Cloud service localisation

The essence of cloud computing is the provision of software and hardware services to a range of users in dierent locations. The aim of cloud service localisation is to facilitate the internationalisation and localisation of cloud services by allowing their adaption to dierent locales. We address the lingual localisation by providing service-level language translation techniques to adopt services to dierent languages and regulatory localisation by providing standards-based mappings to achieve regulatory compliance with regionally varying laws, standards and regulations. The aim is to support and enforce the explicit modelling of aspects particularly relevant to localisation and runtime support consisting of tools and middleware services to automating the deployment based on models of locales, driven by the two localisation dimensions. We focus here on an ontology-based conceptual information model that integrates locale specication in a coherent way

New venture internationalisation and the cluster life cycle: insights from Ireland’s indigenous software industry

The internationalization of new and small firms has been a long-standing concern of researchers in international business (Coviello and McAuley, 1999; Ruzzier et al., 2006). This topic has been re-invigorated over the last decade by the burgeoning literature on so-called ‘born globals’ (BG) or ‘international new ventures’ (INV) – businesses that confound the expectations of traditional theory by being active internationally at, or soon after, inception (Aspelund et al., 2007; Bell, 1995; Rialp et al., 2005). Until quite recently, this literature had not really considered how the home regional environment of a new venture might influence its internationalization behaviour. However, a handful of recent studies have shown that being founded in a geographic industry ‘cluster’ can positively influence the likelihood of a new venture internationalizing (e.g., Fernhaber et al., 2008; Libaers and Meyer, 2011). This chapter seeks to build on these recent contributions by further probing the relationship between clusters and new venture internationalization. Specifically, taking inspiration from recent work in the thematic research stream on clusters (which spans the fields of economic geography, regional studies and industrial dynamics), the chapter explores how the emergence and internationalization of new ventures might be affected by the ‘cluster life cycle’ context within which they are founded. This issue is examined through a revelatory longitudinal case study of Ireland’s indigenous software cluster. The study investigates the origins and internationalization behaviour of ‘leading’ Irish software ventures but, in contrast to many existing studies, it seeks to understand these firms within the context of the Irish software cluster’s emergence and evolution through a number of ‘life-cycle’ stages

User and Developer Interaction with Editable and Readable Ontologies

The process of building ontologies is a difficult task that involves collaboration between ontology developers and domain experts and requires an ongoing interaction between them. This collaboration is made more difficult, because they tend to use different tool sets, which can hamper this interaction. In this paper, we propose to decrease this distance between domain experts and ontology developers by creating more readable forms of ontologies, and further to enable editing in normal office environments. Building on a programmatic ontology development environment, such as Tawny-OWL, we are now able to generate these readable/editable from the raw ontological source and its embedded comments. We have this translation to HTML for reading; this environment provides rich hyperlinking as well as active features such as hiding the source code in favour of comments. We are now working on translation to a Word document that also enables editing. Taken together this should provide a significant new route for collaboration between the ontologist and domain specialist.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted at ICBO 2017, License update

Authorised Translations of Electronic Documents

A concept is proposed to extend authorised translations of documents to electronically signed, digital documents. Central element of the solution is an electronic seal, embodied as an XML data structure, which attests to the correctness of the translation and the authorisation of the translator. The seal contains a digital signature binding together original and translated document, thus enabling forensic inspection and therefore legal security in the appropriation of the translation. Organisational aspects of possible implementation variants of electronic authorised translations are discussed and a realisation as a stand-alone web-service is presented.Comment: In: Peer-reviewed Proceedings of the Information Security South Africa (ISSA) 2006 From Insight to Foresight Conference, 5 to 7 July 2006, Sandton, South Afric

Using open source tools to support collaboration within CALIBRE

Abstract – This paper describes the deployment of Plone, an Open-Source content management system, to support the activities of CALIBRE, an EU-funded coordination action integrating research into Libre software. The criteria by which Plone was selected are described, and the goodness of fit to these criteria is analysed. As a coordination action, CALIBRE involves 12 partners with different requirements and characteristics. The CALIBRE Working Environment (CWE) must therefore support a variety of users with different levels of technical expertise and expectations. Implementation of the support infrastructure for CALIBRE is ongoing, and has provided some interesting insights into the benefits of the use of libre software. Although Plone has not been explicitly developed as a collaboration infrastructure, with its wealth of plugins, it has proven highly adaptable for this purpose

A methodology for enhancing student writing in the discipline through complementary and collaborative working between central and school based writing development provision

Academic literacies theory argues that academic writing is currently caught up in unequal power relationships which 'problematize the student' (Lea and Street 1998) and thus argues for a change in focus from a 'skills' model to the adoption of a more discursive model which values tutor-student and student-student discussion and considers writing and meaning-making within the context of the discipline. Haggis (2006), similarly argues for an embedded, dialogic approach to processes within the discipline whereby ' the embedded processual complexities of thinking, understanding and acting in specific disciplinary contexts need to be explored as an integral part of academic content teaching within the disciplines themselves.' This article will demonstrate how a range of pedagogies has been adopted at Nottingham Trent University to enable students to develop writing strategies which are mindful of, and embedded within differing disciplinary practices

How do digital information good characteristics influence pace and modalities of international market entry?

The paper develops theory to propose how considering digital information good characteristics modify and extends existing explanations with regard to entry mode choices (in single markets) and internationalization paths (across countries). Explanations offered relate to network and lock-in effects, complementary infrastructure investments, branding, and customer learning – factors that are particular important for understanding international market entry of digital information good providers.MNCs; entry mode; learning; digital information goods

Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue one: Internationalising the curriculum

Welcome to the first edition of the University of Salford’s ‘Innovative Learning in Action’ (ILIA). The journal will be published bi-annually and is intended to provide recognition for and to celebrate the good practice of staff who - across campus - strive to innovate in pursuit of the quality learning experience. The dissemination of good practice will provide positive encouragement to those considering new approaches to student learning and support and act as a springboard for collaboration, shared experience, mutual support and reflection within and across schools and faculties. The journal aims to be inclusive, therefore the Editorial Board welcomes a varied range of contributions from those who are seasoned and experienced researchers in the field, to those who are embarking upon their first engagement with publishing in the domain; from tried and tested innovations which may be transferable to other disciplines to work in progress and embryonic developments; from academic and related staff to those performing roles in support of student learning. The tone of the journal is quite informal, providing an illustrative rather than exhaustive overview of innovations and authors are encouraged to describe and reflect upon their experiences in their own individual styles. The theme of this first edition is ‘Internationalising the Curriculum’ a concept that is at the very heart of the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy: ‘…preparing students for careers that will be in the global economy and to enrich the wider student experience by integrating the knowledge and experience of our international students.’ (University of Salford, Strategic Framework 2003-2004) Contributions that explore innovative programmes and collaborations underway at the University provide a range of perspectives on curriculum development and design, signifying ways in which other colleagues might pursue an international agenda in their teaching and learning practice

Regional Business Networks and the Multinational Retail Sector

In this paper we examine the network relationships of a set of large retail multinational enterprises (MNEs). We analyze under what conditions a flagship-network strategy (characterized by a network of five partners – the MNE; key suppliers; key partners; selected competitors; and key organisations in the non-business infrastructure) explains the internationalisation of three retailers whose geographic scope, sectoral conditions and competitive strategies differ substantially. We explore why and when retailers will adopt a flagship strategy. The three firms are Tesco and The Body Shop, two U.K.-based multinational retailers, and Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), a French-based global retailer. We find evidence of strong network relationships for all three retailers, yet they embrace network strategies for different reasons. Their flagship relationships depend on each retailer’s strategic use of firm-specific-advantages (FSAs) and country-specific advantages (CSAs). We find that a flagship strategy succeeds in overcoming internal and/or environmental constraints to cross-border resource transfers, which are barriers to foreign direct investment (FDI). We provide recommendations on why and when to use a flagship-based strategy and which type of network partners to prioritize in order to succeed internationally.international retailing, flagship strategy, networks, LVMH, Tesco, The Body Shop, multinational, firm-specific advantages, regional strategy