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This chapter explores how virtual reality (VR) distinguishes itself in terms of immersion within the field of video games. Central to this inquiry is whether VR represents a revolutionary new gaming paradigm or merely the latest medium falling short of gamers’ expectations. The discussion begins by examining the concepts of immersion and presence, highlighting their overlapping properties and how VR's capability to merge perspective and interaction enhances these experiences. Immersion involves sensory stimulation, narrative attachment and player agency within virtual environments (VEs), while presence is defined as the sensation of inhabiting a virtual universe. The chapter addresses VEs, diegesis and fictional worlds, building on the narratology and ludology debate. It chapter assesses the roles of environmental storytelling and the world inhabiting effect in games, particularly open-world role-playing games set in fantasy and science fiction universes. These games offer players active participation in narrative construction, enhancing immersion. Furthermore, the analysis compares third-person and first-person points of view (POV) in flat-screen games with VR's unique integration of POV, point of action and point of interaction. VR's intuitive interface fosters a profound emotional response and a heightened sense of presence, breaking the fourth wall and blurring the line between gameworld and reality. This chapter concludes that while VR offers a distinct form of representation, it does not constitute a new gaming paradigm yet. However, advancements in the medium may soon bring VR closer to the immersive experiences envisioned by Janet Murray's holodeck.

In this chapter, the authors explore how the academic work on VR has defined presence to better understand what elements of that theoretical mire are practically useful for designers. The authors scope out the word ‘presence’ as distinct from related terms like immersion and embodiment. The authors unpack the layers of what it means to be present in an experience, connecting that theory to practice with case studies of three games – Assetto Corsa, Dungeons of Eternity and A Fisherman's Tale. The goal of this analysis is to integrate academic insights with practical design strategies, offering a comprehensive approach to enhancing player experience in VR. Presence in VR is a multifaceted concept encompassing self, physical and social dimensions. This chapter aims to translate these academic insights into actionable design principles. By examining how different types and layers of presence manifest in actual games, the authors provide a framework that designers can use to create more engaging and immersive VR experiences. The analysis of the selected games highlights the importance of narrative coherence, realistic interactions and player agency in fostering a sense of presence. Ultimately, this chapter bridges the gap between theory and practice, helping designers to craft VR games that not only engage but also deeply immerse players in their virtual worlds.

The objective of the study was to explore which COVID-19 teaching and learning methods, that enhanced accounting students' learning experience, should be applied at a residential university after the pandemic.

A qualitative exploratory approach within an interpretive paradigm was applied. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with accounting students and the data were analysed using thematic analysis.

This study shows how pre-COVID-19 accounting education can be adapted by learning from the teaching and learning experiences gained during the pandemic and that there are various teaching and learning methods that can be applied in the post-COVID-19 period to enhance students' learning experience. These blended active teaching and learning methods include: the flipped classroom, discussion forum, electronic platform (to ask questions during class), key-concept videos and summary videos. Introducing these teaching and learning methods comes with challenges and the study provides recommendations on how to overcome foreseen obstacles. The contribution of the research is that it informs accounting lecturers' decision-making regarding which teaching and learning methods to apply in the aftermath of COVID-19 to enhance students' learning experience.

It is uncertain which teaching and learning methods employed during the COVID-19 pandemic should be applied at a residential university to enhance the teaching and learning experience after the pandemic. Accounting lecturers might return to their pre-COVID-19 modus operandi, and the valuable experience gained during the pandemic will have served no purpose.

Australia has struggled to escape its particular variant of the ‘resource curse’. It has also had important economic, social and political ramifications. In this chapter, the authors consider how the recently announced Net Zero Economy Authority in Australia is progressing, but crucially, the authors want to put these developments into a broader context within which it exists. This context includes Australia’s ‘resource’ curse challenges but also the emergence of a new state capitalism (Alami, 2023; Schindler et al., 2023) that has included a Future Made in Australia policy that involves advancing a renewable energy industry but also a militarisation of industry associated with the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and USA (AUKUS). The authors begin by looking at the continued tensions between Australia’s fossil-fuel dependence and efforts to combat climate change and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The authors then track developments in the proposed structure and activity of the Net Zero Authority itself. Finally, the authors will review these developments in the light of the ‘resource curse’ and broader Australian government policy such as the AUKUS alliance and the ‘Made in Australia’ policy.

Human resource analytics (HRA) is an HR activity that companies and academics increasingly pay attention to. Existing literature conceptualises HRA mostly from an objectivist perspective, which limits understanding of actual HRA activities in the complex organisational environment. This paper therefore draws on the practice-based approach, using a novel framework to conceptualise HRA-as-practice.

The authors conducted a systematic literature review of 100 academic and practitioner-oriented publications to analyse existing HRA literature in relation to practice theory, using the “HRA-as-practice” frame.

The authors identify the main practices involved in HRA, by whom and how these practices are enacted, and reveal three topics in nomological network of HRA-as-practice: HRA technology, HRA outcomes and HRA hindrances and facilitators, which the authors suggest might actualize enactment of HRA practices.

The authors offer HR function and HR professionals a basic ground to evaluate HRA as a highly contextual activity that can potentially generate business value and increase HR impact when seen as a complex interaction between HRA practices, HRA practitioners and HRA praxis. The findings also help HR practitioners understand multiple factors that influence the practice of HRA.

This systematic review differs from the previous reviews in two ways. First, it analyses both academic and practitioner-oriented publications. Second, it provides a novel theoretical contribution by conceptualising HRA-as-practice and comprehensively compiling scattered topics and themes related to HRA.

The study aims to investigate innovation capability as a mediator in the relationship between talent management (TM) and entrepreneurial firm performance in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Thailand based on employer perceptions.

A questionnaire survey was completed by 674 MSMEs in Thailand, both directly and online. Four hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM).

The results demonstrated that TM has a significant and positive influence on innovation capability, but no evidence was found for a positive relationship between TM and entrepreneurial firm performance. However, innovation capability positively influences entrepreneurial firm performance, and it fully mediates the positive relationship between TM and entrepreneurial firm performance. These results suggest that TM can enhance entrepreneurial firm performance if it is implemented with effective innovation capability.

The SEM model was employed with a limited number of enterprises, so the sample cannot represent the full population, as there are more than three million MSMEs in Thailand. More countries and factors should be incorporated into the model.

The owner-managers and HR practitioners of MSMEs can utilise the study results to develop talent strategies and innovative interventions that will enhance their firm’s performance.

This study thus aims to strengthen the capacities of MSME entrepreneurs and policymakers to elevate inclusive innovation capability in MSMEs and to also accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); innovation is one of the three important aspects of SDG9.

The study contributes by filling the research gap related to TM in the MSME business and enterprise development literature, and it aids in creating innovation capability to increase effective investments in TM.

It is suggested that autism assessments are not sensitive to the female autism presentation. Autistic women are often misdiagnosed or delayed in receiving their diagnosis. More guidance for assessing clinicians is required to improve the validity and effectiveness of autism diagnostic assessments of women. This study aims to explore the experiences of autistic women during their diagnostic assessments and understand what they considered important for diagnostic assessments of females.

A focus group with four adult autistic women was conducted, exploring their experiences and recommendations. Thematic analysis was used to identify overarching themes.

The main themes were 1) experience of the assessment; 2) gender-sensitive assessment content; and 3) clinician characteristics and skills. Participants made specific recommendations within these themes for how diagnostic assessments of females should be conducted.

This study differs from previous research by focusing on the experiences of autistic women specifically during diagnostic assessments and what they recommend for future assessments.

This paper aims to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and marketing within the context of knowledge management (KM). It investigates how AI technologies facilitate data-driven decision-making, enhance business communication, improve customer personalization, optimize marketing campaigns and boost overall marketing effectiveness.

This study uses a quantitative and systematic approach, integrating citation analysis, text mining and co-citation analysis to examine foundational research areas and the evolution of AI in marketing. This comprehensive analysis addresses the current gap in empirical investigations of AI’s influence on marketing and its future developments.

This study identifies three main perspectives that have shaped the foundation of AI in marketing: proxy, tool and ensemble views. It develops a managerially relevant conceptual framework that outlines future research directions and expands the boundaries of AI and marketing literature within the KM landscape.

This research proposes a conceptual model that integrates AI and marketing within the KM context, offering new research trajectories. This study provides a holistic view of how AI can enhance knowledge sharing, strategic planning and decision-making in marketing.

This study aims to determine whether individuals’ needs related to psychopharmacotherapy are revealed in peer-to-peer interactions on web-based forums dedicated to people with depression and anxiety disorders.

On July 18, 2021, the authors searched for Polish-language forums focusing on depression and anxiety. From the 10 identified forums, the authors selected two with the highest users’ activity: depresja.ws (depression) and nerwica.com (anxiety disorders). A total of 160 posts from the depression forum and 122 posts from the anxiety forum, covering the period between 2006 and 2020, were collected using automated web scraping. The authors performed mixed-methods analysis of the posts including content analysis for the qualitative part and the Pearson’s?2 test for the quantitative part.

The total number of units of coding expressing needs was 494 for the depression forum and 360 for anxiety disorders. The most frequently identified needs were the same for depression and anxiety forums and involved informational, social life and emotional. The qualitative analysis revealed three main needs. First, users primarily sought and shared information about pharmacotherapy, focusing on symptoms and drug side effects. Then, requests for sharing experiences, offering hope and building community and emotional expression, especially the release of negative emotions.

The study identified limitations primarily related to the data source and analysis methods. These included the inability to verify user identities or collect demographic details due to the anonymity of forums, potential underrepresentation of needs not explicitly expressed and the subjectivity inherent in qualitative analysis, despite efforts to standardize coding and ensure reliability. Additionally, the findings are context-specific to Poland’s unique socio-historical background, and the analysis excluded individuals without computer access, limiting the generalizability of results to other populations and settings.

Mental health professionals can use insights from web-based forums to better understand and address the needs of patients with depression and anxiety, tailoring treatment plans to improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. Building trust through patient-centered care and addressing barriers such as misconceptions or fears can enhance therapeutic relationships and encourage treatment engagement. Additionally, improving health literacy with clear communication and reliable information empowers patients to make informed decisions about their care.

This study uniquely examines the specific needs of Polish users on medication-related forums, addressing not only informational needs but also emotional support, practical advice and social connection. By comparing forums for depression and anxiety, it highlights key differences in how these groups seek and use support.

This paper aims to investigate whether individual adaptability mediates the relationship between psychological capital and psychological well-being (PWB) of Ugandan small enterprise employees. Furthermore, the paper examines whether psychological capital and individual adaptability also affect PWB.

A cross-sectional survey design using a quantitative approach was used in this study. Data were collected from 726 employees of small enterprises in Uganda using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists and uploaded into AMOS version 23. The hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling technique.

Results confirm that individual adaptability partially mediates the relationship between psychological capital and PWB. Findings further indicate that psychological capital is positively related to individual adaptability and that individual adaptability is positively related to PWB.

First, the sample of this study consisted of employees working with small enterprises in Uganda with different demographic characteristics; thus, the generalizability of these findings to other sectors or contexts needs to be established. Secondly, the study was quantitative in nature. This study has managerial implications in a way that managers should have people management skills that support their employees to develop psychological capital and individual adaptability.

This study may be among the first to demonstrate that individual adaptability partially mediates the relationship between psychological capital and PWB in the context of small enterprise employees of Uganda, an African developing country. Consequently, this study contributes to both theory and literature via the broaden-and-build theory and the complex adaptive systems theory, hence adding to the scant existing literature on psychological capital, individual adaptability and PWB.