Search results

1 – 7 of 7
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 10 September 2024

Peter Fernandez

This column aims to explore how AI is being used to impact books and help them understand how it may develop in the near future. Exploring these possibilities will help…

94

Abstract

Purpose

This column aims to explore how AI is being used to impact books and help them understand how it may develop in the near future. Exploring these possibilities will help information professionals better understand the ways in which this technology is already being developed to impact books, a technology near and dear to many libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

This column discusses a series of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that are being used to change what books are. They include AI that adds context with the help of experts, AI that leverages the content of the book itself to create an interactive persona, and AI that makes books multi-modal either by adding narration and likely someday visuals inspired by the text.

Findings

Many of these transformations do not require breakthroughs in AI technology. Rather, they only require the application of existing technologies, layering on new interfaces and frameworks.

Originality/value

As a book evolves, libraries, who know their patrons’ needs, have expertise and often operate within ethical frameworks, have an opportunity to participate in the process.

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 41 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 9 January 2025

Manuel Jesús Sánchez González, Natalia López-Mosquera and Sergio Nieves-Pavón

This study aims to explore and evaluate how sociodemographic, psychographic and situational factors jointly determine the satisfaction and expenditure of sports tourists, two key…

48

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore and evaluate how sociodemographic, psychographic and situational factors jointly determine the satisfaction and expenditure of sports tourists, two key variables for the sustainability and development of sport tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

To meet the objective of the study, structural equation modelling was applied to data collected through a face-to-face survey of 520 sports tourists practising outdoor sports in the Valle del Jerte region (Cáceres, Spain) during the months of March and April 2024.

Findings

The findings revealed that older and higher income tourists experienced higher levels of satisfaction with sporting activities. Specifically, young women with a high educational and economic level were found to have the highest expenditure in the sports destination. Furthermore, it was confirmed that authenticity, distance and water sports activities had a positive impact on visitor satisfaction, and that tourist expenditure was influenced by local connection and all sociodemographic and situational factors considered.

Originality/value

This analysis contributes to the sport tourism literature by combining factors of different typologies into a single model and by incorporating expenditure behaviour as a dependent variable and the type of sport activity variable as a situational factor affecting expenditure. This approach expands existing knowledge by providing a more comprehensive view of the effect of sociodemographic, psychographic and situational factors on sport tourism, allowing destination managers to design effective strategies that optimise the satisfaction and expenditure of sports tourists.

目的

本研究旨在探讨和评估社会人口、心理和情境因素如何共同决定体育游客的满意度和消费, 这是体育旅游可持续发展的两个关键变量。

设计/方法/途径

为实现研究目标, 我们采用结构方程模型(SEM)对 2024 年 3 月至 4 月期间在 Valle del Jerte 地区(西班牙卡塞雷斯)从事户外运动的 520 名体育游客进行了面对面调查。

研究结果

结果显示, 收入较高的老年游客对体育活动的满意度较高。特别是, 教育和经济水平较高的年轻女性在体育目的地的消费最高。此外, 研究还证实, 真实性、距离和水上运动活动对游客满意度有积极影响, 而游客消费则受当地关联性以及所有社会人口和情景因素的影响。

原创性/价值

这项分析将不同类型的因素整合到一个模型中, 并将消费行为作为因变量, 将体育活动类型作为影响消费的情景因素, 从而为体育旅游文献做出了贡献。这种方法能更全面地了解社会人口、心理和情境因素对体育旅游的影响, 从而扩展现有知识, 使目的地管理者能够设计有效的战略, 优化体育游客的满意度和消费。

Propósito

Este estudio busca explorar y evaluar cómo los factores sociodemográficos, psicográficos y situacionales determinan conjuntamente la satisfacción y el gasto de los turistas deportivos, dos variables clave para la sostenibilidad y el desarrollo del turismo deportivo.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Para cumplir con el objetivo del estudio, se aplicó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) a los datos recabados a través de una encuesta presencial a 520 turistas deportivos que practicaban deportes al aire libre en la comarca del Valle del Jerte (Cáceres, España) durante los meses de marzo y abril de 2024.

Conclusiones

Los resultados revelaron que los turistas de mayor edad y con ingresos más elevados experimentaban mayores niveles de satisfacción con las actividades deportivas. En concreto, se observó que las mujeres jóvenes con un nivel educativo y económico alto eran las que más gastaban en el destino deportivo. Además, se confirmó que la autenticidad, la distancia y las actividades deportivas acuáticas influían positivamente en la satisfacción de los visitantes y que el gasto de los turistas estaba influenciado por la conexión local y por todos los factores sociodemográficos y situacionales considerados.

Originalidad/valor

Este análisis contribuye a la literatura sobre turismo deportivo al combinar factores de diferentes tipologías en un único modelo y al incorporar el comportamiento de gasto como variable dependiente y la variable tipo de actividad deportiva como factor situacional que incide en el gasto. Este enfoque amplía el conocimiento existente al ofrecer una visión más completa del efecto de los factores sociodemográficos, psicográficos y situacionales en el turismo deportivo, lo que permite a los gestores de destinos diseñar estrategias eficaces que optimicen la satisfacción y el gasto de los turistas deportivos.

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 August 2024

Amos Shibambu and Mpho Ngoepe

This study aims to explore how service delivery can be enhanced through digital transformation in the public sector in South Africa.

1596

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore how service delivery can be enhanced through digital transformation in the public sector in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study used a qualitative research approach to obtain data through semi-structured interviews. The units of analysis were made up of individual professionals limited to purposive sampling to select chief information officers, investigators and administrative officers from national government departments and state-owned enterprises. The collected data from 12 participants was thematically analysed. The findings revealed that the government lacks legislation and strategy for digital transformation, leading to inconsistent implementation of digital transformation that enhances service delivery in the public sector of South Africa.

Findings

The findings revealed that the government lacks legislation and strategy for digital transformation, leading to inconsistent implementation of digital transformation that enhances service delivery in the public sector of South Africa.

Research limitations/implications

The study was limited to the public sector of South Africa; however, its recommendations are applicable to all organisations that need to provide their services using digital transformation.

Practical implications

Practically, the implications of this study will serve as a resourceful benchmark for the public sector and other organisations.

Social implications

Socially, the implications of this study ensure proper implementation of its recommendations to enhance service delivery in the public sector and other organisations.

Originality/value

Regarding the value that this study brings, it proposes an amendment of the current legislative framework in favour of one that covers digital transformation, which has become dominant in today’s enhanced provision of service delivery.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 74 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 6 January 2025

Amélia Veiga, A. Miguel Gomes and Fernando Remião

The present study aims to analyse the presumed relationship between VLC use and students’ grades.

51

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to analyse the presumed relationship between VLC use and students’ grades.

Design/methodology/approach

The research strategy unfolds as a case study (Yin, 1994), framed by how undergraduate students of pharmaceutical sciences used video lecture capture (VLC) and the impact of VLC on pedagogic differentiation. Looking at the course of Mechanistic Toxicology (MecTox), the objective is to describe this case of pharmaceutical sciences in depth.

Findings

The findings reveal that over 90% of students engaged with VLC videos, with the average viewing time exceeding the total available video minutes, indicating strong student engagement. The study particularly highlights VLC’s positive impact on students with lower academic performance (grades D and E), suggesting that VLC can help reduce the performance gap and support a more inclusive educational environment.

Research limitations/implications

The findings may have limited generalisability beyond the specific context and sample used. However, this study allows the research findings to be compared with previous research (Remião et al., 2022), contributing to the debate on how pedagogic research can promote evidence-based decisions regarding innovative strategies. The meaning of educational inclusion processes and diversity is, thus, contingent on the institutionalisation of research as a practice of teaching and learning.

Practical implications

The results of this study thus provide interesting insights for the design of strategic action, considering the diversity of students as seen in parents’ academic qualifications and students’ conditions (e.g. student-workers, living away from home, holding a grant of economic and social support).

Social implications

The implications of research findings for society bring the issue of equity in education to the fore. By addressing the diverse needs of students, HEIs can contribute to greater educational equity.

Originality/value

Using VLC as a differentiated pedagogic device might give diversity “real” content insofar as institutional and national policies can mitigate the possible negative effects of parents’ low academic qualifications and the students’ conditions of living away from their residence area and holding a grant of economic and social support.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 30 January 2025

Kirsten de Beurs, Kyle Harper and Le Wang

The European Marriage Pattern (EMP) was characteristic of preindustrial northwestern Europe and, in recent years, has been proposed as an important factor in the rise of the West…

Abstract

The European Marriage Pattern (EMP) was characteristic of preindustrial northwestern Europe and, in recent years, has been proposed as an important factor in the rise of the West. Yet, the origins and ultimate causes of the EMP remain obscure. We examine a novel hypothesis that the EMP can emerge in geographic environments with a lighter infectious disease burden. We overcome significant challenges facing empirical analysis of premodern societies. Using a large, individual-level database of marriages from the county of Kent, England, as well as a spatial regression discontinuity approach, we demonstrate a robust association between physical ecology and female age at first marriage (FAFM). We also find that the two potential channels proposed in the literature play starkly different roles in explaining our finding. Specifically, we fail to find that pastoralism plays any significant role in explaining the EMP, while the mortality rate channel accounts for a significant portion of the observed relationship between the disease environment and FAFM.

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Ilse Valenzuela Matus, Jorge Lino Alves, Joaquim Góis, Paulo Vaz-Pires and Augusto Barata da Rocha

The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process…

2274

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review cases of artificial reefs built through additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and analyse their ecological goals, fabrication process, materials, structural design features and implementation location to determine predominant parameters, environmental impacts, advantages, and limitations.

Design/methodology/approach

The review analysed 16 cases of artificial reefs from both temperate and tropical regions. These were categorised based on the AM process used, the mortar material used (crucial for biological applications), the structural design features and the location of implementation. These parameters are assessed to determine how effectively the designs meet the stipulated ecological goals, how AM technologies demonstrate their potential in comparison to conventional methods and the preference locations of these implementations.

Findings

The overview revealed that the dominant artificial reef implementation occurs in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Seas, both accounting for 24%. The remaining cases were in the Australian Sea (20%), the South Asia Sea (12%), the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean, both with 8%, and the Indian Sea with 4% of all the cases studied. It was concluded that fused filament fabrication, binder jetting and material extrusion represent the main AM processes used to build artificial reefs. Cementitious materials, ceramics, polymers and geopolymer formulations were used, incorporating aggregates from mineral residues, biological wastes and pozzolan materials, to reduce environmental impacts, promote the circular economy and be more beneficial for marine ecosystems. The evaluation ranking assessed how well their design and materials align with their ecological goals, demonstrating that five cases were ranked with high effectiveness, ten projects with moderate effectiveness and one case with low effectiveness.

Originality/value

AM represents an innovative method for marine restoration and management. It offers a rapid prototyping technique for design validation and enables the creation of highly complex shapes for habitat diversification while incorporating a diverse range of materials to benefit environmental and marine species’ habitats.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 30 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 30 September 2024

Kate Leonard

English social work policies and regulatory bodies propel critical reflection as a professional requirement and a worthwhile activity. The purpose of this paper is to report on…

56

Abstract

Purpose

English social work policies and regulatory bodies propel critical reflection as a professional requirement and a worthwhile activity. The purpose of this paper is to report on the current international and UK evidence that informs the understanding and use of critical reflection and associated terms – reflection, reflective practice and reflective supervision – in one-to-one practitioner supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the evidence was undertaken using documentary policy analysis and a scholastic literature review to examine the history and current knowledge available as of December 2022.

Findings

The historical policy and professional context of critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in England is discussed. The current evidence review identified three themes – the role of critical reflection in models of supervision, the influences of national, organisational and professional cultures and the supervisor practitioner relationship. The nuanced nature of the presence of critical reflection in supervision and a lack of clarity when theorising and describing critical reflection has implications for policy, supervisory practice and research design.

Originality/value

Critical reflection in one-to-one social work supervision is under researched. This review draws on the evidence from international research and local policy to offer an understanding of the complexity of theorising, practicing and researching critical reflection in one-to-one supervision in local authority children and families social work in England.

Details

Journal of Children’s Services, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

1 – 7 of 7
Per page
102050