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1 – 10 of 50James Christopher Westland and Jian Mou
Internet search is a $120bn business that answers lists of search terms or keywords with relevant links to Internet webpages. Only a few companies have sufficient scale to compete…
Abstract
Purpose
Internet search is a $120bn business that answers lists of search terms or keywords with relevant links to Internet webpages. Only a few companies have sufficient scale to compete and thus economics of the process are paramount. This study aims to develop a detailed industry-specific modeling of the economics of internet search.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research develops a stochastic model of the process of Internet indexing, search and retrieval in order to predict expected costs and revenues of particular configurations and usages.
Findings
The models define behavior and economics of parameters that are not directly observable, where it is difficult to empirically determine the distributions and economics.
Originality/value
The model may be used to guide the economics of large search engine operations, including the advertising platforms that depend on them and largely fund them.
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Steven D. Raymer, James Dobbs, Christopher P. Kelley and Douglas R. Lindsay
This paper examines the evolution of the core academic leader development course at the United States Air Force Academy. The course serves as a key part of student leadership…
Abstract
This paper examines the evolution of the core academic leader development course at the United States Air Force Academy. The course serves as a key part of student leadership development integrated into all four years of a student’s education and their roles within the organization. The curriculum focuses on skills, character, and critical thinking in leadership contexts. The desired effect is to engage students where they are in their development and to train them in the practice of effective, professional team leadership within their teams and the larger organization. Assessment strategies such as reflection, journaling, self-assessment, and practiced application of course material are designed to fit into students’ leadership experiences so students apply what they learn in an immediate, relevant context.
This paper tests whether Bayesian A/B testing yields better decisions that traditional Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing. It proposes a model and tests it using a large, multiyear…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper tests whether Bayesian A/B testing yields better decisions that traditional Neyman-Pearson hypothesis testing. It proposes a model and tests it using a large, multiyear Google Analytics (GA) dataset.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an empirical study. Competing A/B testing models were used to analyze a large, multiyear dataset of GA dataset for a firm that relies entirely on their website and online transactions for customer engagement and sales.
Findings
Bayesian A/B tests of the data not only yielded a clear delineation of the timing and impact of the intellectual property fraud, but calculated the loss of sales dollars, traffic and time on the firm’s website, with precise confidence limits. Frequentist A/B testing identified fraud in bounce rate at 5% significance, and bounces at 10% significance, but was unable to ascertain fraud at the standard significance cutoffs for scientific studies.
Research limitations/implications
None within the scope of the research plan.
Practical implications
Bayesian A/B tests of the data not only yielded a clear delineation of the timing and impact of the IP fraud, but calculated the loss of sales dollars, traffic and time on the firm’s website, with precise confidence limits.
Social implications
Bayesian A/B testing can derive economically meaningful statistics, whereas frequentist A/B testing only provide p-value’s whose meaning may be hard to grasp, and where misuse is widespread and has been a major topic in metascience. While misuse of p-values in scholarly articles may simply be grist for academic debate, the uncertainty surrounding the meaning of p-values in business analytics actually can cost firms money.
Originality/value
There is very little empirical research in e-commerce that uses Bayesian A/B testing. Almost all corporate testing is done via frequentist Neyman-Pearson methods.
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Christopher Paul Cain, Lisa Nicole Cain, James A. Busser and Hee Jung (Annette) Kang
This study sought to understand how having a calling influenced engagement, work–life balance and career satisfaction for Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study sought to understand how having a calling influenced engagement, work–life balance and career satisfaction for Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) and Golf Course Superintendent of America (GCSA) professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model was used to examine callings among golf course supervisors and its impact on their engagement, work–life balance and career satisfaction. This study also explored the moderation effect of employees’ generalized or specialized role on the calling–engagement relationship. Surveys were collected from a single golf management company and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results revealed significant relationships among all of the variables, with the exception of the impact of having a calling on work–life balance. Additionally, the more having a calling increased, the more important it was for supervisors to have specialized roles to increase their engagement.
Originality/value
This study identifies important differences in factors that promote career satisfaction for golf course supervisors and extends current understanding of role theory.
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J Christopher and Benjamin S. Selznick
Leader self-efficacy (LSE) is a construct studied in adults and college students which is associated with leader emergence, individual performance, and group performance.However…
Abstract
Leader self-efficacy (LSE) is a construct studied in adults and college students which is associated with leader emergence, individual performance, and group performance.However, to date, it has not been heavily examined in youth.Therefore, a five-item youth LSE scale was created which can aid in further research of this construct.This holds significant implications for future educational initiatives, research, and the development of the next generation of leaders.
Christopher John Etheridge and Emma Derbyshire
Increasingly, interest in and the uptake of herbal infusions has advanced, namely, owing to their bioactive properties and potential links to health. Given this, the purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasingly, interest in and the uptake of herbal infusions has advanced, namely, owing to their bioactive properties and potential links to health. Given this, the purpose of the present review was to collate evidence from human trials for five popular herbal infusions.
Design/methodology/approach
The systematic review comprised ten human trials (560 participants), investigating inter-relationships between herbal infusions consumption and health. Only human studies involving German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L. Asteraceae), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe Zingiberaceae), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L. Lamiaceae), peppermint (Mentha x spicata L. Lamiaceae)/spearmint (Mentha spicata L. Lamiaceae) and rosehip (Rosa canina L. Rosaceae) teas were included in the present paper.
Findings
Most herbal infusions serve as a good source of flavonoids and other polyphenols in the human diet. Studies included in this paper indicate that herbal infusions (1-3 cups tended to be drank daily; infusion rates up to 15 min) could benefit certain aspects of health. In particular, this includes aspects of sleep quality and glycaemic control (German chamomile), osteoarthritic stiffness and hormone control (spearmint), oxidative stress (lemon balm) and primary dysmenorrhea (rosehip).
Research limitations/implications
Ongoing research is needed using homogenous herbal infusion forms, brewing rates and volumes of water to further reinforce these findings. In the meantime, herbal infusions could provide a useful supplementary approach to improving certain aspects of well-being.
Originality/value
The present paper collates evidence from human trials for five popular herbal infusions.
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Christopher J. Rehm, Sasha L. Rehm and Kiah DeVona
Leader self-efficacy (LSE) is associated with leader emergence and effectiveness, and is a strong predictor of both individual and group performance. While some research exists…
Abstract
Leader self-efficacy (LSE) is associated with leader emergence and effectiveness, and is a strong predictor of both individual and group performance. While some research exists related to the connection between LSE and adult leadership, more studies are required to better understand the details surrounding LSE as it relates to adolescents. This mixed methods study examines the effects of a leadership development intervention on LSE in an eighth-grade student population. Results indicate strong support for the effectiveness of the intervention and its potential to increase youth LSE. This finding holds significant implications for educational practice, research, and the future of leadership development.
Helen Creswick, Liz Dowthwaite, Ansgar Koene, Elvira Perez Vallejos, Virginia Portillo, Monica Cano and Christopher Woodard
The voices of children and young people have been largely neglected in discussions of the extent to which the internet takes into account their needs and concerns. This paper aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The voices of children and young people have been largely neglected in discussions of the extent to which the internet takes into account their needs and concerns. This paper aims to highlight young people’s lived experiences of being online.
Design/methodology/approach
Results are drawn from the UnBias project’s youth led discussions, “Youth Juries” with young people predominantly aged between 13 and 17 years.
Findings
Whilst the young people are able to use their agency online in some circumstances, many often experience feelings of disempowerment and resignation, particularly in relation to the terms and conditions and user agreements that are ubiquitous to digital technologies, social media platforms and other websites.
Practical implications
Although changes are afoot as part of the General Data Protection Regulation (herein the GDPR) to simplify the terms and conditions of online platforms (European Union, 2016), it offers little practical guidance on how it should be implemented to children. The voices and opinions of children and young people are put forward as suggestions for how the “clear communication to data subjects” required by Article 12 of the GDPR in particular should be implemented, for example, recommendations about how terms and conditions can be made more accessible.
Originality/value
Children and young people are an often overlooked demographic of online users. This paper argues for the importance of this group being involved in any changes that may affect them, by putting forward recommendations from the children and young people themselves.
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Camilo Arciniegas Pradilla, Jose Bento da Silva and Juliane Reinecke
Wicked problems are causally complex, lack definite solutions, and re-emerge in different guises. This paper discusses how new ways of organizing emerge to tackle changing…
Abstract
Wicked problems are causally complex, lack definite solutions, and re-emerge in different guises. This paper discusses how new ways of organizing emerge to tackle changing manifestations of wicked problems. Focusing on the wicked problem of poverty, we conducted a longitudinal study of Fe y Alegria (FyA), one of the world’s largest non-governmental organization, which provides education for the poor across 21 countries in Latin America and Africa. Drawing on archival and ethnographic data, we trace the historical narratives of how FyA defined poverty as a problem and developed new ways of organizing, from its foundation by a Jesuit priest in 1955 to its current networked structure. Our findings reveal the ongoing cycle of interpretive problem definition and organizing solutions for wicked problems. First, since there is no “true” formulation of a wicked problem, actors construct narrative explanations based on their understanding of the problem. Second, organizational solutions to a wicked problem are thus reflections of these narrative constructions. Third, emerging and changing narratives about what the problem is inspire new organizational responses. Our findings provide insights into the dynamic relationship between organizing for wicked problems, narratives, and the changing manifestations of wicked problems and grand challenges more broadly.
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