Search results
1 – 10 of 478Kathleen M Repath and Tim Foxlow
Investigates KnowledgeBase manufacturing, a complete system solutionthat integrates MRPII with knowledgeBase systems design to meet therequirements of individual manufacturers and…
Abstract
Investigates KnowledgeBase manufacturing, a complete system solution that integrates MRPII with knowledgeBase systems design to meet the requirements of individual manufacturers and their customers. Compares KnowledgeBase with conventional manufacturing systems, outlining its flexibility and user‐friendly operation. Describes how a system was designed for a mixed‐mode manufacturing organisation, from the initial design task through to its implementation and integration with existing systems such as electronic data interchange and computer‐aided design. Concludes with some of the advantages that KnowledgeBase manufacturing system can bring to companies, including increased productivity, shorter business cycles and improved communications within the company.
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Dilanthi Amaratunga, Chamindi Ishara Malalgoda and Kaushal Keraminiyage
Construction industry and the built environment professions play an important role in contributing to society’s improved resilience. It is therefore important to improve their…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction industry and the built environment professions play an important role in contributing to society’s improved resilience. It is therefore important to improve their knowledgebase to strengthen their capacities. This paper aims to identify gaps in the knowledgebase of construction professionals that are undermining their ability to contribute to the development of a more disaster resilient society. The paper also provides a series of recommendations to key actors in the built environment on how to more effectively mainstream disaster resilience in the construction process.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports the findings of 87 stakeholder interviews with: national and local government organisations; the community; non-governmental organisations, international non-governmental organisation and other international agencies; academia and research organisations; and the private sector, which were supplemented by a comprehensive analysis of key policies related to disaster resilience and management. The findings were validated using focus group discussions that were conducted as part of six organised stakeholder workshops.
Findings
The primary and secondary data generated a long list of needs and skills. Finally, the identified needs and skills were combined “like-for-like” to produce broader knowledge gaps. Some of the key knowledge gaps identified are: governance, legal frameworks and compliance; business continuity management; disaster response; contracts and procurement; resilience technologies, engineering and infrastructure; knowledge management; social and cultural awareness; sustainability and resilience; ethics and human rights; innovative financing mechanisms; multi stakeholder approach, inclusion and empowerment; post disaster project management; and multi hazard risk assessment. The study also identifies a series of recommendations to key actors in the built environment on how to more effectively mainstream disaster resilience in the construction process. The recommendations are set out in five key themes: education, policy, practice, research and cross-cutting.
Research limitations/implications
This study is part of an EU funded research project that is seeking to develop innovative and timely professional education that will update the knowledge and skills of construction professionals in the industry and enable them to contribute more effectively to disaster resilience building efforts.
Originality/value
The paper provides an extensive analysis of the gaps in the knowledgebase of construction professionals that are undermining their ability to contribute to the development of a more disaster resilient society. Accordingly, the paper recommends major changes in construction education, research, policy and practice with respect to mainstreaming disaster resilience within the construction process.
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The semantic Web is an exciting prospect, but not yet a reality, for researchers who are faced with an ever‐increasing range of material – some freely available and some…
Abstract
The semantic Web is an exciting prospect, but not yet a reality, for researchers who are faced with an ever‐increasing range of material – some freely available and some accessible to them only by virtue of their affiliation. This paper introduces the concept of the semantic Web and indicates how, if realized, the semantic Web could be of great benefit to researchers. Some parallel activities now under way are aimed at providing practical solutions to scholars today through the use of agent technology built into library portals; the paper explains, in particular, how one system, MetaLib – the library portal solution from Ex Libris – addresses these issues.
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The paper aims to investigate the effect of multicultural knowledgebase on attitudes and feelings of preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds among pre‐service…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate the effect of multicultural knowledgebase on attitudes and feelings of preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds among pre‐service teachers. Currently issues of multicultural education have been heightened by the academic achievement gap and emphasis on standardized test‐scores as the indicator of learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This descriptive study was conducted using surveys. A variety of data were collected through pre‐ and post‐tests. Questionnaires included Multicultural Content Test‐Educational (MCCT‐E), Multicultural Questionnaire (MC), and Preparedness Survey (PS). Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.
Findings
Results indicated that a class in multicultural education significantly increased knowledge about diversity, attitudes towards multiculturalism, and levels of preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds. There was no correlation between multicultural knowledge and attitudes and between attitudes and preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds.
Practical implications
As teacher education evolves, there is need to rethink opportunities to learn how to teach children from diverse backgrounds beyond multicultural knowledgebase. More extensive and well integrated methods (direct experiences, mentorship, observing and working in authentic settings) are recommended. These methods enhance internalization of concepts, and ability to confront fears, misconceptions and misinformation during teacher preparation. This study suggested that teacher education programs should provide more sustained interaction with diversity issues and/or children of diverse backgrounds in order to transform the gain in multicultural attitudes into practice.
Originality/value
The study challenges the assumption in teacher preparation programs that knowledge transforms pre‐service teachers’ attitudes and preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds.
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The purpose of this paper is to recount the implementation process of the special effects (SFX) linking to Journal Citation Reports (JCR) at the Briggs Library, South Dakota State…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recount the implementation process of the special effects (SFX) linking to Journal Citation Reports (JCR) at the Briggs Library, South Dakota State University.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the standard procedure developed by this paper, the research work consulted Ex Libris Customer Center, Listservs and library science literature for existing solutions to implement the SFX linking to JCR. The integration of JCR with SFX at University of Iowa Libraries was identified. Based on their implementation experience, the Briggs Library developed a more efficient method, which followed SFX standards.
Findings
A standard procedure has been developed that should be adopted for implementing new SFX services. A new target parser for JCR was created, which can become a global SFX target parser once its responsibility for updates is transferred to Ex Libris. The new method for implementing the SFX linking to JCR was invented.
Originality/value
The paper provides a standard procedure for implementing new SFX services. The method for implementing the SFX linking to JCR should be instructive when implementing similar projects.
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The purpose of this paper is twofold, to answer two questions: how do senior educational administration (EA) field members perceive the field's scholarly aims and boundaries and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold, to answer two questions: how do senior educational administration (EA) field members perceive the field's scholarly aims and boundaries and the meaning of their intellectual work? and what are the similarities and differences between “outsider” and “insider” perceptions of the field's major purposes and directions?
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews with 12 Israeli academics who work in departments of EA in varied universities and colleges.
Findings
The field members in the study shared similar views of the field's purposes and challenges, but were divided about the field's desired knowledgebase and scholarly boundaries. Some implications for the field's future development are suggested.
Originality/value
The exploration of academics’ perceptions of their own field of study may increase the intellectual and theoretical understandings of major epistemological aspects of EA as a field of study.
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The purpose of this paper is to implement and enhance the citation linker that enables users to search articles, journals, and books with minimal but sufficient citation metadata.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to implement and enhance the citation linker that enables users to search articles, journals, and books with minimal but sufficient citation metadata.
Design/methodology/approach
The research work was mainly based on experimental results with a large amount of specific articles, journals, books, and eBooks. Further Ex Libris was consulted during the implementation process.
Findings
The paper found ways to implement and enhance the citation linker that facilitates citation search with minimal but sufficient citation metadata. Different methods to search papers and books were identified and possible future endeavors to enhance the citation linker by Ex Libris were also suggested.
Originality/value
The paper elaborates how to implement and enhance the citation linker that facilitates citation search with minimal but sufficient citation metadata. The author did not find any research work specifically focused on configurations of the citation linker and their effects on search results for users, so the implementation experience presented in this paper should be singularly instructive for libraries implementing their citation linkers.
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Panayiota Polydoratou and David Nicholas
Metadata registries are considered to be a solution to the problem of ata sharing and standardising of information on the Internet. The International Organization for Information…
Abstract
Metadata registries are considered to be a solution to the problem of ata sharing and standardising of information on the Internet. The International Organization for Information recognised the need for a standardised approach to this problem and produce ISO/IEC 11179 Information Technology ‐ Specification and standardisation of data elements. As part of an ongoing research project on the ISO/IEC 11179 metadata registries implementation a questionnaire survey was carried out on four discussion lists an the EU funded SCHEMAS 2nd workshop (23‐24th November 2000). Results from this survey, which was essentially aiming to identify how familiar people were with metadata and metadata registries, are presented along with a brief introduction to the ISO/IEC 11179 Information Technology ‐ Specification and standardisation of data elements standard.
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Chuanfu Chen, Zhiqiang Wu, Congjing Ran, Qiong Tang, Song Chen and Xiaojuan Zhang
This aim of this article is to propose a technical solution for digital libraries to establish the information needs ontology based on a comprehensive understanding of…
Abstract
Purpose
This aim of this article is to propose a technical solution for digital libraries to establish the information needs ontology based on a comprehensive understanding of personalized user information needs and offer an information push service by really simple syndication (RSS) in a ubiquitous computing environment.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors formalize an ontology model applicable to the ubiquitous computing environment to describe user information needs comprehensively. The information needs related to the user's research activities are regarded as the ontology, which is described with web ontology language (OWL), and thus an ontology knowledgebase is established. Second, in light of the user's explicit information needs, the digital library finds the hidden information needs from the ontology knowledgebase, and also extracts the information resources required by the user from the corresponding database and then pushes them to the user by means of RSS. Finally, users can browse through a man‐machine interface to access the information.
Findings
After these steps, an RSS information push service architecture is established based on the user information needs ontology, providing the users with dynamic, personalized and proactive information services.
Originality/value
The innovation of this research lies in the fact that the architecture that is put forward is helpful to improve the accuracy and integrity of information push service of digital library, and is also beneficial for the research on u‐library.
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