Scholars widely agree that modular technologies can significantly improve environmental sustainability compared to traditional building methods. There has been considerable debate about the viability of replacing traditional cast-in-place structures with modular construction projects. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of using modular technology for construction projects in island areas. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the potential problems and suitable solutions associated with modular building project implementation. This study is accomplished through the use of qualitative and quantitative methods. It systematically examines desk research based on the wide academic literature and real case studies, collating secondary data from government files, news articles, professional blogs, and interviews. This research identifies several important barriers to the use of modular construction projects. Among the issues are the complexity of stakeholder engagement, limited practical skills and construction methodologies, and a scarcity of manufacturing capacity specialised for modular components. Fortunately, these unresolved challenges can be mitigated through fiscal incentives and governmental regulations, induction training programmes, efficient management strategies, and adaptive governance approaches. As a result, the findings support the feasibility of starting and advancing modular building initiatives in island areas. Project developers will likely be more willing to embrace and commit resources to initiate modular building projects. Additional studies can be undertaken to acquire the most recent first-hand data for detailed validation.

Given the growing significance of the metaverse in research, it is crucial to understand its scope, relevance in the tourism industry, and the human-computer interaction it involves. The emerging field of metaverse tourism has a noticeable research gap, limiting a comprehensive understanding of the concept. This article addresses this gap by conducting a hybrid systematic review, including a variable-oriented literature review, to assess the extent and scope of metaverse tourism. A scrutiny on Scopus identified a reduced number of relevant documents. The analysis exposes theoretical and empirical gaps, along with promising opportunities in the metaverse and tourism intersection. These insights contribute to shaping a contemporary research agenda, emphasizing metaverse tourism. While this study offers an overview of current research in metaverse tourism, it is essential to recognize that this field is still in its early stages, marked by the convergence of technology and transformations in tourism. This exploration underscores the challenges and opportunities arising from the evolving narrative of metaverse tourism.

Metaverse technology has various uses in communication, education, entertainment, and other aspects of life. Consequently, it necessitates using some interactive mobile applications to enter the virtual world and gain real-time, face-to-face experiences, particularly among students. This research focused on the factors accelerating metaverse technology acceptance particularly, Metaverse Experience Browser application acceptance among the students under the factors proposed by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. Notably, lack of studies in metaverse browsers and their prevalence during the post pandemic era, indicates a strong literature gap. The researchers gathered data from n = 384 higher education students from the two cities in the United Arab Emirates and applied Structural Equation modelling (SEM) for data analysis. Results revealed that Performance Expectancy (p < 0.003) and Social Influence (p = 0.000) were significant factors affecting the Behavioral Intention of the students to consider Metaverse Experience Browser as an interactive mobile application. On the other hand, behavioural Intention significantly affects (p = 0.000) Effort Expectancy, which shows how fewer efforts and greater accessibility are associated with one’s behavioural Intention. Besides, the effect of Behavioral Intention (p = 0.000) on Metaverse Experience Browser acceptance also remained validated. Finally, Effort Expectancy (p = 0.000) also indicated its significant effect on the Metaverse Experience Browser. These results indicated that the factors proposed by UTAUT have greater applicability on the Metaverse Experience Browser as they showed their relevance to its acceptance. The present study concludes that the acceptance of Metaverse Experience Browser as an interactive mobile application is a level ahead in improving students’ experiences. Thus, the Metaverse Experience Browser is considered a modified way of creating, sharing, participating, and enjoying the virtual world, indicating its greater usage among students for different purposes, including education and learning.