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This paper aims to present a mosaicking method for underwater robotic applications, whose result can be provided to other perceptual systems for scene understanding such as real-time object recognition.

This method is called robust and large-scale mosaicking (ROLAMOS) and presents an efficient frame-to-frame motion estimation with outlier removal and consistency checking that maps large visual areas in high resolution. The visual mosaic of the sea-floor is created on-the-fly by a robust registration procedure that composes monocular observations and manages the computational resources. Moreover, the registration process of ROLAMOS aligns the observation to the existing mosaic.

A comprehensive set of experiments compares the performance of ROLAMOS to other similar approaches, using both data sets (publicly available) and live data obtained by a ROV operating in real scenes. The results demonstrate that ROLAMOS is adequate for mapping of sea-floor scenarios as it provides accurate information from the seabed, which is of extreme importance for autonomous robots surveying the environment that does not rely on specialized computers.

The ROLAMOS is suitable for robotic applications that require an online, robust and effective technique to reconstruct the underwater environment from only visual information.

This paper aims to improve how investors can better manage their exposure to bitcoin (BTC), given the growing importance of BTC and the accompanying high volatility of BTC. This paper tests whether altcoins can serve as safe havens and diversifiers against exposure to BTC.

Using daily returns of altcoins and BTC from 2014 to early 2022, this paper examines the relationship between altcoins and BTC in a GARCH regression framework.

This paper finds that altcoins act as reliable safe havens during periods of extremely negative BTC returns and provide BTC investors with diversification benefits during normal periods. The safe haven effect of altcoins is superior to that of conventional assets. This paper presents evidence that this safe haven property of altcoins can be attributed to the informational efficiency channel, which arose from the increased adoption of BTC by institutional investors.

The study uses a data set from 2014 to early 2022. While the sample is among the largest samples in the literature on crypto assets and includes adequate BTC tail events to test the hypotheses, it may not capture more recent changes in the crypto markets.

The findings suggest that BTC investors can enjoy diversification and safe haven protections by including altcoins in their portfolios.

This paper’s focus on alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) as potential diversifiers and safe havens is original. The hypothesis about altcoins being better alternatives during extreme negative movements in BTC prices is a unique contribution. The test of the role of the information efficiency channel further enhances the paper’s originality.

This paper examines the determinants of bank income smoothing using loan loss provisions in the United Kingdom or Great Britain from 1999 to 2017.

The study used ordinary least square (OLS) regression and applying the HAC robust standard error correction test.

The findings showed that UK banks use loan loss provision for income smoothing purposes. Income smoothing is greater in times of high economic policy uncertainty. The extent of bank income smoothing is reduced by foreign bank presence, UK GAAP adoption, IFRS9 adoption, and high levels of voice and accountability. Also, there is reduced income smoothing using loan loss provisions during a financial crisis and in periods of economic prosperity.

The implication is that economic conditions, institutional governance and accounting disclosure rules can influence the extent of bank income smoothing in the United Kingdom. The findings of the study contribute to several studies that explore the determinants of bank income smoothing.

No study has extensively examined the determinants of bank income smoothing in Great Britain or the United Kingdom. The present study fills this gap in the literature.

This chapter refers to basic qualities of art learning in relation to citizenship education. It aims to explore pedagogical principles and methods/strategies through examples of artistic practices in different settings and instances, emphasizing cultural and democratic dialogue.

Artistic practices in education are explored through documentation and visual data and reveal different ways of learning and thinking that incorporate inclusive and critical approaches to art education. Documentation encompasses (1) examples of artistic initiatives in Europe including Cyprus and (2) the researcher's initiatives reported through visual notes in informal and formal types of educational settings. Documentation exposes creative processes and strategies significant for learning in, about and through art and introduces visual research methods as a meaningful and democratic way of teaching and learning the visual arts. Findings reveal features of art learning emphasizing cultural dialogue, pluralism and creative processes based on active and participatory art education approaches.

The study aims to use DfX to develop a comprehensive database of smart and resilient indicators that assists city administrators and authorities alike. The Smart and Resilient Cities Indicators Bank (SRCIB) will identify the level of smart and resilience determinants that will simultaneously provide ways to improve the city's infrastructure to meet smart and resilient objectives.

Design of excellence (DfX) is adopted in dissecting from four best indicators of established systems, and a database of indicators is developed and specified in diverse ways. A new indicator system is then created for smart and resilient cities.

The proposed indicator bank consists of four layers consisting of dimension, sub-dimension, key issues and the number of indicators resulting from four different indicator systems that the study have analysed.

The proposed indicator bank is an exploratory approach that needs to be tested in a real scenario because the urban systems are complex inter-related systems with too many variables that may influence actual outcomes. Thus, the proposed indicators bank does not attempt to quantify or solve related urban issues commonly address in smart and resilient city concepts but more to enhance the management of attaining towards smart and resilient specifications.

The proposed indicator bank is an exploratory approach that needs to be tested in a real scenario because the urban systems are complex inter-related systems with too many variables that may influence actual outcomes. Thus, the proposed indicators bank does not attempt to quantify or solve related urban issues commonly address smart and resilient city concepts but more to enhance the management of attaining smart and resilient specifications.

The study builds a robust guide for assessing smart and resilient cities that is yet a widely accessible assessment framework. The proposed SRCIB allows local authorities and relevant stakeholders of typical cities to better manage its urban agenda towards smart and resilient city objectives when specific indicators are defined. Besides, a smart city can become resilient; likewise, a resilient city can become smart as the SRCIB is comprehensive.

The purpose of the paper is to discover how very young (three- to six-year-old) children describe their “actual” shopping process and how they characterise an “ideal” shopping. The perceived role of new technological devices in such an ideal shopping process is also analysed.

A review of literature is followed by the description and findings of an exploratory study done in two European countries. Data collection was performed in three distinct phases. First, focus group discussions were conducted with 176 children. Second, interviews were organised with 30 children and one of their parents individually. Third, children were asked to prepare drawings about their actual and their ideal shopping.

The results show that very young children would like to actively participate in the shopping process no matter where they live. When describing their shopping experiences French kids focus on the products they buy, while Hungarian children talk about how they take part in the purchase process. The findings demonstrate that children have a great knowledge about technical devices and while French kids would be happy to replace offline shopping by online shopping, Hungarian kids find it as a bad idea. Interestingly, both French and Hungarian kids explain their opinion with their desire to spend more time with their parents.

The value of the paper lies in the focus of the research (opinion and feelings of very young children about the shopping process) as well as in the methodology used.

This paper aims to investigate bank earnings management using loan loss provision. The paper examines income smoothing, which is a type of earnings management. It compares the income smoothing behaviour of banks in the UK, France, South Africa and Egypt.

The study uses the panel fixed effect regression methodology to analyse bank income smoothing.

The findings show that bank income smoothing is present in the UK and Egypt and absent in France and South Africa. Banks in Egypt used LLPs to smooth income before the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, bank income smoothing is pronounced in France during and after the financial crisis but was absent in the pre-crisis period. Also, bank income smoothing is reduced in countries that (1) have strict banking supervision, (2) adopt common law particularly the United Kingdom, and by countries that adopt civil law, particularly France and Egypt. Bank earnings management is greater in countries that (3) adopt a mixed legal system, particularly South Africa, and in countries that adopt International Financial Reporting Standards accounting standards.

The implication of the findings is that country differences may affect banks' incentive to smooth income using loan loss provision.

The novelty of this paper is that it explicitly analyses specific countries that have different supervisory regimes, different structure and accounting rules.

In the rapidly changing business world, innovation plays a vital role for organizations to gain a competitive advantage. Various factors associated with technology management and innovations in organizations are diverse in the existing literature. Therefore, there is a need to bridge these gaps in the fitting proportions toward innovations within organizations. The primary objective of this study is to identify, explain and interpret the relationships between the identified technology-related factors that are important for innovations in organizations.

In this study, a modified total interpretive structural modeling (M-TISM) methodology was used to examine and analyze the various interactions between identified factors for innovations in organizations. However, the argumentation of the links is relatively weak in M-TISM. In order to compensate for this, M-TISM is additionally altered by an “Argumentation-based Modified TISM”. Hence, this research strengthens the modified TISM methodology by incorporating argumentation and total interpretation of the relationships between the identified factors.

A total of six major factors were identified using a literature review. Results suggest that workforce technical skills, technological infrastructure, technological alliances, technology transfer and top management support have an impact on innovation in organizations. Results also suggest that top management support and the technological infrastructure of an organization have a greater impact on innovation.

For policymakers and practitioners, this study provides a suggestive list of critical factors, which may help to develop policies or guidelines for improving innovation in organizations. Policymakers should focus on technological infrastructure and collaborations to enhance innovations and productions within the organizations. For academicians, this study provides a modified TISM model that shows the impact of technology-related factors on innovations. Future researchers could expand this study by adding a greater number of technological factors and validate this model in other industries.

This study fills a gap in the literature by interpreting the various relationships among the identified factors and innovations. The model has been validated through a panel of seven experts from the Indian automotive industry of multiple organizations. This study is useful in the automobile industry as it determines what and how technology-related factors affect innovations, process improvement and R&D production for organizations.

Building process innovation capability (PIC) is becoming increasingly important to keep pace with changing business environments and emerging technological opportunities. However, the literature on process innovation capability (PIC) is still very broad and does not consistently reflect today's reality that is becoming increasingly complicated and knowledge-intensive, leading to more organizational needs for supporting less-structured business processes (LSBP).

Based on a systematic literature review (SLR), the authors provide evidence for this under-investigated subject by consolidating organizational capabilities for managing PIC in LSBP. The authors screened 1,083 and identified only 26 peer-reviewed articles that simultaneously encompass process innovation and LSBP.

The authors explain which LSBP types are typically addressed, and in which sectors. The authors categorize research avenues, best practices and a framework that links PIC to performance outcomes by also considering business environments. Three theories (i.e. resource-based view, dynamic capabilities and sociotechnical theory) help to underpin the six empirically observed capabilities along three pillars (i.e. people, process and technology).

Besides a research agenda, the authors offer a conceptual framework for PIC in LSBP as a reference to guide scholars and practitioners.

The authors offer best practices, as derived from the literature.

This is the first SLR for PIC in LSBP, consolidating and categorizing the PIC-LSBP characteristics. Due to few studies on the subject, this work contributes to a deeper understanding of the PICs needed for LSBP to obtain the desired performance outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the theoretical discussion of effectuation since the seminal paper in 2001 and to propose an agenda for future studies.

Systematic literature review and content analysis of 71 papers.

Most papers performed a replication of the concepts empirically, and few studies proposed to understand theoretical aspects of effectuation, among them, some authors presented theoretical advances to improve the approach and others participated in an ongoing debate that shows there is no consensus on whether the approach is theory or if considered, appears to be under construction at a rudimentary level or being questioned.

The method requires authors to make choices, so the database used and the criteria defined for searching papers that were analyzed are the main limitations of this research.

The authors suggest that researchers, teachers and practitioners use effectuation analytically and reflectively.

The authors present and analyze the current theoretical debate on effectuation. Results suggest the need for new discussions about the concepts, as well as new theoretical efforts of the researchers to analyze the potentialities and limitations of this approach.

Among empirical and applied research, with replications of the concepts of effectuation, this research contributes to a theoretical discussion based on a systematic literature review, seeking to bring new reflections about this approach. Additionally, the authors present an agenda of theoretical gaps for the development of future research.