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This paper aims to design a compact scheme of behavioural biometric-based user authentication, develop an adaptive mechanism that selects an appropriate classifier in an adaptive way and conduct a study to explore the effect of this mechanism.

As a study, the proposed adaptive mechanism was implemented using a cost-based metric, which enables mobile phones to adopt a less costly classifier in an adaptive way to build the user normal-behaviour model and detect behavioural anomalies.

The user study with 50 participants indicates that our proposed mechanism can positively affect the authentication performance by maintaining the authentication accuracy at a relatively high and stable level.

The authentication accuracy can be further improved by incorporating other appropriate classifiers (e.g. neural networks) and considering other touch-gesture-related features (e.g. the speed of a touch).

This work explores the effect of adaptive mechanism on behavioural biometric-based user authentication. The results should be of interest for software developers and security specialists in deciding whether to implement such a mechanism for enhancing authentication performance on mobile phones.

The user study with 50 participants indicates that this mechanism can positively affect the authentication performance by maintaining the authentication accuracy at a relatively high and stable level. To the best of our knowledge, our work is an early work discussing the implementation of an adaptive mechanism on a mobile phone.

A theoretical and experimental study is performed to investigate unsteady, two‐dimensional, incompressible fluid flow over both sides of a slot‐perforated flat surface, which is placed in a two‐dimensional channel. The governing boundary‐layer equations are discretized by means of a finite‐difference technique to determine streamwise and transverse velocity components. The roles of both the Reynolds number and the ratio of the slot width, d, to the plate thickness, δ, on the velocity field are disclosed. It is found from the study that: (i) the flow pattern between two plates can be classified into four categories depending on a combination of Re and d/δ, (ii) at a small value of Re and/or d/δ, flow over the slot exhibits no timewise variation, (iii) when Re and d/δ exceed certain values, an alternate crossing of flow from one side of the plate to the other occurs across the slot, and (iv) a further increase in Re results in a complex flow both inside the slot and on the plate downstream of the slot. These results are confirmed by the flow visualization using ion‐exchange resins.

This study examines the relationship between board composition and firm value, and the extent to which this relationship may be affected by a company’s investment opportunity set. There is little research that examines this issue, particularly for the New Zealand market. Of the research that exists, and generally for the research that examines how board composition affects firm performance, the findings have been mixed. Using a randomly chosen sample, which improves the external validity of results from prior studies, we find that board composition of high growth option firms is positively related to firm value, and this relationship is maintained when more refined measures that proxy the characteristics of outside directors (such as tenure of outside directors, the level of outside director equity ownership, the number of other board positions held by outside directors, and the total proportion of non‐executive directors, including grey directors) are recognised.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy-based group intervention in anger management with male offenders. All participants were the subject of a stipulation to attend the programme under a probation order, and were at the time of the study being managed in the community.

Totally, 105 offenders attended the anger management programme, which was delivered by the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), between 2008 and 2010 across a range of centres, representing most regions of the province. Prior to treatment, the offenders completed two measures: The State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), and the Stages of Change Scales (SCS). Both these measures were also completed at the end of the programme of treatment.

It was found that the programme significantly reduced the expression of anger as well as state and trait anger among offenders referred to the programme as measured by the STAXI. Both the action and maintenance subscales of the SCS were significant predictors of improvement in anger expression. The action subscale was shown to be a valuable predictor of readiness for change amongst the offenders.

Assessing an offender’s readiness to change may enhance selection for specific rehabilitation programs thus reducing drop-out rates leading to a more efficient use of resources. This study demonstrates that those participants who were found to be more ready for change, benefited most from the intervention programme.

Work-related low back disorders (LBDs) are prevalent among rebar workers although their causes remain uncertain. The purpose of this study is to examine the self-reported discomfort and spinal biomechanics (muscle activity and spinal kinematics) experienced by rebar workers.

In all, 20 healthy male participants performed simulated repetitive rebar lifting tasks with three different lifting weights, using either a stoop (n = 10) or a squat (n = 10) lifting posture, until subjective fatigue was reached. During these tasks, trunk muscle activity and spinal kinematics were recorded using surface electromyography and motion sensors, respectively.

A mixed-model, repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that an increase in lifting weight significantly increased lower back muscle activity at L3 level but decreased fatigue and time to fatigue (endurance time) (p < 0.05). Lifting postures had no significant effect on spinal biomechanics (p < 0.05). Test results revealed that lifting different weights causes disproportional loading upon muscles, which shortens the time to reach working endurance and increases the risk of developing LBDs among rebar workers.

Future research is required to: broaden the research scope to include other trades; investigate the effects of using assistive lifting devices to reduce manual handling risks posed; and develop automated human condition-based solutions to monitor trunk muscle activity and spinal kinematics.

This study fulfils an identified need to study laboratory-based simulated task conducted to investigate the risk of developing LBDs among rebar workers primarily caused by repetitive rebar lifting.

Research concerning marketing standardisation is still developing. A new research theme has recently emerged, wherein it is suggested that the structure of marketing decision making is likely to be a factor of marketing standardisation strategy. This study aims to add insights to this new research field. Based on the outcome of previous studies, it aims to propose and test a research framework concerning the relationships among environmental factors, the structure of decision making and marketing standardisation/performance. This study seeks to focus on the two most important programme elements: promotion and product.

The study used the experience of 78 firms operating in the European Union (EU) region to achieve its research objectives. The data used were collected through a postal survey. This analysis used both partial least square (PLS) and hierarchical regression analysis methods to examine its research framework.

The study has generated a framework for future research. It is suggested that, with the absence of direct influence, the structure of decision making is still likely to have an indirect effect on marketing standardisation strategy. Although a path relationship is unlikely to exist between environmental factors, the structure of decision making and performance, the joint effect between environmental factors and the decision‐making structure on performance is confirmed. The outcomes of the study suggest that, through careful selection, firms adopting a high and low degree centralisation structure can benefit from operating in a similar high/low environment, as well as in a country with high/low market size and potential.

The study's findings have enhanced those uncovered by other researchers. A number of implications can be drawn for these findings.

It remains unclear how environmental scanning (ES) can generate firm performance through supply chain management (SCM) practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of ES on operational performance through supply chain integration (SCI) and supply chain responsiveness (SCR).

The scanning–interpretation–action–performance (SIAP) model and organization information processing theory (OIPT) are used to explain the ES–SCI–SCR–performance (S–I–A–P) relationships, which were tested by structural equation modeling of survey data of 329 manufacturing firms in China.

The results indicate that ES has a significant positive effect on SCI and SCR. SCI is significantly and positively related to SCR. SCR partially mediates the relationship between ES and operational performance, and fully mediates the relationship between SCI and operational performance.

Supply chain managers should collaborate with senior executives to obtain signals from ES activities, as input for building SCI and SCR and use SCI as a joint interpretation mechanism of ES signals for developing SCR to reap operational advantages in the rapidly changing business environment.

Strategic management academics and practitioners have explicitly emphasized the importance of ES in developing strategic plans but are unsure about the role of SCM in creating operational advantages through ES. Using the SIAP model, this study theorizes and demonstrates how SCI and SCR transform signals from ES into operational performance. In doing so, a more precise application of OIPT is explicated in the supply chain context.

Why would a hospitality or tourism enterprise’s talent program backfire to demotivate interns from engaging in their jobs? This study aim to synthesize theoretical strands from the self-determination theory, person–environment fit theory and conservation of resources theory to investigate the predictors of perceived person–job fit and how such a fit causes changes in interns’ job motivation over time.

A four-wave longitudinal study was conducted. The four waves of data obtained from over 251 interns in China were analyzed using latent growth curve modeling.

The findings demonstrate that abusive co-worker treatment moderated the impact of perceived negative social status and perceived overqualification on perceived person–job fit. Moreover, perceived person–job fit is a significant predictor of the initial level of job motivation and flattens the decrease in job motivation over time. These findings demonstrate that interns’ job motivation generally decreased over time, and perceived person–job fit may help dampen the change trajectory of job motivation.

This study contributes to the practice of education and organizations in hospitality and tourism management by advocating for better interventions to improve interns’ work experience and motivations. Also, organizations can create team-building opportunities and promote teamwork that contributes to the formation of cohesive relationships and improve personal bonding.

This longitudinal inquiry conducted in China underscores the perils of hospitality/tourism internship by synthesizing a framework based on the theoretical strands germane to person–environment fit, resource conservation and self-determination. It uncovers the dark side of internship – not only due to mismanaged internship experience, but also because it could backfire to create a demotivational spiral that may ultimately drive potential talents away from hospitality/tourism organizations and industry.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the development of school autonomy, school leadership and curriculum innovation in England over the past 40 years. It provides a baseline picture for the wider international study on school autonomy and curriculum innovation.

An initial literature review was undertaken, including policy document analysis. Interviews and observations were undertaken with participants on a pilot professional programme for school leaders seeking to develop their school curriculum.

While all schools in England have needed to adapt their curricula to reflect the new National Curriculum introduced from 2014, relatively few schools appear to have used this opportunity to design genuinely innovative curricula that respond to the changing needs of learners in the twenty-first century. This includes the academies and free schools – currently around one in four schools – which are not legally required to follow the National Curriculum. The authors posit that leadership agency by principals and their professional teams is more important than policy/legal freedoms for securing curriculum innovation. Such agency appears to depend on the capacity and confidence of leaders to shape an alternative and innovative curriculum in the face of structural constraints, in particular England’s sharp accountability system, effectively making these leaders “rebels against the system”.

The empirical findings are preliminary and based on a small convenience sample.

Given England’s position as a relatively extreme example of high-autonomy-high-accountability quasi-market school reforms this paper provides valuable insights on school autonomy and curriculum innovation that can inform policy and practice more widely.

The authors' research was carried out with the aim of analyzing perception of luxury and luxury brands among an international sample of young people.

This article was based on an empirical study among 233 respondents. First, a qualitative analysis of content using the respondents' own words was conducted. Then, to show whether there are differences between countries and significant groups of countries, an analysis of variance (one‐way ANOVA) was performed and analyzed with Fisher F‐test and post‐hoc Duncan tests.

Beyond the belief in the existence of two stable groups of developed and developing countries with regard to luxury, this study shows a situation that requires further analysis. The main results show some strong cross‐cultural differences in the perception of luxury, which is multi‐faceted as demonstrated by previous studies in this field.

Results of this exploratory study confirm that the concept of luxury presents multiple facets, and the authors' analysis provides an in‐depth survey of the main categories and attributes that can be used to describe this concept. Although this study was only exploratory in nature, a number of comments can be made to highlight the congruence between the concept of luxury for young people and recent academic literature.

To maintain their brand equity, companies in the luxury sector seek to improve their image within younger targets. Managerial implications of the authors' research indicate that international luxury companies should take into consideration the multi‐faceted concept of luxury in general, but also the main differences between countries in the continuum between the “status” and “emotional” dimensions of luxury. According to the authors' research, luxury companies cannot adopt a global strategy when addressing the six countries analyzed. Some managerial recommendations are developed in this perspective.

The additional value of this article stems from its reliance on a cross‐cultural in‐depth study between six countries (Italy, France, Germany, China, Japan, and USA). The balance between qualitative and quantitative techniques makes this article particularly relevant when drawing both conceptual and managerial conclusions.