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Assistive technology (AT) is like the eyes of visually impaired users (VIUs) and plays a vital role in making them independent in accessing a wide range of library resources and services. It is a revolutionary way to improve the academic performance of VIUs and amalgamate them into mainstream library services. This paper aims to explore the familiarity and understanding of AT among VIUs in accessing library resources and services of three special institutes of Haryana state, India.

The study used a survey method, and data were collected using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended questions focused on participants’ familiarity, understanding and key barriers VIUs face in accessing existing AT facilities. Scope of the study is to include three special institutions’ libraries serving to VIUs in Haryana (India). Purposive sampling technique was adopted for data collection. The data are tabulated and analyzed with descriptive statistics methods using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0, and the results are presented in tables, diagrams and graphs.

The study found that most of the VIUs are highly familiar and reported an expert understanding of Daisy player and digital voice recorder, whereas refreshable Braille display, Braille printer/embosser and scanning and reading devices are least familiar with and reported poor understanding. In the software category, it is noted that VIUs are more familiar with screen reading and speech synthesizer software than other software, and participants confirmed a good understanding of the said software.

The literature review revealed that the majority of library staff in the institutions being investigated had limited knowledge about the availability of the most suitable AT tools. So, the study will be beneficial for them to select the most popular AT tools for their libraries to amalgamate VIUs. The study also highlights some barriers VIUs face in using the existing AT facility of their respective libraries that may be helpful for librarians to understand the root cause of low utilization of available AT tools and how to address this problem effectively. The study can also help policymakers in formulating AT policies for academic libraries. Findings will also help to develop a cost-effective AT workstation suiting the needs of VIUs.

This study will provide an idea to library professionals about which AT hardware and software are more popular among VIUs and useful for developing/improving cutting-edge AT facilities in their libraries to amalgamate VIUs in the mainstream of the library.

Traditionally, Task–Technology Fit (TTF) theory has been applied to examine the usefulness of technology in the work environment. Can the same approach (based on experience rather than tasks) be applied to non-work, cultural heritage environments? This is the question the authors ask in this study. This study proposes a new variation of TTF based on the experience economy model, namely Experience–Technology Fit (ETF), for the non-work environment, in particular, in the context of cultural heritage, where visitor experience is enhanced by extended reality technology, which combines immersive technologies and artificial intelligence.

Employing a quantitative survey method, the empirical analysis seeks to determine the influence of Mixed Reality (MR) characteristics (interactivity, vividness), Voice User Interface (VUI) characteristics (speech recognition, speech synthesis) and experience economy factors (education, entertainment, esthetic, escape) on satisfaction, revisit intention and actual purchase to propose a new ETF model.

VUI, MR, and experience factors were significantly associated with ETF; when combined with MR-based experience, ETF was significantly associated with satisfaction. This study’s findings further demonstrate the relationship between users' satisfaction when engaging with MR-based experience and revisit intention, while purchase intention was significantly associated with the actual purchase.

The novel contribution of this study is the proposal of the EFT model, a new variation of TTF based on the experience economy model. Overall, this study expands the applications of TTF to an experience-oriented business, thereby broadening the authors’ understanding of technological success with a specific focus on the technology fit of Extended Reality (XR) in the context of cultural heritage.

The impact of education and research skills on the strategic digital transformation of education is straightforward. In this context, the Saudi National Institute of Health plays a pivotal role in the design and implementation of a resilient and robust strategy for the development of skills and competencies to young health professionals. In this chapter, the authors provide a brief overview of the Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia and its basic priorities in the areas related to the Education and Research in the healthcare domain. The authors also elaborate on the key plans and initiatives undertaken by the education and research skills directory of the Saudi National Institute of Health (SNIH) towards transformative learning with impact on the implementation of the Vision 2030.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how successful lean six sigma (LSS) manifests in the Australasian (Australian and New Zealand) context relative to the context in the USA in terms of LSS project definition, structure and practices.

In-depth investigation through case studies – 12 Australian/New Zealand cases and 4 US cases – on the implementation mechanisms of successful LSS initiatives.

A significant difference was found between Australasian and US definitions of an LSS project. However, firms in both regions followed similar project selection, initiating and execution practices. LSS reporting structures were found to be well-established in US organizations, but none of the Australasian organizations were found to be equipped with such a structure, although the effectiveness of LSS implementation success remained unaffected.

Sufficient uniformity of LSS was found across two regions implying its usefulness/generalizability, but the findings are based only on 12 cases.

The paper provides the groundwork to develop a unique LSS model for Australasian organizations to improve processes in an effective and efficient manner.

The purpose of this paper is to figure out how authoritarian regimes conduct crisis management through application of technology, institutions and people.

By means of a literature review, this paper briefly reviews the digital governance of authoritarianism and its approach in crisis management. Then, a case study with empirical analysis is conducted to explain how an authoritarian regime would perceive and manage crises in the digital era.

China’s response towards COVID-19 was mainly based on digitalised grid management. Government’s perception of the crisis directly influences directions of institutions, while technology is developed, applied and iterated with the needs of institutions, rather than the public interests. And for the general public, the level of trust in the government directly affects the acceptance of technology.

Previous studies on crisis management of authoritarian governments in the digital era have mostly been conducted from a techno-ethical perspective. However, this paper verifies that the use of technology in crisis management requires involvement of institutions and public.

This study aims to explore how the boundary between science and society can be addressed to support the transformation of higher education towards sustainable development (HESD) in the sense of the whole institution approach. It analyses students’ learning experiences in self-led sustainability projects conducted outside formal curricula to highlight their potential contribution to HESD. The students’ projects are conceived as learning spaces in “sustainability-oriented ecologies of learning” (Wals, 2020) in which five learning dimensions can be examined.

Using an iterative, grounded-theory-inspired qualitative approach and sensitising concepts, 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted exploring students’ learning experiences. Interviews were categorised in MAXQDA and analysed against a literature review.

Results revealed that students’ experiences of non-formal learning in self-led projects triggered deep learning and change agency. Trust, social cohesion, empowerment and self-efficacy were both results and conditions of learning. Students’ learnings are classified according to higher education institutions’ (HEIs) sustainability agendas, providing systematised insights for HEIs regarding their accommodative, reformative or transformative (Sterling, 2021) path to sustainable development.

The education for sustainable development (ESD) debate focuses mainly on ESD competences in formal settings. Few studies explore students’ learnings where formal and non-formal learning meet. This article investigates a space where students interact with different actors from society while remaining rooted in their HEIs. When acting as “change agents” in this hybrid context, students can also become “boundary agents” helping their HEIs move the sustainability agenda forward towards a whole institution approach. Learning from students’ learnings is thus proposed as a lever for transformation.

Drawing on an intersectional perspective on racial, migrant and entrepreneurial identities, this paper investigates the identity work of racial minority entrepreneurs with native-born and migrant backgrounds, confronted to experiences of othering in a White entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The study takes a qualitative-interpretivist approach and builds on six cases of racial minority entrepreneurs in nascent stages of venture development within the Dutch technology sector. The dataset comprises 24 in-depth interviews conducted over the course of one and a half year, extensive case descriptions and online sources. The data is thematically and inductively analysed.

Despite strongly self-identifying as entrepreneurs, the research participants feel marginalised and excluded from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, which results in ongoing threats to their existential authenticity as they build a legitimate entrepreneurial identity. Minority entrepreneurs navigate these threats by either downplaying or embracing their marginalised racial and/or migrant identities.

The study contributes to the literature on the identity work of minority entrepreneurs. The paper reveals that, rather than “strategising away” the discrimination and exclusion resulting from othering, racial minority entrepreneurs seek to preserve their sense of existential authenticity and self-worth, irrespective of entrepreneurial outcomes. In so doing, the study challenges the dominant perspective of entrepreneurial identity work among minority entrepreneurs as overly instrumental and market-driven. Moreover, the study also contributes to the literature on authenticity in entrepreneurship by highlighting how racial minority entrepreneurs navigate authenticity threats while building legitimacy in a White ecosystem.

This research aims to focus on the strategic management by National Olympic Committees (NOCs) during the COVID-19 crisis. The authors investigate “How are strategies being developed within European NOCs to tackle the impact of the corona crisis?” and “which measures have proven to be particularly helpful?”

The research uses a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach. Five high-level representatives of European NOCs were interviewed using expert interviews to gain insights into their strategy development process. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, and a questionnaire was developed based on the results. Nineteen other European NOCs were surveyed using this questionnaire to verify the strategy development process steps on a larger sample.

The research resulted in a six-step NOC strategy development process framework, with helpful measures for each step. It can help the organizations to better cope with current or upcoming crises.

This framework can serve as a guide for NOCs to find the right steps and measures to better perform in crisis situations.

Deep learning (DL) technology is used to design a voice evaluation system to understand the impact of learning aids on DL and mobile platforms on students’ learning behavior.

DL technology is used to design a speech evaluation system.

The experimental results show that the speech evaluation system designed has a high accuracy rate, the highest agreement rate with manual evaluation of pronunciation is 89.5%, and the correct speech recognition rate is 96.64%. The designed voice evaluation system and the manual voice rating system have a maximum error rate of 2%. The experimental results suggest that it is necessary to further optimize the learning aids for mobile platform. The learning aids of the mobile platform need to be further optimized to promote the improvement of student learning efficiency.

The results show that the speech evaluation system designed has good practical application value, and it provides a certain reference value for the future study of learning tools on DL.

Voice command and voice search are becoming increasingly popular in the hospitality and tourism industry, with many hotels and travel companies investing in voice-enabled technology to improve guest experiences and streamline operations. This technology allows travellers to manage their travel plans, request services and get information through natural voice commands on any voice-enabled device. Voice assistants are also multilingual, allowing hotels to customise responses to guests who do not speak the local language. Angie, a multilingual, in-room voice assistant, is an example of this technology. It can fulfil guest requests, answer common questions about the property and create streamlined access to a wide range of hotel amenities, such as ordering room service or requesting extra towels. Hotels can control questions and responses to assist stretched staff and provide upsell and advertising revenue through digital promotions or recommended onsite amenities or discounts. In addition, voice command technology can be used to book travel and find things to do at a destination. Google Assistant can help with travel plans like booking a hotel, checking flight status and finding things to do at a destination. In conclusion, voice command and voice search technology are transforming the hospitality and tourism industry by improving guest experiences, reducing operational costs and increasing revenue.