bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A theory evaluation of an induction programme
Authors: Hendricks Kenrick , Louw-Potgieter Joha
Published: July 2012

Orientation: An induction programme is commonly used to help new employees understand their job within the organisation. Research purpose: The main aim of this study was to examine whether or not the programme theory of an induction programme was plausible and would lead to the intended outcomes as described by the programme manager.Motivation for the study: Induction training is one of the most common training programmes in an organisation. However, there is little research to evaluate whether or not the activities of an induction programme will lead to the intended outcomes of such a programme.Research design, approach and method: This theory evaluation used a descriptive design. One hundred and thirteen employees of a media company completed a ten-item, five-point Likert scale which measured their perceptions of the programme’s outcome, identification with the organisation and intentions to stay with the organisation.Main findings: From this theory evaluation it was apparent that an induction programme based on an implausible programme theory could be problematic. An implausible programme theory affects the design of the programme activities and unsuitable activities may not deliver the desired outcomes.Practical/managerial implications: The intention of the evaluation is to guide human resource managers through a process of replacing an implausible programme theory with one that is plausible, and which ensures better alignment of programme activities and outcomes.Contribution/value-add: The evaluators showed how a plausible programme theory could improve programme design. This redesigned induction programme may lead to benefits, such as staff retention and company identification, rather than the vague assumption that it has been conforming to a legal obligation.
A formative evaluation of a staff reward and recognition programme
Authors: Salie Saleemah , Schlechter Anton
Published: July 2012

Orientation: It is generally assumed that reward and recognition programmes have increased staff motivation and reduced staff turnover.Research purpose: The main aim of this evaluation was to test the plausibility of the programme theory underlying a staff reward and recognition programme within a retail setting. Secondary aims were to assess whether or not the programme was implemented as intended and whether or not its outcomes were well defined.Motivation for the study: Different groups of people may have different assumptions about whether a reward and recognition programme works or not. This evaluation was motivated by the different assumptions held by programme stakeholders, programme recipients and social science researchers regarding the programme.Research design, approach and method: This formative evaluation used a descriptive design. Primary qualitative data were collected by means of structured interviews with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Facilitator and ten programme participants.Main findings: The results showed that the programme theory was not plausible and that the programme was not implemented as intended. Although the HRD Facilitator and the participants agreed that the programme led to improved customer service, they disagreed about the other programme outcomes.Practical/managerial implications: This evaluation contains practical suggestions for improving the programme theory, the programme implementation process and the redefinition of the outcomes of the programme as standard performance indicators.Contribution/value-add: This evaluation contributed to the limited literature on the effect of reward and recognition programmes. Whilst there is a vast amount of literature pertaining to such programmes, very few formal evaluations exist about them.
A theory-driven evaluation of a wellness initiative
Authors: Field Carren , Louw Johann
Published: July 2012

Orientation: By reporting on an evaluation of a wellness initiative, this article brings together an element of organisational development (employee wellness) with an approach to programme evaluation (programme theory-driven evaluation). Research purpose: Two questions were addressed: ‘What is the causal logic of the wellness initiative?’ and ‘Is this a plausible programme theory according to social science research and literature?’Motivation for the study: A study that could demonstrate the usefulness of the theory-driven evaluation approach, especially in the local human resource (HR) domain, was considered to be valuable. In addition, this evaluation provided a careful consideration of how plausible it is for such interventions to achieve what they set out to do.Research design, approach and method: The evaluation relied mainly on qualitative methods (the examination of secondary data and interviewing) to extract programme theory, and on literature to assess plausibility.Main findings: The study had two main outcomes: the finalisation of a model of how the programme is supposed to work according to programme staff, and the conclusion that the model is plausible, provided it is implemented at full strength.Practical/managerial implications: Programme staff are advised to pay particular attention to implementation fidelity, especially to employee participation and involvement in the programme’s activities. A number of strategies are recommended to strengthen the effect of the model.Contribution/value-add: This evaluation showed the importance of conducting a theory- driven evaluation, not only in order to understand the programme and its context, but also to provide a basis for an implementation and outcome evaluation.
Dislodgment of VDD Lead Connected to DR Pacer and Managed by Mode Switch
Authors: Kossaify Antoine , Nicolas Nayla
Published: July 2012

An 80-year-old patient having a dual chamber DR pacer connected to a VDD lead presented with chronic lead dislodgment with the atrial ring displaced into the right ventricle. There was no ventricular capture at maximal ventricular output, and given the clinical settings, the condition was managed with a conservative approach, the mode was switched to AAI ensuring a minimal adequate ventricular pacing backup in a non dependent patient.
2-dimensional Convexity Numbers and P4-free Graphs
Authors: Geschke Stefan
Published: July 2012

For S ⊆ ℝn a set C ⊆ S is an m-clique if the convex hull of no m-element subset of C is contained in S. We show that there is essentially just one way to construct a closed set S ⊆ ℝ2 without an uncountable 3-clique that is not the union of countably many convex sets. In particular, all such sets have the same convexity number; that is, they require the same number of convex subsets to cover them. The main result follows from an analysis of the convex structure of closed sets in ℝ2 without uncountable 3-cliques in terms of clopen, P4-free graphs on Polish spaces.
Ouverture de ‘Brand Equity’
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M. , Lambin Jean-Jacques
Published: July 2012

The progressive development of the global market highlights a structural manufacturing over-capacity and therefore an offer permanently and significantly higher than the potential of absorption by demand. In the new competitive domain of over-supply, firms adopt specific policies of exploitation of the ‘intangibles’, to counter the volatility of demand and stimulate customer loyalty, by exploiting a characteristic intangible asset, represented by the brand equity. Brand equity summarizes a set of tangible and intangible components, quantifiable with respect to the values settled in defined segments of demand. Quantifications that, clearly, does not directly express a monetary value, reconnecting rather to parameters expressive of brand awareness and image.
Merchandising and Licensing to Improve Brand Equity. The Coca-Cola Case
Authors: Albanese Fabio
Published: July 2012

Today’s markets are characterized by over-supply, intense competitiveness in every sector, increasingly aggressive competition and product and market strategies which are open to imitation. Consequently, the brand, and the values it carries, has become the truly critical competitive factor. In order to compete, each company needs to develop an integrated communication campaign which includes different communication tools, with high-impact like advertising, or with specific promotional tasks, as sales promotions (for short-term sales volume increases), merchandising (essential for promoting brand values at points-of-sale), licensing (which aims to transmit brand equity to members of the public and market sectors which would otherwise be difficult to reach) and sponsorship (where brand values are highlighted by associating the company with highly-visible shows and events).
European Community Trade Mark and Brand Equity
Authors: Sandri Stefano
Published: July 2012

The Community trade mark has effectively been available since April 1, 1996, although recourse to this tool does not imply abandonment of protection at a national level - something still of interest to SMEs. Market globalisation has led to increasingly more frequent horizontal and vertical integration being carried out between companies, with the effect being that of ‘anchoring’ the trade mark more and more to company strategy, rather than to the need of identifying itself as the industrial or commercial source of the products actually positioned on the market. The community trade mark is the first legal tool to have been created to serve the new economic environment being laboriously created in Europe.
Ouverture de ‘Market-Driven Management’
Authors: Lambin Jean-Jacques , Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Over-supplied global markets (i.e. with open competition and with production exceeding the absorption capacity of the demand) show clearly the primacy of product intangible assets (i.e. pre/post sales services, logistics, merchandising, design, packaging, etc.) which in turn help to enhance the corporate intangible assets (corporate culture, information system and brand equity). In over-supply, market-driven orientation configures a policy of long-term corporate development, where the competitive constraints of cost compare themselves with the primary goal of meeting demand. The over-supply outlines new logics of competition, with a profound rethinking of the theories of management and marketing. In today's international dominance of over-supply, the strategies of ‘hyper-competition’ are based on the assumption that a business is highly profitable only for firms that shape innovation and create ‘demand bubbles’.
Market-Driven Winners
Authors: Day George S.
Published: July 2012

Who will prosper in today’s environment of rapid and unpredictable change? Some would say that newcomers will have an advantage because they have no history to overcome or earnings to protect. There are many examples of upstarts who have used a superior market orientation to gain significant advantage over incumbents with far greater resources. It is not size or history that counts, but a superior ability to understand, attract and keep their valuable customers. In other words, the winning firms – whatever other advantage they may have – will also be market driven. Becoming market driven is not something that is done quickly or easily. It cannot be delegated to the marketing department for it requires the willing involvement of all functions. Many firms will take up the market-driven banner but will not succeed either because of a shortage of knowledge or a lack of determination. It is a far-reaching and fundamental change for many organizations, requiring them to abandon the very traditions that contributed to their past success.
Customizing Prices in Online Markets
Authors: Reinartz Werner
Published: July 2012

Dynamic pricing is the dynamic adjustment of prices to consumers depending on the value these customers attribute to a good. Underlying the concept of dynamic pricing is what marketers call price customization. Price customization is the charging of different prices to end consumers based on a discriminatory variable. Internet technology will serve as a great enabling tool for making dynamic pricing accessible to many industries.
Marketing in Wireless Context
Authors: Dainesi Lele , Zucchella Antonella
Published: July 2012

The first-generation mobile computing enabled analogue voice and no data, the second-generation enabled digital voice and some data the third-generation will enable digital voice and high-speed data, the fourth-generation should enable IP based voice and multimedia data. Then fifth-generation will involve all of the above, but the devices (as we know them) will begin to disappear and computing and communications should start making a leap to invisible or ubiquitous computing. The core issue for market players now is determined by the evolving nature of the wireless market in terms of users, focusing in particular on the re-thinking of market segmentation, according to new parameters and to the interpretation of users’ needs.
From Cornering to Virtual Cornering
Authors: Martinelli Andrea Francesco
Published: July 2012

Cornering consists in the assignment of a physical selling space to a producer by a retailer. Therefore, traditional cornering has the objective of trengthening the value proposition of distribution and industry in the final buyer’s mind enhancing the value for the customer by a combination of the efforts inside the physical space. Traditional cornering is characterised by distinctive specific advantages for the manufacturing companies and for the retailers. Virtual cornering overcomes the restraints imposed by the physical space of the competition. The ideal environment for virtual cornering is linked to range and off-range products, and to demand bubbles.
Demand Bubble Management
Authors: Corniani Margherita
Published: July 2012

Demand Bubble is a temporary client aggregation that is caused by the innovative supply configuration issued by a company. To create demand bubbles companies must have a deep knowledge of their market and their competitors, being able to act and react ‘before and better than competitors’. In instable global markets, demand bubbles are the advanced reply to segmentation limits and a mean to accentuate competitive dynamics.
Corporate Governance as a Viable System: the Role of Intra- and Inter-Systemic Relationships
Authors: Golinelli Gaetano M. , Vagnani Gianluca
Published: July 2012

Governance is the set of structural features needed to effectively manage a company oriented toward the creation of value. Starting by considering an organization as a viable system, whose ability to survive depends on actions by the governing board and the pressure and expectations expressed by the various super-systems, it is possible to answer the following questions: what is meant by corporate system governance? Under what conditions is such governance effective? The answer to these questions starts from framing the problem within a systemic approach to corporate governance.
Ouverture de ‘Corporate Responsibility & Market-Space Competition’
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Business globalisation has led to a growing awareness of social and environmental issues, and – in more general terms - the sustainable growth of those organizations involved. Firms are nowadays exposed to socio-environmental forces on a vast scale. This calls for a modern code of corporate social responsibility that clearly demonstrates the company’s global corporate responsibility in the overall framework of sustainable growth.
Network Culture, Performance & Corporate Responsibility
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

The growth and sustainability of free market economies highlights the need to define rules more suited to the current condition of market globalisation and also encourages firms to adopt more transparent and accountable corporate responsibility (and corporate social responsibility, namely the relationship between the company, environment and social setting). From a managerial perspective, corporate responsibility is linked to ensure the lasting pursuit of the company mission, seeking increasing levels of quality and efficiency. Corporate responsibility in global markets aims to pursue business results (local and corporate) that feature high levels of profitability and efficiency, but also a priority concern for sustainable development. In global companies, corporate social responsibility is targeted at managing the stakeholder system (i.e. all those with an organizational, social or environmental interest).
Data Mining and Marketing Intelligence
Authors: Saccardi Alberto
Published: July 2012

The technological advance has made possible to create data bases designed for the marketing intelligence, with the availability of large information. Data Mining is the process of selection, research and modeling of large amounts of data aimed to find out unknown business relationships in order to achieve a business edge. The Data Mining activity has a searching approach in the data analysis: discover unknown relationships, new relationships without an ‘a priori’ hypotheses on the subject.
Shopping Script and Marketing Research
Authors: Del Giudice Manlio
Published: July 2012

Today’s global markets have brought a new definition of the concept of loyalty. If a customer enjoys a continuous purchasing experience with a single supplier, he will develop a behavioural pattern, known as a ‘shopping script’, which may reduce his cognitive effort and optimise purchasing times. The possession of the script and the customer satisfaction inherent in its use, shape the switching costs which act as change resistance factors from the customer point of view. The script belongs to the wider family of cognitive patterns. It represents a pattern that contains knowledge of the temporal sequence of an event and it is used by the individual to understand events and to reduce the cognitive effort.
A New Role for Global Cities. The Genoa Case
Authors: Gazzari Raffaele
Published: July 2012

Over recent years, strategic planning constituted for many Cities an effective answer to the problem of competitive territories’ development. In competitive land dynamics, through the adoption of strategic planning processes, the control of two fundamental and tightly linked aspects becomes possible: - creating and strengthening the structural conditions that favors the local socio-economic system; - being able to influence the complex dynamics behind reorganization opportunities to create wealth and by attracting resources and competences to the area.
Global Market and Public Governance in Europe
Authors: Bisio Luca
Published: July 2012

The relationships between the governance of public bodies and stakeholders is of essential importance, independently of the different administration systems existing in Europe. Therefore the Nation-States are: losing power while maintaining considerable influence; trying to govern the complex dynamic balance between global network pressure and the growing press on local identities. In this scenario, answers coming from Nation-States on governance models go in the dual direction of: developing supra-national institutions to retake their role with respect to global networks; decentralising administrative power to a regional and local level, so to reaffirm their internal legitimacy.
The Professional Rugby Experience in England and Italy
Authors: Thomas Howard , Cavatorti Francesco , Fino Alessandro
Published: July 2012

The Premier Rugby League is made up of 12 professional clubs. Its mission is to promote professional rugby in England. In fulfilling this mission, it bases all activities on the League’s founding principles: a ‘large virtual family’ with values such as moral integrity. This strong sense of aggregation is a feature of the rugby community. The spirit of collaboration has also developed at the international level - formalised by an agreement with The Italian Rugby League-LIRE (Lega Italiana Rugby Eccellenza). Twinning between LIRE and Premier League means organisational and technical strengthening for each of their Clubs.
Professional Football, Stadiums and Global Markets
Authors: Cappiello Giuseppe
Published: July 2012

The world of sport, as an economic phenomenon, is an array of extremely complex elements. In this context, professional football clubs are amongst the best-known entities to the general public. Clubs are where the interests of media, sponsors and all others involved are concentrated most. In conditions of over-supply and globalisation, professional football clubs must try to maximise returns on connections with fans (fan value) ‘seven days out of seven’, or give value to fans identifying a market-driven management of the offering presented
Corporate Governance, Management Control and Global Competition
Authors: Salvioni Daniela M.
Published: July 2012

Corporate governance is a complex activity evolving in parallel with change within internal and external contexts. In particular, global competition shows how maintaining the conditions for company effectiveness implies: reviewing the corporate governance approach, emphasising relations between governance and management control and developing appropriate skills to adapt to the variables being monitored. The new outlook companies are up against tends to determine revising important critical factors for company success and changes resources important for the creation and maintenance of positive company/environment relations. More specifically, certain elements are taking shape that - though with different characteristics and importance based on specific company contexts and interaction with the environment – are proving to be dominant success factors. These include: corporate culture; information system; brand equity.
Brand Portfolio and Over-Supply
Authors: Gnecchi Flavio
Published: July 2012

Firms operating in over-supply conditions cannot increase their sales not even through the price reduction as a lever. In such context the intangible assets become predominant and tend to direct the competition within different industries towards new, unstable competitive business models based on market-driven management. In fact, the firms have reconsidered their brand portfolio, often by intervening drastically on the number of brands possessed and selling some of them to third parties or, alternatively, abandoning taking into consideration strategic aspects of brand management and its costs. At the business unit level, the brand portfolios are subjected to numerous operations oriented to adapt supply to new competitive conditions.
Ouverture de 'Over-Supply and Global Markets – 2'
Authors: Brondoni Silvio M.
Published: July 2012

Globalisation and over-supplied markets impose new behaviour to achieve stable performance, with corporate strategies based on: downsizing, networking, merging, development of intangibles. Global markets redefine competition space (market-space competition) and assert global managerial economics which interfaces with a competition space where markets are open and highly permeable to information; trade conditions development with an active role as intermediary on a global scale; and finally, companies –manufacturing, commercial and retail– grow with networking models.
Corporate Responsibility and Hypercompetition. The IKEA Case
Authors: Arrigo Elisa
Published: July 2012

The rapid changes caused by growing complexity, accelerating technological innovation and globalisation, have driven companies to play a precise economicsocial role. Hypercompetition implies a substantial change in a company’s strategic objectives: every advantage gained over the rivals is rapidly imitated and surpassed. Hypercompetition needs from the company the ability to control simultaneously: costs and quality; timing and know-how; strengths and weaknesses; financial resources. Following the expansion of its target market which has become global, a company often adopts a network structure. The network requires the activation of relations with local interlocutors and presupposes a coordinated system of values inside the organisation.
Global Markets and Time-Based Competition
Authors: Rancati Elisa
Published: July 2012

Time becomes the benchmark that defines a company’s strategic behaviour, extensively revamping the entire company by reinterpreting the time dimension in a different, extremely dynamic context. Marketing activities always presuppose time-based competition. From a marketing perspective, oriented to analysis of the competition, time-based competition can be defined as a strategy based on immediate response to the customer’s needs. In the competitive conditions of over-supply, the time dimension, as it is indicated by time-based competition, is of great significance for the measurements and characteristics of performance measurement systems.
Corporate Governance Report and Stakeholder View
Authors: Salvioni Daniela M. , Bosetti Luisa
Published: July 2012

The increasing importance recognised to corporate governance, the shift from the dominance of the shareholder view to the prevalence of the stakeholder view, and the necessity to recover approval on companies’ actions have stressed the opportunity of complete disclosure about corporate governance structures and performances. The research is founded on an international comparison and is finalised to verify: the existence of principles and recommendations concerning the corporate governance communication; the real quality of corporate governance communication published by some companies, operating in the same sector but in different countries; the effort needful to reach a formal and substantial shared model of communication.
Code of Conduct and Corporate Governance
Authors: Arrigo Elisa
Published: July 2012

The code of conduct can be considered a tool of corporate governance because it identifies corporate responsibilities towards stakeholders and obliges top managers to comply with certain guidelines when exercising their authority, both inside and outside the company. The code of conduct encompasses a wide variety of subjects, because it addresses all the stakeholders who make up the operating scenario. Moreover, it is an expression of the corporate culture since it reveals how the rules of conduct towards the company’s interlocutors derive from cultural values and principles.
Digital Marketing Communication
Authors: Corniani Margherita
Published: July 2012

Digital marketing communication is directed to profiled targets, which are active in the communication process. Every communication flow can ask for an information answer from the market. This opportunity grants immediate feed-backs and feed-forwards, so that digital communication can be easily and cheaply measured; digital communication flows are diffused at costs that are getting lower and lower, but it asks specialized and deep competences to communication managers. The ease in the flowing process granted by digital technologies is also the main negative aspect of digital communication. It is impossible to control digital flows in all their effect and contacts and this limit opens the door to competitor actions and to “rumors”.
Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
Authors: Cavalieri Enrico
Published: July 2012

The ethics we find in companies contains the same elements as the ethics in the socio-economic context in which they operate. The aspirations and ethical levels of companies operating in certain countries differ substantially from those of companies operating in other areas, where the defence of the environment, social welfare, human rights, cooperation, assistance are expected and offered to a lower degree, or are not requested or protected at all. The new globalised, networked economy, based on the coordinated management of knowledge, sets evolutionary trends in motion that raise the level of ethicality, but simultaneously generates a braking effect on the ethical contents of corporate behaviour.
Control Systems for Banks in Global Markets
Authors: Baraldi Monica
Published: July 2012

A few authors underlie the necessity to promote a new ‘capitalistic ethic’ and to face the governance and control systems of organizations and institutions that work within the capital markets. Internal control systems are considered the product of deep reflection of governance: it represents the bases of a wide evaluation for the single operative instruments and for the general culture of the risk control. This contribution intends to bring out the role of the central institutions in the creation of the flexibility and the necessary environment to develop control instruments oriented towards the prevention and management of risk.
Self-Service Technology in Retailing. The Case of Retail Kiosks
Authors: Cho Hira , Fiorito Susan S.
Published: July 2012

Retailers are adopting self-service technologies (SSTs) to improve the quality of service. Self-service technologies indicate any technological application, but the most typical SST is interactive kiosks which refer to computer workstations for public access. Kiosks have widely been used for banking (ATM) and airline checkins. Now kiosks are shown in diverse retail sectors, including food service, supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores, drug stores, bookstores, and entertainment. The range of service varies depending on retailers’ goal. However, the retail application is not always positively received. Thus it is vitally important that retailers understand the inherent problems and strategic issues of kiosks as a SST. Successful kiosks can deliver financial returns to the company and also impact consumer satisfaction and retention.
REVISITING SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE
Authors: Camp William G. , Clarke Ariane , Fallon Maureen
Published: July 2012

The professional and research literature in education show overwhelming supportfor experiential learning such as that typified by the Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program. The agricultural education literature advocates SAE as an integral component of our total program. At the same time, some authors have suggested changes to SAE while others have questioned the appropriateness of some aspects of the program as it is currently conceptualized. The authors of this paper conducted a Delphi study using agricultural teacher educators, agricultural education teachers, state agricultural education supervisory staff members, and professional from the industry of agriculture to examine the efficacy of and structure of SAE as we move into the next century. They conclude that SAE remains a viable component of a comprehensive program of agricultural education but that its definition needs to be broadened and that its structure needs substantial expansion to accommodate the realities facing agricultural educators today.
Transport analysis and source attribution of seasonal and interannual variability of CO in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
Authors: Liu Junhua , Logan J. A. , Murray L. T. , Pumphrey H. C. , Schwartz M. J. , Megretskaia I. A.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. We used the GEOS-Chem chemistry-transport model to investigate impacts of surface emissions and dynamical processes on the spatial and temporal patterns of CO observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). Model simulations driven by GEOS-4 and GEOS-5 assimilated fields present many features of the seasonal and inter-annual variation of CO in the UTLS. Both model simulations and the MLS data show a transition from semi-annual variations in the UT to annual variations in the LS. Tagged CO simulations indicate that the semi-annual variation of CO in the UT is determined mainly by the temporal overlapping of surface biomass burning from different continents as well as the north-south shifts of deep convection. Both GEOS-4 and GEOS-5 have maximum upward transport in April and May with a minimum in July to September. The CO peaks from NH fires propagate faster to the LS than do those from SH fires. Thus the transition from a semi-annual to an annual cycle around 80 hPa is induced by a combination of the CO signal at the tropopause and the annual cycle of the Brewer-Dobson circulation. In GEOS-5, the shift to an annual cycle occurs at a lower altitude than in MLS CO, a result of inadequate upward transport. We deduce vertical velocities from MLS CO, and find that those in GEOS-4 agree well with them between 215 hPa and 125 hPa in boreal summer, fall and winter, while the velocities in GEOS-5 are too low in all seasons. The mean tropical vertical velocities from both models are lower than those inferred from MLS CO above 100 hPa in June to November, particularly in GEOS-5, with mean downward, rather than upward motion in boreal summer. Thus the models' CO maxima from SH burning are transported less effectively than those in MLS CO above 147 hPa and almost disappear by 100 hPa. The strongest peaks in the CO tape-recorder are in late 2004, 2006, and 2010, with the first two resulting from major fires in Indonesia and the last from severe burning in South America, all associated with intense droughts.
Effect of tidal triggering on seismicity in Taiwan revealed by the empirical mode decomposition method
Authors: Chen H.-J. , Chen C.-C. , Tseng C.-Y. , Wang J.-H.
Published: July 2012

Abstract. The effect of tidal triggering on earthquake occurrence has been controversial for many years. This study considered earthquakes that occurred near Taiwan between 1973 and 2008. Because earthquake data are nonlinear and non-stationary, we applied the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method to analyze the temporal variations in the number of daily earthquakes to investigate the effect of tidal triggering. We compared the results obtained from the non-declustered catalog with those from two kinds of declustered catalogs and discuss the aftershock effect on the EMD-based analysis. We also investigated stacking the data based on in-phase phenomena of theoretical Earth tides with statistical significance tests. Our results show that the effects of tidal triggering, particularly the lunar tidal effect, can be extracted from the raw seismicity data using the approach proposed here. Our results suggest that the lunar tidal force is likely a factor in the triggering of earthquakes.
The Middle East Policy of America during the Cold War
Authors: Tuna Tülin
Published: July 2012

Abstract This article aims to explain the Middle East policy of America during the cold war. The structure of international politics has changed after World War II. Two new powers, the United States of America and the Soviet Russia, have dominated the world politics. In this period, the Middle East was of great importance for the United States economically, politically and strategically. The United States has been struggling to prevent a power threatening the interests of the West from controlling or dominating the Middle East. Especially in the period after 1945, it has been responsive to the Soviet Union’s developing control or influence over the region. In the present article, the importance of the Middle East for the United States is going to be emphasized first. Then, the doctrines called by the names of the US presidents and some conflicts and depressions experienced in this period are going to be discussed. Key Words: the Middle East policy of USA, the Cold War, Doctrines.
The Middle East Policy of America after the Cold War
Authors: Azman Kübra Dilek
Published: July 2012

The aim of this study is to discuss the Middle East policy of the United States’ (U.S.) after the Cold War. In the period following the Cold War, the Middle East has been a place that the U.S’ has projected upon as if it were its own private land. This is an attractive and important issue for political research area. In briefly, it can be divided the policies of the U.S. in the post-Cold War concerning the Middle East into three just like a tripod and these are security, economy and politics. Firstly, eliminate the danger of radical Islamic groups, especially war against to acts of terrorism, secondly; controlling oil and energy resources and the finally is ensuring the security of Israel state. This paper will examine the September 11 attacks and the U.S. Greater Middle East Project and the U.S. occupation of Iraq. In that period U.S. tend to use the hard power. Than after this period, new President Barack Obama has changed the American Middle East policy discourses. The Obama’s foreign policy discourses show us that he is tend to use soft power instruments. This study argues that the U.S. foreign policy in Middle East after the Cold War has changed periodically. However the aim of Middle East policy of the U.S.’ has not changed, but the policy instruments have been changed from hard power to soft power Then, the question has been raised about the whether the U.S. will be success or not with this new policy. These concerning issues are going to be discussed.
Promoting Ethical Human Resource Management Practices in Work Organizations in Nigeria: Roles of HR Professionals
Authors: Christopher Chidi Odogwu , Paul Ogunyomi, Olusiji. , Badejo Adedehinbo Ekundayo
Published: July 2012

This paper has become imperative in view of the on-going Federal Government’s initiative in charting an ethical roadmap for Nigeria. Ethics permeates all aspects of our national life and human resource management profession is no exception. Ethics refers to the principle of conduct governing an individual or a group. This paper examines ethical HRM practices in work organisations in Nigeria and the roles of HR professionals in promoting ethical practices with a view to achieving employee well-being, satisfaction at work and organisational performance. Based on theoretical and practical insights, the authors x-ray an array of unethical human resource management practices in work organisations in Nigeria. To combat unethical HR practices in the workplace, the authors enjoin HR professionals in line with top management to put in place ethical policies and codes and to constantly embark on ethical training of workers at all level as well as the institutionalisation of whistle blowing policy in their organisations.   Keywords: Ethics, Human Resource Management, Work Organisation, HR Professionals.
An Investigation of the Unemployment of Higher Educated Manpower in Iran
Authors: Sameei Ghasem
Published: July 2012

The importance and value of educated manpower (human capital) has become an important issue in economic development of countries throughout the world. In fact, effective use of physical capital itself is dependent upon human capital. Through a survey study, the present paper aimed at investigating the causes of unemployment of higher educated manpower (HEM) in Iran. The results of the study indicated that administrative, educational, economical and socio-cultural factors respectively have an influential effect on unemployment of HEM. The study has offered some implications to policy makers.Keywords: Higher educated manpower, Human capital, Economic growth, Economic development
Academic Writing: The Role of Culture, Language and Identity in Writing for Community
Authors: Nasiri Sina
Published: July 2012

When non-native scholars wish to write for their counterparts they should try to adapt their writing styles to the English norms which is considered as a national language among the global researchers around the world. Because the language they write is foreign, they face differences which make the writing difficult. These differences may be related to the different identity and cultural backgrounds. Accordingly, scholars should notice about the features of academic writing, in general and, in a particular field to overcome these differences. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to give some enlightenment on the various elements which can have less or more effects on the style of non-native writers. Thus, this descriptive study makes clear the different features of the academic writing to help non-native writers to know some of the issues which should be pondered by writers in adapting themselves with the norms of writing which is acceptable by the English academic culture in a global scene. The findings give information to the EAP instructors to raise the learners’ consciousness about the norms of the target culture.
Percieved Importance and Perfomance of Information Systems in Azam Company- Dar Es Salaam
Authors: Abeka Silvance O. , Abeka Evance Ochieng’
Published: July 2012

It is increasingly more interesting to the Companies to understand the relationship existing between perceived importance and performance of information systems within their companies. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perception of the importance of attributes of information systems and whether the performance of information systems met the users’ expectations in Azam company in Dar es salaam. Anonymous and self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 217 respondents. A total of 185 usable responses were received, resulting in a response rate of 85.3% which was considered satisfactory for subsequent analysis. Using an end-user satisfaction survey, It was discovered that the end-users were moderately satisfied with the company’s IS performance and that there were gaps between importance and performance on all the systems-related attributes studied. The largest gap pertained to the attributes Understanding Systems and Documentation. The contribution of the study is in advancing Importance-Performance Analysis applicable to IS research.   Keywords: Information Systems Performance, Information Systems Importance, End-user Satisfaction
The Use of Computer Based Testing Method for the Conduct of Examinations at the University of Ilorin
Authors: Alabi A.T. , Issa A. O. , Oyekunle R. A.
Published: July 2012

This paper presents an overview of the application of Information and Communication Technology in the conduct of post-UTME and other examinations at the University of Ilorin. It provides a brief historical background to the practice at the University, dating back to 2005 when it started by adopting the Pen-and-Paper Testing up to the present practice, using the Computer-Based Testing method. The paper underscored the challenges associated with the former practice, thus justifying the introduction of the latter, thereby justifying it. In conclusion, this paper advocates the widespread adoption of CBT method for the conduct of not just the post-UTME examinations, but also other University-based examinations with large population of students in Nigerian Universities owing to the success story of the University of Ilorin.
The Effect of Teaching Format, Students’ Ability and Cognitive Effort on Accounting Students’ Performance
Authors: Ghani Erlane K , Said Jamaliah , Muhammad Kamaruzzaman
Published: July 2012

This study examines whether factors identified in the literature as influencing students’ performance explain students’ performance in an Advanced Financial Accounting course. Three variables are chosen: teaching format, cumulative grade point average and study effort to examine their effect on students’ performance. Using questionnaire and experimental approaches on 129 students who were enrolled in Advanced Financial Accounting course in a public university in Malaysia, the results in this study indicate all three variables examined are associated with students’ performance. These results could assist academics in understanding and developing strategies that could be apply at the beginning of the course to ensure students’ performance could be improved.   Keywords: Students’ performance, Advanced Financial Accounting (AFA), Teaching Format, Cumulative Grade Point Average, Study Effort.
College Students, Motivation, and Success
Authors: Cox Becky J.
Published: July 2012

Many people spend a large portion of their lives striving to be successful, chasing success. But what is success? Success means different things to different people. How do we get to be successful? Why do some young adults choose to go to college? Does graduating from college offer a better opportunity for being successful? What motivates college students to go to class day after day, to complete hours of assigned work? What motivates us to be successful? This article reviews the parameters of motivation and what motivation means to different honors-level college students. Additionally, students are asked to determine why they make the choices they do. These topics were the focus in the motivational speech “Think – Understand - Succeed” utilizing the #1 National Bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (2008) as a main reference point. Comparisons were made between real-life situations and those found in Outliers.   Keywords: College Students, Success, Motivation, Culture, Family
Modeling the Impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) Practices on Service Quality in Service Organizations (Case Study: Isfahan Refah Kargaran Bank)
Authors: Ahmadabadi Majid Nili , Mehrabi Javad , Tanhaei Mohammad Hasan
Published: July 2012

Purpose: purpose of the present survey is to determine degree of relationship and impact of total quality management (TQM) practices on service quality in service organizations.Research methodology: this survey was conducted using descriptive-field method. Its primary data was obtained through field study by two TQM and service quality questionnaires among seventeen selected branches of Refah Kargaran Bank in Isfahan province. Volume of sample included sixty three (63) persons. Multiple regression method, F-test and T-test, ANOVA and correlation tables were used in the survey.Findings: continuous improvement with β=-0.537 and training with β=0.409 are two primary effective factors on increasing of service quality among seven independent variables (training, management commitment, employees’ empowerment, customer focus, information, continuous improvement and employees' involvement). Its regression model is as below:Y=1/876+0.543X Where X shows continuous improvement and Y is service quality.Conclusion: given to obtained results it could be claimed that it is possible to achieve a desirable level of success in business through a more precise planning, focusing on several more important and effective principles due to prioritization of effective factors on service quality during a shorter period of time and paying lower costs. Key words: total quality management (TQM), total quality management (TQM) practices, service quality
Oliva Model in Malaysian Logistics Curriculum: A Conceptual Framework Paper
Authors: Daud Dazmin , Ahmad Halim , Johari Hazrina
Published: July 2012

Abstract   This paper proposes an attempt to set out a conceptual framework for the application of Oliva Model in logistics curriculum at Malaysian higher education institutions. The need for a conceptual framework was due to the lacking of literatures pertaining to Oliva Model in Malaysian logistics education; and thus requires future empirical studies. Two main issues are tackled: Oliva Model as a curriculum theory, and the need to study this Model on logistics curriculum. In this context, the paper elaborates the Oliva Model as a theoretical foundation for curriculum development in logistics programs. The designing and evaluating components in the Model are expected to provide logistics students with optimum knowledge both in logistics as well as non-logistics. Key Words: Oliva curriculum model, logistics programmes, curriculum, Malaysian higher education institutions