A Conceptual Model of the Research Methodology Domain

Recognising the need for the development of research capacity and changing learning paradigms that include online and collaborative approaches, an ontology of research methodology needs to be developed to allow for the shared creation of knowledge in this domain. An ontology engineering approach is followed in developing a conceptual model of the domain using UML, with a focus on studies in the computing disciplines. A research scheme that is made up of a philosophical world view, a research design, and research methods is proposed. Appropriate relations between these are identified, as well as attributes of the various concepts in the conceptual model. A focus group consisting of senior researchers in the field of computing was utilised to validate the model.School of Computin

A conceptual model for semantically-based e-government portals

Issues of semantic interoperability and service integration for e-government portals are the domain of interest of the present paper. We propose a Conceptual Model for One-Stop e-Government Portals based on the Semantic Web Service technology. We describe our research into building the three basic ontologies and their integration with standard ontologies. The result is a project-independent reusable model. At the same time, we outline a simple methodology for applying the proposed conceptual model into a specific scenario

Investigating brand equity of third-party service providers

Purpose: This research applies theory and techniques from the services and marketing literature to a supply chain context consisting of a shipper or seller, a customer or buyer, and a third-party logistics service provider (3PL) to investigate corporate brand equity resulting from service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty towards the 3PL. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual model was developed from the literature and tested with Finnish industrial firms using an online survey. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling to examine relationships among the four constructs. Findings: Hypothesised relationships among the four constructs in the conceptual model were supported however the relationship between loyalty and corporate brand equity was weak. Research limitations/implications: This investigatory research is based on a one country sample making transferability and generalisability to other countries difficult. Practical implications: The findings of this research should enable 3PL managers to determine service offerings that are most important to either shippers or customers, develop a service package using such offerings to satisfy needs, and thus build loyalty and corporate brand equity among both parties. Originality/value: This paper adds to our knowledge of these constructs in a supply chain context, particularly for 3PLs, and provides an interdisciplinary approach to research in the supply chain domain

Engineering an Ontology for Autonomous Systems - The OASys Ontology

This paper describes the development of an ontology for autonomous systems, as the initial stage of a research programe on autonomous systems’ engineering within a model-based control approach. The ontology aims at providing a unified conceptual framework for the autonomous systems’ stakeholders, from developers to software engineers. The modular ontology contains both generic and domain-specific concepts for autonomous systems description and engineering. The ontology serves as the basis in a methodology to obtain the autonomous system’s conceptual models. The objective is to obtain and to use these models as main input for the autonomous system’s model-based control system

Designing Successful Strategy for Business Process Outsourcing Based on Ontological Knowledge Map

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is an advanced type of IS outsourcing. This study will investigate the obstacles and challenges of BPO Industry. One of the most important problem in this area is identifying existing explicit knowledge and using it to create further knowledge for decision making, so deep investigation on a conceptual model is needed that helps realize the complexities of outsourcing areas especially for business process outsourcing. Most of outsourcing literature has focused on social and cultural impacts and very few tools have been developed to assist manager in making outsourcing decision by modelling the knowledge. In this paper we propose a methodology for modelling the knowledge of a domain in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). This methodology is based on ontological knowledge map. Findings of this research overcome these obstacles through the use of a formal organizational ontology and knowledge structure maps. The ontology guides decision makers in managing the complexity of outsourcing with holistic approach to the domain of outsourcing. Ontologies as a conceptual model provide a framework to facilitate efficient and effective knowledge-sharing, knowledge reusing and improving communication by modelling the domain of discourse. Keywords: business process outsourcing, ontology, knowledge ma

A conceptual approach to support through-life business transformation in an aerospace and defence context

Through Life Capability Management (TLCM) is a complex evolving domain that requires a new approach to better understand the different viewpoints, models and practices within various enterprises to support a future conceptual model development. This research applied Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to identify the activities necessary to transform an existing aerospace and defence business model to one that would support TLCM. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts and stakeholders across a range of different relevant functions and organisations to identify the activities required to support conceptual model development. A bottom-up approach was used to provide a TLCM ontology and a top-down approach was proposed to develop the root definitions derived from the experts' perception of TLCM. The benefits and drawbacks of using SSM including the human-activity system and mapping the activities onto a TLCM cube (architectural) model are discussed

Why PLS-SEM is suitable for complex modeling? An empirical illustration in Big Data Analytics Quality

The emergence of multivariate analysis techniques transforms empirical validation of theoretical concepts in social science and business research. In this context, structural equation modeling (SEM) has emerged as a powerful tool to estimate conceptual models linking two or more latent constructs. This paper shows the suitability of the partial least squares (PLS) approach to SEM (PLS-SEM) in estimating a complex model drawing on the philosophy of verisimilitude and the methodology of soft modelling assumptions. The results confirm the utility of PLS-SEM as a promising tool to estimate a complex, hierarchical model in the domain of big data analytics quality (BDAQ)

Preliminary Concept of Alternative Agrarian Reform for Justice: The Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) Approach to Constructing a Just Society in Indonesia

The implementation of agricultural reform comprises the enactment of access and asset reform. In order to ensure compliance with the aforementioned instructions, the Indonesian government issued Presidential Regulation Number 86 of 2018, which stipulates the commencement of agricultural reform as a means to support asset and access reform. The primary goal of access arrangements is to enhance access to finance and various forms of support to enhance welfare outcomes through land utilization. This particular methodology is frequently denoted as community empowerment. The normative juridical research technique, commonly known as library law research, perceives law as a normative system that possesses autonomy, independence, and distinctiveness from society. The methodology necessitates the utilization of a conceptual framework that incorporates a social tenure domain model and a legal perspective. The research findings indicate that the central concept of agrarian reform for justice entails implementing a comprehensive land administration system encompassing diverse land claims and rights through the utilization of the Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) approach. The concept of the social method pertains to a theoretical framework that centers on the impact of social influences on human behavior. The notion of the STDM explores the interconnection between individuals and land

An Interoperable Spatio-Temporal Model for Archaeological Data Based on ISO Standard 19100

Archaeological data are characterized by both spatial and temporal dimensions that are often related to each other and are of particular interest during the interpretation process. For this reason, several attempts have been performed in recent years in order to develop a GIS tailored for archaeological data. However, despite the increasing use of information technologies in the archaeological domain, the actual situation is that any agency or research group independently develops its own local database and management application which is isolated from the others. Conversely, the sharing of information and the cooperation between different archaeological agencies or research groups can be particularly useful in order to support the interpretation process by using data discovered in similar situations w.r.t. spatio-temporal or thematic aspects. In the geographical domain, the INSPIRE initiative of European Union tries to support the development of a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) through which several organizations, like public bodies or private companies, with overlapping goals can share data, resources, tools and competencies in an effective way. The aim of this paper is to lay the basis for the development of an Archaeological SDI starting from the experience acquired during the collaboration among several Italian organizations. In particular, the paper proposes a spatio-temporal conceptual model for archaeological data based on the ISO Standards of the 19100 family and promotes the use of the GeoUML methodology in order to put into practice such interoperability. The GeoUML methodology and tools have been enhanced in order to suite the archaeological domain and to automatically produce several useful documents, configuration files and codebase starting from the conceptual specification. The applicability of the spatio-temporal conceptual model and the usefulness of the produced tools have been tested in three different Italian contexts: Rome, Verona and Isola della Scala