There and Back Again

We present a programming pattern where a recursive function defined over a data structure traverses another data structure at return time. The idea is that the recursive calls get us `there' by traversing the first data structure and the returns get us `back again' while traversing the second data structure. We name this programming pattern of traversing a data structure at call time and another data structure at return time ``There And Back Again'' (TABA). The TABA pattern directly applies to computing symbolic convolutions and to multiplying polynomials. It also blends well with other programming patterns such as dynamic programming and traversing a list at double speed. We illustrate TABA and dynamic programming with Catalan numbers. We illustrate TABA and traversing a list at double speed with palindromes and we obtain a novel solution to this traditional exercise. Finally, through a variety of tree traversals, we show how to apply TABA to other data structures than lists. A TABA-based function written in direct style makes full use of an ALGOL-like control stack and needs no heap allocation. Conversely, in a TABA-based function written in continuation-passing style and recursively defined over a data structure (traversed at call time), the continuation acts as an iterator over a second data structure (traversed at return time). In general, the TABA pattern saves one from accumulating intermediate data structures at call time

Outsourcing of IT Services: Studies on Diffusion and New Theoretical Perspectives

abstract: Information technology (IT) outsourcing, including foreign or offshore outsourcing, has been steadily growing over the last two decades. This growth in IT outsourcing has led to the development of different hubs of services across nations, and has resulted in increased competition among service providers. Firms have been using IT outsourcing to not only leverage advanced technologies and services at lower costs, but also to maintain their competitive edge and grow. Furthermore, as prior studies have shown, there are systematic differences among industries in terms of the degree and impact of IT outsourcing. This dissertation uses a three-study approach to investigate issues related to IT outsourcing at the macro and micro levels, and provides different perspectives for understanding the issues associated with IT outsourcing at a firm and industry level. The first study evaluates the diffusion patterns of IT outsourcing across industries at aggregate level and within industries at a firm level. In addition, it analyzes the factors that influence the diffusion of IT outsourcing and tests models that help us understand the rate and patterns of diffusion at the industry level. This study establishes the presence of hierarchical contagion effects in the diffusion of IT outsourcing. The second study explores the role of location and proximity of industries to understand the diffusion patterns of IT outsourcing within clusters using the spatial analysis technique of space-time clustering. It establishes the presence of simultaneous space and time interactions at the global level in the diffusion of IT outsourcing. The third study examines the development of specialized hubs for IT outsourcing services in four developing economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). In this study, I adopt a theory-building approach involving the identification of explanatory anomalies, and propose a new hybrid theory called- knowledge network theory. The proposed theory suggests that the growth and development of the IT and related services sector is a result of close interactions among adaptive institutions. It is also based on new knowledge that is created, and which flows through a country's national diaspora of expatriate entrepreneurs, technologists and business leaders. In addition, relevant economic history and regional geography factors are important. This view diverges from the traditional view, wherein effective institutions are considered to be the key determinants of long-term economic growth.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Business Administration 201

Artificial intelligence in innovation research: A systematic review, conceptual framework, and future research directions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly adopted by organizations to innovate, and this is ever more reflected in scholarly work. To illustrate, assess and map research at the intersection of AI and innovation, we performed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of published work indexed in the Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) and Elsevier Scopus databases (the final sample includes 1448 articles). A bibliometric analysis was deployed to map the focal field in terms of dominant topics and their evolution over time. By deploying keyword co-occurrences, and bibliographic coupling techniques, we generate insights on the literature at the intersection of AI and innovation research. We leverage the SLR findings to provide an updated synopsis of extant scientific work on the focal research area and to develop an interpretive framework which sheds light on the drivers and outcomes of AI adoption for innovation. We identify economic, technological, and social factors of AI adoption in firms willing to innovate. We also uncover firms' economic, competitive and organizational, and innovation factors as key outcomes of AI deployment. We conclude this paper by developing an agenda for future research

Indira Gandhi National Open University : integrating higher education reform with national developmental goals.

In less developed nations, higher education is often viewed as extravagent, especially if it is unrelated to national development goals. India is no exception. Higher education is constantly generating critical comments, for it is mired in tradition, stagnant, often corrupt and irrelevant to the nation\u27s development needs. Furthermore, India\u27s colonial system of higher education is rigid, conservative, expensive, inaccessible for most of the population, and produces graduates who are unemployable. Higher education reform, in fact--educational reform at all levels--has been recommended since the Kothari Committee shortly after Independence in 1947. While the system has grown in numbers of students and institutions, it has not changed to accommodate the increasing enrollment of students or the technological advances that have changed the world. Following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the nation was in chaos. During the address presented at his inaugural as Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi professed the reforms needed to unite the country and carry it to the 20th century as a self-reliant nation. A priority was education. Within this educational recommendation was the creation of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, designed to meet the development needs of the nation through an innovative method of higher education. It was to attend to continuing education, promote national unity, and offer programs of study which would be relevant to the nation\u27s employment and economic needs. This innovative approach was coordinated with conceptualization of the Seventh Five-Year Plan. A proposal to integrate development goals and education was included in the Sixth Five-Year Plan, but had not been implemented. The Seventh Plan again proposed a coordination of development objectives and educational programming. The Indira Gandhi National Open University was proposed as a vehicle to integrate national development goals with education

Amalan tanggungjawab sosial korporat : kajian terhadap proses pembuatan keputusan dan akauntabiliti pelaksanaan rancangan 'Bersamamu' oleh Media Prima Berhad

The accountability of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implementation in influencing the targeted community and the decision approach of the meaning of CSR should be seen from the practical and theoretical perspectives. The objectives of this study were to know ways of the decision approach in terms of the meaning of CSR and ways the decision-making processes are being made in program ‘BersamaMu’ at Media Prima Berhad. Specifically, there are three main objectives. Firstly, to determine CSR concept in the context of BersamaMu program. Secondly, to determine the decision making process in BersamaMu program. Thirdly, to investigate stimulating factors of rational decision making process of BersamaMu program. A total of 14 respondents who were involved in the production process of the CSR TV program were interviewed for this study. Through thematic analysis, several basic themes were identified and they were categorized into seven main themes. Firstly, CSR concepts in the context of BersamaMu program are poverty, development and participation to the targeted communities. Secondly, there are three types of decision making process, namely consensus-of-round-table, level of decision stages and perspective of stakeholders. Thirdly, situational context of the targeted community stimulated rational decision making process of BersamaMu program. The findings may offer a new approach in understanding the definition and decision making process of CSR through a set of decision-makers’ input and potential decision behaviors

Extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology: the influence of behavioral intention on big data management adoption by Malaysian public research universities

The higher education environment has been experiencing a record of challenges such as declines in students’ enrolment, retention rates, and graduation rates. Combined with cuts in institutional funding, executive leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia and internationally have found it challenging to address these challenges effectively due to the dynamic and highly competitive education landscape. However, HEIs, like many organizations, are rapidly changing because of advancements in technology. The application of big data management (BDM) has been acknowledged as a potential solution to difficulties experienced in HEIs. So far, its adoption is relatively new, as there are currently numerous unknowns regarding its use. The focus of this study is to provide both institutional executive decision-makers and strategic managers with insight into factors related to the behavioral intention for the adoption of BDM in Malaysian public research universities. The contribution of this study is to bridge the gap in existing research on the behavioral intention for the adoption of BDM. Venkatesh's Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model was used to determine if the independent variables: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are predictors of the dependent variable; the behavioral intention with moderating variable of transformational leadership (TL) for adoption of BDM by both institutional executive decision-makers and strategic managers whose universities are considering using BDM in their operations. The findings of the study based on a total of 171 valid survey collected showed that social influence and facilitating conditions have significant effects on behavioral intention for BDM adoption. Worth noting is the fact that TL this study’s results found no impact on the relationship between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence variables and the behavioral intention. The sector is at the initial phase of adopting BDM technology, and the main challenge of adopting BDM use is transforming the processes, culture, and people in the institutions. The need for further research into the behavioral intention factors and leadership may in turn universities in being better prepared for the implementation and the costs of the technology