Knowledge Based Organizations

Database triggers are database procedures that are executed automatically when certain events occur and conditions are met. This paper presents a design methodology that helps users implement business processes using database triggers. The contributions of this paper are as follows. First, the proposed methodology uses the Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML is a standard modeling language for the software industry and many commercial CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) tools support UML. Second, many expensive ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software systems are employed to implement business processes. The methodology proposed by this paper produces triggers that can be executed on MySQL, an open-source database system that is free for download. Third, as an example of the usefulness of the proposed methodology, the authors present a case study making use of database triggers in a tax audit process. This process involves many steps that require human intervention, and t...

This research explores the accessibility issues with regard to the e-commerce websites in developing countries, through a study of Sri Lankan hotel websites. A web survey and a web content analysis were conducted as the methods to elicit data on web accessibility. Factors preventing accessibility were hypothesized as an initial experiment. Affecting design elements are identified through web content analysis, the results of which are utilized to develop specific implications for improving web accessibility. The hypothesis tests show that there is no significant correlation between accessibility and geographical or economic factors. However, physical impairments of users have a considerable influence on the accessibility of web page user interface if it has been designed without full consideration of the needs of all users. Especially, visual and mobility impaired users experience poor accessibility. Poor readability and less navigable page designs are two observable issues, which pose threats to accessibility. The lack of conformance to W3C accessibility guidelines and the poor design process are the specific shortcomings which reduce the overall accessibility. Guidelines aim to improve the accessibility of sites with a strategic focus. Further enhancements are suggested with adherence to principles, user centered design and developing customizable web portals compatible for connections with differing speeds. Re-ordering search results has been suggested as one of the finest step towards making the web content accessible for users with differing needs. A need for developing new design models for differencing user groups and implementing web accessibility strategy are emphasized as vital steps towards effective information dissemination via e-commerce websites in the developing countries.

This article describes how YouTube has been evolving as an e-tool for marketing activities over the past decade. Utilizing YouTube for enhancing marketing endeavours is a strategy practiced by marketing professionals across a growing number of industries. The research documented in this article investigates virtual community-based destination marketing using an extended conceptualisation of a virtual community typology. A non-participant netnographic investigation of virtual communities through a content analysis has been applied in this article to investigate the research questions. The contribution includes the application of an extended typology of virtual communities to YouTube leading to a number of managerial implications for marketing practice on using YouTube as an effective marketing tool.

This article investigates reservation contracts for contingency inventory management between two buyers and a single supplier under a game theoretic framework. Two channel structures are considered in this context. In the first setting, the buyers simultaneously move to offer reservation fees to the supplier, who in turn, decides on the inventory amount she wants to carry for each buyer. In the second setting, the supplier moves first and offers nonrefundable-deductible reservation fees for the buyers, who respond with their respective reservation quantities. By reserving through a shared supplier, the buyers enable a contingency inventory pool which alleviates overage risk for the supplier and enables availability of products after low-probability high-impact events. Conditions for successful implementation of contingency reservation contracts are investigated. The results obtained for both channel structures were contrasted. It is shown that in a market where the buyers have more ...

Cloud computing is gaining more popularity due to its advantages over conventional computing. It offers utility based services to subscribers on demand basis. Cloud hosts a variety of web applications and provides services on the pay-per-use basis. As the users are increasing in the cloud system, the load balancing has become a critical issue in cloud computing. Scheduling workloads in the cloud environment among various nodes are essential to achieving a better quality of service. Hence it is a prominent area of research as well as challenging to allocate the resources with changeable capacities and functionality. In this paper, a metaheuristic load balancing algorithm using Particle Swarm Optimization (MPSO) has been proposed by utilizing the benefits of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Proposed approach aims to minimize the task overhead and maximize the resource utilization. Performance comparisons are made with Genetic Algorithm (GA) and other popular algorithms on ...

The problem of existing customer relationship management (CRM) system is not lack of information but the ability to differentiate useful information from chatter or even disinformation and also maximize the richness of these heterogeneous information sources. This paper describes an improved text mining approach for automatically extracting association rules from collections of textual documents. It discovers association rules from keyword features extracted from the documents. The main contributions of the technique are that, in selecting the most discriminative keywords for use in association rules generation, the system combines syntactic and semantic relevance into its Information Retrieval Scheme which is integrated with XML technology. Experiments carried out revealed that the extracted association rules contain important features which form a worthy platform for making effective decisions as regards customer relationship management. The performance of the improved text mining...

Technologies have a potential to make learning more dynamic and capable of going conventional learning limits. With the utilization of online technologies for example, students can interact with teachers and other students, regardless of time and distance. The learning process can likewise happen in synchronize or asynchronies. Meaningful interaction is required in the Socratic method of learning because this is the concept of learning through question after question to build knowledge. The dialog collaboration, inquiries are either verbal or non-verbal. So this is where online innovation comes into the picture and allows students to always dialogue with certain individuals to construct new knowledge. Next, by using the Socratic method of learning, the high level of thinking can be increased which is emphasized in the field of education in Malaysia nowadays. This paper will discuss previous studies about the potential of technology in Socratic Methods to improve student's level ...

The emergence of cloud-computing and the apparent shift to this new paradigm has led to the creation of data centres that consist of hundreds of thousands of servers. The Cloud is a distributed system that helps share data and provides resources to the users. The data and the distributed resources are stored in the open environment. This paper presents a model of cloud load balancing using queuing and probability theory. A queuing cloud model is discussed with load balancing perspective. We present analysis for two servers and then extended it to n server. In addition, an optimal strategy is modelled for cloud load balancing. The analytical results are verified through numeric simulation.

In the competitive era, Information Technology (IT) is an integral part of the system and Government domain is no exception due to its advantage. Public Distribution System (PDS) is one such application, through which Government in India ensures food security to its citizen. But the traditional systems are being built with short coming resulted in efficient system. The usages of IT in PDS have made transformation to e-PDS. But the success of e-PDS depends on many factors. In our study, we have tried to find out the success factors using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and to find their interrelationship, which helps the decision maker to look in to the system effectiveness prospective.

Emerging manifestations in contemporary studies regarding Pentecostal spirituality in Africa reveals two dramatic findings for scholarship. First, success in the Christian world is defined by prosperity gospel replete with economic message that wealth is a sign of God's blessing and a compensation for prayer as well as “sowing of seed”. Second, the notion of an abundant God and the propensity to claim innocence of any motive other than fulfilling God's will for human beings. Drawing upon an extensive contemporary research on prosperity doctrine and based on content analysis, this article examines prosperity teachings and claims and identifies ethical issues that relate to the doctrine. Findings reveals that though prosperity preachers use Bible to support their claims, prosperity gospel does not surmount social misery, poverty and corruption, rather, it entrenches the ills as exemplified in excessive incomes, lavish and flamboyant lifestyles of church leaders at the expense ...

Whereas literature in the area of open innovation considerably advances the understanding of innovation community mechanics, little is known about how innovation communities need to be anchored within organizations to unleash the creative potential of employees. To contribute to this discussion, this article focuses on the still understudied link among organizational integration and its influence on innovation activities and outcomes of corporate innovation communities. Additionally, it identifies distinct types of transition strategies to anchor organizational integration of corporate innovation communities. To attain this aim structuration theory is applied. Multiple in-depth case studies allow insights into antecedents of and transition strategies for corporate innovation communities. Results demonstrate that 1) cultural and structural integration are major antecedents for innovation activities and outcomes of corporate innovation communities, and 2) transition strategies offer v...

The need for Knowledge Management (KM) has been drastically increasing so organizations may meet the high level of complex business change, dynamics and uncertainty. This research, quantitative and qualitative, approaches the challenge of the KM in the Mexican organization, since a large number of them do not have a standardized model from which they can obtain benefits in order they can achieve higher revenue, increase the employee collaboration and innovation, which impacts not only in the organization´s productivity, competitiveness but in the country one. We propose a model for the Mexican organization to allow them to identify and take advantage of the suitable knowledge and aligned it with their business strategy. The theoretical frame is based in the best practices emitted by international organizations such as the OECD, researchers and leaders in this expertise area and research line, also based in the diverse actual models for KM. We sustain our new proposed model in a descriptive and transactional study based in 250 Mexican institutions, we found that large companies have already an incipient and isolated knowledge management implementation, nevertheless; companies within 50 and 1000 employees are immediate candidates for KM due to their market position, services they offer and their search to obtain a value added service or product with shorter production cycles, and also due their need to innovate using their own explicit knowledge, most of the has no use for KM. The KM goal may vary in the companies, the analysis showed the pertinence to evaluate and measure the benefit and return of investment when they pretend to implement a KM solution, and must add a positive value to the organization to the Mexican Organization. The proposed model, ADSA, includes four stages: analysis, design, solution, appreciation. Each one it is logically aligned to the business requirement a knowledge based value generation, always following up the social and technical enablers. A properly used knowledge management strategy will impact positively in a higher revenue or profit, and also contributes in the generation of collective intelligence, that cans impulse the construction, and sustain for Mexico´s knowledge economy.

The current study concentrates on units of organizational knowledge that the authors call sociofacts following a terminology introduced by J. Huxley. The analysis looks at the constituents of sociofacts as well as their lifecycle, starting from the concept of knowledge asset. It is based on insights from various established theories such as Activity Theory, Nonaka's SECI model, Boundary Objects and Transactive Memory Theory. The authors investigate how the form of sociofacts changes during the Knowledge Maturing process and point at their business relevance. The goal of the paper is to improve the understanding of the structure of organizational knowledge and the process of knowledge maturing.

Software testing is regarded as a pivotal approach to realize a high reliable product. To check for the correctness of results, we require appropriate test cases. UML models are largely used to depict the specifications for software development. Test cases are created independently and based on the sequence of occurrence in the diagrams; they lead to corresponding test paths in the program. In this paper, we have analyzed an activity diagram, consisting of concurrent activities, for generating test paths. The obtained test paths are therefore required to be ranked. We have demonstrated that it is conceivable to apply Genetic Algorithm procedures alongside Ant Colony Optimization technique for not only finding the most critical path but also prioritizing the other paths too for enhancing the effectiveness of software testing.

The problem of existing customer relationship management (CRM) system is not lack of information but the ability to differentiate useful information from chatter or even disinformation and also maximize the richness of these heterogeneous information sources. This paper describes an improved text mining approach for automatically extracting association rules from collections of textual documents. It discovers association rules from keyword features extracted from the documents. The main contributions of the technique are that, in selecting the most discriminative keywords for use in association rules generation, the system combines syntactic and semantic relevance into its Information Retrieval Scheme which is integrated with XML technology. Experiments carried out revealed that the extracted association rules contain important features which form a worthy platform for making effective decisions as regards customer relationship management. The performance of the improved text mining...

Gamification is a new and upcoming trend that is predicted by many to further enhance the field of educational technology in the new millennium. The use of gamification has fared well in the corporate world and is gradually transcending into the educational arena. The usage of game elements such as points, badges and leader board can assist in keeping the students not only motivated but also engaged to the teaching and learning process in the school. As learning and assessment come hand in hand as a knowledge acquiring process in a classroom, therefore it should be identified whether or not gamification can be truly utilized in the form of a learning and assessment tool in the teaching and learning process. This paper will discuss about the repercussions of using gamification as a learning and assessment tool based on the review of several studies carried out in the field of gamification.

The goal of this research study was to compare data mining techniques in predicting student graduation. The data included demographics, high school, ACT profile, and college indicators from 1995-2005 for first-time, full-time freshman students with a six year graduation timeline for a flagship university in the south east United States. The results indicated no difference in misclassification rates between logistic regression, decision tree, neural network, and random forest models. The results from the study suggest that institutional researchers should build and compare different data mining models and choose the best one based on its advantages. The results can be used to predict students at risk and help these students graduate.

Frequent itemsets determine the major characteristics of a transactional database. It is important to mine arbitrary Boolean queries induced by frequent itemsets. In this paper, the author proposes a simple and elegant framework for synthesizing arbitrary Boolean queries using conditional patterns in a database. Both real and synthetic databases were used to evaluate the experimental results. The author presents an algorithm for mining a set of specific itemsets in a database and a model of synthesizing a query in a database. Finally, the author discusses an application of the proposed framework for reducing query processing time.

Recently, there has been extraordinary propagation in the number of virtual teams for knowledge sharing; however, finding out what affects team member’s behavior is important. This paper integrates the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to construct a model for investigating the socio-behavioral factors behind virtual knowledge sharing. The results of previous studies in this domain paved the path for these factors to be categorized in three conceptual components based on TPB: attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control.

This study includes a risk analysis application. In the article the authors analyzed insurance department's operational processes between October 2015 to April 2016 with a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) of an automotive firm. In the FMEA application, the article summarized engineers and managers opinions during process development and benefitted from these engineers and managers for analysis of these failures one by one. In application study is constructed on data transfer systems analysis among dealer, insurance departments and insurance companies for risk management. The purpose of this study is for the sample company revealing all failures, the reasons for these failures and making a risk analysis of these failures. In this study, for all determined failures was the calculated risk level with the occurrence, severity, and detection score, and preventive functions were organized according to these risk level scores. Using the fuzzy prioritization method for the evalua...

ABSTRACT This study compares leadership traits among leaders from Singaporean and Thai organizations. It also investigates leadership styles in different cultural settings with a focus on organizational change. Data was collected by means of a series of structured in-depth interviews with leaders from a Singaporean multi-national corporation in the retail sector and leaders from a public organization in Thailand. Comparative analysis elicited the key categories of organizational culture, leadership styles and change strategies. The study demonstrates differences and similarities among Thai and Singaporean leaders with regard to leadership behaviours. Being direct, strong and knowledgeable are important for leaders who lead organization in the process of change in Thailand. Singaporean leaders, on the other hand, need to be flexible, decisive and approachable when changes are introduced to the organization. Thai staff may show unusually high deference (greng jai) towards those of senior status in the organization. Singaporean staff, however, may prefer to have an open discussion with their senior in the process of change. The results also imply, in order that organizational transition in Singaporean and Thai contexts occur as smoothly as possible, all aspects of change must be shared with staff of all levels and open for discussion.