bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dicarboxylic acid esters as components of modern synthetic oils
Authors: Gryglewicz S. , Oko F. A. 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe paper presents the results of research carried out on esters of carbonic, adipic, and sebacic acids with respect to their use as components of fully synthetic lubricating oil produced from a polyalphaolefin base. Straight dicarboxylic acid esters were synthesized in a transesterification reaction of dimethyl carbonate, dimethyl adipate, and dimethyl sebacate with 2‐ethylhexanol and 3,5,5‐trimethylhexanol.Design/methodology/approachOligomeric esters of adipic acid and sebacic acid were synthesized using neopentyl glycol, appropriate dimethyl adipate or dimethyl sebacate and 2‐ethylhexanol as the starting material. The basic physicochemical properties of esters were determined and their compatibility with synthetic oils were defined. They were also evaluated with respect to resistance under the influence of thermo‐oxidative factors, evaporation and susceptibility to hydrolytic decomposition. The selected esters were complemented with commercial additives to make up a fully synthetic lubricating oil with a polialphaolefin base. A special attention was paid to the effect of ester compounds on the physicochemical properties of the formulated oil.FindingsThe obtained results show that straight adipates and sebacates of 2‐ethylhexanol and 3,5,5‐trimethylhexanol as well as oligomeric esters in which molecules are terminated with 2‐ethylhexyl group can be used as component of lubricating oils. The addition of these esters reduced the pour point by a few degrees in comparison with the tested base oil. The temperature fell below 40°C. The presence of esters significantly improved the viscosity index. A positive influence of esters on the lubricating properties of the formulated oil was also observed. On the contrary, dialkyl carbonates show too low boiling point, which is indicated by the high amount of volatile components, 19‐22 percent, in final product. Adipic and sebacic oligomers containing methoxyl groups in their structures proved to be immiscible with polyalphaolefins.Originality/valueThe achievement of this work is the synthesis of new oligomeric esters of dicarboxylic acids, which can be excellent additives for improving properties of synthetic oils. Further studies will be focused on the use of esters as components of engine oils. This requires real motor tests.
The effect of paid employment on university students' lives
Authors: Manthei Robert J. , Gilmore Alison 
Published: May 2005

PurposeOwing to the increasing debt students are accumulating to finance their tertiary study, many are having to work during term time. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of this paid employment on their study time and other aspects of their lives.Design/methodology approachEighty three undergraduates completed a questionnaire about their academic workload, their paid employment commitments during term time, their earnings and expenditure, and their recreational and cultural activities.FindingsResults indicated that 81 per cent of the students held at least one job during term time for an average of 14 hours per week. The money earned was typically spent on essential living expenses. Working left less time than desired for social activities, study and recreation.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are limited by the relatively small sample size of self‐selected students: mainly young, female and enrolled in Arts courses.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that working is not always detrimental to students' academic efforts, particularly if the hours worked are manageable given their course load. Lecturers should be more aware of the busy lives students lead and try to structure assignments and course requirements to recognise this, including the scheduling of class times and the offering of study support services.Originality/valueThe study adds to the growing body of international data that reports on the effects of a user‐pays approach in tertiary education. There is no similar data in New Zealand.
A study of collaborative learning style and team learning performance
Authors: Julie Yazici Hulya 
Published: May 2005

PurposeSelf‐directed work teams are seen as an important mechanism for dealing with today's complex and rapidly changing business environment. Team learning is an attempt to prepare students to real‐world experiences. But, not all teamwork is effective. This paper aims to examine the influence of learning style preferences on team learning performance.Design/methodology/approachThe Grasha‐Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS) is used to assess the learning style preferences of business students enrolled in an operations management class.FindingsStudents were found to be collaborative learners. Students' collaborative orientation complements participation and helps students to compete, which in turn increases team performance. In addition, influence of learning style varies with educational experience, gender and major. Graduate students showed to be collaborative and independent learners. As such, while personal model and formal authority teaching styles fit best undergraduates' learning preferences, at the graduate level, instructor' role changes to facilitator and delegator.Originality/valueProvides evidence that learning style preferences are valuable for engaging learners in various collaborative activities and for designing successful diverse teams.
Digital libraries in the knowledge era
Authors: Lytras Miltiadis , Sicilia Miguel‐Angel , Davies John , Kashyap Vipul 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to introduce the special issue on the Semantic Web. Intensive research has been undertaken worldwide in research centres and several achievements have been accomplished towards the ultimate objective: the expression and the exploitation of humanity's collective knowledge.Design/methodology/approachA multi‐fold strategy for the preparation of this special issue was deployed. Given the special characteristics, a balanced mix of introductory papers to the topic, and also advanced research papers at the leading edge of Semantic Web evolution, were selected.FindingsThe paper summarizes the articles of the issue and also provides help in understanding the Semantic Web Roadmap of Digital Libraries.Originality/valueIntroduces the papers in the special issue.
Semantic Web technologies for digital libraries
Authors: Sure York , Studer Rudi 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide an overview about the Semantic Web, its importance and history and an overview of recent Semantic Web technologies which can be used to enhance digital libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper answers, at least partially, questions like “What is the Semantic Web?”, “How could the Semantic Web look like?”, “Why is the Semantic Web important?”, “What are ontologies?” and “Where are we now?”. Several pointers to further literature and web sites complete the overview.FindingsSemantic Web technologies are valuable add‐ons for digital libraries. There already exist numerous academic and commercial tools which can be applied right now.Practical limitations/implicationsThe overview of Semantic Web technologies cannot be complete in such an article, therefore we limit ourselves to the most prominent technologies available. However, following the pointers given readers can easily find more information.Originality/valueThe article is of particular value for newcomers in this area.
Applying semantic technology to a digital library: a case study
Authors: Warren Paul , Alsmeyer David 
Published: May 2005

PurposeTo describe how semantic knowledge technology can be used to enhance a digital library.DesignThe paper examines the main research challenges in the field of digital libraries and identifies the extent to which semantic knowledge technology can be used to respond to these challenges. Functionality developed within the SEKT project (http://sekt.semanticweb.org) is used to enhance an existing digital library. The development of a good ontology is central to such an application, and the paper describes the particular ontology engineering approach adopted.FindingsFour broad challenges were identified: achieving interoperability; describing objects and repositories; managing multimedia collections; and improving user interfaces and human‐computer interaction. The SEKT digital library case study is using semantic knowledge technology to respond to the first two and the last of these. The paper describes how this is being done and the kind of enhanced functionality being developed.Originality/valueThe paper is of value in understanding how semantic knowledge technology can enhance information management in general and a digital library in particular.
Integrating semantic metadata in P2P‐based digital libraries
Authors: Ding Hao 
Published: May 2005

PurposeTo propose methods for expressing semantics and operating semantics in largely distributed environment, such as peer‐to‐peer (P2P) based digital libraries (DLs) where heterogeneous schemas may exist and the relationships among them must be explicated for better performance in information searching.Design/methodology/approachIn conventional solutions, a mediator is adopted to create and maintain the matching between relevant terms such that distinct but relevant metadata schemas can be integrated according to the mapping relationships in the mediator. However, such solutions suffer some problems originated from the static matching in mediator. This paper proposes to use facts to express the relationships among heterogeneous schemas and conduct the reasoning dynamically by using inference engines.FindingsIt is justified to use facts and inference engines to express and operate the semantics among heterogeneous but relevant information resources. The user can choose to convert only part of the XML document into facts if she can unpeel deeply nested XML tags. Additionally, it is possible for the user to manually edit (assert, update or retract) the facts as needed in the reasoning.Research limitations/implicationsThe study assumes that peers are clustered according to shared topics or interest. An exhaust evaluation has not been conducted.Practical implicationsEach node can publish its schema to the involved peer community such that other peers can automatically discover the specific schema. A local matchmaking engine is adopted as well in order to automatically generate the relations between its own schema and the retrieved ones.Originality/valueThis paper provides a framework for semantic data integration in P2P networks.
Building a distributed digital library for natural disasters metadata with grid services and RDF
Authors: Xing Wei , Dikaiakos Marios D. , Yang Hua , Sphyris Angelos , Eftichidis George 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThis paper aims to describe the main challenges of identifying and accessing useful information and knowledge about natural hazards and disasters results. The paper presents a grid‐based digital library system designed to address the challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe need to organize and publish metadata about European research results in the field of natural disasters has been met with the help of two innovative technologies: the Open Grid Service Architecture (OGSA) and the Resource Description Framework (RDF). OGSA provides a common platform for sharing distributed metadata securely. RDF facilitates the creation and exchange of metadata.FindingsUsing grid technology allows the RDF metadata of European research results in the field of natural disasters to be shared securely and effectively in a heterogeneous network environment.Originality/valueA metadata approach is proposed for the extraction of the metadata, and their distribution to third parties in batch, and their sharing with other applications can be a quickly process. Furthermore, a method is set out to describe metadata in a common and open format, which can become a widely accepted standard; the existence of a common standard enables the metadata storage in different platforms while supporting the capability of distributed queries across different metadata databases, the integration of metadata extracted from different sources, etc. It can be used for the general‐purpose search engines.
Reasoning against a semantic digital library framework based on grid technology
Authors: Papadakis Ioannis , Avramidis Agapios , Chrissikopoulos Vassilis 
Published: May 2005

PurposeAims to bridge the gap between grid computing and semantic exploitation of information commonly met in digital library infrastructures.Design/methodology/approachThis paper introduces a semantic digital library framework based on grid technology. It follows the OGSA specifications for the development of grid infrastructures capable of efficiently handling such information. It is a service‐oriented approach based on common web technologies such as the web browser and web server. The design principles of the proposed framework take into account the emerging need to exploit the semantics of its underlying information through the employment of adequate open standard technologies such as RDF and OWL.FindingsAlthough semantic exploitation of large data sets used to be a difficult and resource‐consuming activity usually taking place in specialized, highly equipped laboratories, this work demonstrates that emerging technologies like the grid and emerging standards like RDF/OWL are capable of bringing such research closer to the average workstation.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of a working prototype based on the proposed framework limits the usefulness of the results deriving from this paper.Originality/valueThis paper can serve as a starting point to researchers wishing to conduct research in the area of the semantic grid as applied to digital library infrastructures.
Mining novel connections from large online digital library using biomedical ontologies
Authors: Hu Xiaohua 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe huge volume of biomedical literature provides a nice opportunity and challenge to induce novel knowledge by finding some connections among logical‐related medical concepts This paper aims to propose a semantic‐based knowledge discovery system for mining novel connections from large online digital libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe method takes advantages of the biomedical ontologies, MeSH and UMLS, as the source of semantic knowledge. A prototype system, Biomedical Semantic‐based Knowledge Discovery System (Bio‐SbKDS), is designed to uncover novel hypothesis/connections hidden in the biomedical literature. Using only the starting concept and the initial semantic relation derived from UMLS, Bio‐SbKDS can automatically generate the semantic types as category restrictions for concepts. Using the semantic types and semantic relations of the biomedical concepts, Bio‐SbKDS can identify the relevant concepts collected from Medline in terms of the semantic type and generate the novel hypothesis between these concepts based on the semantic relations.FindingsThe system successfully replicates Dr Swanson's famous discoveries: Raynaud disease/fish oil automatically, and generates much less intermediate concepts and spurious connections.Originality/valueThe method takes full advantage of the semantic knowledge of the biomedical concepts, compared with previous approaches, our methods generate much less but more relevant novel hypotheses. Another significant advantage over other traditional approaches is that our method requires much less human intervention in the discovery procedure.
The school‐to‐work transition in England and Wales
Authors: Lenton Pamela 
Published: May 2005

PurposeAims to consider whether the expansion of post‐compulsory education has led to greater benefits for members of one socio‐economic group than another.Design/methodology/approachUses a multinomial logit model of the choice of first destination, using the Youth Cohort Survey data for England and Wales, from 1985 to 1992.FindingsWhilst prior attainment has the strongest influence on selecting academic further education, participation rates into post‐compulsory education have also increased for young people of average ability. Interaction effects clearly show that for even the most able, the socio‐economic status of parents is an important influence on the choice of destination. The greatest benefit from the increased provision of post‐compulsory education after conditioning for ability has been to young people from high socio‐economic groups.Originality/valueProvides analysis, following investigation, of the main transmission mechanisms that determine choice at age 16.
Time‐series estimation of import demand functions for pulses in India
Authors: Agbola Frank W. , Damoense Maylene Y. 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThis study seeks to examine empirically import demand for total pulses, chickpeas and lentils in India based on the concept of unit root and cointegration.Design/methodology/approachThe Stock‐Watson dynamic OLS (DOLS) model – which is robust to small sample and eliminates simultaneity bias – is used to derive the long‐run price, income and urbanisation elasticities of import demand. The data covers the period 1970‐2000.FindingsResults indicate that real GDP, relative price and urbanisation are the key determinants of import demand for pulses in India. The estimated long‐run elasticities of import demand with respect to income (relative price) are 0.4 (−1.7) for chickpeas, 0.56 (−0.87) for lentils and 0.36 (0.00) for total pulses. The estimated long‐run elasticities of import demand with respect to urbanisation are 9.9 for chickpeas, zero for lentils and 7.2 for total pulses. The policy implications of the results are discussed.Originality/valueProvides evidence that the response of import demand for pulses to key determinants differ substantially from product to product.
Historical school and institutionalism
Authors: Hultén Staffan 
Published: May 2005

PurposeThe paper aims to study the relevance of the German historical school and American Institutionalism for contemporary research in social sciences. The subject scope of the paper is to trace how concepts, ideas, and frameworks trickle from the historical school into later research programs.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of the paper is a textual analysis of articles and books that either relates the relationship between the historical school and the institutionalism or make explicit or implicit references to the most important concepts and methodologies in these schools.FindingsThe paper has two main findings. The first is that Commons was heavily influenced by Weber's ideal‐types when he wrote his most important book Institutional Economics. The second is that concepts and methodologies used by the historical school and American institutionalism are used in nearly all areas of the social sciences. But the researchers seldom make explicit references to these schools.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of the present paper is that it draws too a very limited extent directly on the publications of the German historical school. Future research could try and reconstruct how the American instutionalists came to the conclusions they did on the historical school. It is possible that differences in political opinions and competition between two schools with partly similar messages prompted writers like Veblen and Commons to exaggerate differences of opinion.Originality/valueOne important contribution of the paper is the discussion of the influences the historical school had on leading institutionalists. Another important contribution is the exploration of present and future research projects that could benefit from revisiting the theories and methodologies of the historical school and institutionalism. By making more explicit the references to these schools, new insights can be gained on how to develop research methodologies and understanding the limits and potentials of pursuing a research approach.
Factors affecting evaluation of e‐business projects
Authors: Lesjak Dušan , Vehovar Vasja 
Published: May 2005

PurposeDespite rapid expansion of e‐business, the research on corresponding evaluation is relatively rare. This paper studies the factors that impact how companies evaluate their e‐business projects.Design/methodology/approachPaper starts with conceptualization of factors that affect the usage of e‐business evaluation. The empirical part is based on representative telephone survey (n=755) among Slovenian companies in 2003. The causal model (LISREL) was applied on this data.FindingsOnly about one tenth of the companies with sizeable e‐business projects employs some type of formal e‐business evaluation. One reason for that might be high satisfaction with e‐business. Among formal methods return on investments and cost benefit analysis dominate. However, once a company decides to apply evaluation approach it will use more methods, usually three or four. The attitudes towards e‐business are the most important factors affecting the implementation of e‐business evaluation methods. Surprisingly little differences were noticed in respect to the size of the company, its IT infrastructure, as well as the number and variety of e‐business projects.Practical implicationsThe attitudes of the IT management are crucial for employing evaluation of e‐business projects.Originality/valueThe paper revealed that the perceptions of e‐business most strongly affect the corresponding e‐business evaluation practice. On the other hand, the high occurrence of problems related to e‐business implementation has a negative impact on the introduction of evaluation methods.
Internet banking: strategic responses to the accession of WTO by Chinese banks
Authors: Lu Ming‐te , Liu Chun‐hong , Jing Jiang , Huang Linjun 
Published: May 2005

PurposeTo assess to what extent Chinese domestic banks' use of internet banking as a strategic response to the entrance of the WTO is affected by factors both external and internal to the banks.Design/methodology/approachA model depicted by a path diagram is developed to test the impact of various external and internal factors considered to have an impact on Chinese domestic banks' strategic response to the accession into the WTO. Survey questions from prior studies were adopted and modified. Structural equation analyses were used for data analysis.FindingsThe research hypothesis that the increasingly competitive conditions in the banking sector resulting from China's accession into the WTO has a significant effect on Chinese domestic banks' internet banking investment decisions was confirmed.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual model and research instrument could be further refined. The sampling frame used could be expanded to cover all banks in the Chinese mainland.Practical implicationsFindings of the study should benefit organizations in improving their use of IT as a strategic weapon, especially for the banking industry.Originality/valueThis study is the first empirical research on internet banking in mainland China from a strategic perspective.