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The increasing adoption of informatization in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries has raised the competency requirements for AEC practitioners. However, existing research primarily focuses on the integration of emerging technologies in AEC education programs, with little attention to the development of informatization-related competencies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the competency requirements in the information age of the AEC industry.

Taking a policy perspective, this study investigates the competency requirements within the context of AEC industry informatization. By employing a competency-based theoretical framework, content analysis is conducted on China's policy document, the Outline of the Development of Informatization in the Construction Industry.

The study identifies crucial emerging technologies in the AEC industry, such as building information modeling (BIM), Big Data, Internet of things, networking, and cloud computing, along with their application scenarios. It considers various market players, including survey and design institutes, construction companies, and general contracting enterprises. Comparative analysis reveals the technology application patterns of these market players, shedding light on their preferences and perspectives. Based on these findings, the study proposes recommendations for competency requirements in the AEC industry.

This study extends the competency-based theory to AEC education from a macro perspective. The findings enhance understanding of informatization by providing insights into the related technologies, their applications, and the market players utilizing them. Moreover, the study's results have significant implications for AEC education, particularly in the design of curriculum systems for emerging technology-related fields.

The application of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in construction projects is of increasing interest to researchers and construction practitioners. Although the application of 3D printing technology at various stages of the project lifecycle has been explored, few studies have identified the relative importance of critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. To address this research gap, this study aims to explore the academics (i.e. researchers) and construction practitioners’ perspectives on CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects.

To do this, a questionnaire was administered to participants (i.e. academics and construction practitioners) with knowledge and expertise in 3D printing technology in construction projects. The collected data were analysed using mean score ranking, normalization and rank agreement analysis to identify CSFs and determine the consistency of the ranking of CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the relationships and underlying constructs of the measured CSFs.

Through a rank agreement analysis of the collected data, 11 CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology were retrieved (i.e. 17% agreement), indicating a diverse agreement in the ranking of the CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, the results show three key components of CSFs including “production demand enabling CSFs”, “optimize the construction process enabling CSFs” and “optimized design enabling CSFs”.

This study highlights the feasibility of implementing the identified CSFs for 3D printing technology in construction projects, which not only serves as a reference for other researchers but also increases construction practitioners’ awareness of the practical benefits of implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. Specifically, it would optimize the construction lifecycle processes, enhance digital transformation and promote sustainable construction projects.

This study examined the differential effects of printed advertisements with luxury and nonluxury brands on consumer brand attitude persuasion using a qualitative experimental approach.

The authors adopted a qualitative experimental approach and the authors conducted two experiments over six months. In the first experiment, participants were asked to view five print advertisements related to five different luxury brands. In the second experiment, the same participants were asked to view another five print advertisements on non-luxury brands. The qualitative thematic differences for each brand were analyzed using NVivo software, employing the theoretical assumptions of Petty and Cacioppo's (1981) elaboration likelihood model (ELM).

In experiments 1 and 2, it was identified that brand experience, personalized brand experience, product quality, product quantity, personal image-conscious, nonpersonal image-conscious, affordability and unaffordability as the main thematic findings leading to consumer attitude persuasion.

The two main contributions are as follows: theoretically, applying a social psychology theory to the advertising industry offers an understanding of the social cognition stages of a human mindset. As a practical implication, this study's findings guide advertising agencies, marketers and salespeople regarding how to design effective print advertisements in a way that persuades consumer attitudes.

Through the theoretical assumptions of Petty and Cacioppo's (1981) ELM, this paper can be considered one of the first studies to combine social psychology and advertising to investigate the differential effects on consumer brand attitude persuasion for luxury and nonluxury brands.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a developing educational concept that aims to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability through education. Cultural sustainability education aims to cultivate awareness and protection of cultural assets, promote sustainable development and foster environmental responsibility. This study establishes a cyber-physical metaverse of cultural sustainability learning to cultivate students' motivation, multicultural identity, critical thinking and sustainability thinking.

In this study, virtual reality (VR) and 3D printing technologies were utilized to create a cyber-physical metaverse learning environment. This learning environment is designed to allow elementary school children to learn about indigenous cultures and the architecture of slate houses, as well as socio-architectural issues. Learners will be able to experience first-hand the plight of the indigenous tribal areas and the exploration of related cultural knowledge.

The study collected pre- and post-test data through questionnaires, using covariates to analyze learners' perceptions of learning. The results of this study showed that cyber-physical metaverse learning environment had a significant impact on learning motivation, multicultural identity and sustainability thinking for culturally sustainable education. However, this study’s impact on critical thinking skills in students remains to be confirmed.

This is a quasi-experimental study of a single country’s elementary school children in the indigenous area, so its findings cannot be extrapolated to other areas or to learners of different ages.

This study introduces a framework for incorporating both virtual and real cultures to promote sustainable learning. The cyber-physical metaverse learning is used to supplement teaching activities to enhance learners' motivation in learning multicultural knowledge. Students were able to recognize and protect cultural assets, as well as emphasize the importance of sustainable development.

This study aims to identify and evaluate the key strategies to promote the implementation of automation techniques with reference to the Nigerian construction industry.

Pragmatic philosophical thinking using a mixed-method approach (a combination of qualitative and quantitative) was adopted for this study. The qualitative strand of this research was achieved using a Delphi technique while a well-structured questionnaire conducted among 191 construction professionals was adopted to attain the quantitative strand. Obtained data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, mean item scores, Kruskal–Wallis H test and exploratory factor analysis (FA).

Results revealed that the “provision of funding and subsidies for automation techniques” “mandatory automation policies and regulations,” “creating incentives for adoption,” “formulation of programs to promote awareness” and “deploying gamification to boost employee performance” were the top five strategies to promote the adoption of automation techniques. FA revealed four principal clusters, namely, awareness and publicity programs, government regulations and standards, provision of education and training and awards and recognition.

This study provided a solid theoretical and empirical foundation that can be useful to construction industry stakeholders, decision-makers, policymakers and the government in mapping out strategies to promote the incorporation and deployment of automation and robotics in the construction industry.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first in developing countries and Nigeria to establish an ordered grouping structure of the strategies to promote the adoption of automation techniques.

This paper aims to investigate the knowledge and experience of Zambian teaching faculties with scholarly communication and dissemination practices.

The researchers used a survey to quickly obtain information about a large sample of individuals of interest. The study population consisted of faculties from two Zambian public universities with research and publication experience. The researchers used random sampling techniques. A total of 125 valid responses were received from the selected population.

The findings show that most respondents agreed that publishing in open-access journals increased visibility and readership, had a more significant impact, facilitated collaboration and interdisciplinary research, was cost-effective and provided accessibility. Google Scholar was the most commonly used platform, followed by ResearchGate and ORCID.

This study’s limitations focus on only two Zambian public universities. This study’s practical implications include improving the universities’ open-access policies and educating faculties on the benefits of open access.

This study’s originality lies in exploring the Zambian teaching faculties’ perceptions of open access and academic social networking sites. The results of this study can help universities and researchers in Zambia to understand the importance of scholarly communication and dissemination practices and help them implement effective policies for promoting open-access publishing, institutional repositories and academic social networking sites.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons behind the persistent preference for printed content among Arabic-speaking library patrons in Jordan. Specifically, this study highlights the availability of reading materials in print, electronic and audible formats in Arabic as an intervening factor shaping reading behavior. More broadly, it aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how language preference can impact reading format preferences.

This study’s research design revolves around understanding reading format preferences among registered members of Jordan’s largest and oldest private library. This approach involved the examination of secondary library user survey data collected from N = 313 of its patrons in 2022. To gain a greater understanding of the preference for printed materials, this study conducted semistructured interviews over the phone with n = 31 participants of the library’s survey.

The findings of this study indicate a strong preference for print books among Arabic-speaking library patrons in Jordan. However, the availability of content in electronic and audible formats in Arabic, their preferred reading language, emerged as a potentially significant factor in the persistent preference for printed reading materials.

This study offers new insights into the specific role that the availability of content in Arabic, and possibly languages other than English, may play in shaping reading format preferences. By shedding light on this aspect of reading behavior, this research offers valuable information for libraries and publishers seeking to cater to the needs and preferences of Arabic readers.

The study aims to determine the level of e-reading habits and preferred electronic reading materials among nursing college students. The study examines students’ problems and difficulties using electronic resources and their knowledge of electronic literacy. Over the recent years, worldwide interest in reading electronic books has skyrocketed.

This study uses a survey research design and a structured closed-ended questionnaire as the data collection instrument. The sample population consists of college students. The study uses a quantitative method to investigate this population’s e-reading habits and preferred electronic reading materials.

The study findings indicate that while students prefer electronic resources, they need help accessing them due to various factors such as cost and availability. The survey results show that libraries must subscribe to a broader range of electronic resources, and academics and publishers must promote open-access articles to address these limitations.

The study addresses a current issue of students’ reading habits and preferred electronic reading materials and examines the limitations they face in accessing these resources. This research concludes that 21st-century students have transitioned from traditional to digital reading habits. They have a preference for electronic resources but their access to these resources is limited.

This research aims to investigate how emerging destinations cope with digitalization of information, where they are in the process and how digitalization of information takes place in destination marketing organizations (DMOs). As a case for emerging destinations that must deal with the negative consequences of the digital divide, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) will be examined. A new framework, solutions in general, and potential innovative approaches will be presented.

A mixed methods approach was used. Firstly, a content analysis comprising 68 criteria to examine 10 destination websites was conducted to evaluate the performance of provincial destination websites of VMD. Secondly, the authors interviewed five managers from VMD DMOs to reveal the strategy, status quo and their challenges with digitalization.

Some digitalization is evident in VMD DMOs, with the digitization of tourist information provision developing from analog formats to digital modes. The content analysis of the websites shows that provincial destination websites of VMD perform well with regard to communication but need improvements for transaction, and especially relationship aspects. Emerging destinations like VMD DMOs are reaching the second or third level in the digitalization process. Yet they face challenges with human and financial resources.

This research provides recommendations concerning destination website performance, the process of digitalization and how to promote digitalization and apply more digital instruments to move to the next stages of destination digitalization. Also, suggestions on how to overcome existing challenges/barriers in similar areas of the world are provided.

A new, extended more granulated version of the digitalization framework by Karpova et al. (2019) has been developed. The new model acknowledges the continued importance of printed information, provides information about the sequence of steps how to implement website dimensions, and which instruments are realistic to implement in different levels of digitalization considering the challenges and barriers developing destinations face.

This study aims to assess the scholarly communication competence of Zambian library and information science (LIS) professionals by evaluating their awareness, knowledge and practices regarding scholarly publication.

Applying a quantitative research approach, the study used a specially designed questionnaire. Responses from 57 professionals across universities and colleges in Zambia were gathered using convenience sampling. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation calculations and t-values and p-values to understand respondents’ perceptions and knowledge of scholarly communication and publication.

The findings revealed significant gaps in respondents’ knowledge and awareness, particularly regarding predatory journals, journal selection factors, open-access models, publication challenges, reference management software (RMS) usage and research obstacles. The study underscored the necessity for increased training and capacity-building initiatives among Zambian LIS professionals to enhance their scholarly communication competence.

This research contributed to the field by highlighting deficiencies in scholarly communication awareness among Zambian LIS professionals. It emphasised the need for targeted interventions, awareness programs and educational support to improve academic literacy and scholarly publication practices. Additionally, the study suggested future research avenues, such as longitudinal studies and strategies for enhancing RMS adoption, to advance scholarly practices among Zambian professionals further.