bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sur la Notion d' « Imitation » dans les Doctrines Esthétiques de la Grèce classique
Authors: Babut Daniel
Published: May 2013

La prééminence du concept de mimèsis dans les doctrines esthétiques de la Grèce classique n'implique pas une méconnaissance de l'imagination poétique et de la créativité de l'artiste. Pour Aristote, la mimèsis poétique n'est ni une plate reproduction d'un modèle, ni une pure création de l'esprit, mais la mise en évidence de la réalité de l'objet par la construction d'une structure qui en dégage la signification universelle. Même Platon n'a jamais pensé que le but de l'art fût la reproduction pure et simple des objets de l'expérience, et sa condamnation de la poésie vise essentiellement l'autorité abusivement reconnue à celle-ci en matière d'éducation. Il y a convergence, à cet égard, entre les vues des deux philosophes, dont le concept de mimèsis apparaît comme le prolongement de la conception grecque traditionnelle de la création artistique.
Arès et Dionysos dans la Tragédie Grecque : Le rapprochement des contraires
Authors: Lonnoy Marie-George
Published: May 2013

Tout semble opposer Ares, dieu de carnage et de mort, à Dionysos, dispensateur des joies de l'ivresse et de la transe. Néanmoins certains textes tragiques témoignent d'interférences entre ces deux divinités. Le vocabulaire de la possession religieuse s'applique aussi bien au délire bachique qu'à l'exaltation guerrière, et Ares comme Dionysos subissent la folie et la communiquent. Quand il pousse les Ménades au combat ou frappe de panique une armée, Dionysos participe aux pouvoirs d'Ares, révélant ainsi la face sombre de son ambivalente personnalité.
La méthode des personas : principes, intérêts et limites
Authors: Bornet Corinne , Brangier Éric
Published: May 2013

Relevant d’une démarche méthodologique prospective et créative, la méthode des personas complète la palette des outils à disposition des psychologues, ergonomes et concepteurs, pour appréhender les personnes, les utilisateurs et les clients. L’objet de cet article est de faire le point sur cette méthode assez peu connue. Cet article présente et discute plusieurs définitions des personas, en soulignant qu’il s’agit d’une méthode simplifiée de modélisation d’utilisateurs, créés à partir de données réelles, afin de fournir aux concepteurs de dispositifs techniques, aux spécialistes de commercialisation ou, encore, aux psychologues du travail intervenant en organisation, des informations personnalisées et engageantes. Ensuite, cet article récapitule les théories (le jeu d’acteur, l’empathie et la théorie de l’esprit et le recours aux stéréotypes), à même d’expliquer les processus psychologiques en œuvre dans l’usage des personas, et propose un positionnement théorique, qui soutient que les personas fonctionnent comme des outils cognitifs renforçant la créativité. Finalement, les grands principes de l’élaboration des personas sont présentés – du recueil des données relatives aux utilisateurs à l’utilisation des personas –, afin de donner au lecteur un cadre pour leur rédaction.
Échelle d'inquiétude, échelle de croyances religieuses et superstitieuses : quels liens ?
Authors: Gardair Emmanuelle
Published: May 2013

Cette étude examine les liens entre plusieurs échelles relatives à la tendance à s’inquiéter et aux croyances religieuses et superstitieuses. Elle fait l’hypothèse d’une corrélation positive entre l’inquiétude et les croyances superstitieuses et de l’absence de corrélation entre l’inquiétude et les croyances religieuses. Un échantillon de 270 étudiants a répondu au Questionnaire des domaines d’inquiétude (Tallis, Eyzenck, Mathews, 1992), transposé en français, et à des items de croyances religieuses et superstitieuses, tirés de l’échelle révisée de croyance paranormale (Tobacyk, 2004). L’hypothèse est examinée à l’aide d’un modèle structurel. La discussion revient sur les liens entre croyances religieuses, superstitieuses et illusion de contrôle.
Éclairage psychanalytique du trouble spécifique du développement du langage oral, ou dysphasie de l'enfant
Authors: Taly Véronika , Emmanuelli Michèle
Published: May 2013

Le trouble spécifique du développement du langage oral, encore appelé dysphasie de l’enfant, est peu étudié dans le champ de la psychopathologie psychanalytique, alors qu’il fait l’objet de nombreuses publications en neuropsychologie. La rencontre avec cette population d’enfants dysphasiques, au sein d’un Centre référent du langage, a conduit les auteurs à tenter d’appréhender ce trouble avec un éclairage psychanalytique. Dégageant le processus d’introjection comme fil rouge, les auteurs proposent de s’appuyer sur la méthodologie projective pour mettre à l’épreuve l’hypothèse d’une défaillance du processus d’introjection chez ces enfants. À partir d’une population d’une vingtaine d’enfants dysphasiques, les auteurs exposent leurs résultats, illustrés par une vignette clinique.
Le sens caché d'un engouement : des mots et des choses
Authors: Fayolle Alain
Published: May 2013

De quoi au juste l’« entrepreneuriat social » est-il le nom ? Quand on mesure le décalage entre le discours en faveur du social business et la montée persistante des inégalités, on peut se demander s’il ne s’agit pas là d’un nouvel opium du Peuple...
À l'école de l'entrepreneuriat social
Authors: Riot Elen
Published: May 2013

Le modèle de l’entrepreneuriat social inspire et suscite de nombreux projets pédagogiques menés aujourd’hui dans l’enseignement supérieur, et ce dans le monde entier. Ces projets ne sont pas subsidiaires, secondaires ou complémentaires par rapport à la mission traditionnelle des institutions concernées. Ils font au contraire évaluer en profondeur leur cadre d’action.
Feeding Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants
Authors: Alasmi Mahmood
Published: May 2013

CME Educational Objectives

1.

List the indications for parenteral nutrition in the preterm infant.

2.

Estimate protein and calories required by a preterm infant to support appropriate fetal weight gain.

3.

Discuss the calcium and phosphorus needs of preterm infants.

The patient presented as a 5-week-old 26 week preterm infant, with a birth weight of 686 g. Her mother was 25 years old. The child’s Apgar scores were 6 and 7 at 1 and 5 minutes. The infant was intubated after birth and placed on the high-frequency oscillator on day of life (DOL) 3 because of worsening respiratory failure. She was placed back on conventional mechanical ventilation on DOL 7, extubated on DOL 15, and placed on 40% oxygen via nasal cannula. She was discharged home on DOL 84 without mechanical ventilation.
Evaluation of Femtosecond Laser Clear Corneal Incision: An Experimental Study
Authors: Serrao Sebastiano , Lombardo Giuseppe , Ducoli Pietro , Rosati Marianna , Lombardo Marco
Published: May 2013

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the changes of corneal topography following femtosecond laser and manual clear corneal incision (CCI).

METHODS:

Inflation testing was performed in 14 human eye globes to evaluate the topographic response of the cornea to CCIs. In seven samples (femtosecond laser group), a 2.75-mm three-plane CCI was created using the iFS femtosecond laser (Abbott Medical Optics, Inc., Santa Ana, CA); the remaining seven samples (control group) received a 2.75-mm manual CCI using disposable angled knives. Topographic maps of the anterior and posterior cornea were acquired using a Scheimpflug topographer Pentacam HR (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany). Keratometric data were used to analyze the curvature changes of the cornea. The changes of corneal astigmatism were analyzed by vector analysis.

RESULTS:

After CCI, the mean change of the anterior keratometric power was 0.04 ± 0.39 and 0.05 ± 0.51 diopters (D) (analysis of variance,
P
> .05) in the femtosecond laser and control groups, respectively. The mean change (
P
> .05) of the posterior corneal keratometric power was 0.16 ± 0.19 and 0.15 ± 0.18 D, respectively. The average change of the anterior and posterior corneal astigmatism vector magnitude was 0.17 D or less in both groups (
P
> .05). A slight against-the-rule astigmatic change of the anterior and posterior corneal interfaces was found after both CCI techniques.

CONCLUSION:

The 2.75-mm three-plane CCI created with femtosecond laser showed minimal changes of the anterior and posterior corneal topography, comparable with those of single-plane angled manual incision.

[
J Refract Surg
. 2013;29(6):418–424.]
Data Collection and New Technology
Authors: Aborisade Olubunmi Philip
Published: May 2013

Interview has become a popular method of data collection in qualitative research. This article examines the different interview methods for collecting data (e.g., structured interviews, group interviews, unstructured, etc.), as well as the various methods for analyzing interview data (e.g., interpretivism, social anthropology, collaborative social research). It also evaluates the interview types and analysis methods in qualitative research and the new technology for conducting interviews such as e-mail, telephone, skype, webcam, Facebook chat etc to ascertain how they limit interviewees from giving full picture of moral and ethical Issues.
KMUT – Project Management Toolbox
Authors: Quade Stefanie , Birkenkrahe Marcus , Habermann Frank
Published: May 2013

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly dealing with international projects and distributed (sometimes even virtual) teams. Consequently, they are looking for project management (PM) tools which fit their respective needs regarding communication and collaboration. Unfortunately, the majority of the PM software available in the market seems to be oversized for this purpose. Instead most project managers are requesting smart solutions that allow quick implementation without any significant organisational or technical change.

Within the research project InterComp SME 2.0 we combine theoretical research and real business to develop hands-on solutions for SMEs. This paper describes an effective approach for a â??PM Toolboxâ? that allows finding the right project tool for a specific project need. The toolbox has been developed in due consideration of user stories gained from business practice, a more detailed SME business survey, a theoretical PM meta model and a market of PM tools.

Since the business survey revealed that the readiness to use and test a â??toolboxâ? is highly dependent on the type of user and his or her technical background, we designed the system based on use cases and user typology. As a result, we suggest a framework of open, freely available, easy-to-install, single and multi purpose PM software tools which can be selected solely on a need basis. With this free platform we want to guide practitioners through the tool jungle with the potential to grow into a lively community.
Pinvox Method to Enhance Self-Study in Blended Learning: Experiences at University of Bucharest
Authors: Canessa Enrique , Logofatu Bodgan
Published: May 2013

We report results on the first large-scale trial

implementation of the new Pinvox algorithm carried out at

the Department of Distance Learning (DL) of the University

of Bucharest to encourage hundreds of Bachelor and Master

DL students to perform their self-study. Pinvox is an open

source tool that helps to ensure "on-line attendanceâ? and to

induce â??student's attentionâ? through the identification of

different, randomly selected, brief audio PINs embedded

automatically in videos or audio files assigned to each

student. We argue that checking how students watched a

video lecture has many advantages in the formative

assessment work.
Investigating Adolescent Bloggers from the Perspective of Creative Subculture
Authors: Chang Yu-Fang , Liu Eric Zhi-Feng , Chang Maiga
Published: May 2013

This study focuses on the phenomenon of adolescent bloggers’ creativity from adolescent peers’ viewpoints. The participants are five twelve- to eighteen-year-old adolescent bloggers who continue managing their blogs. Online questionnaire and semi-structure interviews have been conducted to get participants’ ratings on their perceptions of creativity about themselves and peers. The results suggest that (1) the definition of creativity among adolescent bloggers is novel, useful, and valuable; (2) creativity can be enhanced from doing learning activities and practicing; and, (3) blog serves as a place where adolescents can present their works and also communicate with peers.
The Integration of Web2Quest Technology into Multicultural Curriculum in Teacher Education
Authors: Lin Li-Mei Grace , Ward Chris L.
Published: May 2013

The study examines the attitudes and past experiences of pre-service teachers and teacher educators in Taiwan and the U.S. regarding the use of Web2Quests to promote multicultural education. The demographics in many countries are increasingly changing, especially regarding the growth of students from diverse backgrounds. In all classrooms, teachers need to have high levels of multicultural competency to create welcoming and equitable learning environments. However, multicultural education in the curriculum of many teacher education programs is still limited. Technology is an extremely useful tool that can enhance learning experiences for both teachers and students. Technology can be implemented to foster multicultural education in interesting and engaging ways. The study shows that the majority (about 93%) of the pre-service teachers and teacher educators who responded to the survey both in Taiwan and the United States enjoyed the Web2Quest strategy and viewed it to be effective in promoting higher-level thinking and social constructivist activities. Participants suggested that professional development is needed to help teachers design effective WebQuests, especially using the new version of WebQuests which utilizes Web 2.0 technologies. This professional development may have a significant impact when preparing teachers and, ultimately, students to be productive global citizens.
Structuring CSCL through Collaborative Techniques and Scripts
Authors: Pozzi F. , Hofmann L. , Persico D. , Stegmann K. , Fischer F.
Published: May 2013

This paper is rooted in the research field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), where the debate is lively around whether and to what extent structuring the interactions among students enhances the effectiveness of the collaborative process. The paper discusses two different design approaches to structuring collaboration: the former approach, adopted in the context of an Italian online course, is based on the use of a set of collaborative techniques, while in the latter, proposed in a German context, collaboration scripts are used to guide students step-by-step. The study describes and then compares the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches. What can be learned from the two experiences? Is there any possibility – and with what advantages – of integrating the two approaches, so as to gain from both?
Reflecting on Portfolio Development
Authors: Lee Hea-Jin , Herner-Patnode Leah
Published: May 2013

This study adopted portfolio assessment as a means of deepening pre-service teachers’ understanding of teaching and learning. The ultimate goal of using the portfolio was to bring the program in line with the mission of the institute, the criteria of the NCATE and INTASC, and the standards of the Ohio State License. This study discusses the challenge of implementing a year-long portfolio assessment procedure, as well as investigating how the exit portfolio assessment plays a role in facilitating pre-service teachers’ professional growth in terms of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Results indicate that preservice teachers considered the capstone portfolio as a tool for reflection, which helped them improve critical thinking skills, self-assessment, and advancement. Also, the portfolio process helped teacher candidates develop a professional identity and promote teaching. Overall, there was growth and improvement in knowledge, skills, and dispositions toward teaching, the role of a teacher and learner, and using the web-based portfolio process.
Application of Social Media Tools by Retailers
Authors: Alarcón-del-Amo María-del-Carmen , Lorenzo-Romero Carlota , Constantinides Efthymios
Published: May 2013

The chapter explores the factors influencing the adoption process and the degree of engagement of the social media as part of the online marketing strategy by Spanish retailers. A retail industry survey identifies four different segments of retailers depending on the level of implementation of social media marketing strategies. The study examines the antecedents of the social media tools’ adoption process across the dimensions of a Technology Adoption Model (TAM) and assesses various other factors likely to affect the degree of the adoption. One essential conclusion is that the company size is not important but that the level of adoption social media marketing is related to the organizational maturity in the areas of management attitudes, employee empowerment, access to Internet technologies, and technological infrastructure. The study proposes a future research agenda including cross-cultural studies for better understanding the global business attitudes in this area and underlines the need for development of benchmarks and metrics necessary for better assessing the value of social media marketing.
The New Age E-Enterprise
Authors: Ahuja Vandana
Published: May 2013

Globalization and the resultant transition to virtual work are changing the dynamics of critical business relationships today. The organizational fabric is undergoing a transformation. The new knowledge economy, coupled with the modern customer based relationship approach has transformed the shape of business, catalyzed further by the internet revolution. Shrinking distance barriers and the emergence of new ways of building and delivering products and services online, is enabling the rapid globalization of markets. This chapter traces how the new knowledge economy, along with the modern customer based relationship approach, impacts the organizational fabric. The collaborative Web along with the e-enterprise, has brought into vogue the use of emergent social software platforms within companies, or between companies and their partners or customers. This, along with organizational willingness to take risks, has created new opportunities for companies in the domain of innovation, Internet based collaboration and co-creation.
Negotiation by Software Agents in Electronic Business
Authors: Riaz Nosheen , Rehman Moez
Published: May 2013

Electronic negotiation is one of many applications that software agents can perform to facilitate electronic business. Negotiations between software agents and humans (hybrid negotiation), can make electronic business efficient and intelligent. It can save time, effort and other valueable resources by replacing the human in electronic business activities and many other domains. However, to enable hybrid negotiation, a software agent needs clear machine interpretable semantics to understand and generate natural language content. Although it is not simple to make natural language content understandable by software agents as a whole, it can be achieved in different domains--in this case electronic business. For this purpose, an example of hybrid negotiation is presented, in which a software agent and a human agent negotiate for a business contract. Problems involved in this negotiation process are partially resolved through ontologies (the main Semantic Web technology), NSS (negotiation support system) and hand written rules.
Learning Methodologies to Support E-Business in the Automated Negotiation Process
Authors: Renna Paolo
Published: May 2013

The automated negotiation performed by a software agent is investigated in order to improve the benefits compared to a humane face-to-face negotiation. The profitability of e-business applications can be increased by the support of automated negotiation tools. This research proposes a set of learning methodologies to support both the suppliers’ and customers’ negotiation activities. The learning methodologies are based on Q-learning technique, which is able to evaluate the utility of the actions without a model of the environment. The context regards one-to-many negotiation and multi-issues (volume, price, and due date). A simulation environment is developed to test the proposed methodologies and evaluate the benefits compared to a negotiation approach without learning support tool. The simulations are conducted in several market conditions, and a proper statistical analysis is performed. The simulation results show that the proposed methodologies lead to benefits both for suppliers and customers when both the opponents adopt the learning approach.
Algorithms for Spatial Partitioning in Wireless Sensor Network
Authors: Panagidi Kakia
Published: May 2013

Recent interest in integrated electronic devices (sensors) that operate wirelessly creates a wide range of applications related to national security, surveillance, military, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. Many visions of the future include people immersed in an environment surrounded by sensors and intelligent devices, which use smart infrastructures to improve the quality of life. However, a fundamental feature of sensor networks is coverage: how these tiny devices can cover a certain terrain. These devices should be organized in an optimal manner, consuming the minimum energy and covering the whole area of interest. The coverage concept is subject to a wide range of interpretations due to the variety of sensors and applications. Different coverage formulations have been proposed based on the subject to be covered (area in relation to specific items and obstacles), sensor development mechanisms (random versus deterministic), and other properties of wireless sensor networks (e.g. network connectivity and minimum energy consumption). In this chapter, the authors study the coverage problem in wireless sensor networks using the most recent algorithms. The aim of this chapter is to present these algorithms and a comparison between them based on various criteria. The Node Self-Scheduling algorithm, the Centralized Voronoi Tessellation (CVT), the Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (PSO), the Virtual Forces Algorithm (VFA), etc. are analyzed. Through the algorithms’ analysis, the interested reader can have a complete view of the proposed solutions related to the coverage problem.
Wireless Sensor Network Design for Energy-Efficient Monitoring
Authors: Apiletti Daniele , Baralis Elena , Cerquitelli Tania
Published: May 2013

Wireless sensors are small-scale mobile devices that can programmatically measure physical quantities, perform simple computations, store, receive, and transmit data. The lattice built by a set of cooperating sensors is called a sensor network. Since sensor networks provide a powerful infrastructure for large-scale monitoring applications, an important issue is the network design to achieve an optimal placement of the sensors to allow (1) energy-efficient monitoring and (2) gathering meaningful data. This chapter presents a novel approach to optimize sensing node placement (e.g., for new to-be-deployed networks) and efficiently acquire data from existing sensor networks. A historical data analysis task is performed to discover spatial and temporal correlations and identify sets of correlated sensors. Then, an algorithm based on a cost function considering both distance and communication cost selects the candidate sensors, leading to the optimized network design and acquisition. Candidate sensors can then be deployed and/or queried instead of the whole network, thus reducing the network cost and extending its lifetime in terms of energy consumption. Experiments, performed on a real wireless sensor network, demonstrate the adaptability and the effectiveness of the proposed approach in optimizing the sensor network design and the data acquisition.
Social Negotiations in Web Usability Engineering
Authors: Martin Ian , Kear Karen , Simpkins Neil , Busvine John
Published: May 2013

This study of a website development project for a university athletic club illustrates how negotiations between designers and users play a fundamental role in defining website usability. Whilst usability can be ‘objectively’ measured using formal scales (number of clicks required, user effort or error rate to achieve an aim etc.), it may also be subjectively defined as the extent to which a website serves its intended audience. Usability engineering is therefore a social process involving interactions between users and designers that determine what is appropriate for a given context. This case demonstrates the value of a ‘heterogeneous’ approach to website usability that involves engineering this context by negotiating the social alongside the technical. A strong stepwise website methodology that promotes early and continual user engagement – including sign-off of staged prototypes – is seen to be an important facilitating structure that carries these social negotiations forward through the web usability engineering lifecycle to successful project conclusion.
A Practitioner’s Approach to Collaborative Usability Testing
Authors: Buelow Julie
Published: May 2013

The purpose of this case study is to outline a methodology for collaborative usability testing developed in a local government setting where subject matter experts (SMEs), content owners, stakeholders, IT professionals and the public are engaged in the design and development of public sector websites.
Developing the Intel® Pair & Share Experience
Authors: Boelter Joshua , Kaschub Cynthia
Published: May 2013

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
A Usability Study of Mobile Text Based Social Applications
Authors: Mendoza-González Ricardo , Rodríguez Francisco Álvarez , Arteaga Jaime Muñoz
Published: May 2013

The authors present a usability study where three of the most popular mobile Social Applications (mobile Facebook, mobile Twitter, and mobile Windows Live) were analyzed. The evaluation focused on four text-based tasks: Text-lines visualized at one time (Number of Turns), contacts visualization, conversation tracing, and text entry. The evaluation was performed using an adapted version of the System Usability Scale (SUS), which was answered by ninety participants (each mobile Social Application was analyzed by thirty participants). The authors firmly believe that the results of the study could lead to create a reliable strategy for design evaluation which could be structured into a set of heuristics.
Usability Optimization of a Military Training System
Authors: Champney Roberto K. , Kokini Christina M. , Stanney Kay M. , Lackey Stephanie
Published: May 2013

While the application of usability engineering principles and methods is similar in commercial and military contexts, there are key requirements and challenges in military domains that must be addressed. The aim of this chapter is to describe the application of a combination of usability engineering methods in the development of a military training system. The case involves the research, design, and development of an instructional support system to help instructors and warfighters find and execute suitable training lessons that meet their training needs. Through the application of multiple methods (contextual task analysis, iterative designs, heuristic evaluations, formative and summative evaluations), the requirements for the system were identified, the system was then designed, developed, and iteratively improved to optimize key operational performance identified with the support of field stakeholders.
How Business Excellence Models Contribute to Project Sustainability and Project Success
Authors: Craddock William T.
Published: May 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to establish the linkages among Business Excellence Models (BEMs), project sustainability, and project success. The particular focus is on how the BEM framework contributes to project sustainability as one element of project success. Although general sustainability definitions vary, most describe a broad perspective that encompasses economic, social, and environmental objectives. This broad perspective fits well with the concepts of both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Total Quality Management (TQM). Business Excellence Models, with their origins in the TQM movement, provide a framework to address sustainability. Although much of the literature focuses on applying these concepts in a general organizational setting, they also apply to a project organization. Project success criteria can be expanded to include project sustainability, measured both at the time of project closing and later when the overall project benefits are evaluated.
How Can Sustainable Development Redefine Project Management Processes?
Authors: Eid Mohamed
Published: May 2013

The relationship between Project Management (PM) and Sustainable Development (SD) is tested in this chapter through its application on the construction industry. When PM is embedded in construction projects, it has the capacity to be a significant leverage point of great influence, and it becomes one of the cornerstones for rethinking the relationships between PM, SD, and the Construction Industry. The work presented discusses the need for integrating sustainable development into project management processes to ensure a better outcome for the construction industry, which is directly related to the degradation of our quality of life on the economic, social, and environmental levels. The author explores the origins and philosophies behind sustainability, the core of project management processes, the strategic implications of the construction industry practices, and puts forward the “systems thinking and points of leverage” approach to facilitate an efficient environment of integration. Thinking and acting sustainably requires not only incremental change but also a revolution in approach, a shift of perspective; sustainable project management processes are possible to achieve.
Project Manager as a Pivot Point for Implementing Sustainability in an Enterprise
Authors: Maltzman Richard , Shirley David
Published: May 2013

In this chapter, the authors provide a rationale for asserting a special importance of the project manager with respect to implementing sustainability at their enterprise, due to their being at a key “pivot point.” This does not come without challenges, and here the authors convey those specific challenges for project managers. They show that one of these challenges is adopting a sustainability thinking mindset, a mindset that has its roots in the “larger scheme of things, and the long-haul,” even though project managers are often (necessarily) focused on their immediate scope, and short-term deliverables for demanding stakeholders. Finally, the authors advise project managers with some specific techniques to overcome the prior challenges.
Fanning the Flames of Fear
Authors: Kituri Timothy W.
Published: May 2013

Democracy depends on a free and independent media to survive. As a democratic country, Kenya enjoys a media that is relatively free. This includes radio stations that broadcast in local languages and which provide the majority of Kenyans with access to news and entertainment. These local language radio stations have been singled out as a catalyst to the post-election violence that rocked Kenya in December 2007. Tribal messages that propagated hate and fear, based on political and historic events, were broadcast--thus inciting violence. Critical Discourse Analysis is used in this study to explicate the ideologies of power through systemic investigation of the messages created and transmitted over the local language radio stations. This study contributes to the body of work done on media and democratization in Africa by showing how a gap regulatory and journalistic monitoring can jeopardize the watchdog function of media. The author recommends further research in these areas as a means of strengthening the role of media in building democracy in Africa.
Public Opinion on Nigeria’s Democracy
Authors: Olorunnisola Anthony A. , Ojebode Ayobami
Published: May 2013

As popular movements of citizens of countries in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region progressed, and in their aftermath, pundits in Nigeria and the Diaspora wondered if there would be a bandwagon effect in Africa’s largest democracy. Yet, despite offline and online mobilizations, a growing national insecurity and the “Occupy Nigeria Movement” that sprang up against fuel price hikes in Nigeria, protests and revolts in Nigeria remained short-lived and aimed at piecemeal policy reforms rather than becoming a revolution to unseat the current government. Relying on a human development factors chart, the authors suggest that Nigerians’ discontent appears to be motivated by yearnings for what citizens of some MENA countries already have and vice versa. As such, neither democracy nor autocracy—as systems of governance—has delivered the aspirations of African citizens.
Reference in the 21st Century
Authors: Cordell Rosanne M
Published: May 2013

The array of reference services offered in academic libraries in the 21st century is vast and may seem overwhelming to librarians struggling to keep up with the latest technologies and demands made upon their time. Choosing an appropriate selection of services to offer may be best done by returning to the institution’s and the library’s mission statements, from which the reference department can evaluate the appropriate philosophy and modes of reference service for its own users.
University of South Carolina Aiken
Authors: Weaver Kari D.
Published: May 2013

The University of South Carolina Aiken is a four-year regional, public, baccalaureate institution of approximately 3,200 students in rural South Carolina, established in 1961. Independent library services began in 1975, and the library now offers 40,000 square feet of materials, computing areas, office, and instruction space, supported by a faculty and staff of thirteen. The library uses a combined team of seven librarians to provide both instruction and reference services. These services are led by independent coordinators who are responsible for managing their respective programs but do not have supervisory responsibilities. The shared resources of the two teams lead to a number of synergies, including shared instruction materials, greater responsiveness, greater insight to reference questions, proactive resolution of common reference issues, and insightful collection development. However, this arrangement also leads to challenges due to limited financial resources, personnel resources, development opportunities, and balancing workloads between the two services throughout the semester. A new course was also added to general education requirements in the fall of 2011 that made information literacy a key component of educational outcomes early in a student’s college career. To address future development, the reference and instruction teams are expanding the online educational resources available to students and faculty, reconsidering the availability and delivery of reference services, and exploring new modes of teaching and outreach.
Integrating Technology-Enhanced Student Self-Regulated Tasks into University Chinese Language Course
Authors: An Irene Shidong
Published: May 2013

This paper reports on the implementation of a semester-long task in a university lower intermediate Chinese language course. Web-based podcasting technology, ChinesePod, was utilized to assist this implementation. The first part of this paper focuses on the task design informed by frameworks proposed in the literature. The second half of the paper presents and analyses data collected from an end-of-course questionnaire, semi-structured student interviews, and the written scripts of student self-made plays and videos of their performance of the play. The results reveal that the students differ in their perceptions of the task and the ways they approach it. This in turn leads to a quality difference in their performance of the task. This study highlights the importance of careful task design, recognition of individual learning styles and constant rapport with students, especially when student self-regulated tasks are implemented.
Suppliers Selection for Sazeh Gostar Saipa Co. Using a Combination Approach of Analytic Network Process and Goal Programming
Authors: Farsijani Hassan , Nikabadi Mohsen Shafiei , Malmir Reza , Shakhsian Fatemeh
Published: May 2013

Strategic evaluation and supplier selection, or strategic supply, is a main subject of supply chain management. Strategic evaluation and supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision problem, considering both tangible and intangible criteria and organizations are seeking various and sometimes opposite objectives in purchasing from suppliers. As the increasing rivalry in Iran’s auto industry, producers and suppliers face several challenges. Sazeh Gostar Saipa Co., the main supplier of Saipa automobile maker firm, is not exempt of this norm. Top managers of the company believe that the best supplier selection for long-term cooperation is vital for the implementation of corporate strategies. In this paper, using decision technique of Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Base Overhead Cost Recovery (BOCR), 20 tangible and intangible operational and strategic criteria are considered in the supplier selection decision through a suggested methodology. Different organizations’ goals in purchasing from suppliers that are ranked in the previous stage are formulated to determine the amount of supply allocation to each supplier based on goals. The innovation aspect and main goal of the research are suggesting a methodology for selecting suppliers and determining the amount of allocated orders to them with combining ANP method, BOCR structure and goal programming in Sazeh Gostar Saipa Co.
Compound Supply Chain Efficiency Model Application in the Gabonese Supply Chain
Authors: Mbang Janvier-James Assey
Published: May 2013

In an effort for global excellence in international business, Gabon supply chains must achieve a competitive advantage by ensuring that they are as effective as possible. This paper develops the compound supply chain efficiency model using variables expressly identified as problem areas encountered by Gabonese supply chains. The compound supply chain efficiency model evaluates the supply chain global efficiency based on the efficiency of reliability, velocity, and cost. It identifies barriers along the supply chain and determines key focus areas for corporations if they want to ameliorate their global efficiency and become more competitive. The compound supply chain efficiency model can either be used to compare various supply chains or it can be used to compare the same supply chain over time to determine if any improvements have been made. The composite supply chain efficiency model can also identify areas of deficiencies along the supply chain. The composite supply chain efficiency model is an efficient and inexpensive model that can be applied to determine if Gabonese supply chains are operating efficiently or not. The results obtained from the compound supply chain efficiency model can help companies and entire supply chains identify areas to focus on to ameliorate their efficiency levels and in so doing make them competitive.
All About Analytics
Authors: Watson Hugh J.
Published: May 2013

To understand and be successful with analytics, it is important to be precise in understanding what analytics means, the different targets or approaches that companies can take to using analytics, and the drivers that lead to the use of analytics. For companies that use advanced analytics, the keys to success include a clear business need; strong, committed sponsorship; a fact-based decision making culture; a strong data infrastructure; the right analytic tools; and strong analytical personnel in an appropriate organizational structure. These are the same factors for success for business intelligence in general, but there are important nuances when implementing advanced analytics, such as with the data infrastructure, analytical tools, and personnel. Companies like Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Harrah’s Entertainment, and First American Corporation are exemplars that illustrate concepts and best practices.
An Event-Oriented Data Modeling Technique Based on the Cognitive Semantics Theory
Authors: Batra Dinesh
Published: May 2013

The Resource-Event-Agent (REA) model has been proposed as a data modeling approach for representing accounting transactions. However, most business events are not transactions; thus, the REA formulation is incomplete. Based on the Conceptual Semantics theory, this paper discusses the entity-relationship event network (EREN) model, which extends the REA model and provides a comprehensive data template for a business event. Specifically, the notions of resource, event, and agent in the REA model are extended to include more discriminating entity types. The EREN technique can be used to identify events, sketch a network of events, and develop a data model of a business application by applying the EREN template to each event. Most extant techniques facilitate only the descriptive role whereas the EREN technique facilitates both the design and descriptive role of data modeling.
Selecting Cell Phone Service Using Hybrid Decision Making Methodology
Authors: Jenab Kouroush , Sarfaraz Ahmad
Published: May 2013

In an ever expanding connected world, mobile connectivity is essential in both commercial and private use. Selecting the best option has become increasingly difficult due to the many factors surrounding the selection of the best cell phone service providing company. Quantitative factors such as monthly price, total cell phone minutes, and phone cost are easily comparable. However, other qualitative factors such as signal coverage, vendor reputation, and customer support are not as easily analyzed. The need to make the correct decision when qualitative factors need to be considered has caused multi-criteria decision methodologies such as Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to be applied in case studies. In this paper, the authors apply Fuzzy AHP to phone survey results and compare them to the original results. The multi-criteria decision methodology TOPSIS is used to demonstrate the differences between all decision methodologies.
Young Immigrants’ Internet Political Participation in Germany
Authors: Spaiser Viktoria
Published: May 2013

This paper discusses the results of research on young immigrants’ political participation on the Internet in Germany. The research focuses on young people from Turkish and East European backgrounds. The interrelation between offline political activities and online political participation is explained and the differences between the two groups are examined. While young German Turks are particularly politically active Internet users, young German East Europeans are rather hesitant about using the Internet for political purposes. Statistical models show that young German Turks’ political Internet use is motivated by grievances, while young German East Europeans’ political Internet use is motivated by sentimental pessimism and world-weariness.
E-Migration
Authors: Olivera Nihil
Published: May 2013

Communication and social practices of migrants are changing the dynamics of integration policies. Terms like globalization or transnationalization denote (apparently) an increased flow of information, goods, and capital across nation-state borders. However, borders are open for transactions, not for people. Located in the research thematic area of the Information Society, this article presents some technological, geographical, and social (TGS) characteristics that create a space the author calls e-migration, where the intervention of technology in society produces changes never seen before. This article is a theoretical reflection that discussed a case study of integration and immigration policies of French e-migrants (from the European Union, EU) and Ecuadorians (non-EU) in Catalonia, Spain. The article concludes with a discussion of some implications for future empirical research on e-migration.
Exploring the Antecedents to Learning Continuance in Virtual Worlds
Authors: Liu Na , Yang Xue , Chan Hock Chuan
Published: May 2013

Many education institutes are planning to use virtual worlds to offer distance education programs and to reach potential students globally. However, the success of such programs depends on students’ willingness to use virtual worlds for learning continuously. Students’ learning continuance helps to decrease the drop-out rate of the programs. Motivated thus, this study uses the lenses of the balanced thinking-feelings model and socio-constructivism to model how students’ personal learning and social learning experiences influence virtual world learning continuance. Our results show that the utilitarian and hedonic values are critical to learners’ continuous intention of virtual world learning, and they are influenced by learners’ social learning experiences. Social learning factors are also found to interact with students’ personal learning factors to influence their perceived utilitarian and hedonic values of virtual world learning. The findings provide theoretical implications by integrating information systems theories and education psychology to understand the factors influencing the virtual world learning continuance in a systematic way. The findings also provide educators empirical evidence on what influences users’ learning continuance in virtual worlds.
The Role of the Owner-Manager in SMEs’ Adoption of Information and Communication Technology in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Elbeltagi Ibrahim , Al Sharji Yahya , Hardaker Glenn , Elsetouhi Ahmed
Published: May 2013

This study evaluates the factors that lead small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt information and communication technology (ICT). Our research proposes an ICT adoption model using structural equation modelling that examines the role of SMEs’ owner-managers as mediators in the adoption of ICT. The model is focused on the investigation of the direct and indirect influences of technological, cultural, environmental and organisational factors on the SME’s adoption process. The results indicate the validity of these adoption factors and their applicability to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) environment. The main focus of the research was to develop a new framework that develops further the research of Rashid and Al-Qirim (2001). The present paper identifies the critical mediating role of the owner-manager’s decision to adopt ICT in SMEs in the UAE, and confirm the importance of technological, organisational and environmental factors in the adoption process. Although there is cultural diversity in the UAE, culture is not found to be a significant factor, either directly or indirectly, in SMEs’ ICT adoption in the country.
Factors Driving Value Creation in Online B2B Banking
Authors: Lai Jung-Yu , Ulhas Khire Rushikesh , Lin Ching-Tsung , Ong Chorng-Shyong
Published: May 2013

In today’s highly competitive business environment, online business-to-business (B2B) banking services offer efficient, reliable, securable, and convenient financial services for customers. However, research has paid scant attention to quantifying the value of online B2B banking and identifying the factors that drive it from the employees’ perspective. Hence, this study explores value creation in online B2B banking in terms of user satisfaction, individual impacts, and organizational impacts by incorporating technological, organizational, and environmental forces. The results based on a survey of 178 respondents collected from Taiwanese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) strongly support the contention of the study that technological, organizational, and environmental forces really drive value creation in online B2B banking in terms of user satisfaction, individual impacts, and organizational impacts. These findings and the proposed research model may be helpful to managers when implementing online B2B banking, and valuable for researchers who are developing related theories.
Prefazione
Authors: Mathieu G.
Published: May 2013

Not available
Una rinnovata rivista per gli internisti ospedalieri - Un’ulteriore opportunità di “crescita nella continuità”
Authors: Nardi R.
Published: May 2013

Not available