Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can impair communication, social skills, living skills, and learning capabilities. Learning approaches usually differ between mainstream schools and special needs schools, to cater for the different learning processes of children with ASD. Besides the traditional classroom-based education, alternative technology and methods are explored for special needs education. One method is to train children with ASD using Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. Many prior works show the effectiveness of VR-based learning with varying degrees of success. Some children with ASD may face challenges to gain independent living skills. Their parents or guardians have to expend a significant amount of effort in taking care of children with ASD. It will be very helpful if they can have a learning opportunity to gain such living skills. In this research, we develop a VR serious game to train children with ASD one of the basic living skills for road crossing safely. The VR serious game operates on multiple types of platforms, with various user interaction inputs including the Microsoft Kinect sensor, keyboard, mouse, and touch screen. The game design and methodology will be described in this paper. Experiments have been conducted to evaluate the learning effectiveness of the road crossing game, with very positive results achieved in the quiz and survey questionnaire after the gameplay.

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In this case study, we investigated the effectiveness of growth mindset and social belonging interventions in a college setting with large numbers of traditionally underrepresented groups (n = 1,091). In doing so, we highlight the characteristics of the students in our study that are important for determining whether we should expect such interventions to be effective for diverse higher education populations. Correlational analyses revealed no evidence that growth mindset or social belonging were barriers to academic success among targeted subgroups in our sample. Additionally, we found no evidence that underrepresented minority, first-generation, or low-income students substantially endorsed fixed mindset or belonging uncertainty measures at baseline. We discuss benefits of testing basic assumptions for interpreting null results, including choosing the most appropriate interventions, accurately identifying subgroups who face psychological barriers to academic success, and establishing “redundancy thresholds” at which messages do not need to be reinforced by interventions.

Live Streaming Video (LSV) is a new form of social media-based entertainment business which is rapidly growing in popularity. Yet little research exists on the operations/strategies of LSV businesses. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate 'what operational strategies does the companies implement in developing their clientele and market share in LSV marketplace?' The study conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key executives in LSV businesses, and interviews data were content analyzed. The results show that: (1) LSV companies develop their operational strategy in four aspectsproduct, promotion, pricing and distribution; (2) LSV companies benefit from the common video content of e-sports matches and Games, but this commonality has some negative effects because it may shift the market power from the LSV platforms to users; and (3) LSV companies that leverage network effect by offering 'Danmu' system-type of online chatting during streaming of video, gift system and hire famous anchors consolidate their market presence. Theoretically, the study provides evidence of a new operational approach that interfaces marketing elements and offers insights into some key strategies for LSV business development. Managerially, the study identifies practical strategies to enhance decision making for entering and sustaining operations in emerging LSV markets.

Education plays an important role in nurturing children. COVID-19 pandemic brings challenges or disruptions to school education, due to school closures in some countries. Science subject in primary schools is unique as hands-on experiments are important learning components. Its learning process may be affected, as a new norm of online learning or home-based learning. This research project creates a serious game on science subject for primary school students aging within 10 to 11 years old using virtual reality (VR) technology. It consists of three virtual learning phases. Phase 1 explains theories of science topics on electricity and electric circuits. Phase 2 provides interactive hands-on experiment exercises where students can practice theory knowledge learned in the previous phase. An interactive quiz session is offered to reinforce the learning in Phase 3. Interactive VR features enable primary school students learning abstract science concepts in an interesting way compared to conventional classroom settings. Meticulous design attentions have been placed in the details such as visual instructions, voice instructions, speech tempo, animations, and colorful graphics to create a sense of realism and keep students actively engaged. Preliminary case study has been conducted with 10 students at primary schools in Singapore to evaluate learning effectiveness in this research.