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1 – 10 of 179Homero Castaneda, Jorge Alamilla, Hongbo Liu, Marco Antonio Antonio Espinosa-Medina and Eliceo Sosa
The purpose of this paper is to develop a real-time methodology to detect damages in coating and metallic structure in buried pipelines by using DC bias added to AC signal under…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a real-time methodology to detect damages in coating and metallic structure in buried pipelines by using DC bias added to AC signal under field operation conditions, including cathodic protection.
Design/methodology/approach
Impedance measurements were performed on buried pipeline for different field conditions, to develop a methodology to detect and locate damages by impedance distribution along the metallic structure.
Findings
Field condition measurements were conducted as a pilot test on a buried steel pipeline segment with a diameter of 16 inches and length of 20 km. The frequency-based technology shows some differences but overall good behavior between impedance magnitudes vs localization of the interface changes at the soil-coating-steel interface at different frequencies using DC bias added to AC signal under field operation conditions, including cathodic protection.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology is not applicable to highly resistive soil or high degradation coatings.
Practical implications
In this work, we depict a methodology that describes real time monitoring technology for buried metallic structures using AC signal. This monitoring is capable to detect and locate real time damage occurrences on the pipe surface (coating break). Field measurements include different conditions, such as temperature, soil resistivity and soil physical structure and chemical composition.
Social implications
In consideration of the satisfied application in the field of the methodology, it is believed that it can be used for the monitoring of damages in pipes in areas with high consequences and hence pipe integrity can be increased.
Originality/value
This real-time methodology is based on the impedance distribution signal and the differential changes along the pipeline under operating conditions. The results showed good agreement with the proposed methodology, which is able to discriminate some situations inherent of field conditions by using different impedance measurements performed along ±10 km of buried steel pipeline and assuming the reference location as the cathodic protection set up.
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Ernesto López-Gómez, Raúl González Fernández, Antonio Medina and Samuel Gento
Recent decades have witnessed increasing interest worldwide in educational quality. Many international organisations and national education systems have conducted studies on the…
Abstract
Recent decades have witnessed increasing interest worldwide in educational quality. Many international organisations and national education systems have conducted studies on the meaning of quality, the various ways in which it can be measured and the factors that promote it as a basis for designing education reforms and rendering good practices visible. In this chapter, the authors explore conceptual perspectives on educational quality that are informed by various pedagogical approaches and examine the initiatives implemented in Spain to improve educational quality in non-university contexts, analysing education legislation over the past 30 years. The authors also propose basic elements or strategies that the authors believe would further promote educational quality in non-university settings in Spain and elsewhere. These proposals revolve around the educational project, teacher training and professional development, diversity and inclusion in education and community leadership.
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Maria Francisca Blasco López, Nuria Recuero Virto, Joaquin Aldas Manzano and Jesús Garcia-Madariaga
The purpose of this paper is to determine a model for developing sustainable tourism in archaeological sites. A qualitative and quantitative approach has been assumed in order to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine a model for developing sustainable tourism in archaeological sites. A qualitative and quantitative approach has been assumed in order to test a model of market orientation, where 11 experts were interviewed and 122 employees of archaeological sites answered the e-questionnaire.
Design/methodology/approach
Partial least squares path modelling regression was employed to examine the measurement and structural model.
Findings
The findings have revealed that market orientation and innovativeness positively and significantly influence tourism sustainability, measured in economic and social terms. Besides, tourist functionality has been determined as an antecedent of market orientation.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by the sample sizes of both researches. The model has second order constructs (market orientation, innovativeness and tourism sustainability) that include related concepts to increase parsimony and understand relations with other variables. As a result, separate effects of these dimensions have not been measured, which could report interesting findings in future-related studies.
Practical implications
The results suggest useful insights for managers to improve social and economic sustainability in archaeological sites. Innovativeness affects tourism sustainability, which reinforces the idea that offering technological and organisational innovations improve economic and social sustainability. Besides, it has been proved that market orientation is a necessary precondition to guarantee social and economic sustainability.
Originality/value
This paper assists scholars and practitioners by shedding light on the comprehension of tourism sustainability.
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This paper seeks to analyse the various approaches being used by the public sector across the European Union to tackle undeclared work and to evaluate the direction of change.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to analyse the various approaches being used by the public sector across the European Union to tackle undeclared work and to evaluate the direction of change.
Design/methodology/approach
To do this, the National Action Plans for Employment 2001 and 2003 (NAPs) and the National Reform Programmes 2005‐2008 (NRPs) are analysed, along with the data collected in international reviews conducted by the European Employment Observatory in Autumn 2004 and the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) in 2005 on undeclared work.
Findings
In parallel with public sector management in other realms, where it is accepted that positive reinforcement of “good” behaviour is more effective at eliciting change than negative reinforcement of “bad” behaviour, the finding is that the public sector in EU member states is moving away from solely a repressive approach that seeks to detect and penalise offenders and towards an approach that also seeks to stimulate good behaviour by rewarding compliance. Until now, however, these positive reinforcement measures appear to remain firmly entrenched in a bureaucratic management approach that uses externally imposed direct control systems to generate reactive behaviours, rather than an internalised post‐bureaucratic approach that seeks to generate constructive pro‐activity and commitment to tax morality on the part of populations.
Originality/value
This is one of the first attempts to evaluate how public sector management is tackling undeclared work in European member states.
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Myongjee Yoo, Ashok K. Singh and Noah Loewy
The purpose of this study is to develop a model that accurately forecasts hotel room cancelations and further determines the key cancelation drivers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a model that accurately forecasts hotel room cancelations and further determines the key cancelation drivers.
Design/methodology/approach
Predictive modeling, specifically the machine learning methods, is used to forecast room cancelations and identify the main cancelation factors.
Findings
By using three different classification algorithms, this study demonstrates that hotel room cancelation can be accurately predicted using XGBoost, as well as the ensemble method involving Support Vector Machine, Random Forest and XGBoost.
Originality/value
This study attempted to forecast hotel room cancelations by applying a relatively new method, machine learning. By implementing predictive modeling, one of the most emerging and innovative research methods, this study ultimately provides prediction suggestions in various aspects and levels for hotel management operations.
研究目的
本研究旨在开发一个能够准确预测酒店客房取消的模型, 并进一步确定主要的取消因素。
研究方法
采用预测建模, 具体来说是机器学习方法, 来预测客房取消, 并识别主要的取消因素。
研究发现
通过使用三种不同的分类算法, 本研究表明使用XGBoost以及涉及支持向量机、随机森林和XGBoost的集成方法可以准确预测酒店客房取消。
研究创新
本研究尝试通过应用相对较新的方法, 即机器学习, 来预测酒店客房取消。通过实施预测建模, 这是目前新兴和创新的研究方法之一, 本研究最终为酒店管理运营在各个方面和层面提供了预测建议。
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Tomas Lopez-Guzman, Jesús Claudio Pérez Gálvez, Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández and Miguel Jesús Medina-Viruel
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the relationships existing among three basic constructs in the visitor’s decision-making process (motivation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the relationships existing among three basic constructs in the visitor’s decision-making process (motivation and satisfaction) in a tourist destination that is a World Heritage Site, such as the city of Cordoba (Spain). Bearing in mind the perception of heritage by the foreign visitors, the following four types were determined: alternative tourists, cultural tourists, emotional tourists and heritage tourists.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the multivariate technique of grouping cases (K-means clusters) to analyse the similarity existing among the surveyed persons. From the groups or segments obtained, statistics and measurements of association were applied that provide the information necessary to study the possible trends of association existing between variables from a table of bidimensional contingencies. In the same way, non-parametric statistical procedures were used (Kruskal–Wallis H test and the Mann–Whitney U test).
Findings
The results show the existence of four diverse motivational dimensions among the foreign tourists to visit it: hedonic, cultural, convenience and circumstantial. Of the four dimensions, the hedonic and the cultural are the most relevant. The results show the existence of a common cultural identity: the Arabic cultural identity.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to complete the academic literature existing on the links of the tourist with the historical and monumental heritage that he visits, and with the tourist’s behaviour.
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José F. Medina and Mike F. Duffy
This paper argues that meaningsgiven to “standardization” and “globalization” might have created some confusion and precipitatedpotentially misleading research results in the…
Abstract
This paper argues that meanings given to “standardization” and “globalization” might have created some confusion and precipitated potentially misleading research results in the literature. The paper discusses the basic assumptions underlying the marketing function as a necessary point of departure to build a sounder theory around these concepts. Findings confirm the lack of formal definitions of these concepts in the marketing and management literatures. The authors “redefine” the concepts of globalization, standardization, adaptation and customization with the help of the AMA’s and Webster’s dictionaries. The new conceptualization is applied to a brand strategy framework. Preliminary results show that standardization and globalization may be at opposite ends of an evolutionary brand strategy process, whereas adaptation and customization are intermediary stages. The paper discusses the findings and suggests future research possibilities.
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José Aurelio Medina-Garrido, José María Biedma-Ferrer and Antonio Rafael Ramos-Rodríguez
The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the existence of and access to different work-family policies on employee well-being (EWB) and job performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the existence of and access to different work-family policies on employee well-being (EWB) and job performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypothesis testing was performed using a structural equation model based on a PLS-SEM approach applied to a sample of 1,511 employees of the Spanish banking sector.
Findings
The results obtained demonstrate that the existence and true access to different types of work-family policies such as flexible working hours (flexi-time), long leaves, and flexible work location (flexi-place) are not directly related to job performance, but indirectly so, when mediated by the well-being of employees generated by work-family policies. In a similar vein, true access to employee and family support services also has an indirect positive impact on job performance mediated by the well-being produced. In contrast, the mere existence of employee and family support services does not have any direct or indirect effect on job performance.
Originality/value
This study makes a theoretical and empirical contribution to better understand the impact that of the existence of and access to work-family policies on job performance mediated by EWB. In this sense, the authors posited and tested an unpublished theoretical model where the concept of EWB gains special relevance at academic and organizational level due to its implications for human resource management.
Propósito
Este trabajo analiza los efectos de la existencia y accesibilidad de diferentes tipos de políticas trabajo-familia (WFP) sobre el bienestar y el desempeño laboral.
Diseño/Metodología/Enfoque
Para contrastar las hipótesis propuestas se aplicó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales, utilizando el enfoque PLS-SEM, a una muestra de 1.511 trabajadores del sector financiero español.
Resultados
Los resultados del análisis muestran que la existencia y accesibilidad de las WFP relativas a flexibilidad temporal, permisos largos y el lugar de trabajo no producen directamente mejoras en el desempeño, pero sí indirectamente a través del bienestar laboral que dichas políticas generan. Del mismo modo, la accesibilidad de las WFP relativas a servicios de apoyo al empleado y a su familia tiene también un efecto positivo indirecto sobre el desempeño, mediado por el bienestar generado. Sin embargo, la mera existencia de servicios de apoyo no incide ni directa ni indirectamente sobre el desempeño.
Originalidad/Valor
Este trabajo constituye una novedosa aportación teórica y empírica sobre el impacto de la existencia y accesibilidad de las WFP en el desempeño, considerando el papel mediador del bienestar laboral en esta relación. En este sentido, se propone y comprueba empíricamente un modelo teórico inédito en la literatura, en el que el concepto de bienestar laboral cobra especial relevancia tanto a nivel académico como por sus implicaciones prácticas para la dirección.
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