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1 – 10 of 17Richard G. Mathieu and Alan E. Turovlin
Cyber risk has significantly increased over the past twenty years. In many organizations, data and operations are managed through a complex technology stack underpinned by an…
Abstract
Purpose
Cyber risk has significantly increased over the past twenty years. In many organizations, data and operations are managed through a complex technology stack underpinned by an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system such as systemanalyse programmentwicklung (SAP). The ERP environment by itself can be overwhelming for a typical ERP Manager, coupled with increasing cybersecurity issues that arise creating periods of intense time pressure, stress and workload, increasing risk to the organization. This paper aims to identify a pragmatic approach to prioritize vulnerabilities for the ERP Manager.
Design/methodology/approach
Applying attention-based theory, a pragmatic approach is developed to prioritize an organization’s response to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Vulnerability Database (NVD) vulnerabilities using a Classification and Regression Tree (CART).
Findings
The application of classification and regression tree (CART) to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Vulnerability Database identifies prioritization unavailable within the NIST’s categorization.
Practical implications
The ERP Manager is a role between technology, functionality, centralized control and organization data. Without CART, vulnerabilities are left to a reactive approach, subject to overwhelming situations due to intense time pressure, stress and workload.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is original and has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. CART has previously not been applied to the prioritizing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
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Exploring subjective experiences of people living with dementia through qualitative research has become increasingly common in recent decades. Nonetheless, researchers have shared…
Abstract
Exploring subjective experiences of people living with dementia through qualitative research has become increasingly common in recent decades. Nonetheless, researchers have shared a number of ethical challenges in involving people living with dementia in research. A concept that has been influential in discussions about ethics within the field of dementia care, in particular, is person-centredness. A person-centred approach reflects values of respect for personhood and the rights of a person and of building mutual trust and understanding. This chapter presents my experience of adopting person-centred ethical practices in a sensory ethnographic study involving older adults living with dementia. I highlight person-centred ethical considerations at the design stage of my study and occasions during the conduct of my research when research methods and processes were adapted to further meet the needs of the participants. A person-centred approach required that I continually assessed the need to make ethical decisions in every aspect of the research process throughout its duration. Building and drawing on positive researcher–participant relationships to inform those decisions and an adaptable research design allowing research practices to be adapted in situ were therefore essential.
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Fateme Jafari and Ahmad Keykha
This research was developed to identify artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities and challenges in higher education.
Abstract
Purpose
This research was developed to identify artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities and challenges in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative research was developed using the six-step thematic analysis method (Braun and Clark, 2006). Participants in this study were AI PhD students from Tehran University in 2022–2023. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants; a total of 15 AI PhD students, who were experts in this field, were selected and interviews were conducted.
Findings
The authors considered the opportunities that AI creates for higher education in eight secondary subthemes (for faculty members, for students, in the teaching and learning process, for assessment, the development of educational structures, the development of research structures, the development of management structures and the development of academic culture). Correspondingly, The authors identified and categorized the challenges that AI creates for higher education.
Research limitations/implications
Concerning the intended research, several limitations are significant. First, the statistical population was limited, and only people with characteristics such as being PhD students, studying at Tehran University and being experts in AI could be considered the statistical population. Second, caution should be exercised when generalizing the results due to the limited statistical population (PhD students from Tehran University). Third, the problem of accessing some students due to their participation in research grants, academic immigration, etc.
Originality/value
The innovation of the current research is that the authors identified the opportunities and challenges that AI creates for higher education at different levels. The findings of this study also contribute to the enrichment of existing knowledge in the field regarding the effects of AI on the future of higher education, as researchers need more understanding of AI developments in the future of higher education.
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Religious and secular pilgrimages present rich opportunities for investigating information activities in an original and intriguing context. While the Information Science…
Abstract
Purpose
Religious and secular pilgrimages present rich opportunities for investigating information activities in an original and intriguing context. While the Information Science community has previously shown interest in digital expressions of religion and spirituality, discussion on pilgrimage is at a nascent stage. The purpose of this study is to conduct an in situ investigation of how pilgrims record, curate, and share their experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A field ethnography was conducted while walking with, observing and interviewing pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago, a popular European pilgrimage and UNESCO World Heritage route. Data collected from 25 semi-structured interviews and participant observations were thematically analysed within a theoretical framework combining Stebbins' contemplation and Nature Challenge Activity in serious leisure and Hektor's model of information behaviour.
Findings
This study expands the interpretation of pilgrimage by introducing new insights into pilgrims, different types of mobilities, spaces and objects, and social interactions. By using field ethnography and close-up observations of praxis, pilgrimage is analysed as a socio-technical process and discussed literature within and beyond Information Science. The work presents new understandings of the interplay between spirituality, embodied information practices, physical and online social interactions, analogue and digital media before, during and after these journeys and legacy aspirations.
Originality/value
The study is original in its combination of theoretical models and their ethnographic in situ application. It contributes to a more in-depth, in-the-field understanding of how pilgrims document their experiences via a rich palette of old and new media, the dynamics of using digital technologies during such physical and inner journeys and pilgrims' sharing practices. Implications for serious leisure and information practices are discussed, from theoretical to practical challenges and opportunities offered by pilgrimage experiences.
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Deneise Dadd and Matthew Hinton
This study aims to investigate the growing use of financial metrics (such as return on investment [ROI]) to measure performance and evaluate human capital (HC) investments.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the growing use of financial metrics (such as return on investment [ROI]) to measure performance and evaluate human capital (HC) investments.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employed an embedded case study approach, examining how one ROI approach was applied to evaluating HC investments, across three sectors (corporate, public health and international development).
Findings
Three major findings emerged in this study: First, interpretations of ROI can lead to ambiguity during implementation. ROI is interpreted trichotomously – metaphorically, as a desire for value; literally, as a metric; and procedurally, as a method for planning and evaluating HC investments. Second, understanding, measuring and tracking the domains of people performance (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) is vital to evaluating the impact of HC investments because this is where the change in behavior occurs. Third, although the logic model measures the change in process following an intervention (input-activity-output-outcome-impact), other approaches measure the change in behavior of people in the intervention (people performance).
Practical implications
These findings provide clarity for practitioners about challenges when applying ROI.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explore how the ROI financial metric is applied in a new domain by first examining its interpretation. It elucidates the use of ROI in practice, as well as the different purposes of key ROI approaches.
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Raimunda Bukartaite and Daire Hooper
This study explores insights from key stakeholders into the skills they believe will be necessary for the future of work as we become more reliant on artificial intelligence (AI…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores insights from key stakeholders into the skills they believe will be necessary for the future of work as we become more reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. The study also seeks to understand what human resource policies and educational interventions are needed to support and take advantage of these changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative study where a sample of highly experienced representatives from a range of small to large Irish organisations, both public and private, provide insights into this important topic.
Findings
Findings indicate participants see a continued need for soft and hard skills as we evolve towards a more technologised workplace, with a need for employees to adopt a lifelong learning philosophy. As the knowledge economy in Ireland is well established, experts do not expect mass displacement to occur but differ with respect to the predicted rate of change. Novel HR interventions such as hiring for potential, pooling talent and establishing postgraduate supply contracts are seen as key. Current state interventions were mostly viewed positively but revamping of curricula is needed as well as stronger partnerships with tertiary institutions.
Research limitations/implications
The interpretivist nature of the study limits the generalisability of the findings as they are based on a relatively small sample from one country. Also despite the significant expertise of the sample, it is not possible to predict whether their forecasts will manifest.
Practical implications
This research highlights the need for Irish SMEs to embrace the impacts of automation and AI as many are seen to be slow in reacting to changes in technology. The study also reveals cutting edge talent management interventions for employers to adopt that will insulate them from the challenges technological change presents to recruitment and employee development.
Originality/value
The findings from this paper culminate in the development of a conceptual framework, which encapsulates the responsibilities of all parties so that future skills needs will be met. This highlights the interplay between employers, individuals/employees, the Irish Government and educational institutions, demonstrating how they are interdependent on one another as we move towards a more technologised future.
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Although commitment and employability are legitimized in the current world of work, they also have a dark side that has been ignored in the extant literature. To tackle this gap…
Abstract
Purpose
Although commitment and employability are legitimized in the current world of work, they also have a dark side that has been ignored in the extant literature. To tackle this gap, the study developed and examined a comprehensive theoretical framework including learning, motivation, commitment, employability and self-exploitation. Limited research exists that explicitly examines this relationship or explores its potential implications. The author theorizes employability as a cultural fantasy that ends up in self-exploitation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study concretizes Lacan's (1977; 1981 and 1988) psychoanalysis, utilizing a sample of 658 subjects from eight industries. The hypothesized relationships were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS.
Findings
The findings provided support for the hypothesized relationships. Employability escorts to self-exploitation. Those employees who try to remain relevant to their firms continue to engage in employability activities end up being exploited in this process.
Research limitations/implications
The study provides a new roadmap to scholars of employability who wish to explore the domain further.
Practical implications
The theoretical knowledge from this research will inform practice. It will influence managers and policymakers in the organization as well as politicians. Although the macroaspects of the organizational environment are beyond the control of an organization, the development efforts of the organization should be real and should not estrange individuals from their true nature. The real intent should be to unite the individual with its true nature. This way, it will be real development and will empower individuals rather than exploitation.
Social implications
The finding that commitment is linked to self-exploitation via employability has implications for managers and policymakers. To avoid estrangement and exploitation, the organization should focus on employee real development. To have an ideal workplace, where employees unite with their nature, the organization should invest in employees, focus on their real needs, emphasize their career prospects and constantly provide them with learning and growth opportunities. In addition to material compensation, the organization should connect people with their true spirit. An organization that is concerned with people's real needs and real development will have a pool of human capital that will create real value for the organization and society as well.
Originality/value
The dark side of employability has been ignored in the extant literature. Limited research exists that explicitly examines this relationship or explores its potential implications. This study is an initiative for such debate.
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Judy Njuguna, Dilshad Sarwar, Ebenezer Laryea and Amin Hosseinian-Far
A Digital Twin (DT) is a digital replica of an artefact which is updated on real-time or semi–real-time basis. In 2017, Gartner listed DT as one of the top 10 emerging…
Abstract
A Digital Twin (DT) is a digital replica of an artefact which is updated on real-time or semi–real-time basis. In 2017, Gartner listed DT as one of the top 10 emerging technologies of the year. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to develop architecture and reference models for DTs, and in some studies, DT construction for real-world case studies is reported. This chapter attempts to provide a contextualised background on DT for smart cities. It also discusses various stakeholders involved in devising and/or employing DTs in a smart city. The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations for the training requirements of final DT users.
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Tunyaporn Vichiengior, Claire-Lise Ackermann and Adrian Palmer
The purpose of this study is to explore consumer anticipation processes that occur after commitment to a purchase has been made, but before consumption occurs. The authors add to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore consumer anticipation processes that occur after commitment to a purchase has been made, but before consumption occurs. The authors add to the knowledge and theory building about anticipation that occurs in this liminal phase by investigating the cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes that interact to influence post-consumption evaluations.
Design/methodology/approach
An abductive research approach used a phase-based research design using semi-structured interviews. The authors identify interactions between cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes that occur during anticipation and associate these with post-consumption outcomes.
Findings
Anticipation of a consumption experience, enacted through thoughts, emotions and actions, and undertaken with peers, is an experience per se, independent from and interdependent with the substantive experience, and contributes to performance of the substantive experience. The authors propose a framework in which anticipation – as a performative phenomenon – influences the overall evaluations of the substantive consumption experience in contexts of delayed consumption. The theoretical grounding of performativity makes a useful contribution through its linkage of thought processes to outcomes. The authors further locate their findings within the literature on attribution theory. By engaging in anticipation, informants perceived the locus of causality to be internal, and expressed pride in having anticipated if the subsequent experience was successful. By anticipating, informants perceived an ability to exert control over future events and felt ashamed of not having adequately anticipated if an experience was subsequently unsuccessful.
Research limitations/implications
The theoretical grounding of performativity makes a useful contribution through its linkage of thought processes to outcomes. The authors further locate their findings within the literature on attribution theory. By engaging in anticipation, informants perceived the locus of causality to be internal and expressed pride in having anticipated if the subsequent experience was successful. By anticipating, informants perceived an ability to exert control over future events and felt ashamed of not having adequately anticipated if an experience was subsequently unsuccessful.
Practical implications
The authors discuss the trade-off service providers face between encouraging anticipation, which raises expectations that might not be met, and facilitating anticipatory preparations, which may reduce the risk of service failure.
Originality/value
The authors provide a new lens by conceptualising anticipation as a performative process and identifying mechanisms by which anticipation is embedded in total consumption experience. This study has important generalisable implications for contexts where mechanisms of performative anticipation may be a means for ameliorating uncertainty about future consumption experiences.
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