Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

The Impact of Perceived Government Support on e-training Adoption by Municipality Employees

Information Communication Technology (ICTs) has brought communication and access to information to the lives of many people. People are forming new social networks, sharing and learning together across geographical boundaries. Employee e- training is one of the innovative areas affected by the advent of ICT. The skills development of employees can now be perform online instead of attending a traditional classroom environment. Electronic training (e-training) has been employed in both developed and developing countries, while there is a paucity of literature on e-training adoption with several conclusions such as geographical, cultural and gender factors as motivation for adoption. The current study seeks to investigate the role of government support in e-training adoption by municipality employees. The study follows a regression based analytics approach to analyses data. The result shows that perceived government support is closely associated with e-training adoption by municipality employees

The Extended UTAUT Acceptance Model of Computer-Based Distance Training System Among Public Sector's Employees in Jordan

The utilization of advanced network technologies and modern computer applications in distance learning raises the importance of distance learning system in the delivery of learning materials and resources to remote trainees. This innovation offers the organizations and their employees an opportunity to solve the problems associated with traditional training methods. In this respect, the acceptance of computer based distance training system (CBDTS) is considered critical in determining the success of its implementation. However, the number of studies that have been conducted to examine the acceptance of distance training system by employees of public sector organizations in the Kingdom of Jordan is very limited. It is also questionable whether the information system acceptance models that have been previously developed can be used to examine the acceptance of CBDTS by public sector employees in Jordan. Questions are also raised to the idea that perhaps there may be other factors that play important roles in this context. The main objectives of this study therefore are to determine the factors that lead to the acceptance of public sector employees on computer-based distance training system and finally to propose a model of technology acceptance of computer-based distance training system by public sector employees. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed through a survey to public sector employees in Jordan. The study received about 386 responses, which represents 64.3% returned rate. Structural equation model (SEM) was used with AMOS version 16.0 to analyze the data. The findings indicate that six core determinants, namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, system flexibility, system enjoyment, social influence, and facilitating conditions significantly influenced employee intention to use distance training system. Five core determinants; system interactivity, system enjoyment, computer anxiety, computer self efficacy, and facilitating conditions significantly determine effort expectancy while only four of them including system interactivity, system enjoyment, computer anxiety, and effort expectancy significantly determine performance expectancy. Consequently, based on these findings, the final research model known as computer-based distance training acceptance model (CBDTAM) is proposed to explain and predict public sector employee’s intention in using computer-based distance training system. A comprehensive understanding of this model will assist decision makers to identify the reasons for the acceptance or resistance of computer based distance training system among public sector employees in the future and finally to support them to enhance the system’s acceptance and usage

The Effectiveness of Web-based Food Allergy Training among Restaurant Managers

Many food allergic reactions occurred in restaurants indicating employee food allergy training is necessary. The hospitality industry adopts web-based training method as it is beneficial. The objective of the study is to identify the effectiveness of web-based food allergy training on knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention serving customers with food allergies. Participants will include 100 managers from independent restaurants in Kansas. A web-based training module will be developed and pilot tested. A quasi-experimental design (intervention and control groups) with a pre- and post-test will be used to assess knowledge scores. After six month, another questionnaire that assesses participants’ retention of food allergy knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention to serve customers with food allergies will be administered. Descriptive statistics, MANOVA, MANCOVA, Chi-square analyses, logistic regression, and regression will be employed for statistical analysis. Results of the proposed study will provide insights about using web-based training as future educational tool

Burnout in the Workplace: A Review of the Data and Policy Responses in the EU

This report looks at the extent of burnout experienced by workers in the EU, based on national research. As a starting point, the report sets out to consider whether burnout is viewed as a medical or occupational disease. It then examines the work determinants associated with burnout and looks at the effects of burnout, including psychosocial and physical work factors, work intensity and work organisation. It also reviews national strategies and policies regarding this issue, the involvement of the social partners in the current debate, as well as preventive actions currently in place

"Brain-drain" in an era of business and socio-economic uncertainty: the role of diversity training in managing social integration at the workplace. The case of Greece and Portugal

Purpose: This study examines the extent to which diversity training is being used in workplaces in the UK to better integrate migrant workers. The paper also aims at assessing the perceived challenges and benefits that diversity training may produce for individuals in an era of economic and social uncertainty and insecurity. The underlying reasons that made many highly-skilled individuals to emigrate would also be highlighted. Most importantly though, the paper aims at initiating a discussion as to what extent diversity training could facilitate their social integration at the workplace. Thus, to better serve its purpose, the study explores Greek and Portuguese migrant workers' perceptions of the phenomenon under investigation. Design/Methodology/Approach: Individuals who left Greece and Portugal for UK were identified as the target audience of this research. Due to time and access constraints, web-based social and professional networks proved to offer the best solution in accessing our sample population. The snowball technique was also utilised (recommendations from existing participants). For instance, Facebook was one amongst them by accessing various Greek and Portuguese community groups. Additionally, several professional sub-groups within Linkedin resulted to higher participation. Further to that, specific levels of integration were suggested (e.g. participants' intention to stay in the organisation, social support from British colleagues, type of diversity training programmes, psychological & work-related distress etc.) so to better evaluate the extent to which diversity training could facilitate their social integration at the workplace. So far, 56 people have successfully completed the survey questionnaire, yet with a response rate to be quite low compared to the members within the respective groups. Findings: Research evidence describes "brain-drain" as an intriguing and important issue both within the organisational and national contexts. The findings of this study indicate that crisis, low wages, and limited career advancement opportunities are amongst the most important reasons reported by respondents. On one hand, research participants reported an overall mediocre or inexistent diversity training programmes implemented within their workplaces. As a result, their social integration was difficult, with some participants indicating high levels of marginalisation within the workplace. In contrary, there were others suggesting that diversity training have offered them the social support being required to effectively integrate within the organisational and work settings. A large majority of our research participants outlined the importance of diversity training as a means of social integration at work. To this extent, the research could make a strong argument that diversity training can be viewed as a means to better integrate migrant workers at the workplace. Originality/Value: The research is expected to offer both theoretical and practical recommendations. The paper offers an association between the "social integration" paradigm and the institutional perspective by suggesting that the two elements of social integration at work (e.g. social connectedness & work context) can facilitate migrant workers’ social integration at work, while concurrently to eliminate its negative aspects. A brain-mobility process has dominated the headlines of most global media over the last 9-10 years, since the global financial crisis commenced. Final research findings and suggestions could constitute the starting point of future research within different national contexts; thus, to offer a comparison amongst people and nations over the phenomenon under investigation

Business Intelligence & Analytics (BI&A) Systems:Measuring End-User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS)

Business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) have become part of almost every com- pany/organisation nowadays, as the benefits of a successful adoption are many. However, the failure scenarios are many as well, with companies/organisations facing dissatisfied employ- ees who do not use the BI&A tools because they find them difficult to use -despite the train- ings-, and others who start using them and then stop this usage. In an effort to help compa- nies/organisations who want to adopt or have adopted a BI&A solution to understand their employees, as well as BI&A vendors to understand their end-users, we conducted this study where we examined the relationships among training, system usage, EUCS and UCI. What is more, we decided to focus only to descriptive BI&A as it is the type of BI&A that is mostly adopted by companies/organisations. The data needed for the study was collected with the help of a questionnaire-based survey and four hypotheses were developed for our literature- based proposed model. Data analysis was conducted with Excel, SPSS and AMOS and all of our hypotheses were confirmed. This is a sign that companies/organisations should keep in- vesting on training in order to achieve higher levels of BI&A usage and eventually higher levels of EUCS and UCI

Information Technology Applications in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale