Strategic Demands Research Articles

Artificial Intelligence Impact on Academic Programs Management

Higher education institutions must recognize that jobs will change significantly as the world enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution and experiences new technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI). Both workers and students will need to adapt, and higher education must be able to provide students with the skill set they need to enter and advance in the workforce of the future. Even though the vast majority of journalism academic programs today seem to focus more on the theoretical and practical aspects of journalism, such as news literacy, introduction to digital journalism, journalistic reporting and writing, and global issues in journalism, industry leaders already see artificial intelligence (AI) as playing a big role in journalism in the future. AI has a big potential to change how media is written and consumed. This article offers a proposal for an undergraduate journalism degree with an artificial intelligence (AI) concentration. It is based on projections of employment for the next five to ten years, the government of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) strategic orientation, higher education, and industry demands. The planned degree, the first of its type, is intended to give students the skills, technology know-how, and information necessary to succeed in the journalism field in the future. Received: 4 February 2024 / Accepted: 29 June 2024 / Published: 02 July 2024

Determining Military Resistance in the Republic of Armenia's Border Settlements Within Spatial Planning

Due to the military operations conducted by the opponent during and after the 2020 Artsakh war, as well as potential future risks and threats, the Republic of Armenia faces the challenge of ensuring the secure livelihoods of border settlements and implementing programs aimed at territorial development. Therefore, raising the issues regarding the resistance of these settlements to possible military operations is of strategic importance and demands immediate attention. The research examines normative and technical documents adopted from both international and local experiences to mitigate the impact of military attacks. It delves into the potential for reducing casualties and material damage by organizing the spatial environment of settlements. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity of defining new terminology and formulating key assessment criteria. The proposed solutions can be the basis for proposing a new scientific theory in architecture and contributing to the development of new resistance solutions in architecture along with military technologies.

The Pedagogical Model And Its Contribution To University Academic Competencies In Ecuador

Universities need to develop sustainable pedagogical models to meet growing strategic demands. The progress of human development requires trained professionals who actively contribute to the well-being of their communities. This study aims to evaluate how the pedagogical model contributes to the university academic competencies of students at the Technical University of Babahoyo (UTB). It is a non-experimental research that combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies from a descriptive and correlational perspective. The design is exploratory and transversal in nature. A comparison was made between eight theoretical dimensions on the topic. The pedagogical model and university academic competencies are statistically related. The more comprehensive and better structured the pedagogical model is, including its foundation, its design, its substantive articulation and its monitoring and evaluation, the greater the effectiveness in the development of university academic competencies through knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes.

Research on the Pedagogical Pathways for Integrating Mechanisms with National Strategic Demands

Research on the Pedagogical Pathways for Integrating Mechanisms with National Strategic Demands

Electricity supply chain hybrid long‐term demand forecasting approach based on deep learning—a case study of basic metals industry

AbstractDemand forecasting is a key parameter to achieve optimal supply chain management at different levels. The basic metals industry is one of the most energy‐intensive industries in the electricity supply chain. The impossibility of large‐scale energy storage, reservation constraints, and its high costs, limitations on electricity transmission lines capacity, real‐time response to high priority strategic demands, and variety of energy rates at different hours and seasons are issues that challenge the electricity supply chain. A hybrid approach is presented in this paper to improve the accuracy of long‐term demand forecasting in the electricity supply chain. The proposed approach uses wavelet decomposition and long short‐term memory (LSTM) neural networks to produce new predictors for demand forecasting in case of defective data. The data used in this study consists of the recorded hourly demand of Espidan Iron Stone (EIS) company and data of Mobarakeh Steel (MS) company in Isfahan Province. The understudy time series includes a lot of interruptions due to non‐production of the factory or power outages and spikes which cause uncertainty that makes the forecasting more difficult in comparison with continuous time series. Multiple machine learning models including decision trees (DTs), boosted and bagged trees (BGTs), support vector regression (SVR) models, extreme learning machines (ELMs), and a LSTM neural network model are employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in this paper. A comparison of the results obtained using the hybrid proposed approach and training machine learning (ML) methods shows a notable reduction in forecasting error.

Assessing cross-cultural performance: beyond just “being there”, revisited

As a review of the literature, this paper highlights how three dimensions - task performance, skill development, and cross-cultural adjustment, have been used to understand cross-cultural performance. With respect to task performance, two criteria should be measured for all those working cross-culturally, including remote or virtual cross-cultural work: (1) how accurately employees read the unique contextual demands of a cross-cultural context and (2) how effectively they respond given the contextual and strategic demands of the task. Focusing on development of cross-cultural competencies as a performance goal we highlight the dimensions most important for assessment, focusing on self- and relationship management competencies. Regarding cross-cultural adjustment, we offer a more precise and nuanced approach which accounts for the person-environment fit in the context of working in cultural novelty.

Tackling Strategic Simultaneity: What NATO Could Do to Adapt to the New Multitude of Threats

NATO is facing an unprecedented geostrategic environment characterized by simultaneous threats: Russian revisionism, the rise of China, the related problem of coping with threats in the cyber domain, and persistent challenges emanating from the southern flank. This article applies insights from the literature on organizational ambidexterity to provide a fresh perspective on how NATO could adapt to strategic simultaneity. Exisiting organizational ambidexterity literature focuses on the corporate challenge of striking a balance between exploiting existing markets and technologies, and exploring new ones altogether. In essence, strategic simultaneity demands that NATO do the same. NATO must cope with well-known and less-known threats and strike the right balance between effectiveness in handling known problems and innovation in coping with new ones. The article extracts three key categories from the strategic ambidexterity research: unified senior leadership; separate organizational units for exploitation and innovation; and a strategic approach to pursuing innovation through external partnerships. Applying these to NATO, it argues that, in order to become more ambidextrous, the organization’s major countries must unite around a vision that both places simultaneity at the center and is conducive to a balanced investment in tackling all four major challenges. While Allied Command Transformation (ACT) must be maintained as a distinct organizational unit, much stronger bridges must be built between ACT and the other commands. Further, NATO Centers of Excellence and external partnerships must be used in a more targeted way as sources of innovation and new ideas.

Policy and Management of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality: A Literature Review

The vision of reaching a carbon peak and achieving carbon neutrality is guiding the low-carbon transition of China’s socioeconomic system. Currently, a research gap remains in the existing literature in terms of studies that systematically identify opportunities to achieve carbon neutrality. To address this gap, this study comprehensively collates and investigates 1105 published research studies regarding carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In doing so, the principles of development in this area are quantitively analyzed from a space–time perspective. At the same time, this study traces shifts and alterations in research hotspots. This systematic review summarizes the priorities and standpoints of key industries on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Furthermore, with an emphasis on five key management science topics, the scientific concerns and strategic demands for these two carbon emission-reduction goals are clarified. The paper ends with theoretical insights on and practical countermeasures for actions, priority tasks, and policy measures that will enable China to achieve a carbon-neutral future. This study provides a complete picture of the research status on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, as well as the research directions worth investigating in this field, which are crucial to the formulation of carbon peak and carbon neutrality policies.

Exploration and Practice of Teaching Reform of "Geological Disaster Prevention and Control" Course Based on the Background of New Engineering Disciplines

Safety engineering of Kunming University of Science and Technology can provide support for the cultivation of professional and technical talents in disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, and "Geological Disaster Prevention and Control" is one of the basic main courses and 8 professional core courses of Safety Engineering. This paper, based on the background of new engineering disciplines, explores the course teaching reform from eight aspects, such as revising the course syllabus, improving and reconstructing the course teaching content, innovating the interactive teaching mode in classroom, constructing a three-dimensional virtual simulation practice platform that combines theory and practice of the course, carrying out professional ethics education for students in the whole process, actively integrating the ideological education of the course, inviting famous experts at home and abroad to deliver lectures to students, and completing the diversified evaluation methods of the course. The course has achieved significant results through practical teaching, and is of great significance to the cultivation of security professionals who match the strategic demands of national disaster prevention, mitigation and relief.

Poorer prospective memory performance is associated with reduced time monitoring among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans with a history of blast-related mild traumatic brain injury

Objective:Prospective memory (PM) or “remembering to remember” has been shown to be reduced in Veterans with histories of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), particularly on tasks with high strategic demands such as recalling time-based information in the absence of external cues. This study examined whether time monitoring during a PM task was reduced in Veterans with a history of mTBI and was associated with time-based PM performance. Method:Veterans with a history of mTBI (n = 49) and Veterans without a history of TBI (n = 16) completed the Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST) as a measure of PM during which their time monitoring (i.e. number of clock checks) was recorded. Results:Adjusting for age, education, depression, and PTSD symptoms, negative binomial regression revealed that the mTBI group checked the clock less frequently compared to the control group (Cohen’s d = 0.84, p = 0.005). Within the mTBI group, less frequent time monitoring across the entire MIST task was associated with poorer time-based MIST performance (r s = .57, p < 0.001), but not with event-based MIST (r s = .04, p = 0.768). Conclusions:Veterans with a history of mTBI evidenced significantly reduced time monitoring during a PM task compared to Veterans without a history mTBI, which was associated with strategically-demanding PM. Current findings provide that mTBI-associated difficulties with strategic aspects of PM may be due to reduced time monitoring. Future studies are needed to determine if reduced time monitoring also contributes to mTBI-associated PM difficulties in the real-world (e.g. medication non-adherence).

Navigating the paradox of global scaling

AbstractResearch summaryMuch global strategy research explores the management of competing strategic demands. Although these demands vary by a firm's context, the focus has been largely on established long‐lived multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are not based on digital technologies. There is thus a need to extend theory to take into account the co‐existence of rapid growth and digitization, a condition which is increasingly prominent. This study of globally scaling digital firms shows that they navigate the paradoxical demands of replication, to achieve frictionless rapid growth, and entrepreneurship, to innovate and remain competitive. We provide a theoretical model, which shows how MNEs navigate this global scaling paradox through a virtuous cycle of identifying innovations that can be replicated. Surprisingly, given the ease of modifying digital products and services, navigating the global scaling paradox involves minimizing local responsiveness, which is regarded as antithetical to replication. This research also builds insights on the global strategies of digital firms.Managerial summaryMany digital firms strive to scale globally to achieve market dominance in competitive, fast‐paced industries, but only a few succeed. Studying software‐as‐a‐service firms that have successfully scaled globally, we illustrate that the core demands of global scaling are replication and entrepreneurship. Although contradictory, both demands need to be satisfied in tandem. Leaders of globally scaling firms can achieve this through a strategy that sustains three interrelated mechanisms: top‐down replication, bottom‐up entrepreneurial orientation, and replicable innovation generation to engender and screen replicable ideas. These mechanisms represent a virtuous cycle through which globally scaling digital firms can revise their global business model in a replicable way in order to sustain competitiveness.

Effect of financial capability on customer relationship management in private hospitals in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of financial capability on customer relationship management in private hospitals in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey design. It targeted 161 private hospitals which are accredited by NHIF in Kenya and which formed the unit of analysis of the study. Simple random sampling was then be used to obtain the 644 respondents. The researcher utilized a structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale to gather the data. The collected data was coded and entered in SPSS for further analysis. Descriptive and inferential analysis was conducted. The findings indicate there was a statistical and significant relationship between financial capabilities and customer relationship management. Financial capabilities explained 48.5% of the variability in customer relationship management in private hospitals. Hospitals should plan ahead forecast on financial emerging issues to avoid financial distress. Good governance is critical in an organization because it enables flexible adjustments to the emerging spending patterns as strategic demands arise.

Specific πδ+–πδ- interaction enables conjugated microporous polymers for highly selective capture of Pd(II)

The targeted capture of heavy metals from wastewater is urgently necessary in response to strategic demands of sustainable resource utilization, but it is severely hampered by the formation of specific adsorbent-adsorbate interactions. Herein, the conjugated microporous polymer CMP-1 with –C≡C– binding sites is introduced for the adsorption of PdCl42- in acid wastewater. The matched interaction between –C≡C– with vertical π bond and electron-rich Pd center with π58δ- exhibits exceptional PdCl42- selectivity in competitive systems with coexisting heavy metals. To regulate the electron density of π bond in –C≡C– to further reinforce the πδ+–πδ- interaction, p-FCMP and o-FCMP adsorbents are rationally designed through the substitution of electro-withdrawing F group at different positions. A joint experimental-simulation exploration reveals that the F-induced electron oriented migration in –C≡C– results in the decreased π-electron density, therefore enhancing the binding of PdCl42-. Notably, o-FCMP possesses the maximum positive charge density at –C≡C– binding sites, which greatly promotes the charge transfer between –C≡C– and PdCl42- for stronger bonding interaction, achieving an optimal adsorption capacity of 447.7 mg g−1 as well as enhanced selectivity. This work provides unique insights into the efficiently targeted removal of heavy metals.

GENERAL APPROACHES TO PERSONNEL SECURITY OF THE ENTERPRISE

It is established that the most acceptable principles of building a system of social security indicators are: objectivity; practicality; complexity; end-to-end presentation, taking into account the need to determine social security criteria by levels (state, regional, personal); unambiguous interpretation for decisionmakers to eliminate and minimize the impact of threats; compliance with the current features of decision-making; clarity of construction, transparency, simplicity and lucidity; flexibility and reflection of changes; representativeness for comparisons; quantity limit. Theoretical campaigns to the essence and content of personnel security by different authors have been studied. It is analyzed that the process of ensuring personnel security in most researchers is associated with the measures for preventing theft, damage to property and various destructive actions by the staff of the organization. The focus is on the assessment of the elements of personnel security of the enterprise, which is proposed to be carried out by establishing the normative value of costs for the relevant activities of enterprises in a particular industry. Levels of ensuring of personnel security are considered in connection with the complexity, variety and complication of tasks. Personnel security is revealed on the basis of JSC “Kryvbaszalizrudkom”, where the main elements of personnel security are: establishing strategic priorities for personnel security in general and by components, monitoring the state of personnel security, determining specific measures to maintain or change personnel security parameters based on scientific application of methods in general and some of its aspects, the implementation of measures to ensure personnel security. The main methods of ensuring personnel security of JSC “Kryvbaszalizrudkom” are revealed. A comparative analysis of the integrated index of personnel security and the total value of indicators for certain components on the example of the studied enterprises: JSC “Kryvbaszalizrudkom” and PJSC “Zaporizhzhia Iron Ore Plant”. It is noted that the formation of personnel policy of JSC “Kryvbaszalizrudkom” is a process of determining the key characteristics of its staff in accordance with current and strategic production demands. The ways of effective use of personnel technologies of JSC “Kryvbaszalizrudkom” are revealed, which will allow to solve a number of important tasks concerning personnel safety of the enterprise.

From “Asia Pacific” to “Indo Pacific”: The Adjustment of American Asia Pacific Strategy from the Perspective of Critical Geopolitics

After taking office, the Trump administration has shifted the U.S. strategy in the Asia Pacific region from “Asia Pacific” to “Indo-Pacific”. This paper attempts to start with critical geopolitics, compare the “Asia Pacific” strategy of the United States with the “Indo-Pacific” strategy, and investigate the changes and dynamics of the geopolitical imagination of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. Through the investigation, it can be found that the strategic transformation from “Asia-Pacific” to “Indo-Pacific” reflects the transformation of the U.S. strategy towards China from “L-shaped defense” to “half-mouth encirclement”, as well as the Trump government’s attempt to rebuild the U.S. hegemony in various fields through all-round competition, reshape its identity and confidence as a great power by changing its self-identity and consolidating and expanding the alliance of Western style liberal democratic countries by looking for strategic fulcrum to reconstruct the strategic demands of the key geopolitical space. After Biden’s administration took office, it has inherited and strengthened the Trump administration’s “Indo-Pacific” strategy, which means that the strategic game between the United States and China in the “Indo-Pacific” region and even the global stage will continue for a long time. In order to safeguard China’s national interests and effectively respond to the “Indo-Pacific” strategy, China should enhance its influence and maintain the mentality as a great power, adopt social creation strategies to seek identity and recognition, and make plans based on the “Belt and Road Initiative”, “Polar Silk Road”, “Belt and Road Initiative” and other initiatives; if pushed forward smoothly, it will effectively crack down on the U.S.’s attempt to contain China through the “Indo-Pacific” strategy.

Learning in complex public systems: the case of MINUSMA’s intelligence organization

ABSTRACT Public systems are facing increasingly complex challenges such as poverty and terrorism. In this paper, we seek to demonstrate the theoretical as well as practical value of complexity science, by investigating how key characteristics of a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) work out in practice within the intelligence organization of the ongoing nation-building mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Our main finding is that the learning properties of the CAS suffer when its structural properties are not sufficiently developed. In MINUSMA, major improvements can especially be made in (re)developing the minimum specs – in which strategic and operational demands, ideally, converge.

An evaluation of Nigeria-Chad trade and security relations, 1988-2009

The contemporary world is such that nations cannot do without one another. This is because some nations are connected by historical, cultural, social, economic, scientific and other forms of strategic interests. Nigeria and Chad over the years have a history of inter-state relations that pre-dates the coming of colonial masters. However, at the end of colonial rule, both states engaged in multi-dimensional forms of bilateral relations. This study, which adopts mixed method of research focuses on Nigeria-Chad economic relations. It reveals the forms of trade agreement between both states. The study highlights formal and informal nature of the trade amongst the two states and found that their history of diplomatic relations has promoted the national interest as well as the management of strategic over-lapping trade demands in both countries. This study used regression analysis and applied unit root, co-integration, chow test, stability test as well as Phillips-Perron (PP) and Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) to find-out that there is strong positive significant relationship between Nigeria-Chad trade and economic diplomacy within the period of 1970-2018 as well as reasonable stability in Nigerian trade and security relations with Chad in the presence of Boko Haram menace. The study recommends increased bilateral trade, border security as well as intelligence sharing on the dynamics of security threats to the relations of both states.

Strategic value realization framework from learning analytics: a practical approach

PurposeIn spite of the popularity of learning analytics (LA) in higher education institutions (HEIs), the success rate and value gained through LA projects is still little and unclear. The existing research on LA focusses more on tactical capabilities rather than its effect on organizational value. The key questions are what are the expected benefits for the institution? And how the investment in LA can bring tangible value? In this research, the authors proposed a value realization framework from LA extending the existing framework of information technology value.Design/methodology/approachThe study includes a detailed literature review focusing on the importance, existing frameworks and LA adoption challenges. Based on the identified research gap, a new framework is designed. The framework depicts the several constructs and their relationships focusing on strategic value realization. Furthermore, this study includes three case studies to validate the framework.FindingsThe framework suggests that leveraging LA for strategic value demands adequate investment not only in data infrastructure and analytics but also in staff skill training and development and strategic planning. Universities are required to measure the strategic role of LA and spend wisely in quality data, analytical tools, skilled staff who are aware of the latest technologies and data-driven opportunities for continuous improvement in learning.Originality/valueThe framework permits education leaders to design better strategies for attaining excellence in learning and teaching, and furnish learners with new data to settle on the most ideal decisions about learning. The authors believe that the appropriation of this framework and consistent efficient interest in learning analytics by the higher education area will prompt better results for learners, colleges and more extensive society. The research also proposes two approaches and eleven research agendas for future research based on the framework. The first is based on the constructs and their relationships in LA value creation, whereas the later one focusing on identifying problems associate with it.

Overview of development program of environmental chemistry of National Natural Science Foundation of China

Environmental chemistry is a subject to research the existence, characteristics, behaviors, effects of chemical substances in environment and the principles and methods of pollution control. It is an important branch of chemical science and the core discipline of environmental science. In recent years, by facing the frontier of the discipline and the national strategic demands, sticking to the problem orientation, and highlighting foresight, innovation, interdisciplinarity and application, environmental chemistry has made great progress in the fields of pollution prevention and control, ecological construction and people’s health. In order to meet the new demand for environmental chemistry in promoting Construction of Ecological Civilization, make the research of environmental chemistry more compatible with the direction of the “Four orientations” and effectively solve the problem of environmental pollution in China, the development plan and discipline layout of environmental chemistry discipline in the department of Chemical Science of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are overviewed.

Identification and systematization of strategic technology demands in manufacturing

Due to globalization, shortened innovation cycles and resource scarcity, manufacturing companies operate in an increasingly dynamic environment. In order to meet the resulting challenges, it is of great importance for producing companies to integrate and utilize the most efficient technologies to produce competitive products. Constant technological change requires continuous adaptation and proactive strategic technology management. To presciently tackle these changes, it is essential to identify technological demands at an early stage and derive future technological requirements. This work aims to establish a framework to identify and structure external influencing factors, which lead to strategic technological demands in manufacturing.