Business Class Research Articles

Touching taste: The classist intersections of materiality, textuality and tactility

Abstract Contemporary class formations increasingly exceed language and, therefore, defy the usual word-centric, text-based approaches of discourse studies. As Bourdieu famously observed, class-sustaining enactments of distinction and taste are often enacted outside language through banal “techniques of the body” such as people’s ways of walking or ways of eating. In this vein, my paper presents a social-semiotic analysis of the particular role menus play in materializing taste, both gustatory and social. However, rather than taking the obvious tack of addressing their linguistic content or typographic design, I focus on their haptic, experiential properties; for example, their shape, size, weight, density and other textural, tactile or material features. As a critical-empirical focus, my core evidence is an archive of Business Class menus from 18 international airlines; it is here that eating practices are explicitly framed as distinctive and superior. The significance of any text cannot be properly understood by simply attending to its straightforwardly representational meanings; its sensory and sensuous materialities must be addressed too. This, I propose, is where some of the most subtle but powerful status-making happens – the seemingly harmless, throw-away moments where privilege/inequality arises, invariably obscured but assuredly naturalized.

Understanding Contrail Business Processes through Hierarchical Clustering: A Multi-Stage Framework

Real-world business processes are dynamic, with event logs that are generally unstructured and contain heterogeneous business classes. Process mining techniques derive useful knowledge from such logs but translating them into simplified and logical segments is crucial. Complexity is increased when dealing with business processes with a large number of events with no outcome labels. Techniques such as trace clustering and event clustering, tend to simplify the complex business logs but the resulting clusters are generally not understandable to the business users as the business aspects of the process are not considered while clustering the process log. In this paper, we provided a multi-stage hierarchical framework for business-logic driven clustering of highly variable process logs with extensively large number of events. Firstly, we introduced a term contrail processes for describing the characteristics of such complex real-world business processes and their logs presenting contrail-like models. Secondly, we proposed an algorithm Novel Hierarchical Clustering (NoHiC) to discover business-logic driven clusters from these contrail processes. For clustering, the raw event log is initially decomposed into high-level business classes, and later feature engineering is performed exclusively based on the business-context features, to support the discovery of meaningful business clusters. We used a hybrid approach which combines rule-based mining technique with a novel form of agglomerative hierarchical clustering for the experiments. A case-study of a CRM process of the UK’s renowned telecommunication firm is presented and the quality of the proposed framework is verified through several measures, such as cluster segregation, classification accuracy, and fitness of the log. We compared NoHiC technique with two trace clustering techniques using two real world process logs. The discovered clusters through NoHiC are found to have improved fitness as compared to the other techniques, and they also hold valuable information about the business context of the process log.

Transmission of SARS-CoV 2 During Long-Haul Flight.

To assess the role of in-flight transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we investigated a cluster of cases among passengers on a 10-hour commercial flight. Affected persons were passengers, crew, and their close contacts. We traced 217 passengers and crew to their final destinations and interviewed, tested, and quarantined them. Among the 16 persons in whom SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected, 12 (75%) were passengers seated in business class along with the only symptomatic person (attack rate 62%). Seating proximity was strongly associated with increased infection risk (risk ratio 7.3, 95% CI 1.2–46.2). We found no strong evidence supporting alternative transmission scenarios. In-flight transmission that probably originated from 1 symptomatic passenger caused a large cluster of cases during a long flight. Guidelines for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among air passengers should consider individual passengers’ risk for infection, the number of passengers traveling, and flight duration.

What learning tools do students prefer? An assessment of undergraduate business courses

Universities strive to acquire resources to improve learning outcomes for students. This paper describes technology introduced in core undergraduate business classes and students’ assessment of their value. Despite their widespread use, student enthusiasm for them was tepid. It also gauges student preferences for pedagogical methods and finds the preferred method was power point lectures, independent of the type of the course. Homework ranked second for quantitative classes, while in-class discussions ranked second for qualitative classes.

Brazilian Secrets Hair Case

ABSTRACT This is a case for teaching focused on the internationalization process of Brazilian Secrets Hair (BSH), a company that has considered the world as its target market since its start, and is part of an ever-growing segment: the cosmetics industry. Upon understanding the company’s international expansion, the internationalization theories within the behavioral approach, such as the Uppsala theory, the network theory, the entrepreneurship perspective, and the effectuation logic, can be explored, answering questions related to market selection processes, entry mode choices, and global expansion strategy decisions. This case was based on primary and secondary data from a real company and was originally designed for international business classes of graduate courses.

Supporting Neurodiverse Students in Business and Professional Communication Classes: Opportunities and Challenges

Supporting Neurodiverse Students in Business and Professional Communication Classes: Opportunities and Challenges

Is Gamification a Magic Tool?: Illusion, Remedy, and Future Opportunities in Enhancing Learning Outcomes during and beyond the COVID-19

Gamification in education has been discussed with potential for further implementation at universities; however, practical suggestions concerning which key issues educators need to consider has far not been shared in academia. This study applied a qualitative approach using interview data with 24 students who participated in the business class with games as learning measures. It has found that most of them believed that gamification could be useful in reinforcing key themes and topics after having learnt them through traditional means: They appreciated the games as a supportive measure to ‘glue’ key knowledge to their learning. A significant drawback that they emphasised was that taking notes is not easy while they are involved in games, which made them unconfident and uncertain about the learning outcome. As a result, a conceptual framework for pedagogy stakeholders was proposed for further discussion of how to design a gamification-based curriculum effectively.

Eating behavior: The influence of age, nutrition knowledge, and Mediterranean diet

Student life during the university period is characterized by many changes in eating behaviors and dietary patterns due to adaptation to a new environment, study stress, lack of proper time management, and busy class schedules. These unhealthy actions may be detrimental to cognitive processing and influence academic performance, which is related to professional success. To assess different eating patterns in Portuguese university students and relate them to several sociodemographic variables. Cross-sectional information about eating behavior was assessed using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire in 169 students between 18 and 50 years of age, from the Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias and from different academic courses, some related to health sciences. Mediterranean diet adherence was also assessed using a validated 14-item questionnaire. According to the analyses of the 169 participants included in the sample, 33 presented restrained eating behavior, with 73 presenting external and 63 emotional. In the same line of thought, 62.10% of nutrition sciences students presented emotional eating behavior and overall it was observed that these students were more likely to have emotional eating behavior. Otherwise, presenting restrained eating behavior was statistically associated with being older and having higher Mediterranean diet adherence. Studying nutrition sciences was associated with having emotional eating behavior. Older students and those who adhere more closely to the Mediterranean diet were associated with having restrained eating behavior.

Ashkenazim and Mizrahim in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: The Role of Israel’s Economic Liberalization and Globalization

ABSTRACT This paper examines the mechanisms which drive the different political attitudes of Israel’s two major Jewish groups – the Ashkenazim and the Mizrahim – vis-à-vis the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in the 1990s. The study argues that the economic liberalization reforms of the 1980s along with the subsequent Israel’s integration with the global economy are key drivers of the two groups’ opposing attitudes vis-à-vis the peace process. These processes benefited mainly the business classes, who are dominated by the Ashkenazim (originating from Europe). It was such benefit that drove Ashkenazim’s support for the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, which was seen as instrumental to the process of Israel’s integration with the global economy. Conversely, the same economic processes likely hurt lower-class members of Israeli Jewish society, most of whom are Mizrahim (originating from Muslim countries). In this context the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza provided them with an alternative source of welfare to buffer the negative impacts of the integration process. As a result most of the Mizrahim population opposed any peace deal that included the evacuation of settlements. Moreover, Mizrahim’s opposition to Oslo was strengthened by the association of Oslo with Israel’s global integration, which some evidence suggests mainly benefited the business classes.

Behaviour of business class tax payers on tax compliance in Ethiopian revenue administration

Tax compliance issue is a major problem in revenue generation by the federal government in African countries. In Ethiopia, tax mobilization was also the lowest among sub-Saharan African countries and main purpose of the research is to identify the factors influencing the behavior of tax payer’s on tax compliance in Dessie town revenue authority. The target population of the study was Business Class people which denotes as category “A” tax payers of Dessie town and a Sample of 330 business was taken using stratified sampling followed by random sampling from each stratum from the total population of 1898. The taxpayers were stratified into trade (retailer and wholesaler), service sector and manufacturing (process) according to their field of work or business. The primary source of data was used to collect five point Likert scale data through questionnaire and partake 92.12% (304) as response rate from the sample size. The results exhibited that factors like tax knowledge, perception of tax payer’s fairness in tax system and equity, the influence of referral groups (friends, relatives) and probability of revenue authority audit and government spending on tax collection were influenced the tax payer’s behavior on voluntarily tax compliance. Finally, the revenue office has to ensure understanding of tax knowledge by the tax payer, maintain the transparency of the tax system and equity, collected tax has to be spend wisely by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for the welfare of the society and infrastructural development of the country.

Evaluating STEM-Based Sustainability Understanding: Using Cognitive Maps in Post-Secondary Settings

Businesses will encounter increasing climate variability and shifting weather patterns in the future. Business leaders will be required to face the degradation of the natural environment, market challenges, moral dilemmas, and other sociopolitical issues. Considering the magnitude of climate change, future leaders need to navigate the complex impacts from these changes and respond appropriately to innovate, coordinate with other institutions, and change operations as needed. Greater emphasis on sustainability should be guided by science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competencies, which are often missing from business curricula. In response, we proposed new STEM-based sustainability curriculum that was integrated into four existing business courses. An additional challenge associated with curricula design and development includes evaluation. Measurement tools that exceed self-reported knowledge are lacking, which prompted researchers to seek new approaches to measure sustainability proficiency. One such method of assessing STEM-based sustainability understanding is through cognitive mapping. This research builds on previous cognitive mapping literature and explores the ability of the method to capture changes in student outcomes after exposure to STEM-based sustainability curriculum. Using a treatment and comparison approach, we use cognitive mapping to explore the impact of the new STEM-based sustainability curriculum. We describe the cognitive mapping instrument, and overview the results which answer: (1) Will students experience a change in mapping capabilities after receiving the STEM-based sustainability business content?; and (2) Is cognitive mapping a viable method for assessment student learning in STEM-based sustainability business classes?

Music Therapy Private Practice in the United States: Updated Financial and Marketing Recommendations.

More and more music therapists in the United States are entering into private practice. For a private practice to survive, a therapist must make sound financial and marketing decisions that can have wide-ranging implications on the success of the business. Clear and current recommendations from music therapists in private practice can help those wanting to go into private practice as well as those already in private practice. The purpose of this study was to identify a current descriptive profile of music therapists in private practice in the United States as well as marketing and financial recommendations. In addition, comparing this survey with previous surveys can reveal possible trends in the field. Music therapists (N = 745) who self-identified as being self-employed or in private practice were sent a survey designed by the researchers. A total of 193 respondents returned the survey revealing that current therapists in private practice are better educated and value the internet and social media for marketing and session implementation more than respondents of previous surveys. Respondents recommend that music therapists in private practice continually learn by taking business classes and consulting with business experts; diversify funding sources, service options, and populations served; and connect with music therapists and nonmusic therapists in the community.

Optimal time-consistent reinsurance strategies for mean-variance insurers under thinning dependence structure

This paper considers an optimal time-consistent proportional reinsurance problem with constraints on the strategies under the mean-variance criterion for an insurer. It is assumed that the surplus process is described by a compound Poisson risk model with dependent classes of insurance business named thinning-dependence structure, in which the stochastic sources related to claim occurrence are classified into different groups, and that each group may cause a claim in each insurance class with a certain probability. By solving the extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation within the game theoretic framework, not only explicit expressions of the optimal strategies and value function are obtained for but closed-form expressions of optimal results are derived for by the method of dimension reduction. Moreover, some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effects of parameters on the optimal strategies as well as the economic interpretation behind.

Brand equity and its Influence on Customer Satisfaction in Midscale and Budget Hotels of Jaipur

The main purpose of this paper is to utilise the customer-based brand equity (CBBE) model of David Aaker (Aaker, 1991) to examine the influence of brand equity on customer satisfaction in midscale and budget hotels in Jaipur. This study recruited 250 respondents who regularly visit the identified branded midscale hotels of Jaipur. In this paper, managerial implication of CBBE is proposed to provide a reference tool for the management of the brand equity of these midscale hotels and to enhance their brand value. The negative impression, which existed in the minds of consumers of midscale and budget hotels, is being replaced by a perception of affordability, efficiency, and good experience. The fast-changing market equation has positively impacted the midscale hotels segment. It can be seen from the competition among domestic as well as international hospitality operators in this segment. Midscale hotels are being redefined with new concepts, innovations, and strategies. Now they are mini full-service hotels being recognised as business class and installed with the basic facilities, targeting a specific market and mid-rank business executives and price sensitive corporate customers. Budget hotels reasonably priced with good service, style, and better ambience demonstrate professionalism. With heavy demand and less supply of midscale and budget hotels in Jaipur, hotel management has to stick to brand equity in order to maintain customer satisfaction, which in turn leads to profit.

IMPLEMENTASI MANAJEMEN RISIKO UNDERWRITING PADA PT ASURANSI JASINDO SYARIAH

This study purpose to how the risk management process in PT Asuransi Jasindo Syariah with a case study of vehicle insurance class of business. This research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive case study strategic. The research data was obtained through primary data in the form of interviews and secondary data. The selection of informants in interviews through snowball sampling techniques and secondary data obtained from supporting data in the form of archives, reports and relevant document and literature reviews related to research. The results of this study indicate that PT Asuransi Jasindo Syariah has a significant role in the process of underwriting risk management, especially in vehicle insurance product, which have the highest loss ratio among other products. The underwriting risk management process carried out by PT Asuransi Jasindo Syariah is risk identification, risk measurement, risk monitoring, and risk control.Keywords: risk management, underwriting, syariah insurance

Optimal excess-of-loss reinsurance and investment problem with thinning dependent risks under Heston model

This paper studies an optimal excess-of-loss reinsurance and investment problem with thinning dependent risks. Assume that the insurer’s wealth process is described by a risk model with two dependent classes of insurance business, and the insurer is allowed to purchase excess-of-loss reinsurance from the reinsurer and invest in a risk-free asset and a risky asset whose price follows Heston model. Our aim is to seek the optimal excess-of-loss reinsurance and investment strategy under the criterion of maximizing the expected exponential utility of the terminal wealth. Applying Legendre transform along with the stochastic control theory, we obtain the explicit expressions of the optimal excess-of-loss reinsurance and investment strategy. Finally, we give some numerical examples to illustrate our results.

Athma Nirbhar Bharat: A New Self Resilient India

In India, we can see digital divide, economic divide, cultural divide, societal divide, lifestyle divide, demographic divide, political divide, legal divide, geographical divide, etc. Though it has been a seve decades we got independence still India is developing country and Indians are underdeveloped. Is it Lord Brahma written the fate of India? Or Political class, business Class, bureaucrats have written? Even after all foreign invaders had left India, still the life of India is not developed to the fullest potential. The richer is getting richer and poorer is getting poorer and middle class is under middle class itself. Why it is like this? What made India still is not developed? Is it the policy decisions of governments since independence hav gone wrong? Or Greediness of politicians have made Indians to suffer like this? To whom we have to blame or is it the innocence of people is leverage for rich class? Questions are plenty but at the same time we also have answers. How effective these answers are we have to introspect? Will the athmanirbhar bharath will solve these questions with right answers. Let us explore the policies, measures and incentives under this nava bharath nirman scheme called athmanirbhar bharath.

Effective pedagogy for small undergraduate classes

We conducted a survey of about ten different pedagogical tools with students of seven different small undergraduate business classes with average class size of 27 students. We propose that the higher the students’ agreement with specific pedagogical methods the higher their motivation as well as their learning outcomes. A statistical significance test was performed to account for the most effective pedagogical methods—oral presentations and multiple-choice mini-tests. Further methods found to be effective were classroom discussions, in-class exercises and quizzes, and an even workload plus a diversified portfolio of graded items along with a horse-shoe teaching arrangement. Results help business educators—especially who are relatively new to teaching—to strengthen their course outcomes.

Students’ Writing Difficulties in English for Business Classes in Dhofar University, Oman

This study investigates students’ writing difficulties of English for business classes and the possible factors that might cause such difficulties. A corpus of forty essays of forty undergraduates was compiled. We adopted a textography approach to study writing practices. The results of the textual analysis informed an administration of questionnaire to both the students and four faculty members. The results of the corpus analysis indicate that students had a lot of errors in spelling, grammar, and many of them were unable to write thesis statement, as well as topic sentences. Some students also had problems in developing coherent essays. The contextual data suggests that about 90 per cent of the respondent did not know what thesis statement is. It also shows that the majority of students had problems in generating and organising ideas and nineteen out of twenty-one respondents also had a limited wide range of vocabulary. The course syllable did not allocate more than four hours for teaching essay writing throughout the semester. We strongly recommend more contact hours for teaching essay writing. Teachers could engage students in critical thinking activities, including how to generate and organise ideas. Teachers should be teaching more academic vocabulary to students.

A Pedagogy to Develop Effective Virtual Teams

ABSTRACT While virtual teams dominate business environments, little attention has been paid to how team leadership, in particular shared leadership, can be reinforced in classrooms. There is a consensus that shared leadership impacts the performance of virtual groups in a positive manner. While higher education in business is aiming to prepare graduates for virtual team leadership and effectiveness, pedagogical practices to orient students to virtual leadership based on quantitative research are lacking. Business school educators need to develop a classroom pedagogy that encourages the growth of shared leadership in virtual groups within students. This paper presents the results of preliminary research that demonstrates that one aspect of the skills of shared leadership, in the form of expertise-based teamwork, contributes to the success of virtual teams in a business class. How this pedagogical practice can be applied to the business setting is discussed. Replication of this work is planned.