Employee acceptability of wearable mental workload monitoring: exploring effects of framing the goal and context in corporate communication

Cognition, Technology & Work - Development of wearable mental workload (MWL) measures thrives, especially as leveraged by Industry 4.0. When employees object to wearing such gauges; however,...     

You’ve got mail: does workplace telepressure relate to email communication?

Cognition, Technology & Work - Email is ubiquitous at the workplace. However, only few studies have empirically investigated the cognitive underpinning of computer-mediated business...     

Quantitative study of food integrity climate in Belgian and Saudi Arabian food businesses in view of their organisational characteristics

Managing food integrity within a food business represents a novel dimension in food safety management. In this study, the prevailing food integrity climate of different food companies was analysed and compared across two distinct countries (Belgium and Saudi Arabia), and its relation with various organisational characteristics was examined. A quantitative questionnaire was filled up by the principal quality manager of forty-three food companies. Results show that the overall food integrity climate in the participating Saudi Arabian (n = 15) and Belgian food companies (n = 28) was estimated as medium–high. Scores varied substantially across the different participating food organisations, but only slightly between the two countries. The companies’ certification status was found statistically significantly related to a higher perceived food integrity climate, in particular for ISO 9000 as well as FSSC 22000 in both countries and IFS only in the Saudi Arabian sample. It was also demonstrated that the prevailing food integrity climate is associated with the company’s product type or sector, but only in the Belgian participating food companies, since Belgian quality managers employed in plant-based food companies estimated their food integrity climate higher than their counterparts in animal-based food companies. This horizontal comparative study, based on an intercontinental quantitative assessment of food integrity performance in food companies, contributes to enhance the understanding of food integrity in relation to specific organisational characteristics of food businesses, offering both theoretical and practical implications.     

Understanding mental workload: from a clarifying concept analysis toward an implementable framework

Cognition, Technology & Work - The growing need for mental workload (MWL) optimization on the shop floor yields an impressive increase in theoretical and applied references to the concept of...     

Food safety governance in Saudi Arabia: Challenges in control of imported food

The operating environment for food safety interventions in nations such as Saudi Arabia, with limited local agricultural productivity, high reliance on foreign food imports and observance of Islamic laws, is remarkably challenging for the national control and regulatory institutions, since compliance to the mandatory food safety regulations and the local religious Halal standards must be ensured. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of the recently restructured food safety governance in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of its food imports control. Specifically, the nature of the food imports, the organization of the food safety governance and the current control practices of imported food, in consideration of food safety and Halal requirements, are analyzed through a triangulation of data and information from secondary sources (academic literature review and gray literature search) and primary sources (direct consultation of field experts). Statistical trade data on imported food were also performed. Results revealed that the process of centralizing all the control and regulatory activities under a single agency, which the government started to strengthen the national food safety governance, has not been completed yet. The resulting overlap of legislative and monitoring tasks by multiple entities augments the challenge of ensuring the safety, quality, and authenticity of imported food and their compliance to Halal standards. The vulnerabilities and challenges still to be addressed by the local food industry and the public sector are discussed, with implications for national and international field practitioners and policymakers of countries facing similar challenges.