bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Applying innovative food cost management practices in inflationary times
Authors: Munjal Sandeep , Sharma Sanjay 
Published: November 2012

PurposeIn the Indian context with an extended phase of high food inflation impacting the hospitality sector, there is a need for coping mechanisms to protect the business bottom line and maintain revenue growth. This need is even more pronounced within the budget restaurant segment. There is limited research that identifies the approach and innovative practices that food and beverage profit centers (hotels and restaurants) can deploy to handle the impact of the identified macroeconomic variable. The purpose of this paper is to probe the general approach and innovation that the budget segment may have used to survive the impact of a sustained increase in prices of food products and related raw materials.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach is adopted for this investigation, through a mix of in‐person or telephone interviews with operating managers (F&B manager, restaurant manager and chefs). The feedback from these sources provides an understanding of the responses of the budget segment to the stated issue of inflation in food products. The qualitative approach generates a spectrum of responses that helps to document some of the best practices that yielded good results, allowing the broader segment to emulate the same.FindingsThe research helps owners and operators to draw from innovative practices and approaches used to deliver improved fiscal performance in terms of managing food cost, without adversely impacting customer experience and overall business profitability.Research limitations/implicationsThere was a possibility that no clear indicators would emerge from the feedback, nonetheless the experiences that are documented through this research open doors for further research into innovative practices in managing food and beverage costs for improved profitability.Practical implicationsThe budget food and beverage sector in the Indian context has been dealing with high inflation of 14 ‐ 18 per cent on the supply side. A mix of strategic choices including passing the additional cost to end users, compromises in the form of diluting product quality or quantity (portion size) or unique process changes are also possible responses.Originality/valueThis paper lists best practices and also evaluates if there is any commonality emerging from the segment in terms of the “right approach” to manage food cost under prevailing inflationary conditions.
Six‐day racing entrepreneurs and the emergence of the twentieth century arena sportscape, 1891‐1912
Authors: de Wilde Ari 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore twentieth century sportscapes and their role in the development of urban arenas as places of sport.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing frame theory and sport business history scholarship, the author examines entrepreneurs' development of six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden. The main primary sources include autobiographies, morgue files, and newspapers.FindingsIn this paper, it is argued that entrepreneurs' shaping and marketing of six‐day races and their sportscapes resulted in a popular sporting spectacle and helped to promote arenas as spaces and places of sport.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates the process and development of “frame management” in urban arenas and their transition to spaces and places of sport. By exploring six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, the paper shows the importance of a now‐forgotten cultural event to the development of the multi‐billion dollar sport industry and to one of the world's most iconic arenas. The paper adds to scholarship on bicycle racing and marketing history, as well as the historiography of the sport industry.
A preview of the Mark H. McCormack Collection
Authors: Wilson Wayne 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the acquisition of the Mark H. McCormack Collection by the University of Massachusetts, McCormack's role in marketing history and the significance of the collection to researchers.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on an examination of selected documents in the collection and interviews with University of Massachusetts archivists.FindingsThe McCormack Collection contains eight million pages documenting the history of IMG, McCormack's groundbreaking marketing and management company. Most documents cover the period 1960‐2000. IMG, which began as a golf company, became a key player in the marriage of sport and television, as well as the commercialization and globalization of sport and celebrity culture. The University Archives staff plan to make the collection a dynamic multidisciplinary research tool. The collection will be valuable to students of marketing, sport and other forms of popular culture. The availability of archival resources affects what topics researchers pursue. The McCormack Collection will make it possible to investigate a wide range of new topics and personalities.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper was written before University of Massachusetts had fully developed its collection access policies or plans for digitizing the collection.Originality/valueThis paper alerts scholars to a major new research resource.
Pattern classification using fuzzy relation and genetic algorithm
Authors: Ray Kumar S. 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to consider a soft computing approach to pattern classification using the basic tools of fuzzy relational calculus (FRC) and genetic algorithm (GA).Design/methodology/approachThe paper introduces a new interpretation of multidimensional fuzzy implication (MFI) to represent the author's knowledge about the training data set. It also considers the notion of a fuzzy pattern vector (FPV) to handle the fuzzy information granules of the quantized pattern space and to represent a population of training patterns in the quantized pattern space. The construction of the pattern classifier is essentially based on the estimate of a fuzzy relation Ri between the antecedent clause and consequent clause of each one‐dimensional fuzzy implication. For the estimation of Ri floating point representation of GA is used. Thus, a set of fuzzy relations is formed from the new interpretation of MFI. This set of fuzzy relations is termed as the core of the pattern classifier. Once the classifier is constructed the non‐fuzzy features of a test pattern can be classified.FindingsThe performance of the proposed scheme is tested on synthetic data. Subsequently, the paper uses the proposed scheme for the vowel classification problem of an Indian language. In all these case studies the recognition score of the proposed method is very good. Finally, a benchmark of performance is established by considering Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and the proposed method. The Abalone, Hosse colic and Pima Indians data sets, obtained from UCL database repository are used for the said benchmark study. The benchmark study also establishes the superiority of the proposed method.Originality/valueThis new soft computing approach to pattern classification is based on a new interpretation of MFI and a novel notion of FPV. A set of fuzzy relations which is the core of the pattern classifier, is estimated using floating point GA and very effective classification of patterns under vague and imprecise environment is performed. This new approach to pattern classification avoids the curse of high dimensionality of feature vector. It can provide multiple classifications under overlapped classes.
Hybrid model of self‐organizing map and kernel auto‐associator for internet intrusion detection
Authors: Zhang Bailing , Zhang Yungang , Lu Wenjin 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe task of internet intrusion detection is to detect anomalous network connections caused by intrusive activities. There have been many intrusion detection schemes proposed, most of which apply both normal and intrusion data to construct classifiers. However, normal data and intrusion data are often seriously imbalanced because intrusive connection data are usually difficult to collect. Internet intrusion detection can be considered as a novelty detection problem, which is the identification of new or unknown data, to which a learning system has not been exposed during training. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, a novelty detection‐based intrusion detection system is proposed by combining the self‐organizing map (SOM) and the kernel auto‐associator (KAA) model proposed earlier by the first author. The KAA model is a generalization of auto‐associative networks by training to recall the inputs through kernel subspace. For anomaly detection, the SOM organizes the prototypes of samples while the KAA provides data description for the normal connection patterns. The hybrid SOM/KAA model can also be applied to classify different types of attacks.FindingsUsing the KDD CUP, 1999 dataset, the performance of the proposed scheme in separating normal connection patterns from intrusive connection patterns was compared with some state‐of‐art novelty detection methods, showing marked improvements in terms of the high intrusion detection accuracy and low false positives. Simulations on the classification of attack categories also demonstrate favorable results of the accuracy, which are comparable to the entries from the KDD CUP, 1999 data mining competition.Originality/valueThe hybrid model of SOM and the KAA model can achieve significant results for intrusion detection.
Differentiation by improving quality of services at the last touch point
Authors: Dadfar Hossein , Brege Staffan 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of Tehran pharmacies' services and their impacts on the pharmaceutical firms, to highlight forces behind the current situation and suggest some improvements. This provides the means for pharmaceutical companies to differentiate themselves by quality of services, in the forefront of dealing with the customers, so‐called the last “touch point”.Design/methodology/approachAfter a comprehensive literature review, SERVQUAL model was chosen to be used in this study. A combination of quantitative and qualitative (integrative) methods was used for data collection and analysis. The quantitative data were gathered by questionnaires, including 22 pair items measuring expectation and perception, followed by qualitative data, including 32 in‐depth interviews. Furthermore, the views of our expert panel consisting of nine experts have been identical to the study. For statistical treatment of quantitative data, SPSS software was used.FindingsThe study reveals that Tehran community pharmacies are facing serious service quality problems. The results of quantitative data show negative gaps in perceptions and expectations of customers in all 22 SERQUAL statements and all dimensions: Information, Reliability, Empathy, Appearance and Time commitment. Comparatively, appearance dimension is ranked as the highest quality and the lowest rank belongs to information dimension. The findings show that the generic SERVQUAL scale does not properly measure the quality of pharmacies' services; therefore, the authors recommend an industry‐based scale; called PHARMA‐SERVQUAL. The findings show the reasons for low quality services are: low education of pharmacists' assistants, lack of proper regulation and control, pharmacies' economic problems and cost of quality improvement, the culture of blaming others and accusing pharmaceutical firms, government and social security organization. In short, pharmacists transfer their service problems to pharmaceutical firms, which have largely neglected this last touch point with the customer. The study also suggests some quality improvements and academic as well as managerial implications.Originality/valueThe study provides empirical evidence regarding the service quality of pharmacies in a developing country (Iran) and adds depth to the understanding of the reasons behind the quality problems. This research contributes to the understanding of how pharmacies' qualities of services enhance/change the customers' perception of the pharmaceutical companies' product qualities. It suggests that the firms should differentiate themselves at the pharmacies as the “last touch point” dealing with the end‐users. The study sheds light on the necessity of modifying the SERVQUAL items and dimensions to fit pharmacies' services.
Teaching to learn in the workplace
Authors: Rowland‐Jones Rhys 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer a rationale for the epistemological and ontological development of total quality management (TQM) utilising action modalities. The ability to harness and transfer knowledge is a key attribute of research‐led universities, and a factor which is able to bring education and industry into cooperative relationships. However, Imai views that there is a tendency to place too much emphasis on teaching knowledge, whilst disregarding group learning of fundamental values, established through gemba kaizen and through the learning organisation.Design/methodology/approachEstablished through the results of a survey of 50 manufacturing companies in the UAE, and based on the andragogical learning concept in both solving a problem and generating new knowledge, this paper investigates a conceptual basis for action learning. The paper offers a rationale for the epistemological and ontological development of total quality management (TQM) utilising action modalities. This reflects the underpinning philosophy of TQM toward the continuous improvement in quality of the organisations' processes, people, products, and services.FindingsThe findings of the construct of andragogical gemba establish the robustness of the methodological move from pedagogy to andragogy. The applicability of andragogical gemba being underpinned by the required interaction of democracy and collaboration. The survey of UAE SMEs confirms a lack of engagement within this concept, and recommendations are given to support development.Originality/valueThe paper has been developed within Dubai's socio economic mix, Dubai being a constituent Emirate within a Country where expatriates form approximately 93 per cent of the total workforce population. The transient nature of the workforce produces pressures on the learning organisation, and the context of knowledge transfer and creation.
A case study on quality management and digital innovation
Authors: Rönnbäck Åsa , Eriksson Henrik 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the maturity of quality management and digital innovation in an organisation. Furthermore, the purpose is to analyse the relationship between and learning opportunities of the two concepts based on that maturity.Design/methodology/approachAn explorative case study was carried out by conducting in‐depth interviews with both quality management and IT professionals, complemented with a document study.FindingsThe findings of this research show the maturity of quality management and digital innovation in an organization using a set of principles. The analysis shows that, on an overall level, the majority of the principles studied concerning quality management and digital innovation are categorized as “uncommitted” or “initiators”. The study shows that there is an interrelationship between quality management and digital innovation and they are dependent on each other.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a case study and focuses on one context where the interrelationship between quality management and digital innovation is studied.Practical implicationsThe results can provide insights on the importance of working cross‐functionally when developing the organisation. The maturity of quality management in an organisation can either inhibit or facilitate digital innovation, and similarly, digital innovation can improve or deteriorate service quality for both internal and external customers.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service quality literature by empirically investigating the maturity of quality management and digital innovation, and discussing how they can relate and what they can learn from each other.
Climate change accelerating land use dynamic and its environmental and socio‐economic risks in the Himalayas
Authors: Rawat Pradeep K. , Tiwari Prakash C. , Pant Charu C. 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to assess the environmental and socio‐economic impacts and risks of climate change through GIS database management system (DBMS) on land use‐informatics and climate‐informatics. The Dabka watershed constitutes a part of the Kosi Basin in the Lesser Himalaya, India in district Nainital has been selected for the case illustration.Design/methodology/approachLand use‐informatics consists of land use mapping and change diction, i.e. decadal changes and annual changes. Climate‐informatics consists of climate change detection through daily, monthly and annual weather data for a period of 25 years.FindingsThe exercise revealed that oak and pine forests have decreased, respectively, by 25 percent (4.48 km2) and 3 percent (0.28 km2) thus bringing a decline of 4.76 km2 forest in the watershed during 1990 to 2010. But, due to climate change the mixed forest taking place of oak forest in certain pockets and consequently the mixed forest in the catchment increased by 18 percent (2.3 km2) during the same period which reduced the overall loss of forests in the region but its not eco‐friendly as the oak forest. Barren land increased 1.21 km2 (56 percent), riverbed increased 0.78 km2 (52 percent) and cultivated land increased about 0.63 km2 (3 percent) during the period of 1990 to 2010. Out of the total seven classes of the land use land cover, five classes (i.e. Oak, Pine, Mixed, Barren and Riverbed) are being changed dominantly due to climate change factor and anthropogenic factors plays a supporting role whereas only two classes (scrub land and agricultural land) are being changed dominantly by anthropogenic factors and climate change factors plays a supporting role. Expansion of mixed forest land brought out due to upslope shifting of existing forest species due to climate change factor only because upslope areas getting warmer than past with the rate of 9°C‐12°C/two decades. Consequently, the results concluded that the high rate of land use change accelerating several environmental problems such as high runoff, flash flood, river‐line flood and soil erosion during monsoon season and drought during non‐monsoon period. These environmental problems cause great loss to life and property and poses serious threat to the process of development with have far‐reaching economic and social consequences.Originality/valueThis study generated primary data on land use‐informatics and climate‐informatics to integrate each‐other for impact assessment and mitigation through sustainable land use as constitutes a part of a multidisciplinary project, Department of Science and Technology (D.S.T.) Government of India.
The importance of local and regional networks in supporting dual diagnosis in clinical practice
Authors: Holland Mark , Bell Richard , Hughes Liz 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to describe the development and functions of local and regional networks for professionals working with dual diagnosis in the north of England.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a descriptive account of local and regional networks in the north of England – their development, their function and future plans.FindingsLocal and regional networks are important in helping people share resources and ideas as well as gaining mutual support in what can be very stressful roles. However, there is a danger in a climate of financial constraints that network activities may be lost.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the importance of collegiate networks of professionals and service user representatives and offers a perspective from the north of England.
Estimating the fatigue behavior of welded joints in the VHCF regime
Authors: Krasovskyy A. , Bachmann D. 
Published: November 2012

PurposeThe present work aims to deal with a very high cycle fatigue (n=109 cycles) of gas metal arc welded joints, subjected to a multiaxial and non‐proportional loading. Different design codes and recommendations can greatly reduce the analysis effort in the design of welded structures providing a suitable balance between computational accuracy and ease of use for many industrial applications. However, various assumptions have to be made in a conservative way making this approach less accurate. This paper deals with a refined fatigue assessment, which considers the most important aspects for welded joints and provides an accurate lifetime prediction of welded structures.Design/methodology/approachFor an accurate prediction of the total lifetime of welded components the information about the material state and the welding induced residual stresses on weld toes is essential. If the surface condition after welding is poor in this area, which is usually the case, the presence of defects can be assumed and the fatigue crack nucleation process can be neglected. The microstructural threshold for initial crack propagation can be therefore used as a lower bound for the fatigue limit prediction.FindingsBased on the results from the simulation of a welding process and a post‐weld heat treatment in combination with a fracture mechanics approach, this work successfully attempts to reproduce a fatigue behavior, which was observed at the fatigue tests of the multi‐pass single bevel butt weld.Originality/valueThe proposed approach is able to predict accurately the fatigue strength of welded structures and to achieve the full cost and weight optimization potential for industrial applications.
Theory and experimental method to determine bonding strength envelope of bi‐material interface
Authors: Chowdhuri M.A.K. , Xia Z. 
Published: November 2012

PurposeIt is well known that stress singularity may exist at the edges of a bonded bi‐material interface due to the discontinuity of material properties. This stress singularity causes difficulty in accurately determining the bi‐material interface bonding strength. This paper aims to present a new design of specimen geometry to eliminate the stress singularity and present an experimental procedure to more accurately determine the bonding strength of the bi‐material interface.Design/methodology/approachThe design is based on an asymptotic analysis of the stress field near the free edge of bi‐material interface. The critical bonding angle, which delineates the singular and non‐singular stress field near the free edge, is determined.FindingsWith the new designed specimen and a special iterative calculation algorithm, the interface bonding strength envelope of an epoxy‐aluminum interface was experimentally determined.Originality/valueThis new design of specimen, experimental procedure and iterative algorithm may be applied to obtain more reasonable and accurate bonding strength data for a wide range of bi‐material interfaces.