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1 – 10 of over 49000Tarak Chaari, Frédérique Laforest and Augusto Celentano
The simple environment for context aware systems (SECAS) Project deals with the adaptation of applications to the context (user preferences and environment, terminal, etc.). The…
Abstract
Purpose
The simple environment for context aware systems (SECAS) Project deals with the adaptation of applications to the context (user preferences and environment, terminal, etc.). The authors aim to develop a platform which makes the services, data and the user interface of applications adaptable to different context situations.
Design/methodology/approach
Previous research has concentrated on how to capture context data and how to carry it to the application. The present work focuses on the impact of context on the application core. A case study in the medical field is also analysed.
Findings
The paper illustrates a new definition of the context which separates the application data from the parameters of the context. This definition helps to establish a complete study on how to adapt applications on their three dimensions (services, content and presentation) to the context.
Originality/value
The paper presents the SECAS platform, one that ensures the deployment of adaptive context‐aware applications.
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Daniel Pakkala and Juhani Latvakoski
A novel distributed middleware service platform, called MidGate platform, is presented in this paper. The central contribution is description of the developed MidGate platform and…
Abstract
A novel distributed middleware service platform, called MidGate platform, is presented in this paper. The central contribution is description of the developed MidGate platform and its architecture focusing especially on the adaptation, context‐awareness, and personalization of mobile and pervasive services. The research problem addressed is how to facilitate the development of interoperable applications and services into heterogeneous and distributed service gateway based environments. A requirement analysis of future mobile and pervasive services and key technologies has been carried out to establish a solid base and requirements for the development of the MidGate platform. The key mechanisms supporting adaptation, context‐awareness, and personalization of applications and services are presented. The novel middleware architecture solution of the MidGate platform utilizing these key mechanisms is also described. The MidGate architecture utilizes the emerging Generic Service Elements (GSE) approach, where generic and collectively utilizable services are provided to applications as middleware services that are part of a service platform. The main contribution of this research is the definition of a set of GSEs, the related MidGate platform architecture and its evaluation. The evaluation of the MidGate platform has been carried out in series of laboratory prototypes. The evaluation indicates that the MidGate platform solution is well applicable in various service gateway‐based distributed systems and extends well into resource‐constrained mobile environments.
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Sihem Cherif, Raoudha Ben Djemaa and Ikram Amous
This paper aims to propose an approach for the self-adaptation of the Web composition called SAMIWA. The SAMIWA framework helps users during the search, invocation and composition…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an approach for the self-adaptation of the Web composition called SAMIWA. The SAMIWA framework helps users during the search, invocation and composition of the appropriate Web service.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ approach allows expressing requirements by taking into account potential users’ context in addition to the functional one.
Findings
In this paper, the authors introduce a new context-aware approach that provides a dynamic adaptation of service compositions.
Originality/value
The author has implemented a Web application that enables selection and composition of the most appropriate composite service.
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Makhlouf Derdour, Philippe Roose, Marc Dalmau and Nacira Ghoualmi‐Zine
The purpose of this paper is to present a supervised adaptation platform for applications‐based components.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a supervised adaptation platform for applications‐based components.
Design/methodology/approach
The platform is designed using a model based top‐down approach. The authors use UML diagrams and particularly scenarios and activity diagrams.
Findings
The CSC (component, service and connector) platform is based on a component/service model that allows adaptation of component‐based applications and uses service‐oriented architecture for providing adaptation services to be embedded in adaptation connectors.
Originality/value
The paper proposes CSC, a self‐adaptation platform based on MMSA, to describe software architectures for multimedia‐oriented application and providing adaptation capabilities. The platform is based on services and offer architecture, with three layers particularly adapted to adaptation of multimedia flow (types, formats, properties) and which allows solving the heterogeneity problems of components.
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This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network…
Abstract
This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.
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This paper aims to propose an approach to examining the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business, which presents a unique opportunity to study a hitherto-unavailable…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an approach to examining the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business, which presents a unique opportunity to study a hitherto-unavailable business scenario.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework is suggested to study the ability of a service firm to make adaptations to pandemic conditions based on the nature of its services: namely, the act of production and the type of recipient and the predisposed ability of the customer to accept the service firm’s adaptations to social distancing restrictions. Under this framework, it is demonstrated that service adaptations made due to COVID-19 business restrictions and the customers’ acceptance of them determine whether these changes are likely to become permanent.
Findings
A classification scheme is developed to determine four classes of service firms’ adaptations to their normal course of business made under pandemic conditions and suggestions given on how to project which adaptations may persist beyond the pandemic and why.
Research limitations/implications
A conceptual framework grounded on Lovelock classification to present projections needs to be empirically tested.
Practical implications
Managerial insights based on the study and suggestions for research on what business practices are most likely to be permanently changed in a post-pandemic world for services are offered.
Originality/value
Using two of Lovelock’s dimensions pertaining to the nature of production and delivery of the service, four categories are proposed based on two characteristics: service adaptability and customer acceptance. The Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM2) model is extended to predict service adaptations, which are most likely to become permanent in a post-pandemic world.
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Ronnie Cheung, Gang Yao, Jiannong Cao and Alvin Chan
Context‐aware mobile computing extends the horizons of the conventional computing model to a ubiquitous computing environment that serves users at anytime, anywhere. To achieve…
Abstract
Purpose
Context‐aware mobile computing extends the horizons of the conventional computing model to a ubiquitous computing environment that serves users at anytime, anywhere. To achieve this, mobile applications need to adapt their behaviors to the changing context. The purpose of this paper is to present a generalized adaptive middleware infrastructure for context‐aware computing.
Design/methodology/approach
Owing to the vague nature of context and uncertainty in context aggregation for making adaptation decisions, the paper proposes a fuzzy‐based service adaptation model (FSAM) to improve the generality and effectiveness of service adaptation using fuzzy theory.
Findings
By the means of fuzzification of the context and measuring the fitness degree between the current context and the predefined optimal context, FSAM selects the most suitable policy to adopt for the most appropriate service. The paper evaluates the middleware together with the FSAM inference engine by using a Campus Assistant application.
Originality/value
The paper is of value in presenting a generalized adaptive middleware infrastructure for context‐aware computing and also comparing the performance of the fuzzy‐based solution with a conventional threshold‐based approach for context‐aware adaptation.
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Maria João Guedes, Nuno Fernandes Crespo and Pankaj C. Patel
Building on contingency theory, this paper aims to investigate the extent to which the “4Ps international adaptation strategy” and internationalization intensity shape the…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on contingency theory, this paper aims to investigate the extent to which the “4Ps international adaptation strategy” and internationalization intensity shape the servitization–profitability relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use primary (survey) and secondary (archival) data to perform multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The results indicate a positive relationship between servitization and profitability, and international intensity strengthens this association. The effects, however, are not consistent across the 4Ps – the price international adaptation strategy strengthens the positive relationship between servitization and profitability, while product and place international adaptation strategies weaken that relationship.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for the role of international intensity and the 4Ps in the marketing servitization context.
Originality/value
The study provides guidance for small firms in realizing higher performance by leveraging the 4Ps in the servitization context. Counter to expectations, placement and product lead to lower performance with increasing servitization, whereas price strengthens this relationship. The study adds to the international industrial management and marketing literature, providing evidence that contingency factors such as international marketing mix adaptation/standardization strategies moderate the servitization–profitability relationship.
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Vikki McCall, Kenneth Gibb and Yang Wang
The ageing and disabled population is fast growing, which emphasises the need to effectively modify current homes and environments to support healthy ageing and increasingly…
Abstract
Purpose
The ageing and disabled population is fast growing, which emphasises the need to effectively modify current homes and environments to support healthy ageing and increasingly diverse health needs. This paper aims to bring together findings and analyses from three adaptations-focussed projects, drawing on perspectives from key stakeholders alongside the lived experiences of service users acquiring adaptations.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an Adaptations Framework developed from interviews and focus groups with older people and key stakeholders, the paper discusses barriers experienced by older people and front-line workers in receiving and delivering adaptations through all stages of the process.
Findings
This paper reveals how experiences around adaptations might diverge with unseen, hidden investment and need amongst individuals, and how conceptual and cost-focussed evidence gaps impact wider understandings of adaptations delivery. In so doing, this paper highlights how the adaptations process is perceived as a “fight” that does not work smoothly for either those delivering or receiving adaptations services.
Research limitations/implications
The paper suggests a systematic failure such that the adaptations process needs to be rehauled, reset and prioritised within social and public policy if the housing, health and social care sectors are to support healthy ageing and prepare for the future ageing population.
Originality/value
The paper brings together insights from key stakeholders alongside service users' experiences of adaptations to highlight key policy drivers and barriers to accessing and delivering adaptations.
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Ayesha Tariq, Melanie P. Lorenz and W. Frank Thompson
Intercultural service encounters (ICSEs) often require adaptation to the customer’s culture, thereby risking a reduction in the cultural authenticity of the experience. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Intercultural service encounters (ICSEs) often require adaptation to the customer’s culture, thereby risking a reduction in the cultural authenticity of the experience. This study aims to research the optimum level of adaptation of an ICSE needed to achieve desired authenticity perceptions for positive consumer outcomes. The study also identifies the influence of generational cohorts and cultural competencies on developing such positive consumer outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses two scenario-based experiments depicting low, moderate and high levels of adaptation to an ICSE.
Findings
Consumers prefer a cultural experience with a moderate level of adaptation to achieve the highest level of satisfaction and loyalty intentions. Perceived authenticity mediates the effect of adaptation on outcomes, with the generational stage (Study 1) and cultural competencies (Study 2) further influencing the relationship.
Originality/value
ICSEs and consumers’ desire for such cultural experiences are increasingly becoming a part of everyday consumption. Guided by social judgment theory, this study explores how two value-adding, yet conflicting tenants of successful ICSEs, cultural authenticity and adaptation, influence positive consumer outcomes.
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