Tourism social sustainability in remote communities in Vietnam: Tourists' behaviors and their drivers.

Drawing on the social practice theory, theory of planned behavior, social contagion theory, and social exchange theory, this study focused on tourist behaviors affecting tourism social sustainability and their drivers. Besides its unique contribution to distinguishing positive behaviors from negative ones, this study is the first exploring tourism social sustainability in remote communities in Vietnam, an emerging country and focusing on domestic tourists. The study reveals that tourists' knowledge about tourism social sustainability is not only the safeguard against conducting improper behaviors. Behaviors negatively impacting tourism social sustainability can be instigated by crowd, pampering of one's convenience, and superiority feeling. Furthermore, inappropriate behaviors can be nurtured by the community and service providers. This study also indicates a mixed finding regarding the role of tour operators and tour guides in enforcing the code of conduct and regulations; however, both leader and members of the community can play a critical role in promoting socially sustainable tourist behaviors.

Parvalbumin interneuron activity drives fast inhibition-induced vasoconstriction followed by slow substance P-mediated vasodilation.

The role of parvalbumin (PV) interneurons in vascular control is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the hemodynamic responses elicited by optogenetic stimulation of PV interneurons using electrophysiology, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), wide-field optical imaging (OIS), and pharmacological applications. As a control, forepaw stimulation was used. Stimulation of PV interneurons in the somatosensory cortex evoked a biphasic fMRI response in the photostimulation site and negative fMRI signals in projection regions. Activation of PV neurons engaged two separable neurovascular mechanisms in the stimulation site. First, an early vasoconstrictive response caused by the PV-driven inhibition is sensitive to the brain state affected by anesthesia or wakefulness. Second, a later ultraslow vasodilation lasting a minute is closely dependent on the sum of interneuron multiunit activities, but is not due to increased metabolism, neural or vascular rebound, or increased glial activity. The ultraslow response is mediated by neuropeptide substance P (SP) released from PV neurons under anesthesia, but disappears during wakefulness, suggesting that SP signaling is important for vascular regulation during sleep. Our findings provide a comprehensive perspective about the role of PV neurons in controlling the vascular response.

Whole-brain mapping of effective connectivity by fMRI with cortex-wide patterned optogenetics.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with optogenetic neural manipulation is a powerful tool that enables brain-wide mapping of effective functional networks. To achieve flexible manipulation of neural excitation throughout the mouse cortex, we incorporated spatiotemporal programmable optogenetic stimuli generated by a digital micromirror device into an MRI scanner via an optical fiber bundle. This approach offered versatility in space and time in planning the photostimulation pattern, combined with in situ optical imaging and cell-type-specific or circuit-specific genetic targeting in individual mice. Brain-wide effective connectivity obtained by fMRI with optogenetic stimulation of atlas-based cortical regions is generally congruent with anatomically defined axonal tracing data but is affected by the types of anesthetics that act selectively on specific connections. fMRI combined with flexible optogenetics opens a new path to investigate dynamic changes in functional brain states in the same animal through high-throughput brain-wide effective connectivity mapping.

What Makes You a Whistleblower? A Multi-Country Field Study on the Determinants of the Intention to Report Wrongdoing.

Whistleblowers have significantly shaped the state of contemporary society; in this context, this research sheds light on a persistently neglected research area: what are the key determinants of whistleblowing within government agencies? Taking a unique methodological approach, we combine evidence from two pieces of fieldwork, conducted using both primary and secondary data from the US and Indonesia. In Study 1, we use a large-scale survey conducted by the US Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Additional tests are conducted in Study 1, making comparisons between those who have and those who do not have whistleblowing experience. In Study 2, we replicate the survey conducted by the MSPB, using empirical data collected in Indonesia. We find a mixture of corroboration of previous results and unexpected findings between the two samples (US and Indonesia). The most relevant result is that perceived organizational protection has a significant positive effect on whistleblowing intention in the US sample, but a similar result was not found in the Indonesian sample. We argue that this difference is potentially due to the weakness of whistleblowing protection in Indonesia, which opens avenues for further understanding the role of societal cultures in protecting whistleblowers around the globe. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10551-022-05089-y.

Perceived customer journey innovativeness and customer satisfaction: a mixed-method approach.

This research aims to understand the link between perceived innovativeness and customer satisfaction in the fine-dining catering segment. By employing a mixed-method approach, this paper proposes a multidimensional framework for measuring the perceived innovativeness of restaurants throughout the entire customer journey. Customer satisfaction was measured by considering online customer-generated data from TripAdvisor. The study not only finds a strong correlation between perceived innovativeness and customer satisfaction but also presents how fine-dining restaurants can employ user-generated data to co-innovate entire customer journeys and restaurant experiences. The results highlight menu-, service-, and customer experience-related innovativeness as the three most important criteria for fine-dining restaurant customers. Additionally, the results of the qualitative study indicate that in the context of fine-dining catering, the quality of the dishes, the service, and the customers' experience with the service staff and chefs are the main elements of satisfaction that restaurants should consider in promoting innovation.

Investigating employees' deviant work behavior in the hotel industry during COVID-19: Empirical evidence from an emerging country.

Employees in the hotel industry are among the most vulnerable groups that have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anchored on the general strain theory, transactional theory of stress and coping, and theory of justice, this study investigates the mechanism through which hotel employees' perceived job insecurity affects their deviant work behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey method was used to collect three-wave sample data from 988 hotel employees in popular tourist destinations in Vietnam. Multivariate data analysis reveals a positive relationship between perceived job insecurity and deviant work behavior, and this relationship is mediated by psychological distress. Furthermore, abusive supervision positively moderates the association between psychological distress-deviant work behavior and the indirect influence of perceived job insecurity on deviant work behavior through psychological distress. These findings are useful for hotel managers seeking to manage and develop employees in a global health crisis such as COVID-19.

Self-compassion, Mindfulness, Stress, and Self-esteem Among Vietnamese University Students: Psychological Well-being and Positive Emotion as Mediators.

Objectives: Theory and prior research suggest that improving self-esteem is a promising way to improve students' academic performance and mental health. This study empirically examines the mediating effect of psychological well-being and positive emotion in the relationships between self-compassion, mindfulness, stress, and self-esteem. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was employed. Quantitative data collected through a two-wave survey from 654 Vietnamese students were analyzed to test the hypotheses using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 24.0. Data from 19 in-depth interviews were used to explain the quantitative findings and explore students' experiences in practicing mindfulness and self-compassion. Results: Findings revealed that psychological well-being and positive emotion fully mediated the relationships between self-compassion, mindfulness, stress, and self-esteem. Conclusions: Results of this study highlight the importance of psychological well-being and positive emotion in the self-compassion, mindfulness, stress, and self-esteem relationship, as well as explain a possible process by which factors help university students achieve and sustain a sense of high self-esteem. Ultimately, this study has identified several potential targets for intervention strategies in mental health, such as mindfulness and self-compassion among university students.

Could mindfulness diminish mental health disorders? The serial mediating role of self-compassion and psychological well-being.

The COVID-19 pandemic clearly has various detrimental psychological effects on people's mental health, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness in overcoming such repercussions. This is in line with the growing number of studies that have been conducted to assess the effects of mindfulness in diverse settings. However, the role of mindfulness in reducing mental health issues among university students has received little attention. Therefore, the current work seeks to investigate how mindfulness could reduce the anxiety, depression, and stress of university students and how self-compassion and psychological well-being could mediate the links between mindfulness and these mental health disorders. To that end, an explanatory sequential mixed-method design was adopted. Quantitative data collected, through a two-wave survey, from 560 Vietnamese students having an average age of 18.7 years were used to test the hypotheses. To measure the six variables in the research models, we opted for the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-26), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21-7 items for each subscale), and World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Additionally, qualitative data from 19 in-depth interviews were utilized to explain the quantitative findings and explore students' experiences in practicing mindfulness and self-compassion to decrease stress, depression, and anxiety. The results elucidated that self-compassion and psychological well-being serially mediated the relationships between mindfulness (as a predictor) and anxiety, stress, and depression (as outcome variables). The findings demonstrated the key role of mindfulness in increasing students' self-compassion and psychological well-being as well as reducing anxiety, depression, and stress. This research holds substantial contributions by providing universities and psychotherapists with recommendations to deal with negative psychological consequences caused by COVID-19.

Shaping customer brand loyalty during the pandemic: The role of brand credibility, value congruence, experience, identification, and engagement.

While insight into consumer brand engagement, experience, and identification is rapidly developing, little remains known regarding the association of these, and related, concepts, as therefore explored in this article. Drawing on social identity theory and service-dominant-logic, this study develops and tests a model that explores the effect of customers' brand credibility, -value congruence, and -experience on their brand identification, and its subsequent effect on their brand advocacy, -attachment, and -loyalty. We also examine the potentially moderating role of consumers' engagement in affecting these relationships. To explore these issues, we collected tourist-based survey data. To analyze the data, we used confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that brand value congruence, credibility, and experience exercise significant positive effects on customers' brand identification, which, in turn, impact their brand advocacy, attachment, and loyalty. Further, brand engagement is shown to moderate the association of these factors. We conclude by outlining key theoretical/practical implications that arise from this research.

The COVID-19 pandemic: Workplace safety management practices, job insecurity, and employees' organizational citizenship behavior.

How do organizations and employees react to the COVID-19 pandemic? Can workplace safety management practices (WSPs) maintain employees' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in this time of global health crisis? Can employees' perceptions of the risk associated with COVID-19 and job insecurity mediate the WSPs-OCB relationship? Drawing upon social exchange and protection motivation theories, this research aims to answer such questions. Analyzing the survey data from 501 Vietnamese employees using SmartPLS software, we find that WSPs positively influence the OCB and negatively influence the perceived job insecurity. Furthermore, the perceived risk associated with COVID-19 positively affects perceived job insecurity and OCB. Unexpectedly, in the context of Vietnam, a developing country with a collectivist culture, WSPs increase the employees' perceived risk associated with COVID-19 instead of reducing their fear. Also, employees' perceptions of job insecurity are not statistically correlated with OCB. In addition, we reveal a partial mediating role of the perceived risk associated with COVID-19 in the WSPs-OCB relationship. This research highlights the power of WSPs as well as measures to psychologically reassure employees during the pandemics.

Socio-geographical evaluation of ecosystem services in an ecotourism destination: PGIS application in Tram Chim National Park, Vietnam.

Ecotourism in national parks of developing countries is increasingly recognised as a promising option to achieve sustainable development goals, regardless, might imply various paradoxical managerial challenges. This paper, therefore, seeks to contribute a methodological framework utilising ES-based social landscape metrics (SLM) to address the potential barriers in managing ecotourism-integrated multi-functional national parks. We present a mixed-method case study in Vietnam's Tram Chim National Park (TCNP), conducted via semi-structural interviews and PGIS with tourists and locals. Multiple key informants, i.e. TCNP's authorities were also interviewed to provide their managerial insights and assist in verifying the PGIS results obtained from the tourists and locals. Via the quantified and mapped SLMs, the study reveals the differences between tourists and locals in terms of how and where they perceive and appreciate the intangible values of TCNP. Through spatial statistics, we reported important spatial correlations (i) between different categories of Ecosystem Services (ES) and (ii) between ES richness and diversity on different TCNP's land covers. As a contribution to the decision-making outlook, we remarked potential areas to expand of ecotourism activities based on the spatial hot and cold spots. This study concludes by highlighting opportunities for future research in expanding on socio-geographical assessments of ES, especially in the fields of ecotourism.

Contribution of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neuronal Activity to BOLD fMRI.

The BOLD fMRI response in the cortex is often assumed to reflect changes in excitatory neural activity. However, the contribution of inhibitory neurons to BOLD fMRI is unclear. Here, the role of inhibitory and excitatory activity was examined using multimodal approaches: electrophysiological recording, 15.2 T fMRI, optical intrinsic signal imaging, and modeling. Inhibitory and excitatory neuronal activity in the somatosensory cortex were selectively modulated by 20-s optogenetic stimulation of VGAT-ChR2 and CaMKII-ChR2 mice, respectively. Somatosensory stimulation and optogenetic stimulation of excitatory neurons induced positive BOLD responses in the somatosensory network, whereas stimulation of inhibitory neurons produced biphasic responses at the stimulation site, initial positive and later negative BOLD signals, and negative BOLD responses at downstream sites. When the stimulation duration was reduced to 5 s, the hemodynamic response of VGAT-ChR2 mice to optogenetic stimulation was only positive. Lastly, modeling performed from neuronal and hemodynamic data shows that the hemodynamic response function (HRF) of excitatory neurons is similar across different conditions, whereas the HRF of inhibitory neurons is highly sensitive to stimulation frequency and peaks earlier than that of excitatory neurons. Our study provides insights into the neurovascular coupling of excitatory and inhibitory neurons and the interpretation of BOLD fMRI signals.

Workplace health and safety training, employees' risk perceptions, behavioral safety compliance, and perceived job insecurity during COVID-19: Data of Vietnam.

This paper presents the dataset of a survey on workplace health and safety training, employees' risk perceptions, behavioral safety compliance, and perceived job insecurity in Vietnam during COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected through an online questionnaire completed by Vietnamese full-time employees between April and June 2020. Using E-mail, LinkedIn, and Facebook, the online questionnaire was sent to respondents who filled it out voluntarily. A two-wave survey was conducted in order to lessen the common method bias. Totally, we received complete matched data for 732 full-time employees. All data were processed through SPSS 22.0, AMOS 23.0 and Smart PLS 3.0. Besides descriptive statistics, the results of the explanatory factor analysis and the confirmation factor analysis were included in this paper, which may serve as a good reference for future studies.

Managing environmental challenges: Training as a solution to improve employee green performance.

Although environmental training program has become a vital solution to minimize environmental challenges, the existing literature has paid little attention to (1) the connection between environmental training and employee in-role green performance (EIGP), (2) the mediating role of employee environmental commitment in this environmental training-EIGP connection, and (3) the cultural perspective (Western and Local) influences on interrelationships between environmental training, EIGP, and employee environmental commitment. Drawing on the social exchange theory and cultural perspective, a quantitative study based on survey data collected from 301 respondents at hotels in Vietnam was employed to fill these research gaps. Findings reveal that environmental training program is as an important tool to drive EIGP directly, and this environmental training-EIGP relationship is significantly mediated by employee environmental commitment. Interestingly, the study indicates support for our prediction that the mediating role of employee environmental commitment on the environmental training-EIGP link is stronger at hotels managed by Western hospitality companies. However, unexpectedly, cultural influence does not moderate the effect of environmental training on EIGP. Other than theoretical contributions, our study carries important practical implications that can help organizations reduce their carbon footprint. Limitations and further research directions have also been discussed.