bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“My leader’s group is my group”. Leader-member exchange and employees’ behaviours
Authors: Khan Muhammad Nawaz , Malik Muhammad Faisal
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to check the mediating role of work engagement (WE) between leader – member exchange and extra-role behaviours (ERBs) like organizational citizenship behaviour, knowledge sharing behaviour and innovative work behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypothetical deductive method was used. Longitudinal, time-lagged approach (three times) was used to collect the data using structured questionnaire.

Findings

It has been found that the WE plays its mediating role between leader – member exchange, organizational citizenship behaviour and innovative work behaviour but not for knowledge sharing behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

Data related to dependent variables, specifically and for the whole model generally, was collected through self-reported questionnaire, which leads toward self-serving bias at respondents’ end, as exaggeration/manipulation in responses is highly expected. Second mediating role of WE between leader – member exchange and knowledge sharing behaviour has not been proven, but same mediating role has been found in case of organizational citizenship behaviour and innovative work behaviour which is beyond understanding, as all dependent variables are actually different facets of ERBs. Lastly, data for the study variable has been collected from research and development and IT-related organizations only, which can question the generalization of the survey results to other sectors/organizations.

Practical implications

The study concluded that leader’s exchange plays a vital role for under commands’ ERBs, and WE vitally predicts ERBs; organizational leaders need to pay attention to this part, in Pakistan, being a poor/developing country fulfilling necessary psychological needs can result in better engagement at employees end. Study findings have importance with the view of training, as while conducting training, strategies through which leaders/supervisors may be trained about how they can build good exchange with their subordinates must be incorporated. This study has significance for policy makers, while making policies, as they consider deviant work behaviours as dangerous phenomena, at the same time they need to recognize the importance of ERBs.

Originality/value

Early mechanism of work performance did not cover full range of behaviours, so now it has been changed from fixed tasks written in employee’s job description (in-role) to broader terms (extra-role) due to uncertain and dynamic work requirements. Extra-role behaviours are more important for the organization as compared to in-role performance. So, a pathway of WE has been established through which ERBs can be expected. Current study was an attempt to explore that how leader can play his role in this situation.
Chain coordinators’ strategic leadership and coordination effectiveness
Authors: Akhtar Pervaiz , Kaur Sushil , Punjaisri Khanyapuss
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Although suitable leadership is crucial for chain coordinators (chief executive officers (CEOs), managing directors and heads of departments) to achieve the effectiveness of supply chain coordination (operational and social performances contributing to financial performance), the potential caveats in New Zealand-Euro agri-food supply chains are the lack of theoretical as well as empirical investigations that scrutinize the linkages between leadership styles, their interactions and the effectiveness of supply chain coordination. The purpose of this study is therefore to address the above knowledge gap.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modelling and interaction effects are applied to the data collected from chain coordinators working in the selected New Zealand-Euro agri-food supply chains (dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables).

Findings

The results indicate that participative leadership is more strongly correlated with the effectiveness of supply chain coordination than directive leadership. The directive leadership is also significant, which leads towards the adoption of strategic leadership. Interaction effects further conclude that companies perform better when their chain coordinators apply strategic leadership practices. Moreover, operational (service quality and product quality) and social (trust in and satisfaction with supply chain partners) performances are the key determinants of financial performance (increased sales, profit and market share).

Practical implications

The results enhance the understanding of chain coordinators and help them to achieve coordination effectiveness among agri-food supply chain partners. Therefore, the study provides practical implications linked with contemporary international agri-food supply chains.

Originality/value

This study provides in-depth analysis to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework, which helps to confirm the complicated linkages between the underlying constructs, with the specific characteristics of New Zealand-Euro agri-food supply chains. Consequently, the results also clarify the earlier ambiguous findings from other industries and countries.
Overcoming challenges in leadership roles – managing large projects with multi or cross culture teams
Authors: Kappagomtula Chandrasekhar Lakshminarasimham
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Managing the triple constraints of time, cost and scope of the work, to ensure the quality desired by the stake holders, is a daunting task for any project manager. When the teams involved are for accomplishing large-scale projects, spread over different geographic regions and drawn from multi- or cross-cultural background, the task of the project manager becomes even more complicated and complex (Lothar, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to examine some of those challenges as well as the socio-cultural factors’ influence on the outcome of projects.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive investigative survey in these complex aspects has been undertaken, spanning both in China and in India.

Findings

Some solutions to the leadership role have been found through the intense study and data analysis.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of multicultural and cross-cultural factors and the number of socio-cultural factors affecting such teams spread in diverse parts of the globe is stupendous. However, the study restricted itself to examining only three important socio-cultural factors out of the several, impacting the outcome of multi- or cross-cultural team executed projects.

Practical implications

The study reveals the causal effect of poor performance outcome for large projects when the team comprises multi- or cross cultural personnel. The limitations for the team leader heading such diverse teams are brought out.

Social implications

The study will help the future compositions of cross- or multicultural team projects, to know in advance the sensitive areas where they have to focus to ensure seamless execution of large projects with the help of virtual platforms for face-to-face interactions between the team members and their leader.

Originality/value

The literature available on generic behavioural aspects of multi- or cross-cultural teams is plenty. However, very few empirical studies are available in evaluating the influence of socio-cultural factors affecting such large project teams. This study extensively covers both China and India, which is a unique investigative study of its kind.
Exploring topics related to data mining on Wikipedia
Authors: Wang Yanyan , Zhang Jin
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Data mining has been a popular research area in the past decades. Many researchers study data-mining theories, methods, applications and trends; however, there are very few studies on data-mining-related topics in social media. This paper aims to explore the topics related to data mining based on the data collected from Wikipedia.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 402 data-mining-related articles were obtained from Wikipedia. These articles were manually classified into several categories by the coding method. Each category formed an article-term matrix. These matrices were analysed and visualized by the self-organizing map approach. Several clusters were observed in each category. Finally, the topics of these clusters were extracted by content analysis.

Findings

The articles obtained were classified into six categories: applications, foundation and concepts, methodologies, organizations, related fields and topics and technology support. Business, biology and security were the three prominent topics of the applications category. The technologies supporting data mining were software, systems, databases, programming languages and so forth. The general public was more interested in data-mining organizations than the researchers. They also focused on the applications of data mining in business more than in other fields.

Originality/value

This study will help researchers gain insight into the general public’s perceptions of data mining and discover the gap between the general public and themselves. It will assist researchers in finding new techniques and methods which will potentially provide them with new data-mining methods and research topics.
A paper-text perspective
Authors: Wang Hao , Deng Sanhong
Published: July 2017

Purpose

In the era of Big Data, network digital resources are growing rapidly, especially the short-text resources, such as tweets, comments, messages and so on, are showing a vigorous vitality. This study aims to compare the categories discriminative capacity (CDC) of Chinese language fragments with different granularities and to explore and verify feasibility, rationality and effectiveness of the low-granularity feature, such as Chinese characters in Chinese short-text classification (CSTC).

Design/methodology/approach

This study takes discipline classification of journal articles from CSSCI as a simulation environment. On the basis of sorting out the distribution rules of classification features with various granularities, including keywords, terms and characters, the classification effects accessed by the SVM algorithm are comprehensively compared and evaluated from three angles of using the same experiment samples, testing before and after feature optimization, and introducing external data.

Findings

The granularity of a classification feature has an important impact on CSTC. In general, the larger the granularity is, the better the classification result is, and vice versa. However, a low-granularity feature is also feasible, and its CDC could be improved by reasonable weight setting, even exceeding a high-granularity feature if synthetically considering classification precision, computational complexity and text coverage.

Originality/value

This is the first study to propose that Chinese characters are more suitable as descriptive features in CSTC than terms and keywords and to demonstrate that CDC of Chinese character features could be strengthened by mixing frequency and position as weight.
Measuring global research activities using geographic data of scholarly article visits
Authors: Fang Zhichao , Guo Xinhui , Yang Yang , Yang Zhongkai , Li Qingchun , Hu Zhigang , Wang Xianwen
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the geographical distribution of global research activities and to investigate the knowledge diffusion embodied in scientific papers.

Design/methodology/approach

The geographical summary ofFrontiersarticles displays the number of visits and categorizes where the visitors hail from. This study uses the records of 23,798 articles published in 16Frontiersjournals from 2007 to 2015 to analyse the geographical distribution of article visits at both country and city levels. The process of knowledge diffusion is investigated on the basis of the different visiting patterns of new and old papers.

Findings

Most article visits are concentrated around major metropolitan areas and some high-tech clusters. The top “visiting countries” include both developed countries and developing countries, and the USA and China are two major players. Publishing cities dominate article visits for new papers; as time passes, there is diffusion from the publishing cities to a broader area.

Research limitations/implications

The data on visiting for open access articles may be generated from various repositories besides the publishers’ websites; these data are ignored, as they are not significant enough to have much influence. There is also a lack of a basic theory in the data processing of outliers in the data set. In addition, only static results are given in this paper, as the data were collected on one day, for one time. A longer time period is necessary to track the dynamic diffusion process of the observations.

Practical implications

Introduction of usage data will propose a novel way to analyse research activities and track knowledge diffusion.

Social implications

The visiting data of articles offer a new way to investigate research activities at the city level in a detailed and timely manner, for the geographical distribution of research activities and the research resource allocation of a specific country to be explored.

Originality/value

This study measured the research activities of scientific papers by examining the usage data. Compared with previous studies that focused on the geographical distribution of scientific activities using publication data, citation data and even altmetrics data, usage data are at the forefront of this research. Therefore, usage data offer a fresh perspective on methodology, providing more detailed and real-time information.
The role of academic libraries in research data service (RDS) provision
Authors: Yu Holly H.
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Propelled by fast-evolving computational technology and cloud-based data storage, the increasing ease in research data collection is outstripping the capacity in research data service (RDS) in academic institutions. To illustrate the challenges and opportunities in providing RDS, the author provides a systematic review of the RDS offered in academic institutions and libraries by combining existing literature and survey data collected from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). In addition, the RDS websites of 2013 ARL survey-participating institutions are also examined. The aim of the paper is to provide an environmental scan of the current state of RDS provision in academic institutions, to add to the body of knowledge of RDS development, and to inform and enable academic libraries to make strategic RDS plans.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes the strategies used and levels of RDS provided by reviewing recent literature, exploiting existing survey data from ARL and ACRL, and examining RDS websites of the 2013 ARL survey-participating institutions, in areas that reflect the life cycle of RDS provision including research data management planning, metadata consultation and tool provision, data archiving, institutional repository provision and data sharing and access.

Findings

The overall offerings of the library-led research data services in ARL research-intensive institutions have shown signs of increasing. Increased engagement and expanded scope and level of services are two noticeable trends in academic library RDS provision. Academic libraries are taking advantage of open access repositories by advising researchers to use the available resources alongside their local repositories for data safe-keeping and sharing. Discussions on RDS policy and infrastructure development are inadequate or largely non-existent.

Originality/value

Through systematically reviewing current literature, drawing on the results of available surveys on RDS offerings by academic libraries conducted between 2009 and 2014 and examining and further reviewing the websites of these 2013 ARL survey-participating institutions, the author presents the current state of academic library activities in RDS provision, and provides a critical evaluation of the scope and level of services currently being offered in academic libraries, and the opportunities in RDS development, to add to the body of knowledge of RDS provision by academic institutions.
Impact of device on search pattern transitions
Authors: Wu Dan , Bi Renmin
Published: July 2017

Purpose

This paper discusses the differences in search pattern transitions for mobile phone, tablet and desktop devices by mining the transaction log data of a library online public access catalogue (OPAC). We aimed to analyze the impacts of different devices on user search behavior and provide constructive suggestions for the development of library OPACs on different devices.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on transaction logs which are 9 GB in size and contain 16,140,509 records of a university library OPAC, statistics and clustering were used to analyze the differences in search pattern transitions on different devices in terms of two aspects: search field transition patterns and query reformulation patterns.

Findings

Search field transition patterns are influenced by the input function and user interfaces of different devices. As reformulation times increase, the differences between query reformulation patterns among different devices decrease.

Practical implications

Mobile-side libraries need to optimize user interfaces, for example by setting web page labels and improving input capabilities. Desk-side libraries can add more suggestive content on the interface.

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies, which have analyzed web search, this paper focuses on library OPAC search. The search function of mobile phones, tablets and desktops were found to be asymptotic, which was a good illustration of how devices have a large impact on user search behavior.
The influence of homeschooling on entrepreneurial activities: a collective case study
Authors: Pannone Sarah Jeanne
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a homeschool education influences entrepreneurial characteristics and activity.

Design/methodology/approach

A collective case study design was used to investigate how a homeschool education influences entrepreneurial characteristics and activity.

Findings

From the participant interviews, surveys, and document analysis, three salient themes emerged. First, participants noted that their home education, at least in later years, was largely self-directed and that this independent, self-motivated type of learning impacted their subsequent entrepreneurial activities. Next, participants also related that they believed the alternative nature of their homeschooling education and its emphasis on being comfortable with being different influenced their entrepreneurial pathway. Finally, the third theme to surface was the idea that homeschooling helped develop an internal locus of control, a belief that is helpful in entrepreneurial undertakings.

Research limitations/implications

Research limitations included a lack of generalizability due to a small sample size and possible selection bias.

Practical implications

Despite these shortcomings, however, several implications exist. For example, the findings from this study show that homeschooling may be a viable alternative education method for parents looking to encourage entrepreneurial traits and activities in their children.

Social implications

Future areas of research were also identified, including a call to research the role locus of control plays in homeschooled students.

Originality/value

This study addresses an area that, to the knowledge of this researcher, is completely lacking from the research literature.
Psychological characteristics and entrepreneurial intention
Authors: Nasip Sorayah , Amirul Sharifah Rahama , Sondoh Jr Stephen Laison , Tanakinjal Geoffrey Harvey
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual psychological characteristics (i.e. innovativeness, locus of control, self-confidence, propensity to take risk, need for achievement and tolerance for ambiguity) and entrepreneurial intention.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 676 undergraduate students from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) have participated in the survey. The data were analysed using partial least square technique version 2.0.

Findings

The results have shown that innovativeness, self-confidence, propensity to take risk, need for achievement and tolerance for ambiguity are positively related to entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students. However, locus of control is not significantly related to entrepreneurial intention.

Research limitations/implications

Although samples of the research are quite large, this research only involves undergraduates in UMS. Therefore, findings obtained are not generalized because the results do not include other educational institutions in Malaysia. On the implication aspect, this research might give some views among undergraduates to embark in business after graduating.

Practical implications

In spite of that, students should be encouraged and equipped with innovativeness, self-confidence, propensity to take risk, need for achievement and tolerance for ambiguity to interpret successful entrepreneurial role models and identification of business prospects for their future career.

Originality/value

The findings of the research may extend existing knowledge in the entrepreneurial field as well as to provide valuable information to policy maker in strengthening and redesigning suitable curriculum not only at the university level, but also in pre-school by giving entrepreneurial awareness on how this knowledge will transform us into an entrepreneurial society that can create wonders for human kind.
Investigating entrepreneurial intention among public sector university students of Pakistan
Authors: Shah Naimatullah , Soomro Bahadur Ali
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Nowadays, entrepreneurship is regarded as an indispensable means for economic development. In this regard, promoting entrepreneurship is a necessity for every economy. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that may influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework underlying this study is the theory of planned behavior, and the study proposes a descriptive methodology in which cross-sectional data are randomly collected from the different public sector universities of Pakistan. A survey questionnaire was used as a means for data collection. The respondents were bachelor’s as well as master’s degree students who are pursuing degrees in entrepreneurship or education. After cleaning the data, 385 usable answers were analyzed. The response rate was 60 percent. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0 was used for data analysis.

Findings

The results of Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis showed that attitudes toward behavior and subjective norms have a positive and significant relationship with entrepreneurial intention. On the other hand, perceived behavioral control has no significant relationship with entrepreneurial intention.

Originality/value

Such a study may provide useful insights into the state of entrepreneurship education for policy makers and planners in universities as well as in government, regarding the younger generation, particularly, to reduce the burden of graduate unemployment.
An alternative model of community service learning
Authors: Ellenbogen Stephen
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze experiences embedding community service learning into an assignment for a bachelor of social work course. The author used these experiences and their connections with early conceptions of progressive education and community work principles to present a pragmatic and supple community service learning (SCSL) model.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 15 students and four community organizations participated in SCSL. Data consisted of focus groups, participatory observation, evaluations, e-mails, and documents. Naturalistic case study methodology was employed to retrospectively describe a noteworthy teaching and learning experience.

Findings

The SCSL model was judged useful for weaving current local realities into course lectures, promoting professional development, and providing community organizations with timely research syntheses. It seemed no more demanding than other teaching experiences. Six features of the model were deemed beneficial: multi-course scaffolding, bottom-up management, asymmetrical student roles, integration of academic and experiential learning, and student involvement in course delivery. Relevant contextual factors included: small class size, maturity of students, and cohesion within cohort.

Research limitations/implications

A single teaching experience and a small sample of participants informed this case study. Further research is needed to draw firm conclusions about SCSL’s usefulness and generalizability.

Practical implications

Acknowledging that it is based on limited evidence, SCSL appears to be a promising model for encouraging knowledge mobilization between universities and community organizations, and providing future professionals with experience in such activities.

Originality/value

This paper describes and analyzes the pedagogic value of SCSL, a manageable and adaptable teaching model for busy faculty.
In-house, university-based work experience vs off-campus work experience
Authors: Forsyth Jacky , Cowap Lisa
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ perceptions of the value, impact, benefits and disadvantages of in-house, university-based work experience vs off-campus work experience.

Design/methodology/approach

Three focus groups, one consisting of students who had undertaken work experience off-campus at an employers’ workplace (n=6), one consisting of students who had undertaken work experience in-house with a university-based employer (n=6), and a third mixed group (n=6, consisting of students who had undertaken both types), were formed. Focus group data were supplemented by interviews (n=3). Data were transcribed and analysed thematically.

Findings

Based on student perceptions, both types of work experience were thought to: enhance future employment; provide career insight; enable skill/experience acquisition and application; and be useful for building relationships. Work experience that occurred in-house was, in addition, perceived to be cost effective; enabling students to be more closely supervised and supported; good for relationship building between and within students/staff; beneficial for increasing student attainment; and enabling students to see the link between theory and practice more clearly. In-house work experience was, however, deemed to be restricted in terms of variety, and links with and perceptions of external stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited in that it is based on the perceptions of students undertaking unique types of integrated work experience within one faculty at one university.

Practical implications

When deciding on whether in-house or off-campus work experiences are offered, consideration should be given to level of support, supervision, observation, and travel and time costs.

Originality/value

Original views of students regarding in-house work experience have been gathered, which can be used to inform in-course workplace practices.
Undergraduate perceptions of the knowledge, skills and competencies required of today’s practicing marketer
Authors: Carter Stephen , Yeo Amy Chu-May
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how students in a Malaysian context, as a result of their experience of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) undergraduate teaching and learning experience in the subject of Marketing, perceive the knowledge, skills and competencies required of a practicing marketer and, conversely, what curriculum developers need to do if there is a “shortfall”.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a total sample of a UG student population from an Accountancy, Finance and Business Faculty, the primarily descriptive, positivist, cross-sectional study used inferential statistics to measure the relationship between the four components of marketing knowledge, skills and competencies (the marketing mix, performance, social and emotional competencies, and responsible decision making).

Findings

Quantitative results revealed that all student perceptions of the requirements to be a “fit for purpose” marketer were highly correlated with requirements from the literature, subject benchmarks and practice with few exemptions.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on one institution. Moreover, knowledge, skills and competency requirements by students’ level of study and practitioner experience may vary by type of HEI, organisation and geographic location.

Practical implications

Recommendations are made for curriculum development to address both employability and career development, particularly in terms of interdisciplinary co-operation and the teaching and learning of concepts.

Originality/value

Using the student perceptions of the requirements for being a practicing marketer, HEIs can adjust/add to their curriculum by comparing these to documented sources from academia and practice and by making any necessary adjustments by course of study.
Performance-based fire safety evacuation of an auditorium facility using a theoretical calculation method
Authors: Mahmoud Abubakar S. , Sanni-Anibire Muizz O. , Hassanain Mohammad A.
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a theoretical calculation for the emergency evacuation of an auditorium facility managed by a university in Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors reviewed the published literature to identify the sources of fire incidence, guidelines for means of escape in assembly occupancies and human behavior in fire emergencies. The theoretical method of the SFPE handbook to estimate the required evacuation time was subsequently applied to a case study of an auditorium facility managed by a university located in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the authors developed recommendations for the performance-based fire safety evacuation of the auditorium facility under review.

Findings

The study showed that a total of 6 minutes 39 seconds is needed to evacuate the whole auditorium. However, reviewed literature for assembly occupancies requires between 4 minutes 30 seconds and 6 minutes 24 seconds for total evacuation. Though, the calculated evacuation time is close to generally acceptable limits. It was noted that overcrowding and bottlenecks may be formed in some of the exit routes.

Originality/value

This paper will stimulate and increase research and industry concern for performance-based design of assembly-type facilities. This will be of significant value to designers, engineers, facilities managers, and owners in ensuring the safety of occupants in assembly-type facilities.
Investigation of current state of pre-consumer textile waste generated at Lithuanian enterprises
Authors: Dobilaite Vaida , Mileriene Gene , Juciene Milda , Saceviciene Virginija
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Production and consumption of textile garments contribute significantly to environment problems. The purpose of this paper is to perform the evaluation of textile waste generated at Lithuanian clothing enterprises based on statistical data analysis and business cases studies.

Design/methodology/approach

For the evaluation of real situation of waste generation in companies, an original methodology was developed and used during investigation. In order to get an overall view, statistical data of waste generation and management in Lithuania were also analysed. Waste accounting covered data such as wastes from unprocessed textile fibres and wastes from processed textile fibres and textiles (not otherwise specified).

Findings

The investigation showed that the amount of cutting waste reaches 20-25 per cent of the total quantity of materials used for production. It was found that the waste is not sorted in Lithuanian clothing enterprises and is disposed in landfills in most cases, notwithstanding the positive tendencies of recycling of waste that were observed during past year. However, a practical recycling strategy and broader perception of developing products with greater added value from waste are missing in Lithuania.

Originality/value

In this research, a simple methodology was developed for determining the quantity of the textile waste generated by enterprises, the introduction of which would allow us to expect better results in waste accounting and management. The results of investigation are useful to gain in-depth understanding of waste generation in various countries.
Measuring electromagnetic shielding efficiency of 1×1 plain knitted fabrics
Authors: Kumar Bahadur Goonesh , Rosunee Satyadev , Bradshaw Mark
Published: July 2017

Purpose

In this research project, electrical conductive yarns were knitted together with 100 per cent cotton yarns to create knitted fabrics that would be used as electromagnetic (EM) shielding materials. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

1×1 plain fabrics knitted on double-bed hand knitting machines of five and seven gauges. Several strands of the cotton yarns were used together in order to knit samples with good handling properties. The electrical conductive yarn has six plies and each ply has 29 filaments with Naño-coating of silver and having an electrical resistance of 4 Ohms per 100 mm and a count of 96 Tex. The knitted fabrics have similar texture but vary in term of specific weight, fabric density, loop length, Tex, tightness factor, thickness and electrical conductivity. These variations affected the properties of the fabrics, determining factors of a good shielding or not. A special designed Faraday cage was built to measure the EMSE of each knitted fabrics. The EM waves were sent through the signal generator at different frequencies as from 400 to 1,100 MHz and with three different power inputs of 10, 20 and 30 dBm. EMSE measurements were also carried out after the knitted samples were rotated clockwise.

Findings

Good EMSE shielding results were achieved with the knitted samples, however in this study it was found that different knitted fabrics shielded better at specific frequencies and power inputs.

Practical implications

Knitted fabrics can be used to develop comfortable garments that can be used to shield EM waves and protect the wearer.

Originality/value

The choice of using the conductive yarns is exclusive. In addition the EMSE were measured with fabrics knitted in the same structure but on different knitting machine gauge. Three different power inputs were considered and EMSE measurements were taken using frequencies as from 400 to 1,100 MHz. A new method for measuring the electrical resistance on the knitted fabrics and the method used for measuring the EMSE for each knitted fabric were considered.
Comparative analysis of two kinds of pneumatic compact spinning using finite element method
Authors: Yinghui Li , Xie Chunping , Liu Xinjin
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to know airflow field and its distribution of pneumatic compact spinning systems. Complete compact spinning (CCS) and four-line rollers compact spinning (FRCS) are both two kinds of pneumatic compact spinning systems, which utilizes airflow in condensing equipment to condense fiber bundle and improve yarn properties.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper opted for an exploratory study using finite element method, the airflow field in the condensing area of CCS and FRCS were simulated. First, a periodic movement of the fibers in bundle in condensing area was detected, and the yarn tracks were described veritably under the high-speed-video-camera and AutoCAD Software. Then the physical models of the condensing zone were constructed according to the physical parameters of the practical system. The simulation of airflow velocities were extracted along the yarn tracks using ANSYS Software. Finally, the numerical results were verified by spinning experiments.

Findings

The results show that the negative velocity component along the Y-axis helps keeping beneficial hairiness. CCS has higher negative velocity value and more abundant beneficial hairiness than FRCS. The velocity component in the X-axis direction has a direct effect on yarn evenness. For the same liner density of CCS and FRCS, the larger the value of the velocity component on X-axis is, the better the yarn evenness is. For 9.7tex, CCS has larger velocity component in the X-axis direction and better yarn evenness than FRCS, showing that CCS is more suitable for spinning fine count yarn. The velocity component in the Z-axis direction has a direct effect on breaking strength. CCS has little velocity component in the Z-axis direction and little breaking strength than FRCS.

Originality/value

To know airflow field and its distribution by finite element method is helpful to investigate the condensing principles of the fiber bundle and improve yarn properties.
An intelligent approach to Big Data analytics for sustainable retail environment using Apriori-MapReduce framework
Authors: Verma Neha , Singh Jatinder
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore various limitations of conventional mining systems in extracting useful buying patterns from retail transactional databases flooded with Big Data. The key objective is to assist retail business owners to better understand the purchase needs of their customers and hence to attract customers to physical retail stores away from competitor e-commerce websites.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs a systematic and category-based review of relevant literature to explore the challenges possessed by Big Data for retail industry followed by discussion and implementation of association between MapReduce based Apriori association mining and Hadoop-based intelligent cloud architecture.

Findings

The findings reveal that conventional mining algorithms have not evolved to support Big Data analysis as required by modern retail businesses. They require a lot of resources such as memory and computational engines. This study aims to develop MR-Apriori algorithm in the form of IRM tool to address all these issues in an efficient manner.

Research limitations/implications

The paper suggests that a lot of research is yet to be done in market basket analysis, if full potential of cloud-based Big Data framework is required to be utilized.

Originality/value

This research arms the retail business owners with innovative IRM tool to easily extract comprehensive knowledge of useful buying patterns of customers to increase profits. This study experimentally verifies the effectiveness of proposed algorithm.
Knowledge prioritisation for ERP implementation success
Authors: Jayawickrama Uchitha , Liu Shaofeng , Hudson Smith Melanie
Published: July 2017

Purpose

Knowledge management is crucial for enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems implementation in real industrial environments, but this is a highly demanding task. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of knowledge identification, categorisation and prioritisation that contributes to achieving ERP implementation success.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a mixed methods approach; a qualitative phase to identify and categorise knowledge types and sub-types; conducting in-depth interviews with ERP clients and implementation partners; plus a quantitative phase to prioritise knowledge types and sub-types based on their contribution to achieving ERP success for business performance improvement. An analytic hierarchy process-based questionnaire was used to collect empirical data for the quantitative phase.

Findings

This study has been able to identify, categorise and rank various types of ERP-related knowledge based on in-depth interviews and survey responses from both ERP clients and implementation partners. In total, 4 knowledge types and 21 sub-types were ranked based on their contribution to achieving ERP success; 4 variables of information quality, systems quality, individual impact and organisational impact were used to measure ERP success.

Originality/value

The empirical findings demonstrate exactly what kinds of knowledge need to be managed, enabling knowledge prioritisation when a client organisation or an implementation partner steps into an ERP implementation, in a real industrial environment.
An MCDM project portfolio web-based DSS for sustainable strategic decision making in an electricity company
Authors: Martins Carolina Lino , López Hipólito Marcelo Losada , de Almeida Adiel Teixeira , Almeida Jonatas Araújo , Bortoluzzi Mirian Batista de Oliveira
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impacts of Portfolio size effect due to scaling issues in the outcome obtained in a project portfolio selection for an electricity company in Brazil, focusing on improving business strategic performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a web-based decision support system (DSS), in which scaling issues are considered, incorporating results of previous work. The study evaluates 32 projects from the electricity company and compared the possible results when considering different scales. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to analyze the robustness of the case, using the web-based DSS.

Findings

The results for an interval scale context showed a portfolio with 21 projects, contrasting with the correct solution of a portfolio containing 23 projects. The latter is related to a ratio scale context, with the proper transformation of weights, which was found to be robust with a sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation. This demonstrates that only appropriate models for selecting projects can improve the contribution to the company’s permanent strategies of increasing productivity, considering its constraints to achieve optimal results.

Originality/value

Additive value functions approach imposes certain requirements on the measurement scales used for the items in a portfolio that should not be ignored, once they have significant impact on the general portfolio results, which are directly related to the business strategic performance and the facilities of doing that with a web-based DSS.
Institutional inefficiency: small farms starve India’s economy
Authors: Watts Tyler , Woodruff Molly
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in property institutions in the USA and India and their effects on agricultural productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper undertakes a case study of industrial organization of agriculture, comparing agricultural development in the USA and India, with a focus on changes in farm size over time.

Findings

In the USA, unlimited individual land ownership has enabled the gradual, long-term development of scale economies in agriculture through the application of capital and technology. In contrast, land reforms in India, especially land ceilings that limit farm size, have stunted productivity growth in agriculture by limiting achievement of scale economies and capital formation.

Practical implications

The finding that India’s consistently meager agricultural productivity stems largely from legal limitations on land ownership indicates that reforms that create a US-style open-ended land ownership structure would greatly increase farm productivity and total crop output in India.

Originality/value

This paper presents a side-by-side analysis of the USA and India and their radically different paths of agricultural development over time, and connects these divergent outcomes directly to the underlying institutional framework of property rights. Moreover, the paper analyzes the prospects for pro-market reform in light of public choice political economy, specifically applying Tullock’s insights regarding the “transitional gains trap.”
Did the ACA reduce job-lock and spur entrepreneurship?
Authors: Condliffe Simon , Saboe Matt B. , Terrizzi Sabrina
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of the recent Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Dependent Mandate (DM) that requires health insurers to extend dependent coverage to the children of their insured, up to age 26. The DM has the potential to free young persons from “job lock,” enabling them to engage in entrepreneurial activity. Using the American Community Survey, the authors analyze the change in self-employment for ages 18-25 relative to the implementation of the DM.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors approach the research question in a unique manner and in doing so, extend the literature. Employing national data, the authors focus on young adults impacted by the DM (those under the age of 26 may remain on their parents’ insurance). While the DM is a condition of the ACA, prior to its implementation several states had already passed their own such provision. The authors exploit this state-by-state variation in the methodology.

Findings

The authors find no evidence that the ACA has stimulated self-employment among all young adults. However, the authors determine that the DM has a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of students being self-employed. The result is even more pronounced when using a stricter definition of entrepreneurship, an incorporated business. Sub-group analyses show no evidence of a significant effect on entrepreneurship among young adults in other groups. The results remain after conducting various falsification tests.

Originality/value

The paper empirically addresses the commonly held belief that the ACA is creating new businesses via reduced job lock. Policy makers may wish to target other explanations of job lock rather than health insurance availability.
Embedding risk in closed-loop supply chain network design
Authors: Prakash Surya , Soni Gunjan , Rathore Ajay Pal Singh
Published: July 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assist a manufacturing firm in designing the closed-loop supply chain network under risks that are affecting its supply quality and logistics operations. The modeling approach adopted aims at the embedding supply chain risks in a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network design process and suggests optimal supply chain configuration and risk mitigation strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The method proposes a closed-loop supply chain network and identifies the network parameter and variables required for closing the loop. Mixed-integer-linear-programming-based mathematical modeling approach is used to formulate the research problem. The solutions and test results are obtained from CPLEX solver.

Findings

The outcomes of the proposed model were demonstrated through a case study conducted in an Indian hospital furniture manufacturing firm. The modern supply chain is mapped to make it closed loop, and potential risks in its supply chain are identified. The supply chain network of the firm is redesigned through embedding risk in the modeling process. It was found that companies can be in great profit if they follow closed-loop practices and simultaneously keep a check on risks as well. The cost of making the supply chain risk averse was found to be insignificant.

Practical implications

Although the study was conducted in a practical case situation, the obtained results are not indiscriminate to the other circumstances. However, the approach followed and proposed methodology can be applied to many industries once a firm decides to redesign its supply chain for closing its loop or model under risks.

Originality/value

By using the identified CLSC parameters and applying the proposed network design methodology, a firm can design/redesign their supply chain network to counter the risk and accordingly come up with planned mitigation strategies to achieve a certain degree of robustness.