5358 research outputs found
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IFIP advances in information and communication technology
No full textPurpose: The present paper addresses the problem of the information systems (IS) identity, in particular it makes an attempt to identify the intellectual causes that hinder the research about the core of IS and suggests how to remove them. Design/methodology/approach: Authors who argue on the cultural core of IS sometimes relate this argument to the 'reference disciplines' of IS such as economics and sociology. Authors rarely examine what happens in parallel domains of knowledge usually labeled as 'cognate disciplines' of IS. We fixed to extend inquiries on the close domains, in particular we have analyzed the literature of artificial intelligence, information retrieval, medical informatics, digital humanities and software engineering. Findings: Bibliographical evidence shows how these disciplines struggle with the 'identity crisis' as IS do; more precisely thinkers share non-trivial difficulties when they argue about broad topics connected to the information technology such as the possibilities and limits of computer systems, the transfer and diffusion of technology etc. Research implications: We recall how normally philosophy and science progress side to side and cooperate. Instead, the modern literature shows how computer science illustrates all the technical details but does not provide effective explanations to philosophers of post-computation disciplines. Several narrow theories underpin computer systems that prove to be futile to thinkers who address broad arguments. An apparent cause-effect relationship emerges between the fragmentary notions of computer science and the current 'identity crisis' of IS and cognate disciplines. Originality/value: This study leads to a ground-breaking conclusion. In the first stage, the solution to the identity problem should not be searched inside IS but outside. Secondly as soon as possible noteworthy efforts should be made in order to improve the theoretical basis of informatics. More precisely computing theorists should develop a unified cultural frame or, at least, should make significant progress toward this direction.25 June 201
Asset allocation with nonnegative weights and lognormal portfolio returns
No full textThe stage of strategic asset allocationisthe most important one in a process of portfolio management. Asset classes are to be selected and percent target weights are to be set. Careful decision-making benefits from the computation of an efficient frontier. In this work, a single investment is considered with all coupons and dividends being reinvested. Percent weights are supposed to be nonnegative and subject to annual rebalancing. Portfolio returns are assumed to be time uncorrelated and lognormal. Linear quadratic optimization is complemented with a lognormal mapping, resulting in a rigorous procedure, where by efficient portfolios based on linear returns may turn into efficient portfolios based on logarithmic returns. Two data sets are used by way of illustration under the tentative yet usual assumption that forecast moments are the same as historical moments. The former data set includes the annual total returns of three US asset classes for the years 1872-2012. The latter includes the annual total returns offour equity or equity-like asset classes for the years 1972-2017. The efficient frontier based on logarithmic returns is upward sloping in both instances, stretching from a portfolio with global minimum-variance to a portfolio with global maximum-variance. Nonetheless, if short selling and hence negative weights were allowed, the efficient frontier based on logarithmic returns wouldn't be upward sloping in the latter instance. The null hypothesis of lognormal returns is tested. It is always rejected in the latter data set; it is either provisionally accepted or rejected in the former data set, depending on the specific efficient portfolio. An interpretation of the statistical evidence is provided.4 July 201
Studying the influence of economic sectors on stocks through a partial dependence analysis
No full textUnderstanding the complex nature of financial markets is still a great challenge. In particular, a challenge is to understand the underlying mechanisms of influence that operate in financial markets. A method is discussed to estimate how a company is influenced by an economic sectors after identifying the partial dependence structure of each asset with the assets of the sector excluding the influence of the market. An effective way used to capture the dependence structure of a multivariate time-series is the copula function. However the variety of copula functions and ease of estimation dramatically reduce when the dimension of the multivariate time-series increases. On the other hand, bivariate copula functions are popular and effective in capturing the dependence structure of a 2-dimensional continuous random vector. A simple strategy to continue to use bivariate copula functions for modelling multivariate time-series is the recourse to the vine copulas. The procedure provides a picture of the relative influence of the economic sectors on each stock in terms of Kendall’s t and tail dependence.14-16 December 201
Big data analytics for forecasting tourists' arrivals: the Lombardy case
No full textInternet searches and query data have become favorable sources for better forecasts of tourist volumes (Pan et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2015): search engines are used to plan routes, search for hotels, attractions, travel guides and reviews (Fesenmaier et al., 2011). Thanks to "hybrid models", i.e. the fusion of classical econometric methodologies and machine learning (Makridakis et al., 2018), it is possible to exploit such "big data" to obtain a forecasting performance superior to that of standard models (Li et al., 2017). By proposing an innovative modelling framework, we develop a hybrid model for the Lombardy tourism market, to verify the reliability of the ambitious target of becoming one of the most visited regions in Europe. We find mixed results for the Lombardy provinces, calling for a more refined and micro-founded tourism planning strategy. Furthermore, our framework is easily extendable with other countries and/or research areas, thus providing a valuable tool for assessing such issues.4 July 201
Organisational value statements: a web-based analysis of the 100 best US companies to work for 2017
No full textDespite the widespread recognition of its importance, very little empirical research has been conducted on values statements. Yet, confusion still exists regarding what it is and what are the characteristics of a powerful values statement. The purpose of this study is 1) to examine the most recent robust and practical researches related to values statement 2) to establish the extent to which the ‘100 Best US Companies to Work For 2017’use their website to communicate their values statement and 3) to analyse if any correlation exists between values and industry sectors. Moreover the paper helps to identify which are the key characteristics of a powerful values statement and concludes with several propositions to guide future research
Employability skills for future marketing professionals
No full textThis study investigates how digital transformation has disrupted the marketing career path by analysing the most in-demand marketing skills and identifying opportunities for future marketing professionals. Through a content analysis of job advertisements and a cross-country survey of marketing professionals, the study proposes a framework defining the skillset required of marketing professionals to start and move forward in their career. The study identifies five employability skill categories and 29 skills and capabilities. The relevance of such categories is also analysed across lowly and highly digitalised firms. This research contributes to the debate on the employability of new graduates and provides useful directions to universities, tertiary education institutions, and companies to support the marketing talents of the future
Le sfide attuali del Servizio Sanitario Nazionale
No full textLa difficile situazione economico-finanziaria in cui versa il nostro SSN è nota: la spesa sanitaria pubblica negli ultimi 15 anni ha subito una progressiva riduzione. Vediamo come le aziende possano e debbano rivedere l’organizzazione interna delle attività sanitaria affinché in questo contesto di contenimento della spesa il paziente non rischi di subire la riduzione del numero di prestazioni essenziali di assistenza.The difficult economic-financial situation that affects our National Health Service is known: the public health spending has been progressively reduced in the last 15 years. We are analysing how agencies can and must review the internal organization of health care activities so that, in this context of spending reduction, patients do not risk of suffering from the decrease of the number of essential care services
The effect of monetary incentives on individual and organizational performance in an Italian public institution
No full textThis paper addresses the role of monetary incentives with regard to the performance of employees and organizations. The distribution of monetary incentives among employees in public administration has been investigated. Specifically, the traditional approach of bureaucracy that pays a premium to each employee, based on the position held, is compared with a merit approach which tends to recognize and reward individual contributions. A task advice centrality indicator and a value index have been defined and used to study the performance of employees. The results show a modification of individual behaviors, in line with the theoretical foundations and predictions formulated