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Artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing technologies have fuelled the growth of Pedagogical Conversational Agents (PCAs) with empathic conversational capabilities. However, no systematic literature review has explored the intersection between conversational agents, education and emotion. Therefore, this study aimed to outline the key aspects of designing, implementing and evaluating these agents. The data sources were empirical studies, including peer‐reviewed conference papers and journal articles, and the most recent publications, from the ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis Online, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library. The remaining papers underwent a rigorous quality assessment. A filter study meeting the objective was based on keywords. Comparative analysis and synthesis of results were used to handle data and combine study outcomes. Out of 1162 search results, 13 studies were selected. The results indicate that agents promote dialogic learning, proficiency in knowledge domains, personalized feedback and empathic abilities as essential design principles. Most implementations employ a quantitative approach, and two variables are used for evaluation. Feedback types play a vital role in achieving positive results in learning performance and student perceptions. The main limitations and gaps are the time range for literature selection, the level of integration of the empathic field and the lack of a detailed development stage report. Moreover, future directions are the ethical implications of agents operating beyond scheduled learning times and the adoption of Responsible AI principles. In conclusion, this review provides a comprehensive framework of empathic PCAs, mostly in their evaluation. The systematic review registration number is osf.io/3xk6a.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicEmotions play a pivotal role in shaping the interaction process, making it essential to consider them when designing methodological strategies or learning tools.Empathic Pedagogical Conversational Agents (PCAs) have emerged as a crucial approach for enhancing and personalizing the learning experience (24/7) for pupils and supporting human teachers in their teaching process.Despite the creation of numerous empathic PCAs, there is a scarcity of Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) on their application in the educational field, particularly concerning the integration of emotional abilities in combination with the competencies of each subject.What this paper addsIt offers new insights into the design principles underlying the integration of the empathic field.It reviews different approaches for incorporating students' prior knowledge in real time.It provides a comprehensive and up‐to‐date overview of the research designs used for implementation, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods.It examines the factors that influence the effectiveness of empathic PCA in teaching and learning.It evaluates the types of feedback that enhance the impact of the empathic field on learning outcomes.Implications for practice and/or policyIt is crucial to grasp the topics that this paper introduces in order to effectively integrate new learning tools into any context.Techno‐pedagogical designers seeking to gain insights into empathic PCAs will find immense value in this SLR, as it comprehensively covers each stage of the process.For future research endeavours, this study offers a wealth of ideas to draw upon, enabling researchers to address the challenges outlined and explore new avenues of investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing foreign language students with opportunities to engage in meaningful and purposeful communication and culturally authentic interaction with peers and native speakers is critical to successful second language acquisition and the development of intercultural competence. This paper describes research that investigated how selected native speaker mentors supported foreign language university students as they completed authentic collaborative tasks in an online community of learners. Intermediate and advanced level students of Italian at an Australian university collaborated with each other and with their assigned mentors through online resources provided in the course website. Data were collected and analysed through multi-data sources including online interactions, forum posts and individual and focus group interviews with mentors and students. Findings suggest that native speaker mentors actively supported students' learning and provided effective scaffolding across a number of domains. The paper concludes with specific recommendations to guide mentors and language educators in the process of assisting student collaborative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical urban terrain across cities continually evolves through insights, consultations, deliberate redesigning or random acts by community members and natural forces that reshape the urban landscapes and how urban spaces are used. This research establishes a set of normative principles that planners and others can use when planning and regulating the design and management of public space. Data were collected in the period March 2023 - January 2024. Based on a comprehensive analysis of public space in the city, the paper sets out a number of general principles relating to the essential, but often missing, strategic planning framework for developing and regenerating public spaces, providing seven more detailed considerations for assessing the quality of public space design and a proposal for spatial planning. This is an unreservedly positive framework for shaping public space, based on the idea that public spaces in our cities come in many different shapes and forms, but that together they add immense value to the experience and potential of urban areas. The research takes place in the Bistrița-Târgu Mureș urban axis, the field research carried out as part of the study results in a set of three principles of urban spatial planning that examine proposals for the design of public spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of children in mainstream (no fee, poorly resourced, African language dominant) public schools in South Africa fall significantly behind curricular norms in mathematics by Grade 3; the early learning gap grows across time. The provision of quality instructional materials is a well-recognised component of effective strategies to improve early grade mathematics in low- and middle-income contexts. However, there has been little explication of what constitutes quality instructional materials, nor long-term design work to contribute theory to this instructional design challenge. Across 15 years, the author has been working in an education design hub with teacher educators and teachers in the rural Eastern Cape, with the goal of improving early grade mathematics. The gains in mathematics performance have been among the most significant reported in research literature. This paper presents the design principles emerging from the work. Engaging the theoretical layers discussed by diSessa and Cobb, the paper contributes to design theory by emphasising the relationship between explicit instructional assumptions and design principles, integrating four ontological categories (motive, pedagogy, language use and mathematical meaning-making). Since 2011, the Department of Basic Education has provided learner workbooks to support teaching and learning in foundation phase mathematics at system scale. It is hoped that this paper will contribute to the ongoing development of this vital national resource. The paper makes explicit instructional assumptions and design principles (available for critique, adaptation, and refinement), and provides a more nuanced framework through which to assess and improve materials across time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Design Science Research (DSR) papers in Information Systems (IS) suggest sets of design principles (DPs) that provide knowledge for creating instances, in different contexts, of IT artefacts that belong to the same class. However, despite frameworks for evaluating DSR contributions, the evaluation of DP reusability to, with and for practitioners has been largely neglected. We suggest that in order to maintain the practical relevance of DSR, papers with DPs as their key outcomes should contain a reusability evaluation of the proposed principles. We propose a framework of minimum reusability evaluation of DPs by members of the target community of practitioners. The framework comprises five criteria: (1) accessibility, (2) importance, (3) novelty and insightfulness, (4) actability and guidance, and (5) effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation theory, which is a theory of learning developed by Marton and others, has quickly become popular in education research. Our purpose of this paper is to articulate the application of variation theory in the form of a number of concrete design principles that offer prescriptive and practical guidelines for improving the designs of educational software programs. To achieve this, we analyzed a wide range of educational software programs produced over the years in our previous projects for learning Chinese characters. From this analysis, we identified four design principles, namely, (i) not aiming to test but to bring about learning, (ii) focusing on a specific object of learning, (iii) allowing learners to explore variation to be learned, and (iv) keeping all other aspects invariant. These design principles are specialized for designing how learners interact with educational software programs, which is the major practical contribution of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the outcome of a data review of patients treated with the IOS external fixation system at the Royal Stoke University Hospital: a fixation designed to meet four requirements for external fixation proposed in this paper. Demographic data and outcome were collected and assessed. From 69 initial patients, 64 patients (55 males and 9 females) had an average age of 35.9 years. The mean time to union was 127 days. There were no incidences of malunion, or refracture post fixation removal attributable to the treatment method. In addition, in this cohort, there was no incidence of pin tract infection resulting in osteomyelitis. Of all the factors assessed the only factor to have any significant effect on healing was smoking: an average delay of 31 days. An examination of RUST (radiographic union score tibia) and modified RUST scores illustrated a potential false negative of up to 80%. Hence, this study cannot support the use of either scoring system to diagnose fracture healing. IOS external fixation was shown to be an effective method for the treatment of unstable tibial fractures. The reduction at fixation removal was shown to be very good. There was no incidence of osteomyelitis. It is, therefore, suggested that appropriately used external fixation is a viable alternative to intramedullary nailing if designed and surgically applied using four design principles outlined in this paper. Furthermore, it is proposed that external fixation be designed and applied to meet these four principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the relationship between the sustainable development of urban buildings and spatial rationality planning under the guidance of local government policies, this paper takes Beijing, Shanghai, and other regions as examples to conduct a questionnaire survey literature, analyzes environmental policies and green building principles, and puts forward several hypotheses based on relevant literature. Spatial rationality planning has an impact on the sustainable development of cities. Environmental policies and green building design principles have a constraining effect on the sustainable development of cities. Government policies can ensure the sustainability of urban building development and promote the rational distribution of space. The results show that there is an inevitable relationship between the rational spatial layout and the sustainable development of urban buildings, and environmental policy and green building design principles can promote the rational planning of space. Government policies can guide the rational layout of space and improve the sustainable development of cities. Therefore, spatial rationality planning is the main factor for the sustainable development of the city, government policy is the external factor, and environmental policy and green building design are the constraints. From the perspective of environmental policies and green building principles, local governments should guide spatial rationality planning to improve the sustainable development of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of linking paper to digital information is enhanced by recent developments in printed electronics. In this article we report the design and evaluation of a local newspaper augmented with capacitive touch regions and an embedded Bluetooth chip working with an adjunct device. These allowed the interactive playback of associated audio and the registration of manual voting actions on the web. Design conventions inherited from paper and the web were explored by showing four different versions of an interactive newspaper to 16 community residents. The diverse responses of residents are described, outlining the potential of the approach for local journalism and recommendations for the design of interactive newsprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Online interaction in blended learning is leveraged through social presence and convergence. However, little systematic work currently exists on how researchers have explored these challenges in higher education institutions and no studies have synthesised these challenges. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to give a novel overview of social presence and convergence to improve online interaction in blended learning in higher education. The findings will be synthesised into blended learning design principles. Method: Two systematic literature reviews, one on each challenge, were carried out through the Web of Science databases and consulting cited sources in review articles. Accordingly, 28 distinct studies were selected through the guidelines of the PRISMA statement, using predefined selection criteria. Results and Conclusions: The results show that social presence in blended learning is mostly evoked through course design, introductory f2f meetings, collaborative activities, prompt online feedback, the teacher's presence, and planned facilitation. To establish convergence, it is recommended to make basic theory available online through video clips, web‐lectures, articles, followed by simple online assignments or self‐study to increase understanding, thereby creating opportunities for deep learning during face‐to‐face through discussions and collaborative activities. Implications: This paper adds to the theory on blended learning and instructional design in higher education, and further offers an elaborate set of design principles for educational practice. Future research on instructional design may investigate in particular how a target group or student factors, are affected by the blended learning environment in order to tailor designs for a specific target group. Lay Description: What is known?: Online interaction is pivotal in blended learningOnline interaction is leveraged through social presence and convergenceSocial presence prevents the online student from feeling lonelyConvergence entails deciding the best‐suited delivery mode: online or face‐to‐face What this paper adds: A novel overview and critical analysis of social presence in blended learningA novel overview and critical analysis of convergence in blended learningA synthesis of the findings on social presence and convergenceExtraction of the findings into blended learning design principles Implications for practitioners: The teacher's presence through design and accessibility fosters students' social presencePlacing concepts online leaves room for deep learning during face‐to‐faceCollaborative activities evoke social presence and facilitate deep learningBlended learning designs should be further tailored for the target group [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between organizational culture (OC) profiles and the adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) design principles. We surveyed 153 middle and senior managers from Brazil and India, whose manufacturing companies have been implementing I4.0. Participants provided answers regarding the perceived OC characteristics that prevail in their companies, which were assessed based on the Competing Values Framework. We also collected data on the adoption levels of I4.0 design principles, whose analysis was conducted through the utilization of multivariate data analysis techniques. Our results indicated that, depending on the I4.0 design principle, OC profiles (Clan, Adhocracy, Market and Hierarchy) may either corroborate or impair its adoption, allowing the verification of the hypothesized relationships. The understanding of the association between OC profiles and I4.0 design principles provides practitioners with arguments to identify possible problems during their digital transformation. As changes in OC require significant efforts and are usually time-consuming, companies that can anticipate those issues might face a smoother transition towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, hence, obtaining competitive advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper examines the Information Visualization in Library and Information Science: Exploring Principles, Types, and Tools for Effective Data Communication. The paper provides a historical overview of information visualization, including its evolution, milestones, and key figures. It also explores different types of information visualization, including data visualization, scientific visualization, information design, visual analytics, infographics, and geospatial visualization. The paper then discusses the principles of information visualization, including visual perception, cognitive load, design principles, interaction principles, and usability principles. It also reviews different data visualization tools, such as web-based visualization tools, open-source visualization tools, and commercial visualization tools, and emerging technologies in information visualization. Additionally, the paper highlights challenges and opportunities in information visualization research, such as data quality and reliability, user-cantered design, ethical considerations, interdisciplinary collaboration, and emerging trends. Finally, the paper provides a summary of findings, implications for LIS practice, recommendations for future research, and a conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive study on fall recognition and forecasting for reconfigurable stair-accessing robots by leveraging deep learning techniques. The proposed framework integrates machine learning algorithms and recurrent neural networks (RNNs), specifically Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM), for fall detection of service robots on staircases. The reconfigurable stair-accessing robot sTetro serves as the platform, and the fall data required for training models are generated in a simulation environment. The two machine learning algorithms are compared and their effectiveness on the fall recognition task is reported. The results indicate that the BiLSTM model effectively classifies falls with a median categorical accuracy of 94.10% in simulation and 90.02% with limited experiments. Additionally, the BiLSTM model can be used for forecasting, which is practically valuable for making decisions well before the onset of a free fall. This study contributes insights into the design and implementation of fall detection systems for service robots used to navigate staircases through deep learning approaches. Our experimental and simulation data, along with the simulation steps, are available for reference and analysis via the shared link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The built environment and the places we inhabit have the potential of contributing significantly to our health and well-being. De-sacralization of place, however, has made it increasingly difficult for modern societies to rediscover existential dimensions of the sacred that were once readily accessible to humans of archaic societies in everyday places. How, then, could the built environment be addressed, such that everyday places support our spiritual health and well-being? What are the contributing factors? Can they be objectified? This paper seeks to weave relevant modalities of health and well-being as it relates to our inventory of spaces--in particular, the sacred place paradigm as a model for health and well-being. Within this context, the paper is intended to foster a renewed interest in the phenomenology of underlying archetypes embodied in sacred space that, in the first instance, give meaning to place, engender place as memorable to us, and in the final analysis, serve as mnemonic environmental triggers that have the potential to contribute to our health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about very interesting elements found in the daily life: signs, symbols and pictograms. From the sunrise till sunset, the people is surrounded by these things which may help to have an easier life. We have learned a lot about the capacity of these elements to act as a main guide, using many times just graphics. We have understood that signs, symbols and pictograms must catch the people's attention. These ones have to guide, allow, warn or forbidden something, inform or assure the final destination for a traveler. We have identified the typology of these graphic representations and the working process to create pictograms. Some findings and results are explained in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on mathematical equivalence, and to some extent, on number structure in early grade mathematics, has shown that most students at primary and secondary levels understand these concepts instrumentally rather than relationally. The study reported in this paper uses a design research approach to explore both mathematical equivalence and number structure in a primary pre-service teacher education programme at a university in South Africa and reports on an intervention strategy intended to culminate in developing design principles comprising guidelines for the effective teaching of number structure and mathematics equivalence in primary pre-service teacher education programmes. The mixed method study comprises 70 first-year primary pre-service teachers (PSTs) and a teacher educator. The PSTs wrote pre- and post-tests, and were interviewed following the pre-test. Skemp's notion of relational and instrumental understanding guided the design of the intervention and the analysis of the data. The results from the study indicates that PSTs' understanding of the notion of equivalence is similar to what has been reported for students in schools, and that there were some learning gains in the post-test results. Based on the findings from the study in general, some emergent design principles are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart cyber-physical systems (S-CPSs) are complex engineered systems empowered by cyber-physical computing and equipped with the capability of reasoning, learning, adapting, and evolving. As an outcome of data-driven dynamic computing, reasoning capabilities, and the run-time obtained own knowledge, nonlinear and emergent behavior of S-CPSs whilst in operation is an open issue, not experienced in the case of conventional technical systems. This paper analyzes the technical issues of run-time operation and emergent behavior of S-CPSs, reviews the current understanding and state of advancement in designing S-CPSs for run-time, explores the paradox, and issues of designing for run-time adaptation, and synthesizes some general principles that can be taken into consideration when addressing the challenges, first of all, in the context of advanced manufacturing systems. This paper introduces four levels of CPSs according to reasoning capabilities and adaptation freedom of systems, and recognizes the paradox that a system with a higher level of freedom requires a higher level of self-control and resource management according to the overall objective of operation. Specific and common design principles are presented and critically assessed for each advancement level of CPSs. The principles synthesized by the authors provide only a partial fulfillment of the generic need. The planned future research addresses these issues and proposes (largely implementation and application independent) genuine principles for system developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a design science research (DSR) study that develops design principles for "green" – more environmentally sustainable – data mining processes. Grounded in the Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) and on a review of relevant literature on data mining methods, Green IT, and Green IS, the study identifies eight design principles that fall into the three categories of reuse, reduce, and support. The paper develops an evaluation strategy and provides empirical evidence for the principles' utility. It suggests that the results can inform the development of a more general approach towards Green Data Science and provide a suitable lens to study sustainable computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reliable design of stopes is critical to ensure both safety and efficiency in mining operations. The evolving mining methods and technologies as well as increasing mining depth dictate the need to continually improve stope designs. This paper presents a comprehensive review in order to compare and consolidate various stope design methods. This review covers various aspects of stope design, including design principles, factors to consider, and the diverse range of design methods available. The results led to the classification of various methods encompassing engineering analogies, fundamentals, numerical simulations, and industrial tests. Of particular significance, the review furnishes detailed insights into the research conducted on each method, as well as each method's practical performance in engineering applications. Furthermore, the review highlights the inherent limitations in current design methods and suggests potential avenues for future research. Finally, by comprehensively considering the functional roles and advantages of each design method, it overcomes the limitations of relying solely on a single method for stope structural parameter design, and a general process is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) are reshaping urban systems, demanding substantial computational support. While existing research emphasizes the significance of establishing physical and virtual infrastructure to facilitate CAV integration, a comprehensive framework for designing CAV-related infrastructure principles remains largely absent. This paper introduces a holistic framework that addresses gaps in current literature by presenting principles for the design of CAV-related infrastructure. We identify diverse urban infrastructure types crucial for CAVs, each characterized by intricate considerations. Deriving from existing literature, we introduce five principles to guide investments in physical infrastructure, complemented by four principles specific to virtual infrastructure. These principles are expected to evolve with CAV development and associated technology advancements. Furthermore, we exemplify the application of these principles through a case study in Oxford, UK. In doing so, we assess urban conditions, identify representative streets, and craft CAV-related urban infrastructure tailored to distinct street characteristics. This framework stands as a valuable reference for cities worldwide as they prepare for the increasing adoption of CAVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green information systems are often praised for their potential to foster sustainability in citizens' daily lives and meet their needs. With this focus on citizens, districts that use smart technologies provide a litmus test, the results of which will indicate how to design smart green information systems that better meet the needs and desires of citizens. To date, however, guidelines on how to design such green information systems in urban areas or actively involve citizens in this process are few and far between. In recognition and remedy of this shortage, the study draws on the design science research paradigm to develop seven design principles for citizen-centric green information systems that can be used in sustainable smart districts. These principles are evaluated in 15 semi-structured interviews and a prototype of a mobile district app for a citizen-centric green information system is instantiated. By taking this citizen-centric perspective, the paper fosters the active involvement of humans in the design of sustainable urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All human beings in the world; no matter their race, culture, origin and religion have a right to live and access different environments with ease and comfort ability. This includes disabled persons with any type from all types of disability. Hence, we need to ensure that all the buildings that we need to access in our daily lives are designed to accommodate all. One of the most significant buildings that people spend most of their time in and their comfort being most important are residential buildings. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that residential homes incorporate inclusive design principles to accommodate all individuals, particularly those with special needs. This research paper examines residential spaces' design principles for disabled individuals in Northern Cyprus, focusing on Mağusa and Nicosia's social housing, to assess their suitability. The methodology combines qualitative and quantitative analyses. Qualitatively, it includes a literature review on design principles for disabled access and an overview of residential spaces. Quantitatively, it employs a structured questionnaire with three sections: demographics, accessibility, and housing features, using a 1–5 scale (1 being Very Poor, and 5 being Very Good). Approximately 160 questionnaires were distributed, with 147 used in the study. The findings reveal challenges with sidewalk accessibility and toilet design, indicating dissatisfaction with residential designs. Social housing in Famagusta and Nicosia also falls short of universal design standards for the disabled. Despite these issues, residents are relatively satisfied with the living room and kitchen spaces. Overall, the research concludes that Northern Cyprus residential designs inadequately address the special needs of disabled individuals, particularly regarding circulation spaces and overall quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconfigurable robots are suitable for cleaning applications due to their high flexibility and ability to change shape according to environmental needs. However, continuous change in morphology is not an energy-efficient approach, with the limited battery capacity. This paper presents a metaheuristic-based framework to identify the optimal morphology of a reconfigurable robot, aiming to maximize the area coverage and minimize the energy consumption in the given map. The proposed approach exploits three different metaheuristic algorithms, namely, SMPSO, NSGA-II, and MACO, to generate the optimal morphology for every unique layout of a two-dimensional grid map by considering the path-length as the energy consumption. The novel feature of our approach is the implementation of the footprint-based Complete Coverage Path Planning (CCPP) adaptable for all possible configurations of reconfigurable robots. We demonstrate the proposed method in simulations and experiments using a Tetris-inspired robot with four blocks named Smorphi, which can reconfigure into an infinite number of configurations by varying its hinge angle. The optimum morphologies were identified for three settings, i.e., 2D indoor map with obstacles and free spaces. The optimum morphology is compared with the standard Tetris shapes in the simulation and the real-world experiment. The results show that the proposed framework efficiently produces non-dominated solutions for choosing the optimal energy-efficient morphologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern agricultural landscape, realizing data's full potential requires a unified infrastructure where stakeholders collaborate and share their data to gain insights and create business value. The agricultural data ecosystem (ADE) serves as a crucial socio-technical infrastructure, aggregating diverse data from various platforms and, thus, advertising sustainable agriculture and digitalization. Establishing trustworthy data sharing and exchange in agro-food value chains involves socioeconomic and technological elements addressed by the agricultural data space (ADS) and its trust principles. This paper outlines key challenges to data sharing in agro-food chains impeding ADE establishment based on the review of 27 studies in scientific literature. Challenges mainly arise from stakeholders' mistrust in the data-sharing process, inadequate data access and use policies, and unclear data ownership agreements. In the ADE context, interoperability is a particularly challenging topic for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the system. Considering these challenges and data space principles and building blocks, we propose a set of design principles for ADS design and implementation that aim to mitigate the adverse impact of these challenges and facilitate agricultural data sharing and exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]