Improving the quality of strategic decision-making process in universities through employing expert systems: A case study from a developing country

Strategic decisions represent the fundamental core of the strategic planning process and strategic management in universities and they are essential in shaping the universities' policies and achieving their strategic goals. Without those strategic decisions, the universities stand unable to achieve their strategic goals and mission; therefore, specialists realized the critical importance of improving the quality of strategic decision-making in the current complex fast-changing environment that its dynamism continuously increases and which is based on the use of cutting-edge information and communications technology (ICT). Undoubtedly strategic decision-making process requires processing a huge amount of information with different robust smart methods and the extensive use of experts knowledge. There are many discussions about the uses and applications of expert systems (ESs), which are evolving rapidly in solving real problems in many fields that require experienced experts with deep sound experiences, and despite these many applications in many different fields and domains. Literature reveals that there is a scarcity of scientific research on how to employ expert systems to raise the quality of strategic decision-making processes in universities. Thus the purpose of the research is to fill this research gap by investigating how expert systems will enhance the quality of the strategic decision-making process in universities. The research design is a case study applied in Ain Shams University as a model of public universities in a developing country. This research makes a new research contribution by suggesting a futuristic proposal for improving the quality of the strategic decision-making process in universities through employing expert systems that are based on the theoretical framework of the research and the results of the field study.

Student entrepreneurship and perceptions on social norms and university environment: evidence from a developing country

Purpose Social contexts and academic environments are key elements in the debate about drivers of entrepreneurial intention and behavior in tertiary students. Nonetheless, the underlying dynamics of student entrepreneurship remain elusive. This study aims to contribute to this discussion by creating an original model that addresses the perception of entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs regarding the relationship between social norms, the university environment of support to entrepreneurship and the perceived satisfaction about universities’ conditions to nurture entrepreneurial orientation. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the hypotheses, a quantitative approach has been chosen through multivariate data analysis using partial least squares structural equation modeling applied to a sample of 595 students from 66 Brazilian universities. Findings The results indicate that social norms affect how students perceive their university environment in terms of entrepreneurial support. In turn, students’ impressions about such environment shape their levels of satisfaction. However, in contrast with the theory of intention–action gap, differences between actual and potential entrepreneurs could not be identified. Originality/value The originality of the research lies in filling an entrepreneurial intention–action gap among undergraduate students, with consistent results in a developing country. Additionally, the research presents new insights for researchers, policymakers and practitioners, exploring the students’ perceived satisfaction in relation to the university environment to support entrepreneurship.

Neuromarketing: The Philosophy and Culture of Consumerism in Indonesia

Neuromarketing is a revolutionary idea, which combines several disciplines such as psychology, economics, and neuroscience. Indonesia as a developing country that has experienced a fairly rapid economic escalation in the past decade, with the potential for a consumer culture as well as a large purchasing capacity, is a viable market for the application of neuromarketing which is also developing in the world. This review aims to learn more about the idea of neuromarketing, its relation to consumerism culture, and its opportunities in the Indonesian market. For the relevance of the study, this review has also involved the field of neuroscience to discuss philosophical approaches from the use of the subconscious mind, consumerism culture, and the application of neuromarketing in Indonesia today which are known to have successfully utilized neuromarketing principles to boost their sales. However, this technique is not without challenges. In this study, we identified at least some problems, both related to ethics, effectiveness for primary products, to expensive research tools. However, despite these problems, we consider that the use of neuromarketing still has good potential to be applied more widely in Indonesia.

Common Problems Related to Podiatry

India is a developing country and lacks many things including Podiatry as subspecialty of Diabetes. There are no Podiatry Collegesnor provision for regular training of young physicians in podiatry. Missing job opportunity, kills interest of physicians in Podiatry. Most physicians have acquired some degree of skill by self-reading or doing observer ship abroad and by attending a few International conferences on Podiatry.