Advances in learning software organizations : third international workshop, LSO 2001, Kaiserslautern, Germany, September 12-13, 2001 : proceedings

xi, 236 p. : ill. ; 24 cm

Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 18th International Conference, XP 2017, Cologne, Germany, May 22-26, 2017, Proceedings

agile software development; lean development; scrum; project management; software developmen

Shut Up and Take My Money: Engaging Facebook Communities to Build the Brand Narrative

Social media is revolutionizing the way firms manage their brands. A broad variety of platforms provide businesses an opportunity to engage in bidirectional dialogue with their customers, the effect of which is to enhance the brand/consumer relationship. This paper contends that virtual brand communities of the type that form through social media have an important role to play in the development of a brand’s personality. Using a case study approach we demonstrate how one firm has adopted Facebook to provide their brand community with a voice which contributes to the development of the brand narrative. We find that by using well-crafted content the firm elicits the support of their community and that this interaction contributes to the development of the brand ethos

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 1546 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system from April 1, 1981 through June 30, 1981

Can Total Quality Management improve the quality of care in Saudi Arabian hospitals? A patient and service provider perspective

Background The purpose of this study was to explore existing TQM practice in Saudi Arabian public hospitals, with the aim of improving quality of care, efficiency and productivity, and promoting strong patient satisfaction. Saudi Arabia has made significant investments in its healthcare system, but the country has not achieved desired returns in terms of quality outcomes and patient satisfaction. Considering that globally, regionally and domestically TQM, quality of care (customer service) and patient satisfaction (customer satisfaction) are receiving increasing attention in the healthcare sector, it is essential to evaluate TQM especially, in the services sector. Methodology The mixed method approach was deployed to allow for the across-method triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative methods, to bring depth of insight and increase generalisability. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were the tool of choice to collect data from TQM managers and head nurses, while quantitative questionnaires gathered data from both nurses and patients at the main customer interface point. Data were collected at two public hospitals based in the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Findings Qualitative findings reveal five themes: the need to create synergy between TQM practice and levels of understanding throughout the organisation, taking action to improve communications by establishing effective inter-institutional communication strategies (IICSs), placing greater targeted investment on enhanced competency development, training and the need for institutionalisation of transformational leadership throughout the hospitals. Quantitative findings showed that nurses and patients were dissatisfied with jobs and services, respectively, and that staff training and effective communication are critical factors in the delivery of quality care/TQM practice. Important and Relevance This is the first study to test and investigate the three levels of healthcare provider (governmental level, managerial level and operational level) in Saudi Arabia and to assess whether TQM can improve the quality of care in government hospitals. Conclusion The successful implementation of TQM, and hence improved quality of care, depends on important success factors such as effective communication, employee training, transformational leadership, staff motivation, measuring, level of understanding and improving patient needs in the healthcare sector

Analogical Reasoning as a Decision Support Principle for Weakly-Structured Marketing Problems

Veel marketing problemen zijn zwak-gestructureerd. Vanuit de psychologie weten we dat analoog redeneren een effectieve manier is om dit soort problemen op te lossen. Dat wil zeggen: één van de eerste dingen die een manager zal doen wanneer hij geconfronteerd wordt met een dergelijk probleem is in zijn geheugen zoeken naar eerdere, soortgelijke ervaringen (of cases) die zouden kunnen helpen bij het oplossen van het probleem. “Case-Based” Redeneren (CBR) is een geavanceerde techniek, afkomstig uit het vakgebied van de kunstmatige intelligentie, die deze vorm van menselijk redeneren nabootst en gebruikt kan worden om de grote hoeveelheid, op ervaring gebaseerde marketing kennis aan te wenden voor het nemen van beslissingen. In een aantal experimenten onderzoeken wij de effectiviteit en efficiëntie van het beschikbaar maken van een CBR-systeem onder verschillende condities. Hiervoor gebruiken we het ontwerpen van “sales promotie” campagnes als zwak-gestructureerd toepassingsdomein binnen de marketing. Deze dissertatie laat zien dat analoog redeneren helpt om marketing beslissingen te verbeteren. Om precies te zijn: we tonen aan dat een CBR-systeem helpt om betere, creatievere “sales promotie” campagnes te ontwerpen en om ze efficiënter te ontwerpen. Bovendien laten we zien dat de effecten van de beschikbaarheid van een CBR-systeem afhankelijk zijn van: (1) de inhoud van de “case-base” (d.w.z., nabije analogieën versus verre analogieën), (2) de grootte van de “case-base” (d.w.z., een groot aantal cases versus een standaard aantal cases), en (3) de karakteristieken van de beslisser (d.w.z., creativiteit). Interessant is dat we vinden dat het effect van de beschikbaarheid van een CBR-systeem op de kwaliteit van de oplossing het grootst is voor beslissers die minder creatief van zichzelf zijn. Verder laten we zien dat beslissers problemen hebben met het inschatten van de bijdrage van het CBR-systeem aan de objectieve kwaliteit van hun oplossing. Tot slot formuleren we een aantal aanbevelingen voor managers die gebaseerd zijn op deze bevindingen, zoals “leg marketing kennis vast en maak het beschikbaar in de vorm van cases” en “verschillende typen beslissers hebben verschillende typen CBR-systemen nodig”.Many marketing problems are weakly-structured. From the psychological literature, we know that analogical reasoning is an effective problem-solving method in weakly-structured decision situations. That is, when confronted with such a problem, one of the first things managers will naturally do is to search their memory for previous, similar experiences (or cases) that could help to solve the problem at hand. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technique that mimics this kind of human reasoning and can be used to put the vast amount of experience-based marketing knowledge into action for decision making. In a series of experiments, we investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of CBR system availability under different conditions. We use the design of sales promotion campaigns as our weakly-structured application domain in marketing. This dissertation shows that analogical reasoning does help to improve marketing decision making. More specifically, we demonstrate that a CBR system helps to design better, more creative sales promotion campaigns and helps to design them more efficiently. Furthermore, we show that the effects of CBR system availability are dependent on: (1) the content of the case-base (i.e., near analogies versus far analogies), (2) the size of the case-base (i.e., large size versus standard size), and (3) the characteristics of the decision maker (i.e., creative ability). Interestingly, the effect of CBR system availability on solution quality is largest for decision makers with a low creative ability (i.e., a compensation effect). Moreover, we show that decision makers have difficulties in recognizing the contribution of the CBR system to the objective quality of their solution. Based on these findings, we provide a number of recommendations for managers, such as “capture, store and make knowledge available in the form of cases” and “different types of decision makers need different types of CBR systems”

Die multiple Identität der Technik: Eine Innovationsbiographie der Augmented Reality-Technologie

Menschen haben Identitäten - Technik auch! Es handelt sich um narrativ hergestellte symbolische Strukturen, die einfache Artefakte sowie Hochtechnologien von der ersten Entwicklungsidee bis zum praktischen Gebrauch begleiten. Sie sind ebenso wandelbar wie vielfältig und sorgen doch für Kohärenz und Kontinuität. Unter Rückgriff auf die Biographie- und Lebenslaufforschung entwickelt die Autorin erstmalig ein fundiert ausgearbeitetes theoretisches Konzept technischer Identität. In ihrer Fallstudie verdeutlicht sie anhand der Augmented Reality-Technologie sowohl die Anwendbarkeit als auch die empirische Relevanz einer innovationsbiographischen Identitätsrekonstruktion, die über Metaphern hinausgeht.Technology has an identity - but which one? Technical-sociological insights into theory and practice of innovation-biographical identity reconstruction using the example of augmented reality technology