bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Magnetospira thiophila gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine magnetotactic bacterium that represents a novel lineage within the

Rhodospirillaceae

(

Alphaproteobacteria

)
Authors: Williams Timothy J. , Lefèvre Christopher T. , Zhao Weidong , Beveridge Terry J. , Bazylinski Dennis A.
Published: November 2011

A marine, magnetotactic bacterium, designated strain MMS-1T, was isolated from mud and water from a salt marsh in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, after enrichment in defined oxygen-concentration/redox-gradient medium. Strain MMS-1T is an obligate microaerophile capable of chemoorganoheterotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic growth. Optimal growth occurred at pH 7.0 and 24–26 °C. Chemolithoautotrophic growth occurred with thiosulfate as the electron donor and autotrophic carbon fixation was via the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle. The G+C content of the DNA of strain MMS-1T was 47.2 mol%. Cells were Gram-negative and morphologically variable, with shapes that ranged from that of a lima bean to fully helical. Cells were motile by means of a single flagellum at each end of the cell (amphitrichous). Regardless of whether grown in liquid or semi-solid cultures, strain MMS-1T displayed only polar magnetotaxis and possessed a single chain of magnetosomes containing elongated octahedral crystals of magnetite, positioned along the long axis of the cell. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain MMS-1T belongs to the family

Rhodospirillaceae

within the

Alphaproteobacteria

, and is distantly related to species of the genus

Magnetospirillum

. Strain MMS-1T is therefore considered to represent a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Magnetospira thiophila gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Magnetospira thiophila is MMS-1T ( = ATCC BAA-1438T = JCM 17960T).
Tropicimonas sediminicola sp. nov., isolated from marine sediment
Authors: Shin Na-Ri , Roh Seong Woon , Kim Min-Soo , Yun Bora , Whon Tae Woong , Kim Young-Ok , Bae Jin-Woo
Published: November 2011

A novel Gram-negative, obligately aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, strain M97T, was isolated from marine sediment of a cage-cultured ark clam farm on the south coast of Korea. Strain M97T was positive for oxidase and catalase. Optimal growth occurred at 37 °C, with 1–2 % (w/v) NaCl and at pH 7–8. The main cellular fatty acids were C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω7c, C12 : 0 3-OH and cyclo-C19 : 0ω8c. The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, an unknown aminolipid and three unknown lipids. The predominant respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10 (Q-10). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain M97T belongs to the genus

Tropicimonas

, with highest sequence similarity to

Tropicimonas aquimaris

DPG-21T (99.0 %). The DNA G+C content of strain M97T was 68.5 mol%. Mean DNA–DNA relatedness between strain M97T and

T. aquimaris

DPG-21T was 46±10 %. Based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and genotypic analyses, strain M97T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus

Tropicimonas

, for which the name Tropicimonas sediminicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is M97T ( = KACC 15544T = JCM 17731T).
Expression, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from the human pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi in complex with substrate. Corrigendum
Authors: Ortíz Cecilia , Larrieux Nicole , Medeiros Andrea , Botti Horacio , Comini Marcelo , Buschiazzo Alejandro
Published: November 2011

A figure in the article by Ortíz et al. [(2011), Acta Cryst. F67, 1457–1461] is corrected.
Does information technology affect the level of information literacy?
Authors: Isfandyari‐Moghaddam Alireza , Kashi‐Nahanji Vahideh
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The paper's aim is to study the role of information technology (IT) in the information literacy (IL) of high school students in Hamedan (Iran) through a comparative investigation into the IL skills of students of ordinary and intelligent high schools. An intelligent school refers to a school in which students make use of information technologies in education and have a lesson on “methods of research” and an ordinary school refers to a school in which students do not have any access to information technologies and have no lessons on “methods of research”.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used was experimental research with post‐test‐only control group design. The research population consisted of 364 male and female high school students at 17 years of age in two groups of test and control in two kinds of ordinary and intelligent high schools. A questionnaire was used and it was completed by students on the basis of test and control group.

Findings

The results showed that the IL level was low among all students. The overall IL mean was 260. The IL mean was higher in intelligent schools (226.05) than in ordinary schools (161.18).

Practical implications

In order to improve the IL level of students, it is recommended that schools give mandatory lessons related to research methods and IL to students. Training courses also should be offered to teachers in order to increase their knowledge of IL and their skills for teaching IL to students.

Originality/value

The findings of this research can contribute to the field of IL especially at pre‐university level.
The impact of regulatory reforms on the earnings forecasting behaviour of IPO firms
Authors: Gallery Gerry , Gallery Natalie , Linus Angela
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to jointly assess the impact of regulatory reform for corporate fundraising in Australia (CLERP Act 1999) and the relaxation of ASX admission rules in 1999, on the accuracy of management earnings forecasts in initial public offer (IPO) prospectuses. The relaxation of ASX listing rules permitted a new category of new economy firms (commitments test entities (CTEs)) to list without a prior history of profitability, while the CLERP Act (introduced in 2000) was accompanied by tighter disclosure obligations and stronger enforcement action by the corporate regulator (ASIC).

Design/methodology/approach

All IPO earnings forecasts in prospectuses lodged between 1998 and 2003 are examined to assess the pre‐ and post‐CLERP Act impact. Based on active ASIC enforcement action in the post‐reform period, IPO firms are hypothesised to provide more accurate forecasts, particularly CTE firms, which are less likely to have a reasonable basis for forecasting. Research models are developed to empirically test the impact of the reforms on CTE and non‐CTE IPO firms.

Findings

The new regulatory environment has had a positive impact on management forecasting behaviour. In the post‐CLERP Act period, the accuracy of prospectus forecasts and their revisions significantly improved and, as expected, the results are primarily driven by CTE firms. However, the majority of prospectus forecasts continue to be materially inaccurate.

Originality/value

The results highlight the need to control for both the changing nature of listed firms and the level of enforcement action when examining responses to regulatory changes to corporate fundraising activities.
“The faggot clause”: the embodiment of homophobia in the corporate locker room
Authors: Rene Gregory Michele
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between “locker room” hegemonic masculinities at work and the construction of homophobia, particularly the use of the word “fag” to describe gay men – real or perceived. Although research indicates that men are more homophobic than women, examples are presented which examine some of the reasons why women use the word “fag” at work. Although equal opportunities at work have improved for sexual minorities over the past two decades, studies indicate that some forms of anti‐lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) behaviour continue, which raises the question whether a hierarchy of inequality exists in some organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used to analyze this under‐researched phenomenon come from the author's observations working for three multinational corporations in the USA.

Findings

The paper shows how men and women engage in locker room culture to construct homophobic narratives.

Research limitations/implications

The issues raised in this article will be useful for empirical studies which examine the relationship between competitive sports and sexuality in the construction of masculine hegemonies in the workplace. Additionally, research should address the workplace experiences of sexual minorities who are also ethnic minorities, and disabled.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the largely invisible research on the role of sports culture, especially the locker room, and gender and sexuality in non‐sports work environments. It also contributes to the study of masculine embodiments by focussing on sports culture such as the locker room, heteronormative‐masculinities and homophobia.
SSHI methods for solving general linear matrix equations
Authors: Dehghan Mehdi , Hajarian Masoud
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find the efficient iterative methods for solving the general matrix equation A1X+ XA2+A3XH+XHA4=B (including Lyapunov and Sylvester matrix equations as special cases) with the unknown complex (reflexive) matrix X.

Design/methodology/approach

By applying the principle of hierarchical identification and the Hermitian/skew‐Hermitian splitting of the coefficient matrix quadruplet A1; A2; A3; A4 the authors propose a shift‐splitting hierarchical identification (SSHI) method to solve the general linear matrix equation A1X+XA2+A3XH+XHA4=B. Also, the proposed algorithm is extended for finding the reflexive solution to this matrix equation.

Findings

The authors propose two iterative methods for finding the solution and reflexive solution of the general linear matrix equation, respectively. The proposed algorithms have a simple, neat and elegant structure. The convergence analysis of the methods is also discussed. Some numerical results are given which illustrate the power and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Originality/value

So far, several methods have been presented and used for solving the matrix equations by using vec operator and Kronecker product, generalized inverse, generalized singular value decomposition (GSVD) and canonical correlation decomposition (CCD) of matrices. In several cases, it is difficult to find the solutions by using matrix decomposition and generalized inverse. Also vec operator and Kronecker product enlarge the size of the matrix greatly therefore the computations are very expensive in the process of finding solutions. To overcome these complications and drawbacks, by using the hierarchical identification principle and the Hermitian=skew‐Hermitian splitting of the coefficient matrix quadruplet (A1; A2; A3; A4), the authors propose SSHI methods for solving the general matrix equation.
Male and female auditors' overconfidence
Authors: Hardies Kris , Breesch Diane , Branson Joël
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine if there exists a gender difference in overconfidence within an auditor population. Studies outside the accounting domain have found that men are more overconfident than women. It would be worthwhile to know if such a gender difference in overconfidence also exists within the auditor population. Such a gender difference could have far‐reaching consequences; among other things, it could explain why client firms with female audit partners have significantly higher audit fees. Because of substantial self‐selection and socialization it could however be that female auditors are as overconfident as their male colleagues.

Design/methodology/approach

As is common in the psychological literature, calibration tests were used to measure the degree of overconfidence of male and female auditors.

Findings

The results provide no evidence for a gender difference in overconfidence within a population of auditors and warrant against generalizing findings from non‐audit populations to auditors.

Research limitations/implications

Consistent with previous research, overconfidence was treated as if it were a single construct. The different varieties of overconfidence may, however, not simply be interchangeable. It may be the case that one measure of overconfidence would produce a sex difference while the other would not.

Practical implications

This study contributes to the growing literature that examines the effects of gender on audit judgment and decision making. An important implication is that the results clearly warrant against generalizing findings from non‐audit populations to auditors.

Originality/value

This is the first study to investigate if a gender difference in overconfidence exists within an auditor population.
Laser microvia formation in polyimide thin films for metallization applications
Authors: Roeger Brent
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate laser microvia drilling of polyimide thin films from multiple sources before metallic sputtering. This process flow reduces Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB) material, chemical and operational costs by 90 per cent in the construction of flexible circuits.

Design/methodology/approach

The UV laser percussion drilling of microvias in 25 μm thick polyimide films with low coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and elastic modulii was investigated. Results were obtained using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Surface Profilometry. Polyimide films tested included: Dupont™ Kapton® EN; Kolon® GP and LV; Apical® NPI; and Taimide™ TA‐T.

Findings

There was no direct relationship between the top and bottom diameters and ablation depth rates between the polyimide films tested using the same test conditions. There was a direct relationship with exit diameters and etch rates at different laser pulse frequency rates and fluence levels. Laser pulse rates at 30 kHz produced 20 per cent larger exit diameters than at 70 kHz, however at 70 kHz the first pulse etched 16.5 per cent more material. High fluence levels etched more material but with a lower etch efficiency rate. Other microvia quality concerns such as surface swelling, membrane residues on the bottom side and surface debris inside the microvias were observed. Nanoscale powder‐like surface debris was observed on all samples in all test conditions.

Originality/value

This is the first comparison of material specifications and costs for films from multiple polyimide manufactures and laser microvia drilling. The paper also is the first to demonstrate results using a JDSU™ Lightwave Q302® laser rail. The results provide the first insights into potential microvia membrane issues and debris characteristics.
The policy/procedure manualpart I: making and abiding by good policies
Authors: Fitsimmons Gary
Published: November 2011

Purpose

This article's purpose is to show the importance of making and sticking to well‐made policies and how to make them.

Design/methodology/approach

The article starts with the importance of good policies and procedures, differentiates between the two and then lays out points on how to make and abide by good policies.

Findings

The findings are that making and abiding by good policies reflects the library leader's management style and the values of the institution and they are necessary for any organization to be effective in carrying out its mission.

Practical implications

Libraries need to have and abide consistently by good policies in order to function properly.

Social implications

Libraries need to have and abide consistently by good policies in order to truly benefit their constituents.

Originality/value

The value of the article is in learning how to firmly establish a basic aspect of good library management that will help the library director make sound management decisions in diverse situations.
Leadership styles and information security in small businesses
Authors: Bhattacharya Debasis
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The objective of this study is to examine information security issues within small businesses and determine whether and to what degree any relationship exists between leadership styles and the level of concern for information security problems.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an empirical study of 122 small business owners from the state of Hawaii with regards to their leadership styles and information security concerns.

Findings

The results of this study showed a significant correlation between transactional and transformational leadership styles and the level of concern towards information security problems within small businesses.

Practical implications

This research suggests that small businesses leaders need to demonstrate more than one leadership style to broaden their preparation against a range of information security issues and problems.

Originality/value

The findings may be applicable to small business leaders who proactively search for a cost‐effective and optimal combination of leadership styles, technologies, and policies that will mitigate the evolving threats of cybercrime and information security problems.
Quantifying information dynamics through a new valuation system
Authors: Vaish Abhishek , Prabhakar Aditya , Mishra Himanshu , Dayal Nupur , Singh Shishir Kumar , Goel Utkarsh , Coull Natalie
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The aim of this research is to demonstrate the importance of placing a valuation on information assets and to propose a new valuation technique that complements existing valuation methods and provides improved results. It seeks to answer the following research question: what are the attributes of information relevant to value and how can they be used to produce a valuation of the information?

Design/methodology/approach

Using a test bed, hosted on the college's intranet for 12 days, three important variables were calculated: accessibility, lifespan and outcome across five files. Calculating these three variables is essential to conducting an accurate valuation of the information asset.

Findings

The research demonstrates the relationships between these variable (accessibility, lifespan and outcome) as well as showing that they have a critical impact on the value of the information asset. The findings provide a strong rationale for the practitioner or researcher to adopt the model in real time situations. The correlation coefficients of our attributes are: 0.9996 for accessibility and lifespan; 0.9755 for accessibility and outcome and 0.9754 for lifespan and outcome.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the sensitive nature of some of the information held by the organization, the observations were somewhat limited. However, the model could be replicated with a collaborative arrangement between the organization and academia.

Practical implications

This paper aims to provide a new model for risk management that can be used effectively to conduct a valuation of information assets. The approach will help the organization to better quantify their information assets and will prove to be a useful tool for the next generation of Information security managers.

Originality/value

This paper determines the valuation of information assets based on three variables; accessibility, lifespan and outcome. These variables have been identified from the extensive literature review in the area of intangible assets.
Design of secure and trustworthy mobile agent‐based e‐marketplace system
Authors: Patel Ahmed , Qi Wei , Taghavi Mona
Published: November 2011

Purpose

Mobile agent‐based e‐marketplace is one type of business application that has been developed as a flexible and efficient approach to help companies or corporations to extend their businesses to outreach larger markets without regional and continental boundaries. However, every distributed system is unable to avoid the security problems due to the open internet environment. Mobile agent‐based e‐marketplaces are no exception. Thus, the security of mobile agents is a crucial factor in the design of mobile agent‐based e‐marketplaces. To overcome this kind of problem, the purpose of this paper is to design and implement a framework and system of secure and trustworthy mobile agent based e‐marketplace.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the system design for the system implementation based on the designed framework. It includes three major aspects: the design issues, system design and development environment and tools for system implementation. The system architecture, use case diagram and use case specifications are presented in the system design section.

Findings

The system design is an essential step that is required before a prototype system is implemented. The system is designed based on the described and outlined requirements and evaluation criteria, therefore, to support a secure and trustworthy trading environment. The paper is concluded by discussing and highlighting further research work.

Originality/value

This paper presents the system design for implementing a secure and trustworthy mobile agent‐based e‐marketplace system by using the latest version of UML modeling tool and techniques.
Forecasting confidence under segment reporting
Authors: Birt Jacqueline , Shailer Greg
Published: November 2011

Purpose

Changes in Australian segment reporting standards over the last decade changed the required disaggregation of segment information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether increased disaggregation has implications for users' confidence in decisions based on segment reports and perceptions of segment reporting usefulness.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an experiment based on the differences between the original AASB 1005 and the more detailed requirements of AASB 114, the authors test whether segment report users' confidence in forecasting and their perceptions of segment report usefulness differ between the different information sets provided under these standards.

Findings

It was found that the more disaggregated or finer reports based on AASB 114 provide significantly more confidence to users, compared to the coarser segment reports based on the original AASB 1005, but this is not associated with differences in segment report usefulness scores.

Research limitations/implications

The authors' experiment is based on AASB 1005 and AASB 114 and the results cannot be generalized to differences with other reporting standards. Examination of differences in recently released AASB 8 may reveal different implications for users' confidence and perceptions of usefulness. More generally, other tests of usefulness are needed to confirm whether opinions of usefulness that are not confirmed by decision‐making practices provide a reliable basis for determining usefulness.

Practical implications

By confirming that decision makers' confidence can be increased by the provision of finer information sets, the authors' results have practical implications for accounting standard setting.

Originality/value

By testing the impact of report differences on user decision confidence, the paper addresses a previously overlooked issue.
Developing and enhancing independent learning skills
Authors: Luke Belinda , Hogarth Kate
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of short video tutorials in a post‐graduate accounting subject, as a means of helping students develop and enhance independent learning skills.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, five short (approximately five to 10 minutes) video tutorials were introduced in an effort to shift the reliance for learning from the lecturer to the student. Data on students' usage of online video tutorials, and comments by students in university questionnaires were collated over three semesters from 2008 to 2009. Interviews with students were then conducted in late 2009 to more comprehensively evaluate the use and perceived benefits of video tutorials.

Findings

Findings reveal preliminary but positive outcomes in terms of both more efficient and effective teaching and learning.

Research limitations/implications

The shift towards more independent learning through the use of video tutorials has positive implications for educators, employers, and professional accounting bodies; each of whom has identified the need for this skill in accounting graduates.

Practical implications

The use of video tutorials has the potential for more rewarding teaching and more effective learning.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to examine the use and benefits of video tutorials as a means of developing independent learning skills in accountancy students – addressing a key concern within the profession.
Culture and international trade: evidence from Canada
Authors: Yeganeh Hamid
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture on international trade.

Design/methodology/approach

A measure of the cultural distance is incorporated into the Gravity model to test the marginal effects of cultural variables on bilateral trade between Canada and 53 other countries. In addition to the cultural distance and economic factors, other control variables such as religion and language commonalities are included.

Findings

After controlling for the size of GDP and linguistic commonality, the effects of culture on international trade are found to be insignificant. The empirical analysis shows that while the linguistic commonality has positive implications for international trade, the cultural distance and religion commonality do not seem important.

Research limitations/implications

What is true for the Canadian international trade may not be true for other countries, especially for developing nations. Moreover, this study is limited to the Schwartz's cultural dimensions.

Practical implications

Managers should not stay away from culturally dissimilar partners as long as trade is economically beneficial. Instead, they should pay attention to training bilingual agents and standardizing trade procedures in order to streamline the negative effects of linguistic dissimilarity.

Originality/value

This study refutes the generally accepted idea that culture is subversive to any cross‐border business activity.
Values and psychological contracts in their relationship to commitment in the workplace
Authors: Cohen Aaron
Published: November 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to examine relationships between individual‐level values, psychological contracts, and six workplace commitment forms (organizational, occupational, group, work, job, union). It also seeks to examine whether individual values and psychological contracts relate to commitment forms when controlling for demographic variables.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 313 employees of a major bank in Israel took part in this survey study.

Findings

The findings show that individual values, particularly those that represent more traditional and conservative values, relate to commitment forms above and beyond the effect of the demographic variables. The results also show strong positive relationships between relational contracts and all of the commitment forms.

Research limitations/implications

The study relied upon a snapshot‐in‐time survey design. Such a design consists of a single observation with no control group and limited control over the effects of variables. Also, only one professional group, bank employees, was examined here, and one should be cautious about generalizing the results to other occupational groups.

Originality/value

An important contribution of this study is the examination of the psychological contract in its relationship to commitment, a relationship thus far little examined in the literature. Another important contribution of this study is its exploration of how psychological contracts relate to other forms of commitment in addition to organizational commitment.
Do women's networks help advance women's careers?
Authors: O'Neil Deborah A. , Hopkins Margaret M. , Sullivan Sherry E.
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The use of women's networks is emerging as one method of advancing women's careers within organizations. However, the value of these networks has been questioned. The purpose of this study is to examine how potential differences in the perceptions of network members and the firm's executive leadership about the purposes and anticipated outcomes of a women's network may impact women's career advancement.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 21 members of an intra‐firm women's network and six members of the executive leadership team of a global organization. To examine the qualitative data, they used a process of thematic analysis to discover prevalent themes in the transcribed interviews.

Findings

Both members of the women's network and the executive leadership team placed responsibility for women's career advancement upon the individual; the firm's male‐dominated culture and organizational constraints were not emphasized. While members of the women's network recognized how the network could be used to contribute to the firm's strategic goals, the executive leadership team did not recognize the network's possible effect on the firm's bottom line.

Originality/value

Examines how potential differences in the perceptions of network members and the firm's executive leadership about the purposes and anticipated outcomes of a women's network may impact women's career advancement.
Preliminary evaluation of personality disorder awareness workshops for prison staff
Authors: Maltman Lisa , Hamilton Laura
Published: November 2011

Purpose

Positive professional attitudes towards personality‐disordered clients have been linked with extensive clinical and strategic benefits. The largest influences upon such attitudes are associated with staff training, supervision and support. This preliminary evaluation seeks to consider the effect of an introductory personality disorder awareness workshop upon trainees' attitudes towards personality disordered prisoners.

Design/methodology/approach

The attitude towards personality disorder questionnaire (APDQ) was administered to prison staff (predominantly prison officers) immediately before the workshop and then re‐tested, on average, two months later.

Findings

The study sample (n=26) showed significant improvements on the “security versus vulnerability” APDQ sub‐scale. The remaining four sub‐scales and overall APDQ scores showed no significant change.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that personality disorder awareness training should initially engage with trainees' perceptions of their personal security and vulnerability when working with this client group, rather than aiming to increase liking, enjoyment and acceptance of such offenders.

Originality/value

This study marks a preliminary analysis of a new personality disorder awareness training programme.
A method to assess search engine results
Authors: Bar‐Ilan Judit , Levene Mark
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology for assessing search results retrieved from different sources.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a two phase method, where in the first stage users select and rank the ten best search results from a randomly ordered set. In the second stage they are asked to choose the best pre‐ranked result from a set of possibilities. This two‐stage method allows users to consider each search result separately (in the first stage) and to express their views on the rankings as a whole, as they were retrieved by the search provider. The method was tested in a user study that compared different country‐specific search results of Google and Live Search (now Bing). The users were Israelis and the search results came from six sources: Google Israel, Google.com, Google UK, Live Search Israel, Live Search US and Live Search UK. The users evaluated the results of nine pre‐selected queries, created their own preferred ranking and picked the best ranking from the six sources.

Findings

The results indicate that the group of users in this study preferred their local Google interface, i.e. Google succeeded in its country‐specific customisation of search results. Live Search was much less successful in this aspect.

Research limitations/implications

Search engines are highly dynamic, thus the findings of the case study have to be viewed cautiously.

Originality/value

The main contribution of the paper is a two‐phase methodology for comparing and evaluating search results from different sources.
Comparing Google to a digital reference service for answering factual and topical requests by keyword and question queries
Authors: Vakkari Pertti
Published: November 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to evaluate to what extent Google retrieved correct answers to queries inferred from factual and topical requests in a digital Ask‐a‐Librarian service.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 100 factual and 100 topical questions were picked from a digital reference service run by public libraries. The inferred queries simulated average web queries. They were expressed as separate keywords and as questions. The top ten retrieval results were observed for each answer. The inspection was stopped when the first correct answer was identified.

Findings

Google retrieved correct answers to 42 percent of the topical questions and 29 percent of factual questions by keyword queries. The performance of queries in question form was considerably weaker. The results concerning the characteristics of queries and retrieval effectiveness are also presented. Evaluations indicate that the public library reference services answered at least 55 percent of the questions correctly. Thus Google did not outperform the Ask‐a‐Librarian service.

Originality/value

The study introduces a new way of evaluating search engines by comparing their performance with other related services such as an Ask‐a‐Librarian service.
Using a Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process to evaluate Chinese search engines
Authors: Zhu Qinghua , Tina Du Jia , Meng Fei , Wu Kewen , Sun Xiaoling
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop an evaluation criteria system for search engines using the Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process, and to conduct an empirical study on Chinese search engines to verify it. This is because the evaluation criteria in current research rarely considers expert opinions and experience, and seldom calculates the weight of each criterion by quantitative methods.

Design/methodology/approach

Expert investigation of the web‐based Delphi method was employed to develop the evaluation criteria, and the analytic hierarchy process based on an exponential scale was adopted to calculate the weight of each criterion. An empirical study was designed to test the evaluation criteria system. A total of 12 study participants were invited to evaluate six popular Chinese search engines by means of e‐mail questionnaires. All the calculation processes were executed automatically by Java programming.

Findings

The indexing structure and search method were the core criteria for evaluating the search engines. Google (using simplified Chinese characters) achieved the best performance among the six typical Chinese search engines.

Originality/value

The criteria for search engine evaluation were determined and weighted by the web‐based Delphi method and the analytic hierarchy process based on an exponential scale.
Assessing the awareness of total quality management in Indian service industries
Authors: Talib Faisal , Rahman Zillur , Qureshi M.N.
Published: November 2011

Purpose

Total quality management (TQM) has begun to influence national business systems and is widely seen as a “revolution” in management. TQM initiatives continuously search the needs of the customers and incorporate them in the organization on an ongoing basis. For this reason, the majority of research study has been undertaken in this field and is still going on across the world, especially in the developing countries, which are lagging behind in the implementation of TQM. Considering the above reasons, the purpose of this paper is to assess the awareness of TQM program in the Indian service industries.

Design/methodology/approach

By means of a literature review and empirical data collected using a self‐administered instrument distributed to select Indian service companies, the awareness of TQM was investigated. A total of 172 useable survey instruments were included for the final analysis. This study sample consisted of a group of selected Indian service companies from healthcare, information and communication technology (ICT), banking, and hospitality industries. The data were analyzed using graphical representation approach, descriptive statistical analysis, and correlation analysis.

Findings

The analysis revealed the significance and usage of TQM in Indian service industries. The results also suggested that the Indian service industries are well aware of the TQM program, though more efforts need to be focused on implementing it properly, use of TQM models and frameworks, and continuously improving the ongoing TQM practices.

Research limitations/implications

Indian service managers show a stronger familiarity with TQM concepts and practices and they believe that TQM is a way of guaranteeing high quality products and services. Therefore, service companies should invest in TQM, as this could help them to improve competitiveness in the marketplace. Further, the Indian service managers and practitioners must be more concerned about the maintenance of standards and take a more dynamic approach towards TQM, thus preparing their company more effective for future challenges.

Practical implications

The result provided in this paper will help in understanding the TQM awareness in the Indian service sector as a whole and suggest some additional improvements in the knowledge of TQM to the managers of Indian service industries which could enhance the level of TQM implementation and hence, business performance.

Originality/value

The assessment of TQM awareness in Indian service industries, along with the understanding of the concept of TQM, has been expanded in the literature on TQM in the Indian service industry.
A sustainable tourism mobility passage
Authors: Verbeek D.H.P. , Bargeman A. , Mommaas J.T.
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The European Alpine region is an important tourism destination that at the same time faces environmental challenges. In aiming for a sustainable development of Alpine tourism, tourism boards and municipalities of 22 villages cooperate in the Alpine Pearls (AP) association. The main goal of the AP association is to develop an integrated, continuous passage for sustainable tourism mobility, which improves the possibilities for environmentally friendly travel to, between, and in the Alpine Pearls villages. This paper aims to focus on whether and how this “passage” enables tourists to travel smoothly, problem‐free and environmentally friendly to and in the Alpine region.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyse the Alpine Pearls holiday, the authors use a theoretical framework based on the social practices approach (SPA), which offers a contextual approach to consumption behaviour. The dynamics between travellers and providers of sustainable tourism and travel services along the passage of the Alpine Pearls holiday are the main interest. Data have been gathered through participant observation and interviews with informants.

Findings

The research points, among other things, to the fact that the creation of a passage for environmental‐friendly Alpine holidays is complicated by the nationally organised railway infrastructures and the sectorially organised tourism industry.

Originality/value

Evaluating sustainable tourism mobility passages on the level of holiday practices is a new contextual approach that can be of value to both tourism scholars and the tourism industry.
Enabling user to user interactions in web lectures with history‐aware user awareness
Authors: Ketterl Markus , Mertens Robert , Wiesen Christoph , Vornberger Oliver
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a user interface for web lectures for engaging with other users while working with video based learning content. The application allows its users to ask questions about the content and to get answers from those users that currently online are more familiar with it. The filtering is based on the evaluation of past user interaction data in time‐based media.

Design/methodology/approach

The work is implemented as a prototype application in the context of the Opencast Matterhorn project – an open source based project for producing, managing and distributing academic video content. The application compares users viewing behavior and allows communication with others that are good candidates to answer questions.

Findings

Different filtering approaches for identifying suitable candidates are being discussed that foster past interactions in time‐based media.

Practical implications

The paper shows that web lectures can benefit from user awareness ideas and presents examples of how learners can benefit from the knowledge of other users who are working with the same video based content.

Originality/value

User awareness has become an important feature in today's Web 2.0 experience. The paper discusses different user awareness models and explains how they can be adapted to time‐based video content. The presented work is available as a plug‐in for the Opencast Matterhorn project.
An investigation on the role of multimodal metaphors in e‐feedback interfaces
Authors: Rigas Dimitrios , Alharbi Abdulrhman
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usability (effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction) of e‐feedback interfaces. The experiment compares a traditional visual approach with a multimodal approach in order to determine the impact of multimodal metaphors upon the user's understanding, reasoning and engagement with the e‐feedback.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical investigation involved visual (text with graphical illustrations) and multimodal (audio‐visual with expressive avatars and recorded speech) experimental e‐feedback platforms. Both experimental platforms provided the same e‐feedback but used different interaction metaphors to convey the information. The evaluation approach measured effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction.

Findings

The results showed that the multimodal approach increased usability in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and engagement of users with the e‐feedback. There is a very clear prima facie case that combining different communication metaphors to convey information involved in the e‐feedback simultaneously does not increase the information overload on users. This however was observed to be the case when the visual channel was used.

Originality/value

This paper introduces a unique approach that uses specific combinations of multimodal metaphors to communicate information about e‐feedback simultaneously. This approach increased the usability of e‐feedback and user's engagement in interfaces for e‐learning applications.
A survey on internet‐enabled physical annotation systems
Authors: Alzahrani Ahmad A. , Loke Seng W. , Lu Hongen
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the related issues of physical annotation systems and also to study their historical development. Moreover, the paper provides a taxonomy of physical annotation systems, including augmented reality systems and concludes with future challenges concerning such systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors first provide a review and a comparison of existing physical annotation systems. The authors' classification of the physical annotation systems is based on the capabilities they provide.

Findings

Physical annotation systems evolve as technology progresses. However, there are issues such as cognitive overload, trust, transient associations, and integrating of social networking with physical annotations.

Research limitations/implications

As technology develops, physical annotations will become increasingly important in daily life. Hence, there are important research issues to address with regards to physical annotation systems.

Practical implications

New better physical annotation systems are needed, which will change the way we do things in life, including personal memory, tourism, commerce, security, games, traffic management, entertainment and health.

Social implications

Physical annotation systems will affect the relationships between people, between people and places and between people and things. There is a potential shift in the way people view the physical world, not only as what we see but as what we see through the devices we carry.

Originality/value

The paper is an original review of physical annotation systems; there does not seem to be many such reviews on this area. The paper presents a set of future challenges regarding such systems.
Towards probabilistic arbitration in sensors integration
Authors: Mohd Puzi Shazirawati , Salleh Shaharuddin , Ishak Ruzana , Olariu Stephan
Published: November 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to model an important aspect of the problem of sensor information integration that arises in wireless communications, where N sensors try to communicate with a receiver using a single un‐shareable radio channel. If several sensors transmit at the same time, their transmissions collide at the receiver resulting in garbled messages and the need for re‐transmission. This is highly undesirable since the sensors are energy‐constrained and the radio interface is known to be the most significant source of energy expenditure. Consequently, it is of paramount importance to design arbitration protocols that are highly efficient in stamping out collisions and that are, at the same time, as lightweight as possible.

Design/methodology/approach

The receiver advertises a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame consisting of n slots, numbered from 1 to n, where n is an application‐dependent parameter. Each sensor generates uniformly at random, and independently of other sensor, an integer i between 1 and n and transmits in the i‐th slot of the TDMA frame. If two or more sensors are transmitting in the same slot their messages will be lost to collision. Similarly, slots that carry no transmission are wasted. The authors model the arbitration strategy discussed above as a Bose‐Einstein occupancy problem where N indistinguishable balls are thrown at random into n distinguishable bins and all distinguishable outcomes are considered to be equally likely.

Findings

In this paper the authors present a distributed probabilistic mechanism that aims to arbitrate between several competing requests by various sensors for the radio channel. The mechanism is simple, energy‐efficient and does not rely on the existence of unique sensor identifiers (IDs).

Originality/value

The Bose‐Einstein occupancy model presented in this paper will help the receiver to tailor an appropriate number of timeslots in TDMA frame during the integration process, such that collisions are minimized, and hence integration between sensors can be done effectively.