bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Imaging a rectangular fluidised bed by electrical capacitance tomography: preliminary results
Authors: Wang Wei , Yang Hairui 
Published: September 2011

PurposeRectangular fluidised beds are commonly used in industry, e.g. circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boilers. Apparently, no one has tried to imagine rectangular fluidised beds by electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). The purpose of this paper is to design a rectangular ECT sensor to understand the behaviour of a rectangular CFB riser.Design/methodology/approachA rectangular sensor with eight electrodes is adopted to obtain the capacitance data. The sensitivity map is simulated to calculate the grey level of pixels for visualisation using the linear back‐projection algorithm.FindingsExperiments showed that the position of the objects in the riser can be obviously indicated and the central region of the object(s) has significantly higher grey level than other regions in the images using the rectangular ECT sensor.Research limitations/implicationsIt has a limitation in providing a higher resolution image.Practical implicationsThe results obtained by the rectangular ECT sensor show that it is promising to study the characteristics of flow non‐uniformity in the fast fluidisation regime of CFB.Originality/valueWithout using square and circular ECT sensors, this is the first time a rectangular ECT sensor has been developed to study the unique problems of the characteristics of flow non‐uniformity in a rectangular CFB riser.
A fast and effective approach to generate true orthophoto in built‐up area
Authors: Zhong Cheng , Li Hui , Huang Xianfeng 
Published: September 2011

PurposeOrthophoto suffers from the relief displacement effects magnified by high resolution imaging sensors especially when mapping urban areas. True orthophotos eliminating relief displacement with digital surface model (DSM) are presented to assure reliable interpretability and maintain the high quality of the available data. Previous efforts did not provide accurate and fast ways for generating true othorphoto. The purpose of this paper is to try to solve the problem by analyzing the complexity of algorithm processes and finding the optimum manner to allocate them.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, an optimum segmentation number for radial sweep is presented to achieve minimum complexity. First, the scan area, number of azimuth lines and visibility judgment area of radial sweep and spiral sweep method have been discussed with rigorous geometric theory, and then algorithm complexities of both methods are estimated with mathematical computation theory. Finally, minimum complexity of the methods is obtained with extreme point theory of differential calculus.FindingsExperiments have demonstrated that the proposed method has the best efficiency, and is efficient to avoid “M‐potion” problem, and false occlusions and false visibilities caused by the rolling area, the incompatibility between the DSM and ground image resolution.Originality/valueThe deduction and experiments indicate that the proposed method is a robust, accurate, fast, and effective approach to generate high quality, true orthophoto at a large‐scale.
In‐plane displacement sensing from circular grating moiré fringes using graphical analysis approach
Authors: Yen Kin , Ratnam Mani 
Published: September 2011

PurposeResearchers in the past have used Fourier transformation method to determine the in‐plane displacement components from moiré fringes generated by a pair of overlapping circular gratings. In this approach it is necessary to assume that the transmittance is sinusoidal. The purpose of this paper is to propose a graphical method for determining the 2D displacement components from the moiré patterns more easily instead of the complex Fourier transformation method.Design/methodology/approachThe moiré patterns were spatially transformed from Cartesian‐to‐polar coordinate system. The morphological grayscale dilation operation was used to eliminate the residual gratings in the transformed pattern while preserving the moiré fringes. The center line of the moiré fringe was fitted with a sine curve and the in‐plane displacement values were determined directly from the peak‐to‐valley height and the position of the peak in the fitted curve.FindingsExperimental results showed that the proposed moiré pattern analysis method is able to give in‐plane displacement accuracies of 0.002 mm in the x‐direction and 0.01 in the y‐direction without the need for complex computation.Research limitations/implicationsResolution of the proposed method is limited only by the resolution of the imaging system.Practical implicationsThe proposed graphical method for determining 2D displacement components from the moiré patterns can be applied to low‐frequency circular gratings whose transmittance is not sinusoidal.Originality/valueThe graphical analysis method is novel and allows the displacements components to be determined more easily.
Contextual leadership
Authors: Muna Farid A. 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of context and culture on leadership and decision‐making styles of Lebanese‐born executives working in the USA, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and Lebanon.Design/methodology/approachUsing a semi‐structured questionnaire, 76 successful Lebanese executives were interviewed in three regions of the world. Comparisons among the three groups are made on three elements: early ingredients for success particularly during childhood and educational years, emotional intelligence (EI) leadership styles, and decision‐making styles.FindingsAlthough successful leaders, born and raised in Lebanon, share the early ingredients for success, they differ significantly in their decision making and EI leadership styles when working outside Lebanon with multicultural and diverse followers.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings strongly suggest that future research on cross‐cultural leadership will be more fruitful when context and culture are taken into account, and if researchers use a non‐Western conceptualization of culture, and when the research is conducted by multicultural and interdisciplinary researchers.Originality/valueThe study lends support to the notion that successful leaders adapt to their new culture and context, learning from adversity and experience, and mastering the cultural context.
Searching for excellence in business education
Authors: Anninos Loukas N. , Chytiris Leonidas 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to contradict past and present perceptions of excellence in business education, and to present excellence as a primary element for future business education in an era of new challenges for global management.Design/methodology/approachThe approach, by which this paper is structured, is theoretical and has been based on literature regarding excellence in business education and philosophical works.FindingsThe findings of the paper support the view that current business education results in a partial conception or misconception of management with immediate consequences in managerial decision making and business activity. Business education should be seen as an odyssey towards personal (balanced spiritual and technocratic) advancement that can pave the way for noble management behaviour.Practical implicationsThe paper brings out an alternative perspective on business education by considering economics and management as part of a unified context. The attainment of excellence in business activity signifies necessary changes in the foundations of business education, so that future managers have a wider and diversified knowledge repository that will allow them to act in a harmonious way.Originality/valueThe paper offers an alternative way of viewing excellence in business education combining knowledge on management and philosophy which perhaps needs to be taken into consideration by business schools worldwide in order to build a mentality of excellence in business behaviour.
Governance: the new challenge for the African renaissance
Authors: Schepers Stefan 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine economic growth in Africa. It is generally recognised that governance in African countries is not effective enough to deal with economic challenges. Given the ongoing economic growth, it is important that proper reforms are made in order to stabilise economic performance and allow for further economic diversification and social progress.Design/methodology/approachThis article aims to scan the issue in view of further research.FindingsThe economic growth in Africa should lead equally to governance modernisation.Originality/valueThe article is based on political and economic writings and on practical experience in the public and private sectors.
Behavioural economics and financial services marketing: a review
Authors: Chuah Swee‐Hoon , Devlin James 
Published: September 2011

PurposeIt has been argued that the insights provided by behavioural economics have profound implications for the study and practice of marketing. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of how such insights help enhance understanding of aspects of marketing and consumer behaviour in financial services markets.Design/methodology/approachThis paper looks at various facets of behavioural economics which it is felt provide particularly important and salient insights in the context of financial services. In particular, it studies loss aversion and prospect theory, status quo bias and defaults, framing and anchoring effects, hyperbolic discounting, availability effect and salience and over‐confidence. In doing so, it provides a number of examples from the financial services context which provide insightful and informative insights for both commercial practitioners and policymakers. In each case, relevant phenomena are introduced and explained before providing a number of applications and examples from the financial services domain.FindingsThe authors find that the insights afforded by behavioural economics are useful in helping to explain various aspects of consumer behaviour in financial services markets. It is shown that an understanding of the implications of behavioural economics may help in fashioning a choice architecture that is more likely to bring the desired consumer response, from either a commercial or policymaking perspective.Practical implicationsThis analysis provides important insights for those responsible for the marketing of financial services, policymakers in the financial services domain, third sector agencies seeking to foster greater engagement with financial services and other interested parties.Originality/valueThe paper adds value by drawing together various aspects of behavioural economics, providing an analysis of their relevance to financial services marketing and offering numerous examples and applications.
The effect of subtle religious representations on cooperation
Authors: Ahmed Ali , Hammarstedt Mats 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how subtle religious representations affect prosocial behavior. The authors study the impact of religious representations on prosocial behavior in terms of cooperation in a one‐shot/three‐person public goods game.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the scrambled sentence task to prime participants with religious words before they were asked to make a one‐shot/three‐person public goods game decision.FindingsBoth in the raw data and when controlling for factors such as age, gender and religious beliefs, the authors found that priming of religious representations increased cooperation in the experiment, that is, increased contributions to the public good. The authors found no significant interaction effects between priming and self‐reported measures of religiosity, suggesting that the priming effect was present among both self‐reported religious and nonreligious participants. Self‐reported measures of religiosity were not correlated with cooperation in this study.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the growing body of experimental economics literature that has studied self‐reported measures of religiosity alongside behavior in different economic games. This study contributes to the literature by examining the effect of subtle influences of religion on cooperation. Also, in contrast to previous economic literature, the paper examines the direct impact of religion as an independent variable on cooperation.
Effects of airline bankruptcies: an event study
Authors: Jayanti Rama K. , Jayanti S.V. 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of bankruptcies on the market share effects of rival firms in the airline industry.Design/methodology/approachEmploying event study methodology, the authors examine the impact of bankruptcies on major and minor airlines by analyzing four different types of events: filing for bankruptcy by major carriers; coming out of bankruptcy by major carriers; shutdown by major carriers; and filing of bankruptcy by minor carriers.FindingsEmpirical results indicate that filing for bankruptcy by major carriers and shutdown by major carriers resulted in positive abnormal returns around the announcement dates for rival firms, while coming out of bankruptcy by major carriers resulted in negative impact. As expected, the last type of events involving filing for bankruptcy by minor carriers resulted in insignificant abnormal returns.Originality/valueThe results point to the importance of systematically incorporating bankruptcies by competitive firms in estimating and forecasting market demand. The results provide a diagnostic tool to evaluate what kind of contingencies necessitate planning for unexpected spikes in market share.
Managing teacher balkanization in times of implementing change
Authors: Ng Shun‐wing 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to report an exploratory study which was designed to illuminate how school cultures and teachers' value orientations are affected by the educational change of parental involvement.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative research that informs this paper is conceptualized within the interpretive paradigm. Two schools were selected purposefully for the study. In‐depth interviews with 12 teachers and their principal were conducted in each school where observation took place for half a year. Eventually themes and dimensions of teachers' value demarcations emerged in times of change.FindingsThe study demonstrates that three balkanized factions of teachers were wrestling at school. The first balkanized teacher group welcomed the innovation of parental involvement. The second faction of teachers who disbelieved such innovation was found diffident and conservative, and demonstrated resistance to change. The third type of teachers was of a majority who might or might not take part in implementing change. However, once incentives were imposed from the management, they would probably be assimilated.Research limitations/implicationsThe study aims at illuminating teachers' responses to change. It does not attempt to make generalization.Originality/valueThe study reveals that managing teacher balkanization in times of change, school leaders' personal beliefs and their early intervention, are of paramount importance.
School reputation and its relation to parents' satisfaction and loyalty
Authors: Skallerud Kåre 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the direction and strength of the relationships between school reputation, parent satisfaction and parent loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports the findings of a survey of 325 parents from three primary schools across Norway. Building on previous work examining corporate reputations, a new measure of school reputation, as viewed by parents, was developed. Structural equation models were used to validate the new reputation measure and to test the proposed relationships. Relationships linking school reputation to parent satisfaction and loyalty were tested.FindingsSupport for a four‐dimensional scale for assessment of parent‐based school reputation was found, using the following dimensions: parent orientation, learning quality, safe environment and good teachers. Parents' satisfaction significantly affected all reputation dimensions. Views of schools as having a parent orientation and good teachers affected parents' loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to parents from three primary schools in a country‐specific context and should therefore be validated with other schools and in other contexts.Practical implicationsParent‐based school reputation can be easily assessed through a frugal measurement instrument. School managers can address parent satisfaction in order to achieve a good school reputation. A carefully crafted and implemented program for increased parent satisfaction and school reputation would be an important tool for attracting future pupils.Originality/valueAlthough reputation is at the core of modern school management, relatively little research has been conducted that addresses the appropriate conceptualisation and measurement of school reputation. Additionally, there has been little work on potential relationships to antecedent and consequent factors. This study contributes to filling this gap in the research.
School board member professional development and effects on student achievement
Authors: Roberts Kerry L. , Sampson Pauline M. 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the issue of professional development education for school board members. The research question that guides this mixed study is: does school board member professional development have an effect on student achievement?Design/methodology/approachThe standardized protocol for this study was to send a developed questionnaire to 50 directors of state school board associations. An inductive analysis was made of the state school board directors' responses on whether they felt professional development had a positive effect on student achievement. Their responses were then compared with Education Week's 2009 rating of state education systems.FindingsFrom the response from the 26 responding state directors, the study found that most states do not require professional development for school board members. State board directors did feel that school board professional development had a positive effect on student achievement. Of the states that did require school board professional development, they received an overall rating of B or C according to the Education Week 2009 rating, while those states that did not require professional development received a rating of C or D.Research limitations/implicationsMixed research such as this adds to the conversation of the need for required school board professional development but the findings need to be re‐analyzed with all 50 states responding.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are profound in that it is desired that children should succeed and learn in quality schools. School board members' lack of education (i.e. they only require high‐school diploma or GED) has an effect on student achievement. School board members need to take required professional development in all areas of public schooling so that quality decisions can be made for children's education.Social implicationsThe social implications are that school board member professional development sends a message to students that continued adult learning is necessary in all walks of life for the USA to continue its leadership in the world.Originality/valueSchool board members with the barest qualifications are elected to, in essence, run public schools. Little research has been done about the effects of school board member education on student achievement. This paper explores the voices of state directors in relation to professional development for school board members in US public school discourse and fills some of the gaps in the research.
How young, technical consumers assess online WOM credibility
Authors: O'Reilly Kelley , Marx Sherry 
Published: September 2011

PurposeSpecifically focusing on one antecedent (information seeker's characteristics) for electronic word‐of‐mouth adoption and credibility assessments, the purpose of this paper is to attempt to shed light on consumer motivations for making and taking online recommendations, and how technically savvy consumers assess credibility online.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate the role and influence of word‐of‐mouth (WOM) amongst technically savvy online consumers, purposeful sampling was used to limit participants to those who have made online purchases and who spend more than three hours a day on the internet. Using an adaptation of the grounded theory method, this study was triangulated via one face‐to‐face interview with each participant, member‐checking, analysis of online communications deemed “not credible” by the participants, and through relevant literature from marketing and information systems (IS).FindingsAnalysis shows that participants exhibit more of a “bricks‐to‐clicks” than a “clicks‐to‐bricks” purchasing cycle. In addition to relying on customer reviews online, participants accept online WOM to enhance their self‐worth, avoid risk, or enact negativity bias. Additionally, assessment of online WOM credibility is based on four factors: the polarity and quantity of posts, the logic and articulation of posts, the ability to find corroborating sources, and the previous experience of participants with particular sellers.Originality/valuePrevious research in WOM has not specifically explored how technically savvy consumers assess the credibility of online information and how these consumers may help to identify future trends for online customer exchanges. This qualitative study fills this gap. Conceptual framework and managerial implications are discussed.
Cultural analysis of dieting consumers' construction of bodies and identities
Authors: Leipämaa‐Leskinen Hanna 
Published: September 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze how meanings of body and identity are constructed when dieting. The paper utilizes cultural approach and focuses on the ways meanings of body and identity are constructed in social interaction.Design/methodology/approachA netnographic research design connected to qualitative diary research was applied in the study. Three web diaries including notes from a period longer than one year were analysed inductively. That is, the research questions were approached data driven.FindingsThree themes showing the cultural meanings of dieting body were identified: “towards a better body”, “the ashamed body” and “back into control”. Moreover, two themes address the negotiating with the contradictory meanings of identity. They were labeled as “from invisible to visible” and “the humanlike scales”. The identified themes were further analysed in relation to previous findings presented by Thompson and Hirschman in their analysis of consumers' experiences of their embodied selves.Originality/valueLittle attention has been paid to dieting in previous cultural consumption studies even though meanings body and identity and their intertwining have been addressed. As the present findings are based on the naturally occurring data, they offer new ways to understand the meanings related to dieting. Maintaining the body project seems to be the project of becoming something (better) and therefore it asks the consumer to negotiate continuously with her body and identity. Consequently, the paper brings forth social and marketing implications that are developed on the grounds of findings.