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The project was conducted to learn how the services of the digital media commons (DMC) impact and support student success. Data were collected to learn how faculty perceive the instructional support program, how patrons perceive the quality of the services and how students use the services, technology and the space that the DMC occupies. The results will be used to improve services and instruction and to inform the future direction of our instruction support service post-COVID-19.

The project included three phases. First, a survey was sent to faculty who had brought their class for an instruction session to gain input on how they perceived the impact of the instruction and follow-up services on the quality of media projects. The second phase was a customer service survey implemented in the area to learn how patrons used the spaces and technology, what types of projects they completed in the DMC and their satisfaction with the assistance they received. The third phase employed student focus groups that followed up on the information from the survey to pinpoint how students perceive that the DMC impacts their academic success.

The data gained from the research indicated that (1) the teaching program provides important instruction for media projects, (2) the DMC provides important services and technology that contribute to student success and (3) The DMC space is an important destination for students as a learning space.

The scope of this case study is limited by the size of sample groups surveyed and the presumed veracity of their responses. The implications of our results do, however, align with reported trends experienced by peer institutions.

This case study can be used by colleagues from other university's and learning environments to improve their space and instructional support offerings.

Digital learning and work environments are increasing across the country due to society's demand for multimedia literacy instruction and technical support. This research will serve as a reference point for institutions starting and/or assessing the direct impact of digital spaces on student success and learning outcomes.

Although there are many studies on the impact of academic libraries' services, space and resources on student success, few specifically address the contributions of academic library digital media services on student achievement. This project fills that gap and will serve as a model for future research.

This paper introduces the YouWalk-UOS mobile application, a tool that revolutionises the assessment of urban open spaces (UOS). The paper demonstrates how integrating real-time, on-ground observations with users’ reactions into a digital platform can transform the evaluation of urban open spaces. It seeks to address the existing shortcomings of traditional UOS assessment methods and underscore the need for innovative, adaptable and inclusive approaches.

Emphasizing the necessity of UOS for mental and physical health, community interaction and social and environmental resilience in cities, the methodology involves a comprehensive analysis of a number of theoretical frameworks that have historically influenced urban open space conceptualisation, design and assessment. The approach includes a critical review of traditional UOS assessment methods, contrasting them with the capabilities of the proposed YouWalk-UOS application. Building on the reviewed theoretical frameworks, the methodology articulates the application’s design, which encompasses 36 factors across three assessment domains: functional, social and perceptual and provides insights into how technology can be leveraged to offer a more holistic and participatory approach to urban space assessment.

YouWalk-UOS application represents an important advancement in urban space assessment, moving beyond the constraints of traditional methods. The application facilitates a co-assessment approach, enabling community members to actively participate in the evaluation and development of their urban environments. Findings highlight the essential role of technology in making urban space assessment more user-centred, aligning more closely with community needs and aspirations.

The originality lies in the focus on the co-assessment approach and integration of mobile technology into urban open space assessment, a relatively unexplored area in urban design literature. The application stands out as an innovative solution, offering a new perspective on engaging communities in co-assessing their environments. This research contributes to the discourse on urban design and planning by providing a fresh look at the intersection of technology, user engagement and urban space assessment.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the theme issue on “Smart space technology innovations”.

This editorial discusses the innovation concepts and advantages of smart space. The technologies of smart space and its application also are discussed. The editorial surveys the latest literature and research papers submitted to this special issue about smart space and technology in Library Hi Tech.

Smart space has novel design and implementation perspectives for traditional information systems. Smart space depends not only on ambient intelligence and context‐aware computing techniques, but also on overall information architecture. Therefore, smart space innovation may have wide implications for academic and practice of library and information systems.

The paper discusses opportunities and challenges that smart space will bring. Its discusses the research of the papers submitted to this special issue on these topics.

The research issues of smart space are occurring at international conferences and in journal papers. The focal point on the techniques and applications for library and information systems is primary original and novel.

As smart technologies become an integral part of real estate in smart cities, the purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of ubiquitous computing on space users in smart real estate.

The analysis builds on two fields of knowledge rarely referenced in real estate studies: computer sciences and social sciences. The paper starts by analysing the idiosyncrasies of a new type of space user in smart real estate, known as the Cyber-dasein in reference to Heidegger’s phenomenology. The Cyber-dasein serves as an archetypical space user in smart environments.

The paper introduces digital-time as a new realm of real estate, and discusses the use of “experienced utility” in hedonic pricing models of smart real estate. It concludes by advocating a multidisciplinary collaborative approach for future research on real estate in smart environments.

There is a need for the real estate sector to decide on a metric for the new digital dimension of real estate owing to the implementation of smart technologies in the built environment.

This is the first research paper on this important topic. It is totally original and new.

The purpose of this paper is to answer the question “will China overtake the USA in the space race?” This paper reviews China’s recent progress in aerospace while developing a wind theory of change to underline the geographic spread of various empires over the past thousand years, a topic studied by one of China’s most prestigious historians, Sima Qian, with a specific interest in 2,500 years of the rise and fall of Chinese kingdoms. Based on the wind theory, China is geared to overtake the USA in the twenty-first century space race. Historically, Chinese have always been fascinated with outer space, and it is felt by many Chinese that the USA, despite its current lead in the field, should work with China to explore outer space.

This paper introduces the philosophy and methodology of Sima Qian for Chinese management, in particular his analytical approach and drawing of lessons from past cases (dynasties) for managing the future which can be considered clearly reminiscent of the Harvard case approach. Evolving from this broad study of patterns by Sima Qian, a wind theory methodology is suggested using an overview of patterns over vast stretches of time, in this case from the Tang dynasty. Etymological analyses are embarked upon to illustrate how the ancient Chinese were interested in learning more about the outer space. Conceptual models are developed to map the current nascent space industry.

After outlining the current developments made by China in aerospace, the overall analysis suggests the following: based on the wind theory of change, China will overtake the USA even in race into space. Given their historical fascination with outer space, Chinese are likely to enter the business of space at the opportune time. When will that be? Most likely when appropriate technologies have been developed, in particular developing safe moon tours for tourists.

Suggests a futuristic look at the space industry that China can enter the market at the opportune time. With their long-term fascination with outer space, China may potentially be the largest market for those in space business.

Introduces a new idea of looking into the future possibilities as embedded in the wind theory of change: the geographical patterns in the rise and fall of empires. If this pattern holds, China will overtake the USA including in the race for outer space. For the first time, this paper draws the relevance of Sima Qian’s analytical, case-based methods for management.

An unspoken issue of increasing priority in architectural education is the under developed differentiation between architecture and technology. Almost all of the qualifications whereby an architect is prepared for and is permitted to practice professionally are technological parameters. But architecture is not technology. Architecture is, however, both protected by and obscured thru technology being in the forefront that means it is both of benefit and a hindrance.

Architecture being undifferentiated from technology and named in terms of technology thus allows the issue to stay safely within the pragmatic assertion of professionalism that is set up during an education mainly controlled by the profession. Within that is a nascent architectural impulse that resides largely unspoken but which is nonetheless evolved and evolving and shared. The unrevealed architecture generates an aura of the mysterious and the radical which that contributes a greatly to the intensity of mundane and well known work.

This paper examines how architectural technology obviates a space of differentiation within architecture, which may be examined phenomenologically in terms of the essence of humanity, whereby architecture has an original ontological correlation with human aspiration. This will be supported with the well known — for brevity — theoretical and practical examples around the work of Heidegger, Louis I. Kahn. Along with phenomenology, we will introduce philosophies of spiritual practice collectively called rajayoga. The latter is a millennia long experiment with well documented research into human aspiration. The paper concludes with examples of architecture presencing this space of differentiation and suggests the implications on the profession of an education that scan develop the super-ordinate program that is architectural practice.

Contemporary cinema and video games express considerable skepticism toward the colonization of further planets. Contemporary films including Elysium and Passengers depict space travel as the prolongation of inequalities within human civilization, while others such as Gravity and The Martian predict a rebirth of the human species through technological advances and space travel limited to a lucky few. Games, meanwhile, explore topics ranging from private spaceflight to the genetic modification required for long-term space habitation, especially in EVE Online, which we focus on in this chapter. Although both contemporary films and games celebrate technological advances, these media also show that multiple inequalities lurk behind the celebratory human renewal into a multiplanetary species.

Two projects in the EQUAL programme explore aspects of the influence of building design on the quality of life of people with dementia. Design in Caring Environments (DICE) examined the quality of life of people in residential care homes in relation to building design features. INDEPENDENT (Investigating Enabling Environments for People with Dementia) is a current project with the aim of developing technologies to enhance quality of life by supporting enjoyable activities. One aspect of INDEPENDENT is an exploration of the interaction between spatial settings and meaningful activity, to highlight factors that support and enable activity and to identify barriers. Findings from both projects suggest that a more creative approach to the management of buildings would enhance the well‐being of residents; under‐use of facilities is common. Meaningful space that supports activity is therapeutic but spaces that give confused messages are common in buildings used by older people. Tools to evaluate buildings have a potential role in the long‐term management of facilities to help identify underused spaces, spatial confusion and barriers to activity. Quality of life was shown to be poorer in buildings that prioritise safety and health; buildings that support activity positively by providing good assistive devices, giving people control of their environment and affording good links with the community have a positive association with well‐being.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree of alignment between the views of key stakeholders on the development of learning spaces in a new teaching and learning building at a satellite campus of a regional university.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six stakeholders including senior executives, technical staff, academic staff and students. The interviews were transcribed and the data analysed to identify common and differing themes on the part of the respective interviewees in relation to learning spaces in general, and in relation to the new teaching and learning building in particular.

A comprehensive framework should be articulated by the university for its theme of personalised learning so that decisions can be made at lower levels of the university to operationalise the theme across academic and administrative functions. A clear definition of the blended learning pedagogy, which is proposed to be implemented as part of the personalised learning theme, should be articulated. The implications of the blended learning pedagogy for the design of learning spaces should be identified and clear design guidelines for learning spaces should be articulated. Learning spaces in the new building should be reviewed to achieve alignment with the personalised learning framework and the guidelines for learning spaces.

As this is a preliminary study with a small number of participants, a qualitative approach was taken to identify the indicative views of representatives of key stakeholders. The findings relate specifically to the context of this study at a regional Australian university.

This paper provides valuable insights into how a university’s philosophy on learning spaces manifests itself through creation and implementation of high-level policy and how that is interpreted and actioned by a range of stakeholders across campuses, including staff and students.