22 research outputs found
North Korea: Transport and Logistics Scenarios and South Korean Enterprises' Location Decisions
North Korea is one of the world’s last remaining communist countries. Insistence on self-sufficiency has resulted in the stagnation of its economy and collapse of its transport distribution system. This research project examines how various scenarios for North Korea and the implications of South Korean enterprises’ location decisions affect future transport and logistics developments in North Korea. In the foreseeable future, aside from Chinese companies, South Korean investors will probably be the only companies to invest heavily in the North, driven by political and economic motivations.
The objectives of this study are four-fold. Firstly, it analyses the political and economic factors affecting North Korea. Secondly, it appraises the present conditions of transport and logistics infrastructure in North Korea. Next, in order to ascertain the implications of business organisations’ decisions to locate in North Korea, it is imperative to determine the probable scenarios surrounding North Korea due to its unique and reclusive nature. Finally, it identifies the factors that will affect potential investors’ location choices.
In order to answer the above research question and objectives, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. In the absence of reliable data from North Korea, an exploratory study was undertaken with eight experts to gain deeper understanding of the issues surrounding North Korea. The insights gathered, together with the comprehensive literature review led to the development of eight sub-research questions. Next, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted to help develop scenarios for North Korea. Quantitative surveys were concurrently conducted which engaged SMEs and logistics companies.
The findings of the research uncovered new insights. Experts think that the status quo scenario is most likely to continue in the near future unless one of the wildcard situations, such as the death of Kim Jong-il occurs. Investors are likely to invest $1-9 million in North Korea, with Nampo and Sinuiju as probable investment locations. Four main factors will influence the location choices of potential South Korean investors including ‘legal’, ‘political economy’, ‘spatial’ and ‘infrastructure’. Road transport was found to be the choice of mode for both experts and investors and China and South Korea would be the mostly like export destinations for North Korean-made products
The Activities , Drivers and Barriers of ‘Electronic Public Service Delivery’ in Dubai’s public organisations
Abstract
The quest to transform the delivery of government services through innovative and electronic
means has been embraced by public organisations worldwide in an ever rising phenomenon,
sought after to reap some of the potentially rewarding benefits of the digitisation of
government services. In this study, the author reports the experiences of four major public
organisations in Dubai as its governing office have imposed a deadline for all of its public
agencies to transform and deliver 100 per cent of their services electronically by the end of
year 2009.
Notably, despite the fact that worldwide reports have placed Dubai as the leader among its
Arab peers in the provision of e-government services, technological infrastructures,
government’s transparency and internet and mobile penetration rates. Yet, Dubai has missed
its 2005 target of transforming 70 per cent of it services electronically facing a dilemma with
its digital implementation efforts with achieving less than 45 per cent transformation rate.
With e-government deployment failure rates reaching levels of 60 per cent worldwide, the
challenges arising from the development of e-government initiatives have proven to be
extensive. The complexity of the nature of e-government initiatives as well as the ambiguity
surrounding its e-services development process makes reasonable justifications for the high
failure rates associated with its deployment efforts all over the world and not just in Dubai.
Furthermore, the lack of a universal model and theoretical studies to guide the deployment of
this phenomenon have lead researchers and practitioners alike to focus their attention on
finding ways and means of improving the adoption and implementation of e-government
initiatives. Thus, it was established that it was necessary to find answers for the following
questions: How are public organisations in Dubai are going about the diffusion of their egovernment
initiatives and what determinates are necessary to be considered in the
development process to achieve the initiatives’ success?
In response to the aforementioned issues and in order to respond to the research’s objectives
and questions, a theoretical framework guided by Roger’s (1995) Organisation Innovation
Process theory and extended by Tornatzky and Fleisher’s Technological, Organisational,
Environmental (1990) model have been developed to gain a holistic understanding of the
phenomenon. The author reported using a multiple in-depth case study research design,
drawing on empirical data from semi-structured interviews with e-government participants
and gathering evidence from organisations’ documents and proceedings from local and
regional Arabic e-government conferences, as well as on-site participants’ observations. This
study documented the e-service development activities and identified the influential attributes
driving the e-government phenomenon using both a descriptive and exploratory research
strategy. Content analysis of the interview transcripts was used to extract answers given
during the semi-structured interviews and to identify new themes that emerged from the data.
Revision of research findings and comparison with literature have taken place from May,
2011 till April, 2012. The review has contributed to adding over 100 pages to the literature
review chapter and over 20 pages to the final chapter of recommendation and conclusion.
xi
Upon the conclusion of the study’s data presentation and analysis, a further literature review
has provided a significant improvement in refining the study’s conceptual framework. It has
provides additional theoretical elaboration of key ideas, clearer definition and articulation of
the e-services development process and contributed towards the formation of fourteen
propositions. The empirical findings indicated three main stages (planning, transformation
and deployment) similarly delineated by Rogers’ (1995) Organisation’s Adoption Process
theory (initiation, adoption and implementation). However, the stages emerged in a more
interactive looping patterns unlike Rogers’ linear model. Additionally, fourteen
technological, organisational and environmental factors were indicated as being responsible
for influencing the development process of e-services in Dubai public organisations. These
propositions are to provide concerned academics with some guidance for further investigation
into the e-services’ development practices in the region. This study also attempts to assist and
guide government reformers, technological innovations’ team leaders and the implementing
staff in Dubai in initiating, deploying, and sustaining their technologically integrated
initiatives in a systemic and educated manner
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Effective applications of microcomputer-based management information and decision support systems for small and medium sized enterprises
This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Firstly, this thesis reviews the literature on the application of microcomputer-based Management Information Systems (MISs) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). It is found that the hardware platform today is already sufficient for SMEs. However, information regarding successful implementation of MISs for SMEs is scarce and largely fragmented.
DSS requires more focused and dedicated use of information to support managerial decision making. Unfortunately, the development of DSSs for SMEs is even more backward. Yet, there is an emerging need for SMEs today because business operations have become more sophisticated under intensified
competition.
With this scenario in mind, the author undertook intensive questionnaire and case surveys to find out the current development and trends for the effective applications of MISs and DSSs. In 1987, the author was awarded the Oshikawa Fellowship by Asian Productivity Organisation in Tokyo and started the present research. 446 completed questionnaire survey sheets from U.K. and Hang Kong have been received and analysed. 67 SMEs and related organisations in 6 developing/developed countries were also visited. This forms the knowledge for the development of expert systems (ES) for effective applications of MIS.
The approach for DSS is based on a carefully selected business game which has most of the common business decision parameters. Intensive experiment with over 100 subjects was conducted in running the game, with an average time contribution of about 20 hours/person. The findings are again consolidated and structured into an ES.
Longitudinal research was conducted in 5 representative SMEs. With the use of action learning and participation of the researcher, more in-depth firsthand information were obtained and analysed. These form part of the input to the ES as well.
Both ES have been validated and further improved. The experimenters find these as keys to develop MIS/DSS for SMEs. A marketing plan is suggested to launch these two products so that they can become more easily available. Finally, recommendations are made on the effective use of the ES and for further development
Republic of Korea-small and medium industry project
노트 : This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization
Can Information in Children’s Drawings Inform Teachers’ Practices? A Study of Singaporean Pre-school Teachers’ “Reading” of 5-6 year olds’ Drawings.
Children’s drawings are graphic visual records of learning experiences (e.g. a zoo outing) often displayed on the walls of Singapore preschools to celebrate children’s learning and teachers’ teaching. At best, drawings are pictures to report to parents (e.g. child’s colouring skills or impressions of learning). Drawings are under utilized as representations of learning and thinking to inform teachers’ practices in lesson planning. First of all, a questionnaire survey with 325 teachers was collated to understand factors that influence teaching decisions. While face-to-face interviews with 61 children (5 - 6 years) had provided factors that influence their learning from children’s perspectives. The study aimed to explore with the goal of developing a strategy to teach teachers to read children’s drawings for information to support learning. As a result, the Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (TEO): cognitive processes (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) with a focus on learning and cognition was the framework for the “children’s drawing evaluation checklist” designed to deduce information of content-knowledge and cognitive processes. About 140 teacher-respondents evaluated 50 pre-and post-lesson drawings on wild animals and the water cycle by 25 children (5 – 6 years old) from two preschools. The findings showed children’s cognitive processes were directed at Bloom’s “Remember,” “Understand,” “Apply,” and “Analyze,” capturing alongside rich information of children’s spontaneous knowledge. The checklist was later revised and integrated with Biggs and Collis (1982) the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy to reflect the amount of information represented. The revised checklist was tested with 18 mainstream teachers to evaluate wild animals and the water cycle drawings. To test for generalizability, the checklist was tested with 22 special needs teachers to evaluate 17 high functioning special needs children’s (5- 6 years old) drawings. Consequently, implications of the use of information in children’s drawings in this study are discussed
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Factors influencing the business growth of women-owned sewing businesses (WOSBs) in Lagos-State, Nigeria: a gender-aware growth framework.
The purpose of this study is to introduce a new comprehensive gender-aware growth framework. To do that, this study: (I) provides in-depth insights into women’s perception of growth; (II) evaluated and modified Brush et al.’s gender-aware conceptual model, which is a framework developed for the study of women-owned firms in the USA. By doing that, this study offered a new gender-aware growth framework which scholars acknowledged is lacking in the field of gender and entrepreneurship.
The objectives of this study were addressed using a qualitative research design that involved the interview of 35 women entrepreneurs, who operated sewing businesses, and other key stakeholders. NVivo is utilised for coding significant statements which were presented using textural and structural descriptions of the way that women perceive growth; and their experiences of utilising the 6Ms (money, management, market, motherhood, meso-environment and macro-environment) within their enterprises.
The finding indicated that women entrepreneurs primarily associated growth with the change in their clientele. Growth was also perceived using other inconsequential growth descriptors (i.e. increase in assets) that reflected the business challenge that women currently face. Contrary to Brush et al., the findings showed that the 6Ms were categorised as direct and indirect determinants of growth. The direct elements (i.e. money, management and market) strongly supported their venture growth when their usage aligns with the way women perceived growth. The indirect determinants (motherhood, meso-environment and macro-environment) improved women’s access to the direct determinants; while their macro-environment and motherhood respectively inhibited women’s access and the utilisation of the direct growth determinants.
The new gender-aware growth model enriches the limited knowledge about women entrepreneurs, their entrepreneurial and growth activities within the developing economies. That contribution to knowledge will enable policymakers to develop effective support mechanisms that can assist women-owned businesses to grow. The new model also provides women entrepreneurs with useful information that will enable them to develop valuable growth strategies. With regards to theory, the new model advances Brush et al.'s theoretical framework as a practical tool that can be used to enhance understanding on women entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Its contextualised constructs form a broad base whose interpretations and interrelationships are useful for scholars in terms of understanding that women entrepreneurship is subjected to social, spatial and institutional contexts
The 9th International Conference on Sustainable Development
The International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD) was held virtually on September 20-21, 2021, with the conference theme “Research for Impact: A Sustainable and Inclusive Planet.” ICSD provides a forum for academia, government, civil society, UN agencies, and the private sector to come together to share practical solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The two-day conference hosted 49 different sessions across multiple time zones to accommodate the global audience, with 204 oral presenters, 239 poster presenters, and 977 total authors
An investigation into the influences upon and determinants of perceived quality achievement in the management of construction projects by multivariate analysis
This research concerns a quantitative examination of the
influencing factors on the achievement of quality on construction
projects. Quality performance on construction projects has been
conceived as a function of the design process that occurs before
the design of the product, site team collaboration and
interpersonal relationships, high work-place-supervision, on-site
motivation and role definition. This conception has culminated
in postulated determinants of quality achievement on construction
based on a theoretical understanding. Aspects of measure of
perceived design core job characteristics and site organisationand-
management phenomena were factor analysed. The verification
of the postulated determinants was accomplished by testing of a
network of eight main hypotheses using multivariate analytical
technique in multiple regression.
Varied results emerged with four main hypotheses supported, two
partially supported and the remaining two unsupported by data.
The assertion is that manipulative actions on design core job
characteristics, team collaboration and consensus with mutual
understanding and agreement on project goals, mutual exchange
with site supervisory staff and subordinates, and role
definitions conducted within an integrated framework would
contribute an aggregated beneficiary effect on quality
achievement on construction projects
Rethinking the risk matrix
So far risk has been mostly defined as the expected value of a loss, mathematically PL (being P the probability of an adverse event and L the loss incurred as a consequence of the adverse event). The so called risk matrix follows from such definition.
This definition of risk is justified in a long term “managerial” perspective, in which it is conceivable to distribute the effects of an adverse event on a large number of subjects or a large number of recurrences. In other words, this definition is mostly justified on frequentist terms. Moreover, according to this definition, in two extreme situations (high-probability/low-consequence and low-probability/high-consequence), the estimated risk is low. This logic is against the principles of sustainability and continuous improvement, which should impose instead both a continuous search for lower probabilities of adverse events (higher and higher reliability) and a continuous search for lower impact of adverse events (in accordance with the fail-safe principle).
In this work a different definition of risk is proposed, which stems from the idea of safeguard: (1Risk)=(1P)(1L). According to this definition, the risk levels can be considered low only when both the probability of the adverse event and the loss are small.
Such perspective, in which the calculation of safeguard is privileged to the calculation of risk, would possibly avoid exposing the Society to catastrophic consequences, sometimes due to wrong or oversimplified use of probabilistic models. Therefore, it can be seen as the citizen’s perspective to the definition of risk