Page xii ✍ The purpose of this thesis is to introduce a new broad approach to computing – Empirical Modelling (EM) – and to propose a way of applying this approach for system development so as to avoid the limitations of conventional approaches and integrate system development with business process reengineering (BPR). Based on the concepts of agency, observable and dependency, EM is an experie...

E mployees have become more cynical about their organizations (Feldman, 2000). There are many potential targets for such cynicism, such as one’s occupation, top managers, and organizational change efforts (Dean, Brandes, & Dharwadkar, 1998). This article addresses organizational change cynicism (OCC), which has the potential to undermine change programs (Reicher, Wanous, & Austin, 1997), and fo...

Jerome Agrusa* Joseph D. Lema The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of casino employees on management styles and the relationship of these perceptions on the employee turnover rate. The sample consisted of a balanced representation of supervisory and nonsupervisory employees. Supervisors tended to perceive themselves and their managerial style in a much move favorable lig...

The participative standard with feedback condition was superior to the assigned difficult (140% of normal) standard with feedback condition in terms of worker productivity. The percentage increase in worker productivity with the participative standard and feedback condition was 46%, whereas the increase in the assigned difficult standard with feedback was 23%, compared to the control group (no ...

Despite the fact that many individuals express a desire for more information and involvement in the health care process, it remains to be seen if they have adopted a more participative approach by becoming involved in decisions made about their health. Research indicates that, in actual practice, individuals are differentially willing or able to be active patients. AIDS patient activists are 1 ...

Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO) has recently gained interest of researchers due to its simplicity in implementation, efficiency and existence of very few parameters. The BBO algorithm is a new type of optimization technique based on biogeography concept. This population-based algorithm uses the idea of the migration strategy of animals or other species for solving optimization problems. t...

The educational benefits of involving learners as active players in the learner modelling process have been an important motivation for research on this form of learner modelling, henceforth referred to as participative learner modelling. Such benefits, conceived as the promotion of learners’ reflection on and awareness of their own knowledge, have in most cases been asserted on the grounds of ...