Search Results (391)

Research on the complex dimensions of engagement in large, lecture-based courses remains scarce. Lecture-based courses are often characterized by passive learning environments, raising concerns about their capacity to foster motivation. This study investigates how motivational factors shape multiple dimensions of engagement—cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and agentic—in introductory sociology courses. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was conducted with 434 first-year students enrolled at seven public universities in North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. All participants had completed the Abitur at the Gymnasium and experienced hybrid learning during their final years of secondary education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study formulated three hypotheses: (1) mastery (self-improvement) goals positively predict emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement (validated); (2) perceived autonomy support increases emotional engagement (validated); and (3) performance goals (motivation to outperform peers) have a stronger effect on emotional than cognitive engagement (rejected). Results indicate that performance goals neither enhance emotional engagement nor exert a stronger influence on emotional than on cognitive engagement, challenging common assumptions about the role of competitive motivation in large lecture settings. Additionally, despite low levels of agentic engagement—attributed to the structural constraints of large lecture-based learning environments—students’ internal engagement was in line with other studies. These findings highlight the critical role of educational culture, particularly the emphasis on autonomy within the German school system, and the influence of learning spaces in shaping student engagement. We suggest that engagement is shaped by familiarity with hybrid formats that support autonomy, as well as by an academic culture in which active silent engagement is often the norm. In such contexts, mastery goals and autonomy-supportive backgrounds help foster more reactive dimensions of student engagement. Full article

Mind wandering (MW) is a significant safety risk in driving, yet research on its scope, underlying mechanisms, and mitigation strategies remains fragmented across disciplines. In this review guided by the PRISMA framework, we analyze findings from 64 empirical studies to address these factors. The presented study quantifies the prevalence of MW in naturalistic and simulated driving environments and shows its impact on driving behaviors. We document its negative effects on braking reaction times and lane-keeping consistency, and we assess recent advancements in objective detection methods, including EEG signatures, eye-tracking metrics, and physiological markers. We also identify key cognitive and contextual risk factors, including high perceived risk, route familiarity, and driver fatigue, which increase MW episodes. Also, we survey emergent countermeasures, such as haptic steering wheel alerts and adaptive cruise control perturbations, designed to sustain driver engagement. Despite these advancements, the MW research shows persistent challenges, including methodological heterogeneity that limits cross-study comparisons, a lack of real-world validation of detection algorithms, and a scarcity of long-term field trials of interventions. Our integrated synthesis, therefore, outlines a research agenda prioritizing harmonized measurement protocols, on-road algorithm deployment, and rigorous evaluation of countermeasures under naturalistic driving conditions. Full article

The integration of virtual and augmented reality is transforming processes in the field of product design. This study evaluates the usability of immersive digital tools applied to industrial design through a combined market research and empirical case study, using the software ‘Gravity Sketch’ and the immersive headset ‘Meta Quest 3’. An embedded single case study was conducted based on the international standard ISO 9241-11, considering the dimensions of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction, analysed through nine indicators: tasks completed, time to complete tasks, dimensional accuracy, interoperability, interactivity, fatigue, human error, learning curve, and perceived creativity. The results show a progressive improvement in user–system interaction across the seven Design Units, as users become more familiar with immersive technologies. Effectiveness improves as users gain experience, though it remains sensitive to design complexity. Efficiency shows favourable values even in early stages, reflecting operational fluency despite learning demands. Satisfaction records the greatest improvement, driven by smoother interaction and greater creative freedom. These findings highlight the potential of immersive tools to support design processes while also underlining the need for future research on sustained usability, interface ergonomics, and collaborative workflows in extended reality environments. Full article

Potentially toxic elements, such as chromium (Cr) and zinc (Zn), play essential roles in humans and animals. However, the harmful effects of excessive exposure to these elements through food remain unknown. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the anthropogenic contamination of chromium and zinc in aquatic biota and seafood consumers. Based on the PRISMA protocol, 67 articles were selected for this systematic review. The main results point to a wide distribution of these elements, which have familiar emission sources in the aquatic environment, especially in highly industrialized regions. Significant concentrations of both have been reported in different fish species, which sometimes represent a non-carcinogenic risk to consumer health and a carcinogenic risk related to Cr exposure. New studies should be encouraged to fill gaps, such as the characterization of the toxicity of these essential elements through fish consumption, determination of limit concentrations updated by international regulatory institutions, especially for zinc, studies on the influence of abiotic factors on the toxicity and bioavailability of elements in the environment, and those that evaluate the bioaccessibility of these elements in a simulated digestion system when in high concentrations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Time processing is crucial for managing several aspects of our daily experiences: the continuous interaction with a changing environment requires individuals to make precise temporal judgments. Following right hemisphere damage, patients exhibited a significant alteration in perceiving temporal duration. However, this impairment usually emerges with “abstract” computerized tasks, not in everyday contexts. This study investigates estimation and reproduction of time intervals in left (LBD) and right brain damaged (RBD) patients compared to healthy controls. Methods: We adopt computerized tasks (Experiment 1) and novel virtual reality (VR) tasks where participants judged the duration of their own actions framed within a realistic VR context (Experiment 2). Results: RBD but not LBD patients underestimated time intervals, and reproduced time intervals as longer than they are. Crucially, when participants judged the temporal duration of meaningful actions performed in a realistic context through the VR scenarios, the impairment in processing time observed in RBD patients was reduced. The Voxel-lesion-symptom-mapping (VLSM) analysis revealed the neurocognitive basis of time perception. Conclusions: Our results show that meaningful actions within familiar contexts can provide a channel of information that is essential for optimal time processing, suggesting the importance of assessing time processing in an ecologically controlled manner using VR. Full article

Modern day hardware design is heavily focused on software simulations and verification. ASIC design is complex, and its abstraction may lead to losing motivation to develop knowledge and skills in the field. It is also very costly and inaccessible outside the industry, especially on a larger scale. FPGAs are devices which are affordable and allow unexperienced people, like students, to have an accessible and observable starting point in hardware development. On the other hand, protocol standards and devices nowadays are so complex that one will need to spend years to understand and feel comfortable dealing with corporate methodologies, environments and development process. One of the still evolving, recently developed ISA for example, RISC-V, is a broad area to learn. Often the fastest and in-depth way to learn is by observation, getting familiar with accessible yet challenging design and making modifications to and experimenting with such platforms. Full article

In today’s business environment, emails are essential across all sectors, including finance and academia. There are two main types of emails: ham (legitimate) and spam (unsolicited). Spam wastes consumers’ time and resources and poses risks to sensitive data, with volumes doubling daily. Current spam identification methods, such as Blocklist approaches and content-based techniques, have limitations, highlighting the need for more effective solutions. These constraints call for detailed and more accurate approaches, such as machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), for realistic detection of new scams. Emphasis has since been placed on the possibility that ML and DL technologies are present in detecting email spam. In this work, we have succeeded in developing a hybrid deep learning model, where Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and the Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) are applied distinctly to identify spam email. Despite the fact that the other models have been applied independently (CNNs, LSTM, GRU, or ensemble machine learning classifier) in previous studies, the given research has provided a contribution to the existing body of literature since it has managed to combine the advantage of LSTM in capturing the long-term dependency and the effectiveness of GRU in terms of computational efficiency. In this hybridization, we have addressed key issues such as the vanishing gradient problem and outrageous resource consumption that are usually encountered in applying standalone deep learning. Moreover, our proposed model is superior regarding the detection accuracy (90%) and AUC (98.99%). Though Transformer-based models are significantly lighter and can be used in real-time applications, they require extensive computation resources. The proposed work presents a substantive and scalable foundation to spam detection that is technically and practically dissimilar to the familiar approaches due to the powerful preprocessing steps, including particular stop-word removal, TF-IDF vectorization, and model testing on large, real-world size dataset (Enron-Spam). Additionally, delays in the feature comparison technique within the model minimize false positives and false negatives. Full article

Metaverse is reshaping how brands approach marketing, providing alternative and innovative methods for marketers to redefine their brands and reinvent the customer experience. Different sectors are still exploring the possibilities of the metaverse and are now adopting a test-and-learning mindset. This study explores consumer acceptance of metaverse marketing for branding and pre-purchase activities, comparing its effectiveness with social media platforms. Using a survey of 197 participants (45% experiencing a metaverse space on Spatial.io, 55% using Instagram), we investigated factors influencing intention to use and purchase intention through a closed-ended questionnaire. The results show that perceived usefulness is the primary driver of use intention in the metaverse (β = 0.573, p < 0.001), while habit significantly influences platform preference, particularly for social media (β = 0.767, p < 0.001). These findings provide marketers with actionable insights to leverage interactive virtual environments, enhancing branding and pre-purchase experiences by prioritizing usability and familiarity. Full article

Desktop Virtual Worlds (DVWs) offer unique spatial affordances for education, yet understanding of how these environments support meaningful learning experiences remains limited. This study introduces the Socio-Spatial Embodiment Model, a novel framework conceptualizing learning in DVWs as shaped by the interconnection of embodied presence, place-making, and community formation. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with 14 experienced educators from the Virtual Worlds Education Consortium, we investigated how these dimensions intersect and what design strategies facilitate this integration. Thematic analysis revealed that strategic design employs cognitive offloading techniques and biophilic metaphors to enhance embodied presence, balance familiar elements with spatial innovations to create meaningful places, and leverage synchronous engagement with institutional identity markers to facilitate learning communities. Our findings identified design strategies that facilitate stronger perceived student connections to the learning environment and community, when DVW designs address spatial, emotional, social, and cultural factors while reinforcing both cognitive and perceptual processes. This research advances understanding of embodied learning in virtual environments by identifying the dynamic interdependence among presence, place, and community, providing practical strategies for educators in creating more meaningful virtual learning experiences. Full article

This mixed-methods study examined the influence of physical activity on mental health and sleep quality among 78 long-distance South Asian caregivers of older adults. As caregiving demands grow globally, long-distance caregivers face unique stressors intensified by cultural obligations and geographic separation. Quantitative analyses revealed a significant inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality (p < 0.001), with caregivers experiencing frequent depressive feelings and reporting fewer hours of sleep. Although the relationship between physical activity and sleep did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.0903), a positive trend was observed: caregivers engaging in regular activity (≥5 days/week) reported better sleep. Depressive symptoms were also significantly associated with reduced physical activity (p = 0.0378). Qualitative findings enriched these results, illustrating how walking, yoga, and community sports were used to manage stress, enhance mood, and promote sleep. Participants emphasized the therapeutic value of outdoor environments and culturally familiar activities in coping with emotional strain. The findings suggest that physical activity plays an independent and protective role in caregiver well-being. Culturally responsive interventions that promote accessible physical activity may enhance mental health and sleep outcomes in this population, supporting sustainable caregiving and informing policy development for underrepresented caregiver groups. Full article

As healthcare systems face mounting pressure to modernise payment infrastructure, fintech innovations have emerged as potential tools to improve affordability and efficiency. However, the adoption of these technologies in clinical settings remains limited. This study investigated the perceptions and resistance patterns of healthcare professionals toward Buy-Now-Pay-Later technology and blockchain in healthcare finance, using Innovation Resistance Theory as the guiding framework. Survey data collected from medical practitioners (N = 366) were analysed to identify knowledge gaps, perceived risks, and tradition-related barriers that influence adoption intent. The findings reveal that while interest in financial innovation exists, resistance is driven by institutional conservatism, regulatory uncertainty, and limited familiarity with decentralised finance systems. This research contributes to the literature by offering a theory-based explanation for why even high-potential financial tools face behavioural and structural resistance in healthcare environments. Full article

The concept of gaming is universal and familiar to students worldwide. Gamification involves integrating game elements and mechanics into non-game environments, making it a valuable tool for enhancing user engagement and motivation in Human–Computer Interaction. This approach is particularly valuable for primary school education. Students are exposed to a great deal of information daily. This contains several inaccuracies and misinformation regarding the tourism sector. Our research is being conducted as part of the Computer Science course to help students aged 9 to 12 understand the concept of fake news in the context of tourism. Bilingual students brought valuable perspectives to the classroom, especially during discussions about cultural representation and media bias. Incorporating intercultural communication into learning activities helped these students enhance their language and critical thinking skills while navigating various cultural contexts. We used an application with gamification elements to engage the students and enhance their learning experience. We evaluated user experience and usability using quantitative methods through questionnaires. The results revealed that students found the application easy to use and had a positive experience with it. This study assessed the effectiveness of the educational intervention by comparing pre-test and post-test scores on a Likert scale on four key questions. The intervention was largely successful in enhancing student outcomes. These findings suggest that participants not only maintained stable information literacy behaviors over time but also showed improvements in critical evaluation and skepticism. Full article

Despite the growing acceptance of the varieties of English, standard language ideology continues to cause some to be valorized and denigrated. This paper examines the attitudes of Filipino-Americans within an inner-circle English variety zone towards Philippine English (PhE), focusing on its status, development, lexicon, intelligibility, and acceptability. The study surveyed 113 Filipino-American speakers of American English (AmE) who were familiar with Philippine culture and PhE. Studies show that some first-language English speakers exhibit negative attitudes towards new English varieties. Contrary to this trend, our findings reveal positive attitudes among AmE speakers towards PhE. However, although it is commonly understood, these positive attitudes do not guarantee the full acceptability of PhE. Notably, there is a growing trend towards the acceptability of PhE neologisms, especially in formal and scientific contexts, indicating a shift in previous perceptions. Additionally, the findings of the study highlight that word-formation processes significantly influence the acceptability of new terms across different speech domains, a novel finding that merits further investigation. Acceptability plays a vital role in the dissemination of local expressions and in shaping the status of a language variety. This research may contribute to understanding the evolving dynamics of the acceptability of PhE and its status in local and international contexts. The positive attitudes towards PhE among American English speakers indicate a shift in perceptions. Language teaching can build on this trend by fostering an environment where students are encouraged to appreciate and respect different English varieties. This can be achieved through exposure to diverse linguistic inputs and discussions on language attitudes. Full article

The paper explores virtual worlds as an innovative training platform for upskilling and reskilling smart city professionals, comprising technicians and engineers. Focusing on developing soft skills, the study presents findings from the pilot of a virtual training which was part of a comprehensive tech skills program that also included transversal skills, namely soft, entrepreneurial and green skills. Moreover, the paper describes the methodological approach adapted for the design and the use of the soft skills’ virtual world during the online multi-user sessions, and depicts the technical infrastructure used for its implementation. The virtual world was assessed with a mixed-methods approach, combining a specially designed evaluation questionnaire completed by 27 trainees with semi-structured interviews conducted with instructors. Quantitative data were analyzed to assess satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, and the relationship between curriculum design, support, and instructional quality. Qualitative feedback provided complementary insights into learner experiences and implementation challenges. Findings indicate high levels of learner satisfaction, particularly regarding instructor expertise, curriculum organization, and overall engagement. Statistical analysis revealed strong correlations between course structure and perceived training quality, while prior familiarity with virtual environments showed no significant impact on outcomes. Participants appreciated the flexibility, interactivity, and team-based nature of the training, despite minor technical issues. This research demonstrates the viability of VWs for soft skills development in technical professions, highlighting their value as an inclusive, scalable, and experiential training solution. Its novelty lies in applying immersive technology specifically to smart city training, a field where such applications remain underexplored. The findings support the integration of virtual environments into professional development strategies and inform best practices for future implementations. Full article

Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology, with immersive virtual worlds such as Extended Reality (XR) transforming how we connect and interact. XR technologies enhance communication and operational efficiency. They have been adopted in sectors such as manufacturing, education, and healthcare. However, the immersive and interconnected nature of XR introduces security risks that span from technical and human to psychological vulnerabilities. In this study, we examined security threats in XR environments through a scenario-driven risk assessment, using a hybrid approach combining Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) metrics and a custom likelihood model to quantify risks. This methodology provides a comprehensive risk evaluation method, identifying critical vulnerabilities such as Remote Code Execution (RCE), social engineering, excessive permission exploitation, unauthorized access, and data exfiltration. The findings reveal that human vulnerabilities, including users’ susceptibility to deception and excessive trust in familiar interfaces and system prompts, significantly increase attack success rates. Additionally, developer mode, once enabled, remains continuously active, and the lack of authentication requirements for installing applications from unknown sources, coupled with poor permission management on the part of the users, creates security gaps that attackers can exploit. Furthermore, permission management in XR devices is often broad and persistent and lacks real-time notifications, allowing malicious applications to exploit microphone, camera, and location access without the users knowing. By leveraging CVSS scores and a structured likelihood-based risk assessment, we quantified the severity of these threats, with RCE, social engineering, and insecure app installation emerging as the greatest risks. This study highlights the necessity of implementing granular permission controls, formalized developer mode restrictions, and structured user education programs to mitigate XR-specific threats. Full article