Collecting and evaluating the CUNY ASL corpus for research on American Sign Language animation

While there is great potential for sign language animation generation software to improve the accessibility of information for deaf individuals with low written-language literacy, the understandability of current sign language animation systems is limited. Data-driven methodologies using annotated sign language corpora encoding detailed human movement have enabled some researchers to address several key linguistic challenges in ASL generation. This article motivates and describes our current research on collecting a motion-capture corpus of American Sign Language (ASL). As an evaluation of our motion-capture configuration, calibration, and recording protocol, we have conducted several rounds of evaluation studies with native ASL signers, and we have made use of our collected data to synthesize novel animations of ASL, which have also been evaluated in experimental studies with native signers.     

Social change,institutional pressures and knowledge creation: A bibliometric analysis

Contemporary academic environment can be characterized by an overwhelming trend toward enhancing research productivity and knowledge creation. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of radical social change and subsequent institutional pressures on internationally relevant knowledge creation. The setting examined is business and economics science in Eastern Europe. Using a case study of Slovenian business schools and deploying a bibliometric analysis we find that research productivity is increasing significantly. We note however dilemmas pertaining to the content and quality of knowledge created. Further, we find that international research cooperation has positive quality effects. From a theoretical perspective, we argue that radical social change was not mirrored by such change in normative institutions, whereas recent changes in regulatory institutions seem to have a substantial positive effect on research performance.     

高架油改电项目立柱结构设计改进及优化

从高架油改电项目的立柱结构入手,在引入建模计算的基础上,通过成本核算、设计对比、强度校核,并借鉴成熟高压输变电路设计理念,确定并实施了最佳成本和结构的优化改造方案,经过一年半的使用和跟踪,高架油改电线路完全能够满足设计和码头工况要求。     

Value drivers of blockchain technology: A case study of blockchain-enabled online community

There is growing recognition that blockchain technology has significant potential to alter how organizations and people work and communicate. However, theoretical guidance concerning how organizations leverage blockchain technology to enhance value creation for users is still limited. Grounded in the socio-technical perspective and leveraging the rich data obtained from case analyses of blockchain-enabled online communities, this paper develops a theoretical model to identify the core value drivers that blockchain enables for online communities. The core value drivers include: a reputation-value system, data ownership mechanisms, and verification & tracking mechanisms. Our findings suggest that these three value drivers enhance value creation of online communities by motivating participation and protecting contributions.     

Value creation in software service platforms

In order to benefit from operating an IT service platform (e.g., SaaS platform), platform providers need to find a way to keep their existing users and application services active sources of value. However, the understanding of how to achieve that is limited due to the newness of this kind of business. This paper investigates whether all stakeholders of the platform ecosystem can generate sufficient value when participating in the platform. As stakeholders, we consider application service users, service developers, and service platform providers. We also analyse the interrelationship between these stakeholders. The analysis outcome is a value creation model that allows the calculation of the stakeholders’ values. The model also helps inferring the relative impact of different factors on the evolution of values of the software service platform stakeholders. Our simulation results confirm that all stakeholders of a service platform mainly benefit from a growing installed base of application users. However, in a mature market, a large service variety mainly benefits the service platform provider, while the other stakeholders obtain a reduced increase in their benefits. In particular, the utility growth of application users becomes constrained as the benefit from new connections with other users decreases and the number of new services used decreases. Similarly, the revenue of service developer decreases, making service development less profitable. Therefore, we can state that not only a large fraction of the value creation goes to the platform provider but also that the software service ecosystem can collapse, if no mutually beneficial pricing of services is implemented.     

Is open innovation always the best for SMEs? An exploratory analysis at the project level

Open innovation (OI) projects are increasingly adopted by small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet, undertaking OI is not only a source of opportunities for SMEs as it can, at the same time, present risks. How SMEs manage the balance between the potential benefits and the emerging challenges of OI is still an overlooked topic in the literature. Using evidence gathered through multiple case studies and drawing upon the relational view of the firm, we explore how and why value creation opportunities and different managerial challenges emerge for SMEs pursuing OI projects. We analyze different stages of OI projects in several different contexts of their implementation. Our analysis sheds light on the different nature and dynamics of knowledge involved within OI projects as important boundary conditions affecting successful search paths, learning processes, and the development of appropriability mechanisms. By offering a contextualized view of OI in SMEs, this study also provides insights to business managers on the situational opportunities and constraints of OI, including managerial suggestions on actions to manage tensions within differing OI projects.     

Value creation dynamics in a project alliance

Project alliance requires all parties to work together in good faith, share project risks, and make unanimous decisions for the betterment of the project. A key feature of successful implementation of a project alliance is a focus on value creation and value for money. This paper proposes a qualitative system dynamics model to specify and explain dynamics of value creation processes in the context of project alliance. By synthesizing the existing literature and reports on project alliancing, this paper identifies four processes that have a strong influence on the value created in the project alliance context: work progression, rework, redesign and innovation, and rescheduling. In addition, we show how these value creation processes are interrelated and evolve over time. The effectiveness of these processes is influenced by the capability and motivation of the project alliance partners to discover works that do not fully utilize the available resources, and make quick decisions to capture these benefits.     

Value creation for tenants in environmentally certified buildings

Previous research suggests that environmental certification (EC) affects rental rates in non-residential buildings, but there is still little understanding of how tenants differentiate such buildings from those without EC. This paper examines whether and how tenants perceive value creation in EC premises in Sweden. The findings (based on 29 questionnaire responses and 14 interviews with tenants in EC buildings) inform landlords and tenants on the development of EC strategies for improved organizational outcomes. EC creates value for tenants principally as support for their environmental management and reporting (e.g., low energy demand). EC is important for tenants internally, raising employee environmental awareness and improving employee attraction and retention. Tenants are generally positive about employee morale, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and rental costs. However, it is not clear if such perceptions are dependent on features of modern premises in general, such as new fixtures, fittings and furnishings, and space-efficiency or from some EC-related feature. Tenants do not identify health or productivity increase in their EC premises. Findings suggest that the research focus should be shifted from investigating health and productivity increases through IEQ improvement to understanding the motivational improvement through value alignment with employees through EC.     

Not all digital venture ideas are created equal: Implications for venture creation processes

Digital ventures are formed around ideas that have digital artifacts at their core. We develop theory that explains how the composition of digital artifacts influences venture creation processes. First, we develop propositions that link differences in the embodiment and coupling of digital artifact components to tensions in venture creation process inputs, behaviors, and outputs. Second, we link compositional differences in digital artifacts to differences in venture creation process initiation, duration, and outcome. Our theorizing establishes a foundation for future research on digital artifacts within and beyond entrepreneurship contexts, and for future research on entrepreneurship within and beyond digital artifact contexts.     

Co-creation,prevailing streams and a future design trajectory

Co-creation as a concept has won terrain over the past 10 years. In practice as well as in literature, co-creation is climbing the agenda in relation to contemporary opportunities and challenges within management, organisation design and change initiatives. This paper aims to build an overview of the literature on co-creation to explore what the existing literature relates to and indeed to pinpoint if any patterns or streams can be identified. The paper illustrates how the use of the concept of co-creation suggests a necessity for focusing further on specific co-creation-related issues and challenges of significance to business and society. The paper highlights new co-creation-related issues and challenges. Further, the paper crystallises an emerging design trajectory in theory and practice.