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1 – 10 of over 4000Robert Weinhandl, Zsolt Lavicza and Tony Houghton
Flipped classroom approaches (FCA) are an educational innovation that could increase students' learning outcomes in, and their enjoyment of, mathematics or STEM education. To…
Abstract
Purpose
Flipped classroom approaches (FCA) are an educational innovation that could increase students' learning outcomes in, and their enjoyment of, mathematics or STEM education. To integrate FCA into education sustainably, professional teacher development (PTD) is a promising tool. The research aim is to explore which aspects should be considered when developing and implementing professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 20 expert interviews were conducted and analysed according to a synthesis of grounded theory approaches and qualitative interview study principles.
Findings
Evaluating the interview data indicates that the characteristics of different teacher types in PTD, learning activities in PTD and the DSE model derived in this study could be vital elements in professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.
Originality/value
Evaluating the interview data indicates that the characteristics of different teacher types in PTD, learning activities in PTD and the DSE model derived in this study could be vital elements in professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.
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Sonia Froufe, Mame Gningue and Charles–Henri Fredouet
Due to the globalization of trade, hundreds of millions containers pass every year through world ports. Such a situation is extremely challenging in terms of securing freight…
Abstract
Due to the globalization of trade, hundreds of millions containers pass every year through world ports. Such a situation is extremely challenging in terms of securing freight transport operations. However, costs and lead-times are still very important components of supply chains' performance models. Therefore, the drive for enhanced safety and security cannot be made at the expense of these other two factors of competitiveness, and the processes implemented by the global supply chain links, including the maritime port one, should tend to a joint optimization of trade facilitation and operational safety / security.
The research on which this paper feeds back falls within the frame of this mixed performance requirement. More specifically, the paper presents a decision-support system dedicated to managing the risks associated with land and maritime container transportation; this system is based on the modeling of the knowledge of a group of experts, and covers the three phases of risk identification, assessment and avoidance / mitigation.
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Per Hilletofth, Movin Sequeira and Wendy Tate
This paper investigates the suitability of fuzzy-logic-based support tools for initial screening of manufacturing reshoring decisions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the suitability of fuzzy-logic-based support tools for initial screening of manufacturing reshoring decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Two fuzzy-logic-based support tools are developed together with experts from a Swedish manufacturing firm. The first uses a complete rule base and the second a reduced rule base. Sixteen inference settings are used in both of the support tools.
Findings
The findings show that fuzzy-logic-based support tools are suitable for initial screening of manufacturing reshoring decisions. The developed support tools are capable of suggesting whether a reshoring decision should be further evaluated or not, based on six primary competitiveness criteria. In contrast to existing literature this research shows that it does not matter whether a complete or reduced rule base is used when it comes to accuracy. The developed support tools perform similarly with no statistically significant differences. However, since the interpretability is much higher when a reduced rule base is used and it require fewer resources to develop, the second tool is more preferable for initial screening purposes.
Research limitations/implications
The developed support tools are implemented at a primary-criteria level and to make them more applicable, they should also include the sub-criteria level. The support tools should also be expanded to not only consider competitiveness criteria, but also other criteria related to availability of resources and strategic orientation of the firm. This requires further research with regard to multi-stage architecture and automatic generation of fuzzy rules in the manufacturing reshoring domain.
Practical implications
The support tools help managers to invest their scarce time on the most promising reshoring projects and to make timely and resilient decisions by taking a holistic perspective on competitiveness. Practitioners are advised to choose the type of support tool based on the available data.
Originality/value
There is a general lack of decision support tools in the manufacturing reshoring domain. This paper addresses the gap by developing fuzzy-logic-based support tools for initial screening of manufacturing reshoring decisions.
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In recent years, there has been a growing dialogue around community-based and systems-based approaches to security risk management through the introduction of top-down and…
Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing dialogue around community-based and systems-based approaches to security risk management through the introduction of top-down and bottom-up knowledge acquisition. In essence, this relates to knowledge elicited from academic experts, or security subject-matter experts, practitioner experts, or field workers themselves and how much these disparate sources of knowledge may converge or diverge. In many ways, this represents a classic tension between organisational and procedural perspectives of knowledge management (i.e. top-down) versus more pragmatic and experience focussed perspectives (i.e. bottom-up).
This chapter considers these approaches and argues that a more consistent approach needs to address the conflict between procedures and experience, help convert field experience into knowledge, and ultimately provide effective training that is relevant to those heading out into demanding work situations. Ultimately, ethics and method are intricately bound together in whichever approach is taken and the security of both staff and at-risk populations depends upon correctly managing the balance between systems and communities.
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Howard Cooke, Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek and Theo Arentze
This paper aims to identify the importance of individual variables in the corporate real estate (CRE) decision-making process.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the importance of individual variables in the corporate real estate (CRE) decision-making process.
Design/methodology/approach
Nine experts received a posed scenario of a changed business strategy requiring a CRE reduction in individual interviews. Based on their suggested response, a decision network was modelled for each expert using the causal network elicitation technique, incorporating the utilities for decision variables and importance weights for attributes and benefits. The decision model offers a graphical representation of decision-benefit links for the decisions CRE managers make in such a period of decline.
Findings
Perceived facilitators of CRE dynamic alignment were identified by calculating lift ratios on their perceived importance of the attributes they mentioned during the interviews as nodes in the network that link decisions to benefits. Facilitators included CRE metrics and workplace strategy, while capital expenditure and landlords inhibit alignment processes. The research provides more granular insight into the variables used in CRE decision-making and the factors that facilitate or inhibit the dynamic alignment process.
Research limitations/implications
The research set a specific scenario for the experts to consider. That could be regarded as small but there was clear evidence of saturation of expert knowledge. Additional face-to-face interviews with the experts may have generated further details on the thought processes of the experts.
Practical implications
The research provides more granular insight into the variables used in CRE decision-making and the factors that facilitate or inhibit the dynamic alignment process. Thereby providing CRE decision-makers with key elements for a decision model.
Originality/value
The research technique, causal network elicitation technique, uses semi-structured interviews to create decision networks, which is a technique that has not been widely applied to CRE research. The research provides a granular view of what are important inhibitors or facilitators of dynamic alignment of CRE to business strategy.
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Pascal Dussart, Lise A. van Oortmerssen and Bé Albronda
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross-functional team (CFT) members’ points of view on knowledge integration.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross-functional team (CFT) members’ points of view on knowledge integration.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using Q methodology. The 22 respondents were members of CFTs in information systems development within 7 agencies of the Flemish Government administration.
Findings
The study resulted in three distinct perspectives. To the CFT player, the benefits and added value of information and knowledge diversity of CFTs outweigh the challenges of knowledge integration. By contrast, the CFT sceptic is doubtful that knowledge integration in CFTs can ever work at all. Finally, the organization critic highlights the lack of support from the organization for efficient and effective knowledge integration in CFTs.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study suggest that CFT configurations have important implications for the development of shared team mental models and for teams’ cognitive performance.
Practical implications
Making CFT members aware of their peers’ mental models, ways of working and priorities could help strengthen knowledge integration. To improve knowledge integration in teams, managers should reduce knowledge boundaries that are the result of organizational structuring and power play between departments.
Originality/value
By focusing on daily experiences with knowledge integration, this study reveals that members of CFTs in information systems development hold contrasting perspectives on, and diverging attitudes towards, knowledge integration.
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This paper aims to investigate the use of crowdsourcing in the enhancement of an ontology of taxonomic knowledge. The paper proposes a conceptual architecture for the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the use of crowdsourcing in the enhancement of an ontology of taxonomic knowledge. The paper proposes a conceptual architecture for the incorporation of crowdsourcing into the creation of ontologies.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted the design science research approach characterised by cycles of “build” and “evaluate” until a refined artefact was established.
Findings
Data from a case of a fruit fly platform demonstrates that online crowds can contribute to ontology enhancement if engaged in a structured manner that feeds into a defined ontology model.
Research limitations/implications
The research contributes an architecture to the crowdsourcing body knowledge. The research also makes a methodological contribution for the development of ontologies using crowdsourcing.
Practical implications
Creating ontologies is a demanding task and most ontologies are not exhaustive on the targeted domain knowledge. The proposed architecture provides a guiding structure for the engagement of online crowds in the creation and enhancement of domain ontologies. The research uses a case of taxonomic knowledge ontology.
Originality/value
Crowdsourcing for creation and enhancement of ontologies by non-experts is novel and presents opportunity to build and refine ontologies for different domains by engaging online crowds. The process of ontology creation is also prone to errors and engaging crowds presents opportunity for corrections and enhancements.
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Tuotuo Qi, Tianmei Wang, Yanlin Ma and Xinxue Zhou
Knowledge sharing has entered the stage of knowledge payment with the typical models of paid Q&A, live session, paid subscription, course column and community service. Numerous…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge sharing has entered the stage of knowledge payment with the typical models of paid Q&A, live session, paid subscription, course column and community service. Numerous knowledge suppliers have begun to pour into the knowledge payment market, and users' willingness to pay for premium content has increased. However, the academic research on knowledge payment has just begun.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors searched several bibliographic databases using keywords such as “knowledge payment”, “paid Q&A”, “pay for answer”, “social Q&A”, “paywall” and “online health consultation” and selected papers from aspects of research scenes, research topics, etc. Finally, a total of 116 articles were identified for combing studies.
Findings
This study found that in the early research, scholars paid attention to the definition of knowledge payment concept and the discrimination of typical models. With the continuous enrichment of research literature, the research direction has gradually been refined into three main branches from the perspective of research objects, i.e. knowledge provider, knowledge demander and knowledge payment platform.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on discussing and sorting out the key research issues from these three research genres. Finally, the authors found out conflicting and contradictory research results and research gaps in the existing research and then put forward the urgent research topics.
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Asefeh Asemi, Andrea Ko and Mohsen Nowkarizi
This paper reviews literature on the application of intelligent systems in the libraries with a special issue on the ES/AI and Robot. Also, it introduces the potential of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews literature on the application of intelligent systems in the libraries with a special issue on the ES/AI and Robot. Also, it introduces the potential of libraries to use intelligent systems, especially ES/AI and robots.
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptive and content review methods are applied, and the researchers critically reviewed the articles related to library ESs and robots from Web of Science as a general database and Emerald as a specific database in library and information science from 2007–2017. Four scopes considered to classify the articles as technology, service, user and resource. It is found that published researches on the intelligent systems have contributed to many librarian purposes like library technical services like the organization of information resources, storage and retrieval of information resources, library public services as reference services, information desk and other purposes.
Findings
A review of the previous studies shows that ESs are a useable intelligent system in library and information science that mimic librarian expert’s behaviors to support decision making and management. Also, it is shown that the current information systems have a high potential to be improved by integration with AI technologies. In this researches, librarian robots mostly designed for detection and replacing books on the shelf. Improving the technology of gripping, localizing and human-robot interaction are the main concern in recent librarian robot research. Our conclusion is that we need to develop research in the area of smart resources.
Originality/value
This study has a new approach to the literature review in this area. We compared the published papers in the field of ES/AI and robot and library from two databases, general and specific.
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