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1 – 10 of 349F. Barrero, S. Toral and S. Gallardo
The purpose of this paper is to present a remote lab and a web‐based teaching environment which provides access for remote control of Digital Signal Processors (DSP device) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a remote lab and a web‐based teaching environment which provides access for remote control of Digital Signal Processors (DSP device) and real instrumentation. The framework, named eDSPLab, has been designed using LabVIEW for debugging and testing Digital Signal Processing (DSP) experiments in a real lab without physical and temporal restrictions, and it has been integrated as a service in a modern e‐learning application domain and a Learning Management System (LMS) to reinforce its utility.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review is presented to provide background to the progressive role that DSP and DSP devices play in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)‐demanded job profiles, and the role that a computer‐mediated environment plays in modern teaching methodologies. The web service access control architecture is defined.
Findings
The paper provides new insights into the use of the Internet for laboratory teaching.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited to one particular remote lab. Results could be extended if students' perceptions and their acceptance of the new e‐learning technology are examined using an information system theory, such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).
Originality/value
This paper fulfils a need for adapting the teaching methodology applied in an undergraduate Advanced Microprocessor course of the Telecommunication Engineering degree at the University of Seville, Spain, allowing the development of laboratory experiments anywhere and anytime, avoiding one of the problems in lab training: the low number of laboratory working places in relation to the high number of enrolled students. The system developed has been successfully used during the last academic years in a course involving more than 200 students.
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M.R. Martínez‐Torres, S.L. Toral, F. Barrero and F. Cortés
The Internet has evolved, prompted in part by new Web 2.0 technologies, to become a more widespread platform for interaction, communication, and activism. Virtual communities, or…
Abstract
Purpose
The Internet has evolved, prompted in part by new Web 2.0 technologies, to become a more widespread platform for interaction, communication, and activism. Virtual communities, or groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise, synthesise this Internet evolution and the Web 2.0 technology. Users increasingly want to engage online with one another and with organisations of all kinds. These novel Internet‐based technologies dominate the new business models of the digital economy giving companies radical new ways to harvest the talents of innovators working outside corporate boundaries. One of the most illustrative examples of this new trend is the Open Source Software (OSS) projects development. This paper aims to analyse the structure and topology of the virtual community supporting one of the most successfully OSS projects, Linux. The objective is to provide conclusions for being successful in the development of future virtual communities. As companies learn to manage these virtual communities, they will develop smarter and faster ways to create value through them.
Design/methodology/approach
The interactions of the virtual community members of an ARM‐embedded Linux project website is analysed through social network analysis techniques. The participants' activity is studied and some conclusions about the participation features are obtained using the Gini coefficient. In particular, a participation inequality behaviour or a concentration on a small number of developers is clearly observed.
Findings
The paper deals with the guidelines that virtual communities should follow to be successful. Results about the structure of a successful virtual community and its time evolution are provided to determine the mentioned guidelines.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to a particular virtual community engaged with the development of the ARM‐embedded Linux OSS. Other successful virtual communities can be analysed, and the conclusions could be compared. Anyway, the proposed analysis methodology can be extended to other virtual communities.
Originality/value
The paper fulfils the development and features of Internet virtual communities to be successful. Results have important implications over the development of new software business models based on virtual communities and open source software. Contributions about the best organisation of virtual communities leading to a successful development of the underlying project are presented.
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M. Rosario González-Rodríguez, Rocio Martínez-Torres and Sergio Toral
This paper aims to explore the image of travel destinations after the visit by analysing sentiment orientation of the online reviews, and how this orientation, as well as other…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the image of travel destinations after the visit by analysing sentiment orientation of the online reviews, and how this orientation, as well as other electronic word of mouth (eWOM)’s credibility sources, can affect the perceived helpfulness of shared opinions measured through the helpfulness score.
Design/methodology/approach
Tourist destinations are increasingly affected by travel-related information shared through the Web. More and more people first check the previous travel experiences of other people to build their own destination image and to help them in their choice of destination. This paper analyses the shared opinions related to the city of Barcelona in a well-known eWOM website. The reviewers’ opinion and the credibility sources of eWOM are extracted from the web using a webscraper, while the sentiment score to analyse the discourse orientation (positive vs negative) is calculated using computer-based sentiment analysis techniques.
Findings
Online reviews’ users are reluctant to provide extreme polar opinions (very negative, very positive) to any travel subcategory (hotel, restaurant, attractions and night-life) of a tourist destination. The results obtained also reveal that eWOM’s perceived helpfulness grows with the expertise of the reviewer. However, the helpfulness score given to the reviews posted is not influenced by the sentiment orientation of the author’s opinion.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to the case study of Ciao, which is a well-known consumer platform, and the city of Barcelona, which is a top touristic destination. However, the approach proposed can be easily extended to other similar consumer platforms and cities using the same methodology.
Practical implications
Understanding the information posted in the media environment is a major concern in the field of marketing destination planning. Positive and negative eWOM offers potential consumers a clear picture on the tourist destination, and this information can be used by Destination Marketing Organisations to meet customers’ needs and expectations. The perceived helpfulness of reviews analysed in this paper can also help practitioners and scholars to understand those factors that make reviews more trustable.
Originality/value
From a methodological point of view, the main contribution of this research is the utilisation of an unstructured approach to the measurement of the destination image based on the sentiment analysis of shared opinions. From a theoretical point of view, the study relates the post-visit destination image with the pre-visit image formation process, using the sentiment orientation of the former and the perceived helpfulness of the latter.
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M.R. Martínez‐Torres, Sergio L. Toral, Beatriz Palacios and Federico Barrero
Web sites are typically designed attending to a variety of criteria. However, web site structure determines browsing behavior and way‐finding results. The aim of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Web sites are typically designed attending to a variety of criteria. However, web site structure determines browsing behavior and way‐finding results. The aim of this study is to identify the main profiles of web sites' organizational structure by modeling them as graphs and considering several social network analysis features.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study based on 80 institutional Spanish universities' web sites has been used for this purpose. For each root domain, two different networks have been considered: the first is the domain network, and the second is the page network. In both cases, several indicators related to social network analysis have been evaluated to characterize the web site structure. Factor analysis provides the statistical methodology to adequately extract the main web site profiles in terms of their internal structure.
Findings
This paper allows the categorization of web site design styles and provides general guidelines to assist designers to better identify areas for creating and improving institutional web sites. The findings of this study offer practical implications to web site designers for creating and maintaining an effective web presence, and for improving usability.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to 80 institutional Spanish universities' web sites. Other institutional university web sites from different countries can be analyzed, and the conclusions could be compared or enlarged.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the importance of the internal web sites structure, and their implications on usability and way‐finding results. As a difference to previous research, the paper is focused on the comparison of internal structure of institutional web sites, rather than analyzing the web as a whole or the interrelations among web sites.
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Federico Barrero, Sergio Toral, Manuel Vargas, Francisco Cortés and Jose Manuel Milla
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are defined as new infrastructures that combine people, roads and vehicles over the basis of modern embedded systems with enhanced digital…
Abstract
Purpose
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are defined as new infrastructures that combine people, roads and vehicles over the basis of modern embedded systems with enhanced digital connectivity. ITS is fast becoming a reality, favored in their development by the use of the internet. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of road‐traffic management systems, using the internet as the communication link.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review is presented to give a background in the progressive role that ITS and road safety and control applications play in society. The combination of internet and the ITS architecture is covered, and an electronic prototype providing web services for road‐traffic management is designed as an example. The scope of road traffic security research is extensive, and the use of artificial vision systems in road‐traffic analysis (technology which is on the basis of the developed prototype) is also discussed. The hardware and software characteristics of the prototype are defined.
Findings
The paper provides new insights into the use of the internet for road‐traffic management applications.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to one particular road‐traffic management system. Results could be extended if more real equipments were analyzed. Also, end‐users' perception and their acceptance of the new technology could be examined using an information system theory like the technology acceptance model.
Originality/value
The paper shows the utility of the internet in the development of novel ITS.
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Sergio Luis Toral, Nik Bessis and María del Rocío Martínez‐Torres
During recent decades, research institutions have increased collaboration with other institutions since it is recognized as a good practice that improves their performance…
Abstract
Purpose
During recent decades, research institutions have increased collaboration with other institutions since it is recognized as a good practice that improves their performance. However, they do not usually consider external collaborations as a strategic issue despite their benefits. The purpose of this paper consists of identifying different patterns of collaboration and internationalization of universities, with the aim of helping managers and policy makers to take decisions related to their national research policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Co‐authorship analysis has been used in conjunction with social network analysis to model inter‐institutional collaborations as networks, extracting these collaborations from the Web of Science database. Using several structural properties of the extracted networks and applying a statistical treatment, the main profiles of collaborations and internationalization have been obtained.
Findings
Obtained results distinguish three patterns of collaborations according to the intensity and scope of collaborations. The statistical treatment also provides a segmentation of universities according to their collaboration profiles. Finally, universities are represented in bi‐dimensional maps using external collaborations as a measure of similarity.
Research limitations/implications
Although this study is restricted to English universities, it could probably be extended at least to other countries in the European Union or even other developed countries.
Practical implications
Research and institutions productivity are usually linked to the amount of received funding. The use of indicators related to internationalization of institutions can help to avoid a bias in favour of research quantity rather than quality, and towards a short‐term performance rather than a long‐term research capacity.
Originality/value
As a difference to previous works, this paper analyses networks of collaboration from the viewpoint of institutions. More specifically, the combination of social network analysis and factor analysis is used to identify patterns of collaboration among institutions. A longitudinal study is also included to demonstrate that the obtained categorization of universities is maintained over time.
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Leão Maldonado, Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa Nova, Luiz Miguel Renda dos Santos and Marcia Maria dos Santos Bortolocci Espejo
At one end, family farming is seen as important for incentivizing local development. At another end, the Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE) is a social assistance…
Abstract
At one end, family farming is seen as important for incentivizing local development. At another end, the Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE) is a social assistance policy that provides food and nutrition for students enrolled in public schools. In 2015, the program fed 41.5 million students across the country. In 2009, these two worlds – family farming and school feeding – were connected through a public policy implemented by law. This law defines that 30% of the financial resources for the acquisition of school feeding, transferred by the federal government to states and municipalities, must be spent on items produced by family farming. However, even considering the legal requirement and many of the changes it has brought, many municipalities still do not meet this minimum requirement. In 2015, more than half of the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities, about 54%, did not reach the 30% minimum; that is, over 3,000 municipalities failed to meet that legal threshold. This context raises some questions: Why is the law not effective? What are the social structures that hinder the implementation of this public policy as it was conceived? One of the theoretical frameworks that could sustain such questioning is Structuration Theory (ST; Giddens, 2003). It brings the concept of structure duality, stating that there is no prevalence between social structure and human action, but rather a reciprocity. In this theory, the structure can be distinguished into three dimensions (signification, domination, and legitimation) and the interaction of these dimensions can lead to either transformation or continuity. Using the lenses of ST, our aim is to identify, analyze, and understand the reverberations of this public policy on social practices and how these reverberations could explain this state of things. For this, we conducted a preliminary field research, based on interviews with key agents involved in the school feeding program in a municipality in the Midwest of Brazil. The preliminary results revealed that the change induced by the law reflected on those agents, altering social practices. New procedures were adopted that transformed social practices pertaining to the dimension of signification. Nevertheless, challenges related to logistics (transport and storage), trust, training, and bureaucracy are still hindering the effectiveness of the intended public policy. As a limitation, we were not under conditions to grasp the changes while they occurred because our point of attention is the scenario after the enforcement of the relevant Law. Beyond that, our study uses ST to deal with the resistance of social structures to change even in a scenario of mandatory law enforcement.
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James E. Austin, Gabriel Berger, Rosa Amelia González, Roberto Gutiérrez, Iván D. Lobo and Alfred Vernis
Purpose: Provide insights on how social entrepreneurship (SE) knowledge can be more effectively generated by universities through the entrepreneurial creation and effective…
Abstract
Purpose: Provide insights on how social entrepreneurship (SE) knowledge can be more effectively generated by universities through the entrepreneurial creation and effective management of a knowledge network centered on international collaborative research; illuminate how one such network has enabled Latin American researchers to advance the knowledge and practice frontiers in the hemisphere and globally. Methodology/Approach: Retrospective analysis of the two-decade evolution of the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network, a pioneering international research collaboration (IRC) of Ibero-American management schools. Findings: Documents factors and dynamics enabling the successful creation and operation of international knowledge networks. Analyzes the key mechanisms for capturing synergies in collaborative research. Identifies specific effectiveness determinants for successfully operating an international social enterprise knowledge generation network. Identifies multiple impacts of a knowledge generation network. Research Implications: Advances understanding of IRCs. Provides a model for assessing knowledge network multiple impacts. Identifies a series of future research opportunities and needs. Practical Implications: Provides operational guidance for researchers developing or operating collaborative international knowledge networks. Social Implications: Reveals the value of collaboration in international research and factors that contribute to effective collaboration. Originality/Value: Provides unique retrospective study of an IRC network operated by developing country schools of management. Expands the scope of recent comparative research on SE education to include a set of countries in Ibero-America. Documents an approach to assessing the impacts of a knowledge network. Identifies important areas for advancing future social enterprise research and teaching.
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Dilek Penpece Demirer and Ahmet Büyükeke
The competitiveness of destinations is crucial for tourism. In this context, the study aims to uncover customer satisfaction, experiences, feelings, and thoughts by conducting a…
Abstract
Purpose
The competitiveness of destinations is crucial for tourism. In this context, the study aims to uncover customer satisfaction, experiences, feelings, and thoughts by conducting a comparative analysis of social media comments from various competitive tourism destinations.
Design/methodology/approach
Big data research was conducted to answer the research questions. The data was collected on a social media platform focusing on three destinations in the Mediterranean region. Three methods were employed to analyse the data: sentiment analysis, topic modelling, and named-entity recognition.
Findings
This study addressed traveller satisfaction levels. It identified the topics concerning each destination, examined the emotions expressed by travellers about these topics, explored the potential impact on future behaviour, and investigated the features of the destinations and satisfaction levels about these features. It also identified the prominent food and beverage names in destinations and explored tourists’ preferences regarding these foods and beverages.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of this study relate to the sample. The data used in this study was solely obtained from a single social media platform and focused on English-only comments. Further research that includes different social media platforms for hotel categories and considers reviews in local languages could capture a broader range of customer opinions and experiences.
Practical implications
Policymakers can gain insight into a destination’s position in the competitive landscape. This study has numerous implications for policymakers in the relevant destinations and managers in the design and implementation of services.
Social implications
The findings of this study can have broader societal implications if considered and implemented by decision-makers and tourism businesses in the context of competitiveness.
Originality/value
The study’s originality lies in integrating multiple disciplines and comparing tourism destinations using big data. This study improves the understanding of competitiveness in three specific Mediterranean destinations. Previous research has focused on different contexts in these Mediterranean destinations. Therefore, the study fills this gap by focusing simultaneously on all three destinations in the context of competitiveness.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of online community user participation from a social influence perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of online community user participation from a social influence perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on 450 valid responses collected from a survey questionnaire, structural equation modeling (SEM) technology was employed to examine the research model.
Findings
The results show that both social identity and group norm have significant effects on user participation. In addition, group norm affects social identity. It was not possible to find the effect of subjective norm on participation intention.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited to a particular sample: students. Thus the results need to be generalized to other samples, such as working professionals.
Originality/value
Extant research has mainly focused on the effects of user motivations such as perceived usefulness, trust and commitment on online community user behavior, and seldom considered the effects of social processes including compliance, identification and internalization on user behavior. This research tries to fill the gap.
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