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Article
Publication date: 27 June 2008

Ronnie Cheung, Gang Yao, Jiannong Cao and Alvin Chan

Context‐aware mobile computing extends the horizons of the conventional computing model to a ubiquitous computing environment that serves users at anytime, anywhere. To achieve…

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Abstract

Purpose

Context‐aware mobile computing extends the horizons of the conventional computing model to a ubiquitous computing environment that serves users at anytime, anywhere. To achieve this, mobile applications need to adapt their behaviors to the changing context. The purpose of this paper is to present a generalized adaptive middleware infrastructure for context‐aware computing.

Design/methodology/approach

Owing to the vague nature of context and uncertainty in context aggregation for making adaptation decisions, the paper proposes a fuzzy‐based service adaptation model (FSAM) to improve the generality and effectiveness of service adaptation using fuzzy theory.

Findings

By the means of fuzzification of the context and measuring the fitness degree between the current context and the predefined optimal context, FSAM selects the most suitable policy to adopt for the most appropriate service. The paper evaluates the middleware together with the FSAM inference engine by using a Campus Assistant application.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in presenting a generalized adaptive middleware infrastructure for context‐aware computing and also comparing the performance of the fuzzy‐based solution with a conventional threshold‐based approach for context‐aware adaptation.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2017

Ghi-Feng Yen, Ru-Yu Wang and Hsin-Ti Yang

The purpose of this paper is to examine how psychological antecedents (i.e. consumer mindsets) and individual difference characteristics (i.e. moral identity) affect the intention…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how psychological antecedents (i.e. consumer mindsets) and individual difference characteristics (i.e. moral identity) affect the intention to purchase Fair Trade products based on the triadic reciprocal causation model in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986). The primary factors that influence ethical consumption decisions in ethnic Chinese societies were explored by integrating the unique cultural environment of the Chinese.

Design/methodology/approach

The study effective sample comprised university students and professors. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses and indirect effects. Results showed that moral identity internalization had a mediating effect on the relationship between a collectivistic mindset and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products.

Findings

A high moral identity symbolization had a moderating effect on the relationship between a collectivistic mindset and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products. This demonstrated that the two dimensions of moral identity, internalization and symbolization, play different roles and have different functions in regards to the intention to purchase Fair Trade products.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies are urged to examine this issue at a cultural level by performing a cross-cultural comparison and to integrate consumer heterogeneity for a deeper examination of the interaction between demographic factors and psychological traits on consumer behaviours regarding Fair Trade products.

Originality/value

This study indicates that moral identity internalization is the primary factor that influences ethical consumption decisions in Chinese societies. In terms of the moderating effect of moral identity symbolization, results showed that the higher an individual’s moral identity symbolization, the stronger the relationship between a collectivistic mindset and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products is. These results can serve as a reference for marketing communications and market segmentation policies in the business world.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 August 2018

Kenneth Yip, Louisa Leung and Deacons Yeung

The purpose of this paper is to present simulation modelling to reconfigure a 700-bed Hong Kong hospital’s master surgery schedule (MSS), aiming to improve patient flow, capacity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present simulation modelling to reconfigure a 700-bed Hong Kong hospital’s master surgery schedule (MSS), aiming to improve patient flow, capacity management and resource allocation through levelling bed occupancy within the hospital.

Design/methodology/approach

A discrete-event simulation model was developed to understand how changes to the MSS would affect bed occupancy, thereby providing business intelligence for short- and long-term hospital planning. A decision tool was subsequently developed for hospital managers to test different scenarios.

Findings

Simulation modelling showed that significant bed occupancy levelling could be achieved through small and practicable changes to the MSS. Optimisation routines conducted using the simulation model then gave additional insights into how the schedule should be revamped for the long term.

Practical implications

The authors show how operations research methods are useful for guiding hospital operational planning. The authors show that a data-driven and evidence-based model enables hospital managers to critically explore various scheduling changes, while also providing a scientific common ground for discussion among important stakeholders. It is a crucial step forward when adopting advanced analytics for Hong Kong hospital operational planning.

Originality/value

The authors provide a robust method for evaluating the relationship between Hong Kong hospital’s MSS and its bed occupancy. Through simulating various changes to the surgical schedule, valuable and practicable insights were made available for hospital managers to make short- and longer-term changes that enhance the system’s overall efficiency and service quality.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2021

Wilson Weixun Li, Alvin Chung Man Leung and Wei T. Yue

The anonymity of the Internet supports an increasing number of deviant behaviors such as secret affairs. This paper aims to investigate whether religiosity has a negative…

Abstract

Purpose

The anonymity of the Internet supports an increasing number of deviant behaviors such as secret affairs. This paper aims to investigate whether religiosity has a negative relationship with the incidence of secret affairs in cyberspace and how it moderates the substitution effect between the use of online and off-line channels for such deviant behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors constructed a cross-sectional county-level dataset containing data on US religious adherents' ratios and actual expenditures on a social website related to extramarital affairs. The data were analyzed by ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares regression models.

Findings

In general, religiosity has a negative relationship with secret affairs in cyberspace. It also moderates the relationship between using online (secret affairs websites) and off-line (entertainment facilities) channels for extramarital affairs. The deterrent effect of religiosity is weakened in religious communities with diversified religious teachings/structures and stricter requirements.

Originality/value

This work enriches the understanding of the role of religiosity in online deviant behaviors and provides essential insights for policymakers (e.g. in relation to spillover effects of social norms in cyberspace).

Details

Internet Research, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2019

Alvin Y. So and Ping Lam Ip

The purpose of this paper is to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It shows that in response to the massive urban…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It shows that in response to the massive urban renewal projects in the 2000s, “civic localism” in the form of cultural preservation movement emerged to protect local community culture against the government-business hegemony. However, due to the deepening of social integration between Hong Kong and the mainland, a new “anti-mainland localism” emerged in the 2010s against the influx of mainlanders. In 2015–2016, as a result of Beijing’s active interference in Hong Kong affairs, localism is further transformed to Hong Kong “independence.”

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a historical methodology to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong after it becomes a special administrative region of China in 1997.

Findings

It shows how the interaction among the following three factors has shaped the pattern of localism in Hong Kong: macro historical-structural context, social movement dynamics and the response of Hong Kong and mainland government.

Practical implications

This paper argues that Beijing’s hardline policy toward Hong Kong localism may work in the short run to all push the pro-independence activities underground. However, unless the structural contradiction of the HKSAR is resolved, it seems likely that anti-mainland localism and Hong Kong independence sentiment and movement will come back with a vengeance at a later stage.

Originality/value

The literature tends to discuss Hong Kong localism in very general terms and fails to reveal its changing nature. This paper contributes by distinguishing three different forms of localism: civic localism in the mid-2000s, anti-mainland in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and independence after 2016. It shows how the macro historical-structural transformation, social movement dynamics and the responses of the Hong Kong SAR government and Beijing government have led to the changes of civic localism to anti-mainland localism, and finally to independence.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2017

Daniel Martínez-Ávila and John M. Budd

The purpose of this paper is to update and review the concept of warrant in Library and Information Science (LIS) and to introduce the concept of epistemic warrant from…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to update and review the concept of warrant in Library and Information Science (LIS) and to introduce the concept of epistemic warrant from philosophy. Epistemic warrant can be used to assess the content of a work; and therefore, it can be a complement to existing warrants, such as literary warrant, in the development of controlled vocabularies. In this proposal, the authors aim to activate a theoretical discussion on warrant in order to revise and improve the validity of the concept of warrant from the user and classifier context to the classificationist context.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have conducted an extensive literary review and close reading of the concept of warrant in LIS and knowledge organization in order to detect the different stances and gaps in which the concept of epistemic warrant might apply. The authors adopted an epistemological approach, in the vein of some of the previous commenters on warrant, such as Hope Olson and Birger Hjørland, and built upon the theoretical framework of different authors working with the concept of warrant outside knowledge organization, such as Alvin Plantinga and Alvin Goldman.

Findings

There are some authors and critics in the literature that have voiced for a more epistemological approach to warrant (in opposition to a predominantly ontological approach). In this sense, epistemic warrant would be an epistemological warrant and also a step forward toward pragmatism in a prominently empiricist context such as the justification of the inclusion of terms in a controlled vocabulary. Epistemic warrant can be used to complement literary warrant in the development of controlled vocabularies as well as in the classification of works.

Originality/value

This paper presents an exhaustive update and revision of the concept of warrant, analyzing, systematizing, and reviewing the different warrants discussed in the LIS literary warrant in a critical way. The concept of epistemic warrant for categorizational activities is introduced to the LIS field for the first time. This paper, and the proposal of epistemic warrant, has the potential to contribute to the theoretical and practical discussions on the development of controlled vocabularies and assessment of the content of works.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 73 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2022

Haksin Chan, Kevin J. Zeng and Morgan X. Yang

This article aims to advance a new theoretical perspective on the basis of prosumption theory, namely, that online review platforms can be conceptualized as prosumer communities…

Abstract

Purpose

This article aims to advance a new theoretical perspective on the basis of prosumption theory, namely, that online review platforms can be conceptualized as prosumer communities (and online reviews as prosumer-generated content). This perspective meshes with message tuning research to suggest specific mechanisms through which peer-to-peer prosumption takes place in online review communities. Overall, this article enriches and deepens theoretical understanding of prosumption behavior in the product review context and offers practical advice for inducing high-value, prosumer-generated content in online communities.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory observations of current practices across a wide spectrum of review platforms were conducted. The observed platforms include independent review sites (e.g. Yelp) and review sites affiliated with e-tailers (e.g. Amazon), general review sites (e.g. Viewpoints) and product-specific review sites (e.g. Healthgrades), large-scale review sites (e.g. TripAdvisor) and review sites of a smaller scale (e.g. Judy’s Book) and review sites based in different geographic regions, including Australia (e.g. Productreview.com.au), China (e.g. Taobao), Europe (e.g. Reevoo), India (e.g. Zomato) and North America (e.g. Foursquare).

Findings

Theoretical analysis suggests that high-quality review content is the result of collaborative prosumption characterized by three distinct value-adding processes: history-based message tuning, audience-based message tuning and norm-based message tuning. In-depth observations reveal that today’s review platforms are leveraging these value-adding processes to varying degrees. The overwhelming diversity of the observed platform features points to the need for more research on platform design and management.

Research limitations/implications

This research identifies three distinct dimensions of review quality – novelty, relevancy and congruency – that can be systematically managed through platform design. The exploratory nature of this research necessitates follow-up work to further investigate how high-quality review content emerges in the historical, interpersonal and cultural contexts of online prosumer communities.

Practical implications

The prosumption-inducing mechanisms identified in this research have major consumer welfare and strategy implications. First, they may lead to novel, relevant and congruent consumer reviews. Second, they may enhance the value of brand communities (which rely heavily on collaborative prosumption).

Originality/value

This research addresses two intriguing questions pertinent to marketing theory and practice in the digital era. First, how do high-quality reviews emerge on product review platforms (which consist of ordinary consumers)? Second, what constitutes high-quality review content and how can platform managers facilitate the collaborative creation of high-quality review content by ordinary consumers?

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 56 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Yiu Chung Wong and Jason K.H. Chan

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of civil disobedience (CD) movements in Hong Kong in the context of the notion of civil society (CS).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of civil disobedience (CD) movements in Hong Kong in the context of the notion of civil society (CS).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper begins by rigorously defining the notion of CD, as well as the concept of CS and tracing its development in Hong Kong over the past several decades. By using a model of CS typology, which combines the variables of state control and a society’s quest for autonomy (SQA), the paper aims to outline the historical development of CD movements in Hong Kong. It also discusses the recent evolution of CS and its relationship with CD movements, particularly focusing on their development since Leung Chun-ying became the Chief Executive in 2012. Finally, by using five cases of CD witnessed in the past several decades, the relationship between the development of CS and the emergence of CD in Hong Kong has been outlined.

Findings

Four implications can be concluded: first, CD cannot emerge when the state and society are isolated. Second, the level of SC and the scale of CD are positively related. Third, as an historical trend, the development of SQA is generally in linear progress; SQA starts from a low level (e.g. interest-based and welfare-based aims) and moves upwards to campaign for higher goals of civil and political autonomy. If the lower level of SQA is not satisfied, it can lead to larger scale CD in future. Fourth, the CD movement would be largest in scale when the state-society relationship confrontational and when major cleavages can be found within CS itself.

Originality/value

This paper serves to enrich knowledge in the fields of politics and sociology.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2021

Carmen Sum, Ivy Chan and Helen Wong

The purpose of this paper is to examine student engagement in learning amid COVID-19 and compare it with the previous cohort under face-to-face learning and propose a series of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine student engagement in learning amid COVID-19 and compare it with the previous cohort under face-to-face learning and propose a series of learning activities to engage students for any uncertain situations in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

Two online surveys were conducted at the end of the academic years of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 to measure student engagement under face-to-face tradition learning and emergency remote learning respectively.

Findings

Student behavioural engagement was found no statistical difference between the two learning situations, whereas students having face-to-face learning demonstrated greater emotional and cognitive engagement. Social interaction is essential to drive student engagement in emergency remote learning.

Practical implications

The authors intended to highlight some teaching approaches and learning activities for social interaction to engage students.

Originality/value

Engaging students in remote or online learning is an educational challenge for the new reality. This paper proposed the teaching approach and learning activities to engage students in their learning in the future.

Details

Accounting Research Journal, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1030-9616

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 8 June 2020

Abstract

Details

The International Handbook of Black Community Mental Health
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-965-6

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