Understanding the cultural concerns of libraries based on automatic image analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-434
Author(s):  
Heng Ding ◽  
Wei Lu ◽  
Tingting Jiang

Purpose Photographs are a kind of cultural heritage and very useful for cultural and historical studies. However, traditional or manual research methods are costly and cannot be applied on a large scale. This paper aims to present an exploratory study for understanding the cultural concerns of libraries based on the automatic analysis of large-scale image collections. Design/methodology/approach In this work, an image dataset including 85,023 images preserved and shared by 28 libraries is collected from the Flickr Commons project. Then, a method is proposed for representing the culture with a distribution of visual semantic concepts using a state-of-the-art deep learning technique and measuring the cultural concerns of image collections using two metrics. Case studies on this dataset demonstrated the great potential and promise of the method for understanding large-scale image collections from the perspective of cultural concerns. Findings The proposed method has the ability to discover important cultural units from large-scale image collections. The proposed two metrics are able to quantify the cultural concerns of libraries from different perspectives. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first automatic analysis of images for the purpose of understanding cultural concerns of libraries. The significance of this study mainly consists in the proposed method of understanding the cultural concerns of libraries based on the automatic analysis of the visual semantic concepts in image collections. Moreover, this paper has examined the cultural concerns (e.g. important cultural units, cultural focus, trends and volatility of cultural concerns) of 28 libraries.

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Ulrik Brandi ◽  
Rosa Lisa Iannone

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine learning strategies for competence development at the enterprise level, and how these can be actualised in practice. The authors focus on three influential aspects, namely: the highest valued employee skills, main triggers for learning and investment in learning, as well as the most successful types of learning. Design/methodology/approach The empirical research was designed according to abductive reasoning. The data draw on research we undertook between 2013 and 2015, including semi-structured interviews with management, human resources and union representatives, as well as questionnaire responses from a total of 31 EU and 163 EU-competitors, across 53 industries and 22 countries. Findings Competence development requires flexible, learner-centred strategies for initiatives that respond to immediate business needs. Additionally, despite soft competences being so highly valued and sought after, investment (financial and other) by enterprises in developing them is low, relative to the investments poured into hard competences. Also, there is a clear employee demand gap for learning that develops soft competences. Originality/value Findings and recommendations are based on a large-scale empirical study, providing state-of-the-art knowledge, upon which we can renew our current learning strategies in workplaces.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluigi Guido ◽  
Marco Pichierri ◽  
Cristian Rizzo ◽  
Verdiana Chieffi ◽  
George Moschis

Purpose The purpose of this study is to review scholarly research on elderly consumers’ information processing and suggest implications for services marketing. Design/methodology/approach The review encompasses a five-decade period (1970–2018) of academic research and presents relevant literature in four main areas related to information processing: sensation, attention, interpretation and memory. Findings The study illustrates how each of the aforementioned phases of the information processing activity may affect how elderly individuals buy and consume products and services, emphasizing the need for a better comprehension of the elderly to develop effectual marketing strategies. Originality/value The study provides readers with detailed state-of-the-art knowledge about older consumers’ information processing, offering a comprehensive review of academic research that companies can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts that target the elderly market.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 201-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Barouch ◽  
Stéphane Kleinhans

Purpose – This paper aims at summing up the main criticisms concerning quality management (QM) in order to address them through objective arguments or extant research. Since its diffusion in the Occident in the 70s, QM gained as much approvals as criticisms. Therefore, with 40 years distance, it seems useful to sum up the main criticisms addressed to QM, to present a synthesis of the answers provided by researchers to these criticisms and to propose extant research when it appears that some criticisms have not received yet the adequate response. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a literature review. Findings – This paper comes up with a list of the main criticisms addressed to QM. Then, main causes of criticisms are identified: ignorance of QM, confusion concerning QM definitions and theory and misuse of QM by senior managers. At last, QM organizational solutions are proposed which answer most expressed criticisms. Extant research tracks are considered for those relevant criticisms which have not been sufficiently addressed until now. Research limitations/implications – Further research will look into depicting a survey conducted among QM professionals concerning QM criticisms in their organization and confronting them to these academic results. Originality/value – This paper actualizes and completes Giroux and Landry’s (1998) article which dealt extensively with QM criticisms. Professionals will find in this paper answers to most criticisms against QM and a better understanding of the present limits of this discipline. Researchers will be provided with a state of the art concerning this sensitive topic, allowing them to go deeper in the fields that require special attention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Moffatt

Purpose – This case example looks at how Deloitte Consulting applies the Three Rules synthesized by Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed based on their large-scale research project that identified patterns in the way exceptional companies think. Design/methodology/approach – The Three Rules concept is a key piece of Deloitte Consulting’s thought leadership program. So how are the three rules helping the organization perform? Now that research has shown how exceptional companies think, CEO Jim Moffatt could address the question, “Does Deloitte think like an exceptional company?” Findings – Deloitte has had success with an approach that promotes a bias towards non-price value over price and revenue over costs. Practical implications – It’s critical that all decision makers in an organization understand how decisions that are consistent with the three rules have contributed to past success as well as how they can apply the rules to difficult challenges they face today. Originality/value – This is the first case study written from a CEO’s perspective that looks at how the Three Rules approach of Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed can foster a firm’s growth and exceptional performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Castro Pires de Souza Chimenti ◽  
Marco Aurelio de Souza Rodrigues ◽  
Marcelo Guedes Carneiro ◽  
Roberta Dias Campos

Purpose Through a literature review, a gap has been identified regarding the role of competition as a driver of social network (SN) usage. This study aims to design to address this gap, seeking motivators for SN usage based on how SN consumption may be related to users’ experience of competition. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of competition in social media usage. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an exploratory qualitative approach, conducting a set of focus groups with young social media users. Data was analyzed with software. Findings Two new drivers for SN use are proposed, namely, competition and collective narrative. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study, and it does not seek to generalize results or quantify causal relationships among variables. Practical implications This paper offers SN managers a deeper understanding of key growth drivers for these media. Social implications This research can help society understand and debate the impacts of SNs on users’ lives, providing insights into drivers of excessive usage. Originality/value This paper proposes the following two SN usage drivers yet to be described in the literature: competition and collective narrative.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Finch ◽  
Norm O'Reilly ◽  
David Legg ◽  
Nadège Levallet ◽  
Emma Fody

PurposeAs an industry, sport business (SB) has seen significant growth since the early 2000s. Concurrently, the number of postsecondary sport management programs has also expanded dramatically. However, there remain concerns about whether these programs are meeting the demands of both employers and graduates. To address these concerns, this study examines the credential and competency demands of the SB labor market in the United States.Design/methodology/approachResearchers conducted an analysis using a broad sample of employment postings (N = 613) for SB positions from two different years, 2008 and 2018.FindingsResults support that a complex set of SB qualifications exist, and the credentials and competencies included in SB employment postings have evolved over the past decade.Originality/valueA noteworthy finding is that meta-skills are found to be particularly important for employability, including items such as communication, emotional intelligence and analytical thinking and adaptability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Esparza Aguilar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the CSR practices developed by Mexican family and non-family MSMEs. The study also aims to compare the CSR practices carried out by family and non-family businesses in a country with an emergent economy. Design/methodology/approach The paper opted for an exploratory study using a sample of 384 businesses was selected in the southern state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, distributed in 245 family and 139 non-family businesses and a questionnaire was applied directly to the managers/owners. Findings The results show that family MSMEs develop CSR practices to a higher extent than non-family ones, mainly on environment and societal dimensions. In addition, CSR practices in family-owned enterprises develop to a higher extent when the manager/owner has more years of experience in the business, has a higher university education and the size of the business is larger. Research limitations/implications The study was developed exclusively with a MSMEs sample with a scope only on the southern part of Quintana Roo, Mexico; the shortage of business databases and the stratification of businesses based exclusively on the number of employees. This work presents information that contributes to the state of the art, broadening the existing literature related to CSR in businesses of a country with an emergent economy and an environment where the tourism and commercial sectors predominate. Practical implications This paper provides information to government institutions for the establishment of public policies targeted for an increase of CSR activities by businesses in the area. Manager and/or owners can understand the importance of implementing CSR activities within the business as a competitive strategy. It is also important for universities, professors/researchers and for all interested parties. Originality/value This paper provides theoretical and empirical evidence about CSR practices carried out among family and non-family MSMEs in an emergent economy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-105
Author(s):  
Said Adekunle Mikail ◽  
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Ahmad ◽  
Salami Saheed Adekunle

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the utilisation of both zakāh and waqf fund as external resources to ensure micro-takāful services are delivered to underserved communities in an effective and sustainable manner. It also addresses Sharīʿah issues related to the zakāh- and waqf-based model. Design/methodology/approach The study is a qualitative-based research. It uses both focus group and content analysis approach to gather primary data and identify and interpret relevant secondary data and Sharīʿah concepts in developing the zakāh- and waqf-based micro-takāful model. Findings It is discovered throughout the investigation of attributes of beneficiaries of zakāh and waqf institutions as well as micro-takāful scheme that all share commonalities in terms of social securities and socio-economic support to low-income households in societies. The study also finds that the disintegration of zakāh and waqf which form part of the Islamic ecosystem from the micro-takāful model makes it less effective and sustainable. Originality/value This study appears as a primitive attempt to discuss and develop a zakāh and waqf-based micro-takāful model with reference to Malaysian jurisdiction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Prantl ◽  
Martin Prantl

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine and verify the competitive intelligence tools Alexa and SimilarWeb, which are broadly used for website traffic data estimation. Tested tools belong to the state of the art in this area.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use quantitative approach. Research was conducted on a sample of Czech websites for which there are accurate traffic data values, against which the other data sets (less accurate) provided by Alexa and SimilarWeb will be compared.FindingsThe results show that neither tool can accurately determine the ranking of websites on the internet. However, it is possible to approximately determine the significance of a particular website. These results are useful for another research studies which use data from Alexa or SimilarWeb. Moreover, the results show that it is still not possible to accurately estimate website traffic of any website in the world.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the research lies in the fact that it was conducted solely in the Czech market.Originality/valueSignificant amount of research studies use data sets provided by Alexa and SimilarWeb. However, none of these research studies focus on the quality of the website traffic data acquired by Alexa or SimilarWeb, nor do any of them refer to other studies that would deal with this issue. Furthermore, authors describe approaches to measuring website traffic and based on the analysis, the possible usability of these methods is discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-546
Author(s):  
Christofer Laurell ◽  
Sten Soderman

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of articles on sport published in leading business studies journals within marketing, organisational studies and strategy.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of 38 identified articles within the subfields of marketing, strategy and organisation studies published between 2000 and 2015, the articles’ topical, theoretical and methodological orientation within the studied subfields were analysed followed by a cross-subfield analysis.FindingsThe authors identify considerable differences in topical, theoretical and methodological orientation among the studied subfields’ associated articles. Overall, the authors also find that articles across all subfields tend to be focussed on contributing to mature theory, even though the subfield of marketing in particular exhibits contributions to nascent theory in contrast to organisation studies and strategy.Originality/valueThis paper contributes by illustrating the current state of research that is devoted or related to the phenomenon of sport within three subfields in business studies. Furthermore, the authors discuss the role played by leading business studies journalsvis-à-vissport sector-specific journals and offer avenues for future research.


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