Abstract: Data-driven business models are more typical for established businesses than early-stage startups that strive to penetrate a market. This paper provided an extensive discussion on the principles of data analytics for early-stage digital entrepreneurial businesses. Here, we developed data-driven decision-making (DDDM) framework that applies to startups prone to multifaceted barriers in the form of poor data access, technical and financial constraints, to state some. The startup DDDM framework proposed in this paper is novel in its form encompassing startup data analytics enablers and metrics aligning with startups' business models ranging from customer-centric product development to servitization which is the future of modern digital entrepreneurship.
Abstract: Entrepreneurs are welcomed to the landscaping industry, conserving practically and theoretically biological diversity in landscaping construction, although there are limited reports on corporative trials making a market with a new logistics system of native plants (NP) between landscaping companies and nurserymen. This paper explores the entrepreneurial process of a landscaping company, “5byMidori” for NP marketing. This paper employs a case study design. Data are collected in interviews with the manager and designer of 5byMidori, 2 scientists, 1 organization, and 18 nurserymen, fieldworks at two nurseries, observations of marketing activities in three years, and texts from published documents about the business concept and marketing strategy with NP. These data are analyzed by qualitative methods. The results show that NP is suitable for the vision of 5byMidori improving urban desertified environment with closer urban-rural linkage. Professional landscaping team changes a forestry organization into NP producers conserving a large nursery of a mountain. Multifaceted PR based on the entrepreneurial context and personal background of a landscaping venture can foster team members' businesses and help customers and users to understand the biodiversity value of the product. Wider partnerships with existing nurserymen at other sites in many regions need socio-economic incentives and environmental reliability. In conclusion, the entrepreneurial marketing of a landscaping company needs to add more meanings and a variety of merits in terms of ecosystem services, as NP tends to be in academic definition and independent from the cultures like nurseryman and forestry.
Abstract: The future of the nation is the embodiment of a healthy society. A key segment of government policy is the development of health and a health-oriented environment. As a result, sport as an activator of health is an important area for development. In Hungary, sport is a strategic sector with the aim of developing a sports nation. The function of sport in the global society is multifaceted, which is manifested in both social and economic terms. The economic importance of sport is gaining ground in the world, with implications for Central and Eastern Europe. Smaller states, such as Hungary, cannot ignore the economic effects of exploiting the effects of sport. The relationship between physical activity and health is driven by the health economy towards the nation's economic factor. In our research, we analyzed sport as a national strategy sector and its impact on age groups. By presenting the current state of health behavior, we get an idea of the directions where development opportunities require even more intervention. The foundation of the health of a nation is the young age group, whose shaping of health will shape the future generation. Our research was attended by university students from the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences who will be experts in the field of health in the future. The other group is the elderly, who are a growing social group due to demographic change and are a key segment of the labor market and consumer society. Our study presents the health behavior of the two age groups, their differences, and similarities. The survey also identifies gaps in the development of a health management strategy that national strategies should take into account.
Abstract: This article examines the presence of Greek immigrant artists (painters and sculptors) in Paris during 1970-2010. The aim is to highlight their presence in the French capital through archival research in the daily and periodical press as well as present the impact of their artistic activity on the French intellectual life and society. At the same time, their contribution to the development of cultural life in Greece becomes apparent. The integration of those migrant artists into an environment of cultural coexistence and the understanding of the social phenomenon of their migration, in the context of postmodernity, are being investigated. The cultural relations between the two countries are studied in the context of support mechanisms, such as the Greek community, cultural institutions, museums and galleries. The recognition of the Greek artists by the French society and the social dimension in the context of their activity in Paris, are discussed in terms of the assimilation theory. Since the 1970s, and especially since the fall of the dictatorship in Greece, in opposition to the prior situation, artists' contacts with their homeland have been significantly enhanced, with most of them now travelling to Paris, while others work in parallel in both countries. As a result, not only do the stages of the development of their work through their pursuits become visible, but, most importantly, the artistic world becomes informed about the multifaceted expression of art through the succession of various contemporary currents. Thus, the participation of Greek artists in the international cultural landscape is demonstrated.
Abstract: The present paper attempts to report on some findings that emerged out of a larger scale doctorate research into English language needs of a renowned Algerian company of Hydrocarbon industry. From a multifaceted English for specific purposes (ESP) research perspective, the paper considers the English needs of the finance/legal department staff in the midst of the conflicting needs perspectives involving both objective needs indicators (i.e., the pressure of globalised business) and the general negative attitudes among the administrative -mainly jurists- staff towards English (favouring a non-adaptation strategy). The researcher’s unearthing of the latter’s needs is an endeavour to concretise the concepts of unmet, or unconscious needs, among others. This is why, these initially uncovered hidden needs will be detailed questioning educational background, namely previous language of instruction; training experiences and expectations; as well as the actual communicative practices derived from the retrospective interviews and preliminary quantitative data of the questionnaire. Based on these rough clues suggesting real needs, the researcher will tentatively propose some implications for both pre-service and in-service training organisers as well as for educational policy makers in favour of an English course in legal English for the jurists mainly from pre-graduate phases to in-service training.
Abstract: Clustering is an intensive research for some years
because of its multifaceted applications, such as biology, information
retrieval, medicine, business and so on. The expectation maximization
(EM) is a kind of algorithm framework in clustering methods, one
of the ten algorithms of machine learning. Traditionally, optimization
of objective function has been the standard approach in EM. Hence,
research has investigated the utility of evolutionary computing and
related techniques in the regard. Chemical Reaction Optimization
(CRO) is a recently established method. So the property embedded
in CRO is used to solve optimization problems. This paper presents
an algorithm framework (EM-CRO) with modified CRO operators
based on EM cluster problems. The hybrid algorithm is mainly
to solve the problem of initial value sensitivity of the objective
function optimization clustering algorithm. Our experiments mainly
take the EM classic algorithm:k-means and fuzzy k-means as an
example, through the CRO algorithm to optimize its initial value, get
K-means-CRO and FKM-CRO algorithm. The experimental results
of them show that there is improved efficiency for solving objective
function optimization clustering problems.
Abstract: In Singapore, talent retention is one of the most persistent and real issue companies have to grapple with due to the tight labour market. Being resource-scarce, Singapore depends solely on its talented pool of high quality human resource to sustain its competitive advantage in the global economy. But the complex and multifaceted nature of turnover phenomenon makes the prescription of effective talent retention strategies in such a competitive labour market very challenging, especially when it comes to monetary incentives, companies struggle to answer the question of “How much is enough?” By examining the interactive effects of perceived alternative employment opportunities, annual salary and satisfaction with compensation on the turnover intention of 102 Singapore Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) through correlation analyses and multiple regressions, important insights into the psyche of the Singapore talent pool can be drawn. It is found that annual salary influence turnover intention indirectly through mediation and moderation effects on PMET’s satisfaction on compensation. PMET are also found to be heavily swayed by better external opportunities. This implies that talent retention strategies should not adopt a purely monetary based blanket approach but rather a comprehensive and holistic one that considers the dynamics of prevailing market conditions.
Abstract: River Hindon is an important river catering the
demand of highly populated rural and industrial cluster of western
Uttar Pradesh, India. Water quality of river Hindon is deteriorating at
an alarming rate due to various industrial, municipal and agricultural
activities. The present study aimed at identifying the pollution
sources and quantifying the degree to which these sources are
responsible for the deteriorating water quality of the river. Various
water quality parameters, like pH, temperature, electrical
conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium, chloride,
nitrate, sulphate, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen
demand, and total alkalinity were assessed. Water quality data
obtained from eight study sites for one year has been subjected to the
two multivariate techniques, namely, principal component analysis
and cluster analysis. Principal component analysis was applied with
the aim to find out spatial variability and to identify the sources
responsible for the water quality of the river. Three Varifactors were
obtained after varimax rotation of initial principal components using
principal component analysis. Cluster analysis was carried out to
classify sampling stations of certain similarity, which grouped eight
different sites into two clusters. The study reveals that the
anthropogenic influence (municipal, industrial, waste water and
agricultural runoff) was the major source of river water pollution.
Thus, this study illustrates the utility of multivariate statistical
techniques for analysis and elucidation of multifaceted data sets,
recognition of pollution sources/factors and understanding
temporal/spatial variations in water quality for effective river water
quality management.
Abstract: Tamil handwritten document is taken as a key source
of data to identify the writer. Tamil is a classical language which has
247 characters include compound characters, consonants, vowels and
special character. Most characters of Tamil are multifaceted in
nature. Handwriting is a unique feature of an individual. Writer may
change their handwritings according to their frame of mind and this
place a risky challenge in identifying the writer. A new
discriminative model with pooled features of handwriting is proposed
and implemented using support vector machine. It has been reported
on 100% of prediction accuracy by RBF and polynomial kernel based
classification model.
Abstract: Tamil handwritten document is taken as a key source of data to identify the writer. Tamil is a classical language which has 247 characters include compound characters, consonants, vowels and special character. Most characters of Tamil are multifaceted in nature. Handwriting is a unique feature of an individual. Writer may change their handwritings according to their frame of mind and this place a risky challenge in identifying the writer. A new discriminative model with pooled features of handwriting is proposed and implemented using support vector machine. It has been reported on 100% of prediction accuracy by RBF and polynomial kernel based classification model.
Abstract: The Multiple Intelligences theory characterizes human
intelligence as a multifaceted entity that exists in all human beings
with varying degrees. The most important contribution of this theory
to the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) is its role in
identifying individual differences and designing more learnercentered
programs. The present study aims at investigating the
relationship between different elements of multiple intelligence and
grammar scores. To this end, 63 female Iranian EFL learner selected
from among intermediate students participated in the study. The
instruments employed were a Nelson English language test, Michigan
Grammar Test, and Teele Inventory for Multiple Intelligences
(TIMI). The results of Pearson Product-Moment Correlation revealed
a significant positive correlation between grammatical accuracy and
linguistic as well as interpersonal intelligence. The results of
Stepwise Multiple Regression indicated that linguistic intelligence
contributed to the prediction of grammatical accuracy.
Abstract: The focal aspire of e-Government (eGovt) is to offer
citizen-centered service delivery. Accordingly, the citizenry
consumes services from multiple government agencies through
national portal. Thus, eGovt is an enterprise with the primary
business motive of transparent, efficient and effective public services
to its citizenry and its logical structure is the eGovernment Enterprise
Architecture (eGEA). Since eGovt is IT oriented multifaceted
service-centric system, EA doesn’t do much on an automated
enterprise other than the business artifacts. Service-Oriented
Architecture (SOA) manifestation led some governments to pertain
this in their eGovts, but it limits the source of business artifacts. The
concurrent use of EA and SOA in eGovt executes interoperability and
integration and leads to Service-Oriented e-Government Enterprise
(SOeGE). Consequently, agile eGovt system becomes a reality. As an
IT perspective eGovt comprises of centralized public service artifacts
with the existing application logics belong to various departments at
central, state and local level. The eGovt is renovating to SOeGE by
apply the Service-Orientation (SO) principles in the entire system.
This paper explores IT perspective of SOeGE in India which
encompasses the public service models and illustrated with a case
study the Passport service of India.
Abstract: Thirty-eight rural school leaders in Solomon Islands responded to a questionnaire aimed at identifying their perceptions of work challenges. The data analysis points to an overwhelming percentage of school leaders feeling they face multifaceted problems in their work settings, including such challenges as untrained teachers, lack of funding, limited learning and teaching resources, and land disputes. The latter in particular is beyond the school leader’s jurisdiction; addressing it needs urgent attention from the principal stakeholder(s). Such challenges, seemingly tangential to the business of schooling, inadvertently affect the provision of good-quality education. The findings demonstrate that contextual challenges raise questions about what powers leadership at school level has to deal with some of them. The suggestion is advanced for the significant place-conscious leadership development to help address some community and cultural challenges. Implications of this paper are likely to be relevant to other similar contexts in the Pacific region and beyond.
Abstract: Whilst there is growing evidence that activity across
the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are also many
changes involved with the aging process and subsequently the
potential for reduced indices of health. The nexus between all forms
of health, physical activity and aging is complex and has raised much
interest in recent times due to the realization that a multifaceted
approached is necessary in order to counteract a growing obesity
epidemic. By investigating age based trends within a population
adherring to competitive sport at older ages, further insight might be
gleaned to assist in understanding one of many factors influencing
this relationship. This study evaluated those sport psychological
constructs of health, physical fitness, mental health states, and social
dimension factors in sport that were associated with factors to
participate in sport and physical activity based on responses from the
2009 World Masters Games in Sydney. The sample consisted of
7846 athletes who competed at the games and who completed a 56
item sports participation survey using a 7-point Likert response (1 -
not important to 7 - very important). Questions focuses on factors
thought to promote participation, such as weight control, living
longer, improving mental health (self-esteem, mood states),
improving physical health and factors related to the athlete-s
competitive perspective. The most significant factors related to
participation with this cohort of masters athletes were the socializing
environment of sport, getting physically fit and improving
competitive personal best performances. Strategies to increase
participation in masters sport should focus on these factors as other
factors such as weight loss, improving mental health and living
longer were not identified as important determinates of sports
participation at the World Masters level.
Abstract: A virtualized and virtual approach is presented on
academically preparing students to successfully engage at a strategic
perspective to understand those concerns and measures that are both
structured and not structured in the area of cyber security and
information assurance. The Master of Science in Cyber Security and
Information Assurance (MSCSIA) is a professional degree for those
who endeavor through technical and managerial measures to ensure
the security, confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, control,
availability and utility of the world-s computing and information
systems infrastructure. The National University Cyber Security and
Information Assurance program is offered as a Master-s degree. The
emphasis of the MSCSIA program uniquely includes hands-on
academic instruction using virtual computers. This past year, 2011,
the NU facility has become fully operational using system
architecture to provide a Virtual Education Laboratory (VEL)
accessible to both onsite and online students. The first student cohort
completed their MSCSIA training this past March 2, 2012 after
fulfilling 12 courses, for a total of 54 units of college credits. The
rapid pace scheduling of one course per month is immensely
challenging, perpetually changing, and virtually multifaceted. This
paper analyses these descriptive terms in consideration of those
globalization penetration breaches as present in today-s world of
cyber security. In addition, we present current NU practices to
mitigate risks.
Abstract: This paper reports the study results on neural network
training algorithm of numerical optimization techniques multiface
detection in static images. The training algorithms involved are scale
gradient conjugate backpropagation, conjugate gradient
backpropagation with Polak-Riebre updates, conjugate gradient
backpropagation with Fletcher-Reeves updates, one secant
backpropagation and resilent backpropagation. The final result of
each training algorithms for multiface detection application will also
be discussed and compared.
Abstract: Thousands of masters athletes participate
quadrennially in the World Masters Games (WMG), yet this cohort
of athletes remains proportionately under-investigated. Due to a
growing global obesity pandemic in context of benefits of physical
activity across the lifespan, the BMI trends for this unique population
was of particular interest. The nexus between health, physical
activity and aging is complex and has raised much interest in recent
times due to the realization that a multifaceted approach is necessary
in order to counteract the obesity pandemic. By investigating age
based trends within a population adhering to competitive sport at
older ages, further insight might be gleaned to assist in understanding
one of many factors influencing this relationship.BMI was derived
using data gathered on a total of 6,071 masters athletes (51.9% male,
48.1% female) aged 25 to 91 years ( =51.5, s =±9.7), competing at
the Sydney World Masters Games (2009). Using linear and loess
regression it was demonstrated that the usual tendency for prevalence
of higher BMI increasing with age was reversed in the sample. This
trend in reversal was repeated for both male and female only sub-sets
of the sample participants, indicating the possibility of improved
prevalence of BMI with increasing age for both the sample as a
whole and these individual sub-groups.This evidence of improved
classification in one index of health (reduced BMI) for masters
athletes (when compared to the general population) implies there are
either improved levels of this index of health with aging due to
adherence to sport or possibly the reduced BMI is advantageous and
contributes to this cohort adhering (or being attracted) to masters
sport at older ages.
Abstract: Components of a software system may be related in a
wide variety of ways. These relationships need to be represented in
software architecture in order develop quality software. In practice, software architecture is immensely challenging, strikingly
multifaceted, extravagantly domain based, perpetually changing,
rarely cost-effective, and deceptively ambiguous. This paper analyses
relations among the major components of software systems and
argues for using several broad categories for software architecture for
assessment purposes: strongly adequate, weakly adequate and
functionally adequate software architectures among other categories.
These categories are intended for formative assessments of
architectural designs.
Abstract: Whilst there is growing evidence that activity
across the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are
also many changes involved with the aging process and
subsequently the potential for reduced indices of health. The
nexus between health, physical activity and aging is complex
and has raised much interest in recent times due to the
realization that a multifaceted approached is necessary in
order to counteract a growing obesity epidemic. By
investigating age based trends within a population adhering to
competitive sport at older ages, further insight might be
gleaned to assist in understanding one of many factors
influencing this relationship.
BMI was derived using data gathered on a total of 6,071
masters athletes (51.9% male, 48.1% female) aged 25 to 91
years ( =51.5, s =±9.7), competing at the Sydney World
Masters Games (2009). Using linear and loess regression it
was demonstrated that the usual tendency for prevalence of
higher BMI increasing with age was reversed in the sample.
This trend in reversal was repeated for both male and female
only sub-sets of the sample participants, indicating the
possibility of improved prevalence of BMI with increasing
age for both the sample as a whole and these individual subgroups.
This evidence of improved classification in one index of
health (reduced BMI) for masters athletes (when compared to
the general population) implies there are either improved
levels of this index of health with aging due to adherence to
sport or possibly the reduced BMI is advantageous and
contributes to this cohort adhering (or being attracted) to
masters sport at older ages. Demonstration of this
proportionately under-investigated World Masters Games
population having an improved relationship between BMI and
increasing age over the general population is of particular
interest in the context of the measures being taken globally to
curb an obesity epidemic.