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Discusses some issues related to the networking of an institution and presents the results of a field study. Institutions are bound not only to profit‐making but also to values and norms which shape their everyday lives; the introduction of computer technologies into institutional environments requires legitimization, not only in terms of time and money spared but also in terms of the perceived appropriateness of the new technological tools with respect to institutional goals. However, computer networks are not fixed objects, impermeable to the characteristics of the organizations in which they are introduced and used. On the contrary, they are configured by their users, to be adapted to their social environments. The field study, observed how members of an institution struggled to make sense of the introduction of a new computer network, and found that the final move in the process of legitimization was made by the institution itself, through a “committee for information technology”, which produced a normative artifact defining the official policy of the institution negotiating the new computer infrastructure.

A growing movement toward public access to the federal government via the Internet has created increased interest in establishing network communications and information services, especially among national officeholders. However, little empirical study of the use and users of such services exists to guide their efforts This paper reports results of a two‐part study of the use and users of US Representative Sam Coppersmith′s (D – Arizona 1) Gopher and distribution list services during the first quarter of 1994. The first part analyzes Gopher usage data gathered during the study period. The second part detials with a user survey distributed to fifty‐seven Gopher server guest registrants and eighty listserv subscribers just after the end of the study period. The research shows that (1) use of the Gopher subdirectory dwarfs that of the listserv, (2) services like Coppersmith′s should provide basic information, as well as unique and timely information and issue position statements, (3) assessment of such services is methodologically challenging, and (4) Coppersmith′s services are effective information media that promote observability of distant officeholders, a function that helps promote increased participation in government.

The purpose of this paper is to identify three key areas where autistic people may find themselves impacted through COVID-19, namely, education; employment; and anxiety.

This paper provides some views based on the extensive experience of using immersive technologies for the utilisation and application with autistic groups during COVID-19.

This paper offers some examples of immersive technology application that might be helpful for practitioners, services and others to consider in overcoming possible challenges faced by people with autism.

This opinion piece offers expert insights to the role immersive technologies and virtual reality might play during COVID-19 in the lives of autistic groups.

Focusing on two beer festivals held in Nottingham, England, this study aims to evaluate their indirect impact on the performance of city hotels. This study builds on theoretical insights from the revenue management literature to shed empirical light on the potentially beneficial effects of events on the hotels’ performance. This study investigates the impact of the differential support offered by the destination management organisation (DMO) over two years.

Using online prices posted in advance of the events on an online travel agent, the authors assess hotel performance for each day of the events relative to the same day of the week in a week with no event. A similar comparison is made to assess the impact across two different years. In both cases, an ordinary least squares methodology was used.

Both events appear not to have had a strong impact on hotel prices and occupancy in 2016, i.e. when the DMO’s promotional effort was more proactive. Instead, in 2017, one event registered higher hotel prices and occupancy both relative to the year before and to the “business as usual” week.

The study identifies the existence of an indirect positive economic impact of the events on the hospitality sector.

The investigation adopts a more naturalistic experimental design to collect the data, which allows the authors to control for both the impact on prices and occupancy at the level of the single hotel. The evidence is therefore micro-founded. Moreover, results shed light on the role played by the DMO.