bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preliminary studies on the microbiological and physico‐chemical characteristics of fermented pounded yam
Authors: Otunola E.T. , Ogunbiyi R.S.
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the microbiological and physico‐chemical characteristics of fermented pounded yam, a unique and popular food of the Igbominas of Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Fresh pounded yam was prepared in the laboratory by a modification of the traditional method, and then fermented for varying periods of time (0‐96hrs), also essentially by the traditional method. Analysis was carried out on the products following documented and established procedures.

Findings

Data obtained indicated noticeable increases in the populations of all the groups of microorganisms investigated with increases in fermentation time, except coliforms which declined in population after 24 hours. Heating of the samples after each fermentation interval resulted in significant reductions in microbial populations such that coliforms could not even be detected after 24 hours of fermentation. Lactic acid production, an indication of flavour development, and pH drop were highest at 48 hours of fermentation. The samples also became softer with increases in fermentation period. The heated samples were considered safe microbiologically, since they contained neither coliforms nor faecal coliforms.

Research limitations/implications

The consumption of fermented pounded yam is encouraged since it is safe microbiologically and develops a desired flavour, while further research should be carried out on the nutritional benefits.

Practical implications

The findings here suggested that adequate heating after fermentation is necessary to eliminate any potential microbial contamination, and for full flavour development.

Originality/value

The results of this research contribute to the knowledge of fermented foods, especially those that are indigenous to Nigeria and West Africa.
Genetically modified foods: the effect of information
Authors: Batrinou Anthimia M. , Dimitriou Evangelia , Liatsos Dionisios , Pletsa Vassiliki
Published: May 2005

Purpose

This paper examines the attitudes of young Greek University students towards genetically modified (GM) foods and studies the effect of appropriate information in shaping this attitude.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was distributed to 433 Greek students of the Technological Educational Institute of Athens during the academic year 2003‐2004. Results were processed by SPSS 11.0.

Findings

The survey reveals that although Greek University students are more informed than the general population about genetic modification issues, still a large proportion (48 per cent) are unaware of what is exactly a GM plant and 55.3 per cent believe that GM foods may impose risks for public health and the environment. However, after reading a short informative statement the “negative” attitude of respondents is decreased by 15.5 percentage units and the “positive” attitude is increased by 13.2 percentage units. These results show that appropriate information could affect the acceptability of a technological innovation. Future research is required to investigate how scientists could intervene in order to make the GM issue clear on a scientific basis.

Originality/value

The findings of this study could be useful to those who are seeking to elucidate the complex issue of GM food acceptance and have an interest in establishing communication between the scientific community and the public, such as regulatory authorities, the industry or academics.
Coeliac disease: an overview
Authors: Mendoza Nicky , McGough Norma
Published: May 2005

Purpose of the paper

This paper gives an overview of the prevalence, symptoms, diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and associated disorders. It also gives some background to gluten testing in foods and developments in identification of gluten‐free foods at consumer level.

Design/methodology/approach

The most up‐to‐date literature on various aspects of the disease have been considered and included in the report.

Findings

Coeliac disease is now known to affect one in 100 of the population, including both adults and children. As more is understood about the pathophysiology of the disease and antibody screening techniques improve rates of diagnosis are increasing. The biopsy is still required for a firm diagnosis. The range of symptoms that is now recognised is far wider than previously thought, but symptoms are still often missed, or mis‐diagnosed as IBS. The treatment for coeliac disease is the gluten‐free diet, which controls the symptoms and reduces the risk of complications such as osteoporosis and gut cancer. Prescriptions of gluten‐free foods are known to improve adherence to the diet, and with the range of suitable foods in supermarkets increasing rapidly, gluten‐free living is becoming easier.

Originality/value

Information on several aspects of coeliac disease are presented in this paper to give the non‐expert a general, up‐to‐date overview of the disease.
Integrating food hygiene into quantity food production systems
Authors: Amjadi Keyvan , Hussain Kashif
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The aim of the study is to integrate food hygiene into quantity food production systems.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study illustrates the concepts of food hygiene and standard operation of food production systems in detail, and it integrates both of these concepts evidencing that an integrated system can be used as a primary function of every establishment with regard to serving food safely.

Findings

A successful food hygiene system must consist of four components: maintaining safe conditions for the food from the time of purchasing to the time it is served to the customer, development of hygienic behavior in the employees that come in contact, in any way, with the customers’ meal, maintaining clean and sanitary facilities, and application of an adequate Pest Control Management system.

Originality/value

By integrating food hygiene into the operational systems, a powerful message will be sent to the personnel; that food hygiene is a primary function of the establishment and must at all times be enforced.
Lubrication of porous parallel plate slider bearing with slip velocity, material parameter and magnetic fluid
Authors: Shah Rajesh C. , Bhat M.V.
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Our purpose was to theoretically analyse the effects of slip velocity and a magnetic fluid lubricant characterised by a material parameter on a parallel plate porous slider bearing. Various special cases were also discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis might be useful in designing better slider bearings useful in machines like gas turbines.

Findings

Computed values displayed in tabular form show that frictional force on the slider and the coefficient of friction decreased, the load capacity and the position of the centre of pressure unaltered when the slip parameter was increased. On the other hand, increase in the material parameter caused decrease in the frictional force and the coefficient of friction and, shift of the position of the centre of pressure towards the bearing inlet with no change in the load capacity of the bearing.

Originality/value

The parallel plate slider bearing cannot support a load with a conventional lubricant. However, it can support a load with a magnetic fluid lubricant with less frictional force on the slider.
New designs of magnetic fluid exclusion seals for rolling bearings
Authors: Ochonski Wlodzimierz
Published: May 2005

Purpose

To present some new designs of magnetic fluid exclusion seals for rolling bearings and possibility to use them in modern industrial sealing applications.

Design/methodology/approach

In the paper is given principle of magnetic fluid sealing technology and are presented new designs of magnetic fluid exclusion seals for rolling bearings, such as compact magnetic fluid seals, two‐stages seals being combination of magnetic fluid seal and labyrinth seal or radial lip seal, magnetic fluid seals with “floating” magnetic system. This paper also shows examples of their application in various rotating process equipment.

Findings

Provides information about new designs of bearing seals and gives the main advantages of these seals over other types, such as total tightness, low viscous drag, maintenance‐free service and high reliability.

Originality/value

This paper offers some new designs of high‐performance magnetic fluid exclusion seals for rolling bearings and points their practical applications.
A note on the flow coefficients of capillary tube and small orifice restrictors exposed to very low Reynolds number flow
Authors: Canbazoğlu Suat , Canbulut Fazıl
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The main objective of this study was to obtain the flow restricting capacity by determining their flow coefficients and to investigate the unsteady flow with low Reynolds number in the flow‐restricting devices such as orifices and capillary tubes having small diameters.

Design/methodology/approach

There is an enormous literature on the flow of Newtonian fluids through capillaries and orifices particularly in many application fields of the mechanical and chemical engineering. But most of the experimental results in literature are given for steady flows at moderate and high Reynolds numbers (Re>500). In this study, the unsteady flow at low Reynolds number (10<Re<650) through flow‐restricting devices such as orifices and capillary tubes having very small diameters between 0.35 and 0.70 mm were experimentally investigated.

Findings

The capillary tubes have much more capillarity property with respect to equal diameter orifices. Increasing the ratio of capillary tube length to tube diameter and decreasing the ratio of orifice diameter to pipe diameter before orifice increase the throttling or restricting property of the orifices and the capillary tubes. The orifices can be preferred to the capillary tubes having the same diameter at the same system pressure for the hydraulic systems or circuits requiring small velocity variations. The capillary tubes provide higher pressure losses and they can be also used as hydraulic accumulators in hydraulic control devices to attenuate flow‐induced vibrations because of their large pressure coefficients. An important feature of the results obtained for capillary tubes and small orifices is that as thed/Dfor orifices increases and theL/dreduces for capillary tubes, higher valuesCare obtained and the transition from viscous to inertia‐controlled flow appears to take place at lower Reynolds numbers. This may be explained by the fact that for small orifices with highd/Dratios and for capillary tubes with smallL/dratios, the losses due to viscous shear are small. Another important feature of the results is that the least variations inCfor small orifices and the higher variations inCfor capillary tubes occur when thed/DandL/dratios are smallest. This has favourable implications in hydraulic control devices since a constant value for theCmay be assumed even at relatively low values of Re.

Originality/value

To the authors' knowledge, there is not enough information in the literature about the flow coefficients of unsteady flows through capillary tubes and small orifices at low Reynolds numbers. This paper fulfils this gap.
Dicarboxylic acid esters as components of modern synthetic oils
Authors: Gryglewicz S. , Oko F. A.
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The paper presents the results of research carried out on esters of carbonic, adipic, and sebacic acids with respect to their use as components of fully synthetic lubricating oil produced from a polyalphaolefin base. Straight dicarboxylic acid esters were synthesized in a transesterification reaction of dimethyl carbonate, dimethyl adipate, and dimethyl sebacate with 2‐ethylhexanol and 3,5,5‐trimethylhexanol.

Design/methodology/approach

Oligomeric esters of adipic acid and sebacic acid were synthesized using neopentyl glycol, appropriate dimethyl adipate or dimethyl sebacate and 2‐ethylhexanol as the starting material. The basic physicochemical properties of esters were determined and their compatibility with synthetic oils were defined. They were also evaluated with respect to resistance under the influence of thermo‐oxidative factors, evaporation and susceptibility to hydrolytic decomposition. The selected esters were complemented with commercial additives to make up a fully synthetic lubricating oil with a polialphaolefin base. A special attention was paid to the effect of ester compounds on the physicochemical properties of the formulated oil.

Findings

The obtained results show that straight adipates and sebacates of 2‐ethylhexanol and 3,5,5‐trimethylhexanol as well as oligomeric esters in which molecules are terminated with 2‐ethylhexyl group can be used as component of lubricating oils. The addition of these esters reduced the pour point by a few degrees in comparison with the tested base oil. The temperature fell below 40°C. The presence of esters significantly improved the viscosity index. A positive influence of esters on the lubricating properties of the formulated oil was also observed. On the contrary, dialkyl carbonates show too low boiling point, which is indicated by the high amount of volatile components, 19‐22 percent, in final product. Adipic and sebacic oligomers containing methoxyl groups in their structures proved to be immiscible with polyalphaolefins.

Originality/value

The achievement of this work is the synthesis of new oligomeric esters of dicarboxylic acids, which can be excellent additives for improving properties of synthetic oils. Further studies will be focused on the use of esters as components of engine oils. This requires real motor tests.
The effect of paid employment on university students' lives
Authors: Manthei Robert J. , Gilmore Alison
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Owing to the increasing debt students are accumulating to finance their tertiary study, many are having to work during term time. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of this paid employment on their study time and other aspects of their lives.

Design/methodology approach

Eighty three undergraduates completed a questionnaire about their academic workload, their paid employment commitments during term time, their earnings and expenditure, and their recreational and cultural activities.

Findings

Results indicated that 81 per cent of the students held at least one job during term time for an average of 14 hours per week. The money earned was typically spent on essential living expenses. Working left less time than desired for social activities, study and recreation.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are limited by the relatively small sample size of self‐selected students: mainly young, female and enrolled in Arts courses.

Practical implications

The results suggest that working is not always detrimental to students' academic efforts, particularly if the hours worked are manageable given their course load. Lecturers should be more aware of the busy lives students lead and try to structure assignments and course requirements to recognise this, including the scheduling of class times and the offering of study support services.

Originality/value

The study adds to the growing body of international data that reports on the effects of a user‐pays approach in tertiary education. There is no similar data in New Zealand.
A study of collaborative learning style and team learning performance
Authors: Julie Yazici Hulya
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Self‐directed work teams are seen as an important mechanism for dealing with today's complex and rapidly changing business environment. Team learning is an attempt to prepare students to real‐world experiences. But, not all teamwork is effective. This paper aims to examine the influence of learning style preferences on team learning performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The Grasha‐Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS) is used to assess the learning style preferences of business students enrolled in an operations management class.

Findings

Students were found to be collaborative learners. Students' collaborative orientation complements participation and helps students to compete, which in turn increases team performance. In addition, influence of learning style varies with educational experience, gender and major. Graduate students showed to be collaborative and independent learners. As such, while personal model and formal authority teaching styles fit best undergraduates' learning preferences, at the graduate level, instructor' role changes to facilitator and delegator.

Originality/value

Provides evidence that learning style preferences are valuable for engaging learners in various collaborative activities and for designing successful diverse teams.
Digital libraries in the knowledge era
Authors: Lytras Miltiadis , Sicilia Miguel‐Angel , Davies John , Kashyap Vipul
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to introduce the special issue on the Semantic Web. Intensive research has been undertaken worldwide in research centres and several achievements have been accomplished towards the ultimate objective: the expression and the exploitation of humanity's collective knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi‐fold strategy for the preparation of this special issue was deployed. Given the special characteristics, a balanced mix of introductory papers to the topic, and also advanced research papers at the leading edge of Semantic Web evolution, were selected.

Findings

The paper summarizes the articles of the issue and also provides help in understanding the Semantic Web Roadmap of Digital Libraries.

Originality/value

Introduces the papers in the special issue.
Libraries as knowledge management centers
Authors: Parker Kevin R. , Nitse Philip S. , Flowers Kay A.
Published: May 2005

Purpose – This paper proposes enhancing libraries to act as knowledge management centers for small businesses, providing both knowledge management (KM) and competitive intelligence (CI) services. Design/methodology/approach – The requirements for a Library Knowledge Management Center (LKMC) are presented and briefly examined. KM, CI, ontologies, and the Semantic Web are all considered, and the steps needed to realize a LKMC are presented. Findings – An approach to developing a LKMC is provided, as is a rationale for the proposal. Future research issues for realization of this proposal are addressed. Research limitations/implications – This paper presents a conceptual overview of a project that is still in its early stages, and as such its practicality is difficult to evaluate. Practical implications – This proposal, if followed up with future research, will prove beneficial to both small business and to libraries. Small businesses are not always able to gather sufficient internal and external knowledge to assist in strategic planning and positioning, and thus are unable to compete with larger rivals whose resources allow them to develop sophisticated KM and CI systems. LKMCs hold promise to level the playing field. Libraries benefit because this reaffirms their relevance in a digital age in which so much information is freely available to patrons. Originality/value – This paper proposes a new service for libraries, one that will assist small businesses in competing more effectively with larger competitors.
Semantic Web technologies for digital libraries
Authors: Sure York , Studer Rudi
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview about the Semantic Web, its importance and history and an overview of recent Semantic Web technologies which can be used to enhance digital libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper answers, at least partially, questions like “What is the Semantic Web?”, “How could the Semantic Web look like?”, “Why is the Semantic Web important?”, “What are ontologies?” and “Where are we now?”. Several pointers to further literature and web sites complete the overview.

Findings

Semantic Web technologies are valuable add‐ons for digital libraries. There already exist numerous academic and commercial tools which can be applied right now.

Practical limitations/implications

The overview of Semantic Web technologies cannot be complete in such an article, therefore we limit ourselves to the most prominent technologies available. However, following the pointers given readers can easily find more information.

Originality/value

The article is of particular value for newcomers in this area.
Applying semantic technology to a digital library: a case study
Authors: Warren Paul , Alsmeyer David
Published: May 2005

Purpose

To describe how semantic knowledge technology can be used to enhance a digital library.

Design

The paper examines the main research challenges in the field of digital libraries and identifies the extent to which semantic knowledge technology can be used to respond to these challenges. Functionality developed within the SEKT project (http://sekt.semanticweb.org) is used to enhance an existing digital library. The development of a good ontology is central to such an application, and the paper describes the particular ontology engineering approach adopted.

Findings

Four broad challenges were identified: achieving interoperability; describing objects and repositories; managing multimedia collections; and improving user interfaces and human‐computer interaction. The SEKT digital library case study is using semantic knowledge technology to respond to the first two and the last of these. The paper describes how this is being done and the kind of enhanced functionality being developed.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in understanding how semantic knowledge technology can enhance information management in general and a digital library in particular.
Integrating semantic metadata in P2P‐based digital libraries
Authors: Ding Hao
Published: May 2005

Purpose

To propose methods for expressing semantics and operating semantics in largely distributed environment, such as peer‐to‐peer (P2P) based digital libraries (DLs) where heterogeneous schemas may exist and the relationships among them must be explicated for better performance in information searching.

Design/methodology/approach

In conventional solutions, a mediator is adopted to create and maintain the matching between relevant terms such that distinct but relevant metadata schemas can be integrated according to the mapping relationships in the mediator. However, such solutions suffer some problems originated from the static matching in mediator. This paper proposes to use facts to express the relationships among heterogeneous schemas and conduct the reasoning dynamically by using inference engines.

Findings

It is justified to use facts and inference engines to express and operate the semantics among heterogeneous but relevant information resources. The user can choose to convert only part of the XML document into facts if she can unpeel deeply nested XML tags. Additionally, it is possible for the user to manually edit (assert, update or retract) the facts as needed in the reasoning.

Research limitations/implications

The study assumes that peers are clustered according to shared topics or interest. An exhaust evaluation has not been conducted.

Practical implications

Each node can publish its schema to the involved peer community such that other peers can automatically discover the specific schema. A local matchmaking engine is adopted as well in order to automatically generate the relations between its own schema and the retrieved ones.

Originality/value

This paper provides a framework for semantic data integration in P2P networks.
Building a distributed digital library for natural disasters metadata with grid services and RDF
Authors: Xing Wei , Dikaiakos Marios D. , Yang Hua , Sphyris Angelos , Eftichidis George
Published: May 2005

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the main challenges of identifying and accessing useful information and knowledge about natural hazards and disasters results. The paper presents a grid‐based digital library system designed to address the challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

The need to organize and publish metadata about European research results in the field of natural disasters has been met with the help of two innovative technologies: the Open Grid Service Architecture (OGSA) and the Resource Description Framework (RDF). OGSA provides a common platform for sharing distributed metadata securely. RDF facilitates the creation and exchange of metadata.

Findings

Using grid technology allows the RDF metadata of European research results in the field of natural disasters to be shared securely and effectively in a heterogeneous network environment.

Originality/value

A metadata approach is proposed for the extraction of the metadata, and their distribution to third parties in batch, and their sharing with other applications can be a quickly process. Furthermore, a method is set out to describe metadata in a common and open format, which can become a widely accepted standard; the existence of a common standard enables the metadata storage in different platforms while supporting the capability of distributed queries across different metadata databases, the integration of metadata extracted from different sources, etc. It can be used for the general‐purpose search engines.
Reasoning against a semantic digital library framework based on grid technology
Authors: Papadakis Ioannis , Avramidis Agapios , Chrissikopoulos Vassilis
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Aims to bridge the gap between grid computing and semantic exploitation of information commonly met in digital library infrastructures.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces a semantic digital library framework based on grid technology. It follows the OGSA specifications for the development of grid infrastructures capable of efficiently handling such information. It is a service‐oriented approach based on common web technologies such as the web browser and web server. The design principles of the proposed framework take into account the emerging need to exploit the semantics of its underlying information through the employment of adequate open standard technologies such as RDF and OWL.

Findings

Although semantic exploitation of large data sets used to be a difficult and resource‐consuming activity usually taking place in specialized, highly equipped laboratories, this work demonstrates that emerging technologies like the grid and emerging standards like RDF/OWL are capable of bringing such research closer to the average workstation.

Research limitations/implications

The lack of a working prototype based on the proposed framework limits the usefulness of the results deriving from this paper.

Originality/value

This paper can serve as a starting point to researchers wishing to conduct research in the area of the semantic grid as applied to digital library infrastructures.
Mining novel connections from large online digital library using biomedical ontologies
Authors: Hu Xiaohua
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The huge volume of biomedical literature provides a nice opportunity and challenge to induce novel knowledge by finding some connections among logical‐related medical concepts This paper aims to propose a semantic‐based knowledge discovery system for mining novel connections from large online digital libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The method takes advantages of the biomedical ontologies, MeSH and UMLS, as the source of semantic knowledge. A prototype system, Biomedical Semantic‐based Knowledge Discovery System (Bio‐SbKDS), is designed to uncover novel hypothesis/connections hidden in the biomedical literature. Using only the starting concept and the initial semantic relation derived from UMLS, Bio‐SbKDS can automatically generate the semantic types as category restrictions for concepts. Using the semantic types and semantic relations of the biomedical concepts, Bio‐SbKDS can identify the relevant concepts collected from Medline in terms of the semantic type and generate the novel hypothesis between these concepts based on the semantic relations.

Findings

The system successfully replicates Dr Swanson's famous discoveries: Raynaud disease/fish oil automatically, and generates much less intermediate concepts and spurious connections.

Originality/value

The method takes full advantage of the semantic knowledge of the biomedical concepts, compared with previous approaches, our methods generate much less but more relevant novel hypotheses. Another significant advantage over other traditional approaches is that our method requires much less human intervention in the discovery procedure.
A cooperative environment for the negotiation of term taxonomies in digital libraries
Authors: Bellomi Francesco , Cristani Matteo , Cuel Roberta
Published: May 2005

Purpose– Several systems for the management of digital libraries have evolved in the recent past from simple document repository to sophisticated applications that provide the possibility of classifying and, in some cases, even rating the documents collected in the library itself. In a few of those systems members of the community of practice that uses and produces the library itself can also be active in assigning a reputation score to each other. This study aimed to explore the idea of using a collectively negotiated term taxonomy in order to develop a better model for the automated evaluation of users’ competence on different discussion topics.Design/methodology/approach– The study provides a formalization of the approach we propose, and the proposal of an architecture for implementing a system deploying the approach.Findings– The study analyses the issues related to the implementation of a digital library, and develops an architecture that aims to evaluate users’ competence about different discussion topics in an automated way.Research limitations/implications– The paper only describes an abstract architecture of a self‐balancing digital library. Further research should investigate the different possible choices for the implementation details that have been left out from this first explorative analysis.Originality/value– The novelty of the approach resides in the fact that we make use of a collectively negotiated taxonomy in order to automatically assign relevance scores to reviewers’ evaluations.
The school‐to‐work transition in England and Wales
Authors: Lenton Pamela
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Aims to consider whether the expansion of post‐compulsory education has led to greater benefits for members of one socio‐economic group than another.

Design/methodology/approach

Uses a multinomial logit model of the choice of first destination, using the Youth Cohort Survey data for England and Wales, from 1985 to 1992.

Findings

Whilst prior attainment has the strongest influence on selecting academic further education, participation rates into post‐compulsory education have also increased for young people of average ability. Interaction effects clearly show that for even the most able, the socio‐economic status of parents is an important influence on the choice of destination. The greatest benefit from the increased provision of post‐compulsory education after conditioning for ability has been to young people from high socio‐economic groups.

Originality/value

Provides analysis, following investigation, of the main transmission mechanisms that determine choice at age 16.
Time‐series estimation of import demand functions for pulses in India
Authors: Agbola Frank W. , Damoense Maylene Y.
Published: May 2005

Purpose

This study seeks to examine empirically import demand for total pulses, chickpeas and lentils in India based on the concept of unit root and cointegration.

Design/methodology/approach

The Stock‐Watson dynamic OLS (DOLS) model – which is robust to small sample and eliminates simultaneity bias – is used to derive the long‐run price, income and urbanisation elasticities of import demand. The data covers the period 1970‐2000.

Findings

Results indicate that real GDP, relative price and urbanisation are the key determinants of import demand for pulses in India. The estimated long‐run elasticities of import demand with respect to income (relative price) are 0.4 (−1.7) for chickpeas, 0.56 (−0.87) for lentils and 0.36 (0.00) for total pulses. The estimated long‐run elasticities of import demand with respect to urbanisation are 9.9 for chickpeas, zero for lentils and 7.2 for total pulses. The policy implications of the results are discussed.

Originality/value

Provides evidence that the response of import demand for pulses to key determinants differ substantially from product to product.
Historical school and institutionalism
Authors: Hultén Staffan
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The paper aims to study the relevance of the German historical school and American Institutionalism for contemporary research in social sciences. The subject scope of the paper is to trace how concepts, ideas, and frameworks trickle from the historical school into later research programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology of the paper is a textual analysis of articles and books that either relates the relationship between the historical school and the institutionalism or make explicit or implicit references to the most important concepts and methodologies in these schools.

Findings

The paper has two main findings. The first is that Commons was heavily influenced by Weber's ideal‐types when he wrote his most important book Institutional Economics. The second is that concepts and methodologies used by the historical school and American institutionalism are used in nearly all areas of the social sciences. But the researchers seldom make explicit references to these schools.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the present paper is that it draws too a very limited extent directly on the publications of the German historical school. Future research could try and reconstruct how the American instutionalists came to the conclusions they did on the historical school. It is possible that differences in political opinions and competition between two schools with partly similar messages prompted writers like Veblen and Commons to exaggerate differences of opinion.

Originality/value

One important contribution of the paper is the discussion of the influences the historical school had on leading institutionalists. Another important contribution is the exploration of present and future research projects that could benefit from revisiting the theories and methodologies of the historical school and institutionalism. By making more explicit the references to these schools, new insights can be gained on how to develop research methodologies and understanding the limits and potentials of pursuing a research approach.
Factors affecting evaluation of e‐business projects
Authors: Lesjak Dušan , Vehovar Vasja
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Despite rapid expansion of e‐business, the research on corresponding evaluation is relatively rare. This paper studies the factors that impact how companies evaluate their e‐business projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Paper starts with conceptualization of factors that affect the usage of e‐business evaluation. The empirical part is based on representative telephone survey (n=755) among Slovenian companies in 2003. The causal model (LISREL) was applied on this data.

Findings

Only about one tenth of the companies with sizeable e‐business projects employs some type of formal e‐business evaluation. One reason for that might be high satisfaction with e‐business. Among formal methods return on investments and cost benefit analysis dominate. However, once a company decides to apply evaluation approach it will use more methods, usually three or four. The attitudes towards e‐business are the most important factors affecting the implementation of e‐business evaluation methods. Surprisingly little differences were noticed in respect to the size of the company, its IT infrastructure, as well as the number and variety of e‐business projects.

Practical implications

The attitudes of the IT management are crucial for employing evaluation of e‐business projects.

Originality/value

The paper revealed that the perceptions of e‐business most strongly affect the corresponding e‐business evaluation practice. On the other hand, the high occurrence of problems related to e‐business implementation has a negative impact on the introduction of evaluation methods.
Internet banking: strategic responses to the accession of WTO by Chinese banks
Authors: Lu Ming‐te , Liu Chun‐hong , Jing Jiang , Huang Linjun
Published: May 2005

Purpose

To assess to what extent Chinese domestic banks' use of internet banking as a strategic response to the entrance of the WTO is affected by factors both external and internal to the banks.

Design/methodology/approach

A model depicted by a path diagram is developed to test the impact of various external and internal factors considered to have an impact on Chinese domestic banks' strategic response to the accession into the WTO. Survey questions from prior studies were adopted and modified. Structural equation analyses were used for data analysis.

Findings

The research hypothesis that the increasingly competitive conditions in the banking sector resulting from China's accession into the WTO has a significant effect on Chinese domestic banks' internet banking investment decisions was confirmed.

Research limitations/implications

The conceptual model and research instrument could be further refined. The sampling frame used could be expanded to cover all banks in the Chinese mainland.

Practical implications

Findings of the study should benefit organizations in improving their use of IT as a strategic weapon, especially for the banking industry.

Originality/value

This study is the first empirical research on internet banking in mainland China from a strategic perspective.
Synthesizing e‐government stage models – a meta‐synthesis based on meta‐ethnography approach
Authors: Siau Keng , Long Yuan
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The growing interest in e‐government raises the question of stages in e‐government development. A few stage models for e‐government have been proposed. Without a common e‐government stage model, different research in e‐government may be based on different stage models. This presents a difficulty in comparing and understanding different research results. In this research, we synthesize the existing e‐government stage models so that there is a common frame of reference for researchers and practitioners in the area.

Design/methodology/approach

This research utilizes a qualitative meta‐synthesis methodology to synthesize different e‐government stage models. The meta‐synthesis follows the steps used in meta‐ethnography.

Findings

Five different e‐government stage models were used in this research. We translated the stages within different models into one another and developed a new e‐government stage model. The new e‐government stage model has the following five stages: web presence, interaction, transaction, transformation, and e‐democracy.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to e‐government theory development. The new five‐stage model provides a synthesized conceptual framework for researchers to evaluate and understand e‐government development.

Practical implications

The synthesized e‐government stage model presents a road map for practitioners to follow in their e‐government projects.

Originality/value

The research uses an innovative and new research methodology to synthesize the existing research. It is one of the first research in the information systems area to make use of meta‐synthesis approach to consolidate the existing qualitative research. This paper is also one of the one papers to systematically come up with an e‐government stage model.
Marketing aspects of knowledge‐based management in groups of companies: case of Poland
Authors: Chadam Jan , Pastuszak Zbigniew
Published: May 2005

Purpose

This paper focuses on identifying key factors which condition the occurrence of synergies in multi‐entity companies in relation to the application of knowledge management procedures in the marketing and development function.

Design/methodology/approach

The factors have been identified as selected knowledge management subsystems and subsequently validated empirically in the groups of companies under review. The questionnaire used as a research tool included 27 questions on the organisation of the key management processes in the area of marketing and development in terms of knowledge management. The research results are described by means of the correlation and median analysis.

Findings

Our observations and research findings appear to support a claim that the management of a multiple organisation that allows identification, selection, organisation, dissemination, and transfer of important information between group members is a crucial determinant of synergies and financial performance of a group of companies.

Originality/value

The enterprises in the former Comecon countries had a relatively little time to make important changes in the organisation and management, to improve their effectiveness and competitiveness. In the Polish economic realities, as the privatisation and restructuring processes of the former state‐owned enterprises got under way, one of the ways in which businesses sought to improve performance was to establish groups of companies. We described the hidden effects of this process, which primary was not included to the direct goals of the group establishing process. However, is one of the most important effects of this activity.
Internet and e‐commerce adoption by the Taiwan semiconductor industry
Authors: Peng Yung‐Chuan , Trappey Charles V. , Liu Nai‐Yu
Published: May 2005

Purpose

To determine the status of internet and e‐commerce adoption by the Taiwan semiconductor industry, the research is designed to help government and enterprise in formulating strategic plans and making resource allocation decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the three‐level model of internet commerce adoption (MICA), a survey of 287 companies and web sites was designed. Semiconductor firms were placed into five categories: integrated circuit (IC) design, manufacturing, packaging, IC testing, and peripheral device manufacturing.

Findings

The MICA model shows the internet adoption ratio for semiconductor firms as 82.6 percent, significantly higher than the electronics and electrical machinery industry sector (56.5 percent). The IC manufacturing and packaging segment are in the processing stage, the final stage of development for the MICA model. One‐third of the IC testing industry segment falls into the provision stage, and 36.1 percent web sites are in the processing stage. The IC design and peripherals industrial segments are located in the provision stage.

Practical implications

The IC manufacturing segment is conducting more financial transactions than the other segments – a result that matches earlier research showing that larger companies are most likely to implement e‐business applications. Many enterprises in the industry are lagging with the adoption of the internet indicating a need for education and training.

Originality/value

This benchmark study provides a framework for evaluating the internet adoption status of semiconductor and other high technology firms. The MICA model is demonstrated to be suitable for evaluating the different stages of internet adoption.
Understanding and using the capabilities of finite scheduling
Authors: Dumond Ellen J.
Published: May 2005

Purpose

Presents a microcomputer‐based finite scheduling approach to effective planning and execution of make‐to‐order production. Going beyond the traditional application of scheduling algorithms to prioritize jobs through work centers, the finite scheduling approach can be used to establish “smart” promise dates, manage the jobs through the work centers and enable supervisors to meet these due dates in the dynamic MTO environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from an operational jobshop and a simulation‐based finite scheduling algorithm linked to pre‐ and post‐processing capabilities developed in Access, this research provides specific examples of establishing smart due dates and managing resources to meet those dates. We provide some what‐ifs in order to more fully explore the benefits of a finite scheduling system.

Findings

Through use of actual jobshop data, the paper demonstrates that finite scheduling can be effectively performed on standard computing equipment. It also provides an understanding of finite scheduling and demonstrates that such a system can be of significant value in a MTO environment.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could review/compare various ERP packages and their scheduling components to provide guidance on selection and implementation.

Practical implications

The paper clearly indicates that managers, even of smaller companies, should be considering the use of finite scheduling.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new approach to finite scheduling using a combination of simulation and Microsoft Access on a personal computer. Additionally, it provides a very useful presentation for practitioners who want an understanding of finite scheduling and why they need to implement it.
Family size, economics and child gender preference: a case study in the Nyeri district of Kenya
Authors: Kiriti Tabitha W. , Tisdell Clem
Published: May 2005

Purpose

The objective is to determine the influence of economic and social/cultural factors on family size and child gender preferences in rural Kenya and to draw public policy implications from the results. This is an important matter because the fertility rate in Kenya is high; higher than in most developing countries. It is especially high in rural areas. This may be an impediment to Kenya's development.

Design/methodology/approach

First relevant economic literature is reviewed to identify factors that economists and others claim are important influences on family size. Then follows a case study of families in the Nyeri district of Kenya. Data are obtained from a random sample of households in this district using a semi‐structured questionnaire in direct interviews. The survey results are summarised and then analysed using Tobit analysis and least squares regression.

Findings

Both economic and social/cultural factors are found to be important influences on family size. For example, preference for male children has an important positive influence on family size in the Nyeri district. Women are found to prefer male offspring to daughters, possibly because they are afraid of being disinherited if they do not produce a male heir for their husbands.

Research limitations/implications

Support for the conclusions reached could be strengthened or further assessed by increasing the sample size in the Nyeri district and be conducting similar surveys in other rural districts of Kenya.

Practical implications

Introducing social security systems in Kenya to assist the elderly and the infirm would reduce the need for Kenyan women to have many children as security and women should be granted greater inheritance rights, especially to land. Furthermore, education of women should be promoted as a way to reduce family size.

Originality/value

This paper reinforces the view that both economic and social/cultural factors must be considered simultaneously when examining determinants of the number of children in a family and child gender preference.