An OCR free word spotting method is developed and evaluated under a strong experimental protocol. Different feature sets are evaluated under the same experimental conditions. In addition, a tuning process in the document segmentation step is proposed which provides a significant reduction in terms of processing time. For this purpose, a complete OCR-free method for word spotting in printed documents was implemented, and a document database containing document images and their corresponding ground truth text files was created. A strong experimental protocol based on 800 document images allows us to compare the results of the three feature sets used to represent the word image.

Recently, IEEE 802.16 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX for short) has provided us with low-cost, high efficiency and high bandwidth network services. However, as with the WiFi, the radio wave transmission also makes the WiMAX face the wireless transmission security problem. To solve this problem, the IEEE802.16Std during its development stage defines the Privacy Key Management (PKM for short) authentication process which offers a one-way authentication. However, using a one-way authentication, an SS may connect to a fake BS. Mutual authentication, like that developed for PKMv2, can avoid this problem. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an authentication key management approach, called Diffie-Hellman-PKDS-based authentication method (DiHam for short), which employs a secret door asymmetric one-way function, Public Key Distribution System (PKDS for short), to improve current security level of facility authentication between WiMAX's BS and SS. We further integrate the PKMv1 and the DiHam into a system, called PKM-DiHam (P-DiHam for short), in which the PKMv1 acts as the authentication process, and the DiHam is responsible for key management and delivery. By transmitting securely protected and well-defined parameters for SS and BS, the two stations can mutually authenticate each other. Messages including those conveying user data and authentication parameters can be then more securely delivered.

Patient information in health care systems mostly consists of textual data, and free text in particular makes up a significant amount of it. Information retrieval systems that concentrate on these text types have to deal with the different challenges these medical free texts pose to achieve an acceptable performance. This paper describes the evaluation of four different types of information retrieval strategies: keyword search, search performed by a medical domain expert, a semantic based information retrieval tool, and a purely statistical information retrieval method. The different methods are evaluated and compared with respect to its appliance in medical health care systems.

This paper presents a sequential edge swap (SQES) mechanism to design a robust network for a healthcare system utilising energy and communication range of nodes. Two operations: sequential degree difference operation (SQDDO) and sequential angle sum operation (SQASO) are performed to enhance the robustness of network. With equivalent degrees of nodes from the network's centre to its periphery, these operations build a robust network structure. Disaster attacks that have a substantial impact on the network are carried out using the network information. To identify a link between the malicious and disaster attacks, the Pearson coefficient is employed. SQES creates a robust network structure as a single objective optimisation solution by changing the connections of nodes based on the positive correlation of these attacks. SQES beats the current methods, according to simulation results. When compared to hill-climbing algorithm, simulated annealing, and ROSE, respectively, the robustness of SQES is improved by roughly 26%, 19% and 12%.

1. ‘Been a long time since I felt that way’: Sexually transmitted infection numbers provide new hope  POLITICO
2. There are millions of sexually transmitted infections in the US every year, but new data shows the epidemic may be slowing  CNN
3. America's STD explosion laid bare and the shocking number of people catching one every minute  Daily Mail
4. At Long Last, the Surge in S.T.I.s May Be Leveling Off  The New York Times

1. Last supermoon of 2024 to shine over Central Alberta this week  Central Alberta Online
2. 4 of 4: Last supermoon of the year to light up Canadian skies  Global News Toronto
3. Beaver Moon 2024: See the final 'supermoon' of the year rise next to the 'Seven Sisters'  Livescience.com
4. See 2024’s Final ‘Supermoon’ And ‘Fireballs’: The Night Sky This Week  Forbes
5. How and when to catch the last supermoon of 2024  National Post

Alien-like signal from 2023 has been decoded. The next step is to figure out what it means  CNN

1. British writer Samantha Harvey wins Booker Prize for space novel Orbital  Al Jazeera English
2. Samantha Harvey’s ‘beautiful and ambitious’ Orbital wins Booker prize  The Guardian
3. Samantha Harvey wins the Booker prize for “Orbital”  The Economist
4. British writer Samantha Harvey’s space-station novel ‘Orbital’ wins 2024 Booker Prize  CNN
5. Booker Prize Is Awarded to Samantha Harvey’s ‘Orbital’  The New York Times

1. Why is Trump’s election as US president prompting a Bitcoin surge?  Al Jazeera English
2. Why crypto mania is reaching new heights  The Economist
3. Cryptocurrency traders: share what got you into crypto, and how you feel about recent developments  The Guardian
4. Bitcoin Continues Its Ascent To $100,000 Amid Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, BNB, XRP, Avalanche Rebound  Forbes
5. What to know about bitcoin’s post-election rally  BNN Bloomberg

1. Justin Welby resigns as archbishop of Canterbury over abuse scandal  Al Jazeera English
2. Church of England head resigns over handling of sex abuse scandal  CTV News
3. The four bishops at risk from child abuse cover-up report  The Telegraph
4. The archbishop and the abuser  The Economist
5. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns in abuse fallout: All to know  Al Jazeera English

1. Niagara Health offering free parking after delays reported  News Talk 610 CKTB
2. Implementation of new Niagara Health patient info system resulting in long wait times  St. Catharines Standard
3. Temporary delays impacting registration at emergency departments  Thorold News
4. Niagara Health Working Through Delays  101.1 More FM
5. Niagara Health experiencing temporary delays impacting registration and EDs  Niagara Health

1. Food bank usage in Toronto is higher than its ever been, says new report  CP24
2. More than 1 in 10 Torontonians now rely on food banks, 2024 saw highest number of visits ever recorded: report  NOW Toronto
3. 4 in 5 newcomers to Canada relying on food banks, Toronto report finds  National Post
4. One in 10 Toronto residents now relies on food banks: Report  Toronto Sun
5. Food bank use in Toronto breaks records — again  CBC.ca

1. Teenager in critical condition with Canada’s first human case of bird flu  The Guardian
2. B.C. teen with avian flu is in critical condition, provincial health officer says  CBC News
3. What do you do when a goose dies in your backyard, amid concerns about avian flu?  CityNews Kitchener
4. B.C. teen with Canada's first human case of avian flu in critical condition, Dr. Bonnie Henry says  CTV News Vancouver
5. B.C. teen diagnosed with bird flu in critical condition, with source of virus likely to remain unknown  The Globe and Mail

La Bourse de New York a conclu en hausse lundi, tirée par la technologie, à l'entame d'une semaine chargée en résultats d'entreprises où les investisseurs semblent enclins à davantage d'optimisme.

L'indice Dow Jones a avancé de 0,76% à 33,629,56 points, le Nasdaq, à dominante technologique, a grimpé de 2,01% à 11.364,41 points et l'indice élargi S&P 500 a pris 1,19%, repassant au-dessus des 4.000 points, à 4.019,81 points.

"Les marchés se focalisent sur les résultats d'entreprises et même si jusqu'ici ils sont, à mon avis, un peu décevants, les actions se comportent bien", a noté Hugh Johnson, de la firme de conseil économique Hugh Johnson Economics, soulignant les meilleures performances des secteurs de la technologie et des dépenses facultatives.

Pas moins de 11 sociétés membres de l'indice Dow Jones, soit un tiers d'entre elles, vont publier cette semaine leurs résultats trimestriels et souvent annuels.

Dès mardi sont attendus notamment Johnson and Johnson, 3M, General Electric et Microsoft. Mercredi, les investisseurs guetteront Boeing et Tesla.

Mais, selon M. Johnson, c'est surtout l'attitude à venir de la banque centrale américaine (Réserve fédérale ou Fed) qui motivait l'humeur du marché. Les investisseurs "penchent vers l'idée que la Fed va lever le pied sur les hausses des taux d'intérêt, ce qui est synonyme de meilleurs temps économiques, de meilleurs résultats d'entreprises et de meilleurs cours des actions", a-t-il résumé.

La Fed, qui réunit son Comité monétaire la semaine prochaine, se dirige, à en croire plusieurs de ses membres, vers un relèvement moindre des taux d'un quart de point de pourcentage, contre un demi-point en décembre.

"La grande attente désormais, pour la Réserve fédérale, est qu'elle relève ses taux de seulement un quart de point de pourcentage en février mais aussi en mars", a commenté M. Johnson.

"De plus, d'après l'évolution des produits à terme basés sur les fonds fédéraux, les investisseurs commencent à penser que la Fed va envisager une baisse des taux au dernier trimestre 2023", a-t-il assuré.

Selon lui, le marché penche donc "légèrement vers l'optimisme et cela se voit dans la performance des actions".

Du côté des valeurs, Salesforce a été recherchée (+3,09%), après l'annonce d'une forte augmentation de la participation dans le groupe informatique du fonds d'investissement activiste Elliott Management.

Elliott dispose désormais d'une participation de "plusieurs milliards de dollars" au capital du groupe de logiciels, a-t-on précisé de source proche, ce qui représenterait un investissement majeur en comparaison de sa participation jusqu'ici.

Spotify, le numéro un mondial des plateformes audio, groupe suédois coté à Wall Street, a gagné 2,08% à 99,95 dollars après avoir annoncé la suppression de 600 emplois, soit 6% de ses effectifs, dernier épisode d'une série de grands licenciements chez les géants du Net pour réduire leurs coûts.

Le titre du site de ventes en ligne d'ameublement Wayfair s'est envolé de 26,86% à 59,36 dollars, après que sa décision de réduire ses coûts et ses effectifs a entraîné la publication d'une note favorable de la part d'analystes bancaires.

Le groupe, très prospère aux Etats-Unis pendant la pandémie, avait annoncé vendredi qu'il allait se défaire de 10% de son personnel, soit 1.750 emplois. L'action avait déjà gagné 20% dans la foulée de cette annonce.

Les investisseurs ont modestement réagi à l'annonce d'un élargissement d'un partenariat entre Microsoft et le spécialiste de l'intelligence artificielle OpenAI, créateur du robot conversationnel ChatGPT, moyennant un investissement de "plusieurs milliards de dollars". L'action Microsoft a avancé de 0,98% à 242,58 dollars.

Tesla a gagné 7,74% à 143,75 dollars, dans l'attente de ses résultats mercredi et alors que son patron Elon Musk est revenu lundi à la barre à San Francisco au procès où il est accusé de fraude par des investisseurs pour avoir tweeté il y a plus de quatre ans qu'il comptait sortir le constructeur automobile de la Bourse.

Le fabricant de semi-conducteurs AMD a bondi de presque 9,22% grâce à une bonne note d'analystes bancaires.

Sur le marché obligataire, les rendements sur les bons du Trésor à dix ans se tendaient légèrement à 3,52% contre 3,47% vendredi.

Elon Musk a tenté de montrer lundi au tribunal que ses fameux tweets de 2018, sur sa volonté de sortir Tesla de la Bourse, n'avaient rien de trompeurs ou de frauduleux, contrairement aux accusations d'investisseurs qui disent avoir perdu des millions de dollars à cause du milliardaire.

Le patron de Tesla -- et de Twitter, depuis fin octobre -- a assuré qu'il n'avait "jamais" cherché à tromper les investisseurs, et que l'accusation de fraude était "scandaleuse".

Il avait créé la stupeur le 7 août 2018 en affirmant qu'il voulait retirer son groupe automobile de la Bourse au prix de 420 dollars par action, puis en assurant que le financement était "sécurisé".

"Je ne disais pas que c'était fait, je disais simplement que je l'envisageais, que j'y pensais. Et qu'à mon avis le financement était sécurisé", a déclaré Elon Musk à la barre, dans le tribunal de San Francisco où a lieu le procès.

La semaine dernière, le principal avocat des plaignants, Nicholas Porritt, avait accusé le dirigeant d'avoir "menti" et d'être responsable des pertes des investisseurs.

Le titre avait bondi dans la foulée des tweets très inhabituels (et le Nasdaq avait temporairement suspendu le cours de l'action Tesla), avant de décliner les jours suivants. Des articles de presse avaient fini par révéler que le patron n'avait pas vraiment les fonds.

Tesla était restée cotée en Bourse.

A travers ses questions, Nicholas Porritt a cherché à montrer qu'Elon Musk n'avait pas réalisé les consultations appropriées, et ne disposait pas ni des éléments nécessaires, ni de l'autorité pour faire une annonce aussi fracassante, surtout sur Twitter, et surtout pendant que les marchés étaient ouverts.

- "M. Tweet" -

L'avocat a mis en avant des échanges acerbes le 12 août 2018 entre le milliardaire et Yasir Al-Rumayyan, le directeur du fonds souverain saoudien, qui s'était engagé "catégoriquement" et "sans hésitation" à financer l'opération, selon Elon Musk.

"Le financement n'était pas vraiment sécurisé, n'est-ce pas?", a demandé M Porritt.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan a fait du "rétropédalage", a rétorqué le patron de Tesla.

Il a assuré qu'il avait de toute façon la possibilité de vendre ses actions de son autre fleuron, SpaceX, "l'entreprise non cotée la plus valorisée des Etats-Unis".

"Cela m'aurait brisé le cœur (de les vendre), mais je l'aurais fait si besoin", a-t-il déclaré, évoquant comment il avait dû se séparer d'actions de Tesla pour racheter Twitter l'année dernière.

Costume sombre, chemise blanche et cravate, il est apparu hésitant, ne se souvenant pas de nombreux emails et détails, et répondant souvent à côté des questions pour répéter à l'envie les messages qu'il voulait faire passer au jury.

Au point de faire perdre patience à l'avocat des investisseurs. "Nous avons passé toute une journée ensemble à Austin, vous vous en souvenez M. Tweet?!", a lancé Nicholas Porritt, avant de corriger pour "M. Musk".

- "Karma" -

L'accusation est aussi revenue sur le prix proposé par Elon Musk, 420 dollars par action. Aux Etats-Unis, les chiffres 4 et 20 accolés sont associés à la consommation de cannabis. Quand le milliardaire a proposé de racheter Twitter au printemps dernier, il a choisi un prix de 54,20 dollars par action.

"Avez-vous arrondi à 420 en guise de blague à l'attention de votre petite amie?", a demandé Nicholas Porritt.

"Ce n'était pas une blague, cela représentait une prime de 20% au-dessus du prix de l'action", a répondu Elon Musk, reconnaissant cependant qu'il y a "un certain karma autour de 420".

"Pas sûr que ce soit un bon ou un mauvais karma à ce stade", a-t-il encore plaisanté.

Son avocat Alex Spiro l'a ensuite aidé à dresser le portrait d'un immigré parti de rien, venu aux Etats-Unis - "là où les grandes choses sont possibles" - après une enfance "malheureuse" en Afrique du Sud, selon les mots du milliardaire.

"On m'a traité de fou à de nombreuses reprises", a déclaré Elon Musk après avoir énuméré les entreprises qu'il a cofondées.

Mais "à ce stade je crois que j'ai levé plus d'argent que quiconque dans l'histoire", s'est-il vanté, attribuant sa réussite à son "honnêteté" à l'égard des investisseurs.

Le procès doit durer trois semaines. Dans une précédente décision liée à cette affaire, un juge avait estimé que le fameux tweet de 2018 pouvait être considéré comme "faux et trompeur".

Le gendarme boursier américain, la SEC, avait de son côté obligé Elon Musk à céder la présidence du conseil d'administration, à payer une amende et à faire pré-approuver par un juriste ses tweets directement liés à l'activité de Tesla.

(Belga) Quatre membres de la milice d'extrême droite "Oath Keepers" ont été reconnus coupables lundi de sédition pour leur rôle dans l'assaut du Capitole, à l'issue du second procès organisé sur ce chef d'accusation extrêmement rare.

Depuis l'attaque du 6 janvier 2021, plus de 950 partisans de l'ex-président républicain Donald Trump ont été arrêtés et inculpés pour avoir semé le chaos dans le siège de la démocratie américaine. Parmi eux, seuls 14 militants de groupuscules d'extrême droite - neuf membres des "Oath Keepers" et cinq "Proud Boys" - ont été accusés de "sédition", un chef passible de 20 ans de prison qui implique d'avoir planifié l'usage de la force pour s'opposer au gouvernement. Faute de place suffisante dans le tribunal fédéral de Washington, la justice a organisé le procès des Oath Keepers, accusés de s'être entraînés et armés pour l'occasion, en deux temps. Un premier procès s'est conclu fin novembre par un verdict mitigé: le fondateur de cette milice, Stewart Rhodes, et un responsable local ont été déclarés coupables de sédition, mais leurs trois co-accusés ont été acquittés sur ce chef. Lundi, à l'issue du second procès, les jurés ont jugé coupables les quatre derniers Oath Keepers, des hommes âgés de 38 à 64 ans décrits comme de dangereux "traîtres" par l'accusation, mais comme des "fanfarons" par leurs avocats. Le procès des Proud Boys, dont leur leader Enrique Tarrio, s'est ouvert en décembre et était toujours en cours lundi, dans le même tribunal. (Belga)

In this paper, a second-order sliding mode adaptive controller with finite time stability is proposed for trajectory tracking of robotic systems. In order to reduce the chattering phenomenon in the response of the variable structure resistant controller, two dependent sliding surfaces are used. In the outer loop, a kinematic controller is used to compensate the geometric uncertainty of the robot, and in the inner loop, the proposed resistive control is used as the main loop. On the other hand, considering the dynamic uncertainty and disturbance of the robot, an adaptive strategy has been used to estimate the uncertainty limit during the control process in order to eliminate the need for basic knowledge to determine the uncertainty limit in the resistant structure. The proposed control method demonstrates significant enhancements in performance, with the linear velocity error improving by approximately 80%, leading to a more accurate and responsive system.

The confluence of the internet of things (IoT) with smart grids has ushered in a paradigm shift in energy management, promising unparalleled efficiency, economic robustness and unwavering reliability. However, this integrative evolution has concurrently amplified the grid's susceptibility to cyber intrusions, casting shadows on its foundational security and structural integrity. Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) emerge as beacons in this landscape, offering robust methodologies to navigate the intricate cybersecurity labyrinth of IoT-infused smart grids. While ML excels at sifting through voluminous data to identify and classify looming threats, DL delves deeper, crafting sophisticated models equipped to counteract avant-garde cyber offensives. Both of these techniques are united in their objective of leveraging intricate data patterns to provide real-time, actionable security intelligence. Yet, despite the revolutionary potential of ML and DL, the battle against the ceaselessly morphing cyber threat landscape is relentless. The pursuit of an impervious smart grid continues to be a collective odyssey. In this review, we embark on a scholarly exploration of ML and DL's indispensable contributions to enhancing cybersecurity in IoT-centric smart grids. We meticulously dissect predominant cyber threats, critically assess extant security paradigms, and spotlight research frontiers yearning for deeper inquiry and innovation.

Screen-shooting will lead to information leakage. Anti-screen-shooting watermark, which can track the leaking sources and protect the copyrights of images, plays an important role in image information security. Due to the randomness of shooting distance and angle, more robust watermark algorithms are needed to resist the mixed attack generated by screen-shooting. A robust digital watermarking algorithm that is resistant to screen-shooting is proposed in this paper. We use improved Harris-Laplace algorithm to detect the image feature points and embed the watermark into the feature domain. In this paper, all test images are selected on the dataset USC-SIPI and six related common algorithms are used for performance comparison. The experimental results show that within a certain range of shooting distance and angle, this algorithm presented can not only extract the watermark effectively but also ensure the most basic invisibility of watermark. Therefore, the algorithm has good robustness for anti-screen-shooting.

Although artificial intelligence provides a new method to gather, process, analyse data, generate insights, and offer customised solutions, such methods could change how marketers deal with customers, and there is a lack of literature to portray the application of artificial intelligence in marketing. This study aims to recognise and portray the use of artificial intelligence from a marketing standpoint, as well as to provide a conceptual framework for the application of artificial intelligence in marketing. This study uses a systematic literature review analysis as a research method to achieve the aims. Data from 142 articles were extracted from the Scopus database using relevant search terms for artificial intelligence and marketing. The systematic review identified significant usage of artificial intelligence in conversational artificial intelligence, content creation, audience segmentation, predictive analytics, personalisation, paid ads, sales forecasting, dynamic pricing, and recommendation engines and the bibliometric analysis produced the trend in co-authorship, citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-citation analysis. Practitioners and academics may use this study to decide on the marketing area in which artificial intelligence can be invested and used.

This study investigates the effects of social media marketing efforts (SMME) on smartphone brand identification, attachment, association, and willingness to pay premium prices. A survey of 320 smartphone users who followed official social media handles managed by smartphone companies was conducted for this purpose. PLS-SEM was used to analyse the collected data. The findings demonstrated importance of SMME dimensions. According to the study's findings, the smartphone brand's SMMEs had significant impact on brand identification, brand association, and brand attachment. The results revealed that SMMEs had significant impact on willingness to pay the premium price. The findings also show that brand identification, attachment, and association mediated the relationship between SMMEs and willingness to pay a premium price. The findings of this study will be useful in developing social media marketing strategies for smartphones. This study demonstrates the use of social media marketing to promote mobile phones, particularly in emerging markets.

TCP BBR is one of the most powerful congestion control algorithms. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of BBR analysis, expanding on existing knowledge across various fronts. Utilising ns3 simulations, we evaluate BBR's performance under diverse conditions, generating graphical representations. Our findings reveal flaws in the probe's RTT phase duration estimation and unequal bandwidth sharing between BBR and CUBIC protocols. Specifically, we demonstrated that the probe's RTT phase duration estimation algorithm is flawed and that BBR and CUBIC generally do not share bandwidth equally. Towards the end of the article, we propose a new improved version of TCP BBR which minimises these problems of inequity in bandwidth sharing and corrects the inaccuracies of the two key parameters RTprop and cwnd. Consequently, the BBR' protocol maintains very good fairness with the Cubic protocol, with an index that is almost equal to 0.98, and an equity index over 0.95.

Aiming at the problem of aggravation of traffic congestion caused by unstable signal control of traffic signal control system, the Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient-based Traffic Cyclic Signal (MADDPG-TCS) control algorithm is used to control the time and data dimensions of the signal control scheme. The results show that the maximum vehicle delay time and vehicle queue length of the proposed algorithm are 11.33 s and 27.18 m, which are lower than those of the traditional control methods. Therefore, this method can effectively reduce the delay of traffic signal control and improve the stability of signal control.

Food quality is defined as a collection of properties that differentiate each unit and influences acceptability degree of food by users or consumers. Owing to the nature of food, food quality prediction is highly significant after specific periods of storage or before use by consumers. However, the accuracy is the major problem in the existing methods. Hence, this paper presents a BEFA_DRNN approach for accurate food quality prediction using dairy products. Firstly, input data is fed to data normalisation phase, which is performed by min-max normalisation. Thereafter, normalised data is given to feature fusion phase that is conducted employing DNN with Canberra distance. Then, fused data is subjected to data augmentation stage, which is carried out utilising oversampling technique. Finally, food quality prediction is done wherein milk is graded employing DRNN. The training of DRNN is executed by proposed BEFA that is a combination of BES and FA. Additionally, BEFA_DRNN obtained maximum accuracy, TPR and TNR values of 93.6%, 92.5% and 90.7%.

Based on a survey of 2548 American adults conducted by Pew Research Center in 2021, this study finds that trust in the accuracy of news circulated on X (former Twitter) is positively correlated with following news sites on X, underscoring the crucial role of trust in news accuracy in shaping news-seeking behaviour. Trust in news accuracy also positively relates to political participation via X. Those who trust in news accuracy are more likely to perceive X as an effective tool for raising public awareness about political and social issues, as well as a positive force for democracy. However, exposure to misinformation weakens the connection between trust in news accuracy and users' perception about X as an effective tool for raising public awareness about political or social issues and as a positive driver for democracy.

This empirical study investigates the mediating role of two components of psychological capital (PsyCap), namely self-efficacy and optimism, in the context of the relationship between transformational leadership (TL), work engagement (WE), and innovative work behaviour (IWB). The study was conducted among IT professionals with a minimum of three years of experience employed in Chennai, India. Data collection was executed using a Google Form, and both measurement and structural models were examined using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0. The findings of this study reveal several significant relationships. Firstly, transformational leadership (TL) demonstrates a robust positive association with work engagement (WE). Furthermore, work engagement (WE) positively correlates substantially with innovative work behaviour (IWB). Notably, the study underscores that two crucial components of psychological capital, specifically self-efficacy and optimism, mediate the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) and work engagement (WE). These findings carry valuable implications for IT company managers. Recognising that transformational leadership positively influences both work engagement and employees' innovative work behaviour highlights the pivotal role of leaders in fostering a productive and innovative work environment within IT organisations.

The study investigated the influence of ebullient supervision on employee commitment in a Ghanaian public university through the mediating role of employee engagement. The simple random sampling technique was used to draw 302 administrative staff of the university to respond to the self-administered questionnaire on the constructs. Furthermore, the partial least square structural equation technique was deployed to test the research hypotheses in the study. The results showed that ebullient supervision had a significant positive relationship with employee commitment and employee engagement. The findings further revealed that employee engagement positively correlated with employee commitment. Finally, the study's findings established that employee engagement partially mediated the link between ebullient supervision and employee commitment. The study emphasised that various supervisors in a university's administration should create an environment that favours fun where subordinates can form ties with one another.

This paper examines the growing aspect of perceive organisational politics (POPs) in organisations by understanding their employee engagement with mediating effect of emotional intelligence. This study is cross-sectional, wherein a survey is conducted on executives of different sectors holding strategic positions. The purposive sampling technique is applied to find the 117 most suitable executives for this survey. The survey is self-administered, and a questionnaire is used as an instrument with 43 measurement scale items adopted from previous similar studies. Construct's reliability and validity followed by PLS-SEM is performed using JASP statistical application. The result revealed that the dimensionality support and validation of POP based on a new set of measures centred on generalised beliefs of the application and abuse of power, infrastructure, credibility, choice making, and line-of-sight. In line with previous findings, the current findings also showed that POP works as a barrier to individual behavioural demand and can negatively affect work efficiency. Existence of perceive organisational politics due to the normative belief of the situation happing in the organisation, disengagement of employees, and also evaluates new empirical insight into the organisation by mediating emotional intelligence.

Drawn from technology acceptance model, this study establishes a theoretical framework for the analytical interpretation of factors affecting job-seekers intention to use e-recruitment websites. Using the data obtained from 379 respondents in India, ten hypotheses derived from the experimental model are evaluated using a structural equation modelling technique. Vividness, perceived usefulness (PU), and attitude have been shown to have a significant positive impact on the behavioural intentions (BIs) of job-seekers, although perceived ease of use (PEOU) did not. Furthermore, perceived internet stress (PIS) is observed to be a significant antecedent PEOU; and PEOU is of PU. Such findings broaden our knowledge of e-recruiting in various ways and offer qualitative insights into the potential impact of website functionality on the attractiveness of job-seekers.

The notion of creative slack purposefully refers to the notion of organisational slack proposed by Penrose (1959), who suggested that managers in organisations always have some stock of unused resources that inevitably accumulate when developing projects and are the primary factors determining the growth and innovation of the firm. In this contribution, we aim at adding a new dimension to the notion of organisational slack. Our view is that in many innovative organisations the slack of unused ideas is essentially a creative one, which is accumulated in diverse communities through multiple projects. This creative slack is a key intangible asset and a source of knowledge creation and innovation. To explain how organisations may benefit from exploiting the creative slack accumulated by communities, we rely on the analysis of two case studies, that of the Hydro-Québec Research Institute (IREQ), and of Ubisoft Montreal.

This article explores dual affiliated graduate students that conduct research involving both universities and firms, which we conceptualise as a form of academic engagement, e.g., knowledge networks. We explore what they do during their studies, and their perceptions about their contributions to the firm's capacities for technology and innovation. So far, university-industry interactions in engineering are less researched than other fields, and this qualitative study focuses upon one department of Electrical Engineering in Sweden. First, we define and describe how the partner firms and universities organise this research collaboration as a form of academic engagement. Secondly, we propose a conceptual framework specifying how graduate students act as boundary-spanners between universities and firms. This framework is used for the empirical analysis, when exploring their perceptions of impact. Our results reveal that they primarily engage in problem-solving activities in technology, which augment particularly the early stages of absorptive capacities in firms.

For a long time, high school students have been forced to practice selecting correct answers on college scholastic ability tests. Recently, it has been suggested that schools introduce biomimicry activities for STEM education to develop students' 21st century competency. However, there have been arguments about which system is more appropriate in terms of enhancing a student's competency development. Therefore, we evaluated neurological evidence of students' competency using fMRI scans taken during the selecting a correct answer for a biology question and during a biomimicry activity. Results showed that the repetitive practice of selecting correct responses limited a student's neurological activities to the brain network of the visual cortex and the front-parietal working memory cortex. However, the biomimicry activity simultaneously involved diverse prefrontal, parietal and temporal cortexes, and the putamen, limbic and cerebellum lobes. Therefore, this study proposes that the biomimicry activities could stimulate their coordinated brain development.

The face of the hospitality sector in India is continuously changing and in times of career transitiveness, it is important to know the factors that support a successful career. The current research aims to explore the relationship between career planning, employee optimism, career adaptability and career satisfaction in the Indian hospitality sector. The study included 283 employees from Indian hospitality sector. Additionally, the study used SEM and bootstrap method to measure the dual mediating relationship between career planning, employee optimism dimensions, career adaptability dimensions, and career satisfaction in Indian setting. The results indicated that optimism dimensions and career adaptability dimensions partially mediate the relationship between career planning and career satisfaction in Indian hospitality sector. The study suggests useful implications for academia and industrial purpose. The limitations and future research avenues have been discussed. The study would contribute to the sparse literature on employee optimism, career planning, career adaptability and subjective career success. It would contribute to the social cognitive career theory (SCCT).

This research study explores peer teaching and learning without a domain expert teacher, within the context of an activity where teams of second level students (~16 years old) are required to create a learning experience for their peers. The study looks at how participants would like to be taught and how they would teach their peers if given the opportunity and examines the support they require, their motivation levels, and if they actually learn curriculum content using this approach. An exploratory case study methodology was used, and the findings suggest that students want varied learning experiences that include many of the elements which would fall under the heading of 21st century learning, that with some support and encouragement they can create innovative learning experiences for their peers, and that they can learn curriculum content from the process.

An online Moodle Workshop was evaluated for peer assessment effectiveness. A quasi-experiment was designed using a Seminar in Professionalism course taught in face-to-face mode to undergraduate students across two campuses. The first goal was to determine if Moodle Workshop awarded a fair peer grader grade. The second objective was to estimate if students were consistent and reliable in performing their peer assessments. Statistical techniques were used to answer the research hypotheses. Although Workshop Moodle did not have a built-in measure for peer assessment validity, t-tests and reliability estimates were calculated to demonstrate that the grades were consistent with what faculty expected. Implications were asserted to improve teaching and recommendations were provided to enhance Moodle.

Increasingly, numerous universities have identified benefits of flipped learning environments and have been encouraging instructors to adapt such methodologies in their respective classrooms, at a time when departments are facing significant budget constraints. This article proposes an instructional design framework utilized to strategically enhance traditional flipped methodologies in a first-year engineering course, by using low-cost technology aids and proven pedagogical techniques to enhance student learning. Implemented in a first-year engineering course, this modified flipped model demonstrated an improved student awareness of essential engineering concepts and improved academic performance through collaborative and active learning activities, including flipped learning methodologies, without the need for expensive, formal active learning spaces. These findings have been validated through two studies and have shown similar results confirming that student learning is improved by the implementation of multi-pedagogical strategies in-formed by the use of an instructional design in a traditional classroom setting.

This paper reports on the outcomes from a pilot study targeted at mothers of school children in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of the study was to engender a positive view of technology in the participants and to introduce the concept of Information Technology (IT) as a potential career. Mothers were given the opportunity to develop basic IT skills and learn about different IT career pathways for their children with an emphasis on their daughters’ choices. Mothers were offered an evening course over a four week period that was designed to introduce them to a range of social media and Web 2.0 tools. Their opinions were documented using both questionnaires and informal discussions. It explored whether their attitudes towards IT can be changed by up-skilling and introducing them to the technologies their children commonly use. The findings of the pilot study suggest that addressing this demographic has the potential to make the participants question their pre-conceptions about IT careers for women.