Augmented reality mobile application for museum: a technology acceptance study

The tourism sector in Malaysia is reported for losing its global competitiveness when the nation missed its tourism targets recently. Mirrored at the state level, the tourism performance of Melaka, a heritage city inscribed by the UNESCO, is also experiencing similar downward trend. The museums, which play a pivotal role in showcasing the local culture and history, have seen decreasing number of visitors. Inspired by Tourism 4.0, many museums are now using digital technologies to enrich visitors’ experience, such as augmented reality (AR). This is because the tourists are now becoming more tech-savvy and expecting culture and heritage to be presented lively rather than exhibited in dusty glass boxes. In the “When History Comes Alive” Project, an AR mobile app was developed for the People’s Museum in Melaka. Although tourism studies have widely discussed the managerial implications of AR, user’s acceptance of AR in the tourism context is still in its infancy. Hence, this study aimed to examine the factors affecting museum visitors’ behavioural intention to use the AR mobile app. A survey was conducted among 120 museum visitors. The findings showed that playfulness expectancy, content relevance expectancy, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence positively affect the respondents’ behavioural intention to use the AR mobile app with a high explanatory power of 61.2%. Significant managerial and practical implications to the developers of AR mobile app, tourism businesses and policy makers are highlighted in this paper. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future studies are also addressed

Interactive Panorama VR360 for Corporate Communications: An Industrial Scenario Case Study

This case study explores interactive panorama implementation for corporate communications virtual reality 360 (VR360) application. Interactive panorama permits spherical panorama digital imagery being presented in three hundred sixty degrees visual experience instead of single angle limitation in conventional static image. The study proposes the use of interactive panorama as a corporate communications tool being considered from three experimental PEP aspects. The exploration of PEP framework seeks the suitability of implementing three key aspects of people, equipment and product for interactive panorama virtual reality 360 experience. With the developing advances of interactive panorama, it has been introduced by online social media providers as essential feature which allows individual and corporate users to post 360 content. This case study takes advantage on the actual on-going marketing experience and technical insight of a participating case company and several industrial scenario use cases. In this paper we describe interactive panorama content creation, PEP framework, a user study and directions for future work

The effect of active learning strategies on students’ attitudes towards English: a study at Universiti Teknologi Petronas

The availability and diversity of instructional methods in English classroom has increased tremendously in the last decade. As a result, the lecture format has been redesigned and more interactive teaching and learning strategies have been developed. Hence, this paper explores the effect of active learning on students’ attitudes in learning English as a second language (ESL). Active learning techniques were employed in teaching and learning process for the duration of 12 weeks. At the end of the semester session 2017/2018, a set of questionnaire on students’ attitudes towards English language and active learning was administered to 100 foundation students of English language course at Universiti Teknologi Petronas. The descriptive quantitative analysis was employed to analyse the data by using IBM SPSS statistical software. Findings of the study show that most students have positive attitude towards both English and the use of active learning to teach English. Besides, the higher-order cognitive skill and soft-skill could be developed through the use of active learning strategies

Awareness and Readiness of Malaysian University Students for Emotion Recognition System

Emotion Recognition System (ERS) identifies human emotion like happiness, sadness, anger, disgust and fear. These emotions can be detected via various modalities such as facial expression analysis, voice intonation, and physiological signals like the brain’s electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart’s electrocardiogram (ECG).  The emotion recognition system allows machines to recognized human emotions and reacts to it. It offers broad areas of application, from smart home automation to entertainment recommendation system to driving assistance and to automated security system. It is a promising and interesting field to be explored especially as we are moving towards industrial revolution 5.0. Therefore, a survey was conducted on the awareness and readiness of the usage of emotion recognition system among Malaysian youths, specifically among university students. The findings are presented here. Overall, positive orientation towards the technology is observed among the participants and they are ready for its adoptio

SARS-CoV-2 infection and venous thromboembolism after surgery: an international prospective cohort study

SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients. Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, this study aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk of venous thromboembolism. We conducted a planned sub-study and analysis from an international, multicentre, prospective cohort study of elective and emergency patients undergoing surgery during October 2020. Patients from all surgical specialties were included. The primary outcome measure was venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis) within 30 days of surgery. SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis was defined as peri-operative (7 days before to 30 days after surgery); recent (1–6 weeks before surgery); previous (≥7 weeks before surgery); or none. Information on prophylaxis regimens or pre-operative anti-coagulation for baseline comorbidities was not available. Postoperative venous thromboembolism rate was 0.5% (666/123,591) in patients without SARS-CoV-2; 2.2% (50/2317) in patients with peri-operative SARS- CoV-2; 1.6% (15/953) in patients with recent SARS-CoV-2; and 1.0% (11/1148) in patients with previous SARS- CoV-2. After adjustment for confounding factors, patients with peri-operative (adjusted odds ratio 1.5 (95%CI 1.1–2.0)) and recent SARS-CoV-2 (1.9 (95%CI 1.2–3.3)) remained at higher risk of venous thromboembolism, with a borderline finding in previous SARS-CoV-2 (1.7 (95%CI 0.9–3.0)). Overall, venous thromboembolism was independently associated with 30-day mortality (5.4 (95%CI 4.3–6.7)). In patients with SARS-CoV-2, mortality without venous thromboembolism was 7.4% (319/4342) and with venous thromboembolism was 40.8% (31/76). Patients undergoing surgery with peri-operative or recent SARS-CoV-2 appear to be at increased risk of postoperative venous thromboembolism compared with patients with no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Optimal venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and treatment are unknown in this cohort of patients, and these data should be interpreted accordingly

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18–49, 50–69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population

Bringing 'place' back in: regional clusters, project governance, and new product outcomes

We examine new product outcomes in the context of regional clusters. Based on past research on marketing relationships, clusters, and social networks, we propose that the overall configuration of a cluster helps promote particular governance practices among its members. These practices have distinct value-creating properties, and when they are brought to bear on a specific new product development project within a cluster, they promote performance outcomes like product novelty and speed to market. Ultimately, these performance effects are reinforced by the configuration of the cluster itself. In general, we propose that new product outcomes follow from complex interactions between a cluster's macro-level configuration and its micro-level governance processes. More broadly, our framework points to the importance of geographical variables and to the role of “place” in marketing decision-making

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Convergence and inclusive innovation in the communications sector

This study propose to explore the level of inclusive innovation adoption in converged telecommunications as perceived by industry players in Malaysia as well as their attitudes towards the idea using Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The paper shares the findings of the pilot study conducted in a focus group of Malaysian telecommunications industry players. Discussions on the robustness of the tool developed some descriptive statistics, preliminary findings and recommendations for the communications sector are given as well as implications for next stages of the work

Innovation, convergence and the disenfranchised: Investigating the inclusiveness of convergence in Malaysia

This study proposes to explore the level of inclusive innovation adoption in converged telecommunications as perceived by industry players in Malaysia as well as their attitudes towards the idea using Ajzen's theory of planned behavior (TPB). The paper shares the findings of the pilot study conducted in a focus group of Malaysian telecommunications industry players. Discussions on the robustness of the tool developed, some descriptive statistics, preliminary findings and recommendations for the communications sector are given as well as implications for next stages of the work. In general, the findings indicated that the Malaysian communications industry players moderately agreed on the inclusiveness of the convergence goods currently available in the markets. However, the findings also indicated more can be done to enhance the level of inclusiveness. Furthermore, there appear to be certain differences in attitude towards inclusive innovation according to gender and generation