins with Jupiter and Saturn visible most of the evening. Uranus and Neptune are on show as well, requiring optical aid to spot. Meanwhile Mercury, Venus, and [...]

In 1993, as sidekick to former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, Francis Dunnery had what he now calls 'the biggest guitar job in the world'. He knew it wouldn't last [...]

Given what we know of them today, it's ludicrous to apply the term 'one-hit wonder' to Status Quo. This is a band that , has notched more than 60 hits [...]

Bernie Marsden, the much loved former Whitesnake guitarist and solo artist, has died at the age of 72. Responding on Twitter, David Coverdale referred to his 'old friend' as 'a [...]

Lambda Literary announced the winners of its annual awards at a ceremony in New York, with Catherine Lacey and Bryan Washington among the authors taking home the prizes for LGBTQ+ [...]

On The Rocks... Again HEAR NO EVIL Swan song from Uriah Heep's former singer, now in three-disc revision. First released in 1981, On The Rocks was the final album from [...]

Aerosmith are set to return to the road in September, as their Peace Out Farewell Tour resumes almost exactly a year after being abandoned. The original dates were announced in [...]

The article discusses recent archaeological discoveries at the Sanxingdui site in China's Sichuan Province, shedding light on the ancient Kingdom of Shu. The site contains thousands of unique bronze artifacts, such as masks and figurines, which provide insights into the history and culture of the kingdom. These artifacts suggest a power struggle between religious and secular leaders, and possible reasons for their burial include natural disasters and the influence of the Shang-Zhou war. Researchers are still analyzing the artifacts in hopes of uncovering more information about the people and society of the Kingdom of Shu. [Extracted from the article]

It's often said that two heads are better than one. In some instances four (or perhaps even five), along with special guests, is a better prospect still. Geoff Downes and [...]

The gas giants reign as spectacular objects overnight; their moons also attract attention. Our evening sky has a rapidly diminishing view of Mercury, with Mars difficult to spot. Morning carries [...]

Veritable epidemie mondiale, l'insuffisance renale chronique (IRC) chez les adultes ages touche pres de 40% des personnes de 65 ans et plus (1). Aux Etats-Unis, l'lRC est plus frequente chez [...]

Purpose: The study aims to explore the key factors that influence smart water technology adoption. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilised a case study approach to gain an in-depth understanding of stakeholders' perceptions towards smart water technology adoption within the selected water supply company. The researchers interviewed 15 key stakeholders in the company to collect primary data for the study. The stakeholders included top management, the management team, and engineers involved in the decision-making process and implementation of smart water technology. The interviews were semi-structured, allowing flexibility in exploring the stakeholders' perspectives on smart water technology adoption. The use of a case study approach allowed the researchers to analyze the complex interactions and contextual factors that influenced the adoption of smart water technology in the company. Findings: The study found that management support, water tariffs, knowledge management, and system complexity are key factors in smart water technology adoption in a water supply company, but their interests, attitudes, and influence vary. The company needs a Smart Water leader to support adoption, especially in water-scarce states, but low tariffs and financial constraints can slow adoption. Integration of existing and new systems remains a challenge. An extensive pool of experts is needed for knowledge sharing and learning from mistakes. Technical and maintenance support is essential for continuous improvement and expansion. However, a lack of formalized approach to measurement and reward technology knowledge sharing among staff and management, as well as retiring staff's lack of motivation to keep up with fast-changing technology, contribute to challenges in adopting smart water technology. The study used Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) to guide the direction of the study and develop interview questions. Research limitations/implications: This study only involved a single water supply company in Malaysia. Future research might consider all of the 12 water companies in Malaysia to extend the findings. Originality/value: This study provided insights into the main factors influencing smart water technology adoption in water utility companies by developing the proposition for future research. Keywords: Water supply, Smart Water technology, Support, Challenges, Industry 4.0 Classification: Case study, 1. INTRODUCTION Traditionally, the water industry has been slow to embrace change because water has been treated as an undervalued resource. While many industries have already transformed their processes to [...]

Purpose: The objective of this study is to determine the key factors that influencing Malaysian consumers' paying behavior of online knowledge service with UTAUT model by incorporating perceived trust, perceived cost, content quality and key opinion leader. Design/methodology/approach: The study surveyed 200 respondents based on convenience sampling and partial least square structural equation modeling is used to determine significant predictors. Findings: The findings reveal performance expectancy and key opinion leader as significant positive predictor of consumers' paying behavior of online knowledge service. Effort expectancy, perceived trust, perceived cost and content quality were found to have no any influence on the relationship. Practical implications: This study benefits knowledge service providers and platform operators to further understand the factors that determine consumers to use the platforms and successfully implement their business and marketing strategy. Originality/value: This study provides an empirical evidence on Malaysian customers' paying behavior of the online knowledge service. Keywords: Online Paid Knowledge, Paying Behavior, UTAUT Model, Introduction The significance of technology in human life has been recognized along with the world economic development. Many major breakthrough technologies have achieved in the telecommunication sector, noticeably the Internet [...]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to provide a conceptual model that links several key variables including employee empowerment & involvement, communication, and teamwork of organisational factors (OF) and organisational culture (OC) to enhance quality performance (QP) of Hong Kong watchmaking industry. Design/methodology/approach: Literature review was conducted extensively, and the approach employed was conceptualized into a proposed conceptual framework. Findings: A conceptual framework was suggested in this paper to enhance QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry through employee empowerment & involvement, communication, and teamwork of OF, and a moderator OC. The literature review was performed extensively to provide two hypotheses including 1) the OF-QP relationship, and 2) the OF-QP relationship through the moderator OC. Research limitations/implications: More opportunities were provided in this study for researchers to expand further the research in QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry on the basis of the theories from Hofstede's cultural dimensions in the organisations. Practical implications: The study attempted to explore good employee empowerment & involvement, communication, and teamwork together with strategic OC to enhance QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry. Originality/value: According to this study, the moderator OC for the OF-QP relationship can be expected to enhance QP of Hong Kong watchmaking industry since OC moderates the OF-QP relationship. In this connection, the study is significant with both theoretical perspective and practical perspective. A research gap is existed to find out a moderating role of OC in the OF-QP relationship. Keywords: Quality Performance, Organisational Factors, Organisational Culture, 1 INTRODUCTION Hong Kong watchmaking industry is mainly in the middle segment and focuses on the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) production, although some have expanded into the original design manufacturer [...]

Purpose: This study reviews available literature on how Jackie Chan applied the personal branding concept as an innovative strategy for him to gain global recognition and a megastar position. Design/methodology/approach: This is a literature search type study focusing on Jackie Chan as the case subject of successful personal branding. Various literature sources including Jackie Chan's (1998) own autobiography ('I am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action') and published news reportage are used for content analysis. Findings: Five factors are identified as drivers of Jackie Chan's personal branding success: a) the ambition that has been conceived and announced to the world, b) co-authored his own autobiography in English, c) creating unique values to differentiate himself from others as a way of defining his own identity, d) negotiating between the role of a celebrity and a star, and lastly, e) strategy to utilize social media and participating in it. In sum, his strategic and innovative use of personal branding actions helped him to promote his aforesaid uniqueness and persona to amass global recognition, thereby developing his great stardom for the last four decades. Research limitations/implications: The study relies heavily on the content of Jackie Chan's autobiography which may limit the study's comprehensiveness of review and analysis. Personal encounters of the subject person might be too unique and situational to be generalized. Practical implications: Strategies used by Jackie Chan in how he builds his personal branding benefit performing artists to be used as their pre-requisite skill set in the film industry rather than totally dependent upon film production companies. Originality/value: This study has built on Jackie Chan's example to demonstrate the liberation of performing artists in unleashing their potential energies and personal uniqueness; establishing and promoting themselves strategically toward their targeted audience; and innovatively steering their fate and future in view of different challenges under different contexts along their career journey. Keywords: Personal Branding, Strategy, Innovation, Global Recognition, Performing Artists, Introduction The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) that was signed on 29 June 2003 between Hong Kong and China governments study has opened a new market for Hong Kong's performing [...]

Purpose: Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has evolved into a viable alternative investment option that is predicted to develop rapidly as technology solutions improve and people become more digitally connected. As a result of their increased exposure to digital technology, millennials have emerged as the most fascinating target group for P2P lending platforms. As a result, the goal of this study is to identify the factors influencing millennials' intention to use Malaysia's peer-to-peer lending platforms. Design/methodology/approach: This study used perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived expertise, trustworthiness, reciprocity, and security as independent variables. The data was collected from 183 millennials through online questionnaires. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) programme was used to conduct descriptive analysis, reliability testing, and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings: Our findings revealed that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and reciprocity have a favourable influence on millennial's intentions to use peer-to-peer lending platforms. Research limitations/implications: This study may be extended to other age categories as the current research only focus on millennials. Practical implications: Peer-to-peer platform's operators may consider those relevant factors to invite and attract more businesses and investors to join in the peer-to-peer lending platform. Originality/value: The extended Technology Acceptance Model, Source Credibility Theory, and Social Exchange Theory were used in the current study to explore the variables that affect millennials' inclination to use peer-to-peer lending platforms. Keywords: Peer-to-peer lending, Intention, Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Reciprocity, Introduction Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending can be categorised as a type of decentralized lending. There are two main business models for P2P lending platforms. The first is that lenders and investors [...]

Purpose: The main aim of this study is to develop a working framework that represents patients' screening decision for oral cancer based on dental service quality. This is done by evaluating the various dimensions of dental services offered by dental clinics and the impact it has on patient's decision to undergo future oral cancer screenings. Design/methodology/approach: This paper compiled research articles from the last 10 years using a consistent method from online databases. Only papers cited under the SOR theory were analyzed to identify various elements used in the SOR model. Three commonly used online databases were selected - Emerald, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink - to identify research articles citing the full name 'Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory' and reviewed to ensure their application of the SOR theory. Findings: The outcomes of this study will be of great aid for future researchers, dental services providers and the government in understanding how the dimensions of current dental services quality are able to motivate and guide current dental patients in opting for oral cancer screenings in the future which shall subsequently result in reducing the overall oral cancer in Malaysia and even in other parts of the world through early detection and treatment. Research limitations/implications: The framework may not account for contextual or cultural factors that could impact patients' attitudes and behaviors related to oral cancer screening. Originality/value: This study complements and aids towards the direction of the 11 th Malaysian Plan as well as Malaysia's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which calls for the improvement of good health and well-being of Malaysia and its people. Keywords: Oral Cancer, Screening Decision, Healthscape, Dentists Concern, Waiting Time, Stimulus Organism Response Theory, Introduction With its world-class and top-notch healthcare services, Malaysia ranked first among the other 6 countries for the Best Healthcare in the World category of the 2019 International Living Annual [...]

* Venus reaches its best for the year as an evening object this month. Its brilliance captures attention long after sunset. Meanwhile, Mars continues to fade but enjoys a beautiful [...]

From the moment they started playing music together half a century ago in Topeka, Kansas were always a square peg in a round hole. They were founded in the capital [...]

There's a commonly used phrase about living one's life on 'borrowed time'. And it applied to Gary Rossington more than most. In surviving Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane crash on October 20, [...]

Reasonable assessment of the environmental benefits of integrating forest products into global value chains (GVCs) is important to promote sustainable development. Based on the forest product sector data for 41 countries from 2002 to 2014, this paper explores the impact of GVC participation on carbon embodied in exports using the 2008 financial crisis, a quasi-natural experiment of negative global value chain shocks. We found that deepening backward participation in forest product value chains led to more substantial increases in carbon emissions than did forward participation. Countries with large decreases in GVC participation reduced more carbon embodied in forest product exports after the financial crisis (relative to countries with small decreases) through a larger reduction in the scale of forest product exports, and a decrease in the growth rate of capital-intensive products as a result of the relative decline in capital investment. They increased the embodied carbon of exports through a decrease in the growth rate of skilled personnel. Strengthening the technology effect of GVCs with the guidance of skilled forestry personnel is a key way to decrease exported embodied carbon., A Global Value Chain (GVC) is a transnational production network involving cross-border production chain activities that link production, processing, distribution, and recycling across regions (UNIDO 2002). With the development of [...]

Venus puts on its best show of the year in the evening sky, visible until very late. Mars also continues as an evening object, while other planets congregate in the [...]

Adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience multiple symptoms and may benefit from complementary symptom support, such as mindfulness activities. An 8-week mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) intervention with adults with MS was conducted, with participants reporting improved symptoms from baseline to 3 months after the MBAT. Keywords multiple sclerosis, mindfulness, mindfulness-based art therapy, MBAT, symptom management, self-management, quality of life, education of patients and families, health promotion, advanced practice nurses, Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common progressive neurologic disease affecting adults worldwide (Walton et al., 2020). The current prevalence estimate of MS among adults in the United States is [...]

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in older adults is a worldwide epidemic that affects nearly 40% of people aged 65 or older. (1) In the United States, CKD in people aged [...]