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Book part
Publication date: 31 January 2015

Junyi Zhang

The chapter outlines the principles underlying relative utility models, discusses the results of empirical applications and critically assesses the usefulness of this…

Abstract

Purpose

The chapter outlines the principles underlying relative utility models, discusses the results of empirical applications and critically assesses the usefulness of this specification against commonly used random utility models and other context dependence models. It also discusses how relative utility can be viewed as a generalisation of context dependency.

Theory

In contrast to the conventional concept of random utility, relative utility assumes that decision-makers derive utility from their choices relative to some threshold(s) or reference points. Relative utility models thus systematically specify the utility against such thresholds or reference points.

Findings

Examples in the chapter show that relative utility model perform well in comparison to conventional utility-maximising models in some circumstances.

Originality and value

Examples of relative utility models are rare in transportation research. The chapter shows that several recent models can be viewed as special cases of relative utility models.

Details

Bounded Rational Choice Behaviour: Applications in Transport
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-071-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2023

Yandong Hou, Zhengbo Wu, Xinghua Ren, Kaiwen Liu and Zhengquan Chen

High-resolution remote sensing images possess a wealth of semantic information. However, these images often contain objects of different sizes and distributions, which make the…

Abstract

Purpose

High-resolution remote sensing images possess a wealth of semantic information. However, these images often contain objects of different sizes and distributions, which make the semantic segmentation task challenging. In this paper, a bidirectional feature fusion network (BFFNet) is designed to address this challenge, which aims at increasing the accurate recognition of surface objects in order to effectively classify special features.

Design/methodology/approach

There are two main crucial elements in BFFNet. Firstly, the mean-weighted module (MWM) is used to obtain the key features in the main network. Secondly, the proposed polarization enhanced branch network performs feature extraction simultaneously with the main network to obtain different feature information. The authors then fuse these two features in both directions while applying a cross-entropy loss function to monitor the network training process. Finally, BFFNet is validated on two publicly available datasets, Potsdam and Vaihingen.

Findings

In this paper, a quantitative analysis method is used to illustrate that the proposed network achieves superior performance of 2–6%, respectively, compared to other mainstream segmentation networks from experimental results on two datasets. Complete ablation experiments are also conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the elements in the network. In summary, BFFNet has proven to be effective in achieving accurate identification of small objects and in reducing the effect of shadows on the segmentation process.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper is the proposal of a BFFNet based on multi-scale and multi-attention strategies to improve the ability to accurately segment high-resolution and complex remote sensing images, especially for small objects and shadow-obscured objects.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 31 January 2015

Abstract

Details

Bounded Rational Choice Behaviour: Applications in Transport
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-071-1

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Richard E. Lee

To provide an overview of the historical development of non‐reductive currents in science that underpinned the sociocybernetic movement and from that perspective assess the…

380

Abstract

Purpose

To provide an overview of the historical development of non‐reductive currents in science that underpinned the sociocybernetic movement and from that perspective assess the importance of the movement for social science.

Design/methodology/approach

Examines the principles of general system theory, cybernetics, and sociocybernetics, in a relevant selection of the founding literatures as an outgrowth of the long‐term development of the structures of knowledge in the modern world and as related to contemporary geopolitics and the world‐economy.

Findings

Indicates how sociocybernetics, as a holistic alternative, may be a part of the solution to the crisis of analytic approaches in applications targeting an understanding and interpretation of human reality.

Originality/value

Suggests how scholars may confront today's world as active agents without losing their status as producers of authoritative knowledge.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 35 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 April 2005

Fredrik von Corswant

This paper deals with the organizing of interactive product development. Developing products in interaction between firms may provide benefits in terms of specialization…

Abstract

This paper deals with the organizing of interactive product development. Developing products in interaction between firms may provide benefits in terms of specialization, increased innovation, and possibilities to perform development activities in parallel. However, the differentiation of product development among a number of firms also implies that various dependencies need to be dealt with across firm boundaries. How dependencies may be dealt with across firms is related to how product development is organized. The purpose of the paper is to explore dependencies and how interactive product development may be organized with regard to these dependencies.

The analytical framework is based on the industrial network approach, and deals with the development of products in terms of adaptation and combination of heterogeneous resources. There are dependencies between resources, that is, they are embedded, implying that no resource can be developed in isolation. The characteristics of and dependencies related to four main categories of resources (products, production facilities, business units and business relationships) provide a basis for analyzing the organizing of interactive product development.

Three in-depth case studies are used to explore the organizing of interactive product development with regard to dependencies. The first two cases are based on the development of the electrical system and the seats for Volvo’s large car platform (P2), performed in interaction with Delphi and Lear respectively. The third case is based on the interaction between Scania and Dayco/DFC Tech for the development of various pipes and hoses for a new truck model.

The analysis is focused on what different dependencies the firms considered and dealt with, and how product development was organized with regard to these dependencies. It is concluded that there is a complex and dynamic pattern of dependencies that reaches far beyond the developed product as well as beyond individual business units. To deal with these dependencies, development may be organized in teams where several business units are represented. This enables interaction between different business units’ resource collections, which is important for resource adaptation as well as for innovation. The delimiting and relating functions of the team boundary are elaborated upon and it is argued that also teams may be regarded as actors. It is also concluded that a modular product structure may entail a modular organization with regard to the teams, though, interaction between business units and teams is needed. A strong connection between the technical structure and the organizational structure is identified and it is concluded that policies regarding the technical structure (e.g. concerning “carry-over”) cannot be separated from the management of the organizational structure (e.g. the supplier structure). The organizing of product development is in itself a complex and dynamic task that needs to be subject to interaction between business units.

Details

Managing Product Innovation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-311-2

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2024

Junyi Chen, Buqing Cao, Zhenlian Peng, Ziming Xie, Shanpeng Liu and Qian Peng

With the increasing number of mobile applications, efficiently recommending mobile applications to users has become a challenging problem. Although existing mobile application…

Abstract

Purpose

With the increasing number of mobile applications, efficiently recommending mobile applications to users has become a challenging problem. Although existing mobile application recommendation approaches based on user attributes and behaviors have achieved notable effectiveness, they overlook the diffusion patterns and interdependencies of topic-specific mobile applications among user groups. mobile applications among user groups. This paper aims to capture the diffusion patterns and interdependencies of mobile applications among user groups. To achieve this, a topic-aware neural network-based mobile application recommendation method, referred to as TN-MR, is proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

In this method, first, the user representations are enhanced by introducing a topic-aware attention layer, which captures both the topic context and the diffusion history context. Second, it exploits a time-decay mechanism to simulate changes in user interest. Multitopic user representations are aggregated by the time decay module to output the user representations of cascading representations under multiple topics. Finally, user scores that are likely to download the mobile application are predicted and ranked.

Findings

Experimental comparisons and analyses were conducted on the actual 360App data set, and the results demonstrate that the effectiveness of mobile application recommendations can be significantly improved by using TN-MR.

Originality/value

In this paper, the authors propose a mobile application recommendation method based on topic-aware attention networks. By capturing the diffusion patterns and dependencies of mobile applications, it effectively assists users in selecting their applications of interest from thousands of options, significantly improving the accuracy of mobile application recommendations.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Kostas Selviaridis, Aristides Matopoulos, Leslie Thomas Szamosi and Alexandros Psychogios

The purpose of this paper is to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resource dependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging…

1652

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resource dependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging (RTP).

Design/methodology/approach

A single case study was conducted in the context of automotive logistics focusing on the RTP SSC. Data were collected through 16 interviews, primarily with managers of a logistics service provider (LSP) and document analysis of contractual agreements with key customers of the packaging service.

Findings

Resource dependencies among actors in the SSC result from the importance of the RTP for the customer’s production processes, the competition among users for RTP and the negative implications of the temporary unavailability of RTP for customers and the LSP (in terms of service performance). Amongst other things, the LSP is dependent on its customers and third-party users (e.g. the customer’s suppliers) for the timely return of package resources. The role of inter-firm integration and collaboration, formal contracts as well as customers’ power and influence over third-party RTP users are stressed as key mechanisms for managing LSP’s resource dependencies.

Research limitations/implications

A resource dependence theory (RDT) lens is used to analyse how reverse resource exchanges and associated resource dependencies in SSCs are managed, thus complementing the existing SSC literature emphasising the bi-directionality of resource flows. The study also extends the recent SSC literature stressing the role of contracting by empirically demonstrating how formal contracts can be mobilised to explicate resource dependencies and to specify, and regulate, reverse exchanges in the SSC.

Practical implications

The research suggests that logistics providers can effectively manage their resource dependencies and regulate reverse exchanges in the SSC by deploying contractual governance mechanisms and leveraging their customers’ influence over third-party RTP users.

Originality/value

The study is novel in its application of RDT, which enhances our understanding of the management of reverse exchanges and resource dependencies in SSCs.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2023

Huicheng (Jeff) Wu, Nancy Nelson Hodges, Jin Su and Sukyung Seo

The purpose of this study was to investigate the affective and cognitive dimensions of satisfaction that impact the buyer-supplier relationship (BSR) from the supplier's…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the affective and cognitive dimensions of satisfaction that impact the buyer-supplier relationship (BSR) from the supplier's perspective and to consider satisfaction within the context of power-dependency theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 Chinese apparel supply professionals who regularly interact with apparel buyers. Audio or video interviews were conducted via WeChat (the most popular social media platform in China).

Findings

A thematic analysis of the interview data revealed that both affective and cognitive dimensions of satisfaction impact the BSR. A model of supplier affective and cognitive satisfaction in a collaborative BSR was developed to illustrate the connections between the two dimensions.

Originality/values

Due to intense competition in the market, supplier satisfaction is essential for building relationships in the apparel industry. Existing studies have focused on satisfaction from the perspective of the buyer rather than the supplier because in a BSR, the buyer tends to hold more power. Moreover, research has primarily considered cognitive evaluations of satisfaction with the BSR. This study offers new insight on both cognitive and affective satisfaction from the perspective of suppliers within the context of power-dependency theory.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 November 2011

Ekaterina Gilman, Xiang Su, Oleg Davidyuk, Jiehan Zhou and Jukka Riekki

Context‐awareness is an essential property of any pervasive system perceiving its environment. Such a system captures and processes context, i.e. the features describing the…

Abstract

Purpose

Context‐awareness is an essential property of any pervasive system perceiving its environment. Such a system captures and processes context, i.e. the features describing the relevant aspects of environment state and user behaviour. However, development of these systems still requires solving a number of research and engineering challenges. The purpose of this paper is to propose perception framework, a RESTful middleware which simplifies and accelerates the development of pervasive systems. Perception framework allows constructing services' application logic using rules and context. Moreover, it collects sensor data and produces the context information that is required for the rules. The authors present the architecture, design, complete implementation, and prototype‐based verification of perception framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Development of context‐aware services is achieved with a novel architecture supporting building of the logic of web services using rules which directly manipulate the available elementary context represented with the Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontology. These rules are described using the Rule Interchange Format (RIF) with support for different rule languages. The implementation of this framework is aligned with RESTful principles, providing a lightweight and flexible solution for large‐scale context‐aware systems.

Findings

The fully implemented prototype verifies the feasibility of constructing the logic of context‐aware web services with the rules supported by perception framework.

Originality/value

The contributions of this paper include: the requirement specification for a generic context‐aware pervasive middleware; and the design and implementation of the framework (i.e. perception framework) supporting the development of context‐aware web services. The perception framework includes a generic rule‐based reasoner allowing developers to use several RIF‐compliant rule description languages.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 August 2023

Armaghan Chizaryfard, Yulia Lapko and Paolo Trucco

This study advocates the importance of taking an evolutionary perspective in the strategic configuration of closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) in the transition to a circular…

1188

Abstract

Purpose

This study advocates the importance of taking an evolutionary perspective in the strategic configuration of closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) in the transition to a circular economy. Building on the supply chain management and industrial dynamics research domains, an evolutionary analytical framework was developed and applied in the empirical context of the ongoing industrial transition to e-mobility.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is designed as an in-depth exploratory case study to capture the multi-layer dynamic complexities and their interplay in CSLC development. The empirical investigation was based on two-year interactions between the authors and various departments in a leading European heavy vehicle manufacturer. The proposed evolutionary analytical framework was used for investigating the dynamics of four CLSC configurations through ten possible trajectories.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that the evolution of each CLSC configuration comes with multiple challenges and requirements and point out the necessity for the co-development of technologies, product design and production, and infrastructure through long-term relationships among key supply chain actors. However, this evolutionary journey is associated with multiple dilemmas caused by uncertainties in the market and technology developments. All these factors were properly captured and critically analyzed, along with their interactions, thanks to the constructs included in the proposed evolutionary analytical framework.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed evolutionary framework is applicable for examination of SC transformation in the context of market and technology development, and is particularly relevant for transitioning from linear SC to CLSC. The framework offers a single actor perspective, as it does not directly tackle dynamics and effects of actions taken by SC actors.

Practical implications

The developed framework can support SC managers in identifying, framing, and comparing alternative strategies for CLSC configuration in the transition process.

Originality/value

This study proposes the framework for understanding and guiding the evolutionary process of CLSC development. Its uniqueness lies in the integration of concepts from innovation and evolutionary theories coming from industrial dynamics and SCM literature streams.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 34 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 14000