Search results for: Children’s literature
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1962

Search results for: Children’s literature

1182 Competitive Advantage on the Road Again: Exploring Nuances through a Conceptual Review and Future Research Avenues

Authors: Abdolali Mortazavi, Faegheh Taheran

Abstract:

By giving an overview of previous arguments and findings concerned with the concept of competitive advantage, first, we define the overall concept of competitive advantage and discuss nuances of understanding such an important and strategic idea. Finally, by considering the major concerns of marketing academia, including globalization, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies, consumer well-being, and internal coopetition between a firm’s units, fruitful avenues to be explored by future studies are presented in the form of research propositions. In the end, relevant gaps mentioned by numerous studies that are worth investigating are demonstrated.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, competitive advantage, consumer well-being, coopetition, globalization, literature review, temporary competitive advantage.

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1181 Aspect based Reusable Synchronization Schemes

Authors: Nathar Shah

Abstract:

Concurrency and synchronization are becoming big issues as every new PC comes with multi-core processors. A major reason for Object-Oriented Programming originally was to enable easier reuse: encode your algorithm into a class and thoroughly debug it, then you can reuse the class again and again. However, when we get to concurrency and synchronization, this is often not possible. Thread-safety issues means that synchronization constructs need to be entangled into every class involved. We contributed a detailed literature review of issues and challenges in concurrent programming and present a methodology that uses the Aspect- Oriented paradigm to address this problem. Aspects will allow us to extract the synchronization concerns as schemes to be “weaved in" later into the main code. This allows the aspects to be separately tested and verified. Hence, the functional components can be weaved with reusable synchronization schemes that are robust and scalable.

Keywords: Aspect-orientation, development methodologysoftware concurrency, synchronization.

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1180 Impact of Financial System’s Development on Economic Development: An Empirical Investigation

Authors: Vilma Deltuvaitė

Abstract:

Comparisons of financial development across countries are central to answering many of the questions on factors leading to economic development. For this reason this study analyzes the implications of financial system’s development on country’s economic development. The aim of the article: to analyze the impact of financial system’s development on economic development. The following research methods were used: systemic, logical and comparative analysis of scientific literature, analysis of statistical data, time series model (Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model). The empirical results suggest about positive short and long term effect of stock market development on GDP per capita.

Keywords: Banking sector, economic development, financial system’s development, stock market, private bond market.

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1179 Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Incubator and Economic Development: A Case Study

Authors: Hanadi Mubarak AL-Mubaraki, Aruna, M., Michael Busler

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is twofold: (1) discuss and analyze the successful case studies worldwide, and (2) identify the similarities and differences of case studies worldwide. Design methodology/approach: The nature of this research is mainly method qualitative (multi-case studies, literature review). This investigation uses ten case studies, and the data was mainly collected and organizational documents from the international countries. Finding: The finding of this research can help incubator manager, policy maker and government parties for successful implementation. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the current literate review on the best practices worldwide. Additionally, it presents future perspective for academicians and practitioners.

Keywords: Incubators, Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, Innovation.

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1178 An Optimization Algorithm Based on Dynamic Schema with Dissimilarities and Similarities of Chromosomes

Authors: Radhwan Yousif Sedik Al-Jawadi

Abstract:

Optimization is necessary for finding appropriate solutions to a range of real-life problems. In particular, genetic (or more generally, evolutionary) algorithms have proved very useful in solving many problems for which analytical solutions are not available. In this paper, we present an optimization algorithm called Dynamic Schema with Dissimilarity and Similarity of Chromosomes (DSDSC) which is a variant of the classical genetic algorithm. This approach constructs new chromosomes from a schema and pairs of existing ones by exploring their dissimilarities and similarities. To show the effectiveness of the algorithm, it is tested and compared with the classical GA, on 15 two-dimensional optimization problems taken from literature. We have found that, in most cases, our method is better than the classical genetic algorithm.

Keywords: Genetic algorithm, similarity and dissimilarity, chromosome injection, dynamic schema.

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1177 Monte Carlo Simulation of the Transport Phenomena in Degenerate Hg0.8Cd0.2Te

Authors: N. Dahbi, M. Daoudi, A.Belghachi

Abstract:

The present work deals with the calculation of transport properties of Hg0.8Cd0.2Te (MCT) semiconductor in degenerate case. Due to their energy-band structure, this material becomes degenerate at moderate doping densities, which are around 1015 cm-3, so that the usual Maxwell-Boltzmann approximation is inaccurate in the determination of transport parameters. This problem is faced by using Fermi-Dirac (F-D) statistics, and the non-parabolic behavior of the bands may be approximated by the Kane model. The Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is used here to determinate transport parameters: drift velocity, mean energy and drift mobility versus electric field and the doped densities. The obtained results are in good agreement with those extracted from literature.

Keywords: degeneracy case, Hg0.8Cd0.2Te semiconductor, Monte Carlo simulation, transport parameters.

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1176 Study on Applying Fuzzy AHP and GRA in Selection of Agent Construction Enterprise

Authors: Shirong Li, Huan Yan

Abstract:

To help the client to select a competent agent construction enterprise (ACE), this study aims to investigate the selection standards by using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and build an evaluation mathematical model with Grey Relational Analysis (GRA). According to the outputs of literature review, four orderly levels are established within the model, taking the consideration of various agent construction models in practice. Then, the process of applying FAHP and GRA is discussed in detailed. Finally, through a case study, this paper illustrates how to apply these methods in getting the weights of each standard and the final assessment result.

Keywords: agent construction enterprise, agent constructionmodel, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, grey relational analysis

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1175 Computation of Induction Current in a Set of Dendrites

Authors: Sudhakar Tripathi, R. B. Mishra

Abstract:

In this paper, the cable model of dendrites have been considered. The dendrites are cylindrical cables of various segments having variable length and reducing radius from start point at synapse and end points. For a particular event signal being received by a neuron in response only some dendrite are active at a particular instance. Initial current signals with different current flows in dendrite are assumed. Due to overlapping and coupling of active dendrite, they induce currents in the dendrite segments of each other at a particular instance. But how these currents are induced in the various segments of active dendrites due to coupling between these dendrites, It is not presented in the literature. Here the paper presents a model for induced currents in active dendrite segments due to mutual coupling at the starting instance of an activity in dendrite. The model is as discussed further.

Keywords: Currents, dendrites, induction, simulation.

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1174 Analyzing the Perception of Key Terms in E-Learning in Academia: Case Study of Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University

Authors: M. Almohaimeed, Y. Alhaidari, H. Alhamdan, A. Alfaries, A. Ater Kranov

Abstract:

A university-wide survey to obtain baseline data regarding the perceptions of key terms related to e-learning and distance learning among students, faculty and staff was conducted to help achieve the goals of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University’s and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s National Center for e-learning and Distance Learning. This paper comprises a relevant literature review, the survey methodology, preliminary data analysis, discussion, and recommendations for further research. The major findings indicate a deep and wide differentiation of understanding among users of critical key terms.

Keywords: E-learning, distance learning, on-line learning, perceptions of learning environments.

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1173 Patents as Indicators of Innovative Environment

Authors: S. Karklina, I. Erins

Abstract:

The main problem is that there is a very low innovation performance in Latvia. Since Latvia is a Member State of European Union, it also shall have to fulfill the set targets and to improve innovative results.Universities are one of the main performers to provide innovative capacity of country. University, industry and government need to cooperate for getting best results.The intellectual property is one of the indicators to determine innovation level in the country or organization, and patents are one of the characteristics of intellectual property.The objective of the article is to determine indicators characterizing innovative environment in Latvia and influence of the development of universities on them.The methods that will be used in the article to achieve the objectives are quantitative and qualitative analysis of the literature, statistical data analysis and graphical analysis methods.

Keywords: HEI, innovations, Latvia, patents.

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1172 A Simplified Solid Mechanical and Acoustic Model for Human Middle Ear

Authors: Adarsh Venkataraman Ganesan, Sundaram Swaminathan, Rama Jayaraj

Abstract:

Human middle-ear is the key component of the auditory system. Its function is to transfer the sound waves through the ear canal to provide sufficient stimulus to the fluids of the inner ear. Degradation of the ossicles that transmit these sound waves from the eardrum to the inner ear leads to hearing loss. This problem can be overcome by replacing one or more of these ossicles by middleear prosthesis. Designing such prosthesis requires a comprehensive knowledge of the biomechanics of the middle-ear. There are many finite element modeling approaches developed to understand the biomechanics of the middle ear. The available models in the literature, involve high computation time. In this paper, we propose a simplified model which provides a reasonably accurate result with much less computational time. Simulation results indicate a maximum sound pressure gain of 10 dB at 5500 Hz.

Keywords: Ear, Ossicles, COMSOL, Stapes.

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1171 The Role of the Studs Configuration in the Structural Response of Composite Bridges

Authors: M. M. Mohammadi Dehnavi, A. De Angelis, M. R. Pecce

Abstract:

This paper deals with the role of studs in structural response for steel-concrete composite beams. A tri-linear slip-shear strength law is assumed according to literature and codes provisions for developing a finite element (FE) model of a case study of a composite deck. The variation of the strength and ductility of the connection is implemented in the numerical model carrying out nonlinear analyses. The results confirm the utility of the model to evaluate the importance of the studs capacity, ductility and strength, on the global response (ductility and strength) of the structures but also to analyse the trend of slip and shear at interface along the beams.

Keywords: Shear Load, slip, steel-concrete composite bridge, stud connectors.

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1170 An Analysis of Global Stability of a Class of Neutral-Type Neural Systems with Time Delays

Authors: Ozlem Faydasicok, Sabri Arik

Abstract:

This paper derives some new sufficient conditions for the stability of a class of neutral-type neural networks with discrete time delays by employing a suitable Lyapunov functional. The obtained conditions can be easily verified as they can be expressed in terms of the network parameters only. It is shown that the results presented in this paper for neutral-type delayed neural networks establish a new set of stability criteria, and therefore can be considered as the alternative results to the previously published literature results. A numerical example is also given to demonstrate the applicability of our proposed stability criterion.

Keywords: Stability Analysis, Neutral-Type Neural Networks, Time Delay Systems, Lyapunov Functionals.

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1169 Multivariable System Reduction Using Stability Equation Method and SRAM

Authors: D. Bala Bhaskar

Abstract:

An algorithm is proposed for the order reduction of large scale linear dynamic multi variable systems where the reduced order model denominator is obtained by using Stability equation method and numerator coefficients are obtained by using SRAM. The proposed algorithm produces a lower order model for an original stable high order multivariable system. The reduction procedure is easy to understand, efficient and computer oriented. To highlight the advantages of the approach, the algorithm is illustrated with the help of a numerical example and the results are compared with the other existing techniques in literature.

Keywords: Multi variable systems, order reduction, stability equation method, SRAM, time domain characteristics, ISE.

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1168 Scene Adaptive Shadow Detection Algorithm

Authors: Mohammed Ibrahim M, Anupama R.

Abstract:

Robustness is one of the primary performance criteria for an Intelligent Video Surveillance (IVS) system. One of the key factors in enhancing the robustness of dynamic video analysis is,providing accurate and reliable means for shadow detection. If left undetected, shadow pixels may result in incorrect object tracking and classification, as it tends to distort localization and measurement information. Most of the algorithms proposed in literature are computationally expensive; some to the extent of equalling computational requirement of motion detection. In this paper, the homogeneity property of shadows is explored in a novel way for shadow detection. An adaptive division image (which highlights homogeneity property of shadows) analysis followed by a relatively simpler projection histogram analysis for penumbra suppression is the key novelty in our approach.

Keywords: homogeneity, penumbra, projection histogram, shadow correction

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1167 Analysis of Testing and Operational Software Reliability in SRGM based on NHPP

Authors: S. Thirumurugan, D. R. Prince Williams

Abstract:

Software Reliability is one of the key factors in the software development process. Software Reliability is estimated using reliability models based on Non Homogenous Poisson Process. In most of the literature the Software Reliability is predicted only in testing phase. So it leads to wrong decision-making concept. In this paper, two Software Reliability concepts, testing and operational phase are studied in detail. Using S-Shaped Software Reliability Growth Model (SRGM) and Exponential SRGM, the testing and operational reliability values are obtained. Finally two reliability values are compared and optimal release time is investigated.

Keywords: Error Detection Rate, Estimation of Parameters, Instantaneous Failure Rate, Mean Value Function, Non Homogenous Poisson Process (NHPP), Software Reliability.

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1166 Bank Business Models and The Changes in CEE Countries

Authors: I. Erins, J. Erina

Abstract:

The aim of this article is to assess the existing business models used by the banks operating in the CEE countries in the time period from 2006 till 2011. In order to obtain research results, the authors performed qualitative analysis of the scientific literature on bank business models, which have been grouped into clusters that consist of such components as: 1) capital and reserves; 2) assets; 3) deposits, and 4) loans. In their turn, bank business models have been developed based on the types of core activities of the banks, and have been divided into four groups: Wholesale, Investment, Retail and Universal Banks. Descriptive statistics have been used to analyse the models, determining mean, minimal and maximal values of constituent cluster components, as well as standard deviation. The analysis of the data is based on such bank variable indices as Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE).

Keywords: Banks, Business model, CEE, ROA, ROE.

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1165 Designing Offshore Pipelines Facing the Geohazard of Active Seismic Faults

Authors: Maria S. Trimintziou, Michael G. Sakellariou, Prodromos N. Psarropoulos

Abstract:

The current study focuses on the seismic design of offshore pipelines against active faults. After an extensive literature review of the provisions of the seismic norms worldwide and of the available analytical methods, the study simulates numerically (through finite-element modeling and strain-based criteria) the distress of offshore pipelines subjected to PGDs induced by active normal and reverse seismic faults at the seabed. Factors, such as the geometrical properties of the fault, the mechanical properties of the ruptured soil formations, and the pipeline characteristics, are examined. After some interesting conclusions regarding the seismic vulnerability of offshore pipelines, potential cost-effective mitigation measures are proposed taking into account constructability issues.

Keywords: Active faults, Seismic design, offshore pipelines.

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1164 A Comparative Analysis of E-Government Quality Models

Authors: Abdoullah Fath-Allah, Laila Cheikhi, Rafa E. Al-Qutaish, Ali Idri

Abstract:

Many quality models have been used to measure egovernment portals quality. However, the absence of an international consensus for e-government portals quality models results in many differences in terms of quality attributes and measures. The aim of this paper is to compare and analyze the existing e-government quality models proposed in literature (those that are based on ISO standards and those that are not) in order to propose guidelines to build a good and useful e-government portals quality model. Our findings show that, there is no e-government portal quality model based on the new international standard ISO 25010. Besides that, the quality models are not based on a best practice model to allow agencies to both; measure e-government portals quality and identify missing best practices for those portals.

Keywords: E-government, portal, best practices, quality model, ISO, standard, ISO 25010, ISO 9126.

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1163 The Application of Data Mining Technology in Building Energy Consumption Data Analysis

Authors: Liang Zhao, Jili Zhang, Chongquan Zhong

Abstract:

Energy consumption data, in particular those involving public buildings, are impacted by many factors: the building structure, climate/environmental parameters, construction, system operating condition, and user behavior patterns. Traditional methods for data analysis are insufficient. This paper delves into the data mining technology to determine its application in the analysis of building energy consumption data including energy consumption prediction, fault diagnosis, and optimal operation. Recent literature are reviewed and summarized, the problems faced by data mining technology in the area of energy consumption data analysis are enumerated, and research points for future studies are given.

Keywords: Data mining, data analysis, prediction, optimization, building operational performance.

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1162 An Application for Web Mining Systems with Services Oriented Architecture

Authors: Thiago M. R. Dias, Gray F. Moita, Paulo E. M. Almeida

Abstract:

Although the World Wide Web is considered the largest source of information there exists nowadays, due to its inherent dynamic characteristics, the task of finding useful and qualified information can become a very frustrating experience. This study presents a research on the information mining systems in the Web; and proposes an implementation of these systems by means of components that can be built using the technology of Web services. This implies that they can encompass features offered by a services oriented architecture (SOA) and specific components may be used by other tools, independent of platforms or programming languages. Hence, the main objective of this work is to provide an architecture to Web mining systems, divided into stages, where each step is a component that will incorporate the characteristics of SOA. The separation of these steps was designed based upon the existing literature. Interesting results were obtained and are shown here.

Keywords: Web Mining, Service Oriented Architecture, WebServices.

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1161 Processing and Assessment of Quality Characteristics of Composite Baby Foods

Authors: Reihaneh Ahmadzadeh Ghavidel, Mehdi Ghiafeh Davoodi

Abstract:

The usefulness of weaning foods to meet the nutrient needs of children is well recognized, and most of them are precooked roller dried mixtures of cereal and/or legume flours which posses a high viscosity and bulk when reconstituted. The objective of this study was to formulate composite weaning foods using cereals, malted legumes and vegetable powders and analyze them for nutrients, functional properties and sensory attributes. Selected legumes (green gram and lentil) were germinated, dried and dehulled. Roasted wheat, rice, carrot powder and skim milk powder also were used. All the ingredients were mixed in different proportions to get four formulations, made into 30% slurry and dried in roller drier. The products were analyzed for proximate principles, mineral content, functional and sensory qualities. The results of analysis showed following range of constituents per 100g of formulations on dry weight basis, protein, 18.1-18.9 g ; fat, 0.78-1.36 g ; iron, 5.09-6.53 mg; calcium, 265-310 mg. The lowest water absorption capacity was in case of wheat green gram based and the highest was in rice lentil based sample. Overall sensory qualities of all foods were graded as “good" and “very good" with no significant differences. The results confirm that formulated weaning foods were nutritionally superior, functionally appropriate and organoleptically acceptable.

Keywords: malted legumes, weaning foods, nutrition, functional properties

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1160 Teaching Method in Situational Crisis Communication Theory: A Literature Review

Authors: Proud Arunrangsiwed

Abstract:

Crisis management strategies could be found in various curriculums, not only in schools of business, but also schools of communication. Young students, such as freshmen and sophomores of undergraduate schools, may not care about learning crisis management strategies. Moreover, crisis management strategies are not a topic art students are familiar with. The current paper discusses a way to adapt entertainment media into a crisis management lesson, and the importance of learning crisis management strategies in the school of animation. Students could learn crisis management strategies by watching movies with content about a crisis and responding to crisis responding. The students should then participate in follow up discussions related to the strategies that were used to address the crisis, as well as their success in solving the crisis.

Keywords: Situational crisis communication theory, crisis response strategies, media effect, unintentional effect.

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1159 An Effective Hybrid Genetic Algorithm for Job Shop Scheduling Problem

Authors: Bin Cai, Shilong Wang, Haibo Hu

Abstract:

The job shop scheduling problem (JSSP) is well known as one of the most difficult combinatorial optimization problems. This paper presents a hybrid genetic algorithm for the JSSP with the objective of minimizing makespan. The efficiency of the genetic algorithm is enhanced by integrating it with a local search method. The chromosome representation of the problem is based on operations. Schedules are constructed using a procedure that generates full active schedules. In each generation, a local search heuristic based on Nowicki and Smutnicki-s neighborhood is applied to improve the solutions. The approach is tested on a set of standard instances taken from the literature and compared with other approaches. The computation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: Genetic algorithm, Job shop scheduling problem, Local search, Meta-heuristic algorithm

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1158 A Method for Solving a Bi-Objective Transportation Problem under Fuzzy Environment

Authors: Sukhveer Singh, Sandeep Singh

Abstract:

A bi-objective fuzzy transportation problem with the objectives to minimize the total fuzzy cost and fuzzy time of transportation without according priorities to them is considered. To the best of our knowledge, there is no method in the literature to find efficient solutions of the bi-objective transportation problem under uncertainty. In this paper, a bi-objective transportation problem in an uncertain environment has been formulated. An algorithm has been proposed to find efficient solutions of the bi-objective transportation problem under uncertainty. The proposed algorithm avoids the degeneracy and gives the optimal solution faster than other existing algorithms for the given uncertain transportation problem.

Keywords: Transportation problem, efficient solution, ranking function, fuzzy transportation problem.

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1157 Designing Social Care Policies in the Long Term: A Study Using Regression, Clustering and Backpropagation Neural Nets

Authors: Sotirios Raptis

Abstract:

Linking social needs to social classes using different criteria may lead to social services misuse. The paper discusses using ML and Neural Networks (NNs) in linking public services in Scotland in the long term and advocates, this can result in a reduction of the services cost connecting resources needed in groups for similar services. The paper combines typical regression models with clustering and cross-correlation as complementary constituents to predict the demand. Insurance companies and public policymakers can pack linked services such as those offered to the elderly or to low-income people in the longer term. The work is based on public data from 22 services offered by Public Health Services (PHS) Scotland and from the Scottish Government (SG) from 1981 to 2019 that are broken into 110 years series called factors and uses Linear Regression (LR), Autoregression (ARMA) and 3 types of back-propagation (BP) Neural Networks (BPNN) to link them under specific conditions. Relationships found were between smoking related healthcare provision, mental health-related health services, and epidemiological weight in Primary 1(Education) Body Mass Index (BMI) in children. Primary component analysis (PCA) found 11 significant factors while C-Means (CM) clustering gave 5 major factors clusters.

Keywords: Probability, cohorts, data frames, services, prediction.

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1156 Corporate Governance Networks and Interlocking Directorates in the Czech Republic

Authors: Ondřej Nowak

Abstract:

This paper presents an exploration into the structure of the corporate governance network and interlocking directorates in the Czech Republic. First a literature overview and a basic terminology of the network theory is presented. Further in the text, statistics and other calculations relevant to corporate governance networks are presented. For this purpose an empirical data set consisting of 2 906 joint stock companies in the Czech Republic was examined. Industries with the highest average number of interlocks per company were healthcare, and energy and utilities. There is no observable link between the financial performance of the company and the number of its interlocks. Also interlocks with financial companies are very rare.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Interlocking Directorates, Network Theory, Czech Republic.

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1155 Identification of Service Quality Determinants in the Hotel Sector: A Conceptual Review

Authors: Asem M. Othman

Abstract:

The expansion of the hospitality industry is distinctive in the 21st century. Services, by nature, are intangible. Hence, service quality, in general, is a complicated process to be measured and evaluated. Hotels, as a service sector and part of the hospitality industry, are growing rapidly. This research paper was carried out to identify the quality determinants that may affect hotel guests’ service quality perception. In this research paper, each quality determinant will be discussed, illustrated, and justified thoroughly via a systematic literature review. This paper sets the stage to measure the significant influence of the service quality determinants on guest satisfaction. The knowledge contribution from this study proposes to practitioners and/or hotel service providers, fundamental elements to adopt the implications into their policies.

Keywords: Hotel service, service quality, quality determinants, quality management.

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1154 Energy Efficiency of Adaptive-Rate Medium Access Control Protocols for Sensor Networks

Authors: Rooholah Hasanizadeh, Saadan Zokaei

Abstract:

Energy efficient protocol design is the aim of current researches in the area of sensor networks where limited power resources impose energy conservation considerations. In this paper we care for Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols and after an extensive literature review, two adaptive schemes are discussed. Of them, adaptive-rate MACs which were introduced for throughput enhancement show the potency to save energy, even more than adaptive-power schemes. Then we propose an allocation algorithm for getting accurate and reliable results. Through a simulation study we validated our claim and showed the power saving of adaptive-rate protocols.

Keywords: Adaptive-rate, adaptive-power, MAC protocol, energy efficiency, sensor networks.

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1153 Into Insights of Contextual Governance Framework for Religious Non-Profit Organizations

Authors: Saunah Zainon, Ruhaya Atan, Nadzira Yahaya, Marshita Hashim

Abstract:

Governance in business firms is a topic that has long been studied in the literature. Traditionally, governance in business firms has focused on the roles of boards of directors in representing and protecting the interests of shareholders. Governance has also been studied in the context of non-profit organizations because good governance is essential to increase the likelihood that they will comply with the regulatory requirements that best serve their multiple stakeholders. This paper provides insights on the need of governance framework for religious non-profit organizations (RNPOs) based on five underlying principles. This paper is important to help regulators to understand RNPOs’ governance framework. The regulators may use the framework suggested for the development of the RNPOs’ code of governance in the future.

Keywords: Framework, governance, religious, RNPOs.

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