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1 – 10 of over 14000
Article
Publication date: 12 November 2021

G. Merlin Linda, N.V.S. Sree Rathna Lakshmi, N. Senthil Murugan, Rajendra Prasad Mahapatra, V. Muthukumaran and M. Sivaram

The paper aims to introduce an intelligent recognition system for viewpoint variations of gait and speech. It proposes a convolutional neural network-based capsule network…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to introduce an intelligent recognition system for viewpoint variations of gait and speech. It proposes a convolutional neural network-based capsule network (CNN-CapsNet) model and outlining the performance of the system in recognition of gait and speech variations. The proposed intelligent system mainly focuses on relative spatial hierarchies between gait features in the entities of the image due to translational invariances in sub-sampling and speech variations.

Design/methodology/approach

This proposed work CNN-CapsNet is mainly used for automatic learning of feature representations based on CNN and used capsule vectors as neurons to encode all the spatial information of an image by adapting equal variances to change in viewpoint. The proposed study will resolve the discrepancies caused by cofactors and gait recognition between opinions based on a model of CNN-CapsNet.

Findings

This research work provides recognition of signal, biometric-based gait recognition and sound/speech analysis. Empirical evaluations are conducted on three aspects of scenarios, namely fixed-view, cross-view and multi-view conditions. The main parameters for recognition of gait are speed, change in clothes, subjects walking with carrying object and intensity of light.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed CNN-CapsNet has some limitations when considering for detecting the walking targets from surveillance videos considering multimodal fusion approaches using hardware sensor devices. It can also act as a pre-requisite tool to analyze, identify, detect and verify the malware practices.

Practical implications

This research work includes for detecting the walking targets from surveillance videos considering multimodal fusion approaches using hardware sensor devices. It can also act as a pre-requisite tool to analyze, identify, detect and verify the malware practices.

Originality/value

This proposed research work proves to be performing better for the recognition of gait and speech when compared with other techniques.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2019

Pernilla Martensson

The purpose of this paper is to identify changes in teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as a result of their participation in two learning studies in mathematics.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify changes in teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as a result of their participation in two learning studies in mathematics.

Design/methodology/approach

A group of four mathematics teachers and the researcher of this paper explored two objects of learning related to division with decimal numbers and the straight-line equation in a learning study (LS) project over the course of one year. The data used consist of eight video-recorded lessons, four written student tests, eight student interviews and 14 recorded team meetings. The analysis was based on the variation theory principle about learning (Marton, 2015) and on ontological assumptions within the phenomenographic approach (Marton, 1981).

Findings

It was found that teachers’ PCK was changed and refined through the LS process in terms of differences in ways of understanding and discussing critical aspects related to each object of learning. In the paper, the terms “presumed critical aspects” and “explored critical aspects” are used to illustrate this difference. Furthermore, the concepts are viewed in relation to three subdomains of PCK: knowledge of content and curriculum (KCC), knowledge of content and students (KCS) and knowledge of content and teaching (KCT).

Originality/value

Bringing out the difference between “presumed critical aspect” and “explored critical aspects” advances the view that critical aspects are dynamic and emergent in practice – in the interaction between teaching and student learning. The research exposes “explored critical aspects” as a specific form of PCK in which KCC, KCS and KCT are intertwined.

Details

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 September 2024

Shiv Kumar, Nirupma Chohda and Richa Gupta

Social media marketing (SMM) denotes attaining website traffic or attention through social media platforms. The paper aims to focus on examining the viewpoint of library…

Abstract

Purpose

Social media marketing (SMM) denotes attaining website traffic or attention through social media platforms. The paper aims to focus on examining the viewpoint of library professionals from different universities along with the user respondents from different disciplines and universities on the role of social media tools to market university libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

It is a survey-based study that used the questionnaire as its chief data collection instrument designed to be administered to library professionals (n = 100) and users (n = 1,189) from eight universities. The study also adopted the general observation and interview methods to supplement the data. The data was analyzed using SPSS software, and Chi-square test and ANOVA were applied to ascertain the significant variations in viewpoints of the library professionals and the users.

Findings

The research study showed that library professionals (from different universities) and users (from different disciplines and universities) felt that social media could be an appropriate marketing tool for libraries in the future. Observations during data collection highlighted a lack of confidence and unwillingness among library professionals to implement any changes in the present time.

Practical implications

The present study provides some significant insights for improving the current situation of the libraries under study in terms of increasing awareness among the students and adopt social media tools for marketing of library facilities and services in future. It is important to note that a few issues that came into light during data collection were a marked lack of willingness and prevalence of less confidence among the library professionals to execute or implement the social media tools to market library resources and services among the users.

Originality/value

SMM programs focus on creating content that attracts attention and encourages readers to use it. This study attempts to fill the gap in of marketing in libraries through social media. The paper offers insights into the use of marketing tools for promoting library resources and services as per the needs of library users. The research work differs from other studies undertaken on library marketing related to social media as it has included both library professionals and users together to obtain a better picture in this regard.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 May 2014

Barbara Marie L’Huillier

– This paper aims to develop a framework of connotative meanings afforded to the term “corporate governance”.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a framework of connotative meanings afforded to the term “corporate governance”.

Design/methodology/approach

An examination of academic publications from 1985-2012 containing the term “corporate governance” was conducted. The articles are sorted into the theoretical constructs that influence the contemporary connotative meaning of corporate governance.

Findings

That a combination of a weak definitional base coupled with strong motivational forces have aided the development of competing theoretical perspectives of the meaning of corporate governance. The dominant meaning is written from an agency theory perspective.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretical analysis was restricted to articles found in academic journals published since 1985.

Practical implications

This study provides a very useful analysis into the connotative meanings and theoretical bases used by academic writers in the study of corporate governance.

Originality/value

This paper provides an updated and developed analysis to the theoretical dimensions that underpin the contemporary use of the term “corporate governance”.

Details

Corporate Governance, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2017

Özden Melis Uluğ, Özen Odağ, J. Christopher Cohrs and Peter Holtz

Conflict understandings of lay people mirror society in miniature. Although lay people and their conflict understandings in society may shape the course of an ongoing conflict…

1719

Abstract

Purpose

Conflict understandings of lay people mirror society in miniature. Although lay people and their conflict understandings in society may shape the course of an ongoing conflict, little scholarly attention is so far given to the understandings of everyday discourse in Turkey’s ongoing Kurdish conflict. The present research aims to examine the views of lay Kurds and Turks in two politically polarized cities in Turkey, Mersin and Diyarbakır.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine these views, the authors used focus group discussions and open-ended questionnaires with a total of 64 lay people from Mersin and Diyarbakır.

Findings

Qualitative content analysis revealed more conflict understandings than presented in the existing academic literature. Furthermore, multiple correspondence analysis suggested that both ethnic identity and the city in which people live are important factors influencing how people perceive the conflict.

Originality/value

The meaning of novel themes, differences and similarities within and between ethnic groups and two cities, and the usefulness of qualitative methods to examine lay people’s viewpoints are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2018

Ivana Blažková and Ondřej Dvouletý

This paper aims to investigate the effect of firm-specific determinants on the entrepreneurial success (measured through the objective financial performance) of the Czech food…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effect of firm-specific determinants on the entrepreneurial success (measured through the objective financial performance) of the Czech food processing firms over 2003-2014 and with the main particular focus on capital structure and productivity as the tough challenges of the firms in transition and emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Determinants of profitability are tested econometrically, as for the estimation technique, both-way fixed effects controlling for variety over the time and across enterprises were applied. The collected micro-panel data set consists of 10,509 observations and includes 1,804 firms. Estimated regression models with fixed effects are used to quantify the determinants of the financial performance, operationalized through three key performance indicators – price–cost margin, return on assets and return on equity.

Findings

Estimated econometric models supported hypothesis assuming a positive relationship between the labour productivity and profitability. In line with the assumptions based on the development of the Czech food market, high leverage of firms led to the decrease of profitability, which can be explained by the high financial distress costs and worsened market position of firms in the competitive environment. Ageing of firms and firm size were associated with the increase of profitability indicators.

Practical implications

The findings of the presented research are important for investors considering agribusiness as a part of their investment portfolios and for policymakers to enhance the economic efficiency of the food industry through regulations and public support, and particularly, from the firm management viewpoint, e.g. to pay attention to the debt policy due to the negative impact of high indebtedness on firm profitability, and to the productivity factors, which proved to be important drivers of entrepreneurial success.

Originality/value

Although the firm-specific factors responsible for firm performance have already been studied, the food processing industry has received limited interest from the empirical analysts, and the results are not always unequivocal. This study is expected to contribute to the literature on this subject, both empirically and methodologically, as to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has been encountered yet where the factors determining the profitability of the Czech food processing industry have been the focus. With regards to the collected micro-data set and the estimation technique, the study can be considered as extensive not only from the perspective of the research in the Czech Republic but also from the international perspective.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 April 2022

Pedro Antunes and Mary Tate

Many organizations struggle to achieve their desired levels of business process flexibility and support. However, these two capabilities conflict with each other and different…

Abstract

Purpose

Many organizations struggle to achieve their desired levels of business process flexibility and support. However, these two capabilities conflict with each other and different tradeoffs have to be made. In this paper, the authors analyze different process conceptualizations and discuss their implications. The authors argue that the conceptualizations people adopt to think (conceptualize) about business processes affect the way they model them, which in turn result in different flexibility-support tradeoffs.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of properties is proposed to compare process conceptualizations: dominant concept, contract, and existential and representational properties. Using these properties, several process conceptualizations are analyzed and integrated in a comparison chart, which highlights different flexibility-support tradeoffs. The storytelling method is adopted to support the analytic process.

Findings

The authors show how different process conceptualizations result in different flexibility-support tradeoffs. The authors suggest that we need to intervene on a set of properties of process conceptualizations to achieve different flexibility-support tradeoffs.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to understanding the relationships between process conceptualizations, process modeling, and the flexibility-support tradeoff. A comparison chart helps organizations analyze their desired levels of flexibility and support using a set of properties.

Originality/value

The extent of covered viewpoints makes this study unique in the process management field. Such effort provides a contribution towards a more multidisciplinary discussion of process models, which integrates different process conceptualizations.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2024

Pamela Martínez Oquendo

The purpose of this study was to make sense of the individual perspectives of former undergraduate student mentors from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to make sense of the individual perspectives of former undergraduate student mentors from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields who took part in an after-school STEM mentoring program. The study examined the following research questions: (1) How do former undergraduate student STEM mentors interpret and give meaning to their after-school STEM mentoring experiences? (2) In what way can an after-school STEM mentoring experience lead to a deeper understanding of the long-term implications of a STEM mentorship program?

Design/methodology/approach

The sample comprised 21 former undergraduate STEM mentors. The study was guided by the methods of content analysis and repertory grid (RepGrid), with data collected via highly structured interviews. Eight elements were pre-selected for the RepGrid to elicit constructs from participants. These include (1) mentoring, (2) teaching, (3) research, (4) career, (5) workforce, (6) Nebraska STEM for you (NE STEM 4U), (7) networking, and (8) communication. The researcher employed content analysis for cross-case analysis and used interpretative clustering to analyze nuanced similarities and differences among participants. Personal construct theory was used to understand how former STEM mentors made sense of their experiences.

Findings

The results highlight the diversity of viewpoints among participants, as well as their connections to various career paths, communication strategies, and mentorship styles. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how STEM mentorship experiences can be tailored to the experiences of mentees. The study stresses the significance of clear communication in STEM and advises professionals to avoid excessive technical jargon to convey complex ideas. Overall, the study provides valuable insights into the motivations, perspectives, and benefits of former undergraduate mentors. Ultimately, recognizing how these factors impact STEM mentoring programs is vital for the long-term success and advancement of the STEM pipeline.

Research limitations/implications

The study has several limitations, including the inclusion of participants lacking knowledge or experience with the eight elements used in the RepGrids. While participants had completed a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, not all had pursued advanced schooling or careers that required knowledge or implementation of research.

Practical implications

Findings underscore the importance of acknowledging the diverse career paths within STEM fields to understand participants’ perspectives toward mentorship. Considering the incorporation of STEM mentorship within regular school hours and making it a graduation prerequisite could enhance student participation and advancement. Integrating STEM outreach programs into higher education curricula could facilitate the development of essential professional skills (e.g. critical thinking, problem-solving) among STEM undergraduate students. These implications highlight the importance of diverse mentorship styles and professional skills to foster a more inclusive STEM workforce.

Originality/value

The study focused on the individual perspectives of participants rather than employing a thematic analysis.

Details

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6854

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2010

Pierre Rossel

When coping with complex, but also possibly disruptive and open‐ended social dynamics, the anticipatory system idea, which was developed by Rosen in the realm of physical and

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Abstract

Purpose

When coping with complex, but also possibly disruptive and open‐ended social dynamics, the anticipatory system idea, which was developed by Rosen in the realm of physical and biological system observation, remains a reference framework, but one that may need to be reinforced by other theoretical considerations. This paper aims at using a debate that took place in a specific foresight discussion arena on early detection and weak signal analysis, as a constructive epistemic detour to eventually contribute to such a reinforcement of Rosen's anticipatory system proposal.

Design/methodology/approach

The author aims at revisiting Rosen's framework with stimulating inputs drawing upon the early detection debates, by first assessing the original concepts brought up by Ansoff in the 1970s and 1980s and its further enhancements by contemporary scholars. A rather constructivist approach is then developed to weak signal analysis, aiming at emphasising the need, in analytical situations involving social system features, for reflexive stages and capacities. Bearing this requirement in mind, the productive value of the “framing” and “meta‐framing” notions is explored, in order to apply them to Rosen's anticipatory systems and possibly contribute to enriching his original concept.

Findings

How effective the framing and meta‐framing couple can be for a series of anticipatory issues is described in a detailed manner and, then more specifically, Rosen's anticipatory system concept is revisited in the light of those inputs, aiming at putting into perspective new options for research and anticipation activities in general.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is essentially conceptual and based on a rich but disputable detour by early detection and weak analysis issues so as to emphasise key reflexive references and method. However, most of this material is taken from domains rather untypical of Rosennean debates and in addition would need to be completed by a series of supportive cases, but that is beyond the scope and scale of this paper.

Practical implications

The paper sets clear distinctions and boundaries for when and when not to apply reflexive steps in a foresight exercise, including in the context of rolling out a Rosen type of approach. Research decision making both in the corporate and policy‐making contexts can benefit from such clues and supportive framework conditions.

Social implications

Social systems are typically complex and involve multiple perspectives and viewpoints; they concern a series of major challenges to be coped with locally or more globally, at environmental, political, cultural or technological level, and in that category of anticipatory endeavor, the framing/meta‐framing epistemic couple may be of great usefulness.

Originality/value

Although rather conceptual, the detour proposed by the paper aims at creating a reflexive distance and enriched capability to evaluate one's potential biases and blind spots in anticipatory modelling activities.

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2010

Judy Pate and Hugh Scullion

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether traditional conventions of the expatriate psychological contract have altered from both employer and employee perspectives. In…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether traditional conventions of the expatriate psychological contract have altered from both employer and employee perspectives. In essence to what extent have multi‐national corporations adjusted organisational practices to reflect changing circumstances and to what extent have expatriates altered their mindset towards employers' obligations and requirements.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on findings of three organisational case studies and is based on in‐depth interviews with HR managers, line managers and expatriates.

Findings

The findings reveale that the overall tone of the psychological contract from the employers' perspective is transactional. From an employee perspective, preliminary evidence suggests that the dynamics of the employment relationship is changing and that employees have responded to contract changes by seeking to ensure their employability and reduce their dependence on a single organisation.

Practical implications

The paper focuses on four areas for managers: first, pro‐actively influencing expatriates' expectations thereby minimising misunderstandings; second, organisations should be very aware of “the remuneration market rate” for a particular location; third, policies of support and contact would aid feelings of integration. Finally, more attention should be paid new approaches to strategic talent management.

Originality/value

This paper contributes theoretically and empirically to the literature on expatriates' psychological contracts, an area where there is a dearth of empirical research. The paper also increases the understanding of the variety of expatriate perceptions in different contexts, thereby deepening the understanding of the importance of context in this area.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

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