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The RAGE Software Portal: Toward a Serious Game Technologies Marketplace
No full textThis paper presents the RAGE marketplace portal (gamecomponents.eu), which is intended as a hot spot and neutral single point of access for serious game technologies. The portal aims at fostering collaborations and the exchange of technical artefacts and associated knowledge and resources between different stakeholders in the field of serious gaming (e.g. educators, developers, researchers, publishers, policy makers and end-users). After a brief introduction to the H2020 RAGE project, the flexible design of the marketplace portal and its underlying software repository are presented. A concise overview is given of the initial set of advanced game technology components created by RAGE, that are currently exposed in the portal. For empirical validation of these components, we have developed 7 serious games based on subsets of these components, which were then tested in educational practice with several hundreds of end-users. This game components portal want to be a neutral hub not dependent on any technology or provider and therefore it is open for new game technologies submissions. We envision this marketplace as a knowledge and game technologies hub to support and amplify serious game development
An investigation into the way trainee teachers develop professional identity through incidental learning that occurs in the placement
No full textThis research explored the incidental learning experienced by pre-service trainee teachers in the post-fourteen sector, and the impact this had on the development of professional identity.The research followed a multiple case study approach over one academic year, via a range of methods, such as focus groups, one to one interviews and reflective journal accounts. A theoretical framework was produced from a literature review which was used to analyse the primary data. The results offered insights into the placement experience and the way professional identity is born from what can be a challenging context.The research identified an incidental learning space which is generated within a placement which enables a holistic deep sense of professional identity to develop. The research uncovered the symbiotic way that dual professionalism operates for arts based subject teachers and how the overlap between these identities shape future development through ongoing, active participation.Some of the recommendations arising from the findings include rigorous recruitment and ongoing training for mentors along with time and support provided for trainee teachers to process their learning experience and develop reflective practice. Alongside this, formal induction processes should be in place as well as observation training for trainee teachers at the beginning of the programme to enable them to be properly prepared and develop their ability for ‘noticing’.The research builds on existing evidence by offering an updated incidental learning theoretical framework which can be used to support professional identity development for trainee teachers
Identity structure analysis and teacher mentorship across the context of schools and the individual
No full textThis book examines the benefits of applying the Identity Structure Analysis (ISA) to teacher professional development. At present no government, local authority or school is actively applying Identity Structure Analysis to monitor school improvement: in a profession where turnover is extremely high, ISA is framed as a way for professional development to meet the needs of the specific teacher. Examining idiographic ISA analyses as well as practical advice for implementing professional development programs, the authors scrutinise how ISA can be used in conjunction with mentoring to offset teacher turnover. This practical volume will be of interest and value to scholars and researchers of teacher identity and professional development, as well as researchers and policymakers interested in reducing teacher turnover
Relating the exploitation of information and communication technology (ICT) and a firm's competitiveness in value chains : the case of tourism enterprises in Malawi
No full textThe study sought to explore how the adoption and exploitation of ICT is affecting the competitiveness of value chain players in Malawi’s tourism sector. To best understand the research problem, the study engaged a mixed method of data collection to obtain different but complementary data on the study topic in order to not only compare and contrast quantitative statistical results with qualitative findings but also to validate and expand quantitative results with qualitative data.The study has revealed that despite all tourism value chain players using ICT for business functions, the majority are using ICT for business support functions only; very few operators are using ICT for service improvement, comparative advantage and reducing costs. The study has also found out that there are extremely low adoption levels of GDS, CRS and ERP by Malawian tourism value chain players - attributed to the huge investments that are required to procure these systems, with the exception of Airlines and travel agents. Management and/or owners’ commitment to invest in ICT is the main driver to ICT exploitation and facilitates the acquisition of necessary systems and skills. However, poor technology infrastructure, limited investments in ICT, lack of ICT expertise and limited awareness to the strategic importance of ICT are among the various barriers to ICT exploitation in Malawi. Additionally, the study has revealed that the adoption and exploitation of ICT plays a major role in advancing or suppressing the competitive advantage of the tourism industry. ICT adoption and exploitation are among the most prominent forces that can alter the rule of competition - especially in the tourism industry, because the majority of activities in the tourism value chain create and use information. To this end, information accounts for the preponderance of competitive advantage and therefore for profitability for tourism operator
Mechanistic study of synergism of inorganic synergists with flame retardants
No full textZinc stannates (ZSs) and related metal metallates are attracting increasing attention as alternatives to antimony trioxide (ATO) for use as synergists with halogen-containing flame retardant systems (HFRs). Like ATO, ZSs show synergistic effects with both chlorine and bromine-containing FRs (BFRs) and are reported to be effective in a wide range of polymers, including PVC, polyolefins, polyester resins, polystyrene and polyamides. However, unlike ATO, ZSs are non-toxic, appear to promote char formation in char-forming polymers and can function additionally as smoke suppressants. Previous work in our laboratories has shown that ZS is more effective as a synergist than ATO when used with BFRs in polyamide 66 (PA66), producing reductions in peak heat release rates of more than twice than those achieved with ATO in cone calorimetric experiments, coupled with as much as one tenth the smoke evolution. Use of ZS in place of ATO also produced better results in UL94 tests with some BFRs in PA66. However, the exact mechanism of synergism of ZSs with HFRs is not known yet. The aim of this project was to elucidate the mechanism of synergism of zinc stannate (ZS) with HFRs as non-toxic and environmentally benign alternative to ATO. Besides, possible similarities with a number of related metal metallates including zinc hydroxy stannate (ZHS), calcium stannate (CS) and copper stannate (CuS) were investigated. PA66 as a versatile engineering polymer has been used as a model polymer. Poly(pentabromobenzyl acrylate) (PPBBA), commercially used as an effective flame retardant (FR) in combination with ZS in PA66, was selected as a model FR.In the present work, a comparative study of the mechanisms of action of the selected metal metallates and metal oxides (MM/MOs) including ZS, ZHS, CS, CuS and ATO with the polymeric BFR, PPBBA, both on its own and when incorporated in PA66 has been carried out, using various evolved gas analysis (EGA) techniques for investigation of nature and quantity of evolved species, solid residue analysis techniques for investigation of chemical structure of remaining residues as well as quantification of elemental volatilization at different temperatures and heating regimes and thermogravimetric analysis. EGA techniques utilized in this thesis include pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (Py-GCMS) Pyrolysis coupled with Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (Py-FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR) and tube furnace, and analysis of solid residues were conducted using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray florescence spectroscopy (XRF) and Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).Simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) was also used to compare the thermal profiles of thermal degradation, under both air and nitrogen atmospheres. Experiments on mixtures of PPBBA with ZS and ATO in the absence of PA66, showed that both ZS and ATO delayed the release of bromine-containing compounds from PPBBA and that, in the case of ATO, as expected, significant quantities of antimony bromides were released. However, with ZS, the formation of zinc bromides seems to be the principal fate of bromine, with little evidence for the formation of tin bromides, in marked contrast to earlier suggestions that it is the formation of volatile tin halides that are responsible for the vapourphase synergistic effects of ZS with HFRs. CS showed similar, however more pronounced effect on delaying liberation of bromine to vapour phase and very little or no calcium and tin were volatilized even at temperatures above 650 °C. The pyrolysis of PA66 is known to follow a complex series of parallel and consecutive reactions, but neither ATO nor CuS was found to have much effect on the nature and distribution of the volatile pyrolysis products under nitrogen. However, ZS and CS appears to catalyse reaction of decomposition of PA66 and cause minor formation of charred residues (ca. 25% more char at 450°C under air atmosphere), although there is little evidence of either zinc, tin or calcium being chemically incorporated in these residues. Very little to no metal volatilization was observed when ZS and CS were incorporated in PA66. Addition of PPBBA to PA66 without synergist lead to a significant reduction in the thermal stability of PA66 accompanied by the release of brominated compounds into the vapour phase with no significant char formation, consistent with PPBBA acting entirely as a vapour phase FR. Pyrolysis and combustion studies of the ternary systems, PA66+PPBBA+MM/MOs, confirmed that ATO acts almost entirely as a vapour phase FR synergist but that ZS and CS act principally in the condensed phase by char promotion, probably due to in situ formation of zinc and tin and calcium bromides which as Lewis acids act as dehydration catalysts and promote char formation. Besides some level of intumescence was observed for these systems. It is noteworthy that ZS and CS considerably reduced the vapour phase activity of PA66+PPBBA by trapping a considerable portion of bromine that would otherwise be released into the vapour phase. Moreover, it is confirmed that the interaction of bromine is primarily with zinc in ZS and not with tin
Corporate social responsibility disclosure and Shari'ah supervisory board : a case study of Islamic banks in GCC region
No full textThe awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been observed among firms since last few decades. The existing literature related to Islamic finance has emphasised nature and level of CSR disclosure, rather than examining the elements that may impact the level of such CSR disclosure. Based on such understanding, this study aims to examine the level of the CSR disclosure as well as measure the impact of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board (SSB) on level of the CSR disclosure of Islamic banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In order to test the research hypotheses and answer the research questions, this study uses the data gathered from the annual reports of the sampled GCC Islamic banks covering the period between 2006 and 2016. Accordingly, this study applied the content analysis method to analyse the data from twenty-eight Islamic banks. Furthermore, this study uses OLS multiple regression with fixed effect model to examine the effect of SSB on the level of CSR disclosure in the case of the sampled GCC Islamic banks.The research findings reported that the examined Islamic banks in the GCC region scored relatively a low level of CSR disclosure at a value of 0.53. Furthermore, the fixed effect regression model shows that SSB has a significant and positive relationship on the level of CSR disclosure in the case of the examined Islamic banks. Having achieved such results, it can be stated that when Islamic banks pay more attention to their SSB, they will disclose a greater level of information related to their CSR activities in their annual reports.Furthermore, to have a comprehensive understanding, this study examined the effect of SSB on the individual dimensions of the CSR, where statistically significant relationship is achieved by fixed effect regression analysis of the examined data throughout the sample period in the case of the GCC Islamic banks
Strive Award - Ada Chatbot - Supporting transitions from Bolton College to the University of Bolton through the use of ADA
No full textHigh performance work system (HPWS) and employee performance:Evidence from the Multinational subsidiaries in Bangladesh
No full textDespite the growing body of research examining the impact of high-performance work system (HPWS) and organisational performance, it is still unclear how HPWS practices result in desirable individual level employee performance, especially in the South Asian context.Therefore, the purpose of this research is to fill the existing gap by empirically examining the relationship between high performance work system (HPWS) and employees’ performance, exploring the mediating role of employees’ attitudes and the moderating role of institutional context in a high-tech multinational corporation’s multinational corporations (MNCs) in Bangladesh. The study developed a conceptual model based on the knowledge gap in the existing literature.The study has adopted a mixed method research approach to answer the research question, where a quantitative phase was followed by a qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase of the study, the conceptual model is tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with the help of the IBM SPSS software version 21. The survey was comprised of 320 employee-level data sets from three selected telecom organisations operating in Bangladesh. The qualitative phase of the study was used to verify quantitative findings and provide insights that were difficult to gain by surveys alone. The qualitative phase of the research examines the manager’s perception of HPWS in the studied organisation based on a sample size of 9 semistructured interviews. The interview data were analysed through thematic analysis.Consistent with the ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO) theory, the findings support that utilization of HPWS is related to enhanced levels of employee attitudes such as job satisfaction, affective commitment and trust in management. Furthermore, these attitudinal variables were positively linked to enhanced employees’ performance. The study also provides insights by demonstrating that the institutional contexts of a country negatively moderate the relationship between HPWS and employees’ performance. The findings suggest that high tech telecom organisations operating in Bangladesh need to devote substantial resources to adapt HPWS to enhance employees’ positive attitudes, which in turn will positively impact employees’ performance. Equal importance should be given to the institutional context of a country while executing HPWS because such processes encourage fair procedures and result in positive employees’ performance
Developing a new stock scoring model for Shariah-compliant investment
No full textThis study aims to develop a new stock scoring model, !_#%&' model. Second, the model improves its statistical significance when the financial indicators are progressively added into the equation. Importantly, the !_#%&' model since it responds well to every stock market cycle and to diverse investment horizons. Fourth, the !_#%&' model employs active investment strategies i.e. long-only and long-short and has further improved when the restriction is relaxed by allowing short selling.On another note, this study has contributed in several ways. On theoretical side; in contrast to efficient market hypothesis theory, the !_#%&' model captures most of the financial information and helps process recent information better. When applied to various portfolio strategies, the !_#%&' model does not discriminate stock specific characteristics like the company size, value or growth orientation, liquidity, stock price and leverage position. On methodological side; unlike many other models, using momentum of multiple financial indicators on !_#%&' model does not require long historical data to produce robust results. In addition, the model is flexible to handle missing values and can withstand the outliers. Accordingly, this study discovers that the !_#$%&' model can assist those investing in Shariah-compliant stocks to make informed investment decisions by using the model as an alternative investment analysis tool to forecast stock price returns, to determine market timing and to construct profitable stock portfolio returns
Inequalities: a concern for capitalism and global strategy
No full textThis chapter explores the concern of inequalities in human history and throughout the globe. It aims to be a holistic perspective upon the inequality phenomenon with its multi-faceted aspects. The authors analyze capitalism and its main inequalities and question the origin of inequalities, their determinants, and their evolution across the history and nations. Within this context, the authors raise awareness of gender inequality as a component of the inequality concept. The authors undertook a systematic and unsystematic literature review to investigate the concept of inequality with its aspects and the role of capitalism in creating and supporting inequalities. An in-depth analysis was conducted by authors on both inequality and strategy in order to highlight gaps in the knowledge and to indicate trends for further research. Across the centuries there was a range of inequalities within the countries and between different countries, as well as between social categories, between men and women, between rich and poor