Factors Influencing Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) Game Engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Hedonic Motivation System Adoption Model (HMSAM) Approach.

The prominent form of Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is found in the gaming industry. NFT games received immense attention during the COVID-19 pandemic because of their play-to-earn model. NFT gamers can enjoy and increase their finances in their spare time. Hence, the researchers utilized Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to investigate the intention and immersive behaviors of 1082 respondents. The modified framework from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Hedonic Motivation System Adoption Model (HMSAM) underwent SEM tests. These theories and methods were used to analyze relationships among hypotheses and assess factors influencing NFT game engagement. The results showed that hedonic motivation produced positive and significant influences on perceived usefulness, curiosity, joy, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Subjective norms significantly influenced perceived ease of use. In due course, perceived ease of use yielded positive and significant effects on perceived usefulness, joy, attitude, and perceived behavioral control. Moreover, perceived usefulness, curiosity, joy, attitude, and perceived behavioral control had significant positive effects on behavioral intention. In addition, perceived usefulness, curiosity, joy, and attitude significantly and positively affected immersion. Meanwhile, only four hypotheses were not supported by the study. These findings were translated into theoretical and managerial implications to contribute to the academe given the strong the change of behavior of users towards NFT games during the pandemic; gaming industry since they will be able to develop, improve and create a new ecosystem in the gaming space, and NFT stakeholders since they will benefit from the development that will influence this study.

Corrigendum to "Stock market optimization amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Technical analysis, K-means algorithm, and mean-variance model (TAKMV) approach" [9(7) (July 2023) e17577].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17577.].

Stock market optimization amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: Technical analysis, K-means algorithm, and mean-variance model (TAKMV) approach.

The Philippine stock market, just like most of its neighbors in the region, was seriously impacted by the global pandemic COVID-19. Investors remain hopeful while continuing to seek great ones in the damaged market. This paper developed a methodology for portfolio selection and optimization with the use of technical analysis, machine learning techniques, and portfolio optimization model. The combined methods of technical analysis, K-means clustering algorithm, and mean-variance portfolio optimization model will result in the development of the proposed TAKMV method. The study aims to integrate these three important analyses to identify portfolio investments. This paper uses the average annual risk and annual rate of return data for the years 2018 and 2020 to form the clusters and assessed the stocks that correspond to the investor's technical strategy such as Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) and Hybrid MACD with Arnaud Legoux Moving Average (ALMA). This paper solved the risk minimization problem on selected shares of the companies, based on the mean-variance portfolio optimization model. There are 230 and 239 companies for 2018 and 2020, respectively, listed in Philippine Stock Market, and all simulations were performed in MATLAB environment platform. Results showed that MACD strategy dominates the MACD-ALMA strategy in terms of the number of assets with a positive annual rate of return. The MACD works efficiently in the pre-COVID-19 condition while MACD-ALMA works efficiently during-COVID-19 condition, regardless of the number of assets with a positive annual rate of return. The results also show that the maximum expected portfolio return (RP) can be achieved using the MACD and MACD-ALMA in the pre-and during-COVID-19 conditions, respectively. The MACD-ALMA shows an advantage during high-risk market conditions and can also provide maximum RP. The performance of the TAKMV method was validated by applying its results and comparing it to the next year's historical price. The 2018 results were compared to 2019 data and the 2020 results were compared to 2021 data. For consistency, the comparison was applied to the same company per portfolio. Simulation results show that the MACD strategy is more effective compared to MACD-ALMA.

The effect of positive reinforcement of behavioral-based safety on safety participation in Philippine coal-fired power plant workers: a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach.

The power plant accident is considered one of the man-made disasters in many developing countries, including the Philippines. This study aimed to identify the factors influencing behavioral-based safety (BBS) of coal-fired power plant workers which subsequently led to their active safety participation (SPT). In total, 201 coal-fired power plant workers in the Philippines answered the questionnaire consisting of 60 items using a purposive sampling approach. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that personal measures (PM) had significant effects on safety incentives (SI), safety management system (SMS) and safety perception (SP). SP also had significant effect on BBS which subsequently led to SPT. Finally, SMS had significant effect on safety culture (SC) which subsequently led to safety communication (SCM), BBS and SPT. This study is the first to explore BBS in the Philippine coal-fired power plant, and can positively reinforce SPT of workers in the coal-fired power plant industry.

Factors Affecting Perceived Effectiveness of Government Response towards COVID-19 Vaccination in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several developing countries to fall behind on vaccination at the onset of the pandemic, thus affecting the mobility of easing restrictions and lowering virus transmission. The current study integrated the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and extended the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to evaluate factors affecting the perceived effectiveness of government response towards COVID-19 vaccination in Occidental Mindoro. A total of 400 respondents from the municipalities of Occidental Mindoro answered the online questionnaires, which contained 61 questions. This study outlined the relationship between the dependent and independent variables using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that knowledge of COVID-19 vaccination had significant direct effects on its perceived severity. Subjective standards had significant adverse effects on willingness to follow. In addition, perceived behavioral control was discovered to impact willingness to follow positively. It also showed that perceived government response was significantly affected by adaptive behavior and actual behavior regarding the perceived government response. Meanwhile, it was found that the perceived government response had significant effects on perceived effectiveness. The current study is one of the first to study the factors that affect the perceived effectiveness of government response toward COVID- 19 vaccination.

Preference analysis on the online learning attributes among senior high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A conjoint analysis approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the shift from face-to-face to fully online learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the preference of senior high school students on online learning attributes during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing a conjoint analysis approach. Six attributes which consist of delivery type, assigned tasks, evaluation, virtual laboratory, interface layout, and delivery platform were simultaneously analyzed through orthogonal design. A total of 1189 senior high school students were collected via purposive sampling approach through the social media platform. The respondents voluntarily participated and answered 29 stimuli with 2 holdouts generated by using SPSS 25 utilizing a 7-point Likert scale. The results indicated that evaluation was found to be the most significant attribute and followed by virtual laboratory, delivery type, and delivery platform. Interestingly, multiple choice evaluation, not requiring virtual laboratories, mixed delivery type (synchronous with recorded lectures), and MS Teams as delivery platform were considered as the keys for the preference. This study is the first study that utilized a conjoint approach to analyze the senior high school students' preference on the online learning attributes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the conjoint approach can be applied and extended to evaluate the online learning attributes globally by utilizing the attributes and design created in this study.

Factors influencing job satisfaction among dentists during the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia: A structural equation modeling approach.

BACKGROUND: Dentistry is one of the highest risk occupations that face COVID-19, especially in countries that are severely affected by the pandemic, such as Indonesia. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine factors influencing job satisfaction among dentists during the new normal of COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia by utilizing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. METHODS: A total of 310 Indonesian dentists voluntary completed an online questionnaire, which contained 58 questions. Several latent variables such as perceived severity of COVID-19, staff cooperation and management commitment, personal protective equipment, job stress, working hours, income, and overall job satisfaction were analyzed simultaneously. RESULTS: SEM revealed perceived severity of COVID-19 had significant effects on job stress (ß:0.394, p = 0.025) and the utilization of personal protective equipment (ß:0.757, p = 0.001). Subsequently, job stress (ß:-0.286, p = 0.001), working hours (ß:0.278, p = 0.018), income (ß:0.273, p = 0.003), personal protective equipment (ß:0.145, p = 0.038), and staff cooperation & management commitment (ß:0.091, p = 0.002) were found to have significant effects on overall job satisfaction. In addition, management & staff cooperation was found to have a significant association with job stress reduction (ß:-0.319, p = 0.003) which subsequently led to higher satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The current study is one of the first that analyzed job satisfaction among dentists in Indonesia during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The integrated latent variables can be applied and extended to evaluate job satisfaction among dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic in other countries. Finally, this study contributed as a theoretical foundation for policymakers to enhance the job satisfaction of dentists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Evaluation of Preference and Perceived Quality of Health Communication Icons Associated with COVID-19 Prevention Measures.

Icons have been widely utilized to describe and promote COVID-19 prevention measures. The purpose of this study was to analyze the preference and subjective design features of 133 existing icons associated with COVID-19 prevention measures published by the health and medical organizations of different countries. The 133 icons represent nineteen different function names, such as "Wash Hands" and "Wear Face Mask". A total of 57 participants were recruited to perform two different tests: ranking test and subjective rating test. The ranking test was conducted to elicit the preference ranking of seven icon designs representing each function name. It was followed by a subjective rating test using 13 semantic scales on the two most preferred icons to analyze their perceived quality. Spearmen correlation was applied to derive the possible correlations between users' rankings and the semantic scales, and Friedman's test was also performed to determine the true difference between ranking in terms of each semantic scale to provide a fully meaningful interpretation of the data. Generally, findings from the current study showed that the image presented in the icon is the key point that affects the icons' perceived quality. Interestingly, Spearman's correlation analysis between preference ranking and semantic scales showed that vague-clear, weak-strong, incompatible-compatible, and ineffective-effective were the four strongest semantic scales that highly correlated with the preference ranking. Considering the significant relationships between the semantic distances and the functions, images depicted in an icon should be realistic and as close as possible to its respected function to cater to users' preferences. In addition, the results of Spearman's correlation and Friedman's test also inferred that compatibility and clarity of icon elements are the main factors determining a particular icon's preferability. This study is the first comprehensive study to evaluate the icons associated with the COVID-19 prevention measures. The findings of this study can be utilized as the basis for redesigning icons, particularly for icons related to COVID-19 prevention measures. Furthermore, the approach can also be applied and extended for evaluating other medical icons.

Consumer Preference Analysis on Attributes of Milk Tea: A Conjoint Analysis Approach.

Milk tea is a famous drink that has been heavily consumed since 2011. This study aimed to determine the combination of milk tea attributes that were most preferred using a Conjoint Analysis Approach. Specifically, this study utilized different attributes such as the size of tapioca pearls, sugar level, price range, brands, type of milk tea, cream cheese inclusion, and the amount of ice. Conjoint analysis with the orthogonal design was utilized to evaluate the preference of milk tea among consumers. The results showed that pearl size was the attribute most considered by consumers (29.137%), followed by sugar level (17.373%), the amount of ice (17.190%), the type of drink (13.421%), price (11.207%), and the least considered were cream cheese inclusion (9.525%) and the brands (2.147%). The findings of this study will be beneficial to milk tea firms about consumer preferences regarding the various attributes of milk tea. Finally, the result of this study could be applicable to different beverage-focused studies worldwide.

Determining Factors Affecting the Acceptance of Medical Education eLearning Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines: UTAUT2 Approach.

eLearning has been the medium of delivery of medical educational institutions to address the scarcity of medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) was extended to determine the factors affecting the acceptance of eLearning platforms to medical education in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 360 medical students voluntary participated and answered an online questionnaire that consisted of 40 questions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) indicated that performance expectancy was found to have the highest effect on behavioral intention, which was followed by learning value and instructor characteristics. A high behavioral intention was found to affect the actual use of eLearning platforms. Interestingly, social influence and habit were found not to be significant to behavioral intentions. This study is the first study that has explored the acceptance of eLearning platforms among medical students in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings can be a theoretical guideline of the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines for eLearning platforms. Finally, the framework would be very valuable for enhancing the open innovation in eLearning platforms in medical fields worldwide.

Factors Influencing Repurchase Intention in Drive-Through Fast Food: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

The drive-through fast-food industry has been one of the fastest businesses growing over the past decades in developing countries, including the Philippines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors influencing costumers' repurchase intention in a drive-through fast food in the Philippines by utilizing the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. A total of 305 Filipinos answered the online questionnaire, which contained 38 questions. The results of SEM indicated that subjective appetite (SA) was found to have a significant direct effect on menu options (MO). Consequently, MO was found to have significant direct effects on imagery elaboration (IE), vividness (VV), and convenience (CO), and an indirect effect on order accuracy (OA). Finally, SA, MO, IE, VV, OA, and CO were found to have significant effects on satisfaction (S), which subsequently led to loyalty (L) and repurchase intention (RI). Interestingly, MO was found to have the highest indirect effect on RI, indicating that MO is an important consideration for RI. This is the first comprehensive study evaluating drive-through fast food in the Philippines. The causal relationships of the present study can be applied and extended to evaluate the repurchase intention of drive-through fast food in other countries.