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This case study aims to describe the work of a Business Link in relation to the promotion and implementation of Investors in People (IIP) with small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Its purpose is to highlight the views of IIP advisors with regard to working with SMEs and the appropriateness of the award.

The case identifies the particular challenges that the advisors face in trying to deliver a consultancy service to SMEs which is valuable to them and which also satisfies the government's requirement for commitment to and recognition of attainment of IIP. The research involved in‐depth interviews with IIP advisors at a Business Link which sought to understand the nature of their work, the methods they use and what they saw as the issues and challenges in meeting customer needs.

The research confirms previous studies detailing the difficulties in matching IIP requirements with the individual requirements of SMEs. It also highlights the fact that Business Links need to “play the system” in order to reach the government set targets. IIP advisors are caught in the undesirable position of trying to deliver a useful consultancy service (which may not lead to IIP recognition) to the firm and the need to achieve specified commitment and recognition rates.

While it is recognised that a single case has its limitations in terms of universal applicability, this example provides an aspect of IIP which has not previously been explored.

This paper suggests that listening to and consulting with those “at the coalface” could have considerable benefits in both ensuring that assistance for SMEs is appropriate and that funding is targeted appropriately.

The views of those charged with implementing government initiatives are rarely sought, although there has been considerable research undertaken with the firms themselves.

AI-based robo-advisory (RA) represents a FinTech application that is already replacing retail investment advisors. In private banking (PB), clients also increasingly expect service provision across different digital channels, but with a higher degree of personalization. Hence, the present study investigates the impact of intelligent RA on the PB investment advisory process to derive both process (re)design knowledge and strategic guidance for artificial intelligence (AI) usage for PB investment advisory.

The present study applies an AI process impact analysis approach by decomposing AI-based RA into three AI application types: conversational agent, customer segmentation and predictive analytics. The analysis results along a reference PB investment advisory process reveal sub-process transformations which are applied for process redesign integrating AI.

The study results imply that AI systems (1) enable seamless client journeys, (2) increase advisor flexibility, (3) support the client–advisor relationship by applying an omnichannel approach and (4) demand advisor skills to be augmented with technical and statistical knowledge.

The research study contributes (1) an AI process impact analysis approach, (2) derives process (re)design knowledge for AI deployment and (3) develops strategic guidance for AI usage in PB investment advisory.

An intelligent agent‐based information warfare advisor is being developed for the Strategic Crisis Exercise at the US Army War College. This paper will provide some background on intelligent agents and will then describe the proposed architecture for building this intelligent agent‐based information warfare (IW) advisor (called “Bob‐in‐a‐box” ‐ named after our IW domain expert, Bob Minehart).

Inspired by the dynamic changes in our daily lives enabled via quantified-self technologies and the urgent need for more studies on the human-computer interaction design mechanisms adopted by these applications, this study explores the value of user affective experience mirroring and examines the empowerment effect of meaningful gamification in a psychological self-help system (PSS) that aids people in work stress relief.

Based on an analysis of the existing systems and theories in relevant fields, we conducted mixed-method research, involving semi-structured interviews, experience sampling experiments and user bio data triangulations, to identify the benefits of user affective experience mirroring and examine the impact of visual impact metaphor–based (VIM) meaningful gamification on PSS users.

For a gamified PSS, users generally perceive VIM as arousing more feelings of enjoyment, empathy, trust and usefulness, empowering them to gain more mastery and control over their emotional well-beings, especially with relieving their occupational stress and upbringing their level of perceived happiness. Overtime, VIM-based meaningful gamification further boosts such value of a PSS.

Weaving together meaningful gamification and psychological empowerment theories, the results emphasized that successful empowerment of user through gamification in PSSs relies heavily on whether a deeper and meaningful affective connection can be established with the users, in short, “meaningful gamification for psychological empowerment”. Such an understanding, as demonstrated in our research framework, also sheds light on the design theories for persuasive technology and human influence tactics during human computer interactions.

The results of the study demonstrate to practitioners how to make the best use of gamification strategies to deeply relate to and resonate with users. Even without complicated game-play design, meaningful gamification mechanisms, such as VIM facilitate the empowerment of users while gaining their appreciation, establishing a deeper connection with them and eventually generating persuasive effects on intended future behavioural outcomes.

The effective management of work-related stress with handy tools such as a VIM-based PSS can be beneficial for many organizations and, to a large extent, the society.

This study proposed and empirically demonstrated the empowerment effect of meaningful gamification for PSS users. In this cross-disciplinary study, theories from different research domains were synthesized to develop a more thorough and multi-faceted understanding of the optimal design strategies for emerging information systems like this VIM-based PSS.

Explores the application of expert systems in the field of services marketing. Describes the basics of the technology along with several hypothetical systems. Concludes with a brief examination of costs versus benefits, system design and implementation issues, together with the potential for other artificial intelligence technologies to contribute to the management of services marketing. Notes that advanced applications such as expert systems will dramatically change the competitive landscape of the future.

The purpose of this paper is to advance an understanding of the concept of advice and its relationship to documents, information and knowledge.

A conceptual analysis of a sample of 48 relevant advice studies and two books, directly informed by documentation and information theories, was conducted to find out how researchers have approached advice conceptually since 1940. Further gains in understanding advice came from analyzing its relationship with environmental uncertainty.

Researchers have studied advice in the context of human-human, machine-machine and information and communication technology-intermediated interactions. Advice has been conceptualized and categorized in many different ways. Over time, conceptualizations of advice have broadened and become more general. In this light, it is theorized that advice is as an information object targeted at an unmade decision. This conceptualization of advice permits situated and momentary advice documents. A newly developed content-based framework of advice leads to an advice typology with four content-based categories of best possible advice: correct answers, probabilities, possibilities, and acknowledgments of the unknown.

The refined advice theory, content-based advice framework and related typology of advice contributed here are small steps toward improved clarity about the nature of advice. These findings are limited in their focus to advice theory and advice categorization.

Scholars, practitioners and information system developers may reconsider advice theory and make use of the content-based framework and related advice typology in their work. These contributions will help advice-givers and the developers of advice-giving information systems and advice networks to provide better advice.

This paper fills a need for a clear and straightforward overall conceptualization of advice that accounts for advice documents and is informed by how advice has been previously conceptualized in multiple scientific fields.

Three written scenarios, based on paediatric fever, with expected outcomes of self‐care (scenario 1), GP routine care (scenario 2) and urgent care (scenario 3), were presented to 100 nurse advisors working in NHS Direct, the 24‐hour nurse‐led telephone helpline. Nurse advisors used one of three types of computerised decision support software to determine an outcome for each scenario, and in addition offered self‐care advice. There was variation between nurses in the outcomes for each scenario: 80 per cent of nurse advisors recommended self‐care only for scenario 1, 51 per cent recommended GP routine care for scenario 2, and 88 per cent recommended urgent care for scenario 3. Similar variations were found for the self‐care advice.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of service provided by the Stirling Council call centre with a view to determining the essential elements of best practice.

The method involves questionnaires to Scottish local authorities about their use of call centres, interviews with Stirling Council managers and call centre employees and some participant observation to gain a detailed view of both the management and operations of the call centre.

The findings are grouped into the topics of communication, training, quality and systems/technology, with improvements suggested in a few areas. Overall, the approach to service quality in the call centre tends to be more qualitative than quantitative with a good awareness of learning and management related issues.

The value/contribution of the paper lies in the definition of essential best practice call centre management components, presented in a framework involving aims, enablers and results. This model is proposed for generalised use in both the public and private sectors; it would henceforth benefit from some testing and further refinements.

Students with developmental/intellectual disabilities (ID/DD) often have serious health issues that require additional medical care and supervision. Serious health issues also mean increased absence and additional lags in academic achievement and development of adaptive and social skills. The incorporation of artificial intelligence in the education of a child with ID/DD could ameliorate the educational, adaptive and social skill gaps that occur as a direct result of persistent health problems.

The literature regarding the use of artificial intelligence in education for students with ID/DD was collected systematically from international online databases based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The collected articles were analyzed deductively, looking for the different gaps in the domain. Based on the literature, an artificial intelligence–based architecture is proposed and sketched.

The findings show that there are many gaps in supporting students with ID/DD through the utilization of artificial intelligence. Given that the majority of students with ID/DD often have serious and chronic and comorbid health conditions, the potential use of health information in artificial intelligence is even more critical. Therefore, there is a clear need to develop a system that facilitates communication and access to health information for students with ID/DD, one that provides information to caregivers and education providers, limits errors, and, therefore, improves these individuals' education and quality of life.

This review highlights the gap in the current literature regarding using artificial intelligence in supporting the education of students with ID/DD. There is an urgent need for an intelligent system in collaboration with the updated health information to improve the quality of services submitted for people with intellectual disabilities and as a result improving their quality of life.

This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the gaps in incorporating artificial intelligence and its service to individuals with ID/DD. The research additionally proposes a solution based on the confounding variables of students’ health and individual characteristics. This solution will provide an automated information flow as a functional diagnostic and intervention tool for teachers, caregivers and parents. It could potentially improve the educational and practical outcomes for individuals with ID/DD and, ultimately, their quality of life.

Purpose – To outline the role of the group supervision model in postgraduate training, especially its advantages in respect of research involving industry sponsors. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers the various categories of supervision and the pivotal role played by the supervisor. It analyses indicators of supervisor effectiveness in four major categories including supervisory style, the supervisor competence and supervisor characteristics and attitudes. Finally, it discusses how universities have worked on student attitudinal and skill problems through the provision of postgraduate training courses and changes to the supervisory system. A number of group supervisory practice models are described and the role and function of a supervisor are considered. Findings – The quality of postgraduate study is not purely a question of supervision methodology and motivation but hinges also, but not exclusively, on institutional admission procedures and policies, faculty/school administration policies as well as assistance and infra structure that is provided by faculty/school to supervisors and students, including financial assistance, access to child care, pastoral care, computing, library, office space, phone access, access to secretarial support, provision of research seminars and presentations, funding for library searches, conferences, travel, fieldwork, photocopying, and opportunities for casual work within the school. Research limitations/implications – The paper acknowledges that current supervision of postgraduate research students is deficient in many cases, but cannot provide, for ethical reasons, examples of bad practice. It does acknowledge that problems exist manifesting themselves in inadequate supervision, emotional and psychological problems in the student body, communication problems between supervisors and supervisees, knowledge deficiencies in the student body with the ultimate effect of late completions and low retention rates. Practical implications – The paper shows that universities must work towards improved linkages to ensure that they can take advantage of partnership opportunities. Originality/value – The paper has identified approaches to panel supervision and outlines the role of the industry partnership model. It is helpful to both students and supervisors trying should to determine under what research arrangement they conduct their research.