bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ontology mediated XML data translation
Authors: Yang Kai , Lo Amanda , Steele Robert 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address problems that exist in the context of XML to ontology translation. Existing research results dealing with XML to ontology translation do not facilitate bidirectional data translation due to the fundamental differences between XML schema and ontologies. This paper proposes a mapping representation ontology for modeling concept mappings defined between XML schema and ontology, enabling data translation without any information loss.Design/methodology/approachA two‐step compensation approach is proposed that aims to prevent the loss of data type, structural and relational information during any single trip data translation. The mapping representation ontology proposed is capable in capturing enough information to compensate the loss of information during translation, hence allowing bidirectional conversions between XML and ontology.FindingsFundamental differences between XML schema and ontology are identified as the main reason causing the loss of information during data translation. A compensation approach that captures a sufficient amount of concept mapping information data translation is found to be successful in enabling lossless data transformation.Practical implicationsOutcomes from this work allow for the seamless data translation between XML documents, it demonstrates how web applications can seamlessly communicate and exchange data with each other without the need to conform to a predefined data standard. This paper aims to enhance interoperability between distributed systems.Originality/valueThis paper presents a mapping ontology that captures concept mappings defined between XML schema and ontology. Two algorithms facilitating the bidirectional XML to ontology translation are also proposed.
A hybrid solution of ontology‐based query expansion
Authors: Nguyen Thanh , Phan Tuoi 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a hybrid ontology‐based solution to expand user's queries.Design/methodology/approachThe solution aims for ontology development and query expansion with ontology‐based approach. The first task is to develop an ontology (named OMP), which relates to key‐properties and key‐members of objects described in words/terms of English vocabulary. Its training methodology is also a hybrid, rule‐based with proposed patterns and statistical‐based solution for selecting the best candidates from TREC English corpus. The second is proposals for mechanisms not only to look for relative result in the ontology OMP to complete and expand user's entered query/noun phrase, but also to expand the search progress by linking the OMP ontology to indexes of information retrieval system. Especially, the base of these two tasks is our proposal for four kinds of semantic relationship of words.FindingsSeveral semantic relationships among words in vocabulary has been introduced and currently used in WordNet to represent the system of semantic networks. In another way, our analyzing for words in English vocabulary found that there are some kinds of semantic dependency in some cases for part(s) of a noun phrase, and it can be represented in grammar noun phrase syntax. That affects not only the proposed approach of ontology OMP development via identifying four kinds of semantic relationship and organizing its structure including core element types such as object and key‐member and key‐property, but also ontology training mechanism and solutions of query expansion by adding extended correspondent words (based on that relationship) to original query.Research limitations/implicationsIn initial iteration, the approach is applied for English query only with limited size of ontology OMP and dependency on grammar rules‐based in creating patterns to extract data from corpus. For future research, applications for other languages (Vietnamese, Chinese …) with sharp focus on improvement of ontology training quality/quantity and query expansion precision are primary targets.Practical implicationsThe developed ontology OMP can be shared as a support for other applications such as semantic data extraction or semantic information retrieval in other researches.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an approach of ontology‐based query expansion and theoretical definitions of semantic relationship among words. Specially, these kinds of relationship can use to develop a useful semantic network system.
The human brain as a mediating, integrating and unifying central agency
Authors: Karli Pierre 
Published: June 2008

PurposeIt matters to be aware of the important role played by the brain in the progressive constitution and unification of the three major facets of the human being: a biological individual; a social actor; a self‐conscious, reflective, and deliberating subject. The aim is to discuss this role.Design/methodology/approachThe dialogues carried on by each one of these facets with an environment of its own (the material environment; the social milieu; the subject's inner world) are related to the functioning of three distinct levels of integration, organization, and adaptation within the human brain.FindingsThe neural substrate of basic affective processes pervades the entire brain and the latter processes play a predominant role in the mediation and integration of the individual's interactions with his/her environments. The degree of “plasticity”, i.e. the sensitivity to the shaping influence of environmental conditions, increases markedly from the lower to the higher level of brain functioning. Any individual characteristic of brain functioning is the outcome of a series of complex and evolving interactions between genetic and environmental factors.Practical implicationsSince brain development highly depends on the early environment (the first years of life), it is of the utmost importance to ensure that every developing brain benefits from optimal environmental conditions.Originality/valueThe paper brings together a series of scientific facts in an integrated and dynamic bio‐psycho‐social perspective which aims at working out a “model of man” thought to be an appropriate basis for any study of human development.
Well‐being for all as a human development objective
Authors: Farrell Gilda 
Published: June 2008

PurposeWhile defining the well‐being for all as the objective of human development, this paper aims to draw attention to the deficiencies resulting from the “simplification” inherent in its implementation, especially by institutions, and to the advantages to be derived from determining the concept's policy implications and the ensuing priorities and strategies via a bottom‐up‐ or grassroots‐approach.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses criteria from grassroots approaches to define well‐being for all.FindingsThe approach to well‐being for all could help moving towards a new “political culture” rather than a new measurement.Practical implicationsThe analysis identifies the links between “components” of well‐being so that action does not continue to be blind, that is to say disregards the fact that, in a complex, changing world, it is necessary to identify the key areas and aspects that offer potential for a renewed organisation of responsibilities, in other words to achieve a new social compromise on the exercise of responsibility.Originality/valueApart from fine‐tuning the definitions what interests us is how to transform a concept into a shared political priority for all concerned in a given context. The paper clarifies this, since a gulf can emerge between a concept's origins (strongly rooted in theories concerning human potential to reason in terms of the common good) and the methods of designating the powers capable of implementing it (for instance the choice may be narrowed down to government agencies and market players alone, disregarding citizens or civil society organisations and the need to engage in new forms of co‐responsibility).
New psychological contracts in the world of work: economic citizens or victims of the market?
Authors: Blickle Gerhard , Witzki Alexander 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to present the causes and manifestations of the changed conditions of work for employees since the 1990s with a particular focus on the situation in Germany. These changes are characterized by a higher demand for expertise and a lower protection against life risks for employees. The paper seeks to address some of the issues surrounding this.Design/methodology/approachThe desire to realize an individual concept of personal identity in work life is argued to be the main driving force of individual career development. It is set in relation to new normative guiding principles of employment (protean career model, boundaryless career model, employability construct).FindingsEmpirical studies support the importance of an individual work identity concept for individual career development. The political and, more importantly, the economic situation in Germany, Europe and other parts of the world has dramatically changed since 1989. The prospective demographic changes in Germany until 2050 and their effects on the job market are also considered.Originality/valueThe paper describes the underlying causes for the changes in the conditions of employment and how these are manifested in the conditions of work, and it also presents empirical findings about the individual coping with career changes.
Financial markets' expectations and human development
Authors: Urban Sabine 
Published: June 2008

PurposeIt matters to be aware of the important direct or indirect role of the financial markets in the human development dynamics in a globalizing world. The purpose of this paper is to identify some main inter‐relations in the socio‐economic system. Deterministic technical factors are opposed to individual or political will. Invisible and visible hands of “players” are designing the future. Is fear justified?Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a systemic approach to describe the impact of the regulation rules through market forces (here the financial markets). But, these forces are not just anonymous; behind hide shareholders, stakeholders, financial funds and institutions, corporate managers, consultants and analysts, employees, retired individuals, politicians, etc. The socio‐economic game is asymmetric and often conflicting.FindingsThe paper tries to explain how the present winners of the game are powerful. The domination effect has its rationale. Applied skills and behaviour of the players are able to contribute to the general equilibrium or unbalance of the social system; but this is never a stable one. Evolution may lead to a paradigm shift or a dangerous clash.Originality/valueThe paper brings together diverse aspects, facts and theories that illustrate the relationship between monetary assets, business activities and human well‐being (both materialistic and intangible). It underlines also the role of policy that has to legitimate the finality of the system.
Crisis management in pharmaceuticals: evidence from Greece
Authors: Priporas Constantinos‐Vasilios , Vangelinos George 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the practice, prevention, and problems pharmaceutical companies face with respect to crisis management (CM). The pharmaceutical sector is considered to be the most crisis prone of all industries.Design/methodology/approachThe study is exploratory in nature and data were collected by carrying out semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with key managers in 16 pharmaceutical companies. The open‐ended questions were content analyzed.FindingsRespondents identified product recall as the major reason for business crisis in pharmaceutical companies. Also, the results revealed that the large‐sized companies had CM departments or had collaborated with consulting firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a limited exploratory study restricted to one country. However, Greece's pharmaceutical expenditure is above the average in OECD countries. Suggestions are presented for future studies and especially for generalization of the findings.Practical implicationsToday's business environment requires a robust, enterprise‐wide plan to deal with crises, especially in pharmaceutical companies where a “mistake” can lead to civilian casualties.Originality/valueThis study offers empirical findings from pharmaceutical companies, where studies are limited and broadly confirms the findings and conclusions of earlier studies in other industries in the international context.
Cost of medical detoxification among drug and alcohol users in a private Texas hospital
Authors: Coustasse Alberto 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to estimate the costs of medical detoxification among patients with alcohol and substance abuse disorders.Design/methodology/approachThe study data was drawn from a medical detoxification program in a community hospital in Texas. Secondary data analysis of 1337 cases from three years was reviewed. Age, gender, race, alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, sedatives, opioids, financial classification, cost, length of stay (LOS) and cost by LOS were analyzed using Kruskal‐Wallis test and Mann‐Whitney U‐test.FindingsThe sample comprised of 42.8 percent women and 57.2 percent males. The mean cost and cost by LOS was highest for cocaine ($2560.1 and $1,044, P<0.01), while opioid and cannabis ($815.5, p<0.01; $823.7, p<0.01) had significantly higher values than the rest. In each individual drug detoxification class, except for amphetamines, the mean and median LOS has been reported to be less among the uninsured category compared to privately insured subjects. In addition, the cost by LOS was also found to be higher in the uninsured group compared to those with private insurance. Subjects who were uninsured and abused alcohol had higher median costs of detoxification (P<0.01) by LOS.Research limitations/implicationsFurther in‐depth analysis for confounding and interactions between variables is warranted.Originality/valueThis research provides an estimation of LOS of a medical detoxification program by financial class in the USA and illustrates that early discharge of uninsured and Medicaid patients can be attributable to aggressive case management practices, interrupting the normal course of care.
Effects of diabetes, patient age, and health insurance provider on the number of drugs ordered or provided per physician visit in the USA
Authors: Pontes Manuel C.F. , Pontes Nancy M.H. , Tashiro Sanae , Lewis Phillip A. 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of diabetes, patient age, and health insurance on the number of prescription and non‐prescription drugs mentioned (ordered or provided) per physician visit in the USA.Design/methodology/approachThe National Center for Health Statistics annually conducts three surveys about ambulatory care physician visits: the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey – outpatient departments, and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey – emergency departments. For this study, the data collected in 2003 and 2004 by these surveys were analyzed with the SAS procedures SURVEYMEANS and SURVEYREG, which can take into account the multistage sample design of these surveys.FindingsRegression analyses show significant effects of diabetes, patient age, and health insurance provider on the number of prescription drug mentions and non‐prescription drug mentions per physician visit. Among adults greater than 18 years old, and even for visits by persons greater than 75 years old, diabetes visits relative to non‐diabetes visits had significantly more prescription drug mentions per visit and significantly more non‐prescription drug mentions per visit physician visits, for both general purposes and diabetes, without insurance coverage had significantly fewer prescription drug mentions per visit than the corresponding visits covered by either private health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Thus, the results show that physicians use more prescription drugs and non‐prescription drugs to manage diabetes visits than non‐diabetes visits and prescribe fewer medications when patients have no insurance than when they have Medicare, Medicaid, or private health insurance.Originality/valueResults from a nationally representative sample of physician visits in the USA show that physicians order or provide substantially more drugs for diabetes visits. These results suggest that diabetes sharply increases drug consumption. Also, physicians are likely to prescribe more medications to patients who have health insurance relative to patients without health insurance.
Coal: the metamorphosis of an industry
Authors: Martin‐Amouroux Jean‐Marie 
Published: June 2008

PurposeCoal, a fuel that once dominated the global energy scene, is staging a come‐back despite being environmentally dirty. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the return of King Coal to find out whether it is likely to be regain its dominance in the global energy in the future.Design/methodology/approachIn analysing the metamorphosis of the coal industry, the paper looks at the historical evolution of the industry and analyses the factors behind the change. The deficiencies of coal's competitors are also analysed. Using a scenario analysis, the future role of coal in the global energy mix is estimated as well.FindingsThe paper finds that despite the domination of hydrocarbons in the global energy mix, coal has maintained a steady share and in some countries, it remained the main fuel. With the concerns of high‐oil prices and peak oil, coal is regaining its domination in the power sector around the world. The industry has reformed and restructured itself to remain competitive. Consequently, it has the possibility of staging a come back as a dominant fuel.Originality/valueThe paper is the first of its kind to take a long‐term perspective of the coal industry to analyse its re‐emergence as a dominant fuel. It combines the industry‐wide information to analyse the changes that swept the industry. It contributes by improving the academic understanding of a neglected fuel that still plays an important role.
Nuclear power versus fossil‐fuel power with CO2 capture and storage: a comparative analysis
Authors: Rogner Hans‐Holger , Sharma Deepak , Irej Jalal Ahmed 
Published: June 2008

PurposeIn recognition of the urgency of the global need to reduce CO2 emissions from the electricity sector, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the cost‐effectiveness of nuclear power and fossil‐fuel‐based power with and without the provision of carbon capture and storage in select, yet environmentally‐significant, group of countries – China, India, Russia, Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Argentina, Bulgaria and Romania.Design/methodology/approachThe analyses are based on comparisons of electricity generation costs for nuclear and fossil‐fuel technologies. These costs, expressed in present value terms, are estimated on the basis of life‐cycle costs, employing detailed country‐specific technological and economic data and assumptions.FindingsThe analyses suggest that that the provision of carbon capture and storage is likely to result in a significant increase in the cost of electricity produced from fossil fuels (principally coal) in all countries represented in this paper. Such increase would completely erode the existing cost advantage enjoyed by fossil‐fuel power (in relation to nuclear power) in some countries (Argentina, Bulgaria, China, and India) and considerably enhance the existing cost‐advantage of nuclear power in other countries (Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, and Russia).Originality/valueNotwithstanding these limitations, the findings of this paper contribute appreciably to the emerging knowledge on this topic and provide useful foresight into the likely challenges of developing internationally acceptable policy prescriptions for mitigation CO2 emissions from the electricity sector. At a mundane, yet important, level, this paper establishes a platform on which further analyses could be built.
Knowledge management in the energy sector: review and future directions
Authors: Edwards John S. 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the state of knowledge management (KM) in the energy sector and more broadly, and consider future directions for research and practice.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the literature on KM and the practice of KM as relevant to the energy sector.FindingsThere are many examples of good practice in KM in the sector, and some organisations, especially in the oil industry, are seen as leaders in KM practice. However, other organisations have yet to embark on explicit KM initiatives or projects at all. In addition, some parts of the energy sector discuss KM without any reference to the more general KM literature.Originality/valueAlthough some parts of the energy sector have justifiably earned a good reputation for KM, other parts are completely unaware of the field, as is apparent from the literature. This review helps to raise awareness and guide future work.
Hybrid strategic thinking in deregulated retail energy markets
Authors: Walsh Philip R. , Sanderson Stuart M. 
Published: June 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the results of research undertaken to test the use of traditional strategic approaches in developing competitive advantage through the assessment of the importance to small‐ and medium‐sized firms of cost and services available in a competitive retail market.Design/methodology/approachA survey involving 181 small‐ and medium‐enterprises provided responses to a questionnaire that measured the importance of key success factors to the customer when making a decision regarding their choice of natural gas supplier.FindingsThe findings suggest that, the use of a low‐cost strategy alone may not be sufficient to create a competitive advantage for suppliers and that a hybrid strategy of cost, service quality, enhanced communication and unbundled services will.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was limited to natural gas customers in Ontario, Canada at a specific period of time in the deregulation process reducing the ability to generalize results across other regions and other energy types. This limitation is defended by the recognition that the importance of variables measured is consistent between regions and energy types.Practical implicationsEnergy suppliers can create a competitive advantage over their competition if they can differentiate themselves through the application of enhanced service quality and communications.Originality/valueLittle, if any, empirical research exists that addresses the response of customers to strategic approaches of suppliers in deregulating energy markets.