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The ability to measure cognitive load in the workplace provides several opportunities to improve workplace learning. In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has seen an increase in use for training and learning applications due to improvements in technology and reduced costs. This study aims to focus on the use of simulation task load index (SIM-TLX), a recently developed self-reported measure of cognitive load for virtual environments to measure cognitive load while undertaking tasks in different environments.

The authors conducted a within-subject design experiment involving 14 participants engaged in digit-recall n-back tasks (1-back and 2-back) in two VR environments: a neutral grey environment and a realistic industrial ozone facility. Cognitive load was then assessed using the SIM-TLX.

The findings revealed higher task difficulty for the 2-back task due to higher mental demand. Furthermore, a notable interaction emerged between cognitive load and different virtual environments.

This study relied solely on an n-back task and SIM-TLX self-report measure to assess cognitive load. Future studies should consider including ecologically valid tasks and physiological measurement tools such as eye-tracking to measure cognitive load.

Identifying cognitive workload sources during VR tasks, especially in complex work environments, is considered beneficial to the application of VR training aimed at improving workplace learning.

This study provides unique insights into measuring cognitive load from various sources as defined by the SIM-TLX sub-scales to investigate the impact of simulated workplace environments.

Despite the promising development and marketing potential of the metaverse, our understanding of how realistic metaverse environments impact user engagement and behaviours remains limited. This study investigates the role of perceived realism in influencing user engagement, thereby affecting external search behaviour and visit intentions.

We surveyed 270 active metaverse users to test the research model. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The results of our study show that three dimensions of realism – avatar involvement, perceptual pervasiveness and social realism – significantly enhance user engagement, which in turn influences external search behaviour and visit intention. In contrast, simulation realism and freedom of choice have minimal effects on absorption and dedication.

This study highlights the role of perceived realism in enhancing user engagement with the metaverse and its impact on physical world behaviours. It contributes to metaverse literature by demonstrating that engagement within the metaverse significantly influences physical world behaviours, including visit intentions and external search behaviours.

This study offers practical guidance for developers to enhance user engagement in metaverse environments. Specifically, our findings advocate for visual and audio quality enhancements, greater persuasiveness of virtual spaces, improved avatar representativeness and a closer alignment of metaverse activities with real-life events.

This study advances the theoretical understanding of perceived realism by examining how its dimensions – such as visual and audio quality, avatar representativeness and alignment with real-life events – impact user engagement in the metaverse. It also explores how this engagement influences offline behaviours, thus bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactions.

The pandemic has necessitated employees to work virtually due to mandatory work-from-home setup. Since every employee is not comfortable working online owing to their individual differences which impact performance, thus, it is essential to identify individual characteristics governing performance. As per conventional theories, cognition and metacognition have a significant impact on employee performance, and the key to performance in a collaborative online environment also is metacognition. However, this has been scarcely explored in the context of virtual workspace. This study, therefore, empirically investigates the influence of metacognition and its sub-domains on employees' virtual performance given the challenges they face in a virtual work environment.

The cross-sectional study used a purposive sampling technique for data collection. Data collected from 534 professionals with high and low levels of metacognitive ability is analysed using univariate analysis to ascertain whether metacognitive ability helps employees deal with challenges associated with virtual work environments and perform better.

Results confirm a significant relationship between the level of metacognitive ability and virtual performance. Further, the findings also confirm the interaction effect of the level of metacognitive ability and challenge of maintaining work and non-work boundaries and the need for the physical presence of team member/s in predicting virtual performance.

This study is the first empirical attempt to examine the linkage between metacognitive ability and performance among professionals in the context of post-pandemic virtual work environment and challenges.

The experience of leaving the real world and entering a virtual service environment makes many individuals happy. This study heeds the call by multiple researchers to conceptualize, interpret and illustrate the impact of the perceived service experience in the metaverse in a holistic way. In particular, this study aims to understand how the consumption of experiences is perceived in a metaversal space.

The authors analyze mega virtual live events with famous artists broadcast in virtual worlds. The authors take a big data approach and include two studies to gain insight into the online public audience’s perceptions and experiences in the metaverse. In the first study, the authors analyze text from YouTube with Leximancer. In the second study, the authors go one step further to refine the conceptual model from Study 1. The authors scrutinize additional Facebook comments using seeded Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA).

The findings reveal that the meta service experience (MEX) encompasses four dimensions: immersion, metascape, immediacy and hedonism.

This research provides important guidance not only for consumer behavior scholars but also for service marketers and event planners. The study proposes research opportunities to advance service experience research in the metaverse.

Design an innovative Flipped classroom’s Delivery through virtual laboratory.

The fundamental framework of the present investigation is a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design. By merging the impetus of “action.” with the inclusiveness of “participation,” PAR establishes a “network” for collaborative teaching or research. PAR is pertinent to our research because it facilitates the participation of infrastructures and individuals in formulating a critical community. This community encourages critical self-reflection, promotes accountability, redistributes authority, and cultivates confidence in research. PAR fosters constructive transformation in educational environments by utilizing participants' combined insights and experiences to establish a structure for substantive dialogue and proactive measures.

As virtual laboratories are becoming essential in 21st-century science education, we found groundbreaking evidence that can support our novel approach to enhance the quality and equity in education. Our results show that virtual labs engage scientific goals and practices, develop scientific literacy, foster scientific inquiry and problem-solving, and promote metacognition. The effects of the virtual laboratory can develop high self-efficacy and positive attitudes among students. It improves students' laboratory performance, which we noted from laboratory activities, simulations, and long exam results.

The study offers groundbreaking account to depict epistemic fluency aided by virtual laboratory.

This study aims to create and deform 3D garment apparel in an immersive virtual reality using head-mounted display and controllers. For this, adequate design methods for immersive virtual environment were explored and developed in order to confirm the suitability of the developed methods.

An immersive virtual environment was prepared using Unreal Engine (UE) version 5.1 and Meta Human Lexi to create template garment that corresponds to the sizes of a human model. Dual quaternion skinning was adopted for pose deformation. For size deformation, patches were constructed with the measurement lines defined on Lexi. This patch-based approach was adopted not only for automatic generation but also for flat pattern projection of the template garment.

The research found that garment-making process can be brought into immersive virtual reality. Free use of one's hands and body made apparel deformation in an immersive environment conform with the real garment draping process.

Simulating garment making in an immersive virtual reality has not previously been explored in detail. This research discovered, implemented and tested methods that best suit the environment where head-mounted display and controllers are essential in detail.

The purpose of this study is to design a highly integrated smart glove to enable gesture acquisition and force sensory interactions, and to enhance the realism and immersion of virtual reality interaction experiences.

The smart glove is highly integrated with gesture sensing, force-haptic acquisition and virtual force feedback modules. Gesture sensing realizes the interactive display of hand posture. The force-haptic acquisition and virtual force feedback provide immersive force feedback to enhance the sense of presence and immersion of the virtual reality interaction.

The experimental results show that the average error of the finger bending sensor is only 0.176°, the error of the arm sensor is close to 0 and the maximum error of the force sensing is 2.08 g, which is able to accurately sense the hand posture and force-touch information. In the virtual reality interaction experiments, the force feedback has obvious level distinction, which can enhance the sense of presence and immersion during the interaction.

This paper innovatively proposes a highly integrated smart glove that cleverly integrates gesture acquisition, force-haptic acquisition and virtual force feedback. The glove enhances the sense of presence and immersion of virtual reality interaction through precise force feedback, which has great potential for application in virtual environment interaction in various fields.

In this study, students’ perceptions of the effective practices of their research mentors were examined. The research mentors implemented the practices informed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) mentorship competencies to mentor underrepresented students in engineering education research in a virtual environment.

This research experience for undergraduates (REU) program, situated in the United States of America, consisted of undergraduate students (i.e. mentees), graduate students and faculty mentors who all had at least one underrepresented identity in engineering (i.e. Black, Latiné/x, and/or women). Using qualitative methods, we used data from reflection surveys and follow-up interviews with REU mentees to understand the outcomes of the mentorship strategies employed by the mentors in the program. The data were analyzed thematically using CIMER model constructs and social capital theory as guiding frameworks.

The results indicated the identified strategies students perceived as the most impactful for mentorship throughout the program. Students in the REU gained knowledge on how to activate social capital in mentorship relationships and how to better mentor others.

The findings provide insight on how to operationalize the CIMER mentorship competencies to skillfully mentor underrepresented students in engineering. Given the size of the REU and the nature of qualitative research, the sample size was limited.

The results help inform mentorship practices for underrepresented individuals in engineering education and the workforce. Further, they add to the practical knowledge of implementing CIMER best practices virtually, at a time when the world has transitioned to more hybrid and virtual working and learning environments.

This study identifies impactful strategies for operationalizing mentorship strategies informed by theory- and evidence-based CIMER mentorship competencies. In addition, this study extends knowledge about how to implement mentoring best practices and engage mentorship in a virtual environment.

In light of the burgeoning interest in the Metaverse within educational contexts, this study provides a comprehensive review to address the knowledge gap prevalent among K-12 and higher education teachers and educators. The increasing integration of the Metaverse into classroom settings necessitates a systematic exploration of its impact on subject-specific pedagogy, assessment methods, research methodologies and overall learning outcomes.

The research design involves a systematic review of 34 selected studies published between 2009 and 2023. The inclusion criteria prioritize investigations into Metaverse applications in classroom teaching, with a focus on subject disciplines, pedagogical approaches, measurement metrics and research methodologies. The selected studies undergo a detailed analysis and synthesis to extract meaningful patterns and trends.

The analysis reveals a predominant concentration on higher education, encompassing both science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM disciplines. However, few studies adopt comprehensive experimental designs. This suggests a gap in the methodological rigor of current research on Metaverse integration in education. While the Metaverse's impact on higher education is evident, the study underscores the need for more robust experimental designs and comprehensive research methodologies.

The limited exploration of students' experiences with the Metaverse in educational settings highlights a nascent research area that warrants further investigation. Future research should prioritize measuring students' perceptions and performance through indicators such as test grades to enhance our understanding of the Metaverse's efficacy in educational contexts.

The study aims to offer insights into the current state of Metaverse integration in education and identify areas for further research and development.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate undergraduate student perceptions about the application of immersive technologies for enhancing the student learning experience. This study assesses the viewpoints of students from varying multidisciplinary backgrounds about whether immersive technologies can enhance their learning experience and increase their level of engagement in the context of higher educational delivery.

The research used a case study methodology adopting a questionnaire-based research mixed methods approach. In total, 83 participants completed the questionnaire. The purpose of the research was to evaluate and interpret students’ perspectives at higher educational level about the use of immersive technologies towards enhancing their learning experience. There was also a focus on remote educational delivery due to the legacy of COVID-19.

The findings suggest that there is still more empirical work to be undertaken regarding the application of immersive technologies in higher education. The study revealed that there are immersive benefits though preference for face-to-face teaching remains popular. The negative connotations associated with immersive technology use in higher education, (e.g. virtual reality), such as cost of equipment and motion sickness, substantiates the themes identified in the academic literature.

The study explores a diversity of immersive technologies and their application in higher education (HE) contexts. Findings indicate that although there are acknowledged pedagogical benefits of immersive technology use in HE prevalent barriers remain that require further empirical research if immersive technology use is to be universally used in the sector.