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Our study focuses on providing empirical evidence regarding the optimization of podcasting in asynchronous learning. This action research aimed to innovate the delivery of asynchronous classes using differentiated podcasts.

We utilized action research as the research design for the study. Participating in action research entails developing practical knowledge to improve educational practices through specific methods and critical perspectives (Sáez Bondía and Cortés Gracia, 2022). According to Burns (2007), action research involves deliberate interventions usually prompted by identified issues, mysteries or inquiries that individuals in the social setting seek to improve or change. Implementing changes to enhance individuals' actions and understanding within their context is the focus of action research (Kemmis, 2010). The study’s approach is ideal for examining new practices and gaining enhanced theoretical insights (Altrichter et al., 2002). Engaging in action research helps enhance understanding and empowers us to impact and enhance practices through continuous reflection, exploration and action. Through this iterative process, we can continuously enhance our comprehension and make substantial strides toward fostering positive transformation.

The study findings showed an apparent rise in student regulation and engagement and remarkable enhancements in learning outcomes, as demonstrated by differences in pre-test and final exam scores. These results highlight the actual effect of specialized podcasts on self-paced inducing students' self-efficacy in learning. Our research provides valuable insights on effectively incorporating podcasts into education, offering innovations and improvement of practice among educators and institutions adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the educational environment while catering to the diverse needs of the learners. This research is pioneering research catering to the various learning styles of asynchronous learning environments.

Although our current sample offered valuable insights, upcoming studies could gain from more extensive and more diverse participant groups to strengthen the reliability of our results and guarantee broader applicability across various demographics and contexts. Moreover, the length of our intervention may have been relatively brief, which could have limited our ability to evaluate the long-term impact of customized podcasts on learning results. Continued investigation into the long-term effects of these interventions could provide valuable insights into their effectiveness over time and help shape the creation of more lasting educational approaches.

Innovation in asynchronous learning differentiated teaching attuned to the diverse learning styles of the students.

The study promotes equitable education, which eventually promotes learning outcomes of the students.

We created differentiated podcasts tailored to the learning styles of the students. This research is pioneering research catering to the various learning styles of asynchronous learning environments.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming the healthcare sector, with a focus on how AI contributes to entrepreneurship and value creation. This study also aims to explore the potential of combining AI with other technologies, such as cloud computing, blockchain, IoMT, additive manufacturing and 5G, in the healthcare industry.

Exploratory qualitative methodology was chosen to analyze 22 case studies from the USA, EU, Asia and South America. The data source was public and specialized podcast platforms.

The findings show that combining technologies can create a competitive advantage for technology entrepreneurs and bring about transitions from simple consumer devices to actionable healthcare applications. The results of this research identified three main entrepreneurship areas: 1. Analytics, including staff reduction, patient prediction and decision support; 2. Security, including protection against cyberattacks and detection of atypical cases; 3. Performance optimization, which, in addition to reducing the time and costs of medical procedures, includes staff training, reducing capital costs and working with new markets.

This study demonstrates how AI can be used with other technologies to cocreate value in the healthcare industry. This study provides a conceptual framework, “AI facilitators – AI achievers,” based on the findings and offer several theoretical contributions to academic literature in technology entrepreneurship and technology management and industry recommendations for practical implication.

This paper aims to identify and evaluate resolutions to key learning and teaching challenges in very large courses that involve practical mathematics, such as foundational finance.

A design-based research approach is used across three semesters to iteratively identify practical problems within the course and then develop and evaluate resolutions to these problems. Data are collected from both students and teachers and analysed using a mixed-method approach.

The results indicate that key learning and teaching challenges in large foundational finance courses can be mitigated through appropriate consistency of learning materials; check-your-understanding interactive online content targeting foundational concepts in the early weeks; connection points between students and the coordinator to increase teacher presence; a sustained focus on supporting student achievement within assessments; and signposting relevance of content for the broader program and professional settings. Multiple design iterations using a co-design approach were beneficial to incrementally improve the course and consider multiple perspectives within the design process.

This paper develops a set of design principles to provide guidance to other practitioners who seek to improve their own courses.

The use of design-based research and mixed-method approaches that consider both student and teacher perspectives to examine the design of very large, foundational finance courses is novel.

This grant-funded research utilized conversational agents (CAs), specifically Alexa Flash Briefings, to deliver supplemental audio content across educational settings, expanding the online learning environment of graduate students, residency teachers and mentors. The study aimed to determine the perceived usability of Flash Briefings and explore participant experiences related to Flash Briefings.

To explore Flash Briefing usability and participant perceptions, a review of relevant literature and researcher experience feedback was conducted. Additionally, graduate student feedback was sought via a modified Children’s Usage Rating Profile (CURP) Assessment survey, which also included questions related to listening habits and provided space for participants to share open-ended qualitative feedback. Data were analyzed for themes and descriptive statistics were calculated.

Findings suggest an overall positive perception of the use of Flash Briefings. A mix of positive experiences and challenges are identified based on user population. The study provides valuable insights for refining the utilization of Flash Briefings in higher education settings.

Variable levels of participation across a small sample size minimizes the generalizability of the results and fails to explore perceptions of student teachers and mentors.

The study offers an initial indication of benefits and challenges found in the implementation of an innovative technological intervention.

There is a continued need and demand for extending online instructional accessibility and communication across broad geographic areas. This study considers a unique approach and provides a step toward closing this gap by analyzing the effectiveness this content modality offers in higher education.

This is an account of student experiences with the 2020/2021 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing and Design (WiSTEM²D) intervention programme at the University of Limerick (UL).

The WiSTEM²D programme supports female undergraduate students undertaking science, technology, engineering, mathematics, manufacturing and design (STEM²D) courses, helping them develop and grow in their degrees, research and beyond.

During the programme, data were gathered from students in the form of qualitative information, which was used to analyse perceptions of the programme. This analysis revealed that students found the WiSTEM²D programme beneficial to them and that it improved their confidence levels, career knowledge and overall networking abilities.

WiSTEM²D is one of several initiatives globally that are attempting to empower and encourage women to be active in STEM.

This study aims to explore how the integration of augmented reality (AR) filters into English as a second language (ESL) can enhance speaking fluency teaching. The study sheds light on how AR filter can be best implemented in speaking fluency teaching by the innovative opportunities to transform language learning experiences. In this study, ESL teachers' perceptions and experiences with AR filters in speaking fluency instructions were examined through qualitative research method.

This study is an evaluation stage study within a bigger study which utilized design and developmental research (DDR) approach. In this third phase of DDR which is the evaluation phase, this study involved semi-structured interviews with six ESL teachers from six different public secondary school settings. Thematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts.

Data analysis revealed several key findings regarding the utilization of AR filters in ESL speaking fluency teaching. Firstly, participants reported that AR filters can be best used in various educational settings. Secondly, AR filters were found to provide supports for various students’ levels. Thirdly, participants identified that AR filters can be best used to cater students with diverse learning styles.

The work aims to help ESL educators in using AR filters in their speaking fluency teaching. The limitation of this study is that it includes only the experience of teachers from a public secondary school setting without taking into consideration other secondary institutions such as ESL teachers from private schools or boarding schools. The generalizability of our findings may be affected due to our reliance on self-reported data from a small sample size.

The implications of these findings for ESL pedagogy and teacher professional development are discussed. By incorporating AR filters into ESL speaking fluency instruction, educators can create speaking fluency teaching in various settings such as formal and informal settings. Furthermore, ESL teachers may immerse students in environments that cater to the diverse language learners' styles and language levels through the use of AR filter. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the potential of AR filters to transform ESL teaching and learning practices, paving the way for future innovations in language education.

Available studies exploring AR in English teaching exist, but very limited of those utilized markerless AR, in the form of AR filters with speaking fluency teaching. Also, this paper focused on teachers’ experience with AR filters in contrast to students’ experience in public secondary school settings.

The purpose of this study is to explore the process of scaling second-hand fashion and how different strategic paths develop over time. This is theoretically grounded in two distinct scaling logics synthesised from the literature: a process that includes strategies for organisational growth (breadth-scaling) and a process that influences change in formal and informal institutions (depth-scaling).

The paper presents a process-based study based on the growth of a second-hand fashion retail organisation over 20 years. Qualitative materials such as interviews, observations and documents were collected and analysed.

The findings illustrate how a circular business model (CBM) can make use of a mix of strategies aiming for both organisational growth and impacting practices and habits within the fashion industry. Strategies building on breadth-scaling logic are found to be a prerequisite for engaging with depth-scaling strategies since they contribute to necessary resources and confidence, while depth-scaling secures future scaling opportunities by changing the conditions for scale.

The study contributes to the relatively scant literature on the process of scaling CBMs by exploring how different strategic paths unfold over time. The process-based approach, in combination with the two scaling logics, gives new insights into how CBMs go from niche to mainstream and thus influence the transition to a circular economy (CE).

This paper posits the need for English language arts (ELA) teachers to foster students’ use of languaging about their relations with ecosystems and peers, leading to their engaging in collective action to critique and transform status-quo systems impacting the climate crisis.

This paper reviews the current theory of languaging theory and research that focuses on the use of languaging to enact relations with ecosystems and others and voice emotions for transforming communities and reducing emissions contributing to climate change.

This review of languaging theory/research leads to identifying examples of teachers having students critique the use of languaging constituting status quo energy and community/transportation systems, respond to examples of characters using languaging in literary texts, using languaging in discussing or writing about the need to address climate change, critiquing languaging in media promoting consumption, using media to interact with audiences and using languaging through engaging in role-play activities.

This focus on languaging in ELA classrooms is a unique perspective application of languaging theory, leading students to engage in collective, communal action to address the climate crisis.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the “learning nation” concept and examine the characteristics and implications of using the “learning” premodifier in this nation-building program.

This article reviews how the “learning” aspect is inter-related to a series of national information and communication technology masterplans and includes a comparative analysis of the related premodifier “smart” as Singapore sets forth its ambition to become a “smart nation” as part of the digitalization megatrend. A print media indicator and Google Trends form part of the methodology to ascertain the rise of digital technology over a certain period. The former technique involves identifying relevant bibliographic databases and analyzing the volume of publications. The latter technique is a real time index of the volume of queries that users input into Google.

It is suggested that using the term “learning nation” previously and more recently “smart nation” is a consequence of the rise of the digitalization megatrend. The “smart-ness” involves learning about digital technologies, developing digital competencies and harnessing the benefits of these digital capabilities. From a public policy perspective, the article showcases how a city-state can transform itself through technology by riding on megatrends. Also, there is a need to be selective in developing specific areas for the application of digital technologies.

This article contributes to a better understanding on the frequent usage of the word “learning” as a premodifier and Singapore’s nation-building journey through human capital development and digitalization.

This research aimed to explore the commonalities and differences in the type of information provided on corporate websites in relation to their employment brand equity.

Mixed methods of content analysis, ANOVA and regression analyses were employed to answer the research questions. The data were collected from multiple sources, including the websites of a sample of forty companies listed as the US Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work in 2012 and information presented on Fortune’s website as well.

Employment brand equity hardly showed any significant impact on either company’s job growth or reputation in the ranking as an “employer of choice”.

The results indicated some practices to make a company’s employment brand outstanding and how its web presence reflected its “brand” and presence for potential employees. They are useful for HR practitioners concerned with building an employee brand. For example, the more highly ranked companies in the Fortune 100 tend to provide more forms of online support related to employment opportunities.

Using brand equity theory from the marketing arena and applying this within the human resources management area, this study suggests that “employment brand equity” became a major factor that many companies and organizations should focus on to enhance their standing with job seekers, particularly talented ones. Nearly a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, the best companies to work for in the US had paid attention to digitalization via websites and social media, to attract talent (and support employees).