Practitioner's Point Of View Research Articles

A study into the themes of quality management: early findings from a global research project and agenda for future research

PurposeQuality management (QM) plays a pivotal role in driving organisational efforts to enhance operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. This study aims to explore the most important themes in QM over the past three decades, identifying and analysing the top ten key themes that have shaped the field during this period. This study, involving leading academics and industry practitioners, lays the groundwork for a three-to-four-year exploration of the most influential QM themes worldwide.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a comprehensive review of QM literature over the last three decades from top specialist journals on QM. This is followed by conducting a global pilot survey with leading academics and practitioners to pinpoint the top ten dominant themes of QM for organisations to leverage in gaining and maintaining a competitive edge.FindingsThe top ten themes of QM, as identified by authors through input from academics and practitioners worldwide, offer valuable insights for companies of all sizes and sectors. These themes serve as a guide for the successful and sustainable implementation of QM practices and continuous improvement strategies.Research limitations/implicationsDespite a limited sample size, the initial findings provide a glimpse into critical themes. Over the next three years, as the study progresses, we anticipate potential changes in the results. Notably, the comparison of themes between manufacturing and services as well as large and small enterprises, remains unexplored in the current investigation.Originality/valueThe authors of this study assert that their research will pave the way for future themes in the digitalization era. Moreover, this research stands out as one of the most exhaustive examinations from both academic and practitioner viewpoints, offering a unique perspective not commonly found in existing literature.

How the Metaverse can add new layers of hospitality services: a perspective of senior industry practitioners

How the Metaverse can add new layers of hospitality services: a perspective of senior industry practitioners

Managing digital manufacturing transformation: assessing the status-quo and future prospects in North Indian industries

PurposeThe use of technology in 4th industrial revolution is at its peak. Industries are trying to reduce the consumption of resources by effectively utilizing information and technology to connect different functioning agents of the manufacturing industry. Without digitization “Industry 4.0” will be a virtual reality. The present survey-based study explores the factual status of digital manufacturing in the Northern India.Design/methodology/approachAfter an extensive literature review, a questionnaire was designed to gather different viewpoints of Indian industrial practitioners. The first half contains questions related to north Indian demographic factors which may affect digitalization of India. The latter half includes the queries concerned with various operational factors (or drivers) driving the digital revolution without ignoring Indian constraints.FindingsThe focus of this survey was to understand the current level of digital revolution under the ongoing push by the Indian government focused upon digital movement. The analysis included non-parametric testing of the various demographic and functional factors impacting the digital echoes, specifically in Northern India. Findings such as technological upgradations were independent of type of industry, the turnover or the location. About 10 key operational factors were thoughtfully grouped into three major categories—internal Research and Development (R&D), the capability of the supply chain and the capacity to adapt to the market. These factors were then examined to understand how they contribute to digital manufacturing, utilizing an appropriate ordinal logistic regression. The resulting predictive analysis provides seldom-seen insights and valuable suggestions for the most effective deployment of digitalization in Indian industries.Research limitations/implicationsThe country-specific Industry 4.0 literature is quite limited. The survey mainly focuses on the National Capital Region. The number of demographic and functional factors can further be incorporated. Moreover, an addition of factors related to ecology, environment and society can make the study more insightful.Practical implicationsThe present work provides valuable insights about the current status of digitization and expects to facilitate public or private policymakers to implement digital technologies in India with less efforts and the least resistance. It empowers India towards Industry 4.0 based tools and techniques and creates new socio-economic dimensions for the sustainable development.Originality/valueThe quantitative nature of the study and its statistical predictions (data-based) are novel. The clubbing of similar success factors to avoid inter-collinearity and complexity is seldom seen. The predictive analytics provided in this study is quite elusive as it provides directions with logic. It will help the Indian Government and industrial strategists to plan and perform their interventions accordingly.

Legal Concerns and Risks Facing Project Managers: Small Macao versus Some Major Jurisdictions

From the viewpoint of a project management practitioner instead of a traditional comparative law researcher, this article attempts to analyze the legal concerns and risks facing project managers and project management in general and compare these legal concerns and risks between the small jurisdiction Macao and such major jurisdictions as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hong Kong. Without being specific to any particular industry, these legal concerns and risks are identified and subsumed under three general perspectives, namely, contract disputes, liability for defects and delays, and labor and employment issues. Drawing on academic literature, statutes, acts, and court cases of relevance, this article dwells on these three perspectives as they matter to project management in general, cites the related key legal statutes and acts in these three perspectives in respect of project management, illuminates the statues’ and acts’ essence, and compares them across the aforementioned jurisdictions. Some salient findings are that Macao, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hong Kong all appear to resemble each other in the legal regulation of the three aforesaid perspectives such that project management and project manager seem to be prone to rather similar legal concerns and risks across all these jurisdictions. However, in fact, it is more challenging in Macao for project managers to evaluate and manage legal concerns and risks than in the other jurisdictions above because of two reasons. First, Macao’s legal framework is so distinct and unique that project managers are not able to evaluate the impact, incidence, and probability of any legal risk’s happening by analogy with the precedent court cases elsewhere. Second, there is a key difference between Macao as a small jurisdiction and the other jurisdictions above in that the former is inevitably short of a substantial volume of local precedent court cases. This dearth of local precedent court cases substantively hinders a project manager from evaluating the impact, incidence, and probability of any legal concern’s or risk’s happening.

School Administrators’ Priorities for Legal Literacy Training

Legally astute educational leaders are essential to carry out any school's mission. This article relays their priorities and preferences concerning legal literacy training approaches. Their collective input offers clear support for real-life focused, contextually grounded legal preparation. Remarkably, only ten percent of the participants reported receiving the training approach the group so strongly recommended. Administrator-recommended instructional priorities consistent with problem-based learning (PBL) would emphasize contexts leaders are engaged in, inspire confidence in candidates, and complement the development of their professional sensemaking responsibilities.

The impact of successful intelligence, entrepreneurial personality, and social skills on sustainable entrepreneurship

The chance to start your own business is appealing when the labor market experiences a slump in the current crisis scenario. The factors that affect sustainable entrepreneurship were examined in this study. The factors contributing to an entrepreneur’s success, including successful intelligence, social skills, and entrepreneurial personality, were examined. In the causal relationship study, we used a questionnaire designed specifically for small and medium-sized business owners. We used multiple regression methods to analyze the data on a five-point Likert scale we collected. The findings demonstrate a strong positive relationship between entrepreneurial success, successful intelligence, and entrepreneurial personality. However, no connections between social skills and building a sustainable business have been made. The causes are rooted in culture. From the viewpoints of academics, practitioners, and policymakers, it has practical ramifications. Aspiring businesspeople can use the outcomes to guide their decisions. To better understand how personality factors affect the viability of recently created firms in emerging nations, this study is unique.

Assessment of the Implementation of Sustainable Stormwater Management Practices in Asian Countries

Numerous efforts have been undertaken by Asian countries to mitigate the adverse effects of urbanization on stormwater management. However, traditional stormwater systems have become overwhelmed due to extensive development, resulting in excessive runoff and frequent floods. As a result, it is crucial to urgently adopt sustainable stormwater management practices (SSMPs) to effectively control water quantity and quality. The goal of this study is to assess the viewpoints of stormwater practitioners regarding green roofs, rainwater harvesting systems (RHS), grass swales, rain garden/bioretention systems, and porous pavement using a SWOT analysis. This was accomplished by distributing questionnaires and evaluating previous studies. The survey showed that participants mostly agreed with the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats factors related to the chosen SSMPs. Overall, the respondents favoured the implementation of green roofs and grass swales. Further assessments were conducted on these practices in other aspects, confirming that green roofs are the most preferable SSMP for implementation in Asian countries.

"Methods and Barriers to the Prescription of Physical Activity to Patients with Chronic Illness: The Viewpoint of General Practitioners"

"Methods and Barriers to the Prescription of Physical Activity to Patients with Chronic Illness: The Viewpoint of General Practitioners"

Understanding and Addressing the Allocation of Microservices into Containers: A Review

Creating an infrastructure that satisfies current demands is increasingly becoming a determining element in the modern times. These challenging demands go from intelligent scheduling of containers, allocating microservices into containers, container orchestration, elasticity, and automated provisioning, among others. This paper reviews research works addressing the demands above from a software practitioner viewpoint. One hundred and one primary studies were valuable additions to the microservice and container integration research. As a result, we have identified and reported intelligent scheduling and allocation techniques, optimal deployment, and monitoring of containers. Furthermore, we examined those techniques’ essential benefits, drawbacks, and critical challenges and pinpointed open issues for future research.

Remote and Digitally Delivered Mental Health Support for Care-Experienced Young People: Some Practice-Based Reflections in Response to Cummings (2023)

In a recent contribution to this journal, Cummings (2023) reports findings from a preliminary qualitative study of practitioner viewpoints regarding digitally delivered mental health support to care-experienced young people. Cummings’ study highlights the need to engage with professional experiences of using digital methods with this group, both during and outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. A response to - and commentary on – Cummings’ contribution is provided, to advance discussion of issues identified by the research. We reflect on our experience as practitioners and researchers working in and alongside specialist child and adolescent mental health service teams serving care-experienced children and young people. We focus on workspaces in remote working, therapeutic technique in online and telephone-based care, and virtues and challenges of remote care delivery.

Application of Phylodynamic Tools to Inform the Public Health Response to COVID-19: Qualitative Analysis of Expert Opinions.

In the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, scientists have scrambled to collect and analyze SARS-CoV-2 genomic data to inform public health responses to COVID-19 in real time. Open source phylogenetic and data visualization platforms for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 genomic epidemiology have rapidly gained popularity for their ability to illuminate spatial-temporal transmission patterns worldwide. However, the utility of such tools to inform public health decision-making for COVID-19 in real time remains to be explored. The aim of this study is to convene experts in public health, infectious diseases, virology, and bioinformatics-many of whom were actively engaged in the COVID-19 response-to discuss and report on the application of phylodynamic tools to inform pandemic responses. In total, 4 focus groups (FGs) occurred between June 2020 and June 2021, covering both the pre- and postvariant strain emergence and vaccination eras of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Participants included national and international academic and government researchers, clinicians, public health practitioners, and other stakeholders recruited through purposive and convenience sampling by the study team. Open-ended questions were developed to prompt discussion. FGs I and II concentrated on phylodynamics for the public health practitioner, while FGs III and IV discussed the methodological nuances of phylodynamic inference. Two FGs per topic area to increase data saturation. An iterative, thematic qualitative framework was used for data analysis. We invited 41 experts to the FGs, and 23 (56%) agreed to participate. Across all the FG sessions, 15 (65%) of the participants were female, 17 (74%) were White, and 5 (22%) were Black. Participants were described as molecular epidemiologists (MEs; n=9, 39%), clinician-researchers (n=3, 13%), infectious disease experts (IDs; n=4, 17%), and public health professionals at the local (PHs; n=4, 17%), state (n=2, 9%), and federal (n=1, 4%) levels. They represented multiple countries in Europe, the United States, and the Caribbean. Nine major themes arose from the discussions: (1) translational/implementation science, (2) precision public health, (3) fundamental unknowns, (4) proper scientific communication, (5) methods of epidemiological investigation, (6) sampling bias, (7) interoperability standards, (8) academic/public health partnerships, and (9) resources. Collectively, participants felt that successful uptake of phylodynamic tools to inform the public health response relies on the strength of academic and public health partnerships. They called for interoperability standards in sequence data sharing, urged careful reporting to prevent misinterpretations, imagined that public health responses could be tailored to specific variants, and cited resource issues that would need to be addressed by policy makers in future outbreaks. This study is the first to detail the viewpoints of public health practitioners and molecular epidemiology experts on the use of viral genomic data to inform the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data gathered during this study provide important information from experts to help streamline the functionality and use of phylodynamic tools for pandemic responses.

Achieving agreement on service needs in child protection. Comparing children’s, mothers’ and practitioners’ views over time and between approaches

PurposeWhile studies on service users’ participation and their perceptions on the quality of services exist, agreement between family members’ and practitioners’ assessments of the family’s situation has received less interest. The purpose of this paper is to investigate agreement and its effect on outcomes by comparing the viewpoints of three groups of informants (children, mothers and practitioners) in the context of statutory child protection in two study groups – one applying a systemic approach (SPM) and a service-as-usual control group (SAU).Design/methodology/approachA quasi-experimental repeated-measures study design was applied. Outcome data comprised 112 cases (SPM cases n = 56 and SAU cases n = 56) at three sites. Data was collected from all participants at baseline and six months later.FindingsFirst, practitioners’ analyses of a child’s need for protection did not meet family members’ expressed need for help. Second, child–mother agreement on the need for service intervention at T1 predicted a decrease in practitioner-assessed abuse or neglect from T1 to T2. In this sample, no differences were found between the two groups.Originality/valueThis study highlights the importance of making explicit the viewpoints of children, parents and practitioners in casework and research to improve understanding of how their perspectives differ over the course of the process and how possible initial disagreements affect outcomes.

Translational Gap between Guidelines and Clinical Medicine: The Viewpoint of Italian General Practitioners in the Management of IBS.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) guidelines are generally developed by experts, with the possibility of a translational gap in clinical medicine. The aim of our study was to assess an Italian group of general practitioners (GPs) for their awareness and use of criteria for the diagnosis and management of IBS. For this purpose, a survey was carried out involving 235 GPs, divided into two groups according to their years of activity: 65 “junior general practitioners” (JGPs) (≤10 years) and 170 “senior general practitioners” (SGPs) (>10 years). JGPs were more familiar with the Rome IV Criteria and Bristol Scale than SGPs. Abdominal pain, bowel movement frequency and bloating were the symptoms most frequently used to make a diagnosis. The most probable causes of IBS were reported to be abnormal gastrointestinal motility and psychological triggers. SGPs reported more frequently than JGPs that challenging management and patient’s request were motivations for a gastroenterological consultation. The practice of clinical medicine is still far from the guidelines provided by the specialists. Abdominal pain related to defecation and changes in bowel frequency are considered to be the more important symptoms for IBS diagnosis, but most GPs, both JGPs and SGPs, like to consider abdominal bloating as another useful symptom. Involving both gastroenterologists and GPs in developing shared guidelines would be highly desirable in order to improve IBS management strategies in everyday clinical practice.

How to Make a Sustainable Hotel: A View Point of HR Practitioners

The study aims to analyze the existence of sustainability performance in the hospitality industry in Pakistan. The study explores sustainability performance and its implementation under the cleaner production objectives from HR practitioners’ viewpoint focusing on environmental management. The study employed a qualitative method whereby semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the HR department officials from six hotels in Islamabad, Pakistan. The thematic analysis was applied for the result. A conceptual model was proposed on five main themes: point of view based on the awareness and attitude of sustainability, significance of sustainability, issues and challenges, technological support of sustainability and acceptance of legal compliance as contributing factors for a sustainable hotel. The study is novel and has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a five factor sustainability adoption model for the hotel industry which further supplements the theoretical and managerial implications for the practitioners.

Editorial Commentary: A Perspective on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa

The African Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AJIE) was created in January 2022 to showcase African innovation and entrepreneurship. This is the maiden volume and issue of the journal following its establishment, and I am elated to serve as its editor-in-chief with firm belief that the journal will feed into Africa’s development. AJIE is unique as it focuses on publishing knowledge related to innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa and by extension captures how small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa organize business. This volume contains a mix of knowledge captured as academic papers and practitioner viewpoints. Before I touch on the material in this volume, I shall first provide a perspective on innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Practitioner viewpoint – Problem-based approach to entrepreneurship education in Africa

Practitioner viewpoint – Problem-based approach to entrepreneurship education in Africa

Software Productivity in Practice: A Systematic Mapping Study

Practitioners perceive software productivity as one of the most important subjects of software engineering (SE) because it connects technical to social and economic aspects. Nonetheless, software processes are complex and productivity means different things to different people. In order to realize the full contribution of software productivity research to the industrial practice of SE, the analysis and synthesis of existing practitioner viewpoints and concerns are required. A systematic mapping study is developed here to investigate the existence of diverse empirical perceptions of productivity within the distinct business sectors and knowledge areas covered by the industrial practice of SE, also identifying the commonalities among them. This study adopts the DBLP and Scopus search engines to identify bibliographic references from 1987 to 2021 related to software productivity. References that do not correspond to complete not-later-subsumed articles published in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings are excluded from the analyses. Only papers reporting on empirical studies based on software industry data or that present industry practitioner viewpoints are included in these analyses. In total, 99 papers are analyzed. The mapping found great variability in study findings, particularly concerning the impacts of agile development practices on software productivity. The systematic mapping also drew methodological recommendations to help industry practitioners address this subject and develop further research.

An analysis of the determinants of office real estate price modelling in Nigeria: using a Delphi approach

PurposeThere are a plethora of putative influencing variables available in the literature for modelling real estate prices using AI. Their choice tends to differ from one researcher to the other, consequently leading to subjectivity in the selection process. Thus, there is a need to seek the viewpoint of practitioners on the applicability and level of significance of these academically established variables.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Delphi technique, this study collated and structured the 35 underlying micro- and macroeconomic parameters derived from literature and eight variables suggested by 11 selected real estate experts. The experts ranked these variables in order of influence using a seven-point Likert scale with a reasonable consensus during the fourth round (Kendall's W = 0.7418).FindingsThe study discovered that 16 variables are very influential with seven being extremely influential. These extremely influential variables include flexibility, adaptability of design, accessibility to the building, the size of office spaces, quality of construction, state of repairs, expected capital growth and proximity to volatile areas.Practical implicationsThe results of this study improve the quality of data available to valuers towards a fortified price prediction for investors, and thereby, restoring the valuers' credibility and integrity.Originality/valueThe “volatility level of an area”, which was revealed as a distinct factor in the survey is used to add to current knowledge concerning office price. Hence, this study offers real estate practitioners and researchers valuable knowledge on the critical variables that must be considered in AI-based price modelling.

Policy challenges and recommendations in support of Moscow’s creative industries – viewpoints of practitioners

Moscow is home to a quarter of Russia’s creative workers and generates over half of the creative industry’s value added. Due to its favourable development, the sector is increasingly receiving attention from policy makers and academics alike as a feasible option to reduce the country’s dependence on its extractive industries. The signs look promising: the city’s creative industries are likely to grow fast, attract investments and have become a successful exporter of creative goods and services. This paper provides an assessment of Moscow’s creative industries and asks what needs to be done in order to allow the industry to prosper.

Legal challenges and applications in Indonesia

The challenge and application of law in Indonesia is to find the relevance of the thoughts of academics, researchers, and policymakers in the Jokowi era, which is the core objective of this study. We believe that from applying the law in a country is the key to the success of leadership supported by academic thinking and government or public policymaking. For this reason, we have reviewed many of the findings of scientific studies that we have summarized from various scientific and practitioner points of view and also various views from different countries, all of which we found in various legal journal applications, books, and also websites for democracy and justice and justice. Before presenting this data as findings, we first answer high-quality questions. We have used a phenomenological approach to get the cellular data, then we have done high echolocation, coding systems, and concluding. Based on the findings of the study data and its discussion, we can summarize that the challenges of legal application in Indonesia can be seen from the irrelevance between the thoughts of academics, experts in this field, and the decision-making governments in enforcing the law in Indonesia.