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The purpose of this paper is to explore truck drivers’ views toward diet, physical activity, and health care access to inform the development of a weight loss intervention.

The authors conducted four focus groups via teleconference (one) or in person (three). Each focus group included eight to ten truck drivers. Sessions were digitally recorded and transcribed. The authors used thematic analysis of the participant responses to develop themes and subthemes.

Truck drivers desired good health, however, many knowledge gaps were identified. Drivers were aware of some healthy foods, but lacked knowledge of appropriate energy intake and healthy weight. Drivers expressed many barriers to eating healthy food and engaging in physical activity on the road. Participants suggested strategies and resources to improve their diet and increase physical activity.

This qualitative study included a convenience sample of 30 long-haul truck drivers. Consensus of themes and subthemes was achieved by four sessions. Issues facing long-haul truck drivers may be different than other truck drivers. Additional qualitative research should be conducted along with interventions focussed on healthy behaviors that can be implemented in the mobile working environment.

This is the first focus group study of truck drivers that targets eating and physical activity. Future weight loss intervention designs should address the lack of knowledge and skills. To succeed, interventions should implement strategies to address perceived barriers: access, time limitations, and high cost of healthy lifestyle habits.

The chapter discusses the characteristics of audiovisual (AV) media sectors in the Baltic Sea region. Therein it focuses on the specifics of media industries in small countries in the region as they are challenged in ways notably different from large countries with large domestic markets for media content. It discusses the differences between the AV media industries in the Nordic and Baltic countries and suggests that while in the first case long-term welfare society policies and conscious policy-driven system building have conditioned growth and international success then also in the second case innovation policy rationales have facilitated recent growth and dynamics. It then discusses the specific challenges, especially platformisation to small media industries in contemporary globalising media markets, and suggests that opportunities to resist these challenges may be in local inter-sectoral cooperation, that is, in building cross-innovation systems.

As immersive technologies gain wider adoption, contemporary service researchers are tasked with studying their service experiences in ways that preserve and attend to their holistic and human characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to provide service researchers with a new qualitative approach to studying immersive technologies.

Using logic and following established methodological rules, this article develops the scope, definition and set of procedures for a novel form of netnography specifically adapted for the study of immersive technologies: immersive netnography. The research question is “How might netnography be adapted to research service experiences in virtual and augmented environments, which include and overlap with the notion of a Metaverse?”

Immersive netnography should be at the vanguard of phenomenological service experience studies of augmented reality, virtual reality and the Metaverse. A set of data collection, analysis, ethical and representational research practices, immersive netnography is adapted to digital media phenomena (customer and employee) that include immersive technology experiences. Developed through logical argumentation after analyzing key differences between social media and immersive technology, immersive netnography is procedurally customized for experience research in immersive technology environments.

Three of the most significant practical limitations to producing high-quality netnography are rapidly changing contexts, scarce time resources and narrow researcher skillsets.

Industries and organizations may benefit from a new, holistically focused, ethically robust and culturally attuned market research method for understanding service experience in immersive technology contexts.

There have been no prior studies that develop netnography for the service research opportunities presented by immersive technologies. By applying the rigorous methodological guidance provided in this paper, future service researchers may find value in using specifically adapted qualitative research methods to study immersive technology experiences.