Institutional analysis of strategic choice of micro, small, and medium enterprises : development of a conceptual framework

This paper presents a conceptual framework showing formal and informal institutions and their relationship with the strategic choice of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in a developing country setting. It emphasises how institutions at sub-national level (such as a region or city) influence the strategic orientations of MSMEs as many developing countries in Asia are undergoing decentralisation whereby sub-national government authorities are given more political, economic, fiscal, and administrative powers. Furthermore, it sheds more insights on the environmental (institutional) determinism-organisational (strategic) choice nexus. It offers propositions, questions as well as issues worth pursuing in empirical investigations in the future.

Entrepreneurial knowledge and its effects on entrepreneurial intentions : development of a conceptual framework

This study advances the thesis that knowledge gained from a formal entrepreneurship education program will have positive effects on an individual's overall entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating influences of attitudes and social norms favouring entrepreneurial behaviour. In this proposed conceptual framework, it is argued that the knowledge gained by students attending an entrepreneurship course will have a positive impact on the students' intentions of starting a business. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour, this study proposes a research design which involves tracking of the changes in the students' perceptions of the desirability of, self-efficacy in engaging in, and social norms supportive of, entrepreneurship and their consequent influences on the student's entrepreneurial intentions prior to the start and upon completion of an entrepreneurship course.

Conceptual representation for multimedia information

Multimedia information is now routinely available in the forms of text, pictures, animation and sound. Although text objects are relatively easy to deal with (in terms of information search and retrieval), other information bearing objects (such as sound, images, animation) are more difficult to index. Our research is aimed at developing better ways of representing multimedia objects by using a conceptual representation based on Schank's conceptual dependencies. Moreover, the representation allows for users' individual interpretations to be embedded in the system. This will alleviate the problems associated with traditional semantic networks by allowing for coexistence of multiple views of the same information. The viability of the approach is tested, and the preliminary results reported.

The effect of teaching conceptual and image metaphors to EFL learners

Foreign language learners encounter difficulties utilizing metaphorical expressions in everyday language, particularly because the use of metaphors in the discourse context is inescapable. In this study, efforts have been made to provide an effective way for the Iranian language learners to acquire and employ conceptual and image metaphors. The instruction took place on 60 junior students studying at the University of Petroleum Engineering at Ahvaz, a southern city in Iran, who were selected on the basis of their high marks on an English proficiency test. Forty metaphors of both types were presented to the participants during 10 sessions of instruction. To collect data on the learners' performance, a 30- item sentence completion test requiring 'word-given' and 'recognition' type responses was prepared and administered. The results of a statistical t-test indicated no significant difference in the rate of acquiring conceptual and image metaphors (P>.05). Therefore, both metaphors can be successfully taught concurrently with little difficulty.

Introduction : people power and the Arab revolutions : towards a new conceptual framework of democracy in the Middle East

This introductory chapter analyses the various debates and discussions that have been triggered by the Arab Revolutions. It seizes a unique opportunity to reflect on these seismic events, their causes and consequences, as well as on the core issues facing the region in the future. The central arguments and the key contributions of this chapter are twofold. Firstly, to situate the Arab Revolutions within their broader contextual background, arguing that a unique set of historical events as well as local, regional and global dynamics have converged to provide the catalyst that triggered the recent revolts. Secondly, this book will attempt to situate the events within a new conceptual framework. The argument here is that the Arab Revolutions pose a very specific challenge to conventional wisdom concerning democracy and democratisation in the Middle East.

Sustaining the international competitive advantage of Asian firms : a conceptual framework and research propositions

The sudden loss of export markets by many Asian firms during the Asian financial crisis (AFC) has raised important questions on how firms in the region can regain and sustain their competitive advantage in international markets. This paper develops a conceptual model which focuses on certain key elements of a firm's internal resources as critical sources of competitive advantage and offers research propositions. It is argued that Asian firms can enhance their international competitive advantage by leveraging their internal resources within an external environment generally conducive to growth.

A conceptual model of psychological predictors of postpartum weight retention

Obesity and being overweight affect almost half of all women of childbearing age, with postpartum weight retention (PWR) being a key contributing factor. Retention of postpartum weight has a number of negative health implications for mothers and offspring, including longer-term higher body mass index (BMI). There is increasing evidence that psychological factors are associated with PWR, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, and body dissatisfaction. However, what is less known is how these psychological factors might interact with maternal physiological and physical weight factors, sociocontextual influences, pregnancy-related medical factors, and maternal behaviours to lead to PWR. We have incorporated identified psychological influences within an empirically supported, multifactorial, conceptual model of hypothesised predictors of PWR, and argue that a systematic and rigorous evaluation of this conceptual model will inform the development of appropriate prevention strategies.

An ICT enabled conceptual framework for determining epidemic susceptibility and acute type response : an exemplar from India

In a developing nation such as India, the national government is pursuing the pathway of ICT supported decentralized programs, to combat endemics, in the social contexts of each State. The State of Kerala, which has been an exemplar for development, has become susceptible to endemics, brought in by urbanization and non-resident Indian population and compounded by environmental disasters. In this paper, the authors contend that the psyche of the community which has changed from social amity to self-interest need to be re-awakened with the power of ICTs and Internet, so as to efficiently combat endemics. The authors also propose a preliminary framework for emergency responses based on existing ICT systems, recommended by the national government, to fit the context.

Learning as knowledge networking : conceptual foundations for revised uses of the internet in higher education

This paper argues that the inherent characteristics of knowledge work, when combined with the operation of the Internet in contemporary society, produce a change in the dominant paradigm of what constitutes knowledge work. Since learning is a form of knowledge work, therefore this change will affect university education. The paper further argues that, because of the way in which online learning initially developed in universities, in most cases, the current approach to the Internet and higher education does not account for the changed conditions of knowledge in a network society. It concludes that new directions are needed which will allow us to make technology and pedagogy choices for future education better suited to a network society.