Search results

This study aims to provide an explorative perspective on how workarounds – defined as practices that deviate from an official pathway to a target – delineate a decisive element for users with visual impairment to enable assistive technologies in the context of office work.

An ethnographic study with in situ observation at participants’ work locations together with interviews was conducted to cater for the explorative nature of this study.

The study outlines three types of workarounds that can be distinguished into: (1) own investment into invisible work, (2) engaging support from colleagues and (3) the complete circumvention of technology use. It is furthermore discussed that workarounds remain largely unnoticed but yield the potential as an enabling factor for insights into the use of assistive technology (AT).

The layered model of workarounds that locates them at the individual, social and organisational level can guide the design and analysis of enabling technologies in complex office work contexts. Technology designers can incorporate enquiries on workarounds into participatory or co-creative design processes. Information technology (IT) professionals and leaders of IT support teams can use this model to gain insights from workarounds into improvement opportunities for the effective integration of assistive technologies.

This study connects the concept of workarounds, which is deeply rooted in the tradition of workplace studies and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), with the practices of handling technology employed by knowledge workers with visual impairments to retain workability. This approach offers a novel perspective on the embeddedness of enabling technologies in the context of knowledge work. It highlights the intricate ways in which technology is integrated into daily work practices, thereby providing valuable insights into the intersection of AT and knowledge work.

A wide gap exists between the innovation and development of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (SMART) technologies and the actual adoption by older adults or those caring for them. This paper aims to increase awareness of available technologies and describes their suitability for older adults with different needs. SMART technologies are intelligent devices and systems that enable autonomous monitoring of their status, data analysis or direct feedback provision.

This is a scoping review of SMART technologies used and marketed to older adults or for providing care.

Five categories of SMART technologies were identified: (1) wearable technologies and smart tools of daily living; (2) noninvasive/unobtrusive technology (i.e. passive technologies monitoring the environment, health and behavior); (3) complex SMART systems; (4) interactive technologies; (5) assistive and rehabilitation devices. Technologies were then linked with needs related to everyday practical tasks (mainly applications supporting autonomous, independent living), social and emotional support, health monitoring/managing and compensatory assistance rehabilitation.

When developing, testing or implementing technologies for older adults, researchers should clearly identify concrete needs these technologies help meet to underscore their usefulness.

Older adults and caregivers should weigh the pros and cons of different technologies and consider the key needs of older adults before investing in any tech solution.

SMART technologies meeting older adult needs help support both independent, autonomous life for as long as possible as well as aiding in the transition to assisted or institutionalized care.

This is the first review to explicitly link existing SMART technologies with the concrete needs of older adults, serving as a useful guide for both older adults and caregivers in terms of available technology solutions.

We examined the role of technology in employment and work for people with disabilities (PWD). We intended to identify publication trends, key terms, research areas and potential gaps in the topic.

We scrutinized relevant articles from two major databases through bibliometric and systematic review analyses. The bibliometric data involved 256 articles analysed through the VOSviewer software to produce publication trends and network maps. We then scanned article abstracts and selected 114 articles for thematic analysis using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline.

The findings revealed a dominance of authors from Western and European countries, particularly the United States of America. Three themes emerged as the crucial factors shaping technology utilization for PWD employment and workplace inclusion. These were identified as individual, environmental and societal, which shed light on the multifaceted influences surrounding PWD’s technology empowerment.

The hybrid review approach enables a thorough examination of the published work. Our study proposes a conceptual model for PWD employment and workplace inclusion. Founded on the theories of Work Adjustment, Human–Computer Interaction and the Social Model of Disability. The model provides a clear visualization to guide further research and relevant initiatives in this area.

This paper aims to investigate the innovation pathway of gerontechnological enterprises under the market-organization-technology (MOT) perspective through configuration analysis.

Based on the analytical framework of technology, organization and market, this paper conducts configuration analysis on the cases of 55 elderly-friendly enterprises in China combined with fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

First, this study identifies the three first-level preconditions affecting innovation performance: organization's architectural innovation, technology adapting to aging and market environment attention on the innovation pathway of gerontechnological enterprises. These three first-level conditions include six sub-conditions. Second, this study investigates three innovation pathways by analyzing the configuration effects of preconditions: Configuration 1, technology-balanced type; Configuration 2, organization-market linkage type and Configuration, 3 balanced type. Third, there are differences in the distribution of different configuration types in subdivided industries. The technology-balanced configuration is mainly concentrated in design-driven innovative enterprises, the organization-market linkage configuration is mainly concentrated in medical auxiliary equipment enterprises and the balanced configuration is mainly concentrated in smart elderly care service platform enterprises empowered by digital technology. Fourth, there are differences in the innovation impact paths of the same configuration type. However, the essence lies in the high-level innovation performance formed by the coordinated evolution of technology, organization and market factors, reflecting the characteristics of the same goal through different routes.

The authors' study generates new insights for innovation managers of gerontechnological enterprises about the innovation pathway.

This research enriches innovation management by integrating the linkage adaptation relationship among market, organization and technology factors; further research studies on the different configuration types suitable for different types of enterprises, as well as differentiated innovation pathways under the same configuration type, could contribute to the study on the innovation pathway under a premise of MOT.

Drawing on the Service Robot Acceptance Model (sRAM) proposed by Wirtz et al. (2018), this study aims to examine how functional and social-emotional antecedents affect relational elements and the critical functions that trust and rapport play in robot acceptance in hotel services. Additionally, this study incorporates customer characteristics into the modified sRAM.

Consistent partial least squares (PLSc) was used to test the proposed model utilizing data collected from 456 Chinese customers.

The results indicated that effort expectancy and performance expectancy positively affect hotel guests’ trust toward and rapport with service robots. However, the effect of social influence on trust and rapport is insignificant. Additionally, perceived humanness and perceived social interactivity positively influence rapport, and perceived social presence positively affects both trust and rapport. Furthermore, trust and rapport positively influence hotel guests’ acceptance of service robots. The results also revealed the moderating role of age.

This study contributes to service robot literature by providing insights into how functional and social-emotional factors affect relational factors and the key role of relational factors in robot acceptance based on the sRAM. This study also advances this body of knowledge by highlighting the moderating effect of age.

基于Wirtz等人（2018）提出的服务机器人接受模型（sRAM）, 本研究旨在探讨功能性和社会-情感性前因如何影响关系元素, 以及信任和融洽在酒店服务中对机器人接受度的关键作用。此外, 本研究将顾客特征纳入修改后的 sRAM 中。

采用一致性偏最小二乘法（PLSc）对来自456名中国顾客的数据进行分析，以验证所提出的模型。

结果表明, 努力期望和绩效期望积极影响酒店客人对服务机器人的信任和融洽。然而, 社会影响对信任和融洽的影响不显著。此外, 感知人性化和感知社会互动积极影响融洽, 感知社会临场感积极影响信任和融洽。此外, 信任和融洽积极影响酒店客人对服务机器人的接受度。结果还揭示了年龄的调节作用。

本研究通过提供关于功能性和社会-情感性因素如何影响关系因素以及关系因素在机器人接受度中的关键作用的见解, 为服务机器人文献做出了贡献。本研究还通过强调年龄的调节效应, 推进了这一知识体系的发展。

Grounded on the X Reality framework and human–machine collaboration, this study aims to explore the potential of immersive augmentation through artificial intelligence (AI) service robots for promoting social inclusion in the hospitality industry.

Three experimental studies across diverse hospitality contexts examine the effects of immersive augmentation using inclusive-AI service robots compared to standard-AI robots. The studies also uncover the underlying process of perceived ethicality and the moderating role of customers’ familiarity with AI.

The results indicate that immersive augmentation through inclusive-AI service robots generates higher levels of supportive tipping behavior (Studies 1 and 3), superior buying intentions (Study 2) and an increased likelihood for customers to pay a premium price (Study 2). These effects are mediated by perceived ethicality (Studies 1–3). However, the impact of immersive augmentation for social inclusion is contingent upon customers’ familiarity with AI: customers with high familiarity with AI exhibit lower levels of supportive tipping behavior (Study 3).

The findings emphasize the importance of perceived ethicality and customers’ familiarity with AI in determining the effectiveness of immersive augmentation for social inclusion in hospitality.

This study contributes to the literature by exploring the potential of immersive augmentation using AI service robots for social inclusion in hospitality. It offers novel insights by highlighting the importance of perceived ethicality and customers’ familiarity with AI. The findings provide valuable guidance for hospitality managers seeking to leverage AI technology to foster social inclusion.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the future of the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in services experience provided by cultural institutions (e.g. museums, exhibition halls and cultural centres) from experts’, cultural tourists’ and users’ point of view under the Industry 5.0 approach.

The research was conducted using a qualitative approach, which was based on the analysis of the contents obtained from two roundtable discussions with experts and cultural tourists and users. A thematic analysis using NVivo was done to the data obtained.

From a futuristic Industry 5.0 approach, AI is considered to be more than a tool – it as an integral part of the entire experience. AI aids in connecting cultural institutions with users and is beneficial since it allows the institutions to get to know the users better and provide a more integrated and immersive experience. Furthermore, AI is critical in establishing a community and nurturing it daily.

The most important contribution of this research is the theoretical model focused on the user experience and AI application in services experiences of museums and cultural institutions from an Industry 5.0 approach. This model includes the visitors’ and managers’ points of view through the following dimensions: the pre-experience, experience and post-experience. This model is focused on human–AI coworking (HAIC) in museums and cultural institutions.

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for the perceived intelligence of VAs and explore the mechanisms of different dimensions of the perceived intelligence of VAs on users’ exploration intention (UEI) and how these antecedents can collectively result in the highest level of UEI.

An online survey on Amazon Mechanical Turk is employed. The model is tested utilizing the structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach from the collected data of VA users (N = 244).

According to the SEM outcomes, perceptual, cognitive, emotional and social intelligence have different mechanisms on UEI. Findings from the fsQCA reinforce the SEM results and provide the configurations that enhanced UEI.

This study extends the conceptual framework of perceived intelligence and enriches the literature on anthropomorphism and users’ exploration. These findings also provide insightful suggestions for practitioners regarding the design of VA products.

This study builds on a conceptual model by integrating AI features – Perceived intelligence (PIN) and anthropomorphism (PAN) – while extending expectation confirmation theory (ECT) factors – interaction quality (IQU), confirmation (CON), and customer experience (CSE) – to evaluate the continued intention to use (CIU) of AI-enabled digital banking services.

Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to 390 digital banking customers in India. The data were further analysed, and the presented hypotheses were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The research indicates that perceived intelligence and anthropomorphism predict interaction quality. Interaction quality significantly impacts expectation confirmation, consumer experience, and the continuous intention to use digital banking services powered by AI technology. AI design will become a fundamental factor; thus, all interactions should be user-friendly, efficient, and reliable, and the successful implementation of AI in digital banking will largely depend on AI features.

This study is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of an AI-ECT model for AI-enabled Indian digital banks. The user continuance intention to use digital banking in the context of AI has not yet been studied. These findings further enrich the literature on AI, digital banking, and information systems by focusing on the AI's Intelligence and Anthropomorphism variables in digital banks.

This paper explores emerging technologies in higher education libraries indexed in the Web of Science core collection and Scopus for the periods between 1994 and 2024 (January 18, 2024).

Data from Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases were collected and combined using RStudio software. Once this was completed using RStudio, the combined Scopus and Web of Science Excel file was uploaded into Biblioshiny, an interactive web interface. The data was then categorized to illustrate contributions from authors, journals, countries and academic institutions across the globe.

Results and findings related to publication growth trends, annual growth, core journals, impact and productivity of authors, most cited documents, collaborations, network mapping and country contributions on emerging technologies and higher education libraries are presented.

This topic requires further exploration as academic librarians are fast becoming integrated into the teaching and learning agenda of institutions globally.

Higher education libraries and library schools to promote the teaching identity of academic librarians by helping them improve their pedagogical and digital skills for online teaching.

Library and information science schools need to fast track the integration of emerging technologies into the curriculum. Higher education libraries should consider the training of staff in order to keep abreast of emerging technologies. Library management must frame their policies and strategies in order to promote the use of emerging technologies in higher education libraries.

The current study is novel in that it explores emerging technologies and higher education libraries using combined data from Scopus and Web of Science. The topic of emerging technologies and higher education libraries is still developing and therefore is in its infancy. The research is useful for researchers, library management and library schools in the higher education sector globally.