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The purpose of this paper is to examine how to achieve business improvement using clear organisational goals and well-communicated vision, together with a powerful process modelling technique and an analysis of the adopted e-business development stages.

Employing both business process modelling and improvement complement and reinforce one another. Among different business process modelling techniques, Ould's Riva method was selected to analyse the business processes and to improve the CRM business process in Incom Egypt. In order to get a deeper insight, seven-key decision makers at the case study organisation have been interviewed. E-business development stages have also been elaborated and analysed in the case study. This case study approach enables the researchers to get a complete picture of the problem.

It was found that Incom Egypt aimed to automate their business processes to solve these problems but they failed. Main reasons behind its failure are their unstructured business processes and employees resistance to improvements. Setting clear goals that follow the organisation's mission and vision can direct managers towards better decision making. Therefore, identification of business processes should be among the first steps to understand business structure, where inefficiencies in current activities could be detected, adjusted and improved. Improvements could then follow e-business development stages using Earl's technique.

The primary value of this paper is that business process improvement does not depend on one technique, but rather lies in the combination of process modelling, and e-business development together, which in turn helps decision makers successfully set up effective organisational plans via clarifying business processes. The improved system will provide a roadmap for organisations to make the proper transition to e-business.

The setting up of e-university has been slow-going. Much of e-university slow progress has been attributed to poor business models, branding, disruptive technologies, lack of organisational structure that accommodates such challenges, and failure to integrate a blended approach. One of the stumbling blocks, among many, is the handling of evaluation process. E-university models do not provide much automation compared to the original brick-and-mortar classroom model of delivery. The underlining technologies may not have been supportive; however, the conditions are changing, and more evaluation tools are becoming available for academics. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper identifies the extent of current online evaluation processes. In this process, the team reviews the case study of a UK E-University using Adobe Connect learning model that mirrors much of the physical processes as well as online exams and evaluation tools. Using the Riva model, the paper compares the physical with the online evaluation processes for e-universities to identify differences in these processes to evaluate the benefits of e-learning. As a result, the models can help us to identify the processes where improvements can take place for automating the process and evaluate the impact of this change.

The paper concludes that this process can be significantly shortened and provide a fairer outcome but there remain some challenges for e-university processes to overcome.

This paper examines the vital quality assurance processes in academia as more universities move towards process automation, blended or e-university business models. Using the case study of Arden University online distance learning, the paper demonstrates, through modelling and analysis that the process of online automation of the evaluation process is achieved with significant efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to examine frameworks (such as scorecards) for ongoing library assessment and how business process modelling contributes in Part 3 of the series of viewpoint papers.

Reviews the statistical data collection for strategic planning, and use of data analytics. Considers how to organise further value explorations. Compares macro-frameworks (balanced scorecard, values scorecard) and micro-frameworks for library assessment. Reviews the evidence on business process modelling/re-engineering initiatives. Describes how the Riva approach can be used to both derive a process architecture and to model individual processes.

Data analytics requires collaboration among library services to develop reliable data sets and effective data visualisations for managers to use. Frameworks such as the balanced scorecard may be used to organise ongoing impact and performance evaluation. Queries that arise during ongoing library assessment may require a framework to formulate questions, and assemble evidence (qualitative and quantitative). Both macro- and micro-value frameworks are useful. Work on process modelling within libraries can help to develop an assessment culture, and the Riva approach provides both a process architecture and models of individual processes.

Examines how to implement a library assessment culture through use of data analytics, value frameworks and business process modelling.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a simplified method, based on an improvement to the actual second‐order approximation to magnetic hysteresis curves, to calculate an estimation of quasi‐static hysteresis loops of ferromagnetic materials.

The addition of a new dB(B) function is proposed to second‐order rational approximation for the upward and downward magnetic quasi‐static hysteresis loop. The new semi‐empirical approach is tested with typical cycles of commercial Ni‐ferrites (ferroxcube) and Ni standards using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).

The model is simple and a fast tool to reproduce with reasonable accuracy the hysteresis loops based on appropriate parameters of materials under analysis. The proposed extension to the Rivas model has reduced the maximum difference between experimental and modeled values from 19 to 0.08 per cent in the approximation to different hysteresis cycles of the magnetic materials studied here.

This paper presents an improvement to second‐order rational functions approach for fitting of hysteresis loops with simple added functions.

Academic libraries have witnessed huge changes due to internal and external factors. Recent evidence shows that there is a lack of interest in process analysis within academic libraries. There is a lot written on the need to change academic libraries but there is little analytical research that investigates processes, in terms of the process architecture. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The modelling tool used is Architecture of Integrated Information Systems (ARIS).

ARIS can provide a process architecture and design for academic libraries that might raise questions later about procedures and some inefficiencies.

Library managers might need to learn new techniques.

There is a lot written on the need to change academic libraries but there is little analytical research that investigates processes, in terms of the process architecture. This research examines business process modelling for academic libraries, focusing on the process architecture, as a way of visualizing, understanding and documenting processes.

Business process modeling has been given great attention due to its crucial role in developing computer-based systems that support (and automate) organizational processes. In information systems, building the right process architecture is vital, since a poor division of organizational processes can lead to complex designs or incoherent structure. Moreover, process architecture acts as a “big picture” of what the organization does, and represents dynamic relationships between the existing processes, which, in turn, helps understand how the organization works (Ould, 2005). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper discusses the derivation of a process architecture diagram (PAD) using the Riva method in detail, in contrast to the PAD developed using Architecture of Integrated Information Systems (ARIS). The information system selected as an example for this comparative study is in the context of academic libraries, embedding various yet generic library processes.

Organizational process architecture provides a basis for business management, based on specific framework supported by integrated tools and methods (Kozina, 2006). ARIS and Riva process architecture methods can be used to visualize and document organizational processes. Understanding the merits and weaknesses of each method is essential to identify possible areas of application.

The processes selected were generic in most academic libraries not taking into consideration special personalized processes. These can be added though.

Both techniques are feasible and can be used to view and analyze library processes, allowing bridging the gap between theory and practice.

A number of process architecture methods are available, however, few studies focused on assessing these methods, and comparing some of them to find out how easy they are to be used in particular contexts, and whether they can be standardized.

The impact of smartphone use at tourist destinations on the relationship of travel companions and trip satisfaction remains unclear. This study considers differences in relational outcomes arising from smartphone use to kill time and reduce boredom during leisure travel with different companions, either family or friends, and uses the Riva's emotion regulation model to examine whether such smartphone use provides immediate relief from ostracism.

Partial least square (PLS) method and PLS multigroup analysis were used to analyze the data collected from 205 Taiwanese tourists (104 respondents vacationing with friends and 101 respondents with family).

This study found no negative effect of smartphone use to kill time and reduce boredom on relationship satisfaction and overall trip satisfaction. Smartphone use is rather limited as a contributor to trip satisfaction, and the effect of smartphone use depends on who the tourists are traveling with. The results reflect the effect of the established position of smartphones in everyday life, extending to tourism. The use of smartphones to kill time and avoid boredom is not a sufficiently “active” activity to serve as an effective immediate response to ostracism.

This study contributes to the continuing debate on the impact of new technologies on social relations. Although past studies have examined the relational outcomes of smartphone use, few have investigated this subject in the context of different travel companions. Using Riva's emotion regulation model, this study considers smartphone use as a possible response to ostracism.

The paper's purpose is to examine the process for the acquisition of print and electronic periodicals acquisition process in academic libraries using a business process modelling technique, role activity diagram (RAD).

A literature review examined process modelling in academic libraries. Multiple methods were used for data collection, including documentary analysis, and interviews (n=8) with library staff (mostly recorded) provided other details about the library processes. Two sites were studied. Direct observation was used occasionally as a less formal method. RAD was used as a modelling technique; this is part of the Riva business process‐modelling suite (Ould).

The role activity diagram examples illustrate the differences in processes between the sites and the paper explores how they were used to discuss comparisons and possible improvements with the library staff. In many ways this is a type of action research study, as discussions with the research participants and ongoing evaluations are integral to the research.

This work is limited to one process in academic libraries; periodical acquisitions. It is also limited to two cases, although these are two contrasting sites, one in the UK and the other in Jordan.

The modelling technique used was feasible, and provides a basis for improvement and management by supporting the analysis of process performance and behaviour.

A particular important aspect in bridging the gap between research and practice is communication, through presentation of information in a structured way – the pictorial representation in the business process analysis is used to assist in discussions between researchers and practitioners.

Even though social media (SM) has been explored in-depth, its role remains unclear regarding short- and long-term preventive attitudes in global health emergencies. To fill this gap, the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework aims to clarify the social media exposure mission in acknowledging risk perception and triggering preventive attitudes and behaviors toward COVID-19 and general vaccination.

The authors conducted an explanatory-predictive study on 480 Romanian students, using partial least squares structural equation modeling, and performed model evaluation, multi-group, model selection, and importance-performance map analyses.

The study provides insights in understanding significant relationships and drivers explaining and predicting attitudes towards vaccines. The main relationships are between fear and risk perception; risk and preventive attitudes and behaviors; and vaccination degree and attitudes to vaccines. The most important factor is the vaccination degree and media exposure is the most performant.

Developing and applying regulations and communication strategies for quality mass information may positively increase attitudes toward vaccines by indirectly enforcing the main drivers.

Organizations, authorities, and opinion leaders must have a coherent supportive presence in media.

This study filled the literature gap by building a generic theoretical and empirical proven framework that investigates the mediated effect towards vaccines of all media types by COVID-19 experience and vaccination degree.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-11-2021-0621

Considerable effort is devoted to developing new models for organizing bibliographic metadata. However, such models have been repeatedly criticized for their lack of proper user testing. The purpose of this paper is to present a study on how non-experts in bibliographic systems map the bibliographic universe and, in particular, how they conceptualize relationships between independent but strongly related entities.

The study is based on an open concept-mapping task performed to externalize the conceptualizations of 98 novice students. The conceptualizations of the resulting concept maps are identified and analyzed statistically.

The study shows that the participants’ conceptualizations have great variety, differing in detail and granularity. These conceptualizations can be categorized into two main groups according to derivative relationships: those that apply a single-entity model directly relating document entities and those (the majority) that apply a multi-entity model relating documents through a high-level collocating node. These high-level nodes seem to be most adequately interpreted either as superwork devices collocating documents belonging to the same bibliographic family or as devices collocating documents belonging to a shared fictional world.

The findings can guide the work to develop bibliographic standards. Based on the diversity of the conceptualizations, the findings also emphasize the need for more user testing of both conceptual models and the bibliographic end-user systems implementing those models.