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The adoption of a research-informed approach to teaching about homelessness has allowed the authors to provide diverse groups of learners with a range of traditional and more embodied educative experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom. While conventional research methods and outputs have provided a useful starting point for learners with no or limited working knowledge of homelessness, innovative approaches to research and outputs – which have prioritised giving a voice to homeless people themselves – have been particularly important in developing the critical empathy of learners towards the subject. To ensure an effective relationship between research and teaching (particularly when teaching those who work in the homelessness sector), the authors needed a good understanding of the prior learning and experiences, roles, operating contexts and needs of their learners, to teach from a position of empathy, and to work collaboratively with learners to further understanding.

The present work has proposed and employed an innovative hybrid method based on the combination of factor analysis and an artificial neural network (ANN) model to forecast customer satisfaction from the identified dimensions of service quality in India, a developing country.

The qualitative study is conducted with Internet banking users to understand e-banking clients' perceptions. The data is collected with the help of a questionnaire from randomly selected 208 customers in India. Firstly, factor analysis was performed to determine the influential factors of customer satisfaction, and four factors i.e. efficiency, reliability, security and privacy, and issue and problem handling were extracted accordingly. The neural network model is then applied to the factor scores to validate the key elements. Lastly, the comparative analysis of the actual ANN and the regression predicted result is done.

The success ability of the linear regression model is challenged when approximated to nonlinear problems such as customer satisfaction. It is concluded that the ANN model is a better fit than the linear regression model, and it can recognise the complex connections between the exogenous and endogenous variables. The results also show that reliability, security and privacy are the most influencing factors; however, problem handling and efficiency have the slightest effect on bank client satisfaction.

This research is conducted in India, and the sample is chosen from the urban area. The limitation of the purposeful sampling technique and the cross-sectional nature of the data may hamper the generalisation of the results.

The conclusions from the study will be helpful for policymakers, bankers and academicians. To our knowledge, few studies used ANN modelling to predict customer satisfaction in the service sector

Conversations around diversity, race and science fiction and fantasy films/television have sparked in response to recent casting decisions made in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi (Deggans, 2022; Romano, 2022). Backlash against casting of actors of Color in these genres highlights racial projects where a cultural memory of whiteness comes up against multicultural change. The authors of this paper feel that there is great potential in using current-day racial issues around fantasy films/television to explore these racial projects with students in social studies classes (Omi and Winant, 2014).

Using a qualitative textual analysis (Peräkylä, 2005), the authors examined online news media outlets addressing the casting of actors of Color in the aforementioned media pieces. After reviewing over twenty articles, the authors determined two major themes that would serve as the findings.

In this paper, themes of nostalgia for an imagined ‘way things were’ and future-based fears of how things will become emerged from the analysis, revealing a need for engaging students in the history of sci-fi and fantasy media, and the existing, diverse histories of storytelling featuring multiple races.

The authors argue that examining racial projects found in contemporary sci-fi and fantasy casting are chances for students to understand complex racial histories and how they blend into current-day cultural landscapes, and are opportunities to practice analysis of real-life racial histories and richly-imagined fantasy worlds, noticing how and why the two often collide when it comes to race.

This study aims to focus on assessing the psychometric properties necessary to validate the internal structure of the TOURQUAL scale.

A quantitative research study was conducted in collaboration with the Brazilian Network of Tourism Observatories, comprising 927 respondents surveyed between October 2021 and May 2022. The data analysis involved the application of descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis, in alignment with the principles outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing 2014 to validate the scale.

The findings of this study validate the TOURQUAL scale as a robust tool for assessing the perceived quality of tourist services, with results demonstrating one-dimensionality and replicability.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to assess the psychometric properties for validating the internal structure of the TOURQUAL scale.

The aim of the study is to assess the extent to which Taoist philosophy offers thematic and ethical insights relevant to current global crises, including climate change, food insecurity, renewed conflict and increased authoritarianism.

A critical review of specific verses from the Tao Te Ching and research sources relevant to them is carried out.

Taoist philosophy, of ancient origins, is surprisingly relevant to modern crises. While not offering definitive answers, it does provide thematic and ethical insights for reorienting governance in more productive ways.

While there is a large literature on Taoist philosophy itself, there is a paucity of research articles on the modern relevance of Taoist philosophy to pressing current issues. The article brings together and assesses these sources, considering relevant research.