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Although numerous signal modalities are available for emotion recognition, audio and visual modalities are the most common and predominant forms for human beings to express their emotional states in daily communication. Therefore, how to achieve automatic and accurate audiovisual emotion recognition is significantly important for developing engaging and empathetic human–computer interaction environment. However, two major challenges exist in the field of audiovisual emotion recognition: (1) how to effectively capture representations of each single modality and eliminate redundant features and (2) how to efficiently integrate information from these two modalities to generate discriminative representations.

A novel key-frame extraction-based attention fusion network (KE-AFN) is proposed for audiovisual emotion recognition. KE-AFN attempts to integrate key-frame extraction with multimodal interaction and fusion to enhance audiovisual representations and reduce redundant computation, filling the research gaps of existing approaches. Specifically, the local maximum–based content analysis is designed to extract key-frames from videos for the purpose of eliminating data redundancy. Two modules, including “Multi-head Attention-based Intra-modality Interaction Module” and “Multi-head Attention-based Cross-modality Interaction Module”, are proposed to mine and capture intra- and cross-modality interactions for further reducing data redundancy and producing more powerful multimodal representations.

Extensive experiments on two benchmark datasets (i.e. RAVDESS and CMU-MOSEI) demonstrate the effectiveness and rationality of KE-AFN. Specifically, (1) KE-AFN is superior to state-of-the-art baselines for audiovisual emotion recognition. (2) Exploring the supplementary and complementary information of different modalities can provide more emotional clues for better emotion recognition. (3) The proposed key-frame extraction strategy can enhance the performance by more than 2.79 per cent on accuracy. (4) Both exploring intra- and cross-modality interactions and employing attention-based audiovisual fusion can lead to better prediction performance.

The proposed KE-AFN can support the development of engaging and empathetic human–computer interaction environment.

One of the most marginalized communities in India is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community which commonly experiences discrimination. Many studies have countered that the LGBT community faces high discrimination in the banking and financing industry. As a result, this study concentrates on this marginalized community and its acceptance and continuation habit regarding mobile wallets. Consequently, this study has considered continuance intentions as a response to confirm the progress of the mobile-wallet industry. Also, this study tried to study the relationship between behavioral intention (BI) and continuous intention (CI) which is seriously lacks in the library of literature. The research operationalized the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework for the conceptual model and surveyed 100 self-proclaimed members of the LGBT community in India. The analysis has been done using the partial least structure (PLS). The findings demonstrate that variables like perceived trust (PT) directly influence the BI. On the other hand, variables like perceived ease of use (PEoU), social influence (SI), and satisfaction (S) doesn’t influence BI of the LGBT Community. The main outcome was a favorable association between BI and CI. It will help the stakeholders to understand how important this new market avenue is and how it can be explored. To ensure safe and secure transactions, a group think tank composed of important parties (financial institutions, mobile-wallet providers, the government, security specialists, etc.) should make recommendations. Mobile-wallet providers will attain benefit from this study’s understanding of user categories and ability to tailor their service offers as per the community.

This study aims to explore differences in the usability of the Google Drive application based on demographic characteristics, computer skills and use frequency of Google Drive among public library users of Lahore.

The study adopted a quantitative approach and survey-based research method to achieve the study's objectives. The cloud usability model (user perspective) has been used as a theoretical lens to guide the study objectives. It comprises five dimensions of usability – capable, personal, reliable, valuable and secure.

The findings of the study revealed that the usability of Google Drive varied statistically significantly on the basis of depending on the respondents gender, age, academic qualification, computer skills and Google Drive use frequency.

It is a valuable study since it and adds knowledge to existing literature and has implications for practice.

The findings might be helpful for cloud support teams including Google Drive as they can notice the demographic and other differences among users' perceived usability of Google Drive and can enhance certain features of usability which leads attributes to increase its usage among users.

Based on cognitive evaluation theory and gamification affordances, this study aims to understand how gamification affordances influence users’ intention to engage in sustainable behaviour and how new trends in Ant Forest influence its impact on green intrinsic motivation to support sustainable behaviours.

The authors developed a research model to explore the mechanisms underlying gamification affordances, psychological needs and green intrinsic motivation. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to assess the survey data (n = 393) and test the research model.

The results show that different gamification affordances can satisfy users’ needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, which positively influences their green intrinsic motivation and engagement in sustainable behaviours. However, some affordances, such as competition, might negatively impact these psychological needs.

This research updates information system research on environmental sustainability and the Ant Forest context. The authors provide a new framework that links gamification affordances, psychological needs and sustainable behaviour. The study also examines changing trends in Ant Forest and their implications.

In this chapter, we explore the dark side of the metaverse and the need for user protection. While the metaverse offers multiple opportunities it also poses significant risks for users, such as privacy concerns, addiction, harassment, and cyberbullying. First, we discuss the various threats that users may encounter such as online harassment, assaults, cyberbullying, hate speech, identity theft, and virtual property theft. As per the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an incident of violation occurs every seven minutes within VRChat, a popular virtual reality game. The level of misconduct in the metaverse can surpass the extent of internet harassment. Virtual reality gaming has been associated with various health issues like sleep deprivation, and insomnia as well as mental health concerns such as depression, anger, and anxiety. We examine how these issues may impact user’s physical and mental health. The sensors and devices used in the metaverse collect a vast amount of user biometric data and spatial data. Interactions between users and metaverse could be leaked. We examine different methods that improve user protection, including everyone from enhanced security protocols via the application of privacy-enhanced technology to several avatars, two-factor authentication, and user educational and awareness programs. Moreover, we explore how the newest technologies, like blockchain and artificial intelligence, play a role in making user safety more important. We finished the course with the study of the case of Second Life, the virtual reality gaming platform, and pointing out some of the problems that exist within it.

Reducing construction waste generation and carbon emission in the construction industry is crucial for the “dual carbon” goal. Evaluating the efficiency of reducing construction waste generation and carbon emission in the construction industry at the regional level is an important evaluation basis for the sustainable development of the construction industry. It provides a basis for formulating construction waste and carbon reduction policies tailored to local conditions and comprehensively promote the sustainable development of the construction industry.

A three stage SBM-DEA model based on non-expected outputs is proposed by combining the SBM-DEA model with the SFA method. The proposed model is used to evaluate the efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry in 30 regions of China from 2010 to 2020. Moreover, the study explores the impact of environmental variables such as urbanization level, proportion of construction industry employees, resident consumption level, and technological progress.

From 2010 to 2020, the efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in China’s construction industry has been increasing year by year. Provinces with higher efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry are mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, showing an overall pattern of “East>West>Northeast>Middle”. There is a clear correlation between the level of urbanization, the proportion of construction industry employees, residents’ consumption level, technological progress, labor input, machinery input, and capital investment. The construction waste and carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry in various provinces is greatly influenced by environmental factors.

The research results provide policy makers and business managers with effective policies for reducing construction waste generation and carbon emission in the construction industry, especially circular economy policies. To provide empirical support for further understanding the connotation of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry, to create innovative models for construction waste and carbon reduction, and to promote the multiple benefits of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry, and to provide empirical support for countries and enterprises with similar development backgrounds in China to formulate relevant policies and decision-making.

The construction industry is a high investment, high energy consumption, and high pollution industry. This study uses the three stage SBM-DEA model to explore the efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry, providing a new perspective for the evaluation of sustainable development in the construction industry, enriching and improving the theory of sustainable development.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with respect to university library portal services, specifically within selected universities in South-West Nigeria.

A descriptive survey research design was used to investigate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction levels among undergraduate students regarding university library portal services. Data were collected through surveys administered to 658 undergraduate respondents across multiple universities in South-West Nigeria.

The findings indicate that undergraduate students’ top reasons for using the portal were for tasks such as locating research materials, accessing databases, requesting bibliographies and checking the library catalog. Library computers and school information and communication technology center computers were identified as the most preferred access point, followed by computer labs and campus Wi-Fi networks. Undergraduates rated the portals as highly useful, particularly for saving time locating resources, checking material status and patronizing the library. High satisfaction was reported for services such as attending workshops, events and receiving research support through the portals workshops. Moderate satisfaction levels existed for accessing policies/hours, the institutional repository and renewals of books online. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.785, p < 0.05) was found between perceived usefulness and satisfaction.

This study contributes to the understanding of undergraduate students’ perceptions regarding the utility and satisfaction of university library portal services in the context of South-West Nigeria. It underscores the importance of aligning portal services with students’ academic and research needs to enhance overall satisfaction levels. In addition, it provides insights into areas where improvements can be made to further enhance the effectiveness and satisfaction derived from these services.

This study aims to explore why Chinese consumers pay for digital content products by investigating the experiences of Chinese consumers living in first-tier and second-tier cities regarding paid digital knowledge products.

A total of 19 in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data, and the phenomenological reduction was adopted to analyze data.

This study reveals that Chinese consumers use paid digital knowledge products to alleviate stress and anxiety stemming from real-life competition and the fear of falling behind. While consumers acknowledge the limited assistance that paid knowledge products can offer, their acceptance and expectations of paid digital knowledge products remain positive.

Paid digital knowledge represents an innovative phenomenon, with few scholars outside China having studied it. This study contributes a conceptual framework to understand the motivations of Chinese consumers with high purchasing power residing in first-tier and second-tier cities to invest in digital content.

The purpose of this study is to quantify and evaluate the efficiency of knowledge services public libraries (PLKS) in China and to analyze the factors affecting the efficiency of PLKS. The focus of this study is to explore the characteristics and changing trends of PLKS and how to improve the efficiency of PLKS. The conclusions drawn in this paper are expected to provide important references for academic research and practical exploration in related fields.

This study constructs a three-stage process of PLKS. On this basis, the efficiency is analyzed by using the Super-NSBM model, and the influencing factors of PLKS are analyzed by using OLS. Finally, through the comprehensive interpretation of the measured data and the existing social development conditions, the authors put forward relevant recommendations.

In the first stage, the PLKS in China meets the basic requirements, but there is an obvious waste of resources in the second stage. In addition, China’s public libraries show obvious regional differences in knowledge service efficiency. Finally, it was found that economic and technological factors can increase the efficiency of PLKS, but the increase in the number of university students will reduce the efficiency of PLKS.

In this study, the authors provide an exhaustive deconstruction and explanation of PLKS, which leads to the proposal of a three-stage PLKS efficiency conversion process. Furthermore, the authors identify a diverse set of quantifiable metrics that are readily accessible for open collection. Notably, the authors correlated the efficiency of PLKS with the influencing factors, exploring PLKS from a new perspective and enriching the research related to PLKS.