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Focuses on time reduction in meetings through the use of group decision support systems (GDSS). Reports on some criticisms of GDSS, in that it increases time taken to reach a decision, and addresses this issue. Refers to Grosch’s Law, the Satisficing Model, and the 80/20 rule (or Pareto Principle). Applies the 80/20 rule to the number of papers published by a number of authors. Plots a chart of the figures and finds that 77 per cent of papers are written by 23 per cent of authors. Links back these findings to GDSS and suggests that by controlling openness, some control can be exercised over the length of time it takes to reach a decision. Indicates that the use of electronic meeting systems will increase and, consequently, further research should be carried out in reducing uproductive meeting time.

To examine whether there are differences with respect to internal auditors' attitude toward environmental protection, cognizance of environmental auditing and environmental knowledge.

A questionnaire survey based research method is used and a Mann‐Whitney U‐test as well as a T‐test is applied on this data.

There is no difference between internal auditors in the manufacturing industry and those in the service industry with respect to environmental awareness and cognizance of environmental auditing. Yet there is a significant difference with respect to knowledge of environmental protection.

This study is limited to that of internal auditors' perspectives.

Internal auditors are the “watch dogs” for firms to implement environmental management so that strengthening their environmental knowledge is required.

This study reveals internal auditors' perception toward environmental management in both high‐ and low‐pollution industries that go beyond green auditing issues.

The launch of a wave of Internet grocery retailers over the last six years presents a serious challenge to the traditional supermarket business model. The Internet grocery landscape changed radically in July 2001 when the top Internet grocer, Webvan, filed for bankruptcy. With the bankruptcy of Webvan, almost all the major stand‐alone online grocers in the USA have disappeared. Indeed, traditional supermarkets such as Albertsons and Safeway have recently been expanding into the online arena. In Japan, major traditional supermarkets have been seriously working on establishing online services in the metropolitan area with a “brick‐and‐click” model. Examines strategic reasons for today’s Japanese supermarkets to try establishing online grocery businesses. Also addresses critical success factors and current limitations based on socioeconomic conditions, Japanese culture, and expected future trends.

The paper aims to propose a model that attempts to build an innovative common gateway compliant with RosettaNet Standards for the secure message exchange between electronic businesses in this age of internet economy.

The use of RosettaNet Standards is to achieve the effectiveness and efficiency of message exchange, and consequently gain mutual benefits by means of agile response for cross‐organizational co‐operation. This common message gateway is built and implemented as an organization's front‐end interface, but is seamlessly integrated with business's back‐end information systems for the message exchange with the business partners of the organization. The proposed common gateway service model provides organizations with low cost, high efficiency, high security of message exchange and transmission over the internet. A prototyping system is also built and tested in a local network devices manufacturing company with its suppliers to examine its feasibility and efficiency.

The result shows that the service model can help the company to achieve a new level of efficiency and effectiveness of streamlining data flow and creating a seamless link with its business partners in this era of internet economy.

The paper presents a common gateway service system for secure data exchange and transmission over the internet between business partners to build a value‐added supply network.

This volume explores an expansive array of organizational imaginaries, or understandings of organizational possibilities, with a focus on how collectivist-democratic organizations offer alternatives to conventional for-profit managerial enterprises. These include worker and consumer cooperatives and other enterprises that, to varying degrees, (1) emphasize social values over profit; (2) are owned not by shareholders but by workers, consumers, or other stakeholders; (3) employ democratic forms of managing their operations; and (4) have social ties to the organization based on moral and emotional commitments. The contributors to this volume examine how these enterprises generate solidarity among members, network with other organizations and communities, contend with market pressures, and enhance their larger organizational ecosystems. In this introductory paper, the authors put forward an inclusive organizational typology whose continuums account for four key sources of variation – values, ownership, management, and social relations – and argue that enterprises fall between these two poles of the collectivist-democratic organization and the for-profit managerial enterprise. Drawing from this volume’s empirical studies, the authors situate these market actors within fields of competition and contestation shaped not just by state action and legal frameworks, but also by the presence or absence of social movements, labor unions, and meta-organizations. This typology challenges conventional conceptualizations of for-profit managerial enterprises as ideals or norms, reconnects past models of organizing among marginalized communities with contemporary and future possibilities, and offers activists and entrepreneurs a sense of the wide range of possibilities for building enterprises that differ from dominant models.

A methodology for producing an elevated-temperature tension stiffening model is presented.

The energy-based stress–strain model of plain concrete developed by Bažant and Oh (1983) was extended to the elevated-temperature domain by developing an analytical formulation for the temperature-dependence of the fracture energy G_f. Then, an elevated-temperature tension stiffening model was developed based on the modification of the proposed elevated-temperature tension softening model.

The proposed tension stiffening model can be used to predict the response of composite floor slabs exposed to fire with great accuracy, provided that the global parameters TS and K_res are adequately calibrated against global structural response data.

In a finite element analysis of reinforced concrete, a tension stiffening model is required as input for concrete to account for actions such as bond slip and tension stiffening. However, an elevated-temperature tension stiffening model does not exist in the research literature. An approach for developing an elevated-temperature tension stiffening model is presented.

To prove the effectiveness of the proposed design method, this study aims to propose the Fisher equation and temperature cooling fins that control high-speed aerospace vehicles.

A new approach whereby the control of aerospace vehicles can be achieved by fuzzy controller and appropriate Navier–Stokes equations in this article. The design of the controller based on models of Navier–Stokes equations simplified complex mathematical simulations and approximations.

If the fuzzy controller cannot stabilize the system, the Navier–Stokes fuzzy function is injected into the system as a controller tool, and the system is asymptotically stabilized by adjusting the fuzzy parameters.

The simulation results show that if the tuning frequency is high enough, the fuzzy controller and fuzzy observer can create chaotic movements by adjusting the dither amplitude appropriately. The demonstration of the Fisher equation and the temperature-cooled fin control problem for high-speed aerospace vehicles has displayed the benefits of combining fuzzy control with the Navier–Stokes equation.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether managerial ability affects the quality of corporate environmental financial disclosures.

Regression analysis is used to examine the association between managerial ability and the quality of corporate environmental financial disclosures.

The results of primary empirical tests find a negative association between projection errors of corporate environmental capital expenditures and managerial ability. Overall results suggest that (1) managers appear to be equally capable of making relatively accurate projections of total corporate capital expenditures, and (2) managers with higher managerial ability are capable of estimating the projection amounts that appear to be significant, yet do not deviate substantially to what they intend to spend in the subsequent year(s) for legitimation purposes.

The data collected and analyzed include only publicly traded companies in the environmentally sensitive industries in the USA; therefore, the results should not be generalized to non-US listed, private and non-publicly traded businesses.

Results of this study provide practical implications for stakeholders in their decision-making. For instance, understanding how different levels of managerial ability affect corporate environmental disclosures quality assists the board of directors in their evaluations of the performance of current top management. Furthermore, when contemplating new laws, governmental agencies and legislators can consider how managerial ability might affect the likelihood of environmentally sensitive businesses to comply with full disclosure and other reporting requirements.

Information regarding top management’s ability to carry out socially acceptable environmental practices is very valuable for investors who are interested in socially responsible and green investing.

This study contributes to and links between two research streams: managerial ability in management literature and environmental financial disclosure literature. This is the first study that empirically tests whether the managerial ability is a determinant of the quality of corporate environmental financial disclosures.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a booming sector that has profoundly influenced every walk of life, and the education sector is no exception. In education, AI has helped to develop novel teaching and learning solutions that are currently being tested in various contexts. Businesses and governments across the globe have been pouring money into a wide array of implementations, and dozens of EdTech start-ups are being funded to capitalise on this technological force. The penetration of AI in classroom teaching is also a profound matter of discussion. These have garnered massive amounts of student big data and have a significant impact on the life of both students and educators alike.

Purpose: The prime focus of this chapter is to extensively review and analyse the vast literature available on the utilities of AI in health care, learning, and development. The specific objective of thematic exploration of the literature is to explicate the principal facets and recent advances in the development and employment of AI in the latter. This chapter also aims to explore how the EdTech and healthcare–education sectors would witness a paradigm shift with the advent and incorporation of AI.

Design/Methodology/Approach: To provide context and evidence, relevant publications were identified on ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar using keywords like AI, education, learning, health care, and development. In addition, the latest articles were also thoroughly reviewed to underscore recent advances in the same field.

Results: The implementation of AI in the learning, development, and healthcare sector is rising steeply, with a projected expansion of about 50% by 2022. These algorithms and user interfaces economically facilitate efficient delivery of the latter.

Conclusions: The EdTech and healthcare sector has great potential for a spectrum of AI-based interventions, providing access to learning opportunities and personalised experiences. These interventions are often economic in the long run compared to conventional modalities. However, several ethical and regulatory concerns should be addressed before the complete adoption of AI in these sectors.

Originality/Value: The value in exploring this topic is to present a view on the potential of employing AI in health care, medical education, and learning and development. It also intends to open a discussion of its potential benefits and a remedy to its shortcomings.