bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Handling customer complaints effectively
Authors: Gruber Thorsten , Szmigin Isabelle , Voss Roediger
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to explore the nature of complaint satisfaction with particular emphasis on the qualities and behaviours that male and female customers value during personal complaint‐handling service encounters.

Design/methodology/approach

A semi‐standardized qualitative technique called laddering was used to reveal the cognitive structures of complaining female and male customers. In total, 40 laddering interviews with 21 female and 19 male respondents with complaining experience were conducted.

Findings

The research indicates that being taken seriously in the complaint encounter together with the employee's competence, friendliness and active listening skills are particularly important for both male and female complainants. Females were more able than male respondents to develop strong associations on the highest level of abstraction and linked desired employee behaviors with several values. Female customers tended to be more emotionally involved than male customers as they wanted employees to apologize for the problem and sometimes needed time to calm down and relax. By contrast, male complainants were mainly interested in a quick complaint solution.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to the exploratory nature of the study in general and the scope and size of its sample in particular, the findings are tentative in nature. As the study involved students from one university, the results cannot be generalized beyond this group, even though in this case the student sample is likely to represent the general buying public.

Practical implications

If companies know what female and male customers expect, contact employees may be trained to adapt their behaviour to their customers' underlying expectations, which should have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. For this purpose, the paper offers several suggestions to managers to improve active complaint management.

Originality/value

The findings enrich the existing limited stock of knowledge on complaint management by developing a deeper understanding of the attributes that complaining male and female customers expect from customer contact employees, as well as the underlying logic for these expectations.
Improvisation in service recovery
Authors: Pina e Cunha Miguel , Rego Arménio , Kamoche Ken
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of improvisation in service recovery.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a conceptual discussion that considers the relevance of improvisation in service recovery. It contributes to the clarification of the possible role of improvisation in the transformation of service failures into positive moments of truth.

Findings

The paper argues that improvisation may be viewed as a relevant, albeit largely ignored, topic in service recovery, and recommends that its role should be the object of theoretical and empirical research.

Practical implications

Managers may consider the possibility of creating conditions for competent improvisation to occur, such as training in improvisational skills and the creation of organizational contexts that facilitate the convergence of planning and execution in order to better deal with the characteristics of the situation.

Originality/value

The study addresses the under‐researched role of improvisation in the process of service recovery.
Is C‐OAR‐SE best for internet retailing service quality?
Authors: Francis Julie E.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to respond to claims by Collier and Bienstock and Rossiter that reflective measurement is wrong for internet retailing service quality (IRSQ). The research empirically assesses Rossiter's proposal that the C‐OAR‐SE procedure for index development will generate a more valid way to measure IRSQ than is otherwise available.

Design/methodology/approach

C‐OAR‐SE is used to develop a formative IRSQ index. The index is administered to internet shoppers in an online survey. The index is compared with an existing IRSQ scale in terms of content, parsimony, measurement scores and criterion validity.

Findings

The scale and index display parity in content, parsimony and measurement scores, while the scale shows higher criterion validity. The results contradict Rossiter's claims and foster doubt regarding the usefulness of C‐OAR‐SE's formative measurement procedures.

Research limitations/implications

IRSQ can be conceptualised as reflective or formative, but C‐OAR‐SE does not necessarily generate a better way to measure the construct. Furthermore, implementing C‐OAR‐SE unearths problems with the procedure.

Practical implications

Multiple variations of IRSQ exist, as well as multiple views on how to measure the variations and differing degrees to which the variations are actually measured. Crucially, the situation is not as bleak as Collier and Bienstock or Rossiter suggest: the literature does offer sound, valid IRSQ measurement scales.

Originality/value

The paper resolves unwarranted criticisms of IRSQ scales, highlights the limitations with some scales, offers the first complete example of using C‐OAR‐SE to develop a new index and lends applied support to theoretical criticisms of C‐OAR‐SE.
Atmospheric experiences that emotionally touch customers
Authors: Slåtten Terje , Mehmetoglu Mehmet , Svensson Göran , Sværi Sander
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This study aims to focus on what types of atmospheric experiences emotionally touch visitors at a winter park. The objective is to describe and explain the relationship between: three atmospheric constructs (ambience, interaction, and design); the construct of joy; and the construct of customer loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

The research data are based on a study of customers visiting a Norwegian winter park, in which 162 visitors participated in the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the measurements and structural properties between atmospheric experiences, joy, and loyalty to winter parks.

Findings

The findings reveal that two out of the three constructs of atmospheric experiences are linked to customers' feelings of joy, namely, design and interaction. The atmospheric construct of design had the strongest impact on customers' emotions. Furthermore, the study finds that customers' feelings of joy are highly related to the construct of customer loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

The study limits its focus to one type of hedonic service, namely customers visiting a winter park. Although the results from the study offer implications for other winter parks, there is a need for further research in other hedonic services to verify their validity, reliability, and generality.

Practical implications

The study emphasizes how important it is that managers of hedonic services consider the significance of the atmospheric construct of design in such a way that it contributes positively to customers' experiences of the service setting. In particular, managers should focus on design in relation to customers' experiences in order to evoke feelings of joy.

Originality/value

The study establishes the need to manage customers' atmospheric experiences in winter parks. It also links atmospheric constructs to customers' emotions.
What can you learn in three minutes?
Authors: Ruth Brown Natalie
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine an assessment task, undertaken by pre‐service science teachers, that integrates the use of technology (in this case digital video‐recorders and video‐editing software) whilst scaffolding skill development. The embedding of technology into the assessment task is purposeful, aiming to address a recognised need for teachers to gain the necessary pedagogical knowledge, technical competence and, importantly, confidence to implement productive technology‐based tasks in their classrooms.

Design/methodology/approach

A Wisdom of Practice Scholarship approach has been adopted to critically analyse an aspect of teaching and learning in which the author has been engaged. The evaluation draws on student reflections of the task and student evaluations from two successive cohorts. These data have been analysed against the learning outcomes of the unit, broader principles of assessment design and the extent to which modelling a technology‐based task was seen by the students to be transferable to their own practice.

Findings

Development of technological skills emerged as the most frequently mentioned personal learning by the participating students. Others were the development of collaborative skills, communication skills, literacy, critical literacy and science content. Importantly, students believed that what was learned through the assessment project would be applicable to their future work as teachers.

Originality/value

This approach to assessment, providing an opportunity for students to develop and demonstrate generic and subject‐specific learning outcomes in an engaging way as well as gaining experience with appropriate technologies, would be applicable beyond the narrow scope of the study.
Improving self‐ and peer assessment processes with technology
Authors: Willey Keith , Gardner Anne
Published: November 2009

Purpose

As a way of focusing curriculum development and learning outcomes universities have introduced graduate attributes, which their students should develop during their degree course. Some of these attributes are discipline‐specific, others are generic to all professions. The development of these attributes can be promoted by the careful use of self‐ and peer assessment. The authors have previously reported using the self‐ and peer assessment software tool SPARK in various contexts to facilitate opportunities to practise, develop, assess and provide feedback on these attributes. This research and that of the other developers identified the need to extend the features of SPARK, to increase its flexibility and capacity to provide feedback. This paper seeks to report the results of the initial trials to investigate the potential of these new features to improve learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews some of the key literature with regard to self‐ and peer assessment, discusses the main aspects of the original online self‐ and peer assessment tool SPARK and the new version SPARKPLUS, reports and analyses the results of a series of student surveys to investigate whether the new features and applications of the tool have improved the learning outcomes in a large multi‐disciplinary Engineering Design subject.

Findings

It was found that using self‐ and peer assessment in conjunction with collaborative peer learning activities increased the benefits to students and improved engagement. Furthermore it was found that the new features available in SPARKPLUS facilitated efficient implementation of additional self‐ and peer assessment processes (assessment of individual work and benchmarking exercises) and improved learning outcomes. The trials demonstrated that the tool assisted in improving students' engagement with and learning from peer learning exercises, the collection and distribution of feedback and helping them to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Practical implications

SPARKPLUS facilitates the efficient management of self‐ and peer assessment processes even in large classes, allowing assessments to be run multiple times a semester without an excessive burden for the coordinating academic. While SPARKPLUS has enormous potential to provide significant benefits to both students and academics, it is necessary to caution that, although a powerful tool, its successful use requires thoughtful and reflective application combined with good assessment design.

Originality/value

It was found that the new features available in SPARKPLUS efficiently facilitated the development of new self‐ and peer assessment processes (assessment of individual work and benchmarking exercises) and improved learning outcomes.
Successful engagement in graduate attribute assessment using software
Authors: Thompson Darrall
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The benefits of an educational shift to graduate attribute development have been foregrounded in the educational literature since the early 1990s. Attribute mapping in documentation with no change to assessment constitutes a surface approach. This paper aims to use as an example a deep approach that uses software to facilitate staff and student engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

In 2002 the author developed online criteria‐based assessment software ReView, together with a process involving the constructive alignment of assessment tasks. This was used in an academic development context to assist staff to integrate graduate attribute development through the assessment of student work. The time‐saving features of the online software, colour‐coded feedback about attribute development and its facilitation of students' self‐assessment were significantly successful parts of this approach.

Findings

A time‐saving strategy using software as a facilitator can encourage change to assessment practices. The inclusion of discipline content as part of attribute‐related assessment criteria assisted staff engagement with a developmental approach to attributes. Top‐down directives need bottom‐up processes and both are assisted by factors such as external accreditation and course reviews.

Originality/value

The paper clarifies graduate attribute terminology issues and identifies problems with “top‐down directives”. It describes innovative online criteria‐based assessment software used to facilitate graduate attribute integration and student self‐assessment. Assessment processes that give students a progressive portrait of their attribute development are few and far between. This paper offers data about one successful approach to this issue.
Using wikis and blogs for assessment in first‐year engineering
Authors: Joy Smith Elizabeth , Evelyn Mills Julie , Myers Baden
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to examine some of the strengths and weaknesses of the use of online tools such as wikis and blogs for assessment purposes, with the aim of proposing future developments and improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises a case study approach by examining the outcomes of a new first‐year course for all engineering students at the Institution Name that was introduced in 2008. The course, Sustainable Engineering Practice (SEP), gives students an insight into the disciplines of engineering and emphasises the skills required for working in multi‐disciplinary teams. It introduces students to the profession of engineering and how it is practised within a sustainable context.

Findings

The major assessment task for the course is the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) challenge and, for the first time in the engineering program at the university, wikis and blogs were used as assessment tools to evaluate student progress in meeting the course objectives.

Originality/value

The evidence of student reflections in their course blogs, and the discussions of the staff teaching team in course meetings, have been utilised to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the pedagogy adopted. These sources indicated that the use of these tools for assessment was effective, but that some modifications were required to improve outcomes for both staff and students.
Personal relationship strategies and outcomes in a membership organization
Authors: Derville Gallicano Tiffany
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This study seeks to investigate strategies for building personal relationships with an organization's members, and to examine the outcomes of personal relationships in an advocacy organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study includes interviews with 39 staff people at national, state, and affiliate levels of the organization; 58 members; and five former members, for a total of 102 participants. Document analysis and participant observation were supplemental methods.

Findings

The following strategies for cultivating personal relationships were identified: direct engagement, task sharing, constitutive rhetoric, peer linking, hat‐in‐your‐hand, investment in local relationships, and targeting of aware affiliates for diversity efforts. To contribute to the discussion about the value of personal relationships in organizations, the study also investigated the outcomes of personal relationships. The outcomes found in the study include affective commitment, political leverage, social capital, member recruitment, and member retention.

Research limitations/implications

Although many of the cultivation strategies and outcomes are likely to apply to various contexts, some of them may be specific to the context of an advocacy organization that has a grass‐roots culture and layers of leadership, such as local, state, and national offices.

Practical implications

Organizations can read the study to identify potential strategies they can use to cultivate strong personal relationships with their stakeholders.

Originality/value

The study produces new cultivation strategies and outcomes for personal relationships and engages in a critical discussion of the existing literature.
Integrating emotion with identity in European Union strategy
Authors: Moore Simon
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a more extensive and overt use of emotion in building popular support for the EU.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of identifying and analyzing historical and modern evidence for the uses of emotion by organizations and states attempting to build or protect their identities, and proposing a new EU communication strategy that builds on existing and previous experience.

Findings

Emotion was extensively used by early states; its value is being relearned by corporations and national governments. However, the EU has not been making effective use of emotion.

Practical implications

The EU must manage its communication needs in a new way.

Originality/value

The EU has neglected a critical area of communication effectiveness, and should address this problem by applying historical precedent to the activities of modern non‐government organizations.
Living the sweet (d)Life: public relations, IMC, and diabetes
Authors: Quesinberry Stokes Ashli
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze dLife, an integrated media network dedicated to empowering Americans living with diabetes. It shows how dLife's use of integrated marketing communications (IMC), particularly the public relations component, represents an emerging direction in health product and services marketing. Although some have been skeptical about IMC and specifically the public relations role within it, the paper aims to argue that public relations, through sponsorships, helps organizations interested in IMC to create new types of relationships with marketers and patients.

Design/methodology/approach

To demonstrate public relations' importance in IMC, dLife's relationship with the changing health marketing landscape is contextualized. Constitutive and empowerment theory is employed to frame a rhetorical analysis of dLife's efforts to target marketers and patients. The rhetorical analysis demonstrates how dLife's rhetorical choices help to shape marketer strategy, patient identity and discursive behavior.

Findings

The paper finds that dLife's use of public relations as part of its IMC approach helps to create more engaging disease education yet increases commercial content in patients' lives. It further theorizes the role of public relations within the IMC framework, an area that has been neglected in scholarship.

Research limitations/implications

This is a rhetorical study that should be complemented by empirical methods in order to comprehensively explore the IMC/health information issue.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates to practitioners how public relations sponsorships used in IMC build trust and boost education and awareness among target audiences. The paper also cautions that public relations practitioners' use of IMC may privilege corporate interests over patient concerns.

Originality/value

This is the first research study of a corporation's use of public relations sponsorships as part of an overall IMC strategy.
Communication quality and added value: a measurement instrument for municipalities
Authors: Vos Marita
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This study aims to achieve a better understanding of communication quality and how it can be measured in the municipal context. A previously developed instrument for measuring communication in municipalities is tested and evaluated.

Design/methodology/approach

The instrument draws on the balanced scorecard of Kaplan and Norton and quality control procedures as utilised by the European Foundation of Quality Measurement (EFQM). For municipalities, communication quality can be defined as the degree to which communication contributes towards the effectiveness of municipal policy and how it strengthens the relationship between citizens and municipal organisations. Three communication functions are given, and for each function seven quality criteria, for example responsiveness, are defined. The latter serve as an umbrella for several indicators that are assessed on a Likert scale. The results for four municipalities in The Netherlands are presented and compared, and the instrument is evaluated.

Findings

The corporate communication scores were relatively high, while the policy communication scores were low. Of the quality criteria, accessibility and publicity scored high and responsiveness low. The instrument has mainly been developed on the basis of auditor and self‐assessment, as municipalities have, as yet, few facts and figures with which to support the assessment. The measurement instrument needs to be integrated in the organisation's planning cycle, as reflection on the results can help in implementing improvements in quality. The measurement process stimulates dialogue on communication quality and the priorities to be set for communication policy.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on four cases. The instrument needs to be tested across a range of governmental‐level organisations.

Practical implications

Municipalities can use this instrument to improve the added value of communication.

Originality/value

A detailed description of the results of applying an instrument, such as this, developed for assessing communication quality, has not until now been published.
A decomposition and hierarchical approach for business performance measurement and management
Authors: Taticchi Paolo , Tonelli Flavio , Cagnazzo Luca
Published: November 2009

Purpose

Performance measurement and management (PMM) is a key practice to drive modern businesses. The literature available in this field highlights a certain maturity regarding performance measurement systems, while few frameworks have been proposed for PMM, which is today's target. Hence this paper aims to focus on the development of a new framework for providing direction and guidance to an organization in measuring and managing its performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed framework is developed based on the strengths of the axiomatic design (AD) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) techniques.

Findings

The framework proposed, namely “Business System Design Decomposition” (BSDD), offers a holistic approach to PMM, identifies cause‐effect relationships in business processes, measures performance versus stakeholders, and offers interlinking between performance indicators. The result is a deep understanding of the business environment and a real step forward for PMM.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed framework for PMM needs to be validated through an empirical approach or by a clinical approach utilizing a case study.

Practical implications

The paper offers to academics, managers and practitioners a framework to understand, measure and manage business performance. Moreover, the application of the framework represents a learning process for the people involved in the project.

Originality/value

Little research is available regarding holistic performance measurement and management systems and the understanding of quantitative relations between performance indicators. By combining two existing methodologies, the framework proposed adds value to the existing body of knowledge and offers good insights for addressing future research.
The dilemma of performance appraisal
Authors: Prowse Peter , Prowse Julie
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the aims and methods of appraisal, and the difficulties encountered in the appraisal process.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a review of the literature to evaluate the development of appraisals and argues that the critical area of line management development that was identified as a critical success factor in appraisals has been ignored in the later literature evaluating the effectiveness of performance appraisals.

Findings

The review identifies the lack of theoretical development in appraisal and argues the psychological approach of analysis and a more critical realisation of appraisal, re‐evaluating the challenge to remove subjectivity and bias in judgement of appraisal.

Research limitations/implications

Further evaluation of key interpersonal skills is required for appraisal systems to develop performance.

Practical implications

The use and design of performance pay in public and private services linked to appraisal have not always improved organisational performance and can contribute to reduced motivation.

Originality/value

Little research has evaluated the current increases in using appraisals and the changes in focus from appraisal to performance management. The paper adds value to the existing body of knowledge and offers insights for practitioners and researchers.
Pervasiveness, severity, and remediation of internal control material weaknesses under SOX Section 404 and audit fees
Authors: Mitra Santanu
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between pervasiveness, severity, and remediation of internal control material weakness (ICMW) reported by the SEC registrants pursuant to SOX Section 404 and audit fees.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs multivariate regression models for a sample of 854 firms that disclosed ICMW for the first time in 2004, 2005, or 2006, to investigate the empirical relationship of pervasiveness and severity of ICMW and its subsequent remediation with audit fees.

Findings

The analyses demonstrate that audit fees are significantly positively related to the severity (and pervasiveness) of ICMW in the years of ICMW disclosures and are significantly negatively related to the remediation of internal control weaknesses in the years when ICMW remediation took place. The test results further demonstrate that the remediation of systematic control weaknesses has a greater effect on reduction of audit fees compared to the remediation of nonsystematic (transaction/account related) control weaknesses, though the remediation of both systematic and nonsystematic control weaknesses is accompanied by audit fee declines.

Research limitations/implications

The study produces evidence on pricing audit services by incumbent auditors in response to the severity of internal material control weaknesses and their remediation in subsequent fiscal periods. Its results shed light on certain new aspects of audit fee determinants in the post‐SOX period by virtue of their implications that the pervasiveness and severity of internal control problems induce auditors to make an upward fee adjustment while their remediation has a moderating effect on pricing audit services.

Originality/value

The study's finding is a useful addition to the existing fee literature and is relevant for the post‐SOX world which experienced a structural change in financial accounting and auditing environment.
Agency problems in stock market‐driven acquisitions
Authors: Fung Scott , Jo Hoje , Tsai Shih‐Chuan
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which stock market valuation and managerial incentives jointly affect merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions and post‐M&A performance, and to provide new evidence on the agency implications where such acquisitions are driven by the stock market.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing all publicly‐traded US firms in the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ during the period from 1992 to 2005 (excluding financial and utility firms), obtained from COMPUSTAT, CRSP, I/B/E/S, and the M&A database provided by SDC Platinum, this paper adopts a two‐stage approach: the first stage, predicts the probability of an M&A based on the market valuation variables; the second stage, regresses the post‐M&A firm performance on the predicted probability of a merger or acquisition from the first stage and other control variables.

Findings

Market valuation has a significant influence on corporate acquisition decisions, particularly for those firms whose compensation packages include less managerial equity ownership, more executive stock options and no long‐term incentive plans, and in those firms where CEOs are serving on the board of directors. The value‐destroying acquisitions made by these types of managers are likely to be financed using the firms' stocks, executed with high premiums and undertaken during periods of high market valuation.

Originality/value

The main finding suggests that market‐driven acquisitions could be value destroying when managers engage in opportunistic acquisitions for reasons of self‐interest. Managerial myopia, overconfidence, misaligned incentives, empire‐building motives and poor corporate governance can all exacerbate the agency problem of market‐driven acquisitions.
An analysis of short‐run performance of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions
Authors: Uddin Moshfique , Boateng Agyenim
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to consider the short‐run performance of UK firms acquiring foreign target firms over a period of 1994‐2003 and to explore the impact of deal size and other firm‐specific factors on performance. Cross‐border mergers and acquisitions have witnessed a substantial growth worldwide, with the UK being one of the top acquiring nations in the global market for corporate control.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first uses event study methodology to analyse short‐run share price performance. Then a univariate analysis to examine the factors influencing the short‐run performance based on a sample of 373 acquisitions over the period of 1994 to 2003.

Findings

The study finds that the UK acquirers do not earn statistically significant positive abnormal returns in the short‐run. Univariate analysis shows that short‐run performance of UK acquirers is influenced by the form of target, acquisition strategy, geographical origin of target firm and the payment methods. However, the study finds no support for size of acquisition deal as a determinant of performance of acquiring firm.

Originality/value

The paper attempts to shed more light and extend existing research in cross‐border mergers and acquisitions by examining short‐run performance and factors influencing performance.
Building innovative models of territorial governance
Authors: Argiolas G. , Cabras S. , Dessì C. , Floris M.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine public‐private partnerships with a particular focus on the impact that such partnerships have on territorial governance. These organizations are spread all over the world with the goal of promoting community participation and sustainable development, and engaging citizens and organizations in the decision making of local governance. This situation underlines important changes in governance and territorial governance models.

Design/methodology/approach

A mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches are used. Analysing the existing literature, the paper focuses on specific type of public‐private partnership: the Local Action Group (LAG). Specifically, this study focuses on 63 Italian LAGs, in order to highlight their role in the challenges that local governance has to face.

Findings

Findings suggest that public‐private partnerships can represent a new model of governance – the Partnership Governance – with features that differentiate this form from other models.

Originality/value

Through a relatively novel statistical technique, combined with interviews, document analysis and direct observations, on the one hand the public‐private partnership phenomenon is observed, and on the other hand, a new mode of governance that is affecting the worldwide scenario in a current era and that is introducing ethical principles in governance systems is conceived.
Non‐place marketing: transport hubs as gateways, flagships and symbols?
Authors: Warnaby Gary
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper it to investigate possible uses of what Augé terms “non‐places”, with particular reference to transport infrastructure, in place marketing messages and activities.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a review of the relevant academic literature in the areas of place marketing and transport architecture, the paper considers the possible role of transport infrastructure in place marketing.

Findings

The paper identifies a more overtly emblematic role for transport architecture – particularly airports and railway stations – in terms of their possible roles as gateways, flagships and symbols, and their consequent use in place marketing activities.

Research limitations/implications

This is an exploratory investigation comprising a review of the existing literature. Some possible avenues for further research in this area emerge.

Practical implications

The paper provides place marketers with an alternative perspective on the possible role of transport infrastructure in place marketing activity.

Originality/value

The paper's value is in its alternative perspective on the role of transport infrastructure, regarding infrastructure as a more overtly symbolic attribute of place, as opposed to its more usual portrayal as little more than a hygiene factor in place marketing messages.
Well‐being and the democracy of compulsory purchase
Authors: Riley Jonathan
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the powers under which compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) are made, including the “well‐being powers” of local authorities, the procedural and policy requirements which must be met for a CPO to be confirmed and how all of those fare in terms of meeting democratic and human rights.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper outlines the key CPO policy tests and process formalities and discusses what the acquiring authority needs to show to be successful, where the balance of power lies and how aspects of the process may be fair or unfair for landowners, particularly those without significant fighting funds. The research moves on to look at the wider issues of how democracy and human rights are represented and held up in the CPO process, concluding that while there are rights to property and a home, the qualifications to these mean that the public interest can often quite easily override these “basic” rights.

Findings

After briefly looking at the related issue of the “privatisation” of city centre road networks, such as in Liverpool, the paper finishes by comparing CPOs under the new nationally significant infrastructure projects regime, suggesting the concept of a new “national well‐being” test in which the national interest in the scheme will be weighed against local impacts. The paper concludes that the lack of clarity around procedure for that regime raises the risk for all involved of delay and further uncertainty from legal challenges.

Originality/value

The paper contains an analysis of the place of democracy in the compulsory purchase of land for well‐being purposes, including a consideration of the balance between national well being and democracy in the Planning Act 2008.
A theory of linkage between monetary policy and banking failure in developing countries
Authors: Cadet Raulin L.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a model that studies the impact of a tightening monetary policy on banking failure in a developing country.

Design/methodology/approach

The interest rate on treasury bills is included in the model to measure monetary policy. Since the model considers developing countries with low‐income level, the paper assumes that a secondary market does not exist.

Findings

The model shows that, despite treasury bills constituting an alternative source of profit for banks in developing countries, a tightening monetary policy increases the probability of banking failure. In addition, the model shows that efficiency level explains the asymmetric effect of monetary policy on the profit of the banks.

Practical implications

The policy implication of the results of the paper is that the central bank should take into account the adverse effect of a tightening monetary policy on banking failure, when planning policy decisions.

Originality/value

The paper offers insights into the linkage between monetary policy and banking failure in developing countries.
Exchange rate assessments for Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Edison Hali , Vitek Francis
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of the real effective exchange rate in Australia and New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes three empirical models commonly used to conduct exchange rate assessments and applies them to data for Australia and New Zealand.

Findings

The baseline results using data and medium‐term projections, available as of October 2008, suggest that the Australian and New Zealand dollar were broadly in line with fundamentals, but with a wide variation across models. A battery of sensitivity tests illustrates that altering the underlying assumptions can yield substantially different assessments. The results are particularly sensitive to the choice of assessment horizon, the set of economies included in the sample, medium‐term forecasts, and the exchange rate reference period.

Originality/value

The paper provides an assessment of the exchange rates in Australia and New Zealand.
Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive: Natural variability associated with the CARLIT method on the rocky shores of the Ligurian Sea (Italy)
Authors: Asnaghi Valentina , Chiantore Mariachiara , Bertolotto Rosa‐Maria , Parravicini Valeriano , Cattaneo‐Vietti Riccardo , Gaino Federico , Moretto Paolo , Privitera Davide , Mangialajo Luisa
Published: November 2009

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC, adopted by the European Community in 2000 with the goal of maintaining and improving the aquatic environments, requires that member states achieve and maintain a good ecological status of all water bodies by 2015. In the marine context, the ecological status has to be quantified applying indexes based on appropriate key biological elements, which allow the categorization of water bodies into five Ecological Status (ES) classes. The CARLIT index is a cartographic monitoring tool enabling the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) to be calculated using macroalgae in coastal hard bottoms as a key biological element; at present it is being applied in Spain, France and Italy. To detect actual changes of water quality and, consequently, rely on the application of indexes for the assessment of the ecological status in the marine environment, it is necessary to evaluate their sensitivity to natural variability at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study we present a first quantification of natural (spatial and temporal) variability of EQR‐CARLIT quality assessment in 2006 and 2007 along the Ligurian coast (North‐Western Mediterranean, Italy). The EQR‐CARLIT values recorded along the Ligurian coastline show that natural variability of EQR‐CARLIT is low and that it does not affect the attribution of a given stretch of coast to a particular ES class, in agreement with the major human pressures acting in the area (urbanization, river load, sea‐farming). A small‐scale variability was detected, strengthening the use of cartography of the whole rocky shore, whenever possible, or, alternatively, the assessment of the ecological status for long stretches of coast, to encompass the small‐scale variability due to local factors.
Study on Nonlinear Dynamic Response of an Unbalanced Rotor Supported on Ball Bearing
Authors: Chen G.
Published: November 2009

An unbalanced rotor dynamic model supported on ball bearings is established. In the model, three nonlinear factors of ball bearing are considered, namely, the clearance of bearing, nonlinear Hertzian contact force between balls and races, and the varying compliance vibrations because of periodical change in contact position between balls and races. The numerical integration method is used to obtain the nonlinear dynamic responses; the effects of the rotating speed and the bearing clearance on dynamic responses are analyzed; and the bifurcation plots, the phase plane plots, the frequency spectra, and the Poincaré maps are used to carry out the analyses of bifurcation and chaotic motion. Period doubling, quasiperiod loop breaking, and mechanism of intermittency are observed as the routes to chaos.
Experimental Testing and Validation of a Magnetorheological (MR) Damper Model
Authors: Chooi Weng Wai , Oyadiji S. Olutunde
Published: November 2009

The focus of this paper is on the experimental validation of a mathematical model that was developed for the flow of magnetorheological (MR) fluids through the annular gap in a MR damper. Unlike previous work by other researchers, which approximate the flow of the MR fluid through this annulus as a flow of fluid through two infinitely wide parallel plates, the model presented represents accurately the annular flow. In this paper, the mathematical model is validated via experimental testing and analysis of a double-tube MR damper fabricated at the University of Manchester, UK. The experimental setup and the procedures for executing the tests on the MR damper according to established standards for the testing of conventional automotive dampers are given. This involved sets of many isofrequency sinusoidal tests of various displacement amplitudes. Predictions from theoretical simulations based on the mathematical model are validated using the data collected from the experiments. It was found that the modeling procedure represents the MR damper very satisfactorily.
Energy Based Comparison of Test and Analysis Response in the Frequency Domain
Authors: Kammer Daniel C. , Nimityongskul Sonny
Published: November 2009

Accepted modal based techniques for comparing finite element model and test data for test/analysis correlation and subsequent model updating are impossible to use in the high modal density midfrequency regime. A new approach is presented for comparing test and analysis representations using frequency-based response data instead of modal parameters. The new method uses frequency band averaging of the output power spectral densities with the central frequency of the band running over the complete frequency range of interest. The result of this computation can be interpreted in several different ways but the immediate physical connection is that it produces the mean-square response, or energy, of the system to random input limited to the averaging frequency band. The averaging process is consistent with the averaging done in statistical energy analysis for stochastic systems. The averaged response curves can be compared on a pointwise basis, or they can be compared within a running frequency band.
Experimental Aeroacoustic Studies on Improved Tip Configurations for Passive Control of Noise Signatures in Low-Speed Axial Fans
Authors: Bianchi Stefano , Corsini Alessandro , Rispoli Franco , Sheard Anthony G.
Published: November 2009

This paper presents the findings of an investigation on the use of several blade-tip configurations (modified by the addition of various end plates at the blade tip) for passive noise control in industrial fans. Utilizing an experimental technique developed to investigate noise sources along the radius of the blades, together with cross-correlation and coherence analyses of the near field and far field, the modified blade-tip configurations are shown to reduce the rotor-only aeroacoustic signature of the fan as a direct consequence of changes induced in tip-leakage flow behavior. These changes in the nature of flow mechanisms in the region of the blade tip are correlated with the spanwise noise sources, and their role in the creation of overall acoustic emissions is thus clarified. The tip-leakage flow structures are analyzed to identify their contribution to overall noise and interaction with other noise sources. Coherence spectra are also analyzed to investigate the relevance of the noise sources. The cross-correlations reveal distinctive acoustic signatures that are described in detail. The methodology has been demonstrated to be effective in identifying (i) the blade-tip configuration with the best acoustic performance, and (ii) other significant noise sources along the blade span. The modified tip configurations are shown to have a significant effect on the multiple vortex behavior of leakage flow, especially with respect to the near-wall fluid-flow paths on both blade surfaces. The reduction in fan acoustic emissions is assessed and correlated with the control of tip-leakage flows achieved by the modified blade tips.
A Combination of WKNN to Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Element Bearings
Authors: Lei Yaguo , He Zhengjia , Zi Yanyang
Published: November 2009

This paper presents a new method for fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings, which is developed based on a combination of weighted K nearest neighbor (WKNN) classifiers. This method uses wavelet packet transform based on the lifting scheme to preprocess the vibration signals before feature extraction. Time- and frequency-domain features are all extracted to represent the operation conditions of the bearings totally. Sensitive features are selected after feature extraction. And then, multiple classifiers based on WKNN are combined to overcome the two disadvantages of KNN and therefore it may enhance the classification accuracy. The experimental results of the proposed method to fault diagnosis of the rolling element bearings show that this method enables the detection of abnormalities in bearings and at the same time identification of fault categories and levels.