bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Manufacturing practices and performance
Authors: Islam Mazharul , Karim Azharul
Published: December 2010

Purpose

This exploratory study aims to investigate relationships of current manufacturing practices and their performance with the size of the manufacturing organizations. The study also seeks to identify the practices that significantly influence their manufacturing performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Relationships of current manufacturing practices and their performance are investigated using established scales including competitive advantage, quality and reliability practices, advanced quality practices, supplier relationship, field data and information exchange, product data management, manufacturing performance. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and regression model were used in order to fulfil the objectives of the study. The survey was administered to top managers across the manufacturing industry.

Findings

The results of the study indicate that there are significant differences in the strategic approach of small and medium (SMI) and large industries (LI). In terms of manufacturing performances, SMIs are marginally ahead of large industries (LIs). SMIs consider product quality and reliability as a basic competitive advantage, while LIs consider company reputation as the import competitive dimension.

Research limitations/implications

Possibility of method variance or response biases are limitations of this study, as all data are drawn from employee surveys, and there is some selection bias, as it was not possible to directly compare respondents with non‐respondents.

Originality/value

This study makes a significant contribution to the manufacturing practices and performance literature by providing further statistically significant evidence of the relationships of current practices and performance across the size of industries.
Moving from product‐based to service‐based business strategies
Authors: Godlevskaja Olga , van Iwaarden Jos , van der Wiele Ton
Published: December 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a framework that can be used for analysing services in the automotive industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Existing categorisation schemes for services are investigated and evaluated in terms of their applicability to services in the automotive industry.

Findings

Services categorisation schemes are grouped under eight service paradigms, expressing the understanding that various authors had about services in different times and contexts.

Research limitations/implications

The remarks are limited to the automotive industry.

Practical implications

The paper suggests services classification schemes, which can be effectively applied to automotive services in order to generate valuable managerial insights.

Originality/value

This paper provides an overview over multiple services categorisation schemes existing in the literature.
Prioritization of maintenance tasks on industrial equipment for reliability
Authors: Vijay Kumar Edwin , Chaturvedi S.K.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to prioritize preventive maintenance actions on process equipment by evaluating the risk associated with failure modes using predictive maintenance data instead of maintenance history alone.

Design/methodology/approach

In process plants, maintenance task identification is based on the failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA). To eliminate or mitigate risk caused by failure modes, maintenance tasks need to be prioritized. Risk priority number (RPN) can be used to rank the risk. RPN is estimated invariably using maintenance history. However, maintenance history has deficiencies, like limited data, inconsistency etc. To overcome these deficiencies, the proposed approach uses the predictive maintenance data clubbed with expert domain knowledge. Unlike the traditional single step approach, RPN is estimated in two steps, i.e. Step 1 estimates the “Possibility of failure mode detection” and Step 2 estimates RPN using output of step 1. Fuzzy sets and approximate reasoning are used to handle the uncertainty/imprecision in data and subjectivity/vagueness of expert domain knowledge. Fuzzy inference system is developed using MATLAB® 6.5.

Findings

The proposed approach is applied to a large gearbox in an integrated steel plant. The gearbox is covered under a predictive maintenance program. RPN for each of the failure modes is estimated with the proposed approach and compared with the maintenance task schedule. The illustrative case study results show that the proposed approach helps in detection of failure modes more scientifically and prevents “Over maintenance” to ensure reliability.

Originality/value

This approach gives an opportunity to integrate the predictive maintenance data and subjective/qualitative domain expertise to evaluate the possibility of failure mode detection (POD) quantitatively, which is otherwise purely estimated using subjective judgments. The approach is generic and can be applied to a variety of process equipment to ensure reliability through prioritized maintenance scheduling.
Sustainability: the missing ingredient in strategy
Authors: Bonn Ingrid , Fisher Josie
Published: December 2010

Purpose

This paper explores ways in which different dimensions of sustainability can be addressed at the strategic level within organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Building upon previous research, the authors provide a conceptual overview before developing a framework that outlines how sustainability can be addressed during the strategic decision‐making process and as part of the organization's corporate, business and functional level strategies.

Findings

Research has demonstrated that many managers do not understand how to make their organizations more sustainable, even though they recognize the benefits of doing so. The framework developed in this paper suggests a way for managers to integrate sustainability into strategy. It focuses on the strategic decision‐making process, including the cognitive characteristics of strategic decision‐makers and the strategy content at the corporate, business and functional levels. The authors also address the role of organizational culture and vision in supporting sustainable strategies. The framework is illustrated by case examples of BHP Billiton, Loving Earth, the Australian Wine Industry, and Migros.

Practical implications

The framework can be used by managers and scholars to assess the degree to which organizations have strategically addressed sustainability and to identify opportunities for further improvements.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in the treatment of sustainability as a strategic, as opposed to an operational, issue. By adopting a strategic approach to sustainability, organizations are more likely to include economic, environmental and social considerations in all aspects of business on an ongoing basis.
Succeeding in the French market: recommendations for small businesses
Authors: Kontinen Tanja
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this research is make managerial recommendations for firms operating or planning to operate in the French market.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reports findings from an in‐depth case study covering eight Finnish SMEs operating in the French market. To facilitate the understanding of the recommendations, the findings are discussed through typical features of the French culture.

Findings

The findings report the best practices of eight Finnish SMEs operating in France.

Research limitations/implications

Although the case study method made it possible to acquire detailed knowledge about the firms' internationalization, the findings can be generalized only to some extent.

Practical implications

Managers of family and other types of SMEs will find several practical tools to facilitate their business in the French market.

Originality/value

Prior research has focused on managerial practices in France to a limited extent as compared to other countries.
Media analysis: what is it worth?
Authors: Dowling Grahame , Weeks Warren
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Now more than ever, businesses need to understand what the media is saying about them. The authors describe three types of media analysis: salience and sentiment analysis; theme and contradiction analysis; and problem and solution analysis, the first two of which are routinely commissioned by many companies. Using four case studies the authors describe how problem and solution analysis can be used to save costs and increase revenues.

Design/methodology/approach

Four case studies are used to illustrate the financial value that problem and solution media analysis can play in understanding and solving a range of business problems.

Findings

The authors show how the analysis of media commentary helped a public company to identify its most influential investment commentators; helped an appliance manufacturer to change its sales force compensation scheme; helped a financial services company to position its IPO; and helped an internet‐based share trading company to understand some conflicting research results. The financial value of these outcomes often far exceeded the price paid.

Originality/value

The authors compare and contrast three styles of media analytics. The review suggests that the problem and solution analysis technique is novel and financially valuable in situations where media coverage creates problems.
Self‐perceived social stratification in low‐income transitional countries
Authors: Habibov Nazim N.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Against a background of rising inequalities in transitional countries, the purpose of this study is to focus on the analysis of the self‐perceived social stratification in the low‐income countries of the South Caucasus.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from the recent multi‐country comparative survey conducted in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, this study examines the factors explaining self‐perceived stratification in the region. Ordered logit regression model is fitted to assess the determinants of the stratification.

Findings

One of the most important findings of this paper is that the majority of the people in the examined region consider themselves as middle class, although a considerable share of the general population are actually at the lowest level of society. Self‐perceived social stratification in the countries of this region can largely be explained by a set of factors within the direct social policy domain.

Practical implications

Active promotion of job intensive economic growth, supporting small businesses, improving effectiveness of social protection policies, affordability of healthcare and education, and active integration of migrants and investment in public infrastructure should also be priorities.

Social implications

Addressing the identified policy priorities will permit counterbalancing stratification, supporting the middle class and reducing the poverty in the countries of the region.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies on the self‐perceived social stratification in the region of the low‐income countries of the South Caucasus.
State credit and reconstruction: the first New Zealand Labour Government
Authors: Raymond Bolton Kerry
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to show that there are workable alternatives to the debt‐finance system in the form of “state credit.”

Design/methodology/approach

The example used for the practical application of “state credit” is the State Housing programme of the 1935 New Zealand Labour Government. The primary sources are mainly the pamphlets of John A. Lee, responsible for the State Housing and Labour finance policies.

Findings

The paper shows that “state credit” was used on a large‐scale for constructive purposes, which not only provided debt‐free funding for an enduring construction programme, but one that did so without accompanying inflation or other adverse consequences which are warned of by orthodox economists.

Research limitations/implications

The paper focuses on a single example of the use of state credit, albeit an important and large‐scale one.

Practical implications

State credit was used in a major way during the 1930s to overcome unemployment while constructing something lasting and of enduring social benefit. It is a method that can be reapplied in the present time at a period where debt is reaching crisis point from entire nations down to families and individual consumers; with the most common remedy suggested relief being “austerity” and welfare cuts.

Social implications

State credit is a means of achieving large‐scale public works, while reducing unemployment, and reducing taxes, rates and prices which generally incorporate into costs the servicing of debts. The social implications are wide‐ranging.

Originality/value

The 1935 State Housing programme had endured as part of an iconic New Zealand social experiment, but one of which the method of funding is now virtually unknown.
Institutional convergence of Turkish Islam and European social democracy on the political economy of social question
Authors: Akan Taner
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out if there is any convergence between the Third Way in Europe and the Conservative Democracy in Turkey in their politico‐economic strategies for dealing with the social question with the thought that both the political identities have come into existence as a consequence of a similar initiative to reformulate their egalitarian cores according to the realpolitik of contemporary capitalism, and uncover the consequences of the so‐called strategies specifically in the realm of welfare and labour policies.

Design/methodology/approach

This inquiry has been contextualised into the evolutionary cycles of the socialism → social democracy → the Third Way in Europe and the Just Order → Conservative Democracy in the Ottoman‐Turkish territory. Initially focusing on the first cycle, the paper then turns to examine the second cycle in a comparative and synchorised perspective with the first.

Findings

It is concluded that the Conservative Democracy and the Third way have an unmistakable convergence in terms not only of their evolution but also of their strategic policy options to deal with the social question. Their convergence originates in the initiative to find a middle ground between the contemporary capitalism and their egalitarian cores. Such a reconciliative attempt by the both models ends up in a stalemate that triggers recurring conciliative initiatives rather than yield to stable and sustainable policy options which enable their practitioners to deal with the social question in an efficient way.

Research limitations/implications

The paper touches on the general points of convergence between the Conservative Democracy and the Third Way in the political economy of social question. The next step should, hence, be to further this argument by means of specifically dealing with the welfare and labour policies in separate in‐depth research.

Originality/value

This paper is the first in its inquiry as stated above in the purpose and its comparative methodology to deal with this inquiry.
Novel preparation of Ag2S nanoparticles embedded in photoluminescent polymer nanofibres
Authors: Wang C. , Yan P. , Wang S. , Bai X. , Yuan J. , Yan E. , Huang Z.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the preparation process and the photoluminescent properties of poly‐(phenylene vinylene) (PPV)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Ag2S composite nanofibres.

Design/methodology/approach

A simple method coupling electrospinning technology and in situ self‐assembly was used to prepare PPV/PVA/Ag2S nanofibres from the solution containing precursory PPV, PVA and silver nitrate (AgNO3). The photoluminescent properties of the PPV/PVA/Ag2S composite nanofibres were characterised by fluorescence microscopy and eclipse fluorescence spectrophotometer.

Findings

The Ag2S nanoparticles were well dispersed in the PPV/PVA/Ag2S composite nanofibres, and their dimension was in the range of 10‐40 nm. Excessive doping of Ag2S nanoparticles will lead to rough and uneven fibres' surface.

Research limitations/implications

The size of Ag2S nanoparticles in the fibres was not uniform enough and the orientation of composite nanofibres was hardly controlled.

Practical implications

The coupling of electrospinning technology and in situ self‐assembly opened a new gate for preparing other nanoparticles doped composite nanofibres.

Originality/value

The in situ growing of Ag2S nanoparticles in PPV nanofibre improved the excellent properties of composite nanofibres. The morphology of composite nanofibres can be efficaciously controlled via adjusting the ratio between AgNO3 and polymer. The obtained PPV/PVA/Ag2S composite nanofibres will have potential applications in nano‐optoelectronic devices.
Aniline and oligoaniline modified cyclohexanone‐formaldehyde resins
Authors: Ateş E. , Kızılcan N.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Cyclohexanone‐formaldehyde resins (CF‐Rs) were in situ modified with aniline, 4‐aminodiphenylamine, and N‐N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylene diamine in presence of sodium hydroxide. The purpose of this paper is to report the synthesis of conducting resins with aniline, dimer and trimer aniline, with a one‐step method of in situ modification of ketonic resin. The roles of ketone, aniline concentration, the conductivity of the product are investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Ketone, formalin (37 per cent aqueous solution), aniline or oligoaniline were mixed and 20 per cent aqueous NaOH solution was added to produce the resin.

Findings

The aniline‐modified (CF‐Rs) were found to have conductivity values of 10−3‐10−5 S/cm and may be considered as conductive ketonic resin.

Research limitations/implications

The reaction mixture must be stirred continuously. Amount of aniline and oligoaniline is limited. Subsequently, 37 per cent formalin was added dropwise in total while refluxing. The amount of aniline is limited since the formed resin may become insoluble in common organic solvents.

Practical implications

This work provides the application of conducting resins. The modified resins containing aniline groups may also promote the adhesive strength of a coating and corrosion inhibition to metal surfaces.

Originality/value

Aniline formaldehyde, N‐N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine‐formaldehyde, aniline‐ and oligoaniline‐modified (CF‐Rs) have been synthesised in the presence of a base catalyst. These resins are conductive resins and the ketonic resins formed have physical properties of both aniline‐formaldehyde resins such as conductivity.
Lessons to jumpstart disruptive innovation
Authors: Skarzynski Peter , Rufat‐Latre Jorge
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Disruptive innovation is particularly important during recovery periods, as companies need to win back customers with radically new value propositions. The purpose of this paper is to pull back all of the clutter and to present three critical lessons that companies must consider in their pursuit of disruptive innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The lessons were extracted from systematic observations of successful and unsuccessful industry disruptors.

Findings

Three key lessons were uncovered: the ability to anticipate and act on market discontinuities and unmet customer needs, with a particular focus on the business model; The ability link incremental and breakthrough innovation efforts by focusing on a single, shared aspiration; and the recognition that disruptive innovation can inform strategy, just as strategy can (and should) inform disruptive innovation

Practical implications

These three lessons could help companies envision and commercialize disruptive innovation that dramatically reshape the competitive landscape of their industries.

Originality/value

This paper is targeted at companies seeking to offer dramatically new values to their customers and fundamentally alter the competitive balance of their industries. Envisioning and commercializing disruptive innovations is a means to this end. By applying the lessons learned from successful and not so successful innovators, companies have a better chance at winning.
Time‐value economics: competing for customer time and attention
Authors: Ott Adrian C.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the impact of time on customer behavior and decision making. Even though people factor time into decisions on a daily basis, businesses tend to focus resources and efforts on other aspects of consumer behavior such as pricing and demographics, resulting in many executives overlooking this key element of the customer decision process.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a framework for understanding how customers value offerings in relation to time and attention priorities. It also demonstrates the evolution of today's time scarcity in relation to commerce and why it is more salient today using time‐use data.

Findings

Companies that understand how customers value time in relation to their offerings were more successful in today's economy and often achieved competitive advantage.

Practical implications

The framework guides executives in determining actions and market opportunities for products or services based on a time and attention‐centric mindset.

Originality/value

Time‐value economics provides a new lens for organizations to understand how time shapes customer behavior and decisions. The associated framework provides a useful market segmentation model. It enables businesses to identify new innovation opportunities and actions to foster growth.
Economic crime and illegal markets integration: a platform for analysis
Authors: Nardo Massimo
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The conventional wisdom regarding economic crime analysis has so far mainly focused upon “structural” issues. The field has been analysed mostly under the organisational aspect (how criminals organisations are structured, how illicit activities they perform are organised). Attention has been paid to “methods” – more in terms of case‐studies and search of “models” than in terms of opportunities dynamics – rather than to the economic profile (what are the special features of markets, supply, demand, production and distribution of illicit goods and services). It seems useful to increase the analysis by opening the quest to economic and sociologic aspects. The paper is an attempt to introduce a wider conceptual framework for a complementary approach, and a proposal aimed at deepening some focal points.

Design/methodology/approach

Illegal economic activity is – not less than the legal one – a process of making choices among the alternatives available, for the aim of achieving a profit. It is therefore intrinsically an open, flexible activity, which may assume all the schemes and formulas that contingency suggests. In this perspective, the paper addresses observation and analysis towards detecting features and mechanisms of illegal economy market in a market approach, trying to give account thereby of structure and functioning processes of economic crime.

Findings

A crucial element resides in the possibility of gathering wider information on the structure and internal dynamics of grey economy. Grey markets may indeed provide supporting structures like optional channels, instruments, or professional expertise, which show fungible for different legal or illegal goals. The goal of preserving the system from the threatens of economic crime must be rooted in an adequate knowledge of the internal operational dynamics of the system itself. Equipping more proactive instruments becomes essential. There is a need for awareness of the trends taking place in the markets: their causes, the alternative option they may grant to illegal players, the probable choice these players will consequently make, and the final effect of such choice on the system. It is necessary to gain the capability to foresee, anticipate and influence behaviour changes.

Originality/value

The paper offers a contribution to more robust methodology for confronting systemic issues.
A methodology for analyzing the credential marketplace
Authors: Watters Paul A. , McCombie Stephen
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Cybercrime has rapidly developed in recent years thanks in part to online markets for tools and credentials. Credential trading operates along the lines of a wholesale distribution model, where compromised credentials are bundled together for sale to end‐users. Thus, the criminals who specialize in obtaining credentials (through phishing, dumpster diving, etc.) are typically not the same as the end‐users. This research aims to propose an initial methodology for further understanding of how credentials are traded in online marketplaces (such as internet relay chat (IRC) channels), such as typical amounts charged per credential, and with a view to preliminary profiling, especially based on language identification.

Design/methodology/approach

This research proposes an initial methodology for further understanding of how credentials are traded in online marketplaces (such as IRC channels), such as typical amounts charged per credential, and with a view to preliminary profiling, especially based on language identification. Initial results from a small sample of credential chatroom data is analysed using the technique.

Findings

The paper identified five key term categories from the subset of the 100 most frequent terms (bank/payment provider names, supported trading actions, non‐cash commodities for trading, targeted countries and times), and demonstrated how actors and processes could be extracted to identify common business processes in credential trading. In turn, these elements could potentially be used to track the specific trading activities of individuals or groups. The hope in the long‐term is that we may be able to cross‐reference named entities in the credential trading world (or a pattern of activity) and cross‐reference this with known credential theft attacks, such as phishing.

Originality/value

This is the first study to propose a methodology to systematically analyse credential trading on the internet.
CEO letters as legitimacy builders: coupling text to numbers
Authors: Jonäll Kristina , Rimmel Gunnar
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and interpret the CEO letter in the annual reports of three multinational Swedish companies. This study focuses on the CEOs' comments on accounting principles and rules, on company decisions and actions, and on external events. Examination of CEO letters reveals how CEOs make themselves accountable to readers and establish their own and their companies' legitimacy.

Design/methodology/approach

A strategic design was used to select the three companies;.the three criteria used in making the selection were company nationality, age, and stock market listing. A fourth criterion was that the company had been a nominee in the Stockholm Stock Exchange “Best Annual Report” contest. Based on a social constructivist approach, with inspiration from the field of discourse psychology, a discursive action model (DAM) is applied in this research.

Findings

The analysis shows that the CEO letters at two of the three companies do not emphasize numbers and text. In the third company's CEO letters, the numbers are an important component and are balanced with text. It was found that one explanation of the CEO letter format is the CEO's wish to persuade readers of the company's legitimacy, excellence, and future survival. The CEO letter is intended to strengthen readers' confidence in the company.

Originality/value

This paper provides insight into how CEOs use CEO letters in annual reports to craft a corporate image for readers.
Human capital disclosure practices of top Bangladeshi companies
Authors: Khan Habib‐Uz‐Zaman , Khan Rashidozzaman
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of human capital (HC) reporting in leading Bangladeshi firms using the HC reporting framework, thereby making a contribution to the body of knowledge in the area of HC reporting practice in a developing country context.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the technique of content analysis, three years of annual reports of 32 leading manufacturing and service sector companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), selected on the basis of the market capitalization, were examined to identify any HC reporting trends.

Findings

The findings reveal that the HC reporting practices of leading Bangladeshi firms are not as low as projected in relation to the total list of items reported. The most commonly disclosed HC items are information on employee training, number of employees, career development and opportunities that firms provide, and employee recruitment policies. Moreover, as a result of a degree of intervention on the part of some Bangladeshi regulators, the extent of reporting has increased during 2009/2010.

Research limitations/implications

The principal limitations of the study are that it is based on a small non‐random sample of firms taken from a single country and drawing solely annual reporting information.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that documents HC‐related disclosures in the context of a transitional economy such as Bangladesh using multi year‐data. The study contributes to the HC literature by providing empirical evidence of the status of HC reporting in a developing country context.
Knowledge management through technology strategy: implications for competitiveness
Authors: Ahmad Sohel , Schroeder Roger G.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a learning‐based technology strategy along three dimensions: proactive technology posture, process adaptation and experimentation, and collaborative technology sourcing; also to investigate their relationships with plant competitiveness (cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, and innovation).

Design/methodology/approach

Hypothesized relationships are tested from three perspectives – direct effects perspective, co‐alignment perspective, and mediation perspective – using structural equation modeling with an international dataset.

Findings

Results show that although the three dimensions of learning‐based technology strategy are not individually related to plant competitiveness (direct effects perspective), their co‐alignment strongly impacts plant competitiveness (co‐alignment perspective). Furthermore, this co‐alignment creates an environment in which employee suggestion and feedback can help make sense of novel situations, leading to superior plant competitiveness (mediation perspective).

Practical implications

Many plants develop some aspects of a learning‐based technology strategy while paying little or no attention to the rest. As the findings of the present study show, such an approach will contribute very little to achieving competitive advantage in the marketplace. More specifically, it is shown that three dimensions of learning‐based technology strategy, when used together, have a significant effect on plant competitiveness. Additionally, it is shown that employee suggestions for improvements drive a learning‐based approach to technology strategy. Therefore, managers should adopt a comprehensive approach to technology strategy using all three dimensions and engage their employees in the process of technology development and improvement.

Originality/value

The literature has stressed the need for proactive technology posture, process adaptation and experimentation, and collaborative technology sourcing to gain competitive advantage. However, little is known about their mutual interdependence and their combined impact on plant competitiveness. This paper attempts to fill in this gap in the literature.
An analytical hierarchy process‐based tool to evaluate value systems for lean transformations
Authors: Badurdeen Fazleena , Wijekoon Ken , Marksberry Phillip
Published: December 2010

Purpose

True lean transformation has proved notoriously difficult for non‐Toyota companies. One hypothesis is excessive focus on tools/techniques without building the necessary organizational culture. However, empirical evidence is not available to confirm (or refute) this hypothesis. The complex question of the relationship between an organization's culture and its ability to implement lean is a long‐term effort. As a first step, the purpose of this paper is to offer the results of a survey conducted to discover the relative (in)consistency of lean cultures in terms of values held explicitly.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey tool was developed to compare what employees of lean (or attempting to be lean) organizations say explicitly about what their culture values. The Toyota Way, considered by Toyota as guiding its values, was used as the basis to develop the survey which was administered to individuals in several different organizations.

Findings

A higher degree of lean implementation in a company was assumed to show more consistent organizational values (in explicit form). However, the responses varied even from the company considered a leader in lean implementation. Though not conclusive, these preliminary findings suggest that the relationship between cultural type, explicit values and successful lean practice should be examined further.

Originality/value

No empirical studies have investigated the role of culture in success with lean transformations. This paper presents an initial attempt at addressing that issue with a tool developed to evaluate what an organization's culture says its values are, in terms of what is important for lean implementation.
How can teleworking be pro‐poor?
Authors: Kanellopoulos Dimitris N.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine evidence in order to discover if teleworking has a pro‐poor growth impact – reducing inequality. For this reason, the paper seeks to propose a telework taxonomy for the poor and research questions that trigger future empirical research on poor teleworkers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's approach is a literature review. The focused literature includes articles that analyze telework issues with a potential for the poor. Such issues are mainly workforce and organizational issues.

Findings

There is some evidence that provision of teleworking infrastructure has a dramatic effect on the income and quality of life of the rural poor. Special knowledge management tasks and types of telework can be proper for poor people. Economic and organizational aspects of telecentres for poor workers must be analyzed in depth.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a foundation for future research directions in the teleworking domain for the poor. For instance, the discussed implementation aspects of teleworking and the proposed telework taxonomy for the poor as well as the proposed research questions could be used to explore effective penetration of teleworking in poor countries. New conceptual frameworks for implementing telework for the poor can be generated.

Practical implications

An overview is provided of which issues/prerequisites are being considered most broadly and which might provide the most potential for policy makers/managers fighting poverty by using telework.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the teleworking literature by analyzing how telework can be pro‐poor. It provides a useful overview of the topic. It proposes a telework taxonomy for the poor and three research questions that trigger future empirical research on poor teleworkers.
ICT adoption in developing countries: perspectives from small‐scale agribusinesses
Authors: Aleke Bartholomew , Ojiako Udechukwu , Wainwright David W.
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine how social augmented parameters impact on the effective adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) by small‐scale agribusinesses operating in Southeast Nigeria. The relevance of incorporating social imperatives in scholarship focused on technology adoption is due to its role in sustaining the process of adoption and diffusion.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from a focus group made up of 27 agribusiness proprietors affiliated with a state cooperative based in the south‐eastern Nigerian state of Ebonyi.

Findings

This paper puts forward an argument that to ensure successful diffusion of innovation, a balance must be maintained between the amount of effort expended in the design of ICT and social factors such as language and traditional life. The paper finds that a willingness of indigenous ICT users is particularly influenced by the recognition and incorporation of visible social imperatives during the adoption process.

Research limitations/implications

The outcome of this study highlights important issues for ICT adoption. One particular area that must be taken into consideration is the adoption channel. Perceptions of ICT adoption will differ significantly among adopters. For this reason, the need for developing an appropriate adoption channel that ensures successful diffusion of the innovation should be recognised.

Originality/value

This study contributes to ongoing research in ICT innovation adoption in small agribusinesses operating in indigenous societies. The theoretical implications of this paper are the development of a conceptual ICT adoption framework that emphasises social imperatives. The paper also demonstrates that agricultural enterprises should be treated as ‘normal’ firms in their own right.
Simulation to help calibration of a MEMS sensor network
Authors: Dedu Eugen , Bourgeois Julien , Boutoustous Kahina
Published: December 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a calibrator to determine the best grid size of a Smart Surface. The Smart Surface is a micro‐electro mechanical systems (MEMS) whose goal is to sort micro‐parts.

Design/methodology/approach

The possible micro‐parts are rotated and translated, and their characteristics are stored in a database. Afterwards, when such a micro‐part is laid off the Smart Surface, its characteristics are compared to database values. Simulations show that some grid sizes are better than others in terms of success in part recognition.

Findings

The tests performed on all groups of three out of four models show that a sensors grid of (35, 35) is an appropriate parameter for the Smart Surface.

Research limitations/implications

The authors plan to work on a more general case, using any kinds of parts.

Practical implications

The work allows the automation of the process of sorting micro‐parts, in assembly lines for example.

Originality/value

Few works exist for part recognition on very small parts and for choosing the best discretization scale.
Performance evaluation of classifier ensembles in terms of diversity and performance of individual systems
Authors: Chung Yun‐Sheng , Hsu D. Frank , Liu Chun‐Yi , Tang Chun‐Yi
Published: December 2010

Purpose

Multiple classifier systems have been used widely in computing, communications, and informatics. Combining multiple classifier systems (MCS) has been shown to outperform a single classifier system. It has been demonstrated that improvement in ensemble performance depends on either the diversity among or the performance of individual systems. A variety of diversity measures and ensemble methods have been proposed and studied. However, it remains a challenging problem to estimate the ensemble performance in terms of the performance of and the diversity among individual systems. The purpose of this paper is to study the general problem of estimating ensemble performance for various combination methods using the concept of a performance distribution pattern (PDP).

Design/methodology/approach

In particular, the paper establishes upper and lower bounds for majority voting ensemble performance with disagreement diversity measure Dis, weighted majority voting performance in terms of weighted average performance and weighted disagreement diversity, and plurality voting ensemble performance with entropy diversity measure D.

Findings

Bounds for these three cases are shown to be tight using the PDP for the input set.

Originality/value

As a consequence of the authors' previous results on diversity equivalence, the results of majority voting ensemble performance can be extended to several other diversity measures. Moreover, the paper showed in the case of majority voting ensemble performance that when the average of individual systems performance P is big enough, the ensemble performance Pm resulting from a maximum (information‐theoretic) entropy PDP is an increasing function with respect to the disagreement diversity Dis. Eight experiments using data sets from various application domains are conducted to demonstrate the complexity, richness, and diverseness of the problem in estimating the ensemble performance.
A framework for evaluating pervasive systems
Authors: Yang Hen‐I , Chen Chao , Abdulrazak Bessam , Helal Sumi
Published: December 2010

Purpose

A decade and a half after the debut of pervasive computing, a large number of prototypes, applications, and interaction interfaces have emerged. However, there is a lack of consensus about the best approaches to create such systems or how to evaluate them. To address these issues, this paper aims to develop a performance evaluation framework for pervasive computing systems.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the authors' experience in the Gator Tech Smart House – an assistive environment for the elderly, they established a reference scenario that was used to guide the analysis of the large number of systems they studied. An extensive survey of the literature was conducted, and through a thorough analysis, the authors derived and arrived at a broad taxonomy that could form a basic framework for evaluating existing and future pervasive computing systems.

Findings

A taxonomy of pervasive systems is instrumental to their successful evaluation and assessment. The process of creating such taxonomy is cumbersome, and as pervasive systems evolve with new technological advances, such taxonomy is bound to change by way of refinement or extension. This paper found that a taxonomy for something so broad as pervasive systems is very complex. It overcomes the complexity by focusing the classifications on key aspects of pervasive systems, decided purely empirically and based on the authors own experience in a real‐life, large‐scale pervasive system project.

Originality/value

There are currently no methods or frameworks for comparing, classifying, or evaluating pervasive systems. The paper establishes a taxonomy – a first step toward a larger evaluation methodology. It also provides a wealth of information, derived from a survey of a broad collection of pervasive systems.
Timing and mechanisms controlling evaporite diapirism on Ellef Ringnes Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Authors: Boutelier Jennifer , Cruden Alexander , Brent Tom , Stephenson Randell
Published: December 2010

The Permo‐Carboniferous to Eocene Sverdrup Basin in Canada's Arctic Archipelago is strongly influenced by evaporite diapirism. However, salt structures within the basin have not been extensively investigated recently due to their remote location. This study includes the interpretation of legacy seismic reflection and borehole data to characterize the geometry of selected evaporite domes, and 1D backstripping of wells to investigate tectonic and sedimentary influences on diapirism. Extensional rift‐structures appear to have played a significant role in the formation of evaporite domes by triggering and directing salt movement. Diapirism was initiated by at least the Middle Triassic and continued to develop during the Mesozoic. Differential loading of salt on opposing east–west dome margins led to their present day asymmetric geometries. Diapir growth rates in the Mesozoic were closely linked to the rate of sedimentation and influenced by regional tectonism.
Issues with modelling the current and future distribution of invasive pathogens
Authors: Murray Kris A. , Retallick Richard W. R. , Puschendorf Robert , Skerratt Lee F. , Rosauer Dan , McCallum Hamish I. , Berger Lee , Speare Rick , VanDerWal Jeremy
Published: December 2010

1. Correlative species distribution models can be used to produce spatially explicit estimates of environmental suitability for organisms. This process can provide meaningful information for a range of purposes (e.g. estimating a species’ current or future distribution, estimating dispersal limits, predicting occupancy for conservation planning) but, like all statistical exercises, is subject to numerous assumptions and can be influenced by several sources of potential bias.

2. In this issue of Journal of Applied Ecology, we (Murray et al. 2011) employ a correlative species distribution model for infection with the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), cause of amphibian chytridiomycosis, to derive useful information for the immediate management and research of this pathogen in Australia. Also in this issue, Rohr, Halstead & Raffel (2011) comment on some of the potential limitations of our approach and the value of our results in practice.

3.
Synthesis and applications. Here we show that while a focus on mechanisms of dispersal and transmission among hosts, as advocated in both studies, is an important objective for modelling Bd distribution under climate change or at invasion fronts, correlative models can be of immediate value for their ability to generate a baseline hypothesis about the current potential distribution of this lethal pathogen and for efficiently identifying gaps in current knowledge. As demonstrated in our paper, this should help improve the immediate allocation of limited research and management resources for future surveillance efforts and proactive species conservation.
A unifying theory for general multigenic heterosis: energy efficiency, protein metabolism, and implications for molecular breeding
Authors: Goff Stephen A.
Published: December 2010

Hybrids between genetically diverse varieties display enhanced growth, and increased total biomass, stress resistance and grain yield. Gene expression and metabolic studies in maize, rice and other species suggest that protein metabolism plays a role in the growth differences between hybrids and inbreds. Single trait heterosis can be explained by the existing theories of dominance, overdominance and epistasis. General multigenic heterosis is observed in a wide variety of different species and is likely to share a common underlying biological mechanism. This review presents a model to explain differences in growth and yield caused by general multigenic heterosis. The model describes multigenic heterosis in terms of energy‐use efficiency and faster cell cycle progression where hybrids have more efficient growth than inbreds because of differences in protein metabolism. The proposed model is consistent with the observed variation of gene expression in different pairs of inbred lines and hybrid offspring as well as growth differences in polyploids and aneuploids. It also suggests an approach to enhance yield gains in both hybrid and inbred crops via the creation of an appropriate computational analysis pipeline coupled to an efficient molecular breeding program.

ContentsSummary923I.Introduction924II.Early studies of heterosis924III.Heterosis in diverse species926IV.Gene expression studies926V.Protein metabolism927VI.Allele‐specific gene expression928VII.Quality control929VIII.A synthesis model930IX.Putting the model to work932Acknowledgements933References933