7,026 research outputs found

    Unlocking service provider excellence : expanding the touchpoints, context, qualities framework

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    Customer reviews offer scope for better understanding the customer experience (CX), which may be leveraged to improve firms' CX performance. We extend the Touchpoints, Context, Qualities (TCQ) nomenclature by integrating it with the ARC value-creation elements and the multiple dimensions of CX. Our extended TCQ framework comprises nine building blocks to delineate dynamic what we term CX performance trajectories. We test our framework by collecting verbatim text-based reviews, and transforming them into two robust data sets (weekly, and monthly), which we examine using a dynamic Hidden Markov Model. We identify three levels of CX performance states and the migrations paths between them. We find that the building blocks coherently express mechanisms that are effective at the weekly and monthly levels for helping firms improve, and prevent deterioration of, CX performance. This research enriches the CX and TCQ literature. In particular, we derive actionable guidance for managers to facilitate the dynamic management of their firm’s CX performance

    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volume

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    LIPIcs, Volume 251, ITCS 2023, Complete Volum

    A Critical Review Of Post-Secondary Education Writing During A 21st Century Education Revolution

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    Educational materials are effective instruments which provide information and report new discoveries uncovered by researchers in specific areas of academia. Higher education, like other education institutions, rely on instructional materials to inform its practice of educating adult learners. In post-secondary education, developmental English programs are tasked with meeting the needs of dynamic populations, thus there is a continuous need for research in this area to support its changing landscape. However, the majority of scholarly thought in this area centers on K-12 reading and writing. This paucity presents a phenomenon to the post-secondary community. This research study uses a qualitative content analysis to examine peer-reviewed journals from 2003-2017, developmental online websites, and a government issued document directed toward reforming post-secondary developmental education programs. These highly relevant sources aid educators in discovering informational support to apply best practices for student success. Developmental education serves the purpose of addressing literacy gaps for students transitioning to college-level work. The findings here illuminate the dearth of material offered to developmental educators. This study suggests the field of literacy research is fragmented and highlights an apparent blind spot in scholarly literature with regard to English writing instruction. This poses a quandary for post-secondary literacy researchers in the 21st century and establishes the necessity for the literacy research community to commit future scholarship toward equipping college educators teaching writing instruction to underprepared adult learners

    Low- and high-resource opinion summarization

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    Customer reviews play a vital role in the online purchasing decisions we make. The reviews express user opinions that are useful for setting realistic expectations and uncovering important details about products. However, some products receive hundreds or even thousands of reviews, making them time-consuming to read. Moreover, many reviews contain uninformative content, such as irrelevant personal experiences. Automatic summarization offers an alternative – short text summaries capturing the essential information expressed in reviews. Automatically produced summaries can reflect overall or particular opinions and be tailored to user preferences. Besides being presented on major e-commerce platforms, home assistants can also vocalize them. This approach can improve user satisfaction by assisting in making faster and better decisions. Modern summarization approaches are based on neural networks, often requiring thousands of annotated samples for training. However, human-written summaries for products are expensive to produce because annotators need to read many reviews. This has led to annotated data scarcity where only a few datasets are available. Data scarcity is the central theme of our works, and we propose a number of approaches to alleviate the problem. The thesis consists of two parts where we discuss low- and high-resource data settings. In the first part, we propose self-supervised learning methods applied to customer reviews and few-shot methods for learning from small annotated datasets. Customer reviews without summaries are available in large quantities, contain a breadth of in-domain specifics, and provide a powerful training signal. We show that reviews can be used for learning summarizers via a self-supervised objective. Further, we address two main challenges associated with learning from small annotated datasets. First, large models rapidly overfit on small datasets leading to poor generalization. Second, it is not possible to learn a wide range of in-domain specifics (e.g., product aspects and usage) from a handful of gold samples. This leads to subtle semantic mistakes in generated summaries, such as ‘great dead on arrival battery.’ We address the first challenge by explicitly modeling summary properties (e.g., content coverage and sentiment alignment). Furthermore, we leverage small modules – adapters – that are more robust to overfitting. As we show, despite their size, these modules can be used to store in-domain knowledge to reduce semantic mistakes. Lastly, we propose a simple method for learning personalized summarizers based on aspects, such as ‘price,’ ‘battery life,’ and ‘resolution.’ This task is harder to learn, and we present a few-shot method for training a query-based summarizer on small annotated datasets. In the second part, we focus on the high-resource setting and present a large dataset with summaries collected from various online resources. The dataset has more than 33,000 humanwritten summaries, where each is linked up to thousands of reviews. This, however, makes it challenging to apply an ‘expensive’ deep encoder due to memory and computational costs. To address this problem, we propose selecting small subsets of informative reviews. Only these subsets are encoded by the deep encoder and subsequently summarized. We show that the selector and summarizer can be trained end-to-end via amortized inference and policy gradient methods

    Exploring perceptions of inclusion in higher education

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    This research took place at one Irish Higher Education Institute and explored the perceptions of staff in a variety of roles with regard to inclusive education. The purpose of this research is to explore attitudes toward inclusive education, as well as how inclusion manifests in teaching and learning practice within the Institute. The selected institute recorded the highest rate of participation of students with disabilities at 10.2% (AHEAD, 2018) and thus is a compelling site for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 staff members. The staff represented management, lecturers and support services. Staff were asked about their understanding of inclusive education, how it is represented within the institute, and to discuss how they perceive supports for and barriers to fostering inclusion within the Institute. The results of these interviews were analysed in the context of the most recently published institutional strategic plan. The conceptual framework for the study is Rouse’s (2006) knowing, believing and doing related to inclusion and inclusive practice. Specifically, the framework provides that inclusion depends on educators ‘knowing’ about theory, policy and legislation; ‘doing’ being the application of that knowledge; and ‘believing’ in the role in the inclusive practice to support learners in their education. The study finds that staff have an inconsistent understanding of inclusive education which leads to challenges in teaching and learning applications. Whilst there is an appetite for professional development in this area there are concerns as to the efficacy of offered supports and the scale by which such support will be utilized by staff. Analysis of the strategic plan, together with interview data, reveals a perceived mismatch in the pursuit of higher education elitism versus true inclusion. The strategic plan’s advocacy for policy and action to promote inclusion is perceived to be inconsistent with the perceptions of staff as to how policy is formed and implemented within the institute

    The Diffusion of Dynamic Capability in Organizations in Digitalizing Operating Environments

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    Digitalisaation myötä erilaiset teknologiat yleistyvät muuttaen organisaatioita, toimialoja ja liiketoimintaympäristöjä. Organisaatioissa tarvitaan uusia kyvykkyyksiä ja osaamista, kun niin arvontuotto ja toimintamallit kuin yhteistyön tekeminen ja päivittäiset toiminnot muuttuvat. Usein dynaamiset kyvykkyydet nähdään ensi sijassa johdon kykynä havaita organisaatioon vaikuttavia mahdollisuuksia ja uhkia, tarttua niihin ja muuttaa organisaatiota tarvittavalla tavalla. Tarve monipuolisemmalle ymmärrykselle dynaamisista kyvykkyyksistä digitalisaation kontekstissa on tunnistettu huomioiden myös muun henkilöstön tärkeä rooli organisaation muutoskyvykkyyden luomisessa. Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on tuottaa uutta tietämystä siitä, kuinka dynaaminen kyvykkyys kehittyy ja levittäytyy organisaatioissa yli erilaisten työroolien. Tutkimusongelmana on, kuinka dynaaminen kyvykkyys leviää organisaatioissa, jotka toimivat digitalisoituvissa toimintaympäristöissä. Tutkimusongelmaa tarkasteltiin tulkitsevan laadullisen monitapaustutkimuksen menetelmällä kolmen case-organisaation kanssa. Case-organisaatiot edustavat tutkimuskentästä teknologian käyttäjäorganisaation, teknologian kehittäjäorganisaation sekä teknologian ja prosessien integraattoriorganisaation näkökulmia. Pääasiallinen aineiston keruumenetelmä oli laadulliset teemahaastattelut. Yhteensä tutkimuksessa toteutettiin 59 yksilöhaastattelua 36 haastateltavan kanssa. Lisäksi tutkimuksen aikana toteutettiin useita keskusteluita organisaatioiden yhteyshenkilöiden kanssa. Aineisto kerättiin ja analysoitiin vuosina 2018–2022 induktiivisesti ja abduktiivisesti laadullisella sisällönanalyysilla tulkitsevan kenttätutkimuksen ja grounded theory -lähestymistavan oppeja hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksen luotettavuuden arviointiin käytettiin laadullisen, tulkitsevan ja tapaustutkimuksen kriteereitä. Tutkimuksen keskeisenä tuloksena tuotettiin malli siitä, kuinka nykypäivän digitalisoituvissa toimintaympäristöissä dynaaminen kyvykkyys näyttäytyy monitasoisena ilmiönä siten, että operatiivinen dynaaminen kyvykkyys ja johdon dynaaminen kyvykkyys ovat erillisiä toisistaan. Johdon tason ja operatiivisen tason dynaamiset kyvykkyydet ilmenevät eri tavoin eri työrooleissa vaikuttaen näin organisaation kehitykseen vastavuoroisten johdon ja henkilöstön toimien kautta. Väitöskirjassa tuotetaan seuraavat suositukset johdolle siitä, kuinka monitasoisen dynaamisen kyvykkyyden leviämistä organisaatioissa voitaisiin tukea: (1) jatkuva ja aito sidosryhmien osallistuminen, (2) muutoksen tavoitteiden, vaikutusten, saavuttamiskeinojen ja hyötyjen selkeyden varmistaminen, (3) henkilökohtaisen työssä kehittymisen resurssien turvaaminen, (4) taustalla vaikuttavien yhteistyötä haittaavien jännitteiden käsitteleminen ja (5) ihmistenvälistä dynaamista kyvykkyyttä tukevien käytäntöjen hyödyntäminen. Teorian näkökulmasta tulokset tarjoavat lisäymmärrystä dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien vuorovaikutteisesta luonteesta johdon ja muun henkilöstön välillä. Käytännön näkökulmasta tulokset auttavat johtoa organisaation ja sen kyvykkyyksien kehittämisessä. Kiihtyvän digitalisaation ja jatkuvan muutosvaatimuksen myötä vaikuttaa ratkaisevalta, että organisaatiot kykenevät täydellä potentiaalillaan hyödyntämään kykynsä havaita mahdollisuuksia ja uhkia, tarttua niihin sekä muuntautua tarvittavalla tavalla. Tässä väitöskirjassa esitetyt tulokset tukevat osaltaan näitä pyrkimyksiä. Jatkotutkimuksena suositellaan monimenetelmällisiä lähestymistapoja, operatiivisen dynaamisen kyvykkyyden olemukseen tarkempaa pureutumista, organisaatioiden kontekstuaalisten tekijöiden kattavampaa sisällyttämistä, pitkittäisiä johdon ja henkilöstön näkökulmia huomioivia tarkasteluita sekä tutkimusta siitä, kuinka esitettyjä johdon suosituksia voidaan hyödyntää organisaatioissa käytännössä.Digitalization introduces new technologies changing organizations, industries, and operating environments. New capabilities and expertise are required, as organizations need to rethink their value offerings, operating models, and ways of collaborating and conducting day-to-day tasks. While dynamic capabilities are often viewed as managerial capacities of sensing, seizing and transforming, recently the focus on employees in creating organizational capacity for change has increased. Likewise, the need for a more nuanced understanding of the development of dynamic capabilities in digitalization has been noted. The aim of this dissertation is to better understand, how dynamic capability develops and spreads in organizations across different work roles. The research problem is how dynamic capability diffuses in organizations in digitalizing operating environments. The research problem was studied by an interpretive qualitative multiple-case study with three case organizations representing the perspectives of a technology user, technology creator, and technology and process integrator. The main data collection method was semi-structured, theme-based interviews. In total 59 individual interviews with 36 informants were conducted, and additionally several discussions were held with company representatives. The data were collected and analysed over the period of 2018–2022 by inductive and abductive approaches, qualitative thematic analysis, and drawing from the guidelines of interpretive field research and grounded theory methodology. The reliability and validity were evaluated by utilizing the criteria of qualitative, interpretive, and case-study research. As findings, a model of how dynamic capability in today’s digitalizing operating environments appears as a multilevel phenomenon comprising of operative dynamic capability and managerial dynamic capability is presented. The managerial- and operative level dynamic capabilities manifest differently in different work roles and contribute to organizational development through reciprocal actions of the management and employees. Additionally, the following managerial propositions are given on how the diffusion of dynamic capability could be supported in organizations: (1) exercising continuous and genuine stakeholder participation, (2) ensuring clear goals, implications, way to, and benefits of change, (3) securing resources for individual development at work, (4) addressing underlying tensions hindering collaboration, and (5) deploying organizational practices enabling interpersonal dynamic capability. As theoretical contributions, the findings provide new understanding on dynamic capabilities as reciprocal phenomena between the management and employees. As practical implications, the findings help management in their organizational and capability development efforts. As digitalization accelerates pace invoking requirements of continuous adaptation, it seems vital for organizations to utilize their full potential of sensing, seizing, and renewing capacities. The findings presented in this dissertation aim to support these endeavours. As future research, mixed methods approaches, closer investigations on the essence of operative dynamic capability, more comprehensive considerations on organizational contextual factors, further longitudinal study incorporating both employee and managerial views, and examinations on utilizing the presented propositions in practice in organizations are suggested

    Mapping the Focal Points of WordPress: A Software and Critical Code Analysis

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    Programming languages or code can be examined through numerous analytical lenses. This project is a critical analysis of WordPress, a prevalent web content management system, applying four modes of inquiry. The project draws on theoretical perspectives and areas of study in media, software, platforms, code, language, and power structures. The applied research is based on Critical Code Studies, an interdisciplinary field of study that holds the potential as a theoretical lens and methodological toolkit to understand computational code beyond its function. The project begins with a critical code analysis of WordPress, examining its origins and source code and mapping selected vulnerabilities. An examination of the influence of digital and computational thinking follows this. The work also explores the intersection of code patching and vulnerability management and how code shapes our sense of control, trust, and empathy, ultimately arguing that a rhetorical-cultural lens can be used to better understand code\u27s controlling influence. Recurring themes throughout these analyses and observations are the connections to power and vulnerability in WordPress\u27 code and how cultural, processual, rhetorical, and ethical implications can be expressed through its code, creating a particular worldview. Code\u27s emergent properties help illustrate how human values and practices (e.g., empathy, aesthetics, language, and trust) become encoded in software design and how people perceive the software through its worldview. These connected analyses reveal cultural, processual, and vulnerability focal points and the influence these entanglements have concerning WordPress as code, software, and platform. WordPress is a complex sociotechnical platform worthy of further study, as is the interdisciplinary merging of theoretical perspectives and disciplines to critically examine code. Ultimately, this project helps further enrich the field by introducing focal points in code, examining sociocultural phenomena within the code, and offering techniques to apply critical code methods

    Understanding Secularized People of Metro Manila: A Case Study Approach for a Contextualized Urban Ministry Strategy

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    Problem Secularization shapes people\u27s thinking, feeling, and behaving in the cities. Yearly, there is a rise in the number of de-religionized or secularized people in cities of the world who engage in pursuits of materialism and show declining interest in religion. Sociologists and missiologists postulate about the spectrum of secularity and the variety of secularism in different context. Since Metro Manila is one of the world\u27s top highly urbanized and densely populated cities, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encounters challenges in reaching its secularized people. It is a new turf for the church. Pastors trained for rural settings may not understand what attracts and retains the secularized people to the church. Many do not know that the secularized is an emerging people group and that they have some special needs that the traditional Adventist Church does not address. Hence, there is a need for a biblically sound and yet culturally sensitive approach to the secularized people. Method This case study looked into the phenomena of evangelizing secularized persons in Metro Manila. It aimed to determine the characteristics of the secularized Manileños and what attracted them to God and the church. In addition, the study also answered the questions of what retains in them in church and what make them leave the church—in an attempt to put together a contextualized strategy for the secularized people. Personal interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among 30 participants comprising of non-Adventists who are secularized (12), secularized Adventists (10), and urban ministry practitioners (8). Document analysis and observation (church visit and online worship) followed the interviews. Coded data analysis provided categories for themes that answered the research questions. The interviews, FGI, document analysis, and observation were triangulated to ensure the reliability and credibility of the research findings. Results The secularized Manileños are found to be at the beginning of the spectrum of the secularization process. They are between the U1-U3 stages in Reiner’s Scale on Receptivity to the Gospel. They also identify with twenty-four characteristics of secularized individuals. Several analysis cycles resulted in nine recurring themes that emerged from the data. These themes are four life encounters with Grace, six relational factors, seven good experiences in the Adventist church, three unique features that are specific to Adventists, three church-related factors impacting retention among secularized individuals, four personal factors influencing their decision-making process when it comes to joining or leaving religious institutions. The study also revealed five barriers hindering efforts to reach out and engage secular audiences, as well as five best qualities of the ministry workers and five approaches for successful ministry toward this group. Conclusions Analyzing these findings and insights resulted in twelve proposed strategies that Adventist organizations and conferences can use as examples in developing effective ministry programs targeting secularized people in Metro Manila. These strategies can also be applied to other cities with diverse population segments, including those currently disconnected from organized religion like the secularized people

    Writing Facts: Interdisciplinary Discussions of a Key Concept in Modernity

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    "Fact" is one of the most crucial inventions of modern times. Susanne Knaller discusses the functions of this powerful notion in the arts and the sciences, its impact on aesthetic models and systems of knowledge. The practice of writing provides an effective procedure to realize and to understand facts. This concerns preparatory procedures, formal choices, models of argumentation, and narrative patterns. By considering "writing facts" and "writing facts", the volume shows why and how "facts" are a result of knowledge, rules, and norms as well as of description, argumentation, and narration. This approach allows new perspectives on »fact« and its impact on modernity
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