Major Clients Research Articles

Educational Data Mining: A Comprehensive Review and Future Challenges

Students are the major clients of many institutions, and they've come to realize that they're in the service industry. Before designing a performance-enhancement program, a student's existing status must be evaluated. Higher education officials place a strong focus on accurately predicting a student's performance. This study tries to reveal the many factors that influence a student's choice to join a certain college or institution. Students who are able to forecast their own performance early on are better able to take action to enhance their results. In order to achieve a high level of education, several forecasts of student performance have been devised. However, these predictions have been shown to be inadequate. EDM uses a variety of elements, including social, behavioral, cognitive, and motivational, to predict student behavior. Many domain models have previously been improved by using optimal learning and instructional sequences. This article examines a variety of educational data mining strategies in great detail. Data mining in education also faces a number of concerns and obstacles, which are explored in this article.

Management of the Contract Claim Presentation and Response in Ethiopia: The Case of Addis Ababa

This research aimed to investigate the difficulties interrelated to contract claim management from the client, contractor, and consultant’s perspective by studying the claim process in public housing construction projects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data were collected based on the survey strategy through 72 questionnaires and 250 organizational documents. The data were analyzed using Relative Importance Index, Spearman’s correlation Coefficient, framework analysis, and linear multiple regression model. The research findings showed that the most potential sources of claims were: delays in the supply of input materials; design change; weather conditions; undue delay in the release of payment; and failure to give written instruction. In addition, the contractors' main problems in the contract claim management process are high project managers’ workload, lack of contract knowledge, late notification of claims, poor communication, and unorganized project office administration. The variables of claim notification, identification, and presentation are positive and significantly affected the project claim management process, whereas claim examination and documentation haven’t significance to the project claim management process. The researcher recommended that the three major parties client, the Contractors, and the Consultants shall prevent disputes and minimize claims in the project by attaching through seeking legal advice early, setting up the Disputes Adjudication Board, and improving contract knowledge.

Exploring a public client’s control systems in infrastructure projects from a relationship history perspective

Using a proper control system is vital to ensure that project delivery is satisfactory for the client. Prior research has identified relationship history as a potentially vital contingency factor in organizational control, but there is a lack of research on how relationship history affects how different control systems function in project-based contexts. In the Swedish infrastructure market, increased demand has resulted in a need for increased supply capacity. This has spurred new entrants that have no relationship history with the major client, the Swedish Transport Administration. The purpose is therefore to compare how the client’s control systems function in construction projects with familiar (known to the client) and unfamiliar (new to the client) contractors. The case study involves 32 interviews conducted in six infrastructure projects, three with unfamiliar contractors. Findings show that relationship history heavily influences how the control systems function, especially bureaucratic and clan control. The new contractors are unaccustomed with the client’s extensive use of bureaucratic control and perceive it as less suitable in design-build contracts. Furthermore, the lack of relationship history reduces the opportunity to use clan control from the beginning of a project, due to unfamiliarity with both the client and the control system.

IDEO Product Development Case Analysis

IDEO is one of the successful product development companies, it established in 1991 and combined with 3 companies (David Kelley Design, ID Two and Matrix Product Design). As one of the world’s leading design firms, IDEO won a large number of awards than other product development firms. This company has a rapidly development in last several years, owned over 660 employees in the various disciplines. IDEO help organizations in the public and private sectors to find new design approach to innovate and grow, its major well-know clients are include Apple Inc., AT&T, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Steelcase, PNC Financial Services and Palm. The company utilize design thinking as their main design process approach and focus on investigate and satisfied consumers’ needs.

UK Environment Agency becomes first major civil engineering client to commit to net zero

The UK government’s Environment Agency has become one of the first major civil engineering clients to commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Ian Hodge, director of asset management and engineering, says it will require close collaboration with the supply chain.

A comprehensive enhancer screen identifies TRAM2 as a key and novel mediator of YAP oncogenesis

BackgroundFrequent activation of the co-transcriptional factor YAP is observed in a large number of solid tumors. Activated YAP associates with enhancer loci via TEAD4-DNA-binding protein and stimulates cancer aggressiveness. Although thousands of YAP/TEAD4 binding-sites are annotated, their functional importance is unknown. Here, we aim at further identification of enhancer elements that are required for YAP functions.ResultsWe first apply genome-wide ChIP profiling of YAP to systematically identify enhancers that are bound by YAP/TEAD4. Next, we implement a genetic approach to uncover functions of YAP/TEAD4-associated enhancers, demonstrate its robustness, and use it to reveal a network of enhancers required for YAP-mediated proliferation. We focus on EnhancerTRAM2, as its target gene TRAM2 shows the strongest expression-correlation with YAP activity in nearly all tumor types. Interestingly, TRAM2 phenocopies the YAP-induced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion phenotypes and correlates with poor patient survival. Mechanistically, we identify FSTL-1 as a major direct client of TRAM2 that is involved in these phenotypes. Thus, TRAM2 is a key novel mediator of YAP-induced oncogenic proliferation and cellular invasiveness.ConclusionsYAP is a transcription co-factor that binds to thousands of enhancer loci and stimulates tumor aggressiveness. Using unbiased functional approaches, we dissect YAP enhancer network and characterize TRAM2 as a novel mediator of cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion. Our findings elucidate how YAP induces cancer aggressiveness and may assist diagnosis of cancer metastasis.

Agricultural Education through Farm Tourism Among Selected Providers in Mindanao

Farm tourism is a new economic development strategy in the Philippines which helps uplift the living and working conditions of farmers by generating additional farm-related income that enhance farm profitability at the same time that it provides agricultural education to various stakeholders. Case studies of selected farm tourism sites in Mindanao, Philippines were conducted using key informant interviews and use of GIS mapping. Farm tourism sites were characterized based on agricultural technologies, agricultural produce and tourism activities offered in the area. The study examined what agricultural knowledge was shared in these farm tourism sites, how it was shared and who the major clients were. Results revealed that the development of farm tourism sites is influenced by the philosophy of the farm operators who believe that farming is a profitable business, an opportunity to promote common good and love for agriculture. Knowledge sharing activities center on the conduct of training programs, farm tours to demonstration sites, recreational activities where visitors engage in harvesting and fishing. Knowledge sharing activities are mostly conducted through group and interpersonal approaches and mass media approach through the dissemination of agricultural technology which is central to all farm tourism operators.

Flagler’s Whitehall: Beaux-Arts Grandeur in the American Tropics

ABSTRACTIn a second career begun in his retirement, Henry Morrison Flagler (1830–1913), the cofounder of Standard Oil and one of the wealthiest citizens in the United States, embarked on the development of the tropical wilderness of Florida. Starting in St Augustine, he built a network of luxury hotels and railroads that became the infrastructure for modern Florida. Creating a counterpart to the premier summer resort of Newport, Rhode Island, Flagler transformed Palm Beach, an undeveloped barrier island, into a winter playground for the new American aristocracy, starting with the Georgian-style Royal Poinciana Hotel. It was Whitehall, however, the mansion built for Flagler in 1900–02 as a wedding gift to his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan, that became the resort community’s monumental showplace. Designed by the New York firm of Carrère & Hastings in the Renaissance-derived classicism of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, the stately white palace fronting Lake Worth embodied Flagler’s cultural aspirations as a patron of the arts. As the first major client of Carrère & Hastings, Flagler was critical in launching the career of one of the most prominent architectural firms of the Gilded Age. This article examines Whitehall in the context of Flagler’s business practices and personal goals, consistent with Andrew Carnegie’s ‘Gospel of Wealth’. Architectural opulence not only boosted Flagler’s mercantile purposes, but also reflected a belief, nurtured by his relationship with Carrère & Hastings and other close associates, about the importance of classical architecture and the arts in the development of society.

Desarrollo de un template responsive para publicidad bajo la tecnología Zurb Foundation

La maquetación responsive de un boletín para campañas publicitarias resulta poco eficiente si se realiza con herramientas no estandarizadas o CMS (Sistemas de Gestor de contenido), estas son orientadas a usuarios sin conocimientos de html (HyperText Markup Language) y de uso libre limitado; o laboriosos si se utiliza en cambio lenguaje nativo html, lo cual aumenta la complejidad del desarrollo debido a la cantidad de etiquetas que se deben incluir en toda la estructura del código; todo ello sumado a las restricciones que presenta cada cliente de correo electrónico al renderizar en html, lo que ocasiona generalmente problemas en la visualización del boletín y aumento en la carga operativa del desarrollo.
 Este trabajo propone utilizar la herramienta Zurb Foundation para el desarrollo de un template responsive, esto permite disminuir la carga operativa del desarrollador, facilitando la escritura de código y la visualización de los cambios en un navegador web en tiempo real, con la certeza de que el boletín se visualice correctamente en los principales dispositivos móviles y clientes de correo electrónico.

R&D investment, business performance, and moderating role of Guanxi: Evidence from China

Conventional wisdom posits that a long-term orientation with important partners such as key suppliers and clients is essential for superior performance. This study critically examines this business tenet by studying the relationship between duration of partnerships with major suppliers and clients and company performance. Based on a dataset comprising over 10,000 Chinese manufacturing firms obtained through a probability sampling procedure, results show that relationship duration with major clients not only has a direct, negative effect on total income (sales), but also has a negative moderating effect on the association between research & development (R&D) and total income. However, relationship duration with major suppliers has a positive moderating effect on the association between R&D and total profits. Furthermore, relationship with government has a positive effect on total income, and it also has a negative moderating effect on the R&D-performance chain. Managerial and research implications are also discussed.

Value-Flow-Based Demand-Driven Pointer Analysis for C and C++

We present Supa, a value-flow-based demand-driven flow- and context-sensitive pointer analysis with strong updates for C and C++ programs. Supa enables computing points-to information via value-flow refinement, in environments with small time and memory budgets. We formulate Supa by solving a graph-reachability problem on an inter-procedural value-flow graph representing a program's def-use chains, which are pre-computed efficiently but over-approximately. To answer a client query (a request for a variable's points-to set), Supa reasons about the flow of values along the pre-computed def-use chains sparsely (rather than across all program points), by performing only the work necessary for the query (rather than analyzing the whole program). In particular, strong updates are performed to filter out spurious def-use chains through value-flow refinement as long as the total budget is not exhausted. We have implemented Supa on top of LLVM (4.0.0) together with a comprehensive micro-benchmark suite after a years-long effort (consisting of around 400 test cases, including hand-written ones and the ones extracted from real programs). We have evaluated Supa by choosing uninitialized pointer detection and C++ virtual table resolution as two major clients, using 24 real-world programs including 18 open-source C programs and 6 large CPU2000/2006 C++ benchmarks. For uninitialized pointer client, Supa achieves improved precision as the analysis budget increases, with its flow-sensitive (context-insensitive) analysis reaching 97.4 percent of that achieved by whole-program Sparse Flow-Sensitive analysis (SFS) by consuming about 0.18 seconds and 65 KB of memory per query, on average (with a budget of at most 10,000 value-flow edges per query). With context-sensitivity also considered, Supa becomes more precise for some programs but also incurs more analysis times. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of Supa, we have also evaluated Supa in resolving C++ virtual tables by querying the function pointers at every virtual callsite. Compared to analysis without strong updates for heap objects, Supa's demand-driven context-sensitive strong update analysis reduces 7.35 percent spurious virtual table targets with only 0.4 secs per query, on average.

Investigation of Contributing Factors for Smart Parking Development Projects Delay:The Case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Considering the increase of urban population and traffic congestion, smart parking is always a strategic issue to work on, not only in the research field but also from economic interests. The existing and ongoing works on smart parking are complicated and Trans disciplinary. The construction industry is one of the main sectors that provide important ingredients for the development of an economy. However it is becoming more complex because of the sophistication of the construction process itself and the large number of parties involved in the construction process. Delay in construction project completion is a global phenomenon that occurs in the construction industry and considered as one of the most common problems causing a multitude of negative effects on the project. The objective of this study is to identify the major determinants factor smart parking project delay. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. A survey questionnaire was structured and distributed to contractor, consultant, client and subcontractor who were working in smart parking construction projects. The questionnaire included 30 predefined factors, which were grouped into six major factors, client, contractor, and consultant, and material, external and labor factors. The relative importance index (RII) was determined and the factors were ranked within their groups and overall. The results showed that the group of client factors ranked first among the six groups. The top ten factors causing delay of smart parking projects are: delay in sub-contractors, slow in decision making by client, delay in delivering the site to the contractor, Dollar insecure in government, delay in obtaining permits from municipality, less capacity to admin the project, lack in qualified labors/shortage of qualified engineers, shortage of construction materials, late procurement of materials and Ineffective planning and scheduling of projects. Finally, recommendations have been developed for each of the contract parties’ client, contractor, consultant and subcontractor where present in this research in order to minimize and avoid the delay factor and get the project completed within the planned schedule. Keywords : Smart parking, project delay, determinant factor, Relative Importance Index (RII) DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/67-02 Publication date: August 31 st 2020

Drivers of Audit Failures: A Comparative Discourse

The aim of this study is to identify the most potent factors driving audit failures by theoreticallyexploring two most publicized corporate and external audit failures cases in Nigeria and globally (EnronAndersen and Cadbury Akintola Williams Deloitte). An exploratory case study approach was adopted to analyze the selected two cases and several other external audit failures in extent literature. Findings reveal that audit failure factors are the same in the cases analyzed and compared and include poor audit approach, negligence and incompetency from the auditors, lack of professional questioning attitude, connivance with clients, fee dependence on major clients, long tenured appointment, external auditors acting as internal auditors to client and rendition of Management Advisory Services (MAS), blatant disregard to accounting standards on auditing, among others. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made: more stringent sanctions be molted to defaulters, regular review and update of accounting and auditing standards to take care contemporary developments, prohibition of external auditors from rendering multiple MAS, adherence to ethical principles, strengthening of corporate governance structure as well as improved oversight functions by regulatory authorities on the activities of corporate management and auditors.

Discovery of novel anti-breast cancer agents derived from deguelin as inhibitors of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90)

A series of O-substituted analogues of the B,C-ring truncated scaffold of deguelin were designed as C-terminal inhibitors of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) and investigated as novel antiproliferative agents against HER2-positive breast cancer. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 80 exhibited significant inhibition in both trastuzumab-sensitive and trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer cells, whereas compound 80 did not show any cytotoxicity in normal cells. Compound 80 markedly downregulated the expression of the major client proteins of HSP90 in both cell types, indicating that the cytotoxicity of 80 in breast cancer cells is attributed to the destabilization and inactivation of HSP90 client proteins and that HSP90 inhibition represents a promising strategy to overcome trastuzumab resistance. A molecular docking study of 80 with the homology model of a HSP90 homodimer showed that 80 fit nicely in the C-terminal domain with a higher electrostatic complementary score than that of ATP.

OUTCOMES OF UNETHICAL PRACTICES BY QUANTITY SURVEYORS IN NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Ethics have a verifiable effect on the validity and economic supportability of quantity studying practices and additionally influencing the individual security of the profession. There is a developing consent inside and outside the construction industry that unscrupulous practices are endemic in the construction industry especially quantity surveying practice in Nigeria. This paper thusly, x-rayed the outcomes of unethical practices by Quantity Surveyors in the construction industry in Nigeria, and likewise displays more scholarly and practical approach in dealing with moral appraisal of Quantity Surveyors in the construction industry and ways to improve moral standard among them. Very much organized polls (questionnaire) were self-administered to stakeholders and professionals in construction organizations. Literature review also revealed that unethical practices result to dissatisfied clients, late compensation due to delays, low productivity/efficiency of project team, deterioration in professionalism, poor workmanship, high maintenance, upward review of contract cost, poor project coordination, poor quality infrastructure development, stunted growth of the industry, reduction in the life span of building, loss of public trust, conflicts between client and construction team, poor quality of infrastructural development and loss of public trust. Data were collected and analyzed using Mean Item Score (MIS) and Standard Deviation (SD). The results shows that dissatisfaction of clients, High maintenance cost and Poor workmanship were perceived to be the major ethical misconduct by Quantity Surveyors in the construction industry. The study recommended that Quantity Surveyors should not always make financial benefits, other advantages as their real concern and gain cash unethically by all means. Others professionals in the industry ought to dependably be caution and endeavor not to keep any untrustworthy conduct among themselves. Major client in Nigeria construction industry, which is the government need to be fair to the Quantity Surveyors and other professionals in the construction industry.

Premature Project Closure: The Part Played by Clients

All projects regardless of complexity, have a documented start and end date. However, some projects may close prematurely because predefined goals cannot be met within the defined schedule. Negligence by one a more project stakeholders can result in premature project closure. This study examines how clients contribute to premature project closure in construction projects within South Africa. The nature of the study is descriptive which was carried out through survey research. A Likert scale structured questionnaire was used to collect data from construction professionals within Gauteng Province of South Africa and retrieved data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that the major clients’ actions that can lead to premature project closure include untimely allocation of resources and setting of unrealistic goals. It was therefore concluded that clients must ensure that projects are properly planned, and the predefined project design and timeline must be appropriately adhered to without much interference. This will reduce the risk of premature project closure.

Dicoma Corporation: challenges for future growth

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: students will identify the reasons for a firm to internationalize and its specific internationalization entry mode; students will distinguish how to follow the client and how physic distance strategies work; students will analyze a host country’s external environment using the PESTEL framework, and they will analyze the international strategies followed by a multinational enterprise using the integration-responsiveness framework as well. Case overview/synopsis The authors explore the case of DICOMA Corporation, a Costa Rican multinational enterprise with presence in five countries. Adrian Sanchez, who is Dicoma’s president, needs to craft an international strategy to increase the international sales in the foreign markets where the firm operates. The company may follow two paths. On the one hand, Dicoma can adopt the strategy of following its major clients to expand overseas, which will lead to the opening of operations in more countries, but making the foreign sales highly dependent on these types of partnerships. This has been so far the path pursued by Dicoma in its international expansion. On the other hand, Dicoma can opt to focus on increasing commitments in the existing international markets where it already has operations by capturing new clients in those locations but scarifying the potential business opportunities to enter into other countries in partnership with its major clients. Complexity academic level Post-graduate early stage business students enrolled in programs such as Master of Business Administration, Master of Management, Master of International Business, executive education programs, among others. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available upon request for educators only. These teaching notes should be shared solely with the instructor and students should not have access to. Please contact your library to gain login or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 5: International Business.

Widening understanding of low embodied impact buildings: Results and recommendations from 80 multi-national quantitative and qualitative case studies

This paper publishes the results from a major five year International Energy Agency research project which investigated the reduction of embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions over the whole life (‘cradle to grave’) of buildings. Annex 57 collated and analysed over 80 detailed quantitative and qualitative building case studies from the participating nations.For many years the multiple variations in methodological approach of case studies to assess the whole life embodied impacts of buildings have presented a major challenge for politicians and other decision makers. Any real change in design and construction practice has also proved elusive. This paper describes a modified research synthesis and meta analysis as a novel and valid method for drawing meaningful conclusions from large sets of significantly diverse studies.The quantitative analyses consider embodied impacts of the product stage, replacement, and end of life stages, of new and refurbished buildings, and of different building assemblies and construction materials. The product stage is shown to dominate in most cases, with the median value around two thirds of the whole life embodied impacts, with replacements the next highest with a median figure of around 25%; however replacements in five studies were over 50% of the whole life impacts. It should be noted that several life cycle stages are still missing from these studies.The case studies included eleven refurbishment projects, in which energy efficient measures and low carbon technologies were retrofitted to existing buildings; for these projects the median product stage impact was found to be just under half that for the new build projects. While further research is required to compare the operational energy use in the new and refurbished buildings, this suggests that such energy refurbishments have a significantly lower impact than new buildings. Several other studies considered the impacts from technical equipment and internal fixtures and fittings, both frequently excluded, and demonstrated that they can be responsible for up to 45% of the whole life embodied greenhouse gases and up to 48% of the whole life embodied energy.Finally, the paper combines the analysis of the quantitative case studies with that of qualitative studies, to explore the impact of contextual factors at both policy and project level in significantly reducing the embodied environmental impacts of buildings. The case studies have shown that planning authorities, major clients, developers, and individual designers, can all play an important role in reducing embodied impacts through encouraging innovation.The paper concludes with recommendations for policy makers, designers and LCA modelers which will support and effect real reductions in the whole life embodied impacts of buildings.

Analyst tipping: Evidence on Finnish stocks

Market analysts typically present their views on firms through publicly released recommendation reports and revisions, in which they ‘upgrade’ or ‘downgrade’ their stock picks. Traders can earn substantial profits if they have access to the information in these reports in advance of their public release. Analysts have an incentive to tip their major clients by earning commission on informed trades. Using data from the Nasdaq Helsinki between 2001 and 2014, we find evidence of analyst tipping. Trading patterns reveal that domestic institutional investors buy recommended stocks from four days prior to upgrades and sell from one day prior to downgrades. We also find evidence that the Market Abuse Directive slightly reduced analyst tipping in the two years following its implementation.

The link between vendor certification and growth in IT outsourcing: a tale of two stories

There has been a great deal of ambiguity and complexity in the relationship between vendor certification and vendor growth in the outsourcing context. In this study, the authors build a competitive mediation model, where they examine both the direct and the indirect effects of vendor certification on vendor growth. Using a combination of primary data (i.e. survey) and secondary data from a sample of 120 IT vendors in India, they find that vendor certification directly helps with vendor growth but it hurts vendor innovation and therefore indirectly hinders vendor growth. They further explore the moderating role of the number of major clients. Results demonstrate that an increase in the number of major clients does not moderate the positive relationship between certification and growth; however, it weakens the negative relationship between certification and innovation. Therefore, a large client base seems to attenuate the dark side of certification in organisational innovation activities.