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As service robots increasingly interact with customers at the service encounter, they will inevitably become an integral part of employee's work environment. This research investigates frontline employee's perceptions of collaborative service robots (CSR) and introduces a new framework, willingness to collaborate (WTC), to better understand employee–robot interactions in the workplace.

Drawing on appraisal theory, this study employed an exploratory research approach to investigate frontline employees' cognitive appraisal of service robots and their WTC with their nonhuman counterparts in service contexts. Data collection consisted of 36 qualitative problem-centered interviews. Following an iterative thematic analysis, the authors introduce a research framework of frontline employees' WTC with service robots.

First, this study demonstrates that the interaction between frontline employees and service robots is a multistage appraisal process based on adoption-related perceptions. Second, it identifies important attributes across three categories (employee, robot and job attributes) that provide a foundation to understand the appraisal of CSRs. Third, it presents four employee personas (supporter, embracer, resister and saboteur) that provide a differentiated perspective of how service employee–robot collaboration may differ.

The article identifies important factors that enable and restrict frontline service employees' (FSEs’) WTC with robots.

This is the first paper that investigates the appraisal of CSRs from the perspective of frontline employees. The research contributes to the limited research on human–robot collaboration and expands existing technology acceptance models that fall short to explain post-adoptive coping behavior of service employees in response to service robots in the workplace.

This study aims to identify articles examining human-robot interaction and the effects of robotic systems on employment.

In this research, electronic searches were performed for articles published between 2000 and 2022 in Emerald, Springer, PubMed, Science Direct, Wiley and Google Scholar. In the searches of robotic systems with keywords such as “motivation, job satisfaction, job loss, performance, job giving,” 5 quantitative and 5 qualitative studies were included in the systematic review. The selected research was conducted using the Johanna Briggs Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies Checklist from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical evaluation lists and the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research, depending on their type. The included studies are mostly on employee-robot collaboration.

Although the majority of the articles examined in this study are included in keywords or titles, it is determined that there is a gap in descriptive quantitative studies in the literature on the effects of employee-robot collaboration, robotic systems and robotic systems on variables such as motivation, job satisfaction, job loss, performance and employment, although they do not mention a framework that directly investigates human-robot interaction and the effects of robotic systems on employment.

There are several limitations in this study. One of them is that, although the databases are comprehensively scanned, only studies published in English between 2000 and 2022 are included in the systematic review. Another limitation is the heterogeneity between studies.

As a result of the authors’ findings, the practical effects of the research are reflected as follows: It serves as a guide for future studies to fill the gap in the field, especially for academics and researchers working in the field of social sciences on robotic systems and intelligent automations. In addition to the qualitative studies on this subject, there is a need for the use of robotic systems in the field of human resources and management and quantitative studies with more sample sizes, especially at the corporate (firms) and individual (employees) level. Considering that the number of studies on this subject is very insufficient, this research is important in terms of shedding light on future studies.

The authors believe that the impact of robotic systems on employment is one of the few conceptual articles that systematically examines 6 dimensions (job satisfaction, performance, job loss, employment, motivation, employment).

This chapter provides a brief historical review of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address increasing climate extremes in urban areas and their surroundings, tracing their historical evolution to their current moment as du jour solutions to multiple crises. We review how this term has evolved through multiple iterations used across sectors and its current ubiquity in global policy discussion forums like the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), due to its potential as a “swiss knife” to meet multiple global goals in climate, sustainable development, and biodiversity. We evaluate the gaps between the ubiquity of NBS in current geopolitical discourses around urban resilience and sustainability and actual implementation in cities around the world. While countries are increasingly committing to NBS and similar approaches in national climate commitments, lacking data, technical capacity, and funding continue to limit implementation beyond relatively marginal projects insufficient to shifting worsening trends in climate change and biodiversity loss. We close with four guiding principles for addressing these gaps, emphasizing the importance of connectivity and scale, assessing the direct effects of climate change on potential NBS performance, quantification and valuation, and the powerful job-creation potential of NBS in creating resilience to multiple crises, including the current global recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marketing supports the reaching of organizational goals by focusing on the identification and satisfaction of customer needs, thus it can also contribute considerably in achieving the objectives of non‐profit organizations such as libraries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on the incorporation of marketing notions and the implementation of marketing techniques in library management. It reviews definitions, present different opposing views, marketing issues, social media and Web 2.0 and opinions on the adoption of marketing in a non‐profit organization environment, and examines different successful examples of marketing implementation, concentrating on the gains resulting from such a move.

A thorough literature search on various databases and on various aspects of this topic was reviewed. The literature review is organised on emerging themes directly drawn from the literature, thematically and chronologically within each section. It aims to identify the changing perspectives, the current challenges, and the benefits offered by examining information science specialists' views. The main marketing concepts are identified throughout a strategic planning approach, which has been recommended as the most successful by the majority of researchers.

This paper examines and clarifies the existing misunderstandings and difficulties in library and information services marketing, and stresses the importance of its adoption in this contemporary competitive environment. It examines library marketing in six sections: misconceptions regarding library marketing, main challenges and reasons as to why the adoption of marketing concepts is an integral part of the strategic planning, reports on the international library organizations, provides a description of the implementation of strategic marketing and planning processes, presents some library marketing approaches and examines the contemporary technological opportunities for library marketing in the digital era, such as the use of Web 2.0 tools.

The paper broadens the library marketing literature by gathering researchers' scientific views and advice and identifies the main implementation concerns derived from the earlier and more recent relevant literature. Moreover, for the first time, IT records issues concerning library marketing, social media and Web 2.0.

Higher education institutions around the world have increasingly come to see information and communication technology (ICT) as vital to the business of teaching and learning. Institutions invest a considerable amount of time and resources to erecting the appropriate institutional infrastructure, creating policy and practice, instituting strategy, training faculty, and building the capacity of technology staff. However, in under-resourced regions of the world, such as Africa, ICT, the availability and use of, has several challenges to overcome: a lack of institutional infrastructure, sufficient bandwidth, and limited capacity to employ ICT in the research process or the classroom. Universities report inadequate funding, poor management and infrastructure, resistance to change, inadequate training, and high costs associated with effective ICT use. Moreover, critiques of Western technopositivism surface misgivings related to the performance outcomes and appropriateness of ICT adoption in Africa. In this chapter, the author will explore the work of international organizations and regional and national research and education networks in the diffusion of ICT discourse, consider on-the-ground adoptions and innovation at universities in Nigeria, and reflect on the suitability and sustainability of technology adoption, all within an ICT for development (ICT4D) framework that lenses the evolution of technological applications in higher education. This chapter is significant in that it connects African higher education to ICT4D and frames the various discourses, policy landscapes and practice arenas, as they relate to international actors, continental initiatives, networks, universities, and faculty.

This paper aims to describe marketing methods, techniques and activities used in Greek academic libraries and their staff perceptions regarding the importance of marketing applications. In addition, it identifies factors which hinder the uptake of marketing, and investigates the evaluation methods used.

There are 151 central and departmental academic libraries in Greece, yet there is limited published research concerning their marketing activities. Therefore, it was intended to discover the reasons behind the low/non-use of marketing in Greek academic libraries. A three-section questionnaire was designed as the main research tool and distributed to 151 libraries. Survey results are presented and analysed according to the structure of the questionnaire.

Whilst marketing techniques and methods are used in academic libraries worldwide, the spread of marketing in Greek academic libraries proved to be limited. Basic operational problems were identified as the main barrier to greater uptake. Nevertheless, the majority of Greek academic librarians realize the importance of marketing, but they still have a long way to go in terms of understanding and adopting marketing concepts in their provision of services.

A quantitative survey was employed to determine the current situation, and examine the attitudes and perceptions of librarians in Greek academic libraries. However, the rapidly changing information environment and the increased international interest in academic library marketing have necessitated further research.

The paper presents research on staff perceptions and attitudes, towards marketing activities in Greek academic libraries. However, there is limited published research on the topic. Additionally, it is the first attempt to discover the extent to which marketing is used in Greek libraries' services' provision. The research depicts marketing techniques and methods used in Greek academic libraries and compares its results with international practices.

The milk supply of our country, in one form or another, has been the subject of discussion year after year at Congress meetings. Its importance is an admitted fact, but, notwithstanding, I again venture to call attention to the matter. On this occasion, however, I do not propose to touch much of the ground already covered by former papers, but to consider the results of experiments and observations made while dealing with milk supply under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. For many years dairy regulations have been in force throughout the country which deal with the construction of floors and walls, and with lighting and ventilation. The owners of dairy farms in many parts of Scotland have spent large sums of money in improving their farms. Indeed, some enthusiasts have gone the length of introducing a system of heating and mechanical means of ventilation. It is only reasonable to pause and consider the practical results of these improvements, and to discover who are reaping the benefits from a milk supply standpoint. Do the owners of dairy farms receive anything like a fair return for their capital outlay? No. It is a well‐known fact that rents are on the down grade. Is the farmer of to‐day in a better financial position than formerly? No. He will tell you that the working of a “modern dairy” is more expensive than in the old steading, and that there is less flow of milk from the cows in the large airy byre than in the small old “biggin.” The price of milk is considerably less than it was fifteen or twenty years ago. At that time it ranged from 10d. to 1s. per gallon, and it is well known to you that hundreds of gallons of milk are now sent into our large cities for at least a distance of 100 miles, carriage paid, at 7½d. per gallon. In some cases the price is 9d. per gallon during the winter and 7½d. in summer. A farmer I know has a contract with a dairyman to supply him with 20 gallons of sweet milk, 16 gallons of skim milk, and 4 gallons of cream every day at an average rate of 7½d. per gallon all the year round. I have proved, by having test samples taken of the sweet milk, that it contains an average fat of 4.89 per cent. in 16 gallons. Neither the owner nor occupier of the farm can be any better off so long as such small prices prevail. Does the profit then come to the consumer? It does not.

From 1953 to 1961, the South Korean economy grew slowly; the average per capita GNP growth was a mere percent, amounting to less than $100 in 1961. Few people, therefore, look for the sources of later dynamism in this period. As Kyung Cho Chung (1956:225) wrote in the mid‐1950s: “[South Korea] faces grave economic difficulties. The limitations imposed by the Japanese have been succeeded by the division of the country, the general destruction incurred by the Korean War, and the attendant dislocation of the population, which has further disorganized the economy” (see also McCune 1956:191–192). T.R. Fehrenbach (1963:37), in his widely read book on the Korean War, prognosticated: “By themselves, the two halves [of Korea] might possibly build a viable economy by the year 2000, certainly not sooner.”

Library and Information Services within the Organisation It is quite possible for some managers to be unaware of the extent or even the existence of a library or information service within their organisation. This has become evident more than once at the beginning of both MBA and management development programmes where participants from the same organisation have been discussing access to information with the tutor. Manager “A” might know about the company library, being an occasional or frequent user; Manager “B” knows that there is a library but knows nothing of its services or its collection; Manager “C” is surprised to hear that there is a library. Arguably, managers within certain functions, notably marketing, are more likely than others to seek out and use information services within the organisation as they need more information concerning the “external environment”. Nonetheless during these discussions managers from all functions have expressed an interest in the available information services when they are told of their existence. At the end of the sessions, when they have been introduced to the management literature, there is often a determination not only to use the organisation's own library but to take an active part in selecting and requesting information sources.