bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of agent technology for recycling‐oriented product assessment
Authors: Dostatni Ewa , Diakun Jacek , Hamrol Adam , Mazur Waldemar 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe paper aims to describe ideas and implementation of the computer tool for computer‐aided and recycling‐oriented design. Currently, there is a strong tendency to take into account the impact of a product on the natural environment. The authors concentrated on the issue of the recycling process of the product, taking into account the phase of its design. The purpose, structure, technology and example results are presented in this paper.Design/methodology/approachIt was assumed that analysis will be performed based on a set of measures of a product. These measures (developed by the authors), describing the product from the recycling point of view, are calculated automatically, according to the changes (variants) in the product's model. The presented tool is based on agent technology. The structure of the system – the agents, its roles and communication between them – has been described.FindingsThe main achievement of the work presented in this paper is the method supporting eco‐design based on agent technology. Based on the analysis of the process of recycling‐oriented eco‐design, the authors designed and then implemented the tool that aids designers' activities in the area of eco‐design. The drawn‐up method supports decision making concerning designing environmental‐friendly products. Thanks to agent technology, the design process can be conducted in the distributed design environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe usage of the presented computer‐aided and recycling‐oriented system during the design process requires the duplication of some of the engineer's work. The analysis is performed within the presented tool, outside the typical contemporary design environment, such as CAD 3D systems. As a consequence, there is a need to enter the product structure into the described system, which can be inconvenient. The further work of the authors assumes implementation of this concept into a CAD 3D system.Originality/valueThere has been a limited amount of research work regarding application agent technology in the field of end‐of‐life oriented design. The structure of the system, the measurements and idea of extension of product structure are the original results of the work. The results could be implemented into commercial computer‐aided design systems, especially into its PLM (product lifecycle management) group, due to the weak representation of end‐of‐life phases in these tools.
Productivity management: integrating the intellectual capital
Authors: Phusavat Kongkiti , Comepa Narongsak , Sitko‐Lutek Agnieszka , Ooi Keng‐Boon 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe intangible assets are important today as knowledge and innovation are the key drivers to long‐term business competitiveness. In other words, this competitiveness requires the productive use of the intangible assets. Thus, measuring productivity should underline their importance within an organization. Therefore, the study aims to examine whether the intellectual capital or IC can be used to support productivity measurement.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology consists of two stages, derived from the management process which deals with measurement and analysis. The first stage tests the interrelationships between productivity (namely value‐added labor productivity) and the IC. This test is based on a company's financial reports and the IC survey. The second stage focuses on better understanding on how IC can be analyzed. Altogether ten leading manufacturers, with 270 executives and managers, have participated in the survey. Important statistical techniques such as Pearson Correlation are integrated. Moreover, the consideration into the validity of the survey items (e.g. the non‐respondent bias analysis) is illustrated.FindingsBecause of the significant relationships between the IC and value‐added productivity, measuring the IC can strengthen ongoing productivity measurement efforts on a firm's intangible assets. In other words, the IC can become a surrogate for productivity measurement. To assist the IC analysis further, the IC is positively influenced by innovation, learning organization, knowledge management, and self‐directed learning, respectively. In other words, the innovation appears to have the highest impact on the IC level while the ability of an organization to learn and to apply knowledge also has considerable influences.Originality/valueThe emerging use of the term value‐added highlights the importance of IC within the context of productivity measurement. Past studies have focused on relating some the IC components such as innovation and quality of work life to the productivity level. This study attempts to look at the IC in a more comprehensive manner.
Process quality and collaboration quality on B2B e‐commerce
Authors: Victor Chen Jengchung , Chen Yawen , Paolo S. Capistrano Erik 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose two additions to the existing IS success model to influence usefulness and satisfaction, and ultimately customer loyalty. This study posits that process quality and collaboration quality will significantly influence perceptions on satisfaction, since both considerations are expected to improve interactions between the organization and its customers.Design/methodology/approachThe developed research model was tested in the context of B2B e‐commerce users, employing structural equation modelling‐partial least square to analyze and test the research hypotheses.FindingsResults show that adding process and collaboration quality to the model affects the way system, information, and service quality influences usefulness and satisfaction, suggesting a shift in perspectives and priorities when it comes to B2B e‐commerce transactions. Furthermore, results show that process and collaboration quality have significant effects on usefulness and satisfaction, reinforcing the objective of using B2B e‐commerce systems across supply chain members.Practical implicationsThis highlights the importance of improving business processes and enhancing collaboration activities, implying that managers should focus their efforts into enhancing customer service on top of system functionalities and features via B2B to better work with their supply chain partners. However, this study is limited in the context of a Taiwanese supply chain, suggesting that further research consider its applicability in different contexts, culturally and geographically, especially given the fact that B2B e‐commerce enables cross‐border business operations.Originality/valueThis study also extends the IS success model, especially in the context of B2B e‐commerce, by emphasizing behavioural considerations on top of the functional issues present in any information systems.
Forecasting diffusion of innovative technology at pre‐launch
Authors: Kim Taegu , Hong Jungsik , Koo Hoonyoung 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose a systematic method for the diffusion of forecasting technology in the pre‐launch stage.Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed survey question items that are familiar to interviewees as well as algebraically transformable into the parameters of a logistic diffusion model. In addition, they developed a procedure that reduces inconsistency in interviewee responses, removes outliers, and verifies conformability, in order to reduce the error and yield robust estimation results.FindingsThe results show that the authors' method performed better in the empirical cases of digital media broadcasting and internet protocol television in terms of sum of squared error compared with an existing survey‐based method, a regression method, and the guessing‐by‐analogy method. Specifically, the authors' method can reduce the error by using the conformability and outlier tests, while the consistency factor contributes to determining the final estimate with personal estimates.Research limitations/implicationsThe procedure proposed in this study is confined to the presented logistic model. Future research should aim to extend its application to other representative diffusion models such as the Bass model and the Gompertz model.Practical implicationsThe authors' method provides a better quality of forecasting for innovative new products and services compared with the guessing‐by‐analogy method, and it contributes to managerial decisions such as those in production planning.Originality/valueThe authors introduce the concepts of conformability and consistency in order to reduce the error from personal biases and mistakes. Based on these concepts, they develop a procedure to yield robust estimation results with less error.
Impact of banking regulation on risk and efficiency in Islamic banking
Authors: Alam Nafis 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThis paper aims to examine whether bank regulation, supervision and monitoring enhance or impede technical efficiency and risk‐taking behaviour of Islamic banks across the globe.Design/methodology/approachTechnical efficiency scores are calculated using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model while simultaneity between banks' supervision and regulation on risk and efficiency estimates are calculated using the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) approach.FindingsThe author's results suggest that regulations and strict monitoring of banking operation, and higher supervisory power of the authorities, increase the technical efficiency for Islamic banks. The opposite effect is observed in the case of risk‐taking behaviour of Islamic banks, with higher restrictions resulting in a reduction in risk taking of Islamic banks.Research limitations/implicationsThe Basel II & Basel III guidelines suggested that stricter regulations and supervision could hamper banking efficiency. The existence of a powerful supervisory body could also lead to the inefficiency of banks. The DEA scores from this paper suggest that this may not necessarily be the case, especially as Islamic banks appear to be technically efficient in stricter regulatory conditions.Originality/valueA message that emerges from this analysis is that there is a strong link between Islamic bank technical efficiency and risk‐taking behaviour with the Central Bank regulatory and supervisory policies. It is also conclusive that the Islamic banking system works well within a stricter regulatory environment.
Efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks in Malaysia
Authors: Ismail Farhana , Shabri Abd. Majid M. , Rahim Rossazana Ab. 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to examine cost efficiencies of the selected Islamic and conventional commercial banks over the period of 2006 to 2009 in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachData envelopment analysis (DEA) was initially used, to investigate the cost efficiency of the Malaysian banking sector and followed by Tobit regression analysis determine factors influencing the efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks in Malaysia.FindingsThe DEA results reveal technical efficiency as the main contributor of cost efficiency for conventional commercial banks and allocative efficiency as the main contributor for cost efficiency of Islamic commercial banks. This indicates conventional commercial banks have been efficient in utilizing information technology and electronics. Islamic commercial banks conversely have been efficient in allocating and utilizing their resources. Additionally, scale efficiency is found to be the main source of technical efficiency for both Islamic and conventional commercial banks, denoting that size is important in improving bank efficiency. The results of Tobit regression analysis are twofold. First, it documents capitalization and bank sizes are positively and significantly associated to efficiency. Secondly, loan quality is found to be negatively and significantly associated to efficiency.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the body of knowledge through its literature discussions on the efficiency of both Islamic and conventional banks and the effect of banks' specific characteristics on their efficiency.
A probabilistic evolutionary learning model with epistemological meaning in Islamic economics and finance
Authors: Alam Choudhury Masudul , Hossain Mostaq M. 
Published: June 2013

PurposeLearning field of events is characterized by the occurrenceof random and uncertain phenomena, all of which have probabilistic distributions. The meaning of learning is exchange by interdependence between interacting agents. Such agents are both the human entities and the non‐human ones. Thus, in a learning field of probabilistic events there are complex forms of interaction between the domains of mind (human cognition) and matter (world‐system). The purpose of this paper is to formalize and study such interactions by the epistemology of unity of being and becoming of relations between given variables in analytical perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe critical argumentation and search in this paper leads to the premise of the episteme of unity of knowledge. It is found singularly in the doctrine of the paired universe of the Quran. The episteme of oneness of the monotheistic law and its consequential forms establish the axiomatic basis of the criterion function representing the phenomenon of probabilistic learning field. The authors refer to this criterion as wellbeing. It conceptualizes and measures the degree of unity of being and becoming that exists between the variables of a specific problem under investigation.FindingsThe results of this study formalize the probabilistic model of learning. The simulated evaluation of the probabilistic form of the wellbeing function brings out the synonymous results between unity of knowledge and its impact on the unity of the world‐system induced by the knowledge‐flows. Such a transformation of a world‐system presents the meaning of endogenous (or systemically self‐regenerated) ethics and morality in such broader fields of choices involving embedded learning systems.Originality/valueThe dynamics of pervasive complementarities arising from learning by unity of knowledge, and considerations of ethics and morality remain exogenous factors in economic theory. This paper, instead, has formalized ethical endogeneity in models of decision‐making with probabilistic learning fields that remain embedded in complementarities by interaction and integration across economic, social and ethical systems.
The PhD program: between conformity and reflexivity
Authors: Raineri Nicolas 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThis paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the impact on doctoral education attributable to performativity pressures in academia, by exploring the practices associated with the production of academic knowledge within the doctoral process.Design/methodology/approachAn (auto)ethnographic inquiry was conducted over a period of ten months within the business school of a major Canadian university in order to examine socialisation practices and discourses from a given PhD program. Empirical observations from direct participation, local documents, and two interviews were analysed using a theoretical framework derived from Bourdieu's structural social constructivism and from Foucault's concepts of disciplinary techniques and technologies of the self.FindingsThe study shows how the doctoral program can be likened to a rite of passage, altering and shaping the cognitive structures and interpretive schemes of lay students – their subjective “selves”, their habitus. By means of a set of meticulous discourses and practices, the doctoral program changes novice researchers into disciplined and self‐disciplined academic performers, over time, to comply with the performativity rules of academia, while reflexivity can only be achieved through criticism and self‐criticism.Originality/valueThis paper focuses upon doctoral training vis‐à‐vis improve(ment) of economic and academic performance in a “knowledge society”. It mobilises and develops the notions of rite of passage, performativity, habitus, disciplinary techniques and technologies of the self to examine the conditions within which doctoral students somatise the ways and customs through their engagement in academia.
Ragged edges in the fractured future: a co‐authored organizational autoethnography
Authors: Herrmann Andrew F. , Barnhill Julia A. , Catherine Poole Mary 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThis article aims to represent three ethnographers researching an organizational event within academia: the Second International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. It explores the divergent viewpoints of their ethnographic experiences as well as reflecting upon their relationships with each other as they attempted to understand each others’ viewpoints.Design/methodology/approachThis ethnographic project involved participant observation, full participation, and narrative interviews. However, as the project continued, it evolved to reflexively examining the authors’ own viewpoints and relationships challenges.FindingsThis paper contributes to understanding ethnographic research of organizational events in several ways. First, it is an exemplar of how three ethnographers examining the same organizational event view it through differing lenses. Secondly, it shows how the authors worked together through the research, struggling to understand each others’ varied political and personal lenses through dialogue.Research limitations/implicationsThe research examined only one organizational event, therefore the findings are specific to this site and the same results may not necessarily be found in other organizations.Originality/valueThis paper is unique in that three ethnographers from different generations and different political worldviews can come together for the purposes of research, examine an organizational event and learn to cooperate with and appreciate each others’ viewpoints.
Chain extended vinyl aniline modified cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin
Authors: Kizilcan Nilgün , Ateş Esin 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was as follows. The in situ chemical oxidation (ICO) of vinyl aniline modified cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin (CFVAnR) in the presence of potassium persulphate salt (K2S2O8) was accomplished in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) solutions at 35°C and 70°C. The chemical composition and structure of the oxidized CFVAnR were characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H‐NMR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, DSC, TGA and SEM.Design/methodology/approachThe reactive vinyl and amine groups of the cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin were reacted in the presence of potassium persulphate. CFVAn resin was dissolved in DMSO inside a round bottom flask immersed in a water bath thermostated at reaction temperature of 35°C and 70°C, respectively. Solution of K2S2O8 was prepared in DMSO and this was added into the resin solution.FindingsIt was shown that the vinyl groups in the resin were reacted easily with persulphate salt to obtain chain extended CFVAnR (CECFVAnR). The oxidised 4‐vinyl aniline modified cyclohexanone‐formaldehyde resin has solublity in organic solvents.Research limitations/implicationsThe reaction mixture must be stirred continuously. Temperature should be controlled to prevent the thermal polymerisation of vinyl group and higher branching of amino groups. The persulphate ion (S2O82−) has a standard oxidation potential, but when activated by heat (40‐60°C). Furthermore, sulphate radical can react with water or hydroxide to produce hydroxyl radical (−OH). When persulphate is used for in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) application at relatively low temperatures (e.g. <20°C), the oxidation reactions are usually less aggressive due to a slow generation rate of SO4−.Practical implicationsThis study provides technical information for the synthesis of chain extended resins. The modified resins contain vinyl groups. The chemical radical system has been used to polymerise these vinyl groups and resins with much higher molecular weight might be produced. The resins may also promote the adhesive strength of a coating and corrosion inhibition to metal surfaces of a coating.Social implicationsThis resin will be used for the preparation of AB‐ and ABA‐type block copolymers. These block copolymers may exhibit different properties due to incorporation of ketonic resins into the block copolymer structure.Originality/valueChain extended CFVAnR (CECFVAnR) was synthesised by one step reduction‐oxidation reaction, at 35°C (CECFVAnR1) and 70°C (CECFVAnR2) in the presence of potassium persulphate salt. These soluble resins may overcome difficulties in the applications of polymers and open new application areas. Therefore, the chain extended vinyl aniline modified resin may find a number of new application areas as well as existing UV curable resin and polymer applications.
Effect of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres on insulation properties of coatings
Authors: Sahu P.K. , Mahanwar P.A. , Bambole V.A. 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to prepare heat insulating exterior emulsion coating and to study its heat insulating property along with mechanical, chemical and weathering resistance properties with varying amount of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres.Design/methodology/approachFor heat insulating effect, various compositions were made by incorporating different proportions of hollow glass microspheres (HGM) and cenospheres (C). The mechanical, chemical, morphological and optical properties of the coating films were studied and compared.FindingsAddition of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres enhanced heat insulating property of the coating, hardness, tensile strength and wet scrub resistance. It was evaluated that optimum loading for both cenospheres and hollow glass microspheres was 10 wt.% and both the systems showed good mechanical, chemical resistance and weathering properties.Practical implicationsAddition of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres to acrylic emulsion coating is a simple and inexpensive method.Originality/valueThe new heat insulating coatings with good thermal insulation properties and improved weather resistance were prepared. These coatings could find applications in demanding fields such as exterior wall coatings and roof coatings.
Review of chemo‐responsive shape change/memory polymers
Authors: Lu H.B. , Huang W.M. , Yao Y.T. 
Published: June 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying mechanism and physico‐chemical requirements of chemo‐responsive shape change/memory polymers and to explore the future trend of development and potential applications.Design/methodology/approachWorking mechanism in chemo‐responsive shape change/memory polymers is firstly identified. And then the physico‐chemical requirements for the representative polymers are characterized.FindingsThe different working mechanisms, fundamentals, physico‐chemical requirements and theoretical origins have been discussed. Current research and development on the fabrication strategies of chemo‐responsive shape change/memory polymers have been summarised. The future trend and potential applications have been explored and estimated.Research limitations/implicationsThis review examines physico‐chemical requirements and theoretical origins necessary to achieve chemo‐responsiveness, and then discusses recent developments and future trends.Practical implicationsShape change/memory polymers can be used in the broad field of bio‐ and/or medicine.Originality/valueBreakthroughs and rapid development of chemo‐responsive shape change/memory polymers will significantly improve the research and development of smart materials, structures and systems.