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Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2020

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Indigenous African Enterprise
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-033-2

Article
Publication date: 14 July 2020

Nikki Holliday, Gillian Ward, Aimee Walker-Clarke and Rachael Molitor

The purpose of the study is to assess the usability and acceptability of FallCheck, a Web app that allows users to complete home-hazard assessments within their own home, with a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to assess the usability and acceptability of FallCheck, a Web app that allows users to complete home-hazard assessments within their own home, with a group of people at risk of falling and their carers.

Design/methodology/approach

This mixed method study used an online survey followed by semi-structured telephone interviews to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. A Think-Aloud study was used to test usability of the Web app through structured tasks.

Findings

Findings showed that FallCheck was easy to use with few usability issues. The Web app was deemed appropriate to use by people at risk of falling (young or old) or by carers if appropriate. The depth of knowledge provision and breadth of content was acceptable, and many participants reported subsequently making changes to their home environment to reduce their risk of falling. Overall, the majority of participants reported feelings of improved confidence and safety with an increased awareness of fall risks and a reduction in fear of falling at home.

Practical implications

FallCheck has good acceptability and usability with people at risk of falling and their carers and has the potential to improve access to home-hazard assessment and affect behavioural change regarding fall risk hazards and behaviour.

Originality/value

This study describes successful use of an app that may be helpful in identifying home-hazards and making changes to reduce risk of falls, particularly in the absence of occupational therapy intervention and has the potential for integration into falls care pathways.

Details

Journal of Enabling Technologies, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-6263

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2018

Hirokatsu Katagiri, Semba Kazuki, Hiroyuki Sano and Takashi Yamada

It takes long time for estimating a copper loss in the coil winding of the motor by using the finite element method (FEM). The purpose of this paper is to calculate fast the…

Abstract

Purpose

It takes long time for estimating a copper loss in the coil winding of the motor by using the finite element method (FEM). The purpose of this paper is to calculate fast the copper loss by zooming method.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt the “zooming method” to FEM. The authors compare the accuracy and the calculation time with zooming method and normal FEM.

Findings

The zooming method contributes to speeding up and the high accuracy of calculation. In the results, the 43-fold speed increase is achieved in the calculation of synchronous motor compared to usual FEM.

Practical implications

The AC copper loss calculation of 3D motor analysis can be calculated in practical computation time.

Originality/value

The main advantage of employment of zooming method is significantly reduction of the computation time in the loss calculation of the coil winding.

Details

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, vol. 37 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 May 2022

Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Riyath, Uthuma Lebbe Muhammed Rijah and Aboobacker Rameez

There is a significant decrease in students' attendance in Zoom classes compared to traditional classes. This paper investigates the factors that affect students' attitudes…

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Abstract

Purpose

There is a significant decrease in students' attendance in Zoom classes compared to traditional classes. This paper investigates the factors that affect students' attitudes, behavioral intentions and actual use of Zoom for online classes at higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a theoretical model. The data are collected from HEI students via an online survey form. The hypotheses between constructs in the model are tested using partial least squared–structural equation model.

Findings

The analysis shows that computer self-efficacy (CSE) affects perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU), which affects attitude (ATT) and behavioral intention (BI) and actual use (AU) of Zoom in a chain reaction. Further, PEU affects PU, which, in turn, affects BI. Furthermore, the effect size of PU to BI is larger than ATT to BI.

Practical implications

Students' attendance for Zoom classes mainly depends on CSE, PU and PEU. Therefore, HEIs should promote Zoom with interactive training before teaching online. Further, officials should revise the curriculum in schools to upsurge the CSE of students.

Originality/value

During coronavirus-19, no research was published on students' use of Zoom for online classes in the Sri Lankan context. Moreover, the TAM model has been modified by including CSE as an external variable.

Details

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1858-3431

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2023

Tali Gazit

The purpose of this study was to obtain valuable insights into students’ engagement and experiences within the virtual learning environment, especially in the context of crises…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to obtain valuable insights into students’ engagement and experiences within the virtual learning environment, especially in the context of crises. Among the innumerable challenges people throughout the world faced during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, those of students in institutions of higher education needing to engage in online academic studies are of special interest. Using an online survey, this study could predict students’ online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic through three theoretical frameworks: the students’ academic motivation to study, the Big Five personality traits, and loneliness, and with a new tool measuring the participation in the Zoom platform.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the psychological and technological factors predicting the students’ engagement, this study surveyed 547 students from different academic institutions of higher learning.

Findings

Findings show that the less lonely the students felt, the less neurotic they were, and the higher they scored in levels of extroversion, agreeableness, consciousnesses and openness to experience, the greater their engagement in their academic studies. In addition, students who were older, more educated, with higher intrinsic motivation and lower lack of motivation were more engaged in their online academic studies. Finally, participating in classes through the Zoom platform and experiencing it positively was a significant predictor of higher academic engagement.

Originality/value

Recognizing these factors can enable educators, institutions of higher learning, counselling services and students to obtain tools for higher engagement in online learning.

Details

Information and Learning Sciences, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2020

Raymond Caldwell and Coral Dyer

This article positions actor–-network theory (ANT) as a practice perspective and deploys it to explore the performative practices of internal consultancy teams as they implemented…

1038

Abstract

Purpose

This article positions actor–-network theory (ANT) as a practice perspective and deploys it to explore the performative practices of internal consultancy teams as they implemented major programmatic change projects within a global telecommunication company. The change process required the creation of a “change network” that emerged as a boundary spanning and organising network as the consultants sought to implement and translate a highly structured change methodology and introduce new meta-routines within the organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

By combining the methodological datum of ANT to “follow the actors” (whatever form they take) with the guiding principle of practice theory to focus on practices rather than practitioners, the research explored the in-between temporal spaces of performative practices as they unfolded in relation to standardised routines, material artefacts and the tools and techniques of a systematic change methodology. By a method of “zooming out” and “zooming in” the research examined both the larger context of action and practice in which the change network emerged and the consultants' performative practices; but without falling into static macro–micro dualism, or a purely ethnographic “thick description” of practice. The research is based on interviews (25), participant observation and a review of the extensive documentation of the change methodology.

Findings

The findings indicate both how consultants' performative practices are embedded in the social and material arrangements of a change network, and why the intentional, expert or routine enactment of a highly standardised change methodology into practice is intrinsically problematic. Ultimately, the consultants could not rely on knowledge as a fixed, routine or pre-given empirical entity that predefined their actions. Instead, the consultants' performative practices unfolded in temporal spaces of in-betweenness as their actions and practices navigated shifting and multiple boundaries while confronting disparate and often irreconcilable ideas, choices and competing interests.

Research limitations/implications

As an ANT practice perspective, the research blends mixed methods in an illustrative case study, so its findings are contextual, although the methodological rationale may be applicable to other contexts of practice.

Originality/value

The theoretical framing of the research contributes to repositioning ANT as practice theory perspective on change with a central focus on performative practice. The illustrative case demonstrates how a boundary spanning “change network” emerged and how it partly defined the temporal spaces of in-betweenness in which the consultants operated.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 33 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2015

Yogendra Joshi, Banafsheh Barabadi, Rajat Ghosh, Zhimin Wan, He Xiao, Sudhakar Yalamanchili and Satish Kumar

Information technology (IT) systems are already ubiquitous, and their future growth is expected to drive the global economy for the next several decades. However, energy…

Abstract

Purpose

Information technology (IT) systems are already ubiquitous, and their future growth is expected to drive the global economy for the next several decades. However, energy consumption by these systems is growing rapidly, and their sustained growth requires curbing the energy consumption, and the associated heat removal requirements. Currently, 20-50 percent of the incoming electrical power is used to meet the cooling demands of IT facilities. Careful co-optimization of electrical power and thermal management is essential for reducing energy consumption requirements of IT equipment. Such modeling based co-optimization is complicated by the presence of several decades of spatial and temporal scales. The purpose of this paper is to review recent approaches for handling these challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors illustrate the challenges and possible modeling approaches by considering three examples. The multi-scale modeling of chip level transient heating using a combination of Progressive Zoom-in, and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is an effective approach for chip level electrical/thermal co-design for mitigation of reliability concerns, such as Joule heating driven electromigration. In the second example, the authors will illustrate the optimal microfluidic thermal management of hot spots, and large background heat fluxes associated with future high-performance microprocessors. In the third example, data center facility level energy usage reduction through a transient measurements based POD modeling framework will be illustrated.

Findings

Through modeling based electrical/thermal co-design, dramatic savings in energy usage for cooling are possible.

Originality/value

The multi-scale nature of the thermal modeling of IT systems is an important challenge. This paper reviews some of the approaches employed to meet this challenge.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 25 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1997

Juha‐Matti Lehtonen and Ulla Seppala

Presents a methodology called controllability analysis in logistics. Controllability focuses on two first steps of the simulation project: problem definition; and data gathering…

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Abstract

Presents a methodology called controllability analysis in logistics. Controllability focuses on two first steps of the simulation project: problem definition; and data gathering and analysis. The aim of the analysis is to reveal the potential improvement areas, and define and analyse the data so that they are ready for the simulation process. Clarifies with a case study the methodology and its use as a part of a logistics simulation project.

Details

Integrated Manufacturing Systems, vol. 8 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-6061

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2023

Emily Howell, Koti Hubbard, Sandra Linder, Stephanie Madison, Joseph Ryan and William C. Bridges

This study investigates the following research question: What pedagogical strategies are necessary for the success of HyFlex course design? The findings to this question are based…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the following research question: What pedagogical strategies are necessary for the success of HyFlex course design? The findings to this question are based in new media literacies and help to further pedagogy in an emerging HyFlex model while also grounding in needed theorization.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses design-based research (DBR) across two iterations and four doctoral, higher education courses, using mixed methods of data collection and analysis.

Findings

Six pedagogical strategies influential for HyFlex research are presented, each grounded in a new media literacy skill.

Originality/value

These six pedagogical strategies help practitioners grappling with the HyFlex or blended learning model merge traditional pedagogy with how this might be tailored for students entrenched in a participatory culture.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2022

Andrew Ebekozien, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, Marvelous Aigbedion, Iliye Faith Ogbaini and Ibeabuchi Lawrence Aginah

Over the past years, high waste and inefficiencies in the construction industry may have contributed to many projects failing to meet clients’ expectations. Among the new project…

Abstract

Purpose

Over the past years, high waste and inefficiencies in the construction industry may have contributed to many projects failing to meet clients’ expectations. Among the new project delivery mechanisms to tackle this problem is integrated project delivery (IPD). IPD has been proved as a mechanism that increases stakeholders’ collaboration at the early stage and delivers the highest value-for-money projects. In Nigeria, research regarding practitioners in the application of IPD in construction delivery is scarce. Thus, this study aims to investigate the level of awareness, issues hindering the implementation of IPD and proffer solutions to promote the use of IPD in project delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research was adopted. Twenty virtual interviews via Zoom and Whatsapp Videos were used to collect data from the selected participants and analysed via a thematic method. This is because of the unexplored dimension of the issues.

Findings

Results show that practitioners are aware of IPD but lax in the application. The emerged issues hindering the adoption and implementation of IPD were grouped into technological, legal, financial and cultural in Nigeria’s context.

Research limitations/implications

This study is restricted to the relevance and hindrances facing the usage of IPD in the Nigerian built environment. The study proffers solutions to promote the use of IPD in the built environment via a qualitative approach.

Practical implications

This paper will contribute towards stirring Nigeria’s stakeholders to create an enabling environment within the industry via IPD friendly policies and promote the use of IPD on construction projects.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the few papers that attempted to uncover issues that hinder the use of IPD on construction projects in Nigeria via a qualitative approach.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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