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1 – 10 of 171Olivér Csernyava, Bálint Péter Horváth, Zsolt Badics and Sándor Bilicz
The purpose of this paper is the development of an analytic computational model for electromagnetic (EM) wave scattering from spherical objects. The main application field is the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is the development of an analytic computational model for electromagnetic (EM) wave scattering from spherical objects. The main application field is the modeling of electrically large objects, where the standard numerical techniques require huge computational resources. An example is full-wave modeling of the human head in the millimeter-wave regime. Hence, an approximate model or analytical approach is used.
Design/methodology/approach
The Mie–Debye theorem is used for calculating the EM scattering from a layered dielectric sphere. The evaluation of the analytical expressions involved in the infinite sum has several numerical instabilities, which makes the precise calculation a challenge. The model is validated through an application example with comparing results to numerical calculations (finite element method). The human head model is used with the approximation of a two-layer sphere, where the brain tissues and the cranial bones are represented by homogeneous materials.
Findings
A significant improvement is introduced for the stable calculation of the Mie coefficients of a core–shell stratified sphere illuminated by a linearly polarized EM plane wave. Using this technique, a semi-analytical expression is derived for the power loss in the sphere resulting in quick and accurate calculations.
Originality/value
Two methods are introduced in this work with the main objective of estimating the final precision of the results. This is an important aspect for potentially unstable calculations, and the existing implementations have not included this feature so far.
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Sabra Munir, Siti Zaleha Abdul Rasid, Muhammad Aamir, Farrukh Jamil and Ishfaq Ahmed
This paper aims to assess the impact of big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) on organizational innovation performance through process-oriented dynamic capabilities (PODC), as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the impact of big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) on organizational innovation performance through process-oriented dynamic capabilities (PODC), as a mediator, as well as the moderating roles of organizational culture (OC) and management accountants, in this artificial intelligence (AI) era. This paper also aims to provide information on the emerging trends and implications of the abovementioned relationships by focusing on these relationships and interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study used the close-ended questionnaire approach based on the resource-based view and socio-materiality theories. This included sending questionnaires to top-level management, including Chief Financial Officer/Chief Executive Officers/Chief Information Officers (CFO/CEOs/CIOs), having an in-depth understanding of the concepts, practical applications and usage of big data as well as BDAC.181 valid questionnaire-based responses were analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modelling technique and bootstrapping moderated mediation method.
Findings
This study provides empirical insights into how BDAC impact innovative performance through PODC as well as the moderating effects of OC and management accountants. This involves a shift in focus from almost standardized approaches to developing BDAC without contextual focus on approaches that are much more heterogeneously related to each organization and hence are more focused on the context of the pharmaceutical industry.
Research limitations/implications
The main aim of key research questions in this study is to increase the contributions of BDAC toward improving innovation performance in the presence of the abovementioned variables and relationships that exist between them. The chosen research approach can be improved by carrying out interviews with the top management to obtain more relevant and detailed information for developing a better understanding of the abovementioned relationships.
Practical implications
This study outlines how organizations that are developing BDAC approaches can focus on relevant factors and variables to help their initiatives and its role in organizational innovative performance. This will also help them develop sustainable competitive advantage in manufacturing concerns, specifically in the health industry, namely, the pharmaceutical industry.
Originality/value
This study investigated the effects and implications of big data on organizations in the AI era that aim to achieve innovation performance. At the same time, it provides an original understanding of the contextual importance of investing in BDAC development. It also considers the role of management accountants as a bridge between data scientists and business managers in a big data environment, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. The current study used first-time data from surveys involving CFOs, CEOs or CIOs of pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan and analyzed the proposed model using bootstrapping moderated mediation analysis.
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Basil P. Tucker and Stefan Schaltegger
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast perceptions about the research-practice “gap” as it may apply within management accounting, from the perspective of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast perceptions about the research-practice “gap” as it may apply within management accounting, from the perspective of professional accounting bodies in Australia and Germany.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings reported in this paper is based on the collection and analysis of data from interviews with 19 senior representatives from four Australian Professional bodies and 14 representatives of German Professional accounting bodies.
Findings
In Australia and Germany, there exist common as well as unique barriers preventing a more effective engagement of academic research with practice. Common to both countries is the perception that the communication of research represents a major barrier. In Australia, practitioner access to academic research is seen to be a principal obstacle; in Germany, the relevance of topics researched by academics is perceived to represent a significant barrier to academic research informing practice.
Research limitations/implications
This paper directly engages with, and extends recent empirically based research into the extent to which academic research may “speak” to management accounting practice. It extricates both common and specific barriers contributing to the oft-quoted “research-practice gap” in management accounting, and points to the pivotal nature of an intermediary to act as a conduit between academics and practice.
Originality/value
By investigating this issue in two quite different cultural, educational, academic and practice contexts, this paper provides much-needed empirical evidence about the nature, extent and pervasiveness of the perceived research-practice gap in management accounting, and provides a basis for further investigation of this important topic.
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This paper aims to examine the potential of applying the concept of the Learning Organization to the understanding of, and potentially the assessment of, an organization's supply…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the potential of applying the concept of the Learning Organization to the understanding of, and potentially the assessment of, an organization's supply chain collaboration capability. Collaborative supply chain management (SCM) literature was transposed against that of the literature of the Learning Organization to investigate overlapping themes to explore benefits of applying the framework of the Learning Organization to SCM.
Design/methodology/approach
The author conducted an in-depth review of the collaborative SCM and Learning Organization literature. This allowed for a comparative analysis of the literature and identification of the extent of common themes. Themes were identified, future research questions were posed and implications were delineated.
Findings
Findings indicate multiple themes in common between collaborative SCM and the Learning Organization. This serves as support for the suggestion to approach SCM with the framework of the Learning Organization to encourage those principles to drive behavior. This will be critical for gaining a competitive advantage in the supply chain.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to conceptual analysis only. Findings suggest that empirical research should be conducted to investigate and quantify advantages of this approach/perspective.
Practical implications
Implications are that SCM should include the practices of the Learning Organization to ensure that the supply chain is oriented toward learning and continuous growth.
Originality/value
It indicates the value of the Learning Organization perspective in SCM and introduces the term “learning chain” to exemplify the approach.
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Dóra Horváth, Tamás Csordás, Katalin Ásványi, Julianna Faludi, Attila Cosovan, Attila Endre Simay and Zita Komár
The purpose of this paper is to argue for the sustained need for the physical workplace and real-life encounters in higher education even in the digital age despite being…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue for the sustained need for the physical workplace and real-life encounters in higher education even in the digital age despite being seemingly transformable into the virtual sphere as seen during the COVID-19 situation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a collaborative autoethnography by a group of seven higher educators with an overall 2,134 student encounters during the study’s time span. The authors then connect these practitioner observations with relevant COVID-19-related studies thereby adding to research on higher education as a workplace.
Findings
The data suggest that the physical workplace strongly bolsters the personal experience and effectiveness of higher education through contributing to its dynamics. Spaces predetermine the scope and levels of human interaction of teaching and learning. In a physical setting, all senses serve as mediators, whereas, online, only two senses are involved: vision and hearing. The two-dimensional screen becomes a mediator of communications. In the physical space, actors are free to adjust the working space, whereas the online working space is limited and defined by platforms.
Practical implications
Although higher education institutions may indeed fully substitute most practices formerly in a physical setting with online solutions, real-time encounters in the physical working space belong to its deeper raisons d'être.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the necessity of the physical workplace in higher education and describes the depriving potential of the exclusively online higher education teaching setting.
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Anna Gekoski, Jacqueline M. Gray, Joanna R. Adler and Miranda A.H. Horvath
The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings from a study commissioned by the British Transport Police and the Department for Transport for England and Wales concerning…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings from a study commissioned by the British Transport Police and the Department for Transport for England and Wales concerning sexual offences and harassment on public transport worldwide. Specifically, it aims to explore the prevalence of such behaviours, through a review of existing survey and interview data regarding women and girls’ experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A rapid evidence assessment (REA) was used, the function of which is to: search the literature as comprehensively as possible within given time constraints; collate descriptive outlines of the available evidence on a topic and critically appraise it; sift out studies of poor quality; and provide an overview of the evidence.
Findings
It was found that prevalence rates range from 15 to 95 per cent, with the UK having the lowest rates. Emerging economies had higher rates of harassment and assault, which may relate to differing cultural and gender norms, where public space is regarded as a male domain.
Research limitations/implications
A REA is not a full systematic review, differing in the scope and depth of the searches and depending almost exclusively on electronic databases, not accompanied by searching journals by hand.
Practical implications
More research of high methodological rigour needs to be carried out on prevalence rates of sexual harassment and offending on public transport worldwide. The high prevalence rates found suggest the need for more work around the area of interventions to curtail offending in this setting. The findings suggest that emerging economies, in particular, need to do more to address the problem of sexual harassment and assault on public transport. More fundamentally, cultural norms around women’s roles in society need to be addressed and challenged.
Originality/value
Women may become “transit captive” and socially excluded if they are afraid to travel on public transport and do not have access to private transport. This would be an unacceptable situation which must be addressed by transport authorities and police.
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James Hardy Speer, Virgil Sheets, Tina M. Kruger, Stephen Peter Aldrich and Nicholas McCreary
The purpose of this study is to assess environmental concern at a Midwest university, analyze trends in concern over time and determine the effect of the development of a campus…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess environmental concern at a Midwest university, analyze trends in concern over time and determine the effect of the development of a campus sustainability office.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-question survey was administered through peer-to-peer recruitment from an undergraduate environmental science class each fall from 2010–2017. This exercise was originally developed as a pedagogical exercise on the scientific method.
Findings
Over eight years, incoming freshmen have expressed more concern that humans are harming the environment and students also express greater concern as they progress through college.
Research limitations/implications
The first year of the survey (2010) and the year that the lead PI was on sabbatical (2014) saw reduced response rates (∼1%–3% of the student population) compared to 6%–9% of the student population in other years.
Practical implications
Responses to all of the questions in the survey provide guidance for university administrations and sustainability offices about the concerns of the campus community, awareness about campus efforts and support for sustainability activities on campus.
Originality/value
Few studies have been published on students’ perspectives on environmental concern and sustainability activities on university campuses. These data provide an overview of environmental concern, perceived government action and empowerment to action over an eight-year period. This approach is recommended as a technique to teach the scientific method in introductory classes and as a means to collect data about student perspectives on sustainability.
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Nóra Obermayer, Tibor Csizmadia and Dávid Máté Hargitai
The purpose of this paper is to discover how Hungarian manufacturing companies interpret technology and human resources as driving forces and barriers in terms of Industry 4.0…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discover how Hungarian manufacturing companies interpret technology and human resources as driving forces and barriers in terms of Industry 4.0 implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with corporate leaders and applied qualitative content analysis using Atlas.ti software.
Findings
The authors formulated a new definition of Industry 4.0 which emphasises the role of human factors. The authors identified driving forces (efficiency with speed/information flow/precision) and barriers (technology compatibility, human fears and lack of digital skills) in terms of Industry 4.0 implementation and developed the DIGI-TEcH performance management dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
Comparison with other countries is limited. Given the exploratory and qualitative nature, further quantitative research would be needed to generalise results. Finally, only manufacturing companies are examined.
Practical implications
It provides empirical evidence to practitioners to understand concerns about technology and human resource in terms of Industry 4.0 implementation. In addition, corporate performance management can be extended by the developed DIGI-TEcH dimensions.
Originality/value
This paper reveals key evidence for the uptake of technology and human factors in terms of Industry 4.0 implementation and their impacts on corporate operation and performance. It also provides an insight into a specific country context, which can be a useful benchmark for other Central and Eastern European countries.
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