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The convergence of multimedia, virtual reality and the Internet is promoting low‐cost multimedia virtual environments which are easily accessible to large network communities. These environments, which facilitate usability and enhance user experience, are very suitable for supporting user‐oriented application domains such as e‐learning and entertainment. This paper presents a multimedia virtual environment, namely the Virtual Video Gallery, an advanced, distributed media on‐demand system which is browsable through a virtual world. By taking a virtual walk inside the gallery, the user can interactively select, preview, watch and control multimedia sessions. While the user‐centred design of the system relies on UML‐based modelling techniques, system implementation is obtained by the integration of Java, VRML and Web‐based technologies. In order to evaluate the user‐oriented effectiveness of the Virtual Video Gallery and compare it to currently available Internet‐based MoD systems, the usability testing of the system was established for deriving both summative and formative usability data.

This study isolates the effect of immersion on players’ learning in a virtual reality (VR)-based game about cellular biology by comparing two versions of the game with the same level of interactivityand different levels of immersion. The authors identify immersion and additional interactivity as two key affordances of VR as a learning tool. A number of research studies compare VR with two-dimensional or minimally interactive media; this study focuses on the effect of immersion as a result of the head mounted display (HMD).

In the game, players diagnose a cell by exploring a virtual cell and search for clues that indicate one of five possible types of cystic fibrosis. Fifty-one adults completed all aspects of the study. Players took pre and post assessments and drew pictures of cells and translation before and after the game. Players were randomly assigned to play the game with the HMD (stereoscopic view) or without the headset (non-stereoscopic view). Players were interviewed about their drawings and experiences at the end of the session.

Players in both groups improved in their knowledge of the cell environment and the process of translation. Players who experienced the immersive stereoscopic view had a more positive learning effect in the content assessment, and stronger improvement in their mental models of the process of translation between pre- and post-drawings compared to players who played the two-dimensional game.

This study suggests that immersion alone has a positive effect on conceptual understanding, especially in helping learners understand spatial environments and processes. These findings set the stage for a new wave of research on learning in immersive environments; research that moves beyond determining whether immersive media correlate with more learning, toward a focus on the types of learning outcomes that are best supported by immersive media.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of edutainment consumption and to analyze how new technologies influence it. It discusses a new theme, both with reference to the selected context (the phenomenon of edutainment itself and its consumption), and to the object itself (artistic consumption mediated by technological applications).

This paper addresses the research question previously mentioned by conducting an analysis of the marketing literature as it has been developed. The main areas of investigation are the experiential interpretation of consumer behaviour, entertainment and education. This paper is multidisciplinary in nature. An in‐depth analysis of the main object of the research and an original model of analysis of cultural experience are provided.

The use of new technologies that stimulate all the senses of the individual allows the re‐creation of the content of the message, both in terms of education and entertainment. A new form is given to the message, which is set in a new virtual environment, a “virtual edutainment environment” (VEE), where the interaction with the customer takes place. In our review of the marketing literature analysis we highlight the reasons that give rise to the VEE as a particular kind of cyberspace. A VEE is an environment in which one or more consumers experience the re‐created message. In this context, the users may interact amongst each other, but what is essential is that the information be elaborated in one complex way, utilizing multimedia tools in order to affect the consumer's senses. Hence, consumers are immersed in a deep experience of edutainment.

The convergence of education and entertainment, favoured by the diffusion of technology and its use, involves a very high risk for institutions that are trying to cling to their past history and their traditional managerial behaviour. Institutions like these need to use technological applications to increase the value of what they can offer to the consumer. For example, the learning process of the visitors of a museum will not be impaired by the entertaining use of new technologies. Instead, the memory of their experience will be reinforced and reinvigorated. The experiential interpretation of consumer behaviour has been one of the most innovative fields of study in the last 20 years, and it is even more promising for the future of marketing, as it is spreading into product categories that are far from being hedonistic.

The value of this paper is based on the proposal of an original model of analysis of cultural experience. The definition of the VEE takes its roots in other marketing concepts, such as the computer‐mediated environment and cyberspace, but it differs from them since it highlights the particular features of a cultural experience mediated through technological applications. The same is true with regard to the edutainment immersion experience, which is a particular interpretation of this kind of interaction between customers and the message.

This article examines instructional frameworks for university‐level education in Internet content design. Examined are academic constructs, philosophies and strategies from two disciplines traditionally associated with content ‐ herein defined as instructional science and informational studies. These approaches are then extended into a curricula paradigm for academic studies in Internet content design. The intent of the article is to begin dialog on the development of university‐level curricula and degree programs in Internet studies.

Virtual reality (VR) technologies have been gaining popularity in training and development in many fields to promote embodied training. However, its adoption in management has been slow and rigorous empirical research to understand its impact on learning and retention is scarce. Thus, this paper aims to examine the benefits of VR technologies for management training.

Through a longitudinal experiment comparing VR platforms and a traditional video platform, this study examines two as yet unexplored benefits of VR technologies vis-à-vis management training – the cognitive outcome and affective reaction of the training experience over time.

This study finds that, for cognitive outcomes, immediate gains are similar across video and VR platforms, but subsequent knowledge retention is significantly higher for VR platforms. In terms of affective reaction, VR platforms generate significantly more enjoyment, which carries over to two weeks later, and is partially associated with higher knowledge retention.

This study has implications for management and human resource trainers and system designers interested in integrating VR for training and development purposes.

This study makes a unique contribution by unpacking the long-term benefits of an embodied training system, as well as identify a possible link between cognitive outcomes and affective reaction.

Robert Bodle received his Ph.D. in Critical Studies from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. His research focuses on the social, political, and ethical implications of networked media (social media and networks, social reporting, alternative media, mobile and convergence culture, internet governance, information ethics, and new media literacies). As assistant professor of Communication Studies at the College of Mount St. Joseph, Bodle designs and teaches a digital media curriculum that includes Social Media and Social Change, New Media and Society, Human Rights in the Digital Age, New Media Ethics, and Visual Communication. His research appears in the Journal of International Communication, Information, Communication & Society, and the book collection The Ethics of Emerging Media: Information, Social Norms, and New Media Technology.

Social virtual reality (SVR) has emerged as a solution for the facilitation of remote and distributed teamwork, promising to overcome challenges faced in virtual 2D communication channels. The purpose of this study is to systematically review empirical articles dealing with the application of SVR with head-mounted displays (HMDs) in teams.

This study reviewed 40 empirical papers on teamwork that address the application of SVR using HMD in teams. The authors present results from the extracted data and identify themes that indicate the current state of research in this field.

Based on data obtained from the journal articles, the authors identified three themes underlying current research. They are features and applications of SVR technology, collaboration dynamics and team performance in SVR and educational and professional training and learning. The results show that SVR enhances team collaboration and collaborative learning.

SVR can aid in improving teamwork and team outcomes. In its current stage, SVR is complementary to 2D technology and not likely to replace traditional tools. Findings suggest that the technology is promising for collaboration and learning in organisations, especially in collaborative design tasks and simulations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first studies to look at research emerging from the nascent area of SVR and summarise the current state of research. This study provides managerial implications and identifies future research areas for SVR in teamwork and learning.

As the social media platform becomes an ever more important communication channel between company and customer, companies are learning how they can best utilize social media to better communicate their brands with customers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the communication tactics adopted by the enterprise microblogs using a communication framework. Further, the authors hope to find out how these communication tactics influence customer brand experience (BE) and subsequently brand loyalty.

First, to identify the communication tactics used by enterprise microblogs, the authors recruited six active microblog users and listed all possible characteristics of enterprise microblogs that could increase customers’ fondness for the brand. Second, based on the listed 19 characteristics and existing theories, the authors pre-classified and conceptualized the content and style tactics categories. The authors also followed a sorting procedure to verify our classification. Finally, based on the sorted characteristics and previous research, the authors designed a questionnaire and 459 sets of valid data were collected from enterprise microblog users.

The communication tactics are classified into two dimensions, namely content tactics and style tactics. The content tactics include content diversity, content accuracy and content timeliness, and the style tactics include impression enhancement style and interactivity enhancement style. The results reveal that the communication content and style tactics significantly enhance overall customer BE and further brand loyalty. The study results also show that style tactics exert more influence on BE than content tactics.

This paper highlights the company’s important role in company-customer communication on social media, and categorizes the effective communication tactics used by the enterprise microblog within a communication framework. Companies could build brand loyalty by enhancing users’ BE using effective communication. The communication perspective and measures of the communication tactics in this study provide an ideal background for future research on IT-based company-customer interaction.

This paper aims to propose and evaluate a pedagogically sound and innovative strategy to teach a higher education course that prepares future professionals to intelligently use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their personal and professional lives.

The conceptual framework used for the design of the course was the socio-constructivism and activity theories. The implementation of the course was evaluated using the intrinsic case study methodology by including several instruments.

The pedagogical strategy proposed proved to be sound, as the evaluation showed that students were able to describe, use and propose innovative uses of a wide range of cutting-edge technologies in their both everyday lives and professional settings; they also had the skills to analyse the opportunities and challenges that these presented. Moreover, students liked this innovative way of learning and ended with a positive attitude towards ICT.

Although several courses prepare students to be digital citizens or use ICT to enhance the teaching-learning process, millennials are ill prepared to use cutting-edge technologies in an innovative, responsible and critical way in their future professions. The course that was designed is original in that it goes beyond preparing digital citizens to prepare professionals in any domain to use ICT in an informed and responsible way. Moreover, it is a documented, successful example of an undergraduate universal course in a highly important current society dimension. The authors believe that its pedagogical proposal could be transferred to courses dealing with other global issues such as the environment, economy and peace.

Online shopping has continued to grow in popularity, and the advance of internet technology has enhanced customers’ experiences. One technology online retailers have been using to increase sales is virtual try-on (VTO). The purpose of this paper is to investigate how such technology affects online consumers’ purchase decision process towards purchase intention, especially from an integration of utilitarian, hedonic and risk perspectives, by using advanced partial least square (PLS) approaches.

This study applied a web-based survey approach for data collection from online apparel retailing websites. The survey instrument was developed by adapting previously validated measurement items. The valid data collected were analysed using PLS with multi-group analyses. Advanced PLS techniques such as examination of discriminant validity using heterotrait-monotrait ratio, tests of out-of-sample prediction performance, and measurement invariance of composite models were applied.

The results of examining the proposed model reveal that customers’ attitude towards VTO technology can affect their intention to purchase a garment online, which is affected by perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and perceived privacy risk. Perceived ease of use is found to affect perceived usefulness and perceived helpfulness. The results also show no significant differences among age groups and genders in terms of the role of VTO technology in the full decision process towards online purchase intention.

This study enhances the understanding of the roles that VTO technology plays in consumers’ online purchase intention by providing an integrative view of its utilitarian value, hedonic value and risk. This study demonstrates the feasibility of applying advanced PLS techniques to investigate online consumer behaviour, particularly in the field of VTO application in online retailing. Implications for online retailers and designers of VTO technology are also derived from the findings.