H. Kostakis, C. Sarigiannidis, B. Boutsinas, K. Varvakis and V. Tampakas
This paper aims to present a methodology for activity‐based costing, which combines simulation modeling and association rule mining, one of the core data‐mining techniques. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a methodology for activity‐based costing, which combines simulation modeling and association rule mining, one of the core data‐mining techniques. The objective of the proposed methodology is to deal with the problem of defining cost drivers.
Design/methodology/approach
Activity‐based costing uses the output produced by the simulation of cost drivers as inputs. As opposed to the integration of the ABC technique with simulation modeling, the possibility of estimating an empirical distribution of the simulated cost drivers does not exist in the proposed methodology. This is achieved with the use of data‐mining techniques and is based on the proposition that, if an association is found between a cost driver, whose estimation or calculation is time‐consuming, and another cost driver, which can easily be estimated or calculated, then the latter can lead to the estimation or calculation of the former.
Findings
The extracted association rules correspond to existing dependencies between the cost drivers.
Originality/value
The paper presents a combined methodology to deal with the problem of defining cost drivers in activity‐based costing. An example of the proposed methodology in healthcare is also presented.
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Christos Tatsiopoulos and Basilis Boutsinas
The paper aims to present an approach for services in the domain of tourism based on a software application in the area of ontology engineering, showing a methodology for…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to present an approach for services in the domain of tourism based on a software application in the area of ontology engineering, showing a methodology for intelligent knowledge‐based P2P networks creation, in the tourism knowledge domain, given that, potential tourists share and organize their experiences, interests and knowledge. Using the proposed software application, they automatically exchange their knowledge, with an intelligent and transparent way, with other users that have the same or similar interests and make use of it.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach followed was categorizing tourism‐related interests and services into ontologies (system and user), then comparing them, using intelligent algorithms, suggesting new, unknown to the user, interests. The data were evaluated by experts in order to provide a guide for correct (according to the expert) interestingness of profile concepts.
Findings
The paper presents the outcomes of the software used, running on mobile devices, showing the connection for them, among user knowledge profiles and tourism services. It has been found that the return results (concepts) are of high interestingness to the user.
Research limitations/implications
Experiments have been performed with one central ontology, used as reference and two user ontologies at the same time. The authors would suggest more experimentation, with more users connected concurrently.
Practical implications
Of high practical importance is the creation of intelligent social networking processes and user communities based on interests for further e‐commerce activities, based on a semantic framework.
Originality/value
The paper fulfils the need for intelligent interaction and distribution of knowledge and content to users in an autonomous way, anywhere.
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Loredana Di Pietro, Francesca Di Virgilio and Eleonora Pantano
The aim of this paper is to investigate how social networks can become the main tool for achieving fast and detailed information for the choice of tourism destination, in order to…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate how social networks can become the main tool for achieving fast and detailed information for the choice of tourism destination, in order to deeply understand the benefits of these media for promoting tourism destinations in a global perspective, reaching a wider range of potential visitors, and developing ad hoc and marketing strategies with benefits for competitive advantage on the market.
Design/methodology/approach
The research focuses on an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which also integrates the constructs e‐word‐of‐mouth communication and enjoyment. In particular, 1,397 experience users have been involved.
Findings
The main findings are related to the key role of e‐word of mouth communication on both the perception of usefulness and the attitude towards the use of social network as powerful tool for the choice of tourism destinations; as well as to enjoyment which underlines the role of the fun provided by the social network and represents a stronger predictor for consumer attitude and tourism behavior intention.
Research limitations/implications
This research does not focus on a specific tourists' destinations, thus the presence of different destinations may affect consumers in different ways, according to their involvement towards to a particular destination. This study contributes to deepening the scientific debate on the tourist's destinations.
Practical implications
The findings of this research support the development of tourism marketing and communication strategies focused on the online contexts as factors capable of influencing tourists' behaviour in a more efficient way.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on the web‐based technologies, like social media, in order to deeply understand to what extend tourists accept the usage of these technologies for the choice of destination, by providing issues for researchers and practitioners. The present research is of a multidisciplinary value, by linking business science, psychology and social science.
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This paper aims to focus on applications of stochastic linear programming (SLP) to managerial accounting issues by providing a theoretical foundation and practical examples. SLP…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on applications of stochastic linear programming (SLP) to managerial accounting issues by providing a theoretical foundation and practical examples. SLP models may have more implications – and broader ones – in industry practice than deterministic linear programming (DLP) models do.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper introduces both DLP and SLP methods. In addition, continuous and discrete SLP models are explained. Applications are demonstrated using practical examples and simulations.
Findings
This research work extends the current knowledge of SLP, especially concerning managerial accounting issues. Through numerical examples, SLP demonstrates its great ability of hedging against all scenarios.
Originality/value
This study serves as an addition to building a cumulative tradition of research on SLP in managerial accounting. Only a few SLP studies in managerial accounting have focused on the development of such an instrument. Thus, the measurement scales in this research can be used as the starting point for further refining the instrument of optimization in managerial accounting.
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Mohd Daud Norzaidi, Siong Choy Chong, Mohamed Intan Salwani and Binshan Lin
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether intranet functionalities predict perceived usefulness, which in turn influences intranet usage and whether such usage affects…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether intranet functionalities predict perceived usefulness, which in turn influences intranet usage and whether such usage affects job performance of managers.
Design/methodology/approach
About 150 of 357 managers engaged by numerous organizations in the port industry in Malaysia, namely port authority, terminal operator, marine department, immigration department, and royal customs and excise department which utilized intranet were sampled using a set of self‐reporting questionnaires.
Findings
The results of structural equation modeling indicate that intranet functionalities influence perceived usefulness, usage, and indirectly predict port managers' performance.
Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses only on the perspective of intranet usage among middle managers working in the port industry in Malaysia.
Practical implications
Suggestions are provided on how the maritime industry in particular and other industries in general can improve their intranet adoption to achieve organizational goals.
Originality/value
This paper draws attention to the imperative of having proper intranet functionalities in place in light of its indirect impact on job performance improvements.
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Hongshan Xiao and Yu Wang
Feature space heterogeneity exists widely in various application fields of classification techniques, such as customs inspection decision, credit scoring and medical diagnosis…
Abstract
Purpose
Feature space heterogeneity exists widely in various application fields of classification techniques, such as customs inspection decision, credit scoring and medical diagnosis. This paper aims to study the relationship between feature space heterogeneity and classification performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A measurement is first developed for measuring and identifying any significant heterogeneity that exists in the feature space of a data set. The main idea of this measurement is derived from a meta-analysis. For the data set with significant feature space heterogeneity, a classification algorithm based on factor analysis and clustering is proposed to learn the data patterns, which, in turn, are used for data classification.
Findings
The proposed approach has two main advantages over the previous methods. The first advantage lies in feature transform using orthogonal factor analysis, which results in new features without redundancy and irrelevance. The second advantage rests on samples partitioning to capture the feature space heterogeneity reflected by differences of factor scores. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified on a number of benchmarking data sets.
Research limitations/implications
Measurement should be used to guide the heterogeneity elimination process, which is an interesting topic in future research. In addition, to develop a classification algorithm that enables scalable and incremental learning for large data sets with significant feature space heterogeneity is also an important issue.
Practical implications
Measuring and eliminating the feature space heterogeneity possibly existing in the data are important for accurate classification. This study provides a systematical approach to feature space heterogeneity measurement and elimination for better classification performance, which is favorable for applications of classification techniques in real-word problems.
Originality/value
A measurement based on meta-analysis for measuring and identifying any significant feature space heterogeneity in a classification problem is developed, and an ensemble classification framework is proposed to deal with the feature space heterogeneity and improve the classification accuracy.
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This paper critiques the scope of neurotechnologies in significantly expanding the epistemological field of tourism and warns of their potential to undermine the cognitive…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper critiques the scope of neurotechnologies in significantly expanding the epistemological field of tourism and warns of their potential to undermine the cognitive capacity of tourists to act responsibly and responsively.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explores the intersections of neurotechnologies and tourism through an analysis that entails a two-step process: firstly, identifying key themes and debates within neurotourism literature; secondly, critically evaluating these discussions through the lenses of social tourism theory and neuroethics.
Findings
Firstly, the work questions the potential of neurotechnologies to significantly expand epistemological boundaries concerning a perennial question in tourism studies: namely, the goal pursued by tourists. Secondly, the paper introduces the framework of an ethics of neurotourism, which can aid in developing the ethical research agenda on neurotechnologies applied to tourism. This framework is used to argue that one of the key risks associated with the use of neurotechnologies in tourism is their capacity to encourage non-responsive and non-responsible tourist behaviour.
Originality/value
Both due to the traditional lack of interest in philosophy in tourism and the pro-business orientation of the tourism academy, critical studies on the relationship between neurotechnologies and tourism are limited. The primary contribution of this work is to underscore that the implementation of neurotechnologies in tourism not only has the potential to foster non-responsible behaviour by undermining tourists’ cognitive capacities to act responsibly, but also can diminish their responsiveness. In a neural context where tourists may already exhibit a reduced inclination towards moral engagement, this reduction in responsiveness can be particularly significant.
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Hara Kostakis, George Boskou and George Palisidis
This paper seeks to demonstrate an application of a methodology, which is based on the integration of three techniques, with the purpose of modelling activity‐based costing (ABC…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to demonstrate an application of a methodology, which is based on the integration of three techniques, with the purpose of modelling activity‐based costing (ABC) in restaurants. The proposed methodology serves as a tool for effectively computing values of cost drivers in the restaurant industry, as well as making accurate cost estimations.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is based on the integration of three techniques: simulation modelling, association rule mining (ARM) and ABC. Simulation modelling is used to model process variability and produce a range of cost values, instead of a point estimate of the cost, by generating a range of values for the simulated cost drivers. The advantage of the proposed methodology lies on the effective utilization of ARM in the ABC model; it extracts dependencies between a cost driver, whose estimation is time‐consuming, with another cost driver, which can easily be calculated. These associations can assist the estimation of the empirical distributions of those cost drivers, which were difficult to calculate.
Findings
The extracted associations verify the hypothetical relations between the cost drivers. The output produced is more precise values of the cost drivers that are included in an ABC model and were difficult to estimate. More accurate cost estimate means better pricing decisions for the restaurant managers.
Originality/value
The proposed methodology is an innovative technique that provides more accurate accounting information in the restaurant industry.
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Thomas Kwong, Daisy Fok, Kern Kwong and Lillian Fok
Accumulators are cutting‐edge stock derivative investments that have been the subject of much controversy in Hong Kong over the past year. Accumulators are exotic options composed…
Abstract
Purpose
Accumulators are cutting‐edge stock derivative investments that have been the subject of much controversy in Hong Kong over the past year. Accumulators are exotic options composed of a full year of daily long up‐and‐out call options and short up‐and‐out put options. Because accumulators are so new, the understanding of accumulators is currently very limited. This paper attempts to characterize and understand the properties of this fairly unknown and new stock derivative investment.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzed and characterized accumulators based on observations from past history of 11 stocks of the Hang Seng Index. Using historical stock data covering from January 3, 2006, and onward, the profit and loss for each accumulator contract was calculated.
Findings
Through the research it is understood that the profit and loss of accumulator contracts depends primarily on the following factors: knockout percentage, discount percentage, variability of the underlying stock, and the overall market trends, among other factors.
Originality/value
This pioneer simulation is an empirical exploratory post factum study that gives researchers and practitioners further insight how to formulate a risk neutral pricing model for accumulators in the future.