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In a world of increasing financial uncertainty and growing unemployment, the macroeconomic contribution of SMEs is more important than ever. Development of a vibrant, sustainable small firm sector is dependent on sufficient resourcing of SMEs, particularly adequate capitalisation. This book provides a timely examination of SME financing and determinants of capital structure. A special feature of this book is the novel methodological approach adopted, providing an innovative perspective on SME financing. Analysis of stated financing preferences and objectives of SME owners is combined with results of statistical analysis of firm characteristics in exploring holistic explanations for observed capital structures. The uniqueness of this approach is in the contribution of data on financing preferences to supplement and contextualise results of bivariate and multivariate statistical tests. This methodology extends the SME literature, and is of interest to academics, researchers, practitioners and policy makers.
Contains critical contributions by seventeen scholars, each writing on a different issue of major importance to information systems research. The book is divided into two sections. In Part I, chapters present a broad view of practice, including its sociology of knowledge, the responsibility of its professionals, and the effectiveness of its tools and procedures. In Part II, chapters focus on the social context of information systems. Contributors address the way we think about and research the organizational antecedents and consequences of information systems, their diffusion, and our ability to understand their repercussions in the wider network of changing social relations. Topics covered include semantics, systems analysis, system design, software engineering models, managerial expert systems, information systems in organization theory, a research agenda for a transaction cost approach to information systems, and much more.
This title helps students understand how information systems can aid the realisation of business objectives. It covers BIS from a business, a technical and a systems development perspective. A companion website includes multiple choice questions, hints to the questions in the book, web links, online glossary and additional case studies.
This book shows a vision of the present and future of Industry 4.0 and identifies and examines the most pressing research issue in Industry 4.0. Containing the contributions of leading researchers and academics, this book includes recent publications in key areas of interest, for example: a review on the Industry 4.0: What is the Industry 4.0, the pillars of Industry 4.0, current and future trends, technologies, taxonomy, and some case studies (A.U.T.O 4.0, stabilization of digitized process). This book also provides an essential tool in the process of migration to Industry 4.0. The book is suitable as a text for graduate students and professionals in the industrial sector and general engineering areas. The book is organized into two sections: 1. Reviews 2. Case Studies Industry 4.0 is likely to play an important role in the future society. This book is a good reference on Industry 4.0 and includes some case studies. Each chapter is written by expert researchers in the sector, and the topics are broad; from the concept or definition of Industry 4.0 to a future society 5.0.
In today’s dynamic business environment, IT departments are under permanent pressure to meet two divergent requirements: to reduce costs and to support business agility with higher flexibility and responsiveness of the IT infrastructure. Grid and Cloud Computing enable a new approach towards IT. They enable increased scalability and more efficient use of IT based on virtualization of heterogeneous and distributed IT resources. This book provides a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of Grids and Clouds and of how companies can benefit from them. A wide array of topics is covered, e.g. business models and legal aspects. The applicability of Grids and Clouds in companies is illustrated with four cases of real business experiments. The experiments illustrate the technical solutions and the organizational and IT governance challenges that arise with the introduction of Grids and Clouds. Practical guidelines on how to successfully introduce Grids and Clouds in companies are provided.
A great religious teacher of the 18th century, Shah Waliullah of Delhi distinguished himself as a major thinker from the age of 15. He helped to revive the Islamic consciousness by "channeling the streams of the Sufi spiritual heritage into traditional Islam" (Professor Aziz Ahmed, Toronto) and returned to the essentials of Sufi experience in order to show that, essentially, Sufism is one discipline. He showed, for instance, that the long-standing assumption that Sufi doctrine was divided between Apparentism and Unity of Being was a difference of expression alone, the latter doctrine (of Ibn Arabi) being seen as merely a less-advanced stage of projection. Many of the subjects dealt with by him in these two treatises are closely studied today. These include stages of being, the perceptive faculty, the relation of the abstract with the universe, the universal soul and the souls of man, after death, essence, miracles, the scope of man, the soul of the perfect, universal order, source of manifestation, and the transformation of mystics from quality to quality.
This is the proceedings of the selected papers presented at 2011 International Conference on Engineering Education and Management (ICEEM2011) held in Guangzhou, China, during November 18-20, 2011. ICEEM2011 is one of the most important conferences in the field of Engineering Education and Management and is co-organized by Guangzhou University, The University of New South Wales, Zhejiang University and Xi’an Jiaotong University. The conference aims to provide a high-level international forum for scientists, engineers, and students to present their new advances and research results in the field of Engineering Education and Management. This volume comprises 121 papers selected from over 400 p...
Today, the use of machine intelligence, expert systems, and analytical technologies combined with Big Data is the natural evolution of both disciplines. As a result, there is a pressing need for new and innovative algorithms to help us find effective and practical solutions for smart applications such as smart cities, IoT, healthcare, and cybersecurity. This book presents the latest advances in big data intelligence for smart applications. It explores several problems and their solutions regarding computational intelligence and big data for smart applications. It also discusses new models, practical solutions,and technological advances related to developing and transforming cities through machine intelligence and big data models and techniques. This book is helpful for students and researchers as well as practitioners.
In this book the authors examine the various orientations of leadership, and demonstrate that true, effective leadership is only achieved when it is consistent with ethical and moral values.