Supporting Decision Makers with Knowledge Management Systems

This study compared the effectiveness of two knowledge management system designs in supporting individual decision makers in a predictive judgement task. The black-box versus white-box system design was varied to allow for automating versus informating support in cue weighting and combination stages of the judgement process. The main findings indicate that only the white-box system design was effective in improving decision makers’ performance through enhancing their knowledge and debiasing their judgement strategies. However, the study reveals room for further improvement and provides directions for future research

The KM Times They Are A-Changin’

This paper traces the changes in the development of the field of knowledge management (KM) over time, through a review of the representative literature and the author’s own research. The paper starts by going back to the origins of KM and reflects on three significant evolutionary stages termed fragmentation, integration and fusion. Following these reflections on the KM past, the paper speculates on the possible KM future. It identifies three emerging trends named extension, specialization and reconceptualization that point to several possible KM futures. The first two involve decentralisation and regeneration of prior KM interpretations, while the third trend signals a revolutionary next KM generation. Irrespective of the direction it may take, the evidence presented in this paper suggests that KM has a future, although it may not be without challenges

THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN MARKETING: CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND EMPIRICAL TEST

The purpose of this research was to identify the relationships between ‘Facebook’ brand page users’ motivations, engagement behaviors and future behavioral intentions. For this purpose, a model of Facebook brand fan page user motivations, engagement and behavioral intentions was proposed. The model was tested via an online survey distributed to Facebook users in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 504 usable surveys were considered for the data analysis. Following the exploratory factor analysis tests, four main motivational factors emerged; information, personal identity, leisure and social interaction. Then, the relationships between these four motivational factors and customer engagement and behavioral intentions were tested in a structural model. Model tests revealed that Facebook brand fan page users were most motivated by information needs in regards to stronger engagement with the fan pages and more positive intentions to buy products through these fan pages. Personal identity needs were also important reasons for customer engagement with brand fan pages on Facebook. Based on these results, practical recommendations were given to marketers and brand fan page administrators

Knowledge management research and practice:visions and directions

This editorial paper outlines key directions for knowledge management research and practice. The editorial team presents the results from a small survey of academics and practitioners about the present and future of knowledge management, and the editors include their own informed views on how this journal can help promote scholarly inquiry in the field

THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN MARKETING: CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND EMPIRICAL TEST Marketing Research and Strategy

Abstract The purpose of this research was to identify the relationships between 'Facebook' brand page users' motivations, engagement behaviours and future behavioural intentions. For this purpose, a model of Facebook brand fan page user motivations, engagement and behavioural intentions was proposed. The model was tested via an online survey distributed to Facebook users in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 504 usable surveys were considered for the data analysis. Following the exploratory factor analysis tests, four main motivational factors emerged; information, personal identity, leisure and social interaction. Then, the relationships between these four motivational factors and customer engagement and behavioural intentions were tested in a structural model. Model tests revealed that Facebook brand fan page users were most motivated by information needs in regards to stronger engagement with the fan pages and more positive intentions to buy products through these fan pages. Personal identity needs were also important reasons for customer engagement with brand fan pages on Facebook. Based on these results, practical recommendations were given to marketers and brand fan page administrators

Hearing in Children with Otitis Media with Effusion – Clinical Retrospective Study

Hearing loss accompanied with middle ear effusion was analyzed according to audiometric frequencies for different age group. Results for left and right ears were compared in/ and between study and control group. Pure tone audiometry for bone and air conduction and tympanometry was performed in study group of ninety-eight children with conductive hearing loss and otitis media with effusion Control group included fifty-seven children with hearing loss, enlarged adenoids, dysfunction of Eustachian tube and no present middle ear effusion served. Means of hearing loss thresholds for 250 Hz – 4 kHz were established and compared between groups of right vs. left ears of tested vs. control ears according to age subgroups: 1–3 yr, 4–6 yr, 7–9 yr, 10–12 yr, 13–15 yr. At age 1–3 yr otitis media with effusion children showed no ear side difference in hearing loss. Age groups of 4–6 and 7–9 yr otitis media with effusion children showed left ears with higher threshold of hearing loss across all of the tested frequencies than right ears in study and control ears. Right ears showed smaller hearing loss in study and control group and no age group predicted for hearing impairment. Higher hearing loss threshold for 4 kHz in adolescence in otitis media with effusion ears is early sign of sequels after repetitive episodes of middle ear effusion. Control groups showed no ear side or age group dependent difference of hearing loss threshold. Age group of 4–6 and 7–9 y have faster craniofacial structural change in soft tissue than bone base so ear side differences suggest being developmentally determined

Credit bureaus between risk-management, creditworthiness assessment and prudential supervision

"This text may be downloaded for personal research purposes only. Any additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copy or electronically, requires the consent of the author. If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author, the title, the working paper or other series, the year, and the publisher."This paper discusses the role and operations of consumer Credit Bureaus in the European Union in the context of the economic theories, policies and law within which they work. Across Europe there is no common practice of sharing the credit data of consumers which can be used for several purposes. Mostly, they are used by the lending industry as a practice of creditworthiness assessment or as a risk-management tool to underwrite borrowing decisions or price risk. However, the type, breath, and depth of information differ greatly from country to country. In some Member States, consumer data are part of a broader information centralisation system for the prudential supervision of banks and the financial system as a whole. Despite EU rules on credit to consumers for the creation of the internal market, the underlying consumer data infrastructure remains fragmented at national level, failing to achieve univocal, common, or defined policy objectives under a harmonised legal framework. Likewise, the establishment of the Banking Union and the prudential supervision of the Euro area demand standardisation and convergence of the data used to measure debt levels, arrears, and delinquencies. The many functions and usages of credit data suggest that the policy goals to be achieved should inform the legal and institutional framework of Credit Bureaus, as well as the design and use of the databases. This is also because fundamental rights and consumer protection concerns arise from the sharing of credit data and their expanding use