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.
In this study, we utilized a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained on microscopic images encompassing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the protozoan parasite “plasmodium falciparum” (causing of malaria in humans), the bacterium “vibrio cholerae” (which produces the cholera disease) and non-infected samples (healthy persons) to effectively classify and predict epidemics. The findings showed promising results in both classification and prediction tasks. We quantitatively compared the obtained results by using CNN with those attained employing the support vector machine. Notably, the accuracy in prediction reached 97.5% when using convolutional neural network algorithms.
The global adoption of sustainable development practices is gaining momentum, with an increasing emphasis on balancing the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainability. This study aims to assess the current state of these pillars within the uMlalazi Local Municipality, South Africa, and evaluate the initiatives in place to address related challenges. The purpose is to gain a deeper understanding of how effectively these three pillars are being addressed in the context of local governance. Using qualitative research methods, the study gathered data from a sample of five key informants, including three local government officials, one councillor, and one chief information officer from the local police. Data was collected through open-ended interview questions, with responses recorded, transcribed, and analysed for thematic content. The findings reveal significant gaps in the municipality’s approach to sustainability, including the absence of formalized trading areas, limited community input in planning and decision-making, high crime rates, and persistent unemployment. These issues were found to be interlinked with other challenges, such as inefficiencies in solid waste management. Additionally, the study confirms that the three pillars of sustainability are not treated equally, with economic and social aspects often receiving less attention compared to environmental concerns. This highlights the need for the municipality to focus on formalizing trading areas, encouraging local economic growth, and enhancing public participation in governance. By implementing incentives for greater community involvement and addressing the imbalances between the sustainability pillars, uMlalazi can make significant progress toward achieving more sustainable development.
This research looks into the differences in technological practices across Gen-X, Gen-Y, and Gen-Z employees in the workplace, with an emphasis on motivation, communication, collaboration, and productivity gaps. The study uses a systematic literature review to identify factors that contribute to these variations, taking into account each generation’s distinct experiences, communication methods, working attitudes, and cultural backgrounds. Bridging generational gaps, providing ongoing training, and incorporating cross-generational and technology-enhanced practices are all required in today’s workplace. This study compares the dominating workplace generations, Gen-X and Gen-Y, with the emerging Gen-Z. A review of the literature from 2010 to 2023, which was narrowed down from 1307 to 20 significant studies, emphasizes the importance of organizational management adapting to generational changes in order to increase productivity and maintain a healthy workplace. The study emphasizes the need of creating effective solutions for handling generational variations in workplace.
The detection of urban expansion through digital processing of satellite images provides valuable information for understanding the dynamics of land use change and its spatial relationship with environmental factors. In order to apply or generate effective land-use planning policies, it is essential to have a historical record of the regional distribution of human settlements, an element that is practically non-existent in our country. For this reason, this text aims to determine the urban growth rate during the period 2000–2014 in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, and to identify potential expansion zones from Landsat images. Six Landsat scenes were used for the spatial analysis of the state urban coverage and their relationship with the road influence area was evaluated. Two maps were obtained as cartographic products: one of urban coverage distribution and another of the municipalities with the greatest expansion, whose areas are located in the Valle del Mezquital region. However, Mineral de la Reforma, Tetepango, Tizayuca and Pachuca de Soto stand out for their growth rates during the study period: 183.44%, 102%, 94% and 68.5%, respectively. In total, the state urban area in-creased 72.3 km2 from 2000 to 2014 with an average growth rate of 1.8% per year. Such growth was associated with the areas of influence of important road infrastructure, such as the Libramiento Arco Norte in Hidalgo. Therefore, the Mezquital Valley and the Mexico Basin are considered as potential regions for urban expansion in the state.
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