bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowledge management and academic information behaviour
Authors: Deja Marek , Rak Dorota
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of metaliteracy on collaborative and individual information behaviour (IB) among academic staff. The goal is to observe the impact of these competencies on knowledge management (KM) and IB in research tasks connected with the humanities and social sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an implementation of two combined frameworks into a study on the IB of academics: metacompetencies described by Mackey and Jacobson in the metaliteracy model and Burke’s triple-A model. By using the Dervin’s micro-moment time-line interview framework, authors try to observe the state of development of information literacy and other supportive competencies among younger lecturers and researchers.

Findings

Scientists develop patterns of collaborative behaviour based on seven metaliteracy areas in KM.

Research limitations/implications

The study did not include students and other groups related to the academic environment. Their involvement in information processes is a very wide issue and should be the subject of a separate article.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to research development in the area of information literacy as a KM efficiency factor. IB in this paper is a broad concept, in which the development of metaliteracy is an important aspect of lecturers’ and researchers’ KM and collaboration skills.
How CSR influences customer behavioural loyalty in the Chinese hotel industry
Authors: Liu Matthew Tingchi , Liu Yongdan , Mo Ziying , Zhao Zhidong , Zhu Zhenghao
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) (i.e. responsibility to customers, employees and society) influences customer behavioural loyalty in the hotel industry. The mediating effects of brand image and customer trust on the relationship between CSR and customer behavioural loyalty are also considered.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 298 valid responses to questionnaire surveys were collected from a convenience sample in China in 2017. A structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Hotel customer behavioural loyalty can be enhanced by CSR performance. Performance in each of the three CSR domains positively impacted customer behavioural loyalty to different degrees. The impact of CSR on the customer had the strongest influence on Chinese customers’ behavioural loyalty among the three CSR domains of customer, employee and society. Brand image and customer trust were found to be mediators of the relationship between CSR performance and customer behavioural loyalty.

Originality/value

The current research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that CSR activities are not all equally effective. Results reveal that the society dimension of CSR had the strongest impact on Chinese customers’ brand image of hotels among the three CSR dimensions investigated. In terms of Chinese hotel customers’ trust, the CSR–customer dimension plays the most effective role. The findings also support the notion that Chinese consumers are beginning to use CSR information to evaluate hotels.
Demand-side energy retrofit potential in existing office buildings
Authors: Karunaratne Tharindu Lakruwan Wickremanayake , De Silva Nayanthara
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Office buildings confront with the issue of high energy demand during the day time mainly due to heavy use of energy for HVAC and lighting systems. Demand-side energy retrofits (DSER) are identified as effective in controlling electricity demand of existing buildings. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the potential of incorporating DSER in to existing office buildings. The paper reports the cost benefits of using DSER in existing office buildings. Furthermore, it reveals several enablers that can be used to promote retrofits in office buildings of Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

An industry survey was conducted by selecting a sample of 35 office buildings to study the usage of DSER in office buildings of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, three case studies were conducted to analyse the costs benefits of widely used DSER techniques in office buildings.

Findings

Research revealed that the use of DSER techniques in existing office buildings of Sri Lanka is at a lower level. However, it found that the financial viability of those DSER was at a promising level. Furthermore, 11 enablers in two levels as organisational level and national level were identified to enhance the use of DSER.

Originality/value

The study justifies the potential of DSER in reducing energy demand of existing office buildings through in-depth cost benefit analysis, which is useful for a country like Sri Lanka which faces massive energy crisis. This encourages Facility Managers towards using DSER to reduce building energy demand. Furthermore, study provides enablers at organisational and national levels to enhance the use of DSER.
Life-cycle cost analysis of a short-haul underground freight transportation system for the DFW Airport
Authors: Zahed Seyed Ehsan , Shahooei Sirwan , Farooghi Ferika , Shahandashti Mohsen , Ardekani Siamak
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct life-cycle cost analysis of a short-haul underground freight transportation (UFT) system for the Dallas Fort Worth international airport.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach includes: identifying the cost components of the proposed airport UFT system; estimating life-cycle cost (LCC) of system components using various methods; determining life-cycle cash flows; evaluating the reliability of the results using sensitivity analysis; and assessing the validity of the results using analogues cases.

Findings

Although the capital cost of constructing an airport UFT system seems to be the largest cost of such innovative projects, annual costs for running the system are more significant, taking a life-cycle perspective. System administrative cost, tunnel operation and maintenance, and tunnel construction cost are the principle cost components of the UFT system representing approximately 46, 24 and 19 percent of the total LCC, respectively. The shipping cost is estimated to be $4.14 per ton-mile. Although this cost is more than the cost of transporting cargos by trucks, the implementation of UFT systems could be financially justified considering their numerous benefits.

Originality/value

This paper, for the first time, helps capital planners understand the LCC of an airport UFT system with no or limited past experience, and to consider such innovative solutions to address airport congestion issues.
Assessing innovativeness of manufacturing firms using an intuitionistic fuzzy based MCDM framework
Authors: Kumar Sanjay , Haleem Abid , Sushil
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for assessing the overall innovativeness of manufacturing firms using a multi-attribute group decision-making methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

This study identifies the indicators of firms’ innovativeness from the literature. The concept of neutrosophic numbers has been used to assign different importance weights to individual decision makers to account for the differences in their educational backgrounds and practical experience. An intuitionistic fuzzy based TOPSIS procedure is adapted for ranking the candidate firms based on their performance on identified criteria. The implementation of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through an explanatory example. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to judge the robustness of the proposed framework.

Findings

The proposed framework provides an efficient and reliable tool to subjectively evaluate and compare the innovativeness of manufacturing firms. The sensitivity analysis shows that the methodology is robust enough to absorb the noise factors/errors/variations, etc.

Research limitations/implications

Motivated by this work, future studies can consider developing an integrated innovativeness index for evaluation of innovativeness of manufacturing firms. The concept of interval valued intuitionistic fuzzy and neutrosophic sets can be utilized to reduce the margin of perceptual errors even further.

Practical implications

The study will provide the firms with a framework for benchmarking their innovative performance. The firms can analyze their current performance and reconfigure their resources and capabilities suitably to improve their competitive position.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few attempts that have been made to articulate a firm level innovativeness assessment tool for manufacturing firms operating in an industry sector. Advanced concepts of fuzzy and neutrosophic sets have been utilized to eliminate the chances of bias/perceptual errors that most often affect the quality of decisions in today’s dynamic and uncertain decision-making environment.
An overview of benefits and challenges of building information modelling (BIM) adoption in UK residential projects
Authors: Georgiadou Maria Christina
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to present a state-of-the-art review of building information modelling (BIM) in the UK construction practice. In particular, the aim is to examine the scope, value and practical implications of BIM implementation in residential projects by evaluating practitioners’ perspectives working in the Greater London Area (GLA).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper outlines the general status quo of BIM adoption and maturity in the UK. It then discusses the feasibility of BIM use in residential projects drawing on an online survey and complementary semi-structured interviews with building professionals. The cross-comparison between the evidence base and literature review uncovers the specific benefits, challenges and risks to BIM implementation in the house building sector.

Findings

BIM is an evaluation methodology that helps the management of digital information throughout the project lifecycle. At a conceptual level, a BIM-enabled project offers quality assurance and on-time delivery, collaboration and communication improvement, visual representation and clash detection and whole lifecycle value. The findings, however, suggest that the most frequently reported benefits are related to collaboration and the blend of product (software) and process innovation, whilst lifecycle thinking and waste reduction are often overlooked. At present, there is widespread awareness on BIM but with a financial barrier to invest in developing digital capabilities, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Practical implications

The paper concludes with a critical commentary on the lack of strategic leadership in both the supply and demand side. The role of policy to streamline commercial drivers for whole lifecycle costing in procurement is endorsed to drive the change management required to address the short-term mind-set of senior management and wider fragmentation of the construction industry, also serving as a research question for further research and development in the field.

Originality/value

There are relatively few studies evaluating BIM perspectives in UK residential projects. This paper explores the feasibility and “real-life” value of BIM in housing practice, drawing on views and experiences of building professionals in GLA. In particular, the research findings provide an evidence base evaluating the extent to which the house building industry has the expertise and capability to operate in a BIM environment and to comply with the Level 2 mandate and explore which of the generic barriers and drivers of BIM-readiness are more relevant to the design and construction of housing projects.
BIM-based framework for temporary facility layout planning in construction site
Authors: Le Phuoc Luong , Dao Thien-My , Chaabane Amin
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an innovative building information modelling (BIM)-based framework for multi-objective and dynamic temporary construction site layout design (SLD), which uses a hybrid approach of systematic layout planning (SLP) and mathematical modelling.

Design/methodology/approach

The hybrid approach, which follows a step-by-step process for site layout planning, is designed to facilitate both qualitative and quantitative data collection and processing. BIM platform is usedto facilitate the determination of the required quantitative data, while the qualitative data are generated through knowledge-based rules.

Findings

The multi-objective layout model represents two important aspects: layout cost and adjacency score. The result shows that the model meets construction managers’ requirements in not only saving cost but also assuring the preferences of temporary facility relationships. This implies that the integration of SLP and mathematical layout modelling is an appropriate approach to deliver practical multi-objective SLD solutions.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed framework is expected to serve as a solution, for practical application, which takes the advantage of technologies in data collection and processing. Besides, this paper demonstrates, by using numerical experimentation and applying Microsoft Excel Solver for site layout optimisation, how to reduce the complexity in mathematical programming for construction managers.

Originality/value

The original contribution of this paper is the attempt of developing a framework in which all data used for the site layout modelling are collected and processed using a systematic approach, instead of being predetermined, as in many previous studies.
Unveiling heterogeneous engagement-based loyalty in brand communities
Authors: Dessart Laurence , Aldás-Manzano Joaquín , Veloutsou Cleopatra
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Although recent research appreciates that consumers increasingly interact with brands in brand communities and that brand engagement is an important and complex phenomenon in brand communities, little is known about the nature of individuals’ brand engagement in brand communities. This study aims to identify brand community members’ segments in terms of their brand engagement within the community; help us understand if these segments use a different approach in the development of brand loyalty; and develop mechanisms that can be used to identify members of these segments.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a quantitative approach and uses a total of 970 responses from members of Facebook brand pages in three popular languages on Facebook (English, French and Spanish). Data are analysed with structural equation modelling, integrating FIMIX-PLS and POS-PLS.

Findings

The results reveal that cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement dimensions play a different role in driving brand loyalty. Three different segments of engaged consumers exist (emotional engagers, thinkers and active engagers). Variables related to the perceived value of the brand community provide initial explanations as to the differences of the consumer groups.

Research limitations/implications

The data were collected from a specific type of brand communities (Facebook-based, company-managed brand communities) and are self-reported.

Practical implications

This work demonstrates the heterogeneity of brand community members in terms of their brand engagement profile and the effect of this profile on the formation of behavioural brand loyalty. Suggestions on identifying members of these segments based on the value that they get from the community are offered.

Originality/value

This work extends the brand engagement and brand community literature. It is the first work that provides this nature of actionable suggestions to the teams supporting brands with brand communities.
Perceptions and factors influencing the intention to do regular physical activities for the prevention of osteoporosis among Iranian working women
Authors: Hatefnia Effat , Raoofi Azam
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease and a growing global health problem. It is estimated that about 200m people are suffering from this disease in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions and factors influencing the intention to do regular physical activities in order to prevent osteoporosis in Iranian Muslim working women.

Design/methodology/approach

The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 217 women employed in a university in Iran. The tool for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire that had gone through validity and reliability processes. The data analysis was done using SPSS ver. 19 software as well as statistical descriptive and analytical tests.

Findings

The majority of participants were aged 30–39 (50.7 percent) and the least ones were 40 years old (24.4 percent). In total, 67.7 percent of the participants were married. Also, 77 percent of the participants had religious belief on the duty to do strong physical activities, and 83 percent had intention to do physical activities. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the mean scores of self-efficacy and the mean scores of religious belief between the women with and without having intention to do physical activities (p<0.01).

Originality/value

Regarding the relationship that self-efficacy and religious belief had with the intention to do physical activities in women employees, the need to address this issue through educational programming with the focus on self-efficacy and religious culture seems to find priority.
A conceptual model on reintegration after prison in Norway
Authors: Larsen Bjørn Kjetil , Hean Sarah , Ødegård Atle
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Many offenders struggle when attempting to reintegrate into society after release from prison, and the conditions they face after release often lead to reoffending. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual model on reintegration after prison. The model has the potential to guide practitioners in their understanding of the relationships between welfare services and the agency of the offender.

Design/methodology/approach

The model was developed from a small-scale study in the Norwegian Criminal Justice system, which is well known for its emphasis on rehabilitation and crime prevention. Data collection aimed to explore the reintegration process from the perspective of the hard-to-reach and vulnerable population of serial offenders. Nine prisoners in two different prisons were interviewed. A thematic analysis identified two main themes that related, first, to the personal challenges the offenders faced in the rehabilitation and reintegration process and, second, to the factors in the welfare services that interacted with the prisoners’ psychosocial issues in the reintegration process.

Findings

Findings suggest that the interaction between the psychosocial needs of the prisoners and the organization of the welfare services is complex and does not harmonize. The findings underpin the argument that the current reintegration strategies for certain groups of inmates need to be questioned and challenged.

Research limitations/implications

The model is a conceptual model intended to provide a lens from which to reinterpret offenders’ experiences of reintegration and applied to only the small and exploratory study described in this paper. As such, it requires further testing and substantiation, and the model and the study’s findings should be regarded as tentative and cannot be generalized to a larger population. The prisoners were selected by the first author for convenience, and it is possible that this also influenced the findings. Other inmates may have presented other experiences.

Originality/value

There are few studies looking into reintegration from the reoffenders’ perspective, and this study also presents a model that serves as a reflective and analytical tool to developing new approaches to supporting offenders in their reintegration into society from prison in the future.
Identifying and prioritizing safety practices affecting construction labour productivity
Authors: Gurmu Argaw Tarekegn
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and prioritise the safety and health practices, which are suitable to improve labour productivity in building construction projects, and to investigate the association between company profiles, project characteristics and the safety practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed-method research design which involves two phases. In Phase I, qualitative data were collected and analysed to identify safety and health practices. In total, 19 experts who have experience in building construction projects were involved in the interviews. During Phase II, quantitative data were collected from contractors that are involved in the delivery of building projects using questionnaires which were administered via face-to-face interviews. After analysing the quantitative data, the safety and health practices were prioritised and the relationships between the practices and company profiles were investigated.

Findings

Safety and health policy, safety and health plan and hazard analysis are found to be the three most important practices that can improve productivity in building construction projects. The results of Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the level of implementation of the safety and health practices increases with project costs. Company experience and company size are positively associated with safety and health practices. Project delay is negatively correlated with safety and health practices.

Originality/value

The study provides useful information for international developers and contractors who want to do the construction business in Australia. Furthermore, contractors involved in the construction of building projects in Australia can implement the identified safety and health practices to improve labour productivity.
Crisis and organizational change: IASB’s response to the financial crisis
Authors: Kusano Masaki , Sanada Masatsugu
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)’s response to criticism and political pressure at the time of the global financial crisis through the lens of legitimacy theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructs a thick description about a causal mechanism between social crisis and organizational change using a process-tracing approach that combines a historical narrative and a theoretical consideration.

Findings

The IASB faced criticism of its accounting standards for financial instruments and its governance structure during the financial crisis. This criticism represented the crises of pragmatic and cultural legitimacy. Facing these legitimacy crises, the IASB adopted such legitimation strategies as normalization and restructuring to repair its legitimacy. Additionally, in these repairing processes, the IASB, as a bonus, became institutionally embedded itself in the global political arena and succeeded to strengthen its legitimacy.

Originality/value

The study suggests that the financial crisis had a significant impact on the standardization of transnational accounting. Indeed, the crisis was an important turning point of the IASB’s work on revising its accounting standards to reduce complexity and altering its Constitution. Moreover, the authors bridge the gaps in the literature on accounting and legitimacy by examining how the IASB used particular legitimacy repair strategies when facing its legitimacy crises
Does it help to help and to be helped? Impacts of informal help on effort and wages
Authors: Daly Rahma , Diaye Marc-Arthur , Walkowiak Emmanuelle
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of informal help at the workplace and identify its determinants and outcomes. With an agency model, a multidisciplinary framework is proposed to understand how the “managerial” logic that shapes formal communication combines with the social logic underlying informal help in the context of organisational changes.

Design/methodology/approach

With a sample of 12,475 employees of the French private sector, switching models estimate the determinants and impacts of informal help on wages and effort.

Findings

The results of this paper show that informal help networks reproduce discriminatory stereotypes, and they are driven by the firm’s instability, organisational design of workstation and social mechanisms. When employees help other workers, they intensify their effort. It pays to be helped, as recipients of help receive a wage premium. Results also suggest the existence of free-riding behaviours in informal help when workers do not reciprocate help

Originality/value

This approach of work organisation focuses on the analysis of productive interdependencies and social interactions at the workplace. The link between the formal organisation and the informal social structure is analysed with the concept of informal help. It also highlights the social dimension of performance.
Police educators’ experiences of teaching and teaching development: implications for developing police academy staff
Authors: Shipton Brett Leslie
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper outlines some of the key results of a PhD study of the teaching and teaching development experiences of police educators practising in Australian police academies. The purpose of this paper is to describe the variation in police educators’ teaching and teaching development experiences, with these results being used to inform a developmental pathway for these practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research specialisation called phenomenography was used for the data collection and analysis process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 police educators from across five police academies. The transcribed interviews were analysed using comparative analysis to constitute a limited number of qualitatively different categories representing variation from less to more complete experiences.

Findings

The results were represented via two sets of categories that were discussed in relation to the broader domains teacher- and learner-centeredness, and potential staff development pathways for police educators.

Practical implications

Discussion of the results highlighted ideal approaches to teaching and teaching development and examined the limitations on staff development in relation to the less sophisticated experiences. Finally, the implications of these results were discussed in terms of potential staff development strategies within police academies.

Originality/value

This research is unique in terms of police educators’ experiences of their teaching and teaching development.
Moral judgement and aggressiveness in children and adolescents with intellectual disability
Authors: Oubrahim Leïla , Combalbert Nicolas , Salvano-Pardieu Véronique
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of aggressive behaviour among children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) and to demonstrate a possible link with moral judgement.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was carried out using two scales on a sample of 60 young people with ID in specialized schools. The first scale was “Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form” (Rojahnet al., 2012) used to assess the frequency of aggressive behaviour and the second involved several scenarios about social situations of aggressiveness to assess moral judgement.

Findings

The main findings indicate that children and adolescents with ID gave more importance to the factor “consequences” than to that of “intent”. Moreover, there was a link between moral judgement and aggressive behaviour. Indeed, aggressive people found it harder to take into account the other’s point of view. Regarding moral judgement, they gave greater importance to the “consequences” factor than non-aggressive people.

Originality/value

The study aimed to establish, for the first time, a link between aggressiveness and moral judgement (blame) in ID (Anderson, 1996). This study clearly provides useful information regarding public health for patients, professionals and families. The authors were able to measure a similar frequency of aggressive behaviour in both children and adolescents with ID. The authors also highlighted a link between these aggressive behaviours and moral judgement. This knowledge should enhance understanding of manifestations of aggressiveness in this population, and improve diagnostic assessment. It should also help define appropriate directions for educational interventions to prevent the onset of aggressive behaviour or delinquency.
Audit committee role: formal rituals or effective oversight process?
Authors: Oussii Ahmed Atef , Klibi Mohamed Faker , Ouertani Insaf
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perception held by attendees about the role and the effectiveness of their audit committees.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation was conducted via a qualitative methodology through the content analysis of interviews conducted with 33 attendees of audit committee meetings of Tunisian listed companies.

Findings

The findings reveal that audit committees do not have the means to achieve the objectives that they have been given by the legal texts, which are likely to characterize their work as “ceremonial” or “symbolic.” This paper also found that the most significant effects of the audit committee chair’s role come through informal meetings and conversations.

Practical implications

The paper’s findings have policy implications for regulators. Findings from this research may allow regulators to assess whether the audit committee activities in Tunisian companies meet their expectations.

Originality/value

This paper tries to fill a gap in the extant literature and provides meaningful information on activities performed by audit committees and the extent to which they are perceived effective in the eyes of attendees of audit-committee meetings. This study is one of the few field investigations that have analyzed audit committees’ effectiveness in emerging markets through interviews with attendees involved in audit-committee processes.
Experiences and outcomes from a traveling innovation lab experiment
Authors: Saegebrecht Florian , John Christian , Schmiedgen Peter , Noennig Jörg Rainer
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is a case study evaluation based on a mobile innovation lab experiment – a new training and service format that offers innovation trainings on a mobile basis for schools in rural regions.

Design/methodology/approach

The research aims to connect concepts of “entrepreneurial orientation and education” and “innovation adoption.” The objective of the case study is to test the readiness of pupils and schools for the provided innovation trainings and services to increase innovation capacities.

Findings

The case study is based on an explorative survey of 778 pupils at 18 schools and shows an increased awareness of innovative thinking and entrepreneurial capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

The findings and implications are not generalizable owing to predefined project region and the prototype character. The study offers basic insights into the specific processes and determining factors and mechanisms of innovation promotion in limited spatial work forms.

Practical implications

A mobile innovation environment focused on trainings and modern technologies was created. The workshops strengthened the entrepreneurial intention and potential of pupils to foster long-lasting innovation potential in the region.

Social implications

The tested concept improves the method-based development of creative project ideas, thereby strengthening the regional cohesion and the economic perspective in the project region.

Originality/value

After extensive research, the authors assume there is no comparable concept offering entrepreneurship education and latest technologies in a mobile innovation environment, at the time of submitting this paper.
The power of partnerships
Authors: Groves Christy
Published: May 2019

Purpose

A large, predominantly undergraduate university in Tennessee partnered with a local magnet school aiming to assist high school seniors with their college-level research assignment. The partnership began as a pilot, but quickly expanded to include other high schools as a result of initial successes. This paper aims to describe the development of the partnership and its importance in fulfilling a key component of college preparedness for gifted high school students.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes how the Library partnership commenced as a service to a local high school that required its students to access college-level research materials. The paper details how both the Library and the high school recognized the impact of collaborating to expose these students to the information literacy skills needed for college readiness.

Findings

The paper presents the challenges encountered when attempting to provide college-level information literacy instruction to large groups of students visiting a college campus. It concludes with best practices and lessons learned, as well as plans for formal assessment and future initiatives.

Originality/value

The author has presented at Library Instruction West, July 2018. A review of the professional literature demonstrates that other academic libraries have partnered with local schools for a variety of library-related initiatives. Therefore, the concept of partnerships between the Library and local high schools is not unique. However, this paper aims to describe challenges encountered, best practices, lessons learned and suggestions for future directions, including formal assessment, all of which could be adapted by other academic libraries as applicable.
Brand Horlicks in India: an epitome or an epitaph?
Authors: Mahasuar Kiran
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the insights from the brand journey of Horlicks in India and evolution of the health food drinks (HFD) category.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the key reasons for the slowdown in the HFD category and the descent of brand Horlicks in India. It follows the strategic decisions and actions that Horlicks’ parent GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare took over its journey of close to 100 years. It also highlights the cardinal mistakes that it made in distribution networks, brand extensions, etc. and how these could have possibly eroded the brand equity of Horlicks.

Findings

Horlicks as a brand made many strategic errors. It frequently and needlessly fiddled with unrelated categories in contrast to its nutrition agenda. It unnecessarily spent on developing brand extensions in unhealthy categories that customers did not value or relate to. It was strategically blinded by the dominance in two geographies and continued to be under-invested in distribution networks in others. In addition, it took too long to read the writing on the wall in terms of growing consumer consciousness about the presence of sugar and fats in health foods. Even when clear signals were available of the impending slowdown the HFD category faced, despite being the market leader in the HFD segment, it showed limited urgency to foster an innovation to bolster the category.

Practical implications

Companies need to focus on a sharp business model and not try to be everything for everyone. Companies that gain valuable insight of what its customers value and design their business model to satisfy these requirements have higher chances of surviving through the weft and warp of time.

Originality/value

The paper considers the context of the highly dynamic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry in India. It is an industry where for some of the categories like HFD, the brand equity of the mother brand may or may not have a rub-off effect on brand extensions, or dominance in a particular geography may not translate to similar dominance in another geography owing to heterogeneity factor. In such a scenario, brands such as Horlicks, which do not have a consistent and coherent strategy, find it difficult to grow their market share or the category. It provides insights into the common pitfalls in brand development strategy and how it can be avoided.
Women CEOs on making strategy happen
Authors: Connell Carol M.
Published: May 2019

Purpose

As a professor of strategic management and as a consultant to organizations on strategy and change, the author focused on the activities that are necessary for leaders to create effective strategy and to execute successfully. The author has also been responsible for equipping the larger teams of strategy professionals (and future strategy professionals) who support these leaders with the approaches, the methods, and the tools necessary to plan effectively, to assess effectiveness, and to correct problems in strategy and execution. Whether long-term company leaders, entrepreneurs, or turnaround companies, chief executive officers (CEOs) understand that strategy and execution are requirements for growth and, ultimately, their unique responsibility. The paper aims to offer a view of strategy and execution from women CEOs of top companies, including those who weathered the financial crisis and others changing their business model as the climate changes. The paper offers a set of questions to help company leadership execute their strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper represents a viewpoint supported by secondary sources and financial data.

Findings

CEOs whose companies have prospered during the Great Recession and beyond have a lot to teach us about strategic execution in an uncertain world. There is always a crisis or a change in industry structure that threatens strategic execution. This paper focuses on women and how they face this challenge as CEOs of top companies.

Research limitations/implications

Strategic execution must align with strategy or growth will not happen as planned.

Practical implications

There are things CEOs and general managers can do to ensure their strategic execution leads to the results they plan. Those things have been identified in this paper.

Social implications

The most powerful asset companies have is their talent base, their employees.

Originality/value

The corporate examples, the understanding of industry structure change, and the importance of talent and risk are seen through the lens of women CEOs.
Non-Newtonian numerical modelling of solder paste viscosity measurement
Authors: Al-Ma’aiteh Tareq I. , Krammer Oliver
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the establishment of a computational fluid dynamics model for investigating different non-Newtonian rheological models of solder pastes by simulating solder paste viscosity measurement. A combined material model was established which can follow the measured, apparent viscosity values with lower error.

Design/methodology/approach

The model included a parallel plate arrangement of rheometers. The diameter of the plate was 50 mm, whereas the gap between the plates was 0.5 mm. Only one quarter of the plate was modelled to enable using fine enough mesh, while keeping the calculation time low. Non-Newtonian properties were set using user defined function in Ansys, based on the Cross and Carreau–Yasuda material models. The viscosity values predicted by the mathematical models were compared to measured viscosity values of different types of solder pastes.

Findings

It was found that the Cross model predicts the apparent viscosity with a relatively high error (even approximately 50 per cent) at lower shear rates, whereas the Carerau–Yasuda model has higher errors at higher shear rates. The application of the proposed, combined model can result in a much lower error in the apparent viscosity between the calculated and measured viscosity values.

Originality/value

The error of Cross and Carreau–Yasuda material models has not been investigated yet in details. The proposed, combined material model can be applied for subsequent simulations via the described UDF, e.g. in the numerical modelling of the stencil printing. This can result in a more accurate modelling of the stencil printing process, which is inevitable considering the printing of solder paste for today fine-pitch, small size components.
Machine learning-based prediction of component self-alignment in vapour phase and infrared soldering
Authors: Krammer Oliver , Martinek Péter , Illes Balazs , Jakab László
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the self-alignment of 0603 size (1.5 × 0.75 mm) chip resistors, which were soldered by infrared or vapour phase soldering. The results were used for establishing an artificial neural network for predicting the component movement during the soldering.

Design/methodology/approach

The components were soldered onto an FR4 testboard, which was designed to facilitate the measuring of the position of the components both prior to and after the soldering. A semi-automatic placement machine misplaced the components intentionally, and the self-alignment ability was determined for soldering techniques of both infrared and vapour phase soldering. An artificial neural network-based prediction method was established, which is able to predict the position of chip resistors after soldering as a function of component misplacement prior to soldering.

Findings

The results showed that the component can self-align from farer distances by using vapour phase method, even from relative misplacement of 50 per cent parallel to the shorter side of the component. Components can self-align from a relative misplacement only of 30 per cent by using infrared soldering method. The established artificial neural network can predict the component self-alignment with an approximately 10-20 per cent mean absolute error.

Originality/value

It was proven that the vapour phase soldering method is more stable from the component’s self-alignment point of view. Furthermore, machine learning-based predictors can be applied in the field of reflow soldering technology, and artificial neural networks can predict the component self-alignment with an appropriately low error.
Subsidy type and quality determine direction and strength of trophic cascades in arthropod food webs in agroecosystems
Authors: Riggi Laura G. A. , Bommarco Riccardo
Published: May 2019

The subsidy hypothesis states that communities receiving nutrient subsidies will demonstrate top‐down trophic cascades where predators indirectly increase plant biomass. This has been both confirmed and refuted, which might depend on whether the subsidy has mainly targeted the plant or the detrital food web compartment, and on the subsidy quality. This is particularly poorly understood for terrestrial communities such as heavily subsidized agroecosystems.

Using cages covering 4 m2 of ground in a long‐term agricultural fertilization experiment, we tested whether subsidies targeting the detrital soil mesofauna compartment with organic fertilizers, or the plants with mineral fertilizer, impacted the direction and strength of trophic cascades in an arthropod–plant food web. We expected top‐down controls of generalist arthropod predators (spiders, ground and rove beetles) on aphid densities to be stronger in organically fertilized plots due to enhanced alternative prey availability in the soil. Bottom‐up control from barley quality on aphids was anticipated to be stronger in the mineral treatments. We examined how the quality (decomposability) of the organic subsidy governed the cascades by comparing treatments with labile (manure) and recalcitrant (hay) organic matter.

Top‐down forces dominated in food webs receiving organic subsidies, while bottom‐up forces dominated under mineral fertilization. A high‐quality, easily degradable organic subsidy propagated faster through the food chain, leading to a top‐down trophic cascade with generalist predators having a positive effect on plant biomass in the labile but not in the recalcitrant organic treatment.

Synthesis and applications. Management of agricultural soils that bolster the soil mesofauna, for example adding organic fertilizers, has potential to increase top‐down biological control by naturally occurring generalist arthropod predators. Our research demonstrates how barley biomass can be enhanced in manure treatment in the presence of arthropod predators to a level comparable to that of mineral fertilizer.
The effects of survey version on patient experience scores and plan rankings
Authors: Beckett Megan K. , Elliott Marc N. , Burkhart Q , Cleary Paul D. , Orr Nate , Brown Julie A. , Gaillot Sarah , Liu Karin , Hays Ron D.
Published: May 2019

Objective

To assess the effect of changing survey questions on plan‐level patient experience measures and ratings.

Data Source

2015 Medicare Advantage CAHPS Survey respondents.

Study Design

Ninety three randomly selected beneficiaries in each of 40 MA plans received a revised (5.0) CAHPS survey; 38 832 beneficiaries received version 4.0. Linear mixed‐effect regression predicted CAHPS measures from fixed effects for survey version and beneficiary characteristics and random effects for plan and plan‐by‐version random slope.

Principal Findings

Response rates were 42 percent for both versions. Removal of “try to” from screeners increased the percentage of respondents eligible for follow‐up questions. Version 5.0 caused a small increase (1‐3 points on a 0‐100 scale, P < 0.05) in the mean of three altered measures and a moderate increase (>3 points) in one. There was a small statistically significant increase in two unaltered measures. These changes were uniform across plans, so there would be no expected change compared to results using the legacy survey in the score distributions other than uniform mean shifts, and no expected effect on summary measures.

Conclusions

These analyses illustrate how to assess the impact of seemingly minor survey modifications for other national surveys considering changes and highlight the importance of screeners in instrument design.
Humans Are Animals, Too: Critical Commonalities and Differences Between Human and Wildlife Forensic Genetics
Authors: Moore M. Katherine , Frazier Kim
Published: May 2019

Wildlife forensics has recently been recognized among the wide variety of forensic science disciplines. This review compares human and wildlife DNA forensics, which use the same genetic tools, but often for far different purposes. Human forensic genetics almost invariably attempts to identify individual perpetrators involved in a given crime. Wildlife forensics often determines whether a crime has occurred. In addition to techniques familiar in human laboratories, like individual matching with STRs, wildlife analysts may be asked to determine the taxonomic identity, geographic source, or sex of evidence items, or the familial relationships or minimum number of individuals among a group of samples. This review highlights the common questions, legal framework, databases, and similar validation requirements to foster understanding between disciplines. Based on this understanding, human and wildlife DNA practitioners may work together and learn from each other in order to elevate the discipline of forensic genetics.