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1 – 10 of over 15000Mohsen Mohammadi, Mohammad Rahim Eivazi and Jafar Sajjadi
The purpose of this paper is threefold: to classify wildcards into three particular types sharing similar characteristics; use the Fuzzy TOPSIS as a new method in foresight to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: to classify wildcards into three particular types sharing similar characteristics; use the Fuzzy TOPSIS as a new method in foresight to turn qualitative ideas into quantitative ones; and apply a combination of Fuzzy TOPSIS and a panel of experts to prioritize weak signals.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors classify wildcards into three particular types which share similar character: natural wildcards, artificial wildcards (Degree 1) and artificial wildcards (Degree 2). Wildcards point to unexpected and surprising events including important results that can form watershed in the development of a specific trend. In addition, the authors present a Fuzzy TOPSIS model which can be used in various cases to prioritize a number of weak signals and put them in order, so that the most important ones are likely to yield the wildcard in the future
Findings
The authors presented a classification of wildcards with the same characteristics being natural wildcards, artificial wildcards (Degree 1) and artificial wildcards (Degree 2). The authors also prioritized the weak signals to deal with the most important ones and take appropriate action in advance so as to minimize possible damages and maximize the benefits of potential wildcards in an uncertain environment.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors report on the prioritizing of weak signals by applying Fuzzy TOPSIS and classify wildcards. This is significant because, by identifying the most important weak signals, appropriate actions can be taken in the future if necessary. The paper should be of interest to readers in the area of participatory foresight.
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Jan Černý, Martin Potančok and Elias Castro Hernandez
The study aims to expand on the concept of an early warning system (EWS) by introducing weak-signal detection, human-in-the-loop (HIL) verification and response tuning as integral…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to expand on the concept of an early warning system (EWS) by introducing weak-signal detection, human-in-the-loop (HIL) verification and response tuning as integral parts of an EWS's design.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors bibliographically highlight the evolution of EWS over the last 30+ years, discuss instances of EWSs in various types of organizations and industries and highlight limitations of current systems.
Findings
Proposed system to be used in the transforming of weak signals to early warnings and associated weak/strong responses.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to existing literature by presenting (1) novel approaches to dealing with some of the well-known issues associated with contemporary EWS and (2) an event-agnostic heuristic for dealing with weak signals.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-11-2020-0513.
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This paper aims to improve the mathematical justification of certain analog signal theory concepts and offer a rigorous framework for it.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to improve the mathematical justification of certain analog signal theory concepts and offer a rigorous framework for it.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework relies on functional analysis, namely theory of distributions and the concept of weak limit. Its notation is adjusted to resemble the notation usually used in engineering signal theory. It can be used to prove in a rigorous manner already established results in signal theory, but also to establish new ones.
Findings
Examples have shown the lack of rigour caused by using ordinary calculus in proving fundamental signal theoretic results. On that basis, concepts of limit, Fourier transform and derivative are revisited in the spirit of functional analysis. A new useful formula for weak limit computation is proved.
Originality/value
Functional analysis is efficiently used in signal theory in a manner approachable by engineers. An original and efficient formula for weak limit computation is presented and proved.
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Reinhold Decker, Ralf Wagner and Sören W. Scholz
This paper introduces a new approach for autonomous internet‐based environmental scanning, which combines concept of weak signals with “information foraging theory”.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper introduces a new approach for autonomous internet‐based environmental scanning, which combines concept of weak signals with “information foraging theory”.
Design/methodology/approach
Early detection and rapid action with respect to developments in the operating environment is a prerequisite for successful marketing planning. Accordingly, this paper proposes a three‐stage process for overcoming practical obstacles to the detection and use of weak signals from the operating environment, in particular how to identify relevant and useful documents in harsh information environments such as the internet. Its functionality is demonstrated by means of a human‐machine experiment.
Findings
A framework based on information foraging theory is well suited to the task of determining the relevance of documents and facilitates the automation of information search processes. A prototype environmental scanning system of this type outperformed human experts in a typical scanning task.
Research limitations/implications
Embedding the detection of weak signals in a formal process permits intelligence gatherers to step beyond anecdotal evidence, and complements the current literature on weak signal detection with formal and systematic procedural guidelines.
Practical implications
The presented methodology facilitates both the selection and the structuring of information sources. This unburdens the managers and leaves time for important tasks such as the development of concrete marketing plans reacting to detected developments.
Originality/value
The paper provides a comprehensive framework for web‐based weak signal detection in business environments, and can be used as a starting point for the development of practicable environmental scanning systems.
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Xingya Wang and Guangchang Pang
This paper aims to provide a detailed review of weak interaction biosensors and several common biosensor methods for magnifying signals, as well as judiciously guide readers…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a detailed review of weak interaction biosensors and several common biosensor methods for magnifying signals, as well as judiciously guide readers through selecting an appropriate detecting system and signal amplification method according to their research and application purpose.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper classifies the weak interactions between biomolecules, summarizes the common signal amplification methods used in biosensor design and compares the performance of different kinds of biosensors. It highlights a potential electrochemical signal amplification method: the G protein signaling cascade amplification system.
Findings
Developed biosensors which, based on various principles, have their own strengths and weaknesses have met the basic detection requirements for weak interaction between biomolecules: the selectivity, sensitivity and detection limit of biosensors have been consistently improving with the use of new signal amplification methods. However, most of the weak interaction biosensors stop at the research stage; there are only a minority realization of final commercial application.
Originality/value
This paper evaluates the status of research and application of weak interaction biosensors systematically. The G protein signaling cascade amplification system proposal offers a new avenue for the research and development of electrochemical biosensors.
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Dipayan (Dip) Biswas, Sujay Dutta and Abhijit (Abe) Biswas
The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of multiple signals. Specifically, the paper investigates how the individual strength of a marketplace signal varies as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of multiple signals. Specifically, the paper investigates how the individual strength of a marketplace signal varies as a function of whether consumers are exposed to that signal alone or in combination with another signal.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses experimental designs to empirically address the research questions. Hypotheses are formulated primarily based on signaling theory and these hypotheses are tested with laboratory experiments using real consumers.
Findings
The key finding is that a signal's stand‐alone credibility largely determines whether its individual strength would be diluted or augmented by the coexistence of another signal. Further, when signals with different stand‐alone strengths coexist, the individual strength of the weaker signal is higher than when that signal is present alone. These effects are observed in brick‐and‐mortar and online shopping media.
Originality/value
Past research reports mixed findings about whether the individual strength of a signal is diluted (dilution effect) or augmented (augmentation effect) by the presence of another signal. This research attempts to resolve this issue, for the first time, by demonstrating that whether dilution effect or augmentation effect occurs depends on the stand‐alone credibility of the individual signals in a mix.
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Husni Kharouf, Donald J. Lund, Alexandra Krallman and Chris Pullig
Drawing on signaling theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the strength and framing of firm signals sent to repair relationships following…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on signaling theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the strength and framing of firm signals sent to repair relationships following relationship violations.
Design/methodology/approach
Three 2 × 2 scenario-based experiments (total n = 527) manipulate signal strength × violation type (Study 1); signal frame × violation type (Study 2); and signal strength × brand familiarity (Study 3) to examine their dynamic impacts on relationship recovery efforts.
Findings
Stronger signals are more effective at relationship repair and are especially important following integrity (vs competence) violations. Signals framed as customer gains (vs firm costs) lead to more favorable relationship outcomes. Finally, brands that are less (vs more) familiar see greater benefits from strong signals.
Research limitations/implications
The three experiments were scenario-based, which may not replicate real-life behavior or capture participants’ actual emotions following a violation, thus future research should extend into real-world recovery efforts.
Practical implications
Managers should send strong signals (communicating the level of resources invested in the recovery efforts) framed as benefits to the customer, rather than costs to the firm. Strong signals are especially important when brand familiarity is low or an integrity violation has occurred.
Originality/value
This is the first research to directly apply signaling theory to the relationship recovery process and contributes to theory by examining the role of signal strength; framing of the signal as a customer gain vs firm cost; and the interplay of signal strength and brand familiarity on the relationship recovery effort.
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Bingbing Qi and Dunge Liu
The existing dimensionality reduction algorithms suffer serious performance degradation under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) owing to the presence of noise. To address these…
Abstract
Purpose
The existing dimensionality reduction algorithms suffer serious performance degradation under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) owing to the presence of noise. To address these problems, an enhanced spatial smoothing scheme is proposed that exploits the subarray time-space correlation matrices to reconstruct the data matrix to overcome this weakness. This method uses the strong correlation of signal and the weak correlation of noise in time and space domains, which improves the noise suppression ability.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, an enhanced spatial smoothing method is proposed. By using the strong correlation of signal and the weak correlation of noise, the time-space smoothed array covariance matrix based on the subarray time-space correlation matrices is constructed to improve the noise suppression ability. Compared with the existing Toeplitz matrix reconstruction and spatial smoothing methods, the proposed method improves the DOA estimation performance at low SNR.
Findings
Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that compared with the existing dimensionality reduction processing algorithms, the proposed method improves the DOA estimation performance in cases with a low SNR. Furthermore, in cases where the DOAs between the coherent sources are closely spaced and the snapshot number is low, our proposed method significantly improves the performance of the DOA estimation performance.
Originality/value
The proposed method improves the DOA estimation performance at low SNR. In particular, for the cases with a low SNR, the proposed method provides a better RMSE. The convergence of the proposed method is also faster than other methods for the low number of snapshots. Our analysis also confirms that in cases where the DOAs between the coherent sources are closely spaced, the proposed method achieves a much higher angular resolution than that of the other methods.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons why the concept of a “strategic early warning system” (SEWS) has not been widely introduced and why it fails to be implemented…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons why the concept of a “strategic early warning system” (SEWS) has not been widely introduced and why it fails to be implemented successfully in German corporations. The aim of such systems is to detect changes in an organizational environment ahead of time by scanning the environment for “weak signals”, which come in the form of trends.
Design/methodology/approach
The questions that arise, particularly because the concept of SEWS is not entirely new, are: What are the pitfalls in implementing these systems, why do they occur, and how can they be overcome? To answer these questions, a single case study was conducted.
Findings
The study suggests that the failure of SEWS is due mainly to a lack of participation of potential future users in the implementation phase, a lack of joint understanding of the nature of trends, differing and unrevealed requirements of trends by various interested parties, a broad misconception of the “weak signals” concept and trends, an excessively heavy reliance on alleged “hard data”, a lack of interaction among users, and finally a “missing link” to the strategic functions in an organization.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the study are limited due to the fact that they are derived from a single case study.
Originality/value
The identification of pitfalls contributes to the research on implementing SEWS and this can also be linked to “strategic issue management” and the foresight process.
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Rui Zhang, Lei Zhao, Dan Xie, Jinlong Song, Wendong Zhang, Lihu Pan and Yanhua Zhang
This study aims to simulate and test the performance of a transmitting and receiving capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT). Aimed at detecting demand of the CMUT…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to simulate and test the performance of a transmitting and receiving capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT). Aimed at detecting demand of the CMUT, a matched integrated adjustment circuit was designed through analyzing processing methods of transducer’s weak echo signal.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the analysis of CMUT array structure and work principle, the CMUT units are designed and the dynamic performance analysis of SIMULINK is given according to the demand of underwater detecting. A transceiver isolation circuit is used to make transmission mode and receiving mode separate. A detection circuit is designed based on the transimpedance amplifier to achieve extraction of high-frequency and weak signal.
Findings
Through experimentation, the effectiveness of the CMUT performance simulation and the transceiver integrated adjustment circuit were verified. In addition, the test showed that CMUT with 400 kHz frequency has wider bandwidth and better dynamic characteristics than other similar transducers.
Originality/value
This paper provides a theoretical basis and design reference for the development and application of CMUT technology.
Details
Keywords
- MEMS
- Dynamic performance
- Ultrasonic sensors
- Underwater applications
- Detection circuit
- Transmission transducer
- Capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer
- Receipt and transmission transducer
- MEMS
- Dynamic performance
- Ultrasonic sensors
- Underwater applications
- Detection circuit
- Transmission transducer
- Capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer