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The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in multiple challenges for employees, which led to employee turnover, disengagement at work, employees’ mental health issues, etc. The study tries to elucidate how artificial intelligence (AI) herald great promise in human resource management in decreasing cost, attrition level and enhancing productivity. Considering the dearth of studies on recent trends in human resource management (HRM) in the context of AI, the study elucidates the role of AI in facilitating seamless onboarding, diversity and inclusion (D&I), work engagement, emotional intelligence and employees’ mental health. Thus, a conceptual model of recent trends in HRM in the context of AI and its organisational outcomes is proposed. A systematic review and meta-synthesis method are undertaken. A systematic literature review assisted in critically analysing, synthesising, and mapping the extant literature by identifying the broad themes. The findings of the study suggest that using natural language processing (NLP) and robots has eased the onboarding process. D&I is promoted using data analytics, big data, machine learning, predictive analysis and NLP. Furthermore, NLP and data analytics have proved to be highly effective in engaging employees. Emotional Intelligence is applied through AI simulation and intelligent robots. On the other hand, chatbots, employee pulse surveys, wearable technology, and intelligent robots have paved way for employees’ mental health. The study also reveals that using AI in HRM leads to enhanced organisational performance, reduced cost and decreased intention to quit the organisation. Thus, AI in HRM provides a competitive edge to organisations by enhancing the performance of the employees.

Hit by an unprecedented financial crisis, the Greek society has been also swept away by an acute political crisis, rising political polarisation and social unrest. At the same time, over the last decade, Greece has faced an unparalleled state of emergency, with thousands of refugees and immigrants entering every year and remaining in the country, often in extremely difficult living conditions leading to ‘an exceptional crisis within the crisis’. In fact, during the recent years, immigration and the ‘refugee crisis’ have been among the most controversial topics on the Greek policy agenda and one of the principal issues that shapes public discourse and raises the most questions about social cohesion and the fundamental values of the Greek society. Media representations of the refugee and migrant ‘crisis’ have played a significant role in how this controversial issue is presented in the Greek public discourse as well as in how people perceive and respond to it. Within this context and having as a starting point the theoretical approach of peace journalism, this chapter explores the ways in which four national Greek newspapers portrayed immigration within different periods of the Greek crisis between January 2011 and September 2015. Research results reveal two different periods in the analysed news stories, one between 2011 and 2014, when immigration was portrayed as a ‘domestic problem’ and the other, in 2015, when the situation was designated as a ‘European refugee crisis’. In both cases, however, it was evident that immigration was positioned high on the agenda of the Greek newspapers, despite major political events taking place within the same periods. Findings were presented and discussed on four different but interrelated levels: immigration (1) as a source of conflict and polarisation, (2) as a political issue, (3) through securitisation and victimhood and, ultimately, (4) through a ‘journalism of conventions’ lens, with very important consequences on the quality of information (extensive lack of solutions related to immigration and asylum issues, absence of refugees' voice, insufficient context, among others).

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the key differences in the production processes of battery electric vehicles (BEV) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). This exploration not only includes the fundamental physical architectural differences between the types of vehicles but also their entirely different supporting supply chains and underpinning business logics. Many nuanced and less-discussed considerations such as geopolitics, supporting infrastructure, and background policy implications are also covered. This chapter stems from the collection and analysis of secondary peer-reviewed data that is supplemented by verified press publications. The automotive industry moves at an incredibly fast pace, and thus understanding the sociotechnical transition to BEVs requires the additional, timely context of press publications. The overall result of this chapter is a holistic overview of the BEV’s value chain, and more importantly some much needed context for readers to better appreciate the significant implications that are involved. Society is not merely substituting one ‘full fat’ product for a ‘low calorie’ version, but rather we are adopting a new technology that solves some of our problems but comes with challenges of its own. In the coming transition to BEVs, it will be impossible to switch technologies without reformulating various policies and reconsidering how we consume transportation as a commodity or a service. By presenting how society intends to evolve its predominant road propulsion system, this chapter seeks to explain the twists and turns ahead, and offer a glimpse of a more sustainable path forward.

Industry 4.0 emerged as the Fourth Industrial Revolution aiming at achieving higher levels of operational efficiency, productivity and automation. In this context, manual assembly systems are still characterized by high flexibility and low productivity, if compared to fully automated systems. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose the design, engineering and testing of a prototypal adaptive automation assembly system, including greater levels of automation to complement the skills and capabilities of human workers.

A lab experimental field-test is presented comparing the assembly process of a full-scale industrial chiller with traditional and adaptive assembly system.

The analysis shows relevant benefits coming from the adoption of the adaptive automation assembly system. In particular, the main findings highlight improvements in the assembly cycle time and productivity, as well as reduction of the operator’s body movements.

The prototype is applied in an Italian mid-size industrial company, confirming its impact in terms of upgrades of the assembly system flexibility and productivity. Thus, the research study proposed in this paper provides valuable knowledge to support companies and industrial practitioners in the shift from traditional to advanced assembly systems matching current industrial and market features.

This paper expands the lacking research on adaptive automation assembly systems design proposing an innovative prototype able to real-time reconfigure its structure according to the product to work, e.g. work cycle, and the operator features.

This paper looks at citizen‐facing e‐government. It considers how the non‐discretionary nature of the citizen’s relationship with government makes citizen‐facing e‐government different from business‐consumer e‐commerce. Combined with the moral basis of the state, the paper argues that there is an obligation for the state to set an example, which should affect the design of citizen‐facing e‐government, with design‐for‐all being an appropriate philosophy. Other consequences should include a preference for open standards and a wariness of unintentional endorsement of commercial products. E‐government should also offer a good level of data protection and security, and has a role in educating citizens in matters of computer security. Advantages and disadvantages that may come from e‐government adoption are considered, including a number of ways in which cost savings and increases in convenience may be achieved. There are brief discussions of questions of distribution of the benefits of e‐government adoption and of the relationship of e‐government to e‐democracy.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the state of mobile game-based learning in the field of cultural heritage education.

A bibliometric methodology based on scientific mapping and an analysis of co-words was used. The scientific production on this field of study indexed in Scopus was analyzed. The analysis included a total of 725 publications.

The results show that the National Research Council of Italy is the institution with the highest volume of production. Among the journals, the Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage stands out. In addition, in the analysis of the structural and thematic development of co-words, a low percentage of keyword matching was observed. The research is currently mainly oriented to pedagogical methods, especially game-based learning, gamification and the use of serious games, although these are not the only trends in this field. Research is also focusing on virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality.

This work is an exploratory and novel study that analyzes the publications to date on mobile game-based learning in cultural heritage education. In theoretical terms, this can serve as support so that other researchers interested in this field can access the information highlighted in this work. From a practical perspective, this work will contribute to the promotion of new innovative actions in cultural heritage education to satisfy the demands of a learning group increasingly familiar with games technology.

Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), a ubiquitous fruit in Southeastern Asia, was rich in vitamins and phytochemicals, which were beneficial for improving of skin conditions. The fermentation process increased phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether phytochemicals can be increased through the fermentation process of rambutan extracts to improve skin aging.

In this study, the authors used the three stages of fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum TCI028 and Acetobacter aceti under red light to develop a fermented rambutan extract.

The level of polyphenols of red-light-based fermented rambutan extract (RLFRE) were significantly increased 108.9% (p < 0.01) and 97% (p < 0.01) compared with fermented rambutan extract (FRE) and pure rambutan extract (RE), respectively. The human skin fibroblasts treated with 0.03 or 0.06% of RLFRE can significantly decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels by 0.74- (p < 0.001) and 0.84-fold (p < 0.001) compared with H₂O₂ group, respectively. And 0.03% of RLFRE can significantly increase in elastin content by 1.13-fold (p < 0.05). Also, ten compounds were identified including one new phenolic compound and nine known compounds from RLFRE. Moreover, red light could enhance the levels of compounds 4, 9 and 3 by 5, 2.5 and 2.5-fold, respectively, relative to the results of FRE. The last, RLFRE isolated compounds significantly facilitated the elastin content on fibroblast (compound 1, 7, 9, 10 compared with control: p < 0.001, compound 2 compared with control: p < 0.001).

In short, this was the first study to unveil that the red-light-based fermentation can enrich the antioxidant content in a rambutan extract and its product had the potential to be developed a functional product for health-promoting effects such as skin aging.

This paper aims to figure out the conundrum that the corrosion resistance longevity of steel wires for bridge cables was arduous to meet the requirements.

The “two-step” hot-dip coating process for cable steel wires was developed, which involved first hot-dip galvanizing and then hot-dip galvanizing of aluminum magnesium alloy. The corrosion rate, polarization curve and impedance of Zn–6Al–1Mg and Zn–10Al–3Mg alloy-coated steel wires were compared through acetate spray test and electrochemical test, and the corrosion mechanism of Zn–Al–Mg alloy-coated steel wires was revealed.

The corrosion resistance of Zn–10Al–3Mg alloy-coated steel wires had the best corrosion resistance, which was more than seven times that of pure zinc-coated steel wires. The corrosion current of Zn–10Al–3Mg alloy-coated steel wires was lower than that of Zn–6Al–1Mg alloy-coated steel wires, whereas the capacitive arc and impedance value of the former were higher than that of the latter, making it clear that the corrosion resistance of Zn–10Al–3Mg was better than that of Zn–6Al–1Mg alloy coating. Moreover, the Zn–Al–Mg alloy-coated steel wires for bridge cables had the function of coating “self-repairing.”

Controlling the temperature and time of the hot dip galvanizing stage can reduce the thickness of transition layer and solve the problem of easy cracking of the transition layer in the Zn–Al–Mg alloy coating due to the Sandelin effect.

Augmented reality (AR) integrates the digital world with the real world and thus, provides a real-time experience to the users. With AR, the immediate surroundings become a learning platform for the users. The perception of the products has been enhanced many times with AR; thus, enriching user experience and responsiveness. The purpose of this paper is to bring forth the basics of AR and provide an overview of the research work carried out by researchers in the implementation of AR in different sectors.

This paper summarizes the usefulness of AR in different industries. The authors have identified the peer-reviewed research publications from Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, etc. The selection of literature has been made based upon the significance of AR in recent times. The industries/sectors where AR has been implemented successfully have been considered for this paper. The paper has been divided into various sections and subsections to bring more clarity to the readers.

This paper presents a brief and a precise information on Industry 4.0 and AR. The basic working of AR system and its implications have also been discussed. The preference of AR over virtual reality (VR) has also been deliberated in this paper. The authors have presented the usefulness of AR in different sectors such as smart factories, ship yard building, online shopping, surgery and education. This paper discusses the AR-ready procedures being followed in these sectors.

AR has been an add-on to VR systems. The processes in industries have become very handy and informative with AR. Because the application of AR in different sectors has not been discussed in a single paper; thus, this work presents a systematic literature review on the applications of AR in different sectors/industries.

This paper explores the fragmented social policy choices imposed in Greece during the turbulent period 2010–2020. The institutional, political, and economic crisis brought in the enforcement of huge austerity reforms provoking deep socioeconomic devaluation: in GDP, in available income, in job opportunities, in living standards, in social protection. The decade is marked by a couple of mismatches diminishing welfare provision and mounting social need, inexpedient national administration, and unbalanced international intervention. A major cause of the national bankruptcy has been the stark imbalances of a residual social policy system which never aimed at tackling inequalities, challenging market outcomes, or fighting poverty. A fractured system distributing welfare according to individualistic/corporatist criteria, preserving a clientelistic/corrupting pattern, focusing upon an unfair/irrational pension provision. At a first sight, the urgent changes during the crisis have reinforced residualism, deregulated social/labor rights, reproduced inadequacies, exacerbated the discontinuities with the European Social Model. At a second reading, they have also recalibrated the system embracing elements of universality, unity, rationality, sustainability, and equity. In sum, the 2021 social policy starting point provides modest protection and keeps complexities, contradictions and controversies. The crisis imposed a welfare strategy of cuts that has produced less provision, stricter conditions, more harmony, dubious viability, dribs, and drabs of justice. The pandemic health crisis gives now prominence to the neglected but crucial role of the NHS and, in a broader sense, to the vital importance of institutionalised welfare provision.