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This paper aims to examine how museums reach Generation Z virtual tourists using TikTok videos to elucidate the relationship between the video elements and types of engagement by classifying the characteristics of popular themes in the museums’ short videos.

The format, type and content of TikTok videos published by the seven international museums with the most popular TikTok accounts were analyzed. Thematic analysis included 313 short TikTok videos randomly chosen from those published by the museums between 2020 and 2022. Using descriptive analysis, museum-related TikTok usage and user engagement are presented; regression analysis revealed the most significant themes for audience engagement.

Museum promotions commonly use several strategies, including incorporating text-based information, captions, hashtags and background music into the video formats. Oral speech/documentary-style videos and combined video genres are less common. The most frequently presented video topics included history, infotainment, informative content and promotional elements. The results identify specific formats (titles and subtitles), types (demonstrations, news/events and TikTok dances/movements) and promotional themes that result in audiences’ virtual engagement in the form of “likes” and “comments” and increase the museums’ TikTok channel followers.

The results demonstrate that short videos on social media platforms encompass various strategies involving different formats, types and themes. Museums can use these strategies to engage virtual tourists. This study also provides valuable suggestions for museums and galleries seeking to leverage short videos as effective marketing mechanisms.

Researchers in information studies have examined fictional depictions of libraries in various mediums because these images can reflect and influence real-life experiences and attitudes. Video games, despite being relatively overlooked, are increasingly culturally relevant and can indicate library users' real needs and desires. This study investigates the ways in which video games depict characters using libraries to seek and use information.

A qualitative content analysis approach incorporating methods from information studies and game studies was applied. Tancheva's (2005) semiotic analysis of fictional libraries and Carr's (2019) textual approach provided the framing for the unique aspects of video games and their meanings. Carroll (2021)'s character analysis and Chatman (1996)'s theory on insiders–outsiders dynamic underpinned the data collection and analysis. The purposive sample included 15 video games released since 2010.

Video games depict game characters visiting libraries to solve short-term problems, to gain knowledge to improve themselves or to bond with others. Protagonists are often depicted as adventurers or outsiders who must adapt to unfamiliar places and situations to achieve their wider objectives. In these games, libraries provide useful documents, spaces or helpful guides and intellectuals who assist the protagonists. As outsiders, the protagonists seek information in libraries to help them learn about their environments and to immerse themselves in the local histories and cultures in their worlds. Overall, these depictions highlight both short- and long-term benefits of library use.

As with existing studies, the ways in which fictional library use appear in video games can suggest real needs and desires among library users. The findings from this study emphasise the importance of library services and spaces that help users both address short-term problems and immerse themselves in local concerns, with longer-term goals. Applying different research methods or lenses to analysing video games could deepen our understanding of what library users think and feel when they seek and use information in libraries.

The aim of the study is threefold: understanding the interconnections amongst visual and verbal multimodal communication strategies used in food discourse; identifying the themes of celebrity chef's food discourse with respect to pro-environmental behaviour; and providing a methodological framework to visually analyse food-themed videos.

This study uses mise-en-scène and critical discourse and multimodal analyses to gain insights on food discourse from 20 videos shared by a Michelin starred chef on social media platforms.

Results show that a pro-environmental cooking philosophy challenges the normative discourse on food and educates general audiences and foodies alike. Mise-en-scène and discourse analyses of Instagram visual content reveal that leftovers are central to the ethical message and are intertwined – through the aesthetic of the videos-with concepts of inclusivity, diversity and nourishment.

Chefs, and restaurants, are encouraged to recognise their responsibility as role models, thus able to influence the societal production of food discourse.

The findings provide new insights into the role of a celebrity chef in promoting sustainable food preparation and consumption.

In 2020, an outbreak of Salmonella Stanley linked to imported dried wood ear mushrooms affected 55 individuals in the United States of America. These mushrooms, commonly used in Asian cuisine, require processing, like rehydration and cutting, before serving. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advise food preparers to use boiling water for rehydration to inactivate vegetative bacterial pathogens. Little is known about how food handlers prepare this ethnic ingredient and which handling procedures could enable Salmonella proliferation.

This study used content analysis to investigate handling practices for dried wood ear mushrooms as demonstrated in YouTube recipe videos and to identify food safety implications during handling of the product. A total of 125 Chinese- and English-language YouTube videos were analysed.

Major steps in handling procedures were identified, including rehydration, cutting/tearing and blanching. Around 62% of the videos failed to specify the water temperature for rehydration. Only three videos specified a water temperature of 100 °C for rehydrating the mushrooms, and 36% of the videos did not specify the soaking duration. Only one video showed handwashing, cleaning and sanitising of surfaces when handling the dried wood ear mushrooms.

This study found that most YouTube videos provided vague and inconsistent descriptions of the rehydration procedure, including water temperature and soaking duration. Food preparers were advised to use boiling water for rehydration to inactivate vegetative bacterial pathogens. However, boiling water alone is insufficient to inactivate all bacterial spores. Extended periods of soaking and storage could be of concern for spore germination and bacterial growth. More validation studies need to be conducted to provide guidance on how to safely handle the mushrooms.

This study will make a distinctive contribution to the field of food safety by being the first to investigate the handling procedure of a unique ethnic food ingredient, dried wood ear mushrooms, which has been linked to a previous outbreak and multiple recalls in the United States of America. The valuable data collected from this study can help target food handling education as well as influence future microbial validation study design and risk assessment.

The main research questions critically examine online videos that draw attention to a local community of musical practice, noticing how these can potentially be included within the tourism promotion strategies. This paper develops a case study of four videos realised by the Louth County Board of the organisation Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) in Co. Louth, Ireland, as a part of the FleadhFest 2021 initiative. It highlights the role that virtual spaces have in enhancing a sense of belonging to a music/festival community as well as the possibility that visual and audio supports have in promoting and celebrating a destination and its cultural features.

The analysis involves a netnographic examination of these videos (Janta, 2017), informed by the concept of “tourist gaze” (Urry, 1990; 2002) and influenced by film-induced tourism studies (Beeton, 2005).

Results show how festival and event organisers responded to COVID-19 social restrictions by creating a virtual space for celebrating music heritage and local musicscape, placing an emphasis on local musical scene.

The research aims to inform future developments in how the organisation operates within and engages with virtual space, its members and a wider audience.

This is the first study to consider the virtual activities of CCÉ from an ethnomusicological as well as tourism, perspective.

Assistive technology has been developed to assist the visually impaired individuals in their social interactions. Specifically designed to enhance communication skills, facilitate social engagement and improve the overall quality of life, conversational assistive technologies include speech recognition APIs, text-to-speech APIs and various communication tools that are real. Enable real-time interaction. Using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, the technology analyzes spoken language and provides appropriate responses, offering an immersive experience through voice commands, audio feedback and vibration alerts.

These technologies have demonstrated their ability to promote self-confidence and self-reliance in visually impaired individuals during social interactions. Moreover, they promise to improve social competence and foster better relationships. In short, assistive technology in conversation stands as a promising tool that empowers the visually impaired individuals, elevating the quality of their social engagement.

The main benefit of assistive communication technology is that it will help visually impaired people overcome communication barriers in social contexts. This technology helps them communicate effectively with acquaintances, family, co-workers and even strangers in public places. By enabling smoother and more natural communication, it works to reduce feelings of isolation and increase overall quality of life.

Research findings include successful activity recognition, aligning with activities on which the VGG-16 model was trained, such as hugging, shaking hands, talking, walking, waving and more. The originality of this study lies in its approach to address the challenges faced by the visually impaired individuals in their social interactions through modern technology. Research adds to the body of knowledge in the area of assistive technologies, which contribute to the empowerment and social inclusion of the visually impaired individuals.

This paper aims to investigate how school-based mentors and preservice teachers (PTs) perceive mentoring conversations when applying a set of newly developed digital tools accompanied by discursive tools in mentoring in practicum.

This study performed a thematic analysis of 12 interviews (5 with mentors and 7 with PTs) to explore how the participants perceived mentoring conversations when applying a combination of digital and discursive tools in school-based mentoring conversations. This study uses a model of adaptive expertise to discuss the findings.

This analysis revealed that the tools could alter the typical order of mentoring conversations. Mentors reported a change in their mentoring routines in which mentees took a more active role in conversations. The use of tools also allowed for richer conversations. From the perspective of PTs, the tools provided a structure for mentoring sessions, provided an alternative opening for mentoring conversations and enhanced their awareness of certain aspects of their own teaching.

This study's results suggest that the application of tools in mentoring enhances mentoring by facilitating reflection among PTs and mentors and fostering the development of adaptive expertise.

The aim of the study is to conduct a thematic review of assessment tools and types of activities in the application of robotics to autistic students during the period 1996–2021 using Web of Science and Scopus. The sample consisted of 119 documents.

Nowadays, emerging technologies have become increasingly prevalent across various fields of knowledge. In this regard, robotics is being increasingly applied in the educational environment. The characteristics of this tool are the ones that best suit the needs of autistic students.

Results reveal that 16.80% of the studies used automatic measurement systems, whilst 15.96% of the studies used user observation and recording techniques. As for the tasks, 37.80% were focussed on imitation tasks. Amongst the practical implications is the need to include tasks that could be developed collaboratively in the regular classroom.

With this research, it is intended to disseminate in the scientific community what are the characteristics that should have the interaction activities between a robot and autistic students. In addition, the type of tool needed to evaluate the improvements in the interaction is proposed.

This paper aims to investigate how the Japanese media conveyed the country’s foreign aid policy and analyse how framing biases in the news differ depending on which language (either Japanese or English) was used in the broadcasts.

This study uses a qualitative single case-study design and conducts a content analysis. The study uses news videos about the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development aired on YouTube by the Japanese media using Japanese and English.

The findings reveal subtle but notable differences in the patterns of the framing biases in the Japanese media’s news aired in Japanese intended for the domestic audience, and in the news on the same topic broadcast in English to the international audience.

The limitation of the study is the rather small data set used for the single case study of one event.

Framing biases could lead the general public in a monolingual society to a more skewed view of their government’s policy and its activities abroad. This could be an obstacle to developing a common ground for global issues and cross-border policy agendas.

The study explores an under-researched function of language in international affairs. It highlights how the mass media in a non-English-speaking country uses a dual approach to framing news while addressing different audiences. To the best of the author’s knowledge, the context that this paper deals with is novel because there are limited studies on the nexus between the influence of language choices and media logic in the field of international business.

The use of insects as food is a proposed solution for the increased demand for food worldwide, but it lacks acceptance because of restrictive emotional factors. This article aims to understand better customers' emotions’ role in considering and consuming insect-based food.

To assess their acceptance, an experiment was developed with 38 participants living in Portugal to identify how people feel when consuming processed insect bars compared to cereal bars (of equal flavour). A video was recorded “before”, “during” and “after” the consumption of such foods, and the triggered emotions and affective states were identified using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and the circumplex model of affect, respectively. After consumption, the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) was asked to be completed.

It was observed that the valence and arousal of the emotions and affective states triggered during consumption were higher in the insect bar than in the cereal bar. Its consumption resulted in surprise and a positive evaluation. Processed insect-based foods may result in a potentially increased acceptance of this new food alternative in the market.

Prior studies briefly identified disgust as a primary emotion activated by insect-based food. The current research deeply studied emotional responses to insect-based processed foods in the Western world using the dimensional emotional models. This study offers arguments for the insect-based food industry to invest in processed food justified by its potential for acceptance. In addition, it motivates further research focused on other insect-based products (e.g. non-processed ones).