Swarm-based metaheuristic algorithms inspired from swarm systems in nature have produced remarkab... more Swarm-based metaheuristic algorithms inspired from swarm systems in nature have produced remarkable results while solving complex optimization problems. This is due to their capability of decentralized control of search agents able to explore search environment more effectively. The large number of metaheuristics sometimes puzzle beginners and practitioners where to start with. This experimental study covers 10 swarm-based metaheuristic algorithms introduced in last decade to be investigated on their performances on 12 test functions of high dimensions with diverse features of modality, scalability, and valley landscape. Based on simulations, it can be concluded that firefly algorithm outperformed rest of the algorithms while tested unimodal functions. On multimodal functions, animal migration algorithm produced outstanding results as compared to rest of the methods. In future, further investigation can be conducted on relating benchmark functions to real-world optimization problem so that metaheuristic algorithms can be grouped according to suitability of problem characteristics.
Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is efficient estimation model not only among neuro-... more Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is efficient estimation model not only among neuro-fuzzy systems but also various other machine learning techniques. Despite acceptance among researchers, ANFIS suffers from limitations that halt applications in problems with large inputs; such as, curse of dimensionality and computational expense. Various approaches have been proposed in literature to overcome such shortcomings, however, there exists a considerable room of improvement. This paper reports approaches from literature that reduce computational complexity by architectural modifications as well as efficient training procedures. Moreover, as potential future directions, this paper also proposes conceptual solutions to the limitations highlighted.
Background Hepatic diseases are one of the chief reasons for worldwide morbidity and mortality. T... more Background Hepatic diseases are one of the chief reasons for worldwide morbidity and mortality. The increased incidence in Asian countries is driving researchers to explore preventive ways from nature. It is more practical to go with healthy routine edibles like vegetable oils to avoid environmental and chemical hepatic injuries. With the use of thermally oxidized oils overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with overwhelmed cellular antioxidants defense system results in oxidative stress, the known cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. Little is investigated about the effect of daily used oxidized cooking oils on hepatic function changes with oxidative stress especially in the animal model that mimics the human situation. Methods In this study, healthy adult male rabbits of local strain were divided into 4 groups (n = 12). First, two sets of rabbits were treated with 1 and 2 ml/kg/day of repeatedly heated mix vegetable oils (RHMVO...
Background Antibiotic resistance (ABX-R) is alarming in lower/middle-income countries (LMICs). No... more Background Antibiotic resistance (ABX-R) is alarming in lower/middle-income countries (LMICs). Nonadherence to antibiotic guidelines and inappropriate prescribing are significant contributing factors to ABX-R. This study determined the clinical and economic impacts of antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) in surgical intensive care units (SICU) of LMIC. Method We conducted this pre and post-test analysis in adult SICU of Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan, and compared pre-ASP (September–December 2017) and post-ASP data (April–July 2018). January–March 2018 as an implementation/training phase, for designing standard operating procedures and training the team. We enrolled all the patients admitted to adult SICU and prescribed any antibiotic. ASP-team daily reviewed antibiotics prescription for its appropriateness. Through prospective-audit and feedback-mechanism changes were made and recorded. Outcome measures included antibiotic defined daily dose (DDDs)/1000 patient-days, prescr...
ObjectiveInfections with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as Gram-negative bacteria hav... more ObjectiveInfections with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as Gram-negative bacteria have high morbidity and mortality with limited treatment options. Colistin, an antibiotic active against MDRO, was rarely used due to frequent adverse effects, but its use has now been recommended among adults. In this study, we determined the efficacy of colistin for the treatment of sepsis in neonates.Design/setting/patients/outcomesWe conducted a retrospective record review of all neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, between June 2015 and June 2018, who had sepsis and received colistin by intravenous, inhalation and/or intrathecal routes. Predictors of colistin efficacy, for neonatal survival and microbial clearance, were assessed using multiple logistic regression.Results153 neonates received colistin; 120 had culture-proven sepsis; and 93 had MDR-GNB (84 colistin-sensitive). 111 (72.5%) neonates survived and were disc...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the ways in which hospitality and tourism... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the ways in which hospitality and tourism education in Malaysia is working with the Malaysian Industry 4.0 framework. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was used to conduct 30 interviews with respondents working for academic institutions and local or foreign companies. Findings The analysis of data helped to identify themes relating to current foreign partnerships within this area of industry. Originality/value Through the resolution of this research question, specific recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders are made, which, if implemented, may facilitate further improvements in tourism and hospitality education in support of industry in Malaysia.
Tropical animal health and production, Jan 8, 2018
Bovine anaplasmosis is endemic in Pakistan where it reduces livestock productivity and leads to h... more Bovine anaplasmosis is endemic in Pakistan where it reduces livestock productivity and leads to high mortality, especially in young animals. This study was aimed to identify the potential risk factors responsible for the occurrence and spread of anaplasmosis in cattle and buffaloes for the first time in Pakistan. A total of 900 (cattle = 479, buffalo = 421) blood samples were collected irrespective of age and sex from three distinct zones of Khyber Pakhtunkhhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used for the molecular detection of anaplasmosis. Data collected on a piloted questionnaire including 11 predicting variables which were analyzed using R-statistical software, and association between the dependent and independent variables was assessed using univariable analysis. Automated and manual approaches were exercised, producing comparable models. Key risk factors identified in all the approaches included species of the animal, breed of animal, s...
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is one of the ecient machine learning techniques, ... more Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is one of the ecient machine learning techniques, which has been successfully employed in wide variety of applications. The performance of ANFIS depends on the selection of the number and shape of membership functions as these two factors in uence the most on computational complexity and accuracy of the designed ANFIS-based model. Mostly, an expert knowledge is required in this regard. However, there is an immense need of an investigative study for helping researchers make better decision on the number and shape of membership functions for thier ANFIS models. Hence, this study examines the role of four popular shapes of membership functions on the performance of ANFIS while solving various classi cation problems. According to experiments, Gaussian membership function demonstrated higher degree of accuracy with lesser computational complexity as compared to the counterparts.
The study was designed to investigate bovine milk for prevalence of an emerging zoonotic pathogen... more The study was designed to investigate bovine milk for prevalence of an emerging zoonotic pathogen Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and in-vitro therapeutic response of various antibiotics against MRSA. Nine hundred (900) milk samples were collected (half from cattle and half from buffalo) from private and public farms located in various tehsils of district Faisalabad, using the convenient sampling method. Milk samples were put to biochemical identification of Staphylococcus aureus and later oxacilline disk sensitivity testing for confirmation of MRSA. The MRSA isolates were confirmed by PCR targeting mecA gene in Staphylococcus aureus. The study found 34% prevalence of MRSA in overall bovine milk from district Faisalabad with 30% and 38% prevalence in cattle and buffalo, respectively. Tehsil Samundari presented comparatively higher MRSA prevalence followed by tehsil Jaranwala and tehsil Faisalabad. However, there was non-significant difference of MRSA prevalence b...
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2016
Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) has been widely applied in industry as well as scie... more Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) has been widely applied in industry as well as scientific problems. This is due to its ability to approximate every plant with proper number of rules. However, surge in auto-generated rules, as the inputs increase, adds up to complexity and computational cost of the network. Therefore, optimization is required by pruning the weak rules while, at the same time, achieving maximum accuracy. Moreover, it is important to note that over-reducing rules may result in loss of accuracy. Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) is widely applied swarm-based technique for searching optimum solutions as it uses few setting parameters. This research explores the applicability of ABC algorithm to ANFIS optimization. For the practical implementation, classification of Malaysian SMEs is performed. For validation, the performance of ABC is compared with one of the popular optimization techniques Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and recently developed Mine Blast Algorithm (MBA). The evaluation metrics include number of rules in the optimized rule-base, accuracy, and number of iterations to converge. Results indicate that ABC needs improvement in exploration strategy in order to avoid trap in local minima. However, the application of any efficient metaheuristic with the modified two-pass ANFIS learning algorithm will provide researchers with an approach to effectively optimize ANFIS when the number of inputs increase significantly.
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2016
ANFIS performance depends on the parameters it is trained with. Therefore, the training mechanism... more ANFIS performance depends on the parameters it is trained with. Therefore, the training mechanism needs to be faster and reliable. Many have trained ANFIS parameters using GD, LSE, and metaheuristic techniques but the efficient one are still to be developed. Catfish-PSO algorithm is one of the latest successful swarm intelligence based technique which is used in this research for training ANFIS. As opposed to standard PSO, Catfish-PSO has string exploitation and exploration capability. The experimental results of training ANFIS network for classification problems show that Catfish-PSO algorithm achieved much better accuracy and satisfactory results.
Increasing competition in the global marketplace demands hotels to develop a competitive advantag... more Increasing competition in the global marketplace demands hotels to develop a competitive advantage by ensuring innovative performing services. The rapid increase in the scope of service providers within various facets of Malaysian tourism and hospitality sector has not only limited the process of innovation performance but also the commitment of the managements’ general practices to manage service innovation. Focusing on the Malaysian hotel industry, the objective of this study is to examine the influence of team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour on service innovation performance. Based on the literature review, team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour are hypothesised to have a significant impact on service innovation performance. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed amongst 327 employees working in luxury hotels within Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data was analysed using partial least squares (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM). All the hypothesised relationships are supported and the findings indicate that team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour have a significant effect on the service innovation performance. The hotels need to develop a strong team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour to accelerate the process of service innovation performance while providing the consumers better experiences. Implications, limitations of the study and future research suggestions are also discussed.
This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) dev... more This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (PCHEMS). This particular document is a guide to the project manager, the person responsible for marshaling and coordinating the resources necessary to implement RRPM-1. The Guide has 2 main functions: (1) to provide some details on the type and amount of resoutoes required; and (2) to identify some of the problems of implementation and some approaches to their solution. Hopefully, the reading of this Guide will make future implementations of RRPM-1 more economical and easier to accomplish than otherwise would be the case. (HS)
This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) dev... more This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) developed b/ the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). This particular document traces briefly the development of RRPM, its design objectives, testing and implementation at Eilot institutions, and the resources required for inplementation of the nodel. It also lists some evaluations by the pilot institutions. This report is addressed to higher education administrators, specifically the top administrator who must make a decision whether or not Eo implement RRPM.
Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, May 1, 2009
This study aims to diagnose the applicability of the perceived service quality measurement scale ... more This study aims to diagnose the applicability of the perceived service quality measurement scale to students; and to diagnose the student satisfaction level in higher education. It attempts to diagnose the perceived service quality of administrative units such as services provided by the ...
The components of an information system for institutions in higher education are described. The i... more The components of an information system for institutions in higher education are described. The information produced from such a system will be that which is required not only for record keeping and operations but also for planning and budgeting. Technical details are not included, only an overview of the main components of the system as seen from the user's viewpoint. The need for a data bank and strategy for developing it are examined, followed by a description of the set of models and instructions necessary for data processing. The use of the instructions regarding record keeping, planning, and budgeting is discussed. Specific cases are cited in the final section: one from Europe, HIS, and the other from the United States, NCHEMS. Detailed flow charts are included. (LBH) r.
The aim of the paper is to investigate the economic effects of tourism in small island state econ... more The aim of the paper is to investigate the economic effects of tourism in small island state economies. In subsequent sections small island states will be explained. The effect of tourism on balance of payments, income generation, employment, investment and development in small islands will also be referred. The paper will conclude with a brief review of the effects of tourism on small islands and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus's economy. At the end, some of the statistical figures will be shown.
Service quality perception is one of the key determinants of customer satisfaction, positive word... more Service quality perception is one of the key determinants of customer satisfaction, positive word of mouth referral and loyalty to the company. For these reason, it has received considerable attention in not only marketing literature but also consumer behavior and management literatures. However, surprisingly quality issues in the car rental industry, which has an undeniable contribution to overall tourist experience and economic contribution, have received less attention. As an exception recently Ekiz, Bavik and Arasli (2009) developed an 18-item RENTQUAL scale to measure service quality in car rental services. After rigorous analyses, their scale, composed of six factors comfort, delivery, safety, handing over, ergonomics and accessibility found to be multi-dimensional, reliable and valid scale. Yet, they call for replication studies elsewhere for further generalizations of the newly developed RENTQUAL scale. This empirical research, as an answer to their call, aimed to further purifying RENTQUAL with data collected from Asian tourist experiences. Moreover, present research investigated the possible relationships between quality perceptions, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth referral and loyalty intentions. According to the results of current investigation in comparison to RENTQUAL; (i) the scale is found to be reliable and valid, (ii) structure wise minor differences found, (iii) consistent with the findings of safety reported to be the most important factor in car rental services, (iv) all hypothesized relationships are supported. The current study presents its remaining findings, in comparison with those of original study and provides a fruitful resulting discussion, implications and limitations.
Analysing the Egyptian tourism higher education scheme: An externalcompetitive benchmarking study... more Analysing the Egyptian tourism higher education scheme: An externalcompetitive benchmarking study Working knowledge: an evidence based design of workplacelearning at Maastricht Hotel Management School in the Netherlands Hospitality Management Students' Conceptions about Teaching and Learning and their Evaluation of Tasks in Problem-based Learning An Assessment of the Effects of Travel and Tourism Introductory Course on Understanding Global Issues Growing a Green Restaurant-Is it Myth or Magic? The Time is Now to Take Restaurant Sustainability More Seriously Case Studies of the Best Practices in Sustainability In German and Estonian Hotels Services Information INTRODUCING THE CRM-7-18 MODEL : Analysing the need for and introducing a framework for phased design and implementation of guest relationship programs
Swarm-based metaheuristic algorithms inspired from swarm systems in nature have produced remarkab... more Swarm-based metaheuristic algorithms inspired from swarm systems in nature have produced remarkable results while solving complex optimization problems. This is due to their capability of decentralized control of search agents able to explore search environment more effectively. The large number of metaheuristics sometimes puzzle beginners and practitioners where to start with. This experimental study covers 10 swarm-based metaheuristic algorithms introduced in last decade to be investigated on their performances on 12 test functions of high dimensions with diverse features of modality, scalability, and valley landscape. Based on simulations, it can be concluded that firefly algorithm outperformed rest of the algorithms while tested unimodal functions. On multimodal functions, animal migration algorithm produced outstanding results as compared to rest of the methods. In future, further investigation can be conducted on relating benchmark functions to real-world optimization problem so that metaheuristic algorithms can be grouped according to suitability of problem characteristics.
Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is efficient estimation model not only among neuro-... more Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is efficient estimation model not only among neuro-fuzzy systems but also various other machine learning techniques. Despite acceptance among researchers, ANFIS suffers from limitations that halt applications in problems with large inputs; such as, curse of dimensionality and computational expense. Various approaches have been proposed in literature to overcome such shortcomings, however, there exists a considerable room of improvement. This paper reports approaches from literature that reduce computational complexity by architectural modifications as well as efficient training procedures. Moreover, as potential future directions, this paper also proposes conceptual solutions to the limitations highlighted.
Background Hepatic diseases are one of the chief reasons for worldwide morbidity and mortality. T... more Background Hepatic diseases are one of the chief reasons for worldwide morbidity and mortality. The increased incidence in Asian countries is driving researchers to explore preventive ways from nature. It is more practical to go with healthy routine edibles like vegetable oils to avoid environmental and chemical hepatic injuries. With the use of thermally oxidized oils overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with overwhelmed cellular antioxidants defense system results in oxidative stress, the known cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. Little is investigated about the effect of daily used oxidized cooking oils on hepatic function changes with oxidative stress especially in the animal model that mimics the human situation. Methods In this study, healthy adult male rabbits of local strain were divided into 4 groups (n = 12). First, two sets of rabbits were treated with 1 and 2 ml/kg/day of repeatedly heated mix vegetable oils (RHMVO...
Background Antibiotic resistance (ABX-R) is alarming in lower/middle-income countries (LMICs). No... more Background Antibiotic resistance (ABX-R) is alarming in lower/middle-income countries (LMICs). Nonadherence to antibiotic guidelines and inappropriate prescribing are significant contributing factors to ABX-R. This study determined the clinical and economic impacts of antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) in surgical intensive care units (SICU) of LMIC. Method We conducted this pre and post-test analysis in adult SICU of Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan, and compared pre-ASP (September–December 2017) and post-ASP data (April–July 2018). January–March 2018 as an implementation/training phase, for designing standard operating procedures and training the team. We enrolled all the patients admitted to adult SICU and prescribed any antibiotic. ASP-team daily reviewed antibiotics prescription for its appropriateness. Through prospective-audit and feedback-mechanism changes were made and recorded. Outcome measures included antibiotic defined daily dose (DDDs)/1000 patient-days, prescr...
ObjectiveInfections with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as Gram-negative bacteria hav... more ObjectiveInfections with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as Gram-negative bacteria have high morbidity and mortality with limited treatment options. Colistin, an antibiotic active against MDRO, was rarely used due to frequent adverse effects, but its use has now been recommended among adults. In this study, we determined the efficacy of colistin for the treatment of sepsis in neonates.Design/setting/patients/outcomesWe conducted a retrospective record review of all neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, between June 2015 and June 2018, who had sepsis and received colistin by intravenous, inhalation and/or intrathecal routes. Predictors of colistin efficacy, for neonatal survival and microbial clearance, were assessed using multiple logistic regression.Results153 neonates received colistin; 120 had culture-proven sepsis; and 93 had MDR-GNB (84 colistin-sensitive). 111 (72.5%) neonates survived and were disc...
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the ways in which hospitality and tourism... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the ways in which hospitality and tourism education in Malaysia is working with the Malaysian Industry 4.0 framework. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was used to conduct 30 interviews with respondents working for academic institutions and local or foreign companies. Findings The analysis of data helped to identify themes relating to current foreign partnerships within this area of industry. Originality/value Through the resolution of this research question, specific recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders are made, which, if implemented, may facilitate further improvements in tourism and hospitality education in support of industry in Malaysia.
Tropical animal health and production, Jan 8, 2018
Bovine anaplasmosis is endemic in Pakistan where it reduces livestock productivity and leads to h... more Bovine anaplasmosis is endemic in Pakistan where it reduces livestock productivity and leads to high mortality, especially in young animals. This study was aimed to identify the potential risk factors responsible for the occurrence and spread of anaplasmosis in cattle and buffaloes for the first time in Pakistan. A total of 900 (cattle = 479, buffalo = 421) blood samples were collected irrespective of age and sex from three distinct zones of Khyber Pakhtunkhhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used for the molecular detection of anaplasmosis. Data collected on a piloted questionnaire including 11 predicting variables which were analyzed using R-statistical software, and association between the dependent and independent variables was assessed using univariable analysis. Automated and manual approaches were exercised, producing comparable models. Key risk factors identified in all the approaches included species of the animal, breed of animal, s...
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is one of the ecient machine learning techniques, ... more Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is one of the ecient machine learning techniques, which has been successfully employed in wide variety of applications. The performance of ANFIS depends on the selection of the number and shape of membership functions as these two factors in uence the most on computational complexity and accuracy of the designed ANFIS-based model. Mostly, an expert knowledge is required in this regard. However, there is an immense need of an investigative study for helping researchers make better decision on the number and shape of membership functions for thier ANFIS models. Hence, this study examines the role of four popular shapes of membership functions on the performance of ANFIS while solving various classi cation problems. According to experiments, Gaussian membership function demonstrated higher degree of accuracy with lesser computational complexity as compared to the counterparts.
The study was designed to investigate bovine milk for prevalence of an emerging zoonotic pathogen... more The study was designed to investigate bovine milk for prevalence of an emerging zoonotic pathogen Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and in-vitro therapeutic response of various antibiotics against MRSA. Nine hundred (900) milk samples were collected (half from cattle and half from buffalo) from private and public farms located in various tehsils of district Faisalabad, using the convenient sampling method. Milk samples were put to biochemical identification of Staphylococcus aureus and later oxacilline disk sensitivity testing for confirmation of MRSA. The MRSA isolates were confirmed by PCR targeting mecA gene in Staphylococcus aureus. The study found 34% prevalence of MRSA in overall bovine milk from district Faisalabad with 30% and 38% prevalence in cattle and buffalo, respectively. Tehsil Samundari presented comparatively higher MRSA prevalence followed by tehsil Jaranwala and tehsil Faisalabad. However, there was non-significant difference of MRSA prevalence b...
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2016
Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) has been widely applied in industry as well as scie... more Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) has been widely applied in industry as well as scientific problems. This is due to its ability to approximate every plant with proper number of rules. However, surge in auto-generated rules, as the inputs increase, adds up to complexity and computational cost of the network. Therefore, optimization is required by pruning the weak rules while, at the same time, achieving maximum accuracy. Moreover, it is important to note that over-reducing rules may result in loss of accuracy. Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) is widely applied swarm-based technique for searching optimum solutions as it uses few setting parameters. This research explores the applicability of ABC algorithm to ANFIS optimization. For the practical implementation, classification of Malaysian SMEs is performed. For validation, the performance of ABC is compared with one of the popular optimization techniques Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and recently developed Mine Blast Algorithm (MBA). The evaluation metrics include number of rules in the optimized rule-base, accuracy, and number of iterations to converge. Results indicate that ABC needs improvement in exploration strategy in order to avoid trap in local minima. However, the application of any efficient metaheuristic with the modified two-pass ANFIS learning algorithm will provide researchers with an approach to effectively optimize ANFIS when the number of inputs increase significantly.
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, 2016
ANFIS performance depends on the parameters it is trained with. Therefore, the training mechanism... more ANFIS performance depends on the parameters it is trained with. Therefore, the training mechanism needs to be faster and reliable. Many have trained ANFIS parameters using GD, LSE, and metaheuristic techniques but the efficient one are still to be developed. Catfish-PSO algorithm is one of the latest successful swarm intelligence based technique which is used in this research for training ANFIS. As opposed to standard PSO, Catfish-PSO has string exploitation and exploration capability. The experimental results of training ANFIS network for classification problems show that Catfish-PSO algorithm achieved much better accuracy and satisfactory results.
Increasing competition in the global marketplace demands hotels to develop a competitive advantag... more Increasing competition in the global marketplace demands hotels to develop a competitive advantage by ensuring innovative performing services. The rapid increase in the scope of service providers within various facets of Malaysian tourism and hospitality sector has not only limited the process of innovation performance but also the commitment of the managements’ general practices to manage service innovation. Focusing on the Malaysian hotel industry, the objective of this study is to examine the influence of team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour on service innovation performance. Based on the literature review, team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour are hypothesised to have a significant impact on service innovation performance. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed amongst 327 employees working in luxury hotels within Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data was analysed using partial least squares (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM). All the hypothesised relationships are supported and the findings indicate that team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour have a significant effect on the service innovation performance. The hotels need to develop a strong team culture and knowledge sharing behaviour to accelerate the process of service innovation performance while providing the consumers better experiences. Implications, limitations of the study and future research suggestions are also discussed.
This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) dev... more This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (PCHEMS). This particular document is a guide to the project manager, the person responsible for marshaling and coordinating the resources necessary to implement RRPM-1. The Guide has 2 main functions: (1) to provide some details on the type and amount of resoutoes required; and (2) to identify some of the problems of implementation and some approaches to their solution. Hopefully, the reading of this Guide will make future implementations of RRPM-1 more economical and easier to accomplish than otherwise would be the case. (HS)
This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) dev... more This report is one in a series written on the Resource Requirements Prediction Model (RRPM-1) developed b/ the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). This particular document traces briefly the development of RRPM, its design objectives, testing and implementation at Eilot institutions, and the resources required for inplementation of the nodel. It also lists some evaluations by the pilot institutions. This report is addressed to higher education administrators, specifically the top administrator who must make a decision whether or not Eo implement RRPM.
Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, May 1, 2009
This study aims to diagnose the applicability of the perceived service quality measurement scale ... more This study aims to diagnose the applicability of the perceived service quality measurement scale to students; and to diagnose the student satisfaction level in higher education. It attempts to diagnose the perceived service quality of administrative units such as services provided by the ...
The components of an information system for institutions in higher education are described. The i... more The components of an information system for institutions in higher education are described. The information produced from such a system will be that which is required not only for record keeping and operations but also for planning and budgeting. Technical details are not included, only an overview of the main components of the system as seen from the user's viewpoint. The need for a data bank and strategy for developing it are examined, followed by a description of the set of models and instructions necessary for data processing. The use of the instructions regarding record keeping, planning, and budgeting is discussed. Specific cases are cited in the final section: one from Europe, HIS, and the other from the United States, NCHEMS. Detailed flow charts are included. (LBH) r.
The aim of the paper is to investigate the economic effects of tourism in small island state econ... more The aim of the paper is to investigate the economic effects of tourism in small island state economies. In subsequent sections small island states will be explained. The effect of tourism on balance of payments, income generation, employment, investment and development in small islands will also be referred. The paper will conclude with a brief review of the effects of tourism on small islands and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus's economy. At the end, some of the statistical figures will be shown.
Service quality perception is one of the key determinants of customer satisfaction, positive word... more Service quality perception is one of the key determinants of customer satisfaction, positive word of mouth referral and loyalty to the company. For these reason, it has received considerable attention in not only marketing literature but also consumer behavior and management literatures. However, surprisingly quality issues in the car rental industry, which has an undeniable contribution to overall tourist experience and economic contribution, have received less attention. As an exception recently Ekiz, Bavik and Arasli (2009) developed an 18-item RENTQUAL scale to measure service quality in car rental services. After rigorous analyses, their scale, composed of six factors comfort, delivery, safety, handing over, ergonomics and accessibility found to be multi-dimensional, reliable and valid scale. Yet, they call for replication studies elsewhere for further generalizations of the newly developed RENTQUAL scale. This empirical research, as an answer to their call, aimed to further purifying RENTQUAL with data collected from Asian tourist experiences. Moreover, present research investigated the possible relationships between quality perceptions, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth referral and loyalty intentions. According to the results of current investigation in comparison to RENTQUAL; (i) the scale is found to be reliable and valid, (ii) structure wise minor differences found, (iii) consistent with the findings of safety reported to be the most important factor in car rental services, (iv) all hypothesized relationships are supported. The current study presents its remaining findings, in comparison with those of original study and provides a fruitful resulting discussion, implications and limitations.
Analysing the Egyptian tourism higher education scheme: An externalcompetitive benchmarking study... more Analysing the Egyptian tourism higher education scheme: An externalcompetitive benchmarking study Working knowledge: an evidence based design of workplacelearning at Maastricht Hotel Management School in the Netherlands Hospitality Management Students' Conceptions about Teaching and Learning and their Evaluation of Tasks in Problem-based Learning An Assessment of the Effects of Travel and Tourism Introductory Course on Understanding Global Issues Growing a Green Restaurant-Is it Myth or Magic? The Time is Now to Take Restaurant Sustainability More Seriously Case Studies of the Best Practices in Sustainability In German and Estonian Hotels Services Information INTRODUCING THE CRM-7-18 MODEL : Analysing the need for and introducing a framework for phased design and implementation of guest relationship programs
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