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Article
Publication date: 28 January 2019

Roger van Rensburg, Bruce Mellado and Cesar Augusto Marin Tobon

The purpose of this study is to locally develop low-cost wireless mesh networks for reliable data communications to devices that prevent the theft of these devices in learning…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to locally develop low-cost wireless mesh networks for reliable data communications to devices that prevent the theft of these devices in learning institutions of South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A network test-bench was developed where millions of packets were transmitted and logged between interconnected nodes to analyze the quality of the network’s service in a harsh indoor building environment. Similar methodologies in “big data” analysis as found in particle physics were adopted to analyze the network’s performance and reliability.

Findings

The results from statistical analysis reveal the quality of service between multiple asynchronous transmitting nodes in the network and compared with the wireless technology routing protocol to assess coverage in large geographical areas. The mesh network provides stable data communications between nodes with the exception of reliability degradation in some multi-hopping routes. Conclusions are presented to determine whether the underlining mesh network technology will be deployed to protect devices against theft in educational institutions of South Africa.

Research limitations/implications

The anti-theft application will focus on proprietary firmware development with a reputable tablet manufacturer to render the device inoperable. Data communications of devices to the network will be monitored and controlled from a central management system. The electronics embedding the system-on-chip will be redesigned and developed using the guidelines stipulated by the chip manufacturer.

Originality/value

Design and development of low-cost wireless mesh networks to protect tablets against theft in institutions of digitized learning. The work presents performance and reliability metrics of a low-power wireless mesh wireless technology developed in a harsh indoor building environment.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 January 2023

Fernando Pinto, Marie Anne Macadar and Gabriela Viale Pereira

This research was conducted to understand how vulnerable communities used social media (SM) tools to face the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Affected by the lack of information…

Abstract

Purpose

This research was conducted to understand how vulnerable communities used social media (SM) tools to face the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Affected by the lack of information and the absence of effective public policies, residents from slums in the city of Rio de Janeiro displayed new and unexpected uses to SM tools to tackle the health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology consisted of a qualitative, exploratory study, combining a series of in-depth interviews with the analysis of various posts, containing videos and texts, extracted from SM during the first six months of the pandemic. The data were collected in the context of 10 different communities in Rio de Janeiro city.

Findings

In the context of the pandemic, people combined different uses of SM not only to inform themselves and communicate with others but also to articulate and execute fundraising and food donation strategies within vulnerable communities. Accordingly, this SM use is characterized by improvisation, learning by doing and building resilience, which are all constructs related to the concept of bricolage. Users had no specific SM knowledge, and adjusted these technological tools to emergent new activities in practice, which is characteristic of sociomaterial process. In addition to emphasizing the importance of context for the emergence of the phenomenon, this work also highlights reliability, validity and authority as characteristics related to the citizen-led participation approach that was observed.

Research limitations/implications

Future research can develop approaches based on pandemic sociomaterial bricolage (PSB) aspects, which could guide governments and practitioners on building innovative solutions for the use of SM by the population, especially in emergency situations.

Originality/value

This study proposes a framework, termed PSB, to represent SM usage promoted by the pandemic context, which emerged from the triangulation of empirical data and an analysis based on the concepts of bricolage and sociomateriality.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Jungsik Kim, Hun Whee Lee and Goo Hyeok Chung

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have experienced a sudden and unprecedented drop in revenue and productivity. However, the pandemic did not…

Abstract

Purpose

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have experienced a sudden and unprecedented drop in revenue and productivity. However, the pandemic did not exclusively negatively impact organizations; rather, it resulted in both negative and positive effects. To delve into the multi-level process through which organizational outcomes change from negative to positive indicators, this study focuses on organizational resilience as a theoretical concept to overcome pandemic-related turmoil.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a multi-level analysis based on grounded theory with a sample of 30 healthcare employees who worked in hospitals and were simultaneously enrolled in a part-time master of business administration (MBA) program at a university in the Midwest. Of the 30 participants, 21 were from a single university hospital (UH), and the remaining 9 participants were from other hospitals (non-UH).

Findings

The authors analyzed the data and incorporated three existing perspectives of organizational resilience (attribute, process and multi-level views) into an integrated model. The authors identified 25 first-order concepts and 8 second-order themes and categorized them into 4 aggregate dimensions at different unit levels: organizational field, leadership, operation and individual units.

Practical implications

A resilient hospital operates as a cohesive system, with entities at various levels – from individuals and teams to the broader organization – collaborating seamlessly to foster resilience. Top management team (TMT) should persistently communicate with employees to provide information about the current crisis and clear strategic directions to reduce employees' fear and prevent anomie stemming from future uncertainty. Managers should not only be concerned about employees' physical safety from infection and psychological safety from isolation but also encourage employees to elicit meaningfulness from their work. Furthermore, TMT and human resource (HR) teams should adapt human resource management (HRM) practices to allow for flexibility and optimism in employee roles.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors utilized a qualitative methodology with grounded theory in order to develop a comprehensive model that holds theoretical, methodological and practical significance. Theoretically, the authors' novelty lies in the synthesis of three distinct perspectives: attribute, process and multi-level. The authors merged these approaches into a unified model, identifying precursors of resilience at different levels. Methodologically, the authors focused on hospitals as target samples, which were the foremost and representative organizations severely confronting the crisis and turmoil brought by the pandemic. The authors documented organizations' experiences amidst the crisis as they unfolded in real time rather than in hindsight. This approach highlights the immediacy and significance of the authors' research in the realm of crisis management. Practically, the authors' findings illuminate that organizational resilience can be developed through a collaborative effort. It emerges from coordinated interactions across various organizational actors, from employees and middle managers to the TMT.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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