bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A comprehensive model of customer trust in two retail stores
Authors: Guenzi Paolo , Johnson Michael D. , Castaldo Sandro
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a comprehensive model of customer trust in a retail service setting. Three levels of the customer‐to‐store relationship are simultaneously taken into account: customer to sales associates, customer to store branded products, and customer to the store itself.

Design/methodology/approach

Using partial least square (PLS) on a sample of 393 customers of an Italian supermarket retailer, a model linking customer trust (in the store, in store branded products and in sales associates) to overall perceived value and store loyalty intentions and behaviors is tested. Subsequently an expanded model to determine the influence of managerially controlled antecedent variables (salespeople's trustworthiness, store environment, store assortment, and communications) is estimated on the various trust levels.

Findings

Trust in the salesperson and trust in store branded products have positive effects on overall store trust. Store trust, in turn, increases perceived value and loyalty intentions. Looking at the drivers of the three levels of customer trust, salesperson trustworthiness positively affects only trust in the salesperson. Store environment has a positive impact only on overall trust in the store. Store communication fosters all three levels of customer trust, while store assortment increases both overall trust and trust in store branded products.

Practical implications

Findings of the study suggest an alternative perspective to the dominant strategies in grocery retailing services. To foster store patronage, retailers have typically invested in price cuts, promotions and loyalty schemes. Store managers may rather use sales associates, the store environment, store assortment, store branded products, and communication to foster customer trust and increase customer loyalty. Managing store brands with the goal to build trust, as opposed to increase immediate profit margins, may call for a completely different approach to private labels. Similarly, the potential relevance of interpersonal trust may suggest retailers to devote more resources to selection, recruitment and training of sales associates, and may stimulate changes in evaluation criteria, incentive schemes and reward systems.

Originality/value

The study aims at filling two important gaps in the literature: the scarcity of comprehensive store patronage models and the lack of exploration of the operational means of improving customer trust in retail services.
Internal marketing impact on business performance in a retail context
Authors: Panigyrakis George G. , Theodoridis Prokopis K.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The majority of research pertaining to internal marketing (IM) is conceptual and still remains so even at present. The lack of widely accepted definitions of the IM concept and a relevant valid measure has lead to increased attempts by academia to investigate the relative concepts and measures. The purpose of this paper is to examine a synthesis of IM and investigates its effect on business performance in a retail context.

Design/methodology/approach

The context of this paper is within supermarket chains in Greece with nation wide coverage. A survey is designed and implemented using the branch managers.

Findings

SEM analysis indicates five dimensions of the IM construct: formal interaction, reward systems, feedback, internal procedures and policies and internal customer orientation (ICO). Retailers seem to adopt in an embryonic stage a concept of IM. IM indeed has a positive effect on business performance.

Research limitations/implications

Single key informant, single context of the paper are considerations when examining research limitations.

Practical implications

The embryonic stage of adopting and implementing IM within supermarket chains illustrates a certain manner of managing the internal customer; centralisation of procedures and tactics. Even if the concept of IM is partially exploited, the respective organisational behaviours clearly have a positive impact on both financial and non‐financial aspects of retail performance, thus revealing their importance.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the rare empirical investigation of the IM notion in the firm and provides evidence on both its synthesis and its impact on business performance. The authors synthesize the concepts of internal market and ICOs providing a new approach to IM. Construct and research propositions have been axiomatic and in an only conceptual context until recently.
Store format choice and shopping trip types
Authors: Reutterer Thomas , Teller Christoph
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to identify store format attributes that impact on store format choice when consumers conduct fill‐in or major trips to buy groceries. By doing so, we take into consideration that consumers patronise multiple (store based) formats depending on the shopping situation operationalised by the type of shopping trip.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts the conceptual framework of random utility theory via application of a multinomial logit modelling framework. The analysis is based on a survey of 408 consumers representing households in a clearly defined central European retail area.

Findings

The results reveal a considerable moderating effect of the shopping situation on the relationship between perceived store format attributes and store format choice. Consumers' utilities are significantly higher for discount stores and hypermarkets when conducting major trips. To the contrary, supermarkets are preferred for fill‐in trips in the focussed retail market. Merchandise‐related attributes of store formats have a higher impact on the utility formation regarding major‐trips, whereas service‐ and convenience‐related attributes do so with regards to fill‐in trips.

Research limitations/implications

The findings can only be generalised to retail markets with similar characteristics to the one under study. It is highly concentrated, contains a considerable share of small size retail stores, it is urban and has clear cut boundaries due to its geographical location.

Originality/value

This paper considers the fact that consumers patronise multiple store formats and investigates the moderating effect of the shopping situation – operationalised by different types of shopping trips – on store format choice.
The role of trust in innovation
Authors: Dovey Ken
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of trust in the collaborative learning processes that underpin innovation as a competitive strategy in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

As a conceptual paper, the argument is framed by academic perspectives, drawn from the academic literature on the topic and by professional and life experience.

Findings

The collaborative learning practices that underpin idea generation and realization in organizations are strongly dependent for their effectiveness upon the availability, within and beyond stakeholder networks, of trust and other key social capital resources.

Practical implications

If innovation is dependent upon social capital resources, such as trust, then leadership endeavour needs to be much more focused upon the creation of a social environment that nurtures rich stakeholder and other relevant network, relationships. New forms of governance and power management, and more appropriate and aligned organizational structures, are required in organizations that are attempting to compete through innovation.

Originality/value

The paper's explication of the role of social capital resources, like trust, in organizational innovation offers new insights into this complex but increasingly vital form of competitive strategy.
Statistical inference from power law distributed web‐based social interactions
Authors: Raban Daphne R. , Rabin Eyal
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for statistical inference on data from power law distributions in order to explain behavior and social phenomena associated with web‐based social spaces such as discussion forums, question‐and‐answer sites, web 2.0 applications and the like.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper starts by highlighting the importance of explaining behavior in social networks. Next, the power law nature of social interactions is described and a hypothetical example is used to explain why analyzing sub‐sets of data might misrepresent the relationship between variables having power law distributions. Analysis requires the use of the complete distribution. The paper proposes logarithmic transformation prior to correlation and regression analysis and shows why it works using the hypothetical example and field data retrieved from Microsoft's Netscan project.

Findings

The hypothetical example emphasizes the importance of analyzing complete datasets harvested from social spaces. The Netscan example shows the importance of the logarithmic transformation for enabling the development of a predictive regression model based on the power law distributed data. Specifically, it shows that the number of new and returning participants are the main predictors of discussion forum activity.

Originality/value

This paper offers a useful analysis tool for anyone interested in social aspects of the Internet as well as corporate intra‐net systems, knowledge management systems or other systems that support social interaction such as cellular phones and mobile devices. It also explains how to avoid errors by paying attention to assumptions and range restriction issues.
A study of members' helping behaviors in online community
Authors: Chu Kuo‐Ming
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that enables us to examine the antecedents and consequences effects of members' helping behavior in online communities. It also aims to develop a complete model for empirical testing.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample is 425 participants including nine online communities in Taiwan, including Yahoo! Kimo, CPB, Sony music, etc.. who were contacted and asked to participate in the study. Data were collected between August and December 2007 via the web for Internet users using a standardized questionnaire. Excluding those surveys that were undeliverable and those who believed that it was inappropriate to respond, the overall effective response rate was 84 percent (355 of 425).

Findings

The empirical results suggested that online communities members' helping behavior represents a large pool of product know‐how. They seem to be a promising source of innovation capabilities for new product development.

Research limitations/implications

The research only aims to experimentally investigate complete model of helping behavior in online communities. But this research has not dealt with a double role of online communities' members so far, linking innovation with commercialization. They seem to be a promising source of innovation capabilities for new product development.

Practical implications

The phenomenon of helping behavior among members may become a major source and channel for information in the decision making process for the purchase of products. Therefore, a major finding derived from the empirical application is that community members are capable and willing to contribute to virtual co‐development.

Originality/value

Many variables have been evaluated for their influences on the helping behaviors of the members of the online communities. However, none of the previous studies have integrated these variables into a more comprehensive framework.
Marketing activities of companies in the educational software sector
Authors: Jones Rosalind , Rowley Jennifer
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this exploratory research is to analyse the marketing activities of software companies in the UK educational software sector. The paper aims to explore the marketing environment and to investigate whether there are differences in experiences, attitudes and approaches between different sizes of firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were undertaken with key respondents who had responsibility for marketing, marketing managers or owner/managers. Themes were identified alongside contextual social and organizational effects.

Findings

The marketplace is dominated by several large firms and heavily influenced by government. Overall, five factors were identified that were experienced by all businesses in the sector: challenges in identifying the “customer”; school's budgetary constraints; the IT competence of teachers; the importance of word‐of mouth recommendations; and, the use of partnerships. Differences between small and large firms centred on: understanding of competitive structure; perception of their business's marketing strengths; and, approaches to communication and interaction with customers.

Research limitations/implications

Proposals for further research are offered.

Originality/value

The paper offers a profile of the educational software marketplace and indicates that a number of marketing issues similarly have an effect on all businesses. Differences in behaviour and attitudes are associated with company size and respondent professional/work expertise. In particular, smaller businesses tend to be customer oriented, but often not market oriented.
Using the theory of planned behavior and cheating justifications to predict academic misconduct
Authors: Stone Thomas H. , Jawahar I.M. , Kisamore Jennifer L.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that academic misconduct appears to be on the rise; some research has linked academic misconduct to unethical workplace behaviors. Unlike previous empirically‐driven research, this theory‐based study seeks to examine the usefulness of a modification of Ajzen's theory of planned behavior to predict academic misconduct.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 271 students enrolled at a US university were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model.

Findings

The modified theory of a planned behavior model in which intentions and justifications both serve as antecedents to behavior fits the data well. The model accounted for 22 per cent of the variance in intentions to cheat and 47 per cent of the variance in self‐reported cheating.

Research limitations/implications

The primary limitations of this research are the cross‐sectional research design, the self‐selected sample, and the single source of survey data.

Practical implications

The study extends the TPB model in the prediction of misconduct behavior. Attitudes, subjective norms, behavioral control, intentions and justifications were related to cheating behaviors. Academic misconduct may be reduced by shaping attitudes toward cheating, changing perceptions of subjective norms regarding the prevalence of cheating, and lowering students' perceptions of their control of cheating by, for example, emphasis on the consequences of getting caught. Understanding and reducing academic misconduct are important for promoting ethical behavior and values in future worker and organization leaders.

Originality/value

Identification of factors that influence academic misconduct is an important aspect of professional development research, given its link to workplace misconduct. To date, academic misconduct research has been primarily empirically‐ rather than theory‐driven. The current study identifies factors that contribute to academic misconduct by extending an established theoretical model of behavior.
Utilization of police dogs: a Turkish perspective
Authors: Sebnem Ozcan S. , Akin Hulki , Bayram Hakan , Bas Musa , Yildiz Ahmet , Ozdemiroglu Atalay
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The use of canines in the gathering of evidence is a valuable tool for law enforcement to discover crime and criminals. Narcotics, explosives, cadaver detection, search and rescue, or patrol dogs are prevalently used by most police organizations for combatting crime. Police service dogs decrease the time required and increase success in crime detection. The purpose of this paper is to review the different fields of police service dog training programs, to investigate their implementation abroad and compare them to Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

Various dog training methods are discussed, prior to the fields of police dog service. Research about the official units and legal procedures abroad are reported. The situation in Turkey is specified. As a representative in the field, The Dog Training Center of the Turkish National Police is examined. The overall comparison between Turkey and other countries is made and the paper concludes with an evaluation of future prospects.

Findings

For a better and successful fight against crime in Turkey, it is recommended that the standards concerning training and certification of the dog and the handler should be determined; an effective and accurate education should be given to the handlers so that they might better train service dogs for the security needs of private bodies such as companies and firms.

Originality/value

The paper shows that a more scientific approach will lead to the formation of standards in dog training and provide a successful way to fight crime by increasing efficiency.
Understanding community policing
Authors: Somerville Peter
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore, in broad terms, how policing needs to be developed in communities today.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is normative and analytical, considering the meaning of policing in general, and community policing in particular, and specifying the criteria that such policing has to satisfy in order to be fair and effective in contemporary society.

Findings

A concept of public self‐policing is developed and community policing is then evaluated in the light of this concept. Police officers are understood as street‐level bureaucrats, with multiple accountabilities. The ideal relationship between police and public is characterised as a structural coupling between two types of self‐organising system.

Practical implications

The paper has implications for how policing organisations and governments might develop improved policing strategies in the future.

Originality/value

The paper provides a clear, logical summary of thinking about the role of policing, particularly community policing, in today's society. It offers a novel concept of public self‐policing, leading to a new approach to the evaluation of the work of policing organisations.
Governance, integrity, and the police organization
Authors: Jones Matthew
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to respond to previous scholarship by providing a framework for a post‐modern policing organization that maximizes the police/community relationship while still controlling discretion.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a model of police administration by expanding upon previous work through a discussion on police bureaucracy, organizational governance, and police effectiveness.

Findings

Police organizations have the ability to transform themselves into institutions deemed as legitimate legal authorities providing effective service to their recipients through: limiting the arbitrary exercise of power; establishing institutional arrangements for successful social problem solving; and cultivating the appropriate character for those who carry out the institutional responsibilities. Through this process, the police organization can find the right balance between a theory of governance and modern policing.

Practical implications

The community policing philosophy advocates a strong relationship between the police and the community it serves. However, if the police forces do not have the institutional capacity and tools of governance to be deemed a legitimate and effective law enforcement body by the community, this philosophy of policing is sure to fail.

Originality/value

A different perspective that integrates principles of good governance, public administration, and political theory that tie into an effective and efficient relationship between police organizations and those they serve is taken. Further, the traditional concept of community policing that has overlooked some important structural features needed to carry out this philosophy is argued.
The servitization of manufacturing
Authors: Baines T.S. , Lightfoot H.W. , Benedettini O. , Kay J.M.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the state‐of‐the‐art of servitization by presenting a clinical review of literature currently available on the topic. The paper aims to define the servitization concept, report on its origin, features and drivers and give examples of its adoption along with future research challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

In determining the scope of this study, the focus is on articles that are central and relevant to servitization within a wider manufacturing context. The methodology consists of identifying relevant publication databases, searching these using a wide range of key words and phrases associated with servitization, and then fully reviewing each article in turn. The key findings and their implications for research are all described.

Findings

Servitization is the innovation of an organisation's capabilities and processes to shift from selling products to selling integrated products and services that deliver value in use. There are a diverse range of servitization examples in the literature. These tend to emphasize the potential to maintain revenue streams and improve profitability.

Practical implications

Servitization does not represent a panacea for manufactures. However, it is a concept of significant potential value, providing routes for companies to move up the value chain and exploit higher value business activities. There is little work to date that can be used to help practitioners.

Originality/value

This paper provides a useful review of servitization and a platform on which to base more in‐depth research into the broader topic of service‐led competitive strategy by drawing on the work from other related research communities.
Service as value co‐production: reframing the service design process
Authors: Morelli Nicola
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological approach to design product service systems based on an active participation of customers to the value production process. Furthermore, the paper aims to present methods and techniques that can be used to understand local context and highly individualized needs, and to integrate local actors, including users in the value production process.

Design/methodology/approach

Methods and tools presented in this paper are structured into three main categories: analytical tools, development tools and representation techniques. Such tools will be illustrated through examples from case studies.

Findings

Methods and techniques presented in this paper are borrowed from other disciplines and adapted to the task of service design. The new methods relate to a new paradigmatic framework and are not easy to compare with existing methods, they are rather complementary to existing knowledge on service design.

Practical implications

The new methodological approach implies a shift in the role of industrial companies that are supposed to leave their prominent role in value creation and become facilitators of a process of value co‐production.

Originality/value

This paper considers a fundamental change in the role for customers and industrial companies in the value‐creation process. Consequently, it presents a methodological approach to support such change.
Configuration of product‐service systems
Authors: Aurich J.C. , Wolf N. , Siener M. , Schweitzer E.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

Traditionally, many manufacturers of cost intensive capital goods have largely focused on design, realization and distribution of high‐quality products. Meanwhile, their industrial customers increasingly expect to be provided with diverse services. These services predominantly aim at enhancing the functional and the economical performance of the underlying products. To systematically exploit the potential of services, an appropriate combination of products and services becomes crucial. For achieving desired benefits for both manufacturers and their industrial customers, product‐service systems (PSS) have to be configured systematically. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The presented approach considers customer, manufacturer and product life cycle specific aspects within the configuration of PSS. The paper presents a framework which comprises all activities necessary to conduct a systematic configuration of PSS. Throughout the paper, an elementary case study illustrates the activities.

Findings

Exemplary use cases indicate that the configuration of PSS using the presented approach is beneficial.

Research limitations/implications

The case study is a success. However, especially the increasing complexity of modern capital goods demands for developing a suitable application software that supports the configuration.

Originality/value

The paper presents a successful application for conducting a customer, manufacturer and product life cycle‐oriented configuration of PSS.
Decision‐making systems and the product‐to‐service shift
Authors: Molloy Ella‐Mae , Siemieniuch Carys , Sinclair Murray
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is first, to provide input to the “through life knowledge and information management” grand challenge and second to provide industry with a tool for assessing the quality of the process(es) by which decisions are reached.

Design/methodology/approach

An iterative approach is used with two student‐based case studies, followed by two research institution case studies, and then two industrial case studies. Validation of the tool by managers is undertaken in another case study.

Findings

An analytic framework is created which allows managers to categorise and display the characteristics of their decision processes. By assessing the resulting voids and clusters within the framework, the efficacy of the process can be determined. The framework has an associated management process, first to enable managers to see and compare instances of other situations, especially those leading to “disaster”, and second to upgrade the tool itself as assessments are undertaken.

Research limitations/implications

The tool has been developed in a UK manufacturing environment. It has demonstrated its usefulness in the defence industry, but its wider applicability is not yet known. It requires industrialization to make it usable by managers.

Practical implications

Use of the tool has already led to significant changes to the capability development process in a major defence company, and has been used by a board in a civilian company to understand why they have cost overruns and delivery problems.

Originality/value

The paper has not discovered another, simple‐to‐use tool for the same purpose.
Improving reuse of in‐service information capture and feedback
Authors: Mey Goh Yee , McMahon Chris
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The adoption of the product‐service system business model means that the designing company has greater scope and motivation to learn from experience of its products in use to improve their core design and engineering capabilities. Continuous improvement, however, depends crucially upon the implementation of effective knowledge and information management (KIM) systems within a dynamic learning environment that impinge on diverse communities throughout the product lifecycle. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper consolidates literature reviews and presents empirical observations relating to the current KIM systems and practices within large aerospace and manufacturing companies. In particular, experiences from a case study to enhance reuse of in‐service feedback conducted with an aerospace company are reported.

Findings

The empirical observations suggest that the feedback processes rely on a combination of formal and informal personalization and codification approaches, but companies are placing greater emphasis on the development of information systems to support learning from in‐service experience. It is argued that greater value could be realized from collective reuse of in‐service information but should be considered from the outset such that its content and representation could be made more amenable to computational analysis and organization for knowledge discovery.

Research limitations/implications

To achieve the full aspirations of learning from in‐service experience, issues and challenges of KIM need to be addressed. These are summarized as strategies to promote success of codification approaches.

Originality/value

The initial value of the techniques for improving in‐service information reuse has been demonstrated to the industrial collaborator.
Evaluation of customer satisfaction for PSS design
Authors: Kimita Koji , Shimomura Yoshiki , Arai Tamio
Published: June 2009

Purpose

Combined offerings of products and services, that is, a product‐service system (PSS), have been attracting much attention. Consequently, a good design methodology of services as well as that of manufacturing products is needed. The purpose of this paper, is to propose a method for estimating customer satisfaction that enables designers to compare design solutions in the conceptual stage.

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed method, first, the models that represent PSS features with relation to a customer's state is adopted. Then, the authors propose the estimation procedure that utilises a non‐linear value function called the satisfaction‐attribute (S‐A) function to quantify customer satisfaction.

Findings

The proposed method centres on the estimation of customer satisfaction. It enables the designers to evaluate design candidates in the conceptual stage where little information is available, and therefore supports iterative improvements without the designer needing to hesitate under the weight of market analysis.

Research limitations/implications

In this paper, the estimation is limited to a single transaction with a customer, rather than cumulative satisfaction that represents a customer's imprints about the provider accumulated by repeating purchases. In future, therefore, the authors need to integrate the concept of effects over time such as loyalty and defection into the proposed framework.

Practical implications

In the application, the proposed method is statistically proven to effectively illustrate customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

This paper proposes the estimation method of customer satisfaction for PSS design. The proposed method allows designers to choose a design solution from the customer viewpoints.
XML data partitioning schemes for parallel holistic twig joins
Authors: Machdi Imam , Amagasa Toshiyuki , Kitagawa Hiroyuki
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose Extensible Markup Language (XML) data partitioning schemes that can cope with static and dynamic allocation for parallel holistic twig joins: grid metadata model for XML (GMX) and streams‐based partitioning method for XML (SPX).

Design/methodology/approach

GMX exploits the relationships between XML documents and query patterns to perform workload‐aware partitioning of XML data. Specifically, the paper constructs a two‐dimensional model with a document dimension and a query dimension in which each object in a dimension is composed from XML metadata related to the dimension. GMX provides a set of XML data partitioning methods that include document clustering, query clustering, document‐based refinement, query‐based refinement, and query‐path refinement, thereby enabling XML data partitioning based on the static information of XML metadata. In contrast, SPX explores the structural relationships of query elements and a range‐containment property of XML streams to generate partitions and allocate them to cluster nodes on‐the‐fly.

Findings

GMX provides several salient features: a set of partition granularities that balance workloads of query processing costs among cluster nodes statically; inter‐query parallelism as well as intra‐query parallelism at multiple extents; and better parallel query performance when all estimated queries are executed simultaneously to meet their probability of query occurrences in the system. SPX also offers the following features: minimal computation time to generate partitions; balancing skewed workloads dynamically on the system; producing higher intra‐query parallelism; and gaining better parallel query performance.

Research limitations/implications

The current status of the proposed XML data partitioning schemes does not take into account XML data updates, e.g. new XML documents and query pattern changes submitted by users on the system.

Practical implications

Note that effectiveness of the XML data partitioning schemes mainly relies on the accuracy of the cost model to estimate query processing costs. The cost model must be adjusted to reflect characteristics of a system platform used in the implementation.

Originality/value

This paper proposes novel schemes of conducting XML data partitioning to achieve both static and dynamic workload balance.
Web ontology data matching for integration: method and framework
Authors: Wang Chao , Lu Jie , Zhang Guangquan
Published: June 2009

Purpose

Matching relevant ontology data for integration is vitally important as the amount of ontology data increases along with the evolving Semantic web, in which data are published from different individuals or organizations in a decentralized environment. For any domain that has developed a suitable ontology, its ontology annotated data (or simply ontology data) from different sources often overlaps and needs to be integrated. The purpose of this paper is to develop intelligent web ontology data matching method and framework for data integration.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops an intelligent matching method to solve the issue of ontology data matching. Based on the matching method, it also proposes a flexible peer‐to‐peer framework to address the issue of ontology data integration in a distributed Semantic web environment.

Findings

The proposed matching method is different from existing data matching or merging methods applied to data warehouse in that it employs a machine learning approach and more similarity measurements by exploring ontology features.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed method and framework will be further tested for some more complicated real cases in the future.

Originality/value

The experiments show that this proposed intelligent matching method increases ontology data matching accuracy.
Providing internet connectivity and mobility management for MANETs
Authors: Le‐Trung Quan , Engelstad Paal E. , Pham Vinh , Skeie Tor , Taherkordi Amirhosein , Eliassen Frank
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the required functionalities on providing internet connectivity and mobility management for mobilead hocnetworks (MANETs), present discovered problems such as inconsistent contexts, and provide the corresponding solutions. It also provides a hybrid metric for the load‐balance of intra/inter‐MANET traffic over multiple internet gateways (IGWs).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses both mathematical analyses and simulations to discover the required functionalities and problems on providing internet connectivity and mobility management for MANETs. The proposed hybrid metric for IGW selection is a replacement of the shortest hop‐count (HC) metric, and consider three factors: HC distance, intra‐MANET traffic, and inter‐MANET traffic.

Findings

Simulation results show thatad hocrouting protocols, using the proposed metric, get better performance in terms of packet delivery ratio and transmission delay, at the cost of slightly increased signalling overhead.

Research limitations/implications

In the assessment, simulation results are taken from two mobility scenarios, and the hybrid metric is integrated into only reactivead hocrouting. Thus, more case studies need to be carried out to demonstrate the outcomes of the proposed metric compared with others.

Practical implications

This paper provides the needed functionalities for broadening the richness of MANET applications to internet users, and vice verse.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the research on internetworking and mobility management between MANETs and the internet.
On my way to Herman Melville'sMoby Dick, I found …
Authors: Sievers Burkard
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The author is revisiting the body of his papers on Herman Melville'sMoby Dick, which he began writing some 15 years ago. Though these writings have remained an “unwritten book”, Melville's works had a lasting impact on his thinking and writing up to the present. The purpose of this paper is to reveal some of the experiences and emotions concomitant with academic writing that remain more often than not hidden from the reader.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a personal reminiscence on the experience of academic writing for about four decades. It is a story of how an academic becomes acquainted with and then influenced/inspired by a piece of literature and discovers how many organisational topics may be illuminated by works of literature.

Findings

Even an unwritten book does not necessarily lead to completely neglecting what had been written. This may be a relief and an encouragement to others, who realize they are not alone in this respect.

Originality/value

The paper adds some further insight into the not‐so‐obvious and broadly hidden experience of the “production process” of academic writing and illustrates the relevance and importance of literature for further thinking on such topics as management and organization.
Motivating risk? The sublime supplement of market exchange
Authors: Lightfoot Geoff , Lilley Simon , Pelzer Peter
Published: June 2009

Purpose

That which is exchanged in financialised trading extends beyond the moment, being elongated in the rights, responsibilities and liabilities it confers and so liable in nature as to throw into question the very attribute of thingness traditionally associated with exchange. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of these issues for articulation of what actually takes place at the moment of exchange.

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper examines key moments in the oral histories that constitute the “City Lives” archive at the British Library, focussing upon interchanges between interviewers and traders in which the gulf between the two and their modes of articulation is exposed by the interviewers' incomprehension of the work of the trader. Here, not only is the disconnection between trading and more routine transactions revealed, but also that between the narrative resources of traders and others.

Findings

Whilst there are various reasons identified for a general inability to convey to an outsider the inside of the practice, particular issues are also at play in financial exchange; primarily the sublime aestheticisation of jeopardy that may be seen to lurk at the heart of the taking of risk.

Originality/value

Financialised trading's disconnection requires attention to situation so that the texture of the disconnection itself can be put into context and a theorisation of the moment of exchange that can mediate between those who engage in it and attempt to describe it and those who seek to understand it from the outside.
Little Emperors grown up: a case study of cosmetic usage
Authors: Scelzo Tracy , Lerman Dawn
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the pressures of being a Little Emperor in a rapidly changing society are reflected in consumer experiences, particularly in the meanings attached to products and brands. The paper aims to focus on young adults in urban China, specifically young professional women.

Design/methodology/approach

The subject was shadowed at work for two weeks during the Spring of 2007 and for an additional two weeks during the Spring of 2008. Social interactions and purchasing behavior were carefully observed, as well as conducting a series of informal interviews. During the Summer of 2008, a formal, in‐depth interview was conducted with an informant in the USA.

Findings

The unique pressures of growing up as a Little Emperor in a changing society are widely reflected in product usage and are ways in which to ease the tension and anxiety associated with the pressure of maintaining expectations from friends, family, and society.

Research limitations/implications

The study focused on a single informant who, while on the surface appearing to represent adult Little Emperors, may in fact have different attitudes from her contemporaries. It would be interesting to investigate the degree to which parallel themes occur in the male market, namely what categories young urban professional men who were raised as Little Emperors use to express themselves.

Practical implications

The research provides insights into some of the conflicting expectations derived directly from the experience of growing up as a Little Emperor. It translates these insights into practical recommendations for various aspects of marketing and advertising cosmetic products in China, thus allowing multinationals to build successful marketing campaigns that appeal to managing these conflicting expectations.

Originality/value

The paper is the first work on the consumer experiences of urban young adult Little Emperors, specifically young professional women.
Chinese “Little Emperor”, cultural values and preferred communication sources for university choice
Authors: Chung Kim‐Choy , Holdsworth David K. , Li Yongqiang , Fam Kim‐Shyan
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Chinese cultural values influence “Little Emperors'” choice of study destination; and their preferred communication sources for university choice.

Design/methodology/approach

University students from the People's Republic of China (PRC) in New Zealand were surveyed with an instrument based on Schwartz's “Values survey” and the understanding that cultural values are a powerful force shaping consumers' motivations, lifestyles and product choices. A central‐location (libraries, lecture theatres) sampling strategy was employed.

Findings

The results from the research suggest that Chinese cultural values have an impact on “Little Emperor's” choice of international tertiary education and their preferred communication sources for university choice. The study shows that New Zealand society appeals for its low corruption and high level of honesty and fairness which are attractive to these “Little Emperors” because these values help to reinforce group harmony, a prominent characteristic of Chinese society. The “Little Emperor's” preference for using education fairs, university open days and representative agents as sources of information for university enrolment is consistent with the high context nature of Chinese society.

Originality/value

Few studies have attempted to understand how cultural values influence young Chinese students' decisions on study destinations and their preferred communication sources for university choice.
Advertising to Chinese children
Authors: Planells Valero Marisa
Published: June 2009

Purpose

China's youthful advertising industry has changed a lot in little more than a quarter of century. A key for this spectacular growth is the enormous potential of the market for children in China. The paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The Chinese one‐child policy has produced the so‐called “Little Emperors factor”: Chinese children determine approximately 68 per cent of their parents' spending, perhaps the highest rate of influence in the world.

Findings

Advertisers entering the growing youth market in China should be aware of the still limited role played by self‐regulation.

Originality/value

The increasing importance and effectiveness of such self‐regulation dictate that the advertising industry and the government authorities should arrive at the same interpretation of moral standards.
Implementation and conceptual analysis of a double infusion model
Authors: McShay James , Randolph Leigh Patricia
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the double infusion (DI) model, which was developed to offer technology and multicultural teacher educators a systematic process for helping prospective teachers to become proficient in using technology to enhance student learning in K‐12 environments, while they work toward strengthening their own conceptions of critical multicultural education.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on the implementation and conceptual analysis of this DI model, which was piloted in a 16‐week graduate level instructional technology course for future educators. Data collected for this analysis included student course projects, a focus group interview with students, and an interview with the course instructor.

Findings

The preliminary findings for this pilot project yielded that the participants had the critical dispositions needed to understand and make meaning of the “doubly infused” content, however, the opportunities they had in their graduate programs to reflect upon how these ways of thinking can be reflected in technology‐based applications were few to non‐existent.

Originality/value

The authors found that the organizational structure of teacher education programs plays a critical role in helping students to envision how technology can be used to support the learning goals of critical multicultural education, and conversely, how critical multicultural education, can be used to support learning within a technology context.
Using digital technologies to address Aboriginal adolescents' education
Authors: Pirbhai‐Illich Fatima , Nat Turner K.C. , Austin Theresa Y.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how digital technologies were introduced in a collaborative literacy intervention to address a population long underserved by traditional schools: the Aboriginals of Canada.

Design/methodology/approach

Situated within a critical ethnographic project, this paper examines how digital technologies were introduced. The questions focused on: how can critical multiliteracies be used to engage students, in both academic and digital literacies development? In what ways does participation in multimodal media production provide evidence of teachers and students' critical literacy development?

Findings

Digital literacies as a part of multiliteracies were developed in teaching contexts where learning is challenged by many factors.

Research limitations/implications

The paper reports on the achievement and the struggles that remain. Implications for further research and teacher education are also drawn from the experience of implementing a broader definition of literacy in academic settings with Aboriginal students of Canada.

Originality/value

The inclusion of a digital curriculum provides possibilities for greater academic success for marginalized students in both mainstream and alternative schools.