Giulio Lancioni, Nirbhay Singh, Mark O’Reilly, Jeff Sigafoos, Fiora D’Amico, Dominga Laporta, Antonella Scordamaglia and Katia Pinto
Music stimulation is considered beneficial for people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of this paper is to assess a tablet-based program to promote music-related…
Abstract
Purpose
Music stimulation is considered beneficial for people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of this paper is to assess a tablet-based program to promote music-related hand responses and positive engagement (e.g. singing or moving the body with the music) in people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
Design/methodology/approach
The program was implemented with 20 participants according to a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The participants were provided with a tablet whose screen worked as a sensor. During the intervention, sensor activations by hand responses led the tablet to present 10 s segments of preferred songs; an absence of sensor activation led the tablet to produce a prompt.
Findings
The participants’ mean frequencies of hand responses (i.e. sensor activations) per 5 min session increased from mostly zero during baseline to between about 9 and 20 during the intervention. The mean percentages of observation intervals with participants’ positive engagement increased from 0 to 12 during the baseline to between 13 and 55 during the intervention. The differences between baseline and intervention data were statistically significant for all participants.
Originality/value
A tablet-based program, such as that used in this study, may help people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease develop specific music-related responses and positive engagement.
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Giulio Lancioni, Lorenzo Desideri, Nirbhay Singh, Mark O'Reilly and Jeff Sigafoos
The purpose of this paper is to review studies that evaluated technology-based prompting systems for supporting participants with dementia or acquired cognitive impairment in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review studies that evaluated technology-based prompting systems for supporting participants with dementia or acquired cognitive impairment in their performance of multistep daily tasks.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review was conducted to identify eligible studies through a search of four electronic databases, that is, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Findings
The search, which covered the 2010–2020 period, led to the identification of 1,311 articles, 30 of which were included in the review. These articles evaluated six different types of prompting systems: context-aware, automatic computer prompting, context-aware, mediated computer prompting, teleoperated robot prompting, self-operated augmented reality prompting, self-operated computer or tablet prompting and time-based (preset) computer, tablet or smartphone prompting.
Originality/value
Technology-aided prompting to help people with dementia or acquired cognitive impairment perform relevant multistep daily tasks is considered increasingly important. This review provides a picture of the different prompting options available and of their level of readiness for application in daily contexts.
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Giulio Lancioni, Nirbhay Singh, Mark O’Reilly, Jeff Sigafoos, Fiora D’Amico, Katia Pinto, Floriana De Vanna and Alessandro Caffò
Persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease experience increasing activity engagement failures, with consequent cognitive, social, and physical drawbacks. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease experience increasing activity engagement failures, with consequent cognitive, social, and physical drawbacks. The purpose of this paper is to assess a technology-aided program to help these persons to independently start and carry out daily activities at the appropriate times.
Design/methodology/approach
The program was implemented with eight participants according to an adapted non-concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The program provided each participant with: timely reminders about the activities to carry out, verbal instructions about the activity steps, and brief encouragements and praise.
Findings
All participants showed improvement during the program, that is, they managed to independently start the activities at the scheduled times and perform those activities with satisfactory levels of accuracy (i.e. with mean percentages of correct steps nearing or exceeding 90).
Originality/value
A technology-aided program, such as that used in this study, may help persons with mild and moderate Alzheimer disease engage in daily activities, with possible benefits for their cognitive functioning, social image, and physical condition.
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Giulio Lancioni, Gloria Alberti, Francesco Pezzuoli, Juri Bruciati, Nirbhay Singh, Mark O'Reilly and Jeff Sigafoos
This study assessed two technology systems aimed at enabling a man with intellectual disability, blindness, deafness and motor and tactile discrimination problems to make verbal…
Abstract
Purpose
This study assessed two technology systems aimed at enabling a man with intellectual disability, blindness, deafness and motor and tactile discrimination problems to make verbal requests through simple one-hand signs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted according to an ABAB design. During the B (intervention) phases, the man used the two systems, which included (1) nine mini recording devices fixed on the man’s clothes or wheelchair (i.e. in positions the man touched with his sign movements) and (2) nine tags with radio frequency identification codes (fixed at approximately the same positions as the mini recording devices) and a dedicated tag reader, respectively. Making a sign (i.e. touching a recording device or reaching a tag) led to the verbalization of the request related to that sign.
Findings
During baseline, the mean frequency of signs/requests made was below 2 per session, and only some of those requests were identified/satisfied. During the intervention, the mean frequency of requests made and satisfied was about 10 per session with each of the systems.
Originality/value
The results, which are to be taken with caution given the preliminary nature of the study, seem to suggest that the systems can help translate simple signs into verbal requests.
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Shaheed Khan, Swarna M. Freeda Maria and Ajoy K. Bhattacharya
Call it the curse, the myth, the legend, the dacoits, the flora and fauna, the River, and the valley remains untouched and pristine and is home to many endemic species and is…
Abstract
Call it the curse, the myth, the legend, the dacoits, the flora and fauna, the River, and the valley remains untouched and pristine and is home to many endemic species and is blessed with stark but beautiful landscape, the surreal world of an era gone by, the ravage of the ravines, which have been preserved, protected, and conserved, albeit for the ‘ancient curses,’ and yes being a home to the ‘dreaded outlaws’ and ‘modern dacoits.’ Whether it was the fear for one’s life considering it was a dacoit area or also known as ‘gun powder area,’ or the curses that none wanted to garner to themselves, Chambal is slowly but steadily ebbing out of the dark shadows that it once was. The river itself passes through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, before joining the river Yamuna. Declared a Protected Area (PA) in 1978, the nomenclature of dark tourism will be ubiquitous to the Chambal River valley, considering that the area is dotted by a multitude of forts, and heritage destinations, that have frozen in the sands of time; either on account of the stories that meander, as the river does, with its deep ravines, ravines that invite the adventurer. It is the last bastion for the nation’s endangered wildlife, viz., Gharial, Maggar, Turtles, Otter, and the fresh water Dolphin, which has encouraged the Government to get the local community to be part of the special purpose vehicle promoting tourism. The authors known for their contribution to community-based ecotourism (CBE) have visited the Chambal area and worked with the communities and bureaucracy to ensure conclusions.
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Aiveen Dillon, Charlotte Wilson and Catherine Jackman
The purpose of this paper is to explore service users’ experiences of a mindfulness group intervention.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore service users’ experiences of a mindfulness group intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 15 participants with a diagnosis of a mild or moderate intellectual disability and concurrent mental health difficulties were interviewed using semi-structured interviews about their experiences of attending the mindfulness group.
Findings
Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. The three super ordinate themes that emerged were positive aspects of mindfulness, positive aspects of attending the group and negative aspects of attending the group. There were seven subthemes. The results highlighted that participants found the mindfulness group to be beneficial, partly due to specific aspects of the mindfulness intervention and partly due to the group process. The negative aspects of the group were harder to elicit, and were less specifically related to mindfulness.
Originality/value
Mindfulness-based interventions have emerged as a promising approach for individuals with intellectual disabilities with mental health difficulties. There is currently a lack of research exploring service users with intellectual disabilities about their experiences of mindfulness interventions.
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Vikram Singh, Nirbhay Sharma and Somesh Kumar Sharma
Every company or manufacturing system is vulnerable to breakdowns. This research aims to analyze the role of Multi-Agent Technology (MAT) in minimizing breakdown probabilities in…
Abstract
Purpose
Every company or manufacturing system is vulnerable to breakdowns. This research aims to analyze the role of Multi-Agent Technology (MAT) in minimizing breakdown probabilities in Manufacturing Industries.
Design/methodology/approach
This study formulated a framework of six factors and twenty-eight variables (explored in the literature). A hybrid approach of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Technique (MCDM) was employed in the framework to prioritize, rank and establish interrelationships between factors and variables grouped under them.
Findings
The research findings reveal that the “Manufacturing Process” is the most essential factor, while “Integration Manufacturing with Maintenance” is highly impactful on the other factors to eliminate the flaws that may cause system breakdown. The findings of this study also provide a ranking order for variables to increase the performance of factors that will assist manufacturers in reducing maintenance efforts and enhancing process efficiency.
Practical implications
The ranking order developed in this study may assist manufacturers in reducing maintenance efforts and enhancing process efficiency. From the manufacturer’s perspective, this research presented MAT as a key aspect in dealing with the complexity of manufacturing operations in manufacturing organizations. This research may assist industrial management with insights into how they can lower the probability of breakdown, which will decrease expenditures, boost productivity and enhance overall efficiency.
Originality/value
This study is an original contribution to advancing MAT’s theory and empirical applications in manufacturing organizations to decrease breakdown probability.
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Deepanjana Varshney and Nirbhay Krishna Varshney
Workforce agility (WFA) is an emergent research topic in volatile times. However, there is a lack of research in understanding the leadership dimension that triggers such an…
Abstract
Purpose
Workforce agility (WFA) is an emergent research topic in volatile times. However, there is a lack of research in understanding the leadership dimension that triggers such an attribute in organizations. Our study aims to understand the impact of workforce agility on empowering leadership behavior and employee performance dimensions (task performance, contextual performance and counterproductive work behavior).
Design/methodology/approach
We collected data from 236 employees using reliable, validated scales and conducted various statistical analyses.
Findings
Our results demonstrated that WFA (1) partially mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and contextual performance (CP), (2) has not mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and counterproductive behavior (CWB) and (3) mediated the relationship between empowering leadership and task performance (TP).
Practical implications
Our research has practical implications for management practitioners. It suggests hiring and developing an agile workforce through appropriate training and development programs can significantly impact organizational performance. Furthermore, it provides insights into building leadership capabilities that sustain workforce agility practices, empowering leaders to make informed decisions.
Originality/value
Our research fills a significant gap in the existing literature by exploring the effects of WFA on leadership and performance. This novel approach provides a fresh perspective on the dynamics of organizational behavior, making it a valuable addition to the field.
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Bagyalakshmi Gopi and Nusrah Samat
Service quality has been highlighted as the vital element in fulfilling customers' needs, which contributes to the customers' evaluation on the services given. As food truck…
Abstract
Purpose
Service quality has been highlighted as the vital element in fulfilling customers' needs, which contributes to the customers' evaluation on the services given. As food truck business is increasingly popular in Malaysia, it is important for the food trucks' service provider to ensure that their service quality meets the standard to satisfy the customers in order to build customer loyalty. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between food trucks' service quality with customer satisfaction and its impact toward customer loyalty. The customer service was measured using service quality (SERVQUAL) attributes (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy).
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was conducted to examine the influence of food trucks' service quality on customer satisfaction and its impact toward customer loyalty. A total of 100 food truck customers have been randomly selected to answer the self-administered questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using frequency, descriptive, reliability, Pearson correlation and regression analysis.
Findings
Findings indicated that three out of five attributes of service quality have significant relationships toward customer satisfaction. They are tangibles (β = 0.225, p < 0.05), reliability (β = 0.349, p < 0.05) and assurance (β = 0.311, p < 0.05). Moreover, the customer loyalty (β = 0.643, p < 0.01) has a significant relationship with customer satisfaction.
Originality/value
Service quality can be characterized as the discrepancy between customer service standards and actual service. When expectations are higher than performance, perceived quality is less than acceptable and therefore consumer disappointment exists which eventually decreases customer loyalty toward a product or services. The study suggested that physical image of the food trucks' service like physical facilities, how the service being performed and also courtesy and knowledge of the food trucks' employees are very important to transfer confidence and trust to customers, which then will influence them to be loyal.