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1 – 10 of 23Stig Lande, Mats Westin and Marc H. Schneider
This paper aims to show the potential decay resistance of furfurylated wood and investigate possible eco‐toxicity of such materials produced. This paper deals with the…
Abstract
This paper aims to show the potential decay resistance of furfurylated wood and investigate possible eco‐toxicity of such materials produced. This paper deals with the environmental aspects and durability of furfurylated wood, both laboratory and field tests are included in the investigations. Results from several decay tests, emission analysis studies and ecotox tests are presented. The results show that furfurylated wood is highly decay resistant. Furthermore, no significant increase in eco‐toxicity of leaching water was found and degradation through combustion does not release any volatile organic compounds or poly‐aromatic hydrocarbons above normal levels for wood combustion. Durability enhancement by furfurylation of wood is not believed to be harmful to the environment. Wood modified with furfuryl alcohol, “furfurylated wood”, is currently being marketed as a non‐toxic alternative to traditional preservative treated wood (wood impregnated with biocides). This paper summarises much of the long term exposure of furfurylated wood ever caried out, and present the first eco‐tox tests on such material ever done.
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The employees in an organisation are its eyes and ears, and their willingness to contribute with observations is essential to the internal information sharing. Literature suggests…
Abstract
The employees in an organisation are its eyes and ears, and their willingness to contribute with observations is essential to the internal information sharing. Literature suggests that an information system (IS) that is not used must be redesigned to suit the users. This article argues that malfunctioning IS might be understood from a management control perspective, i.e. that the employees rather choose to engage in other duties than documenting and retrieving information from an existing IS. They perceive such ditties as more valuable to them and to the organisation, which results in low utilisation of the systems. Managerial interventions can, however, stimulate data entry and asynchronous communication between individuals by manifesting that information sharing is an important organisational issue through agreement on objectives, performance monitoring and evaluation, feedback mechanisms and analysis and action plans.
Fatema Kawaf, Annaleis Montgomery and Marius Thuemmler
The paper addresses the privacy–personalisation paradox in the post-GDPR-2018 era. As the regulation came in a bid to regulate the collection and use of personal data, its…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper addresses the privacy–personalisation paradox in the post-GDPR-2018 era. As the regulation came in a bid to regulate the collection and use of personal data, its implications remain underexplored. The research question is: How do consumers perceive the matter of personal data collection for the use of highly targeted and personalised ads post-GDPR-2018? The invasion of privacy vs the benefits of highly personalised digital marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the research question, this qualitative study conducts semi-structured interviews with 14 individuals, consisting of average users and digital experts.
Findings
This paper reports on increasing consumer vulnerability post-GDPR-2018 due to increased awareness of personal data collection yet incessant lack of control, particularly regarding the repercussions of the digital footprint. The privacy paradox remains an issue except among experts, and personalisation remains necessary, yet critical challenges arise (e.g. filter bubbles and intrusion).
Practical implications
Policy implications include education, regulating consent platforms and encouraging consensual sharing of personal data.
Originality/value
While the privacy–personalisation paradox has been widely studied, the impact of GDPR-2018 has rarely been addressed in the literature. GDPR-2018 has seemingly had little impact on instilling a sense of security for consumers; if anything, this paper highlights greater concerns for privacy as users sign away their rights on consent forms to access websites, thus contributing novel insights to this area of research.
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This chapter argues that self-respect—an integral, but often overlooked value in discussions of social justice—provides a robust foundation upon which libraries might build a…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter argues that self-respect—an integral, but often overlooked value in discussions of social justice—provides a robust foundation upon which libraries might build a renewed defense of privacy and intellectual freedom in the face of today’s advanced information and communication technologies.
Methodology/approach
The chapter begins by laying out the value of self-respect for social justice as it has been defined in the domains of moral and political philosophy. From there, the author demonstrates the relevance of self-respect for libraries and, in particular, for underwriting important library values like privacy and intellectual freedom. Finally, the author presents two case examples—Library 2.0 and #AmazonFAIL—that further demonstrate how advanced ICTs have the potential to undermine libraries as a site of self-respect.
Findings
Through the use of relevant and current case examples, the chapter lays bare how the adoption of new ICTs and an uncritical adherence to Library 2.0 (and the Web 2.0 ideology that underwrites it) threatens to further marginalize users unable to navigate the increasingly complex (and increasingly opaque) systems of data collection, analysis, and dissemination.
Originality/value
This discussion surfaces and translates the value of self-respect from moral and political philosophy and makes it available for librarians and scholars interested in social justice issues in library and information science. Further, it preserves two key historical moments—the rise of Library 2.0 and the case of #AmazonFAIL—for current and future reflections by scholars, librarians, and other information professionals.
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Anil Bilgihan, Scott Smith, Peter Ricci and Milos Bujisic
Advances in technology and in subsequent guest-related amenities have the potential to improve the guest experience and also increase both guestroom revenues and ancillary room…
Abstract
Purpose
Advances in technology and in subsequent guest-related amenities have the potential to improve the guest experience and also increase both guestroom revenues and ancillary room revenues. Innovative technologies will be one of the prime differentiators of hotel companies in the twenty-first century. However, it is important for hoteliers to answer questions such as which technology amenities do their guests desire when choosing overnight accommodations? Further, what are the importance levels assigned by guests of these various technology amenities? This study aims to answer the question of how leisure travelers may differ or be similar to business travelers with regard to in-room technology amenities.
Design/methodology/approach
The target population of this study consisted of 2,500 US residents whose email addresses were randomly drawn from a national database company. A series of t-tests and ANOVA were conducted to answer the research questions.
Findings
High-speed internet access and guest device connectivity were perceived more important by business travelers than by leisure travelers.
Research limitations/implications
Recognizing guests’ technology needs and answering those needs are important for hotel operators to remain competitive. While some segments perceive more value in certain technologies, for others it might be an indifferent amenity.
Practical implications
The amount of time guests spend in their rooms directly correlates to increased revenues from in-room dining, in-room amenities offered and, in general, all pay-for-use products and services such as the internet and movies. Therefore, with the right assortment and offering of technology amenities, hotels will increase their revenues from these ancillary revenues. Moreover, a hotel property with the right mixture of desired in-room amenities and services can charge higher rates for their guestroom sales.
Originality/value
The results of this study provide insights into the changing attitudes toward in-room entertainment technology that many hotel developers should take note of.
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Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way…
Abstract
Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.
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Javier Irizarry, Masoud Gheisari, Graceline Williams and Kathy Roper
Healthcare facility managers work in complex and dynamic environments where critical decisions are constantly made. Providing them with enhanced decision support systems would…
Abstract
Purpose
Healthcare facility managers work in complex and dynamic environments where critical decisions are constantly made. Providing them with enhanced decision support systems would result in a positive impact on the productivity and success of the projects they undertake, as well as the sustainability of critical healthcare infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual ambient intelligent environment for enhancing the decision-making process of the facility managers. This low-cost data-rich environment would use building information modeling (BIM) and mobile augmented reality (MAR) as technological bases for the natural human-computer interfaces and aerial drones as technological tools.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a scenario for the integration of augmented reality (AR) and building information modeling (BIM) to build an ambient intelligent (AmI) environment for facility managers where mobile, natural, user interfaces would provide the users with required data to facilitate their critical decision-making process. The technological requirements for having such an intelligent environment are also discussed.
Findings
The proposed BIM-MAR-based approach is capable of enhancing maintenance related practices for facility managers who are mobile to integrate with their facilities' intelligent environment. This approach is also capable of providing a collaborative environment in which different stakeholders, across geographically distributed areas, could work together to solve facility management tasks.
Originality/value
In this paper ambient intelligence will be considered for the first time in the area of healthcare facility management practices to provide facility managers with an intelligent BIM-based environment to access facility information and consequently enhance their decision-making process.
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The use of computers in the human services has been laggard as compared to their use in other areas, such as industry, commerce and the military. Nevertheless, such use is growing…
Abstract
The use of computers in the human services has been laggard as compared to their use in other areas, such as industry, commerce and the military. Nevertheless, such use is growing rapidly, and rather than expose services such as social work, nursing, teaching, and psychiatry to the dangers of indiscriminate, inappropriate, and possibly counterindicated use of such methods, it has become increasingly necessary that the possibilities and problems inherent in computer technology as applied to each of the human services be carefully examined.
Johanna Johansen, Tore Pedersen, Simone Fischer-Hübner, Christian Johansen, Gerardo Schneider, Arnold Roosendaal, Harald Zwingelberg, Anders Jakob Sivesind and Josef Noll
This paper aims to present arguments about how a complex concept of privacy labeling can be a solution to the current state of privacy.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present arguments about how a complex concept of privacy labeling can be a solution to the current state of privacy.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors give a precise definition of Privacy Labeling (PL), painting a panoptic portrait from seven different perspectives: Business, Legal, Regulatory, Usability and Human Factors, Educative, Technological and Multidisciplinary. They describe a common vision, proposing several important “traits of character” of PL as well as identifying “undeveloped potentialities”, i.e. open problems on which the community can focus.
Findings
This position paper identifies the stakeholders of the PL and their needs with regard to privacy, describing how PL should be and look like to address these needs. Main aspects considered are the PL’s educational power to change people’s knowledge of privacy, tools useful for constructing PL and the possible visual appearances of PL. They also identify how the present landscape of privacy certifications could be improved by PL.
Originality/value
The authors adopt a multidisciplinary approach to defining PL as well as give guidelines in the form of goals, characteristics, open problems, starting points and a roadmap for creating the ideal PL.
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Tourism is a highly informative industry, thus the developments in technology and customer behavior that influence the level and availability of travel information are essential…
Abstract
Tourism is a highly informative industry, thus the developments in technology and customer behavior that influence the level and availability of travel information are essential to understand (Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, 2017). “Both on the demand side and on the supply side of tourism, blogging plays a major role, enabling tourists to communicate, track and respond on their opinions and service assessments directly with the visitors through multiple Internet platforms” (Kiráľová & Pavlíčeka, 2015). Through use of Internet as well as other information and communications technologies has paved the way for modern in the tourism industry. The significance of Blogs in the tourism market is huge. Ever more investigators are exploring the impact of blogging on tourism. The Blogging is going to be a major means of contact distributed throughout the country such as wildfires. The tourism industry has benefited most from the Internet, making blogging a crucial component of the marketing and preparation of the tourism industry (Sahoo & Mukunda, 2017). This section explores travel blogs as an expression of travel experience. Traveler views on prominent travel blog pages have been evaluated to obtain a sense of the experience expressed at the destination. Advancements technologies and a growing number of travel blogs make it easier for travel blog monitors to evaluate their service quality as a cost-effective method, and enhance the experience of the traveler (Pan, MacLaurin, & Crotts, 2007).
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