Religion and brand activism: Faith-based segments in the UK and their engagement in boycotting behaviour.

At present, brand activism has become an emerging marketing strategy for companies who aim to distinguish themselves in a fragmented marketplace by publicly addressing social and political issues. In a bid to foster loyalty and nurture lifelong customers, brands are aligning their values with meaning causes to spark change and inspire action. However, several brands have faced criticism or faced boycotts because of their decisions to support contentious causes. The contrasting positions adopted by brands such as Huda Beauty and McDonald's Israel amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict serve as a notable example. Existing works have focused on consumer motives for, responses to, and the effectiveness of brand boycotting. Also examined is the role of consumer affinity and animosity play in the context of boycotting campaigns. In addition to this, social media has simplified the process for activists to connect with a broader audience and garner more substantial support for their causes. With this said, the impact of religious animosity on people's attitudes toward macro boycotts is said to be culturally dependent. Yet, little research was located on the boycotting behaviour of faith-based segment in secular societies like the UK. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to examine the impact religion (and religious commitment) has on faith-based segments when boycotting brands. The objectives of the paper are threefold. First, to uncover individual motives and expectations (i.e., from personal views to social expectations). Second, identify their engagement and participation (i.e., communication, product, purchase and response) in boycotts online and offline. Third, to understand how faith-based segment perceive or measure the success of their boycotts (i.e., business impact vs. society impact). The study will encompass followers of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Sikhism, and includes respondents with no religious affiliation. variations will be assessed among religion and religiosity group, with the latter being measured through two dimensions (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic). The implication of this research enables companies to understand the mechanism of consumer boycotting behaviour in instances of brand activism

Gamification Elements for Learning Applications

Gamification technique is getting popular to be implemented in learning or training application. It is referred to the use of game elements or game thinking in a non-game context in order to increase engagement between students and learning application. Since there are many elements of games that are identified from previous works, this study focuses on game elements from Gamification technique that positively affect learning when applied to a learning application. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to identify game elements that can be gamified in a learning application; and to verify those elements by multiple users (gamers, students, and experts). Suitable game elements are identified through literature reviews. Two approaches are used to verify these elements; interview experts and administer a survey to gamers and students. The finding of this study suggests the use of a group of game elements with three aims, (1) increase the level of fun and entertainment; (2) motivate students to challenge each other; and (3) improve gaming and learning skills. In a further study, these elements will be implemented in a learning application and its effectiveness shall be tested

Exploring university students’ engagement in learning through gamification, transmedia and virtual reality

The advent of the 5th Internet generation and the evolution of university students’ behaviour leads professors, educators and researchers to search for and investigate new tools to engage students in course topics and content. The purpose of this thesis is to explore university students’ engagement for learning through gamification, transmedia and virtual reality. Although several studies have been conducted, as far as we know, the current thesis is the first to employ three tools to motivate and engage students: gamification, transmedia and virtual reality. Thus, the aims of the thesis are: (i) to comprehensively review relationship marketing and service marketing research fields, including gamification, virtual reality and education; (ii) to investigate gamification in higher education through a text mining approach; (iii) to explore transmedia effects in higher education using a mixed approach; (iv) to propose and validate a model portraying the influence of virtual reality experience on student engagement, extending the S-O-R framework. To develop this thesis and seeking to ensure its execution and results, we started with a comprehensive literature review followed by the development of three independent studies based on distinct research methodologies. From the comprehensive literature review, 115 scientific articles emerge, giving and understanding of the use of new technologies in education and, providing access to other relevant information on the topic. The first study reveals that through the application of the Kahoot! a gamification-based tool, students expressed positive emotions when asked about its use in the classroom as a learning tool. The results also show that gamification-based tools can be considered an important asset in the teaching-learning process, being able to motivate and engage students in their learning activities. The second study shows that use of Moodle as a complement to the traditional class allows students to go further in understanding the content of the course and be more engaged with the whole group of colleagues and professors. The level of student engagement and academic success seems to be higher as a result of activities based on information research, sharing and interaction through online discussion tools (such as the online forum), and analysis and discussion of case studies. The third study shows that memories are activated and stored through emotions and so, these are two key elements in virtual reality experiences that help students to become more engaged with course content. It also seems that less mindful students can benefit more than mindful ones from using virtual reality tools to become more creative and enhance their memories about the course content. Based on our findings, some theoretical contributions and managerial implications are also presented.O surgimento da 5ª geração da Internet e a evolução do comportamento dos estudantes universitários leva professores, educadores e investigadores a pesquisar e investigar novas ferramentas para envolver os alunos nos tópicos e no conteúdo dos cursos. O objetivo desta tese é explorar o envolvimento de estudantes universitários na aprendizagem através da gamificação, transmedia e realidade virtual. Embora vários estudos tenham já sido realizados, segundo sabemos, a tese atual é a primeira a utilizar três ferramentas para motivar e envolver os alunos: gamificação, transmedia e realidade virtual. Assim, os objetivos da tese são: (i) rever de forma abrangente a investigação nas áreas de marketing de relacionamento e marketing de serviços, incluindo gamificação, realidade virtual e educação; (ii) investigar a gamificação no ensino superior por meio de uma abordagem de mineração de texto; (iii) explorar efeitos transmedia no ensino superior usando uma abordagem mista; (iv) propor e validar um modelo que retrate a influência da experiência em realidade virtual no envolvimento dos alunos, alargando a estrutura S-O-R. Para desenvolver esta tese e procurar garantir a sua execução e resultados, iniciamos com uma revisão abrangente da literatura, seguida pelo desenvolvimento de três estudos independentes, baseados em metodologias distintas de pesquisa. Da revisão abrangente da literatura, emergem 115 artigos científicos, que permitem entender o uso de novas tecnologias na educação, obter acesso a outras informações relevantes sobre o tema e realizar a revisão da literatura. O primeiro estudo revela que, através da aplicação do Kahoot!, ferramenta baseada na gamificação, os alunos expressaram emoções positivas, quando questionados sobre o seu uso na sala de aula, como uma ferramenta de aprendizagem. Os resultados também mostram que as ferramentas baseadas na gamificação podem ser consideradas um ativo importante no processo de ensino-aprendizagem, podendo motivar e envolver os alunos nas suas atividades de aprendizagem. O segundo estudo mostra que o uso do Moodle, como um complemento da aula tradicional, permite que os alunos compreendam o conteúdo do curso e se envolvam com o seu grupo de colegas e professores. O nível de envolvimento e sucesso académico dos alunos parece ser maior face à realização de atividades baseadas em pesquisa de informações, partilha e interação por meio de ferramentas de discussão on-line (como o fórum on-line) e análise e discussão de estudos de caso. O terceiro estudo mostra que as memórias são ativadas e armazenadas através das emoções, logo esses são dois elementos-chave nas experiências de realidade virtual que contribuem para aprimorar e ajudar os alunos a envolverem-se mais com o conteúdo dos cursos. Parece também que os alunos menos atentos podem beneficiar mais do que os atentos, ao usar ferramentas de realidade virtual, para se tornarem mais criativos e melhorar as suas memórias sobre o conteúdo dos cursos. Com base nos nossos resultados, também são apresentadas algumas contribuições teóricas e implicações para a gestão

Review of Serious Energy Games : Objectives, Approaches, Applications, Data Integration, and Performance Assessment

In recent years, serious energy games (SEGs) garnered increasing attention as an innovative and effective approach to tackling energy-related challenges. This review delves into the multifaceted landscape of SEG, specifically focusing on their wide-ranging applications in various contexts. The study investigates potential enhancements in user engagement achieved through integrating social connections, personalization, and data integration. Among the main challenges identified, previous studies overlooked the full potential of serious games in addressing emerging needs in energy systems, opting for oversimplified approaches. Further, these studies exhibit limited scalability and constrained generalizability, which poses challenges in applying their findings to larger energy systems and diverse scenarios. By incorporating lessons learned from prior experiences, this review aims to propel the development of SEG toward more innovative and impactful directions. It is firmly believed that positive behavior changes among individuals can be effectively encouraged by using SEG

Quantitative and qualitative evaluations of impacts and benefits of nine INHERIT case studies

The INHERIT report Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluations of Impacts and Benefits of Nine INHERIT Case Studies documents the findings relevant to potential impacts and benefits of nine case studies for health, equity and a more sustainable environment. It uses a mixed method approach with quantitative methods augmented in some cases by written responses to survey questions, or by focus group discussions on impacts, as appropriate. Each case study evaluation was led by a different INHERIT partner. In each case, partners formulated the research design appropriate to their case studies and the associated research questions identified within the framework of INHERIT. The coordinating partner, University College London (UCL), developed an evaluation framework to suit the range of case studies examined for impacts and benefits, the case specific logic models developed, and the research questions identified. The nine chapters describe the impact evaluations and findings from the nine case studies using the following format: Background; Overall aims; Context; Research Questions; Methodology; Results; Discussion; Limitations; Learning points for future research; Learning points for potential scale up and transferability