Pedagogical Evolution in the Teaching of Reference Services Enabled by the Use of 3D Immersive Virtual World Technology

Author(s):  
Nita J. Matzen ◽  
Kim Becnel ◽  
Geraldine Purpur

This chapter shares the development and implementation of a redesigned Information Sources and Services course and presents a case study that examines the impact of that course on student learning. The revised course applies Presence Pedagogy incorporating epistemic framing through extended role-play and the use of experienced mentors in a three-dimensional immersive virtual environment. Also examined are: changes in students’ comfort level while playing the role of reference librarian, their technology skills and confidence, similarities and dissimilarities between the game role and an imagined real-life role, students’ comfort level with the presence of a mentor, and their incorporating mentor suggestions.

2022 ◽  
pp. 089331892110622
Author(s):  
Charis Rice ◽  
Rosalind H. Searle

This paper explores the role of internal communication in one under-researched form of organizational crisis, insider threat – threat to an organization, its people or resources, from those who have legitimate access. In this case study, we examine a high security organization, drawing from in-depth interviews with management and employees concerning the organizational context and a real-life incident of insider threat. We identify the importance of three communication flows (top-down, bottom-up, and lateral) in explaining, and in this case, enabling, insider threat. Derived from this analysis, we draw implications for communication and security scholars, as well as practitioners, concerning: the impact of unintentional communication, the consequences of selective silence and the divergence in levels of shared understanding of security among different groups within an organization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.


Author(s):  
Rade M. Ciric ◽  
Sasa N. Mandic

AbstractThe Republic of Serbia must make significant efforts to promote and exploit renewable energy sources and increase energy efficiency in all energy sectors to ensure energy security and economic competitiveness, reduce the negative impact on the environment from energy production and use, and contribute to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. Within the paper several issues of integration of recently realized CHP plant are introduced and discussed. Firstly, the legal and energy policy issues in the Republic of Serbia regarding connecting CHP to the grid are presented. The challenges and technical solutions for CHP connection to the grid, as well as power quality issues and the role of the CHP plant during the restoration of power supply during the maintenance of the substation and unplanned loss of high voltage supply, are presented and discussed. Finally, the impact of prospective massive integration of CHP on the energy balance and CO2 emission reduction in the province of Vojvodina in Serbia is investigated and discussed. Since it is the first CHP plant realized in Serbia, it is crucial that experience be shared to all potential stakeholders in the future energy efficiency projects.


Author(s):  
Oriol Ríos-González ◽  
Mimar Ramis-Salas ◽  
Juan Carlos Peña-Axt ◽  
Sandra Racionero-Plaza

Background: Men who develop behaviors connected with the model of hegemonic masculinity present several health problems. Previous research has shown the types of problems that men commonly suffer in this regard such as chronic diseases, dietary disorders, and traffic accidents. To combat and overcome this situation, several campaigns, policies and recommendations have been undertaken, and consequently, their influence has been analyzed. However, there have been few investigations into the role of men’s friendship in the reduction of these physical health problems. The findings presented in this article are focused on this issue, illustrating the impact of male friendship on the shaping of healthy behaviors. Methods: Drawing upon a qualitative-based methodology articulated in a case study of the Men in Dialogue association, located in Spain, the study has followed the premises of the communicative approach, a total of 15 structured online open-ended questionnaires have been performed and analyzed. The median age of the participants is 37.5 years. Results: The findings show how men involved in Men in Dialogue are promoting a kind of masculine friendship that is improving men’s emotional well-being and, consequently, their physical health.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the combining of marketing and organizational literature. This paper seeks to evaluate the relationships between multichannel coordination and customer participation, as seen through the lens of potential customer opportunism. It aims at showing the impact of this opportunism on the organizational design of multiple channels structures.Design/methodology/approachThe research reports on an exploratory case study in a French retail bank. A total of 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted, and the use of other sources enabled data triangulation.FindingsThe results show first that an increase in the number of distribution channels is liable to favor customer opportunistic behavior. To counter this, the bank mainly relies on impersonal coordination modes. An emerging result highlights the role of the customer as a “perceptual filter” between the different channels of employees.Research limitations/implicationsCustomer opportunism is studied via channels employees perceptions. An investigation using a customer survey may help to better understand this construct, e.g. to identify its antecedents, and to measure it precisely. Moreover, further qualitative and/or quantitative studies with larger sample sizes are needed to try and generalize these results.Practical implicationsIt is recommended not to forget that customers can facilitate or hinder multichannel coordination. Retail banks have the power to use them conveniently, provided that they are fully conscious of the scope of the “partial employee” role played by the customer.Originality/valueThis paper broadens understanding of how multichannel distribution structures are coordinated, and in a way belies traditional organizational design literature. The emerging result gives birth to the concept of “reversed interactive marketing”, which has interesting theoretical and practical repercussions.


Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 890
Author(s):  
Paolo Di Giamberardino ◽  
Rita Caldarella ◽  
Daniela Iacoviello

This paper addresses the problem of describing the spread of COVID-19 by a mathematical model introducing all the possible control actions as prevention (informative campaign, use of masks, social distancing, vaccination) and medication. The model adopted is similar to SEIQR, with the infected patients split into groups of asymptomatic subjects and isolated ones. This distinction is particularly important in the current pandemic, due to the fundamental the role of asymptomatic subjects in the virus diffusion. The influence of the control actions is considered in analysing the model, from the calculus of the equilibrium points to the determination of the reproduction number. This choice is motivated by the fact that the available organised data have been collected since from the end of February 2020, and almost simultaneously containment measures, increasing in typology and effectiveness, have been applied. The characteristics of COVID-19, not fully understood yet, suggest an asymmetric diffusion among countries and among categories of subjects. Referring to the Italian situation, the containment measures, as applied by the population, have been identified, showing their relation with the government's decisions; this allows the study of possible scenarios, comparing the impact of different possible choices.


Author(s):  
Rizki Mohamed

The Tagueleft basin is geographically located in the northern edges of the Middle High Atlas, which is a geomorphological fragile area. The impact of human activity has accelerated water erosion in this mountains area. This is reflected in dynamic and unstable foothills, a decrease in forests density and degradation in the production of the land. On the other hand, land degradation due to human overexploitation of natural resources has increased land degradation in the area. The interest in the risk of erosion on the foothills in the area under study comes in the context of our contribution to clarify the role of geomatical and geomorphological approaches in explaining and identifying the mechanisms responsible for current foothills dynamism through water erosion and its negative impacts on the environment and local development. The aim of the study was to use the EPM (Erosion Potential Méthod) which is formulated by Slobodan Gavrilovic for erosion in mountainous areas and to test the reliability of its results based on fieldwork and remote sensing data. The results of the erosion assessment and its quantification by applying the coefficient (W) for the theoretical model in the area under study have shown that erosion is very important and it touches on wide areas as it appears through the domain classification of the distribution erosion in Tagueleft basin.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadett Koles ◽  
Peter Nagy

Virtual social environments opened the door to individual experiences that may not be feasible or possible in real physical settings; in turn bringing to question the applicability of certain more traditional theories to digital environments. Addressing some of this gap in the available literature, in the current study, we compare virtual and real life identities simultaneously, as well as explore the impact of selfconsciousness on virtual identity. Our results indicate that while some of the overall trends are similar between identities constructed in the physical world and those constructed in virtual settings, different identity elements and dimensions tend to be emphasized to different degrees. Furthermore, we find evidence for the role of private in addition to public self-consciousness as influencing virtual existence. In other words, in addition to the general emphasis concerning the  role of socially influenced external elements in the formulation of virtual identities, the current study highlights the importance of more internalized and  individual level attitudes and perceptions, including one’s inner thoughts, emotions, and perspectives. Implications and future directions are discussed.


Dementia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 3161-3164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudi Coetzer

The paper explores the important role of relatives in designing assistive technologies in collaboration with practitioners. A brief case study reports the collaborative design of a 24-hour clock to reduce the impact of visual–spatial impairment on a family member's ability to read time and prevent temporal disorientation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-262
Author(s):  
Onuma Suphattanakul

Purpose: This study evaluates the role of transformational leadership in effective strategic implementation. The purposes of this study are; first, to examine the degree of transformational leadership of administrative officials; second, to assess the degree of effective strategic implementation; third, to investigate the impact of transformational leadership on effective strategic implementation. Finally, this study examines the roles of organizational culture as a moderator of the association between transformational leadership and effective strategic implementation. Methodology: This study uses the case study of municipalities in Trang Province in Thailand. This research employs quantitative methods. The questionnaires are collected from administrative officials of municipalities in Trang Province. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the data. This study uses Pearson correlation analysis to achieve the associations between two variables. In addition, regression analysis is applied as a suitable statistical tool to test the hypotheses. Implication: This study combined the framework of strategic management, leadership, and organizational culture for testing the conceptual model. The study is particularly useful for improving the roles of administrative officials in order to achieve effective strategic in municipalities.


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