Ana Marilza Pernas, Alicia Diaz, Regina Motz and José Palazzo Moreira de Oliveira
The broader adoption of the internet along with web‐based systems has defined a new way of exchanging information. That advance added by the multiplication of mobile devices has…
Abstract
Purpose
The broader adoption of the internet along with web‐based systems has defined a new way of exchanging information. That advance added by the multiplication of mobile devices has required systems to be even more flexible and personalized. Maybe because of that, the traditional teaching‐controlled learning style has given up space to a new way of learning, which is more flexible and adequate to the learners needs. The purpose of this research is to go further into the semantic modeling of adaptive web based learning systems. Particularly, the paper focuses on those learning systems that consider in their definition the awareness of student's context in order to properly react to the student needs.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper the authors introduce a semantic model of the student context in terms of an ontology network. This semantic model is explored in order to detect the “current situation” of students when they are navigating into e‐learning environments. The final objective is to enrich the adaptation functionality of e‐learning environments, being able to evaluate context data from personal profile, learning domain and technological situation.
Findings
In order to evaluate the semantic model defined, examples of detected situations are shown in accordance to specific e‐learning scenarios.
Originality/value
The paper covers definition of a flexible and modularized model by using ontology networks, which can be easily modified to incorporate new knowledge data, aiding the modeling of concepts from different learning environments.
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Edelweis Rohrer, Regina Motz and Alicia Diaz
Web site recommendation systems help to get high quality information. The modelling of recommendation systems involves the combination of many features: metrics of quality…
Abstract
Purpose
Web site recommendation systems help to get high quality information. The modelling of recommendation systems involves the combination of many features: metrics of quality, quality criteria, recommendation criteria, user profile, and specific domain concepts, among others. At the moment of the specification of a recommendation system it must be guaranteed a right interrelation of all of these features. The purpose of this paper is to model a web site quality‐based recommendation system by an ontology network.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors propose an ontology network based process for web site recommendation modelling. The ontology network conceptualizes the different domains (web site domain, quality assurance domain, user context domain, recommendation criteria domain, specific domain) in a set of interrelated ontologies. Particularly, this approach is illustrated for the health domain.
Findings
Basically, this work introduces the semantic relationships that were used to construct this ontology network. Moreover, it shows the usefulness of this ontology network for the detection of possible inconsistencies when specifying recommendation criteria.
Originality/value
Recommendation systems based on ontologies that model the user profile and the domain of resources to be recommended are quite common. However, it is uncommon to find models that explicitly represent the criteria used by the recommender systems, that express the quality dimensions of resources and on which criteria are applied, and consider the user context at the moment of the query.
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Carola Hernandez and Irma Alicia Flores
The purpose of this paper is to identify how pedagogical mentoring contributed to the transformation of teachers’ pedagogical practices and to the consolidation of a team of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify how pedagogical mentoring contributed to the transformation of teachers’ pedagogical practices and to the consolidation of a team of autonomous leaders in a Colombian regional university, within the framework of a curricular reform.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a qualitative research under the methodology of experience systematization. In this methodology, the participants and researchers analyze experiences and generate knowledge about why processes are developed in a particular way. This requires organizing, reconstructing and interpreting facts and experiences. In education, the main actors (teachers) research their own pedagogical practice, developing critical thinking and generating curricular and pedagogical knowledge.
Findings
Results show that pedagogical mentoring was effective in achieving the proposed objectives by means of learning conversations. The entire process addressed the curriculum in all its complexity, encouraged reflection about the teachers’ pedagogical practice and empowered them as designers, implementers and evaluators of the curriculum.
Research limitations/implications
Curricular reforms are complex educational phenomena. In this study, the authors limited the analysis to understanding how to generate a new community of practice with teachers to implement curricular changes in all their complexity. Other actors such as principals or students were not included in the process.
Originality/value
The systematization of this experience shows that pedagogical mentoring is a successful strategy to develop a curricular reform in a participative manner. In addition, it provides elements – from both pedagogical practice and theory – to foster communities of reflexive teachers who are ultimately the actual designers and implementers of curricula that can tackle the challenges of education for the twenty-first century.
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Juan Carlos Díaz‐Casero, D. Ángel Manuel Díaz‐Aunión, Mari Cruz Sánchez‐Escobedo, Alicia Coduras and Ricardo Hernández‐Mogollón
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically whether economic freedom affects entrepreneurial activity in three groups of countries, classified according to economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically whether economic freedom affects entrepreneurial activity in three groups of countries, classified according to economic development.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on the index of entrepreneurial activity cover the period between 2002 and 2009, and are taken from the annual GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) reports and from the Index of Economic Freedom published by The Heritage Foundation from 1995 to 2009. The same analysis is carried out, grouping the countries by development level, following the classification included in the Global Competitiveness Report 2009‐2010. A Ridge regression analysis is performed to measure the model's goodness‐of‐fit and to determine equations that can be used for future predictions.
Findings
The results obtained in the correlation analysis show that economic freedom is closely related to entrepreneurial activity. The results suggest that TEA rates, opportunity‐TEA rates and necessity‐TEA rates decrease when there is an increase in economic freedom in a country, as just two of the areas analyzed – i.e. “government size” and “fiscal freedom” – appear to foster the emergence of new entrepreneurs. When countries are grouped by level of economic development, the results for countries belonging to the “Innovation‐Driven Economies” group show that the opportunity‐TEA rates increase as the economic freedom index grows.
Originality/value
The study indicates that entrepreneurship by opportunity increases in the group of Innovation‐Driven Economies with smaller “government size” and more “fiscal freedom”.
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Tayfun Yörük, Nuray Akar and Neslihan Verda Özmen
The purpose of this study is to reveal the research trends in guest experiences of service robots in the hospitality industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to reveal the research trends in guest experiences of service robots in the hospitality industry.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a review was carried out on the Web of Science (WoS) database with the assistance of bibliometric analysis techniques. Cluster analysis was also employed for this to group important data to determine the relationships and to visualize the areas in which the studies are concentrated. The thematic content analysis method was used to reveal on which customer experiences and on which methods the focuses were.
Findings
On the subject of experiences of service robots, the greatest number of publications was in 2021. In terms of country, China has come to the fore in the distribution of publications. As a result of thematic content analysis, it was determined that the leading factor was the main dimension of emotional experience. In terms of sub-dimensions, social interactions attracted more attention. Most of the studies discussed were not based on any theory. Apart from these, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Service Quality Model (SERVQUAL) and Perceived Value Theory (PVT) were featured more prominently among other studies.
Research limitations/implications
In this study, only the WoS database was reviewed. In future studies, it would be possible to make contextual comparisons by scanning other databases. In addition to quantitative research designs, social dimensions may be examined in depth following qualitative research methods. Thus, various comparisons can be made on the subject with mixed-method research designs. Experimental research designs can also be applied to where customers have experienced human-robot interactions (HRIs).
Originality/value
In the hospitality industry, it is critical to uncover every dimension of guests' robot acceptance. This study, which presents the current situation on this basis, guides future projections for the development of guest experiences regarding service robots in the hospitality industry.
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Juan Carlos Díaz Casero, Manuel Almodóvar González, María de la Cruz Sánchez Escobedo, Alicia Coduras Martínez and Ricardo Hernández Mogollón
The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship in groups of countries classified according to their economic development.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship in groups of countries classified according to their economic development.
Design/methodology/approach
Data used come from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Economic Freedom in the World Index; and from the Global Competitiveness Report.
Findings
The results provide useful information for the public and private sectors as evidence that some institutional variables that influence business creation depend on the development stage and report critical aspects to progress in each type of country in order to foster entrepreneurship. In developing nations the “size of the business sector” and “health and primary education” are critical variables, while for transition economies they stack the “integrity of the legal system” and “fulfilling contracts” and for developed economies the “size of the government” and “credit available to the private sector”.
Originality/value
This study constitutes an unusual approach because the literature on the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship is very scarce.
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Alicia Raia-Hawrylak and Christopher Donoghue
Anti-bullying legislation has been adopted in every state to prevent the victimization of youth, but the focus on deterring and criminalizing individual behavior can obscure the…
Abstract
Purpose
Anti-bullying legislation has been adopted in every state to prevent the victimization of youth, but the focus on deterring and criminalizing individual behavior can obscure the contextual factors that contribute to aggression. This theoretical paper engages sociological literature to understand the impact of recent anti-bullying legislation on students’ experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
We discuss stigma and account-making theory to theorize the ways students become particularly vulnerable to victimization and may or may not be sufficiently protected under the law. We also engage criminological theories to understand how punishment may not be sufficient for preventing aggressive behavior but may instead lead students to employ strategies to avoid being caught or punished for their behaviors.
Findings
We argue that the majority of current anti-bullying definitions and protocols in use are ambiguous and insufficient in protecting vulnerable groups of students, particularly students with disabilities, overweight students, and LGBT + students.
Originality/value
Our findings suggest that schools should seek to understand and alter the school-wide cultures and norms that permit aggressive behavior in the first place, in turn creating more inclusive school environments.
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Laura Alicia Valdiviezo, Rukmini Becerra Lubies and Dayna Andrea Moya Sepulveda
The creation of intercultural education in the Quechua and Mapuche contexts, in Peru and Chile respectively, marks a milestone in the institutionalisation of equity-oriented state…
Abstract
The creation of intercultural education in the Quechua and Mapuche contexts, in Peru and Chile respectively, marks a milestone in the institutionalisation of equity-oriented state policies that deserves attention given the serious inequalities that still persist in these societies. In this chapter, we analyse ethnographic studies of intercultural knowledge and practices inside and outside the classroom and interpret them as catalysts for equity in education. The findings of the analysis point to the centrality of Indigenous actors as transformative agents inside and outside the classroom and the urgency of restructuring not only education but also society towards equity.
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Ana Isabel Jiménez-Zarco, M Dolores Mendez-Aparicio and Alicia Izquierdo-Yusta
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the life history of the Spanish Generation X over the last five decades.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the life history of the Spanish Generation X over the last five decades.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering that the generational cohort concept can be identified from the marketing side as a market segment, this paper proposes to analyze the socio-economic and cultural context that has marked the different life stages of Generation X, and how they have related to brands according to their needs, desires and aspirations.
Findings
The results show that the customer journey can be considered a circular concept. The customer’s relationship with the brand can begin in childhood and continue into adulthood, such that the emotional relationship established with the brand as a child influences purchase decisions in adulthood.
Research limitations/implications
Although limited to the analysis of Generation X and its relationship with brands, this paper shows the importance of knowing the socio-economic, legal and cultural context of a generation.
Practical implications
As a business implication, the importance of remarketing is evident as a business strategy that reinforces the emotional connection between the brand and the different generations.
Social implications
From a social point of view, this paper shows the power of brands as an element of self-expression of the needs, tastes or preferences of individuals is evident.
Originality/value
This paper offers a different and innovative vision of the customer journey, taking into account the individual’s life cycle, and the way in which at each stage of life, he/she relates to brands in a different way.