bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How shall we write and read in twenty‐first century academy?
Authors: Farber Miriam 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe paper's aim is to point out trends in scholarly communication – both some of the main advantages and the yet unsolved problems that technology – swift communication lines, digitalization and the web – brought into one of the most important activities of academic life: the reading – writing – publishing cycle.Design/methodology/approachThe different stages, which eventually give birth to a scientific paper, are described here as thinking – (experimenting) – reading – writing – publishing, and analyzed from handwritten to print to digital texts, with an emphasis on the revolutionary changes that scholarly publishing is experiencing.FindingsThanks to computerization, hypertext and the web, academic life enjoys swift and effortless communication, ease of writing, rapid publishing, almost unlimited access, but there are several uncalled for developments as well.Originality/valueThe new technologies lack a convenient way of writing‐while‐reading, enhance plagiarism, eliminate traditional archiving methods without offering a satisfactory new substitute (presently) and give rise to a call for a revised way of citation, together with new ways of archiving and storing.
Information science – facing social and ethical challenges
Authors: Prebor Gila 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe current study aims to review the emerging trends as revealed in masters' theses and doctoral dissertations written over the past five years (2002‐2006) in information science departments worldwide, and to examine how social and ethical issues are reflected in these research projects.Design/methodology/approachThe ProQuest digital dissertations database was used to identify the studies, and studies conducted in the Department of Information Science at Bar‐Ilan University in Israel during the same years were also added to the sample. To locate these projects studies, all studies that received the subject classification of “library science” “information science” or both during those years in the ProQuest digital dissertations system were retrieved yet only studies conducted in departments of information science were included in the sample. The dissertations and theses retrieved were divided into nine categories.FindingsA clear trend can be identified in masters' theses and doctoral dissertations research conducted over the past five years in departments of information science worldwide. The social aspects of information are moving into the spotlight. It appears that the user and his/her ability to sift through the vast sea of information will be the primary research focus in the twenty‐first century.Originality/valueThe paper presents the current trends in research in the field of information science. The findings will be relevant for researchers and curriculum planners in information science.
Ignorant and impatient internationalization?
Authors: Forsgren Mats , Hagström Peter 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent classical models of firms' internationalization process can explain behavior among totally new types of firms. More specifically, we confront the traditional so‐called Uppsala model of internationalization with data and experiences from such firms in order to analyze and discuss some basic elements in the model.Design/methodology/approachCase studies of newly established and fast growing Internet‐related firms – rather dissimilar to the firms on which the Uppsala model was originally based – are examined.FindingsThe paper finds that, first, incremental behavior does not seem to be of major concern for our Internet‐related firms, at least not in comparison with factors related to first‐mover‐advantage or following‐the‐herd behavior. Second, stakeholders other than those included in the Uppsala model seemed to have a profound influence on the studied firms, forcing them to go abroad much faster than the model would predict. Third, related to the former point, the existence of an explicit and active internationalization strategy was observed among the firms, not fully in line with the reactive and adaptive firm behavior in the Uppsala model.Originality/valueThe results indicate that the internationalization behavior of new types of firms like Internet‐related firms might deviate considerably from what the Uppsala model predicts. However, as this behavior was far from successful in the studied cases, the results also indicate that the managerial implications of the Uppsala model are maybe more relevant than were originally intended.
The ambiguous relationship of ICT and organizational performance: a literature review
Authors: “Bryan” Jean Ruey‐Jer 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the ambiguous relationship of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the relationship between small suppliers and their multinational enterprise (MNE) customers.Design/methodology/approachThis is a literature review paper which develops a conceptual model of IT‐mediated relationships between small suppliers and large MNE customers. The framework integrates transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource based theory (RBV) perspectives and argues that ICT integration both facilitates coordination and monitoring but also impacts on partner opportunism. It is argued that ICT integration can enhance supplier performance given certain circumstances.FindingsThe paper clarifies the ambiguous nature of the power‐dependence relationship between small suppliers and their multinational customers.Originality/valueICT both facilitates the governance relationship, balances the power between these key players but also heightens ability to exert control, which is a paradoxical effect.
ICT and MNE reorganisation: the paradox of control
Authors: Yamin Mo , Sinkovics Rudolf R. 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the ICT‐enabled enhancement of control capability in MNEs. The literature on MNE structures acknowledges the role of ICT as a support system, but the specific changes facilitated by ICT have remained significantly underdeveloped. The paper seeks to address this issue conceptually and link contemporary ICT advancement with changes in MNE strategy or structure. The paper further posits that certain applications of ICT may paradoxically reduce a key advantage of multinationality.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is of conceptual nature and critically examines and develops literature to generate insight on the implications of ICT applications for MNE development. Specifically the focus is on enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) and the impact of enhanced visibility of remote operations to headquarter management.FindingsThe finding is that ICT application entails a possible trade‐off. It may facilitate an enhancement of control capability for MNE headquarters, however, potentially entails the risk of lessened adaptive capability of subsidiaries, thus potentially constraining the long‐term viability of MNE operations:Practical implicationsWhilst ICT applications may improve coordination and control for the MNE, a level of subsidiary autonomy and initiative taking is still beneficial for MNE strategic and organisational development. ICT applications should not go so far as to suppress it. To this end, managers may be advised to purposefully “blur” subsidiary visibility, by, e.g. allowing the use of different ERP systems.Originality/valueThe main contribution is the integration of literature on ICT advancements, specifically the application of enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), into the IB literature.
Unravelling the paradoxes of the (new) digital economy: myths and realities
Authors: Fikirkoca Ali 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a selective bibliography and examine the potential of the digital technologies, using an inter‐disciplinary literature survey that will contribute to academic and practical knowledge with regard to the understanding of the emerging forms of doing business and competition together with their developmental implications.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines a survey of a collection of papers that have been published before and after the new economy bubble. These writings then are classified under two main headings: the views of the (new) digital economy proponents and the sceptics. These two opposing approaches are compared and contrasted through the use of five sub‐sections: conceptualisation, driving force, spatial/developmental implications, industrial impacts of the digital economy, epistemological/methodological foundations.FindingsThe paper finds that claims about the world economy entering into a new phase of a virtuous capitalism or a new international division of labour are over‐exaggerated. A more balanced approach should take into consideration both the dynamics of change and continuity without underestimating the future potential of digital technologies.Originality/valueThis paper offers a critical assessment of the digital economy, based on an inter‐disciplinary literature survey that brings together pieces of work that have previously been analysed largely in a separate manner.
The direct farmer's market: a tool for rural female empowerment
Authors: Tijani Sarafat A. , Yano Izumi 
Published: October 2007

PurposeWomen play an important role in marketing and their participation is greatest where trade is traditional. This study aims to explore this most basic level of direct marketing.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the turn around in the life of these women, the study examined the opportunity accrued to women farmers through participating in direct farmer's markets in Japan. Purposive sampling method was adopted in selecting the respondents. To establish change(s) in respondent's status; the snowball method was used to select non‐direct farmers markets (DFM) users for comparison while data collection was done by structured questionnaire and interview schedule.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that most of the DFM studied were established to improve rural women status.Practical implicationsThe relationship between the empowerment of both groups and selected characteristics suggests that their empowerment in familial and mobility would be decreasing as they advance in age.Originality/valueMuch of the current direct marketing research is focused on the high‐level/high‐tech sectors. This research investigates the most fundamental level of direct marketing: one‐to‐one interactions and transactions.
Protecting privacy in system design: the electronic voting case
Authors: Kavakli Evangelia , Gritzalis Stefanos , Christos Kalloniatis 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to present Privacy Safeguard (PriS) a formal security requirements engineering methodology which, incorporates privacy requirements in the system design process and to demonstrate its applicability in an e‐voting case.Design/methodology/approachPriS provides a methodological framework for addressing privacy‐related issues during system development. It provides a set of concepts for formally expressing privacy requirements (authentication, authorisation, identification, data protection, anonymity, pseudonymity, unlinkability and unobservability) and a systematic way‐of‐working for translating these requirements into system models. The main activities of the PriS way‐of‐working are: elicit privacy‐related goals, analyse the impact of privacy goals on processes, model affected processes using privacy process patterns and identify the technique(s) that best support/implement the above‐process patterns.FindingsAnalysis of a number of well known privacy‐enhancing technologies, as well as of existing security requirement engineering methodologies, pinpoints the gap between system design methodologies and technological solutions. To this end, PriS provides an integrated approach for matching privacy‐related requirements to proper implementation techniques. Experimentation with the e‐voting case suggests that PriS has a high degree of applicability on internet systems that wish to provide services that ensure users privacy, such as anonymous browsing, untraceable transactions, etc.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a new methodology for addressing privacy requirements during the design process. Instead of prescribing a single solution, PriS guides developers to choose the most appropriate implementation techniques for realizing the identified privacy issues. In addition, due to its formal definition it facilitates control of the accuracy and precision of the results and enables the development of automated tools for assisting its application.
Institutional patterns of enterprise architecture adoption in government
Authors: Hjort‐Madsen Kristian 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand why, and under which circumstances, enterprise architecture (EA) planning adoption improves information systems (IS) planning and supports administrative transformation in government.Design/methodology/approachAbout 12 cases in the USA were approached with a preliminary theoretical framework derived from the extant literature. Theory building had affinities with grounded‐theory approaches and came out of numerous iterations between the “deep cases” and the extant theory.FindingsThree adoption patterns illustrate that the adoption of a new IS planning innovation does not create administrative or political transformation in itself. Compliance and imitation primarily drives the adoption process, while fundamental transformation to the tasks performed in government is only achieved if the institutional force at the micro‐and macro‐level promotes transformation.Research limitations/implicationsThe neoinstitutional perspective proposed can be of value to other IS researchers as a basis for empirical work in other situations; the implications of the case study can be taken as starting point for further research into the important topic of IS‐based administrative transformation.Practical implicationsThe research illustrate that EA adoption is an emergent, evolving, embedded, fragmented, and provisional social production that is shaped as much by cultural and structural forces in the organizational context in which they are implemented as rational technical and economic ones. The findings helps public organizations better understand and manage the adoption of new IS planning innovations.Originality/valueIn the IS literature, very few have recognized the contribution of “new” institutional theory. Thus, this paper helps us understand how administrative and political transformation is adopted in government from a new perspective.
Internal service climate and psychological empowerment among public employees
Authors: Dimitriades Zoe S. , Maroudas Theodore 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe paper aims to contribute to the stream of research on empowerment by investigating the construct of psychological empowerment among Greek public employees. The primary objective is to further the limited amount of empirical research on the concept of empowerment as “experienced” by those working in public administration. Specifically, the study aims to extend the empowerment literature by determining the transferability of Menon's instrument in a Greek public service context; and by examining the relationship between psychological empowerment and internal service climate, defined here as employee quality perceptions of internal service encounters.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on 330 surveys from tax officers in a mid‐sized town in Northern Greece.FindingsFactor, reliability, correlation, and regression analyses were performed providing satisfactory results. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses faithfully reproduced the three dimensions suggested by Menon – namely perceived control, perceived competence and goal internalization – in a culturally diverse environment compared to the original study. Also, support was provided for the usefulness of the measure in the Greek tax administration. In addition, internal service climate was positively associated with psychological empowerment according to expectations.Research limitations/implicationsIt may be relevant for future research to replicate the present study in other types of Greek public organizations utilizing probabilistic sampling techniques. Longitudinal and/or quasi‐experimental research designs might be employed to address issues of causality. Ways of dealing with common method variance also need to be given consideration. Further, examining the predictive validity of individual and contextual antecedents and consequences of psychological empowerment identified in the private sector, investigating the nature of these relationships (causational, mediational, or moderational), and incorporating organizational effectiveness indices in the proposed model should enhance our understanding of the dynamic nature of the variables analyzed.Originality/valueResults demonstrate the transferability of Menon's instrument in a culturally diverse work environment. In addition, the applicability of the scale in a Greek public service context is well illustrated. The link between an under‐researched facet of organizational climate, namely internal service climate, to psychological empowerment is highlighted and discussed. To the knowledge of the researchers, no prior study has attempted to investigate these issues in Greek public organizations.
Governance structures of the electricity distribution network operation activities
Authors: Tanskanen Anna , Jantunen Ari , Saksa Juha‐Matti , Partanen Jarmo , Bergman Jukka 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on the governance choices of firms operating in the electricity distribution network operation activities. The study aims to consider both costs and benefits of different governance choices and to examine which of the activities could be outsourced and which it is preferable to keep in‐house. The study makes a distinction between the electricity retail services and electricity distribution network activities and focuses solely on the network business.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a four‐staged process and utilizes the extended transaction cost economics as a theoretical framework. The research design includes in‐depth interviews with ten managers and CEOs of Finnish electrical utilities, analysis and interpretation of findings and verification of results by electricity network business experts.FindingsThe extended transactional cost economics theoretical framework and research design support analysis of governance structures and make‐or‐buy decisions. The findings demonstrate that the activities of the companies operating in the electricity distribution business differ in terms of potential long‐term efficiency effects when sourced from the market or made in‐house. The determinants of the governance choice depend partly on the nature and strategic importance of the activity in question. Operations management seems to be a function to be kept in‐house in the current market situation, whereas there are clear potential benefits that can be obtained by outsourcing field work activities. The results related to the governance of control room activities are more complicated.Originality/valueThis study brings not only the transaction costs but also the benefit‐side and the dynamic aspects of boundary choices under assessment.
The White Paper on energy: will it really meet the United Kingdom's energy challenge?
Authors: Bhattacharyya Subhes C. 
Published: October 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this commentary is to review the recently published White Paper on energy that outlines the policies the government intends to take to meet the energy challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe commentary presents a critical review and analysis of the report that rely on the author's understanding and experience.FindingsThe review highlights that, despite considering a wide range of policy options, the country is unlikely to meet the target on carbon emission reduction set by the government by 2020 and, unless the nuclear option is exercised, the possibility of missing the carbon emission reduction target of 60 per cent in 2050 remains high. The note also questions the logic of focusing on the domestic actions alone when cheaper options exist through participation in other Kyoto Protocol instruments. Moreover, the idea of promoting competitive energy markets does not appear to be compatible with the desired low carbon path. The effectiveness of a top‐down approach (as opposed to a more bottom‐up approach) to a transition to low‐carbon energy economy policies is also doubted. While the report acknowledges the important role of fossil fuels over the coming decades, it fails to provide adequate measures to ensure supply security. The preparation against supply disruption remains poorly addressed. The faith placed in markets in meeting the investment needs for the electricity sector is going to be a major test of the government policies and the supply security will be greatly compromised unless adequate investments in desired capacity mixes take place.Originality/valueThe value of this commentary lies in its comprehensive synthesis of the White Paper and the critical review of the salient features of the policy.
Gα–Gβγ dissociation may be due to retraction of a buried lysine and disruption of an aromatic cluster by a GTP‐sensing Arg–Trp pair
Authors: Neuwald Andrew F. 
Published: October 2007

AbstractThe heterotrimeric G protein α subunit (Gα) functions as a molecular switch by cycling between inactive GDP‐bound and active GTP‐bound states. When bound to GDP, Gα interacts with high affinity to a complex of the β and γ subunits (Gβγ), but when bound to GTP, Gα dissociates from this complex to activate downstream signaling pathways. Gα's state is communicated to other cellular components via conformational changes within its switch I and II regions. To identify key determinants of Gα's function as a signaling pathway molecular switch, a Bayesian approach was used to infer the selective constraints that most distinguish Gα and closely related Arf family GTPases from distantly related translational and metabolic GTPases. The strongest of these constraints are imposed on seven residues within or near the switch II region. Likewise, constraints imposed on Gα but not on other, closely related molecular switches correspond to four nearby residues. These constraints are explained by a proposed mechanism for GTP‐induced dissociation of Gα from Gβγ where an Arg–Trp pair senses the presence of bound GTP leading to conformational retraction of a nearby lysine and to disruption of an aromatic cluster. Within a complex of Giα, Giβγ, and GDP, this lysine establishes greater surface contact with Giβ than does any other residue in Giα, whereas the aromatic cluster packs against a highly conserved tryptophan in Giβ that establishes greater surface contact with Giα than does any other residue in Giβ. Other structural features associated with Gα functional divergence further support the proposed mechanism.