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1 – 10 of 114Alexandria Payne and John Curtis
The purpose of this paper is to detail a Library open source software (OSS) development project resulting in the launch of StatBase, a statistical gathering and data visualization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to detail a Library open source software (OSS) development project resulting in the launch of StatBase, a statistical gathering and data visualization tool, so that organizations can adopt a locally managed alternative to costly data aggregation tools.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study is based on a literature review, Agile development framework, and user experience modeling. The software solution features a Joomla framework with contributed modules and open source architecture.
Findings
This case study demonstrates the creation and practical implementation of a scalable OSS platform for data management and analysis.
Practical implications
Provides a frame of reference and methodology for libraries, both public and academic, seeking to implement a web-based resource to gather, organize, and interpret statistical metrics via a centralized, lightweight, open source architecture.
Originality/value
This case study provides a detailed scope and step-by-step technology process description by which an organization can adopt or model the StatBase solution for business metrics.
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Alexandria Payne and Vandana Singh
In order to provide a general context for library implementations of open source software (OSS), the purpose of this paper is to discuss the existing presence of OSS in libraries…
Abstract
Purpose
In order to provide a general context for library implementations of open source software (OSS), the purpose of this paper is to discuss the existing presence of OSS in libraries, the functionality and variety of OSS products, and the need for further study into the application of OSS technologies in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a literature review.
Findings
This paper endeavors to provide a broad overview of the deepening relationship between libraries and OSS. Libraries are seeking alternatives to proprietary applications which may require specialized support and/or services. Moreover, OSS and proprietary products have a functional verisimilitude, and, as proprietary applications developers anticipate user needs, so too do OSS contributors.
Practical implications
The degree of variance between proprietary and OSS applications, features, support, and compatibility is continually lessening, so libraries are increasingly making use of less costly alternatives to subscription based tools.
Originality/value
The use of OSS in libraries is an increasing trend. OSS tools and implementations provide library institutions with access to a dynamic and cost effective solution for servicing user groups, manipulating large volumes of content, and facilitating communications between various institutional and public entities. This paper gives an holistic perspective albeit in a short form.
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Ahmed Soliman, Yahya A. Soliman, Ghada Farouk Hassan and Samy Afifi
The purpose of this article is to examine Cairo's master plans during the past 70 years, including the establishment of the New Administrative Capital City—which is based on two…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine Cairo's master plans during the past 70 years, including the establishment of the New Administrative Capital City—which is based on two fundamental courses on the phenomenon of urbanisation—and other initiatives to address Cairo's Plans based on the thoughts of three planning schools—Chicago, Los Angeles and Liverpool. The aim is to determine if the right time to relocate Egypt's capital to a different place makes sense.
Design/methodology/approach
Cairo has experienced significant urban challenges throughout its millennial history due to the continually shifting socioeconomic and political changes. This research uses prospective and retrospective methods to examine how planning theories have historically influenced building Cairo’s urban fabric and provides insight into the city’s master plans from the July Revolution of 1952.
Findings
It is assumed that Cairo's socio-spatial transitions over time were caused by scattered expansion, leading to contemporary Cairo's socio-spatial evolution. The paper ends with some questions about the future of the city. Should planning policies change to cope with socioeconomic, spatial and political transitions?
Originality/value
The article's significance stems from the necessity of adaptable and considerate ideas that move Cairo's communities towards a better setting and provide a crucial route for enhancing their environments. Using digital technologies to implement new capital while creating platform urbanism may be accomplished even with constrained budgets and short course lengths.
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There are three main purposes of this study which are: first, to review the literature on audit report lag (ARL) and its determinants; second, to measure the extent of ARL in a…
Abstract
Purpose
There are three main purposes of this study which are: first, to review the literature on audit report lag (ARL) and its determinants; second, to measure the extent of ARL in a developing country, Egypt; and third, to empirically examine the impact of corporate governance (CG) characteristics on ARL in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature on determinants of ARL motivated the author to investigate about the impact of CG characteristics and audit‐related characteristics on ARL especially in emerging capital markets, such as the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) for a sample (85 companies) of Egyptian listed companies. Further, the study includes explanatory variables relating to CG characteristics, which have not previously been considered (i.e. board independence, duality of chief executive officer (CEO), and existence of an audit committee), that may shed more light on the structure and dynamics of the ARL.
Findings
The ARL for each of the 85 listed sample companies ranged from a minimum interval of 19 days to a maximum interval of 115, and Egyptian listed companies take approximately two months on average. A regression analysis indicates that board independence, duality of CEO, and existence of an audit committee significantly affect ARL. But on the other hand, ownership concentration has insignificant affect on ARL. Also, three control variables (company size, industry and profitability) significantly affected ARL. The adjusted R2 indicate that 57.10 per cent of the variation in the dependent variable in the regression model is explained by variations in the independent variables.
Originality/value
This study of Egyptian companies listed on the CASE represents the initial comprehensive examination of ARL, and it is consider the first study to provide a thorough examination of the association between CG characteristics and ARL.
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Mary T. Rodgers and James E. Payne
We find evidence that the runs on banks and trust companies in the Panic of 1907 were linked to the Bank of England’s contractionary monetary policy actions taken in 1906 and 1907…
Abstract
We find evidence that the runs on banks and trust companies in the Panic of 1907 were linked to the Bank of England’s contractionary monetary policy actions taken in 1906 and 1907 through the medium of copper prices. Results from our vector autoregressive models and copper stockpile data support our argument that a copper commodity price channel may have been active in transmitting the Bank’s policy to the New York markets. Archival evidence suggests that the plunge in copper prices may have partially triggered both the initiation and the failure of an attempt to corner the shares of United Copper, and in turn, the bank and trust company runs related to that transaction’s failure. We suggest that the substantial short-term uncertainties accompanying the development of the copper-intensive electrical and telecommunications industries likely played a role in the plunge in copper prices. Additionally, we find evidence that the copper price transmission mechanism was also likely active in five other countries that year. While we do not argue that copper caused the 1907 crisis, we suggest that it was an active policy transmission channel amplifying the classic effect that was already spreading through the money market channel. If the bust in copper prices partially triggered the 1907 panic, then it provides additional evidence that contractionary monetary policy may have had an unintended, adverse consequence of contributing to a bank panic and, therefore, supports other recent findings that monetary policy deliberations might benefit from considering the policy impact on asset prices.
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Dennis M. Payne and John C. Fenske
Accidents, injuries and fatalities resulting from state police pursuits conducted during the Michigan Emergency Response Study (MERS) were compared with non‐pursuit police…
Abstract
Accidents, injuries and fatalities resulting from state police pursuits conducted during the Michigan Emergency Response Study (MERS) were compared with non‐pursuit police accidents and three‐ and five‐year means of general population accidents to examine the relative dangerousness of the police pursuits under varying light conditions. The Michigan State Police troopers, who were asked to complete a survey instrument each time a pursuit was conducted during the survey period of June 1991 through May 1992, reported 197 pursuits, 65 accidents with 30 injuries and one fatality. Pursuit accidents were significantly more likely to occur during the hours of darkness than the three comparable groups; however, pursuit injury accidents were more likely to occur during daylight and darkness, but not so during the hours of dusk and dawn. Significant differences in fatalities were not found during daylight, dawn or dusk, but the pursuit fatality rate was higher during darkness when compared with the three groups. Examines accident, injury and fatality rates of previous studies in the review of the literature. Overall, several similarities existed among the studies regardless of the number of pursuits reported.
Roswitha Poll and Philip Payne
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance of impact/outcome research in libraries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance of impact/outcome research in libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper gives an overview of purposes and methods used in impact research and illustrates this through project experiences.
Findings
Various projects worldwide are trying to prove that use of library services can positively influence skills and competences, attitudes and behaviour of users. The benefits that users experience by using library services can be assessed in terms of knowledge gained, higher information literacy, higher academic or professional success, social inclusion, and increase in individual well‐being.
Research limitations/implications
The main problem of impact research is, that influences on an individual are manifold and that therefore it is difficult to trace changes and improvements back to the library. The paper shows methods that are tested and used at the present. More investigation is needed to identify methods that could be used to show a library's overall impact or to develop measures that would permit benchmarking between institutions.
Practical implications
The paper shows practical examples of impact assessment, covering “soft” methods like surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation and quantitative methods like tests, analysis of publications, or usage data.
Originality/value
The paper acquaints libraries with a topic that is not yet well known and, by showing practical examples, demonstrates how libraries can attempt to assess their impact.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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