bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of insurance coverage on consumer utilization of health services
Authors: O'Connor Genevieve Elizabeth
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify how need for service, enabling factors and pre-disposing characteristics influences access to service. In addition, the authors seek to examine the moderating influence of pre-disposing variables on the relationship between insurance and health services utilization.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors utilize data from a major metropolitan hospital in the USA to test and extend the behavioral model of health care.

Findings

– Results indicate that insurance and pre-disposing variables have a direct impact on type of health service utilization. However, the insurance effect is found to vary by demographic factors.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is limited to secondary data. Future work can incorporate both attitudinal and behavioral measures to obtain a more comprehensive evaluation of services access.

Practical implications

– The research offers a tactical framework for management to segment consumer markets more effectively.

Social implications

– Through the framework, management will have the requisite knowledge to target segmented populations based on need, insurance, and pre-disposing variables which will help improve access to services and clinical outcome.

Originality/value

– The findings of this paper will serve as a basis for future research exploring the influence of insurance on access to services.
Examining intellectual capital and competitive advantage relationship
Authors: Chahal Hardeep , Bakshi Purnima
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of intellectual capital on competitive advantage in banking sector. Further, it also examines the role of innovation as a mediating variable and organisational learning as a moderating variable in intellectual capital and competitive advantage relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data are collected from 144 branches of 21 public and seven private banks operating in Northern India (Jammu). Three executives (including one manager and two senior employees) from each branch are contacted purposively. Out of 576 questionnaires distributed, 339 questionnaires are returned with response rate of 62.08 per cent.

Findings

– The study finds that intellectual capital has direct and positive impact on the competitive advantage. It is also verified that innovation fully mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and competitive advantage. Further, the moderating effect of organisational learning on the relationship between intellectual capital and competitive advantage is also confirmed.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is limited to the banking sector of Jammu city only. Only three dimensions of intellectual capital are considered in the present study.

Originality/value

– The study represents the relationship between intellectual capital and competitive advantage in banking sector. The results extend the understanding of the role of organisational learning and innovation in creating intellectual capital and building sustainable advantages for organisations.
Serving the poor: captive market CSR and repurchase intention
Authors: Jose Saju , Khare Nilesh , Buchanan F. Robert
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of the firm affect poor captive consumers’ repurchase intentions, and whether or not CSR activities may moderate established relationships that drive repurchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey was administered to 201 poor microfinance borrowers at the bottom of the pyramid in India in a cross-sectional field study format. Multivariate regression is used to examine relationships between CSR and repurchase intention.

Findings

– All else being the same, CSR activities aimed at the borrowers’ communities affects repurchase intentions positively even among poor captive borrowers. Further, positive perceptions of CSR to some extent mitigate the negative impact of the dissatisfaction on repurchase intentions. Unmarried borrowers, mostly female, were more moved by CSR impressions compared to their married counterparts.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research could identify other aspects of demographic differences in borrowers, and capture more about attitudes toward CSR and motivations for borrowing. Longitudinal study can establish causality that cannot be inferred from this cross-sectional field study. More diverse locations and organizations would offer wider generalizability. It will be interesting to examine if poor and captive customers would care about CSR activities even when such activities are targeted at recipients unrelated to them or their communities.

Originality/value

– The dynamics of CSR in poor captive consumer communities are somewhat novel. Microfinance context makes it even more so as the borrower is both a client and a recipient of CSR simultaneously. Results suggest that like well-off consumers, poor and captive customers also care about dissatisfaction and CSR.
Customers’ emotional reactions in the banking industry
Authors: Marinkovic Veljko , Obradovic Vladimir
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify antecedents and consequences of customers’ emotional reactions in the banking industry. In this context, a model based on segmenting all variables into three segments is proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research was conducted on a sample of 211 respondents. Data analysis was conducted in AMOS 18. In order to assess the overall model fit, confirmative factor analysis (CFA) was used. To test the research hypotheses, a structural equation model was used.

Findings

– The research results indicate that trust, social bonds, image and service quality are statistically significant drivers of satisfaction. Of these variables, only service quality has no significant impact on affective commitment. Trust stands out as the variable with the greatest impact on customer emotional responses. Satisfaction is also an important determinant of customers’ behavioral intentions.

Practical implications

– Results of the present study indicate that management should pay considerable attention to strengthening intangible elements that imply the development of long-term relationships with clients.

Originality/value

– By designing a new model that includes antecedents and consequences of emotional reactions of customers, the present research contributes to theory in the field of services marketing. The model is characterized by its three-tier structure, whereby satisfaction and affective commitment occupy a central position.
Modelling roles of commitment on rapport and satisfaction
Authors: Fatima Johra Kayeser , Razzaque Mohammed Abdur , Di Mascio Rita
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of calculative, affective and normative commitment on bank employee-customer rapport and customer satisfaction. The mediating effect of rapport between each of the three types of commitment and customer satisfaction is also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

– Structural equation modelling by Partial Least Square method is used for analysing the data on 212 bank customers in Bangladesh.

Findings

– Results indicate that affective and normative commitment of customers has strong influence in developing rapport, whereas the impact of customers’ calculative commitment on rapport was found to be non-significant. The study also found that rapport has a complementary mediation effect between the three types of commitment and customer satisfaction.

Practical implications

– While providing training to front line employees, bank management should make them aware that not all customers may have the same level of positive attitude or cooperation for the rapport-building procedure. Employees should understand that different customers will respond differently to their efforts for building rapport due to their pre-existing commitment levels towards banks. Bank management should acknowledge that customers’ current level of commitment may be further strengthened or weakened by successful or unsuccessful rapport building with banks’ employees and thereby re-evaluate their satisfaction level with the bank.

Originality/value

– The study contributes to the relationship literature by exploring the mediating role of rapport between commitment and customer satisfaction, and by considering the influence of normative commitment on customer-employee rapport in financial services.
The profile of unethical insurance customers: a European perspective
Authors: Dehghanpour Ali , Rezvani Zeinab
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Although perceived as a wrong act, insurance fraud is a prevalent phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to understand the psychological factors that lead to reporting an exaggerated/false insurance claim would enable insurance companies and policy makers to devise better preventive policies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Utilizing data-driven clustering techniques on psychological and demographic measures from 985 insurance customers in Europe, this study outlines profiles of segments of customers as it relates to dishonesty in dealing with insurance companies. The segmentation criteria include attitude toward insurance fraud, perceived probability of punishment, basic human values and morals, religiosity, life satisfaction and demographic characteristics.

Findings

– Results reveal the existence of four market segments. The segments include non-conservatives (sensitive to both perception of wrong behavior and the monetary payoff for a fraudulent claim), self-protectionists (sensitive to the probability of being caught), hedonists (sensitive to the personal pleasure and monetary payoffs for insurance fraud) and socially focused individuals (sensitive to social norms regarding admitting to having committed insurance fraud). Among the demographic variables, only education and among psychological variables, universalism, hedonism, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence, moral philosophy, religiosity, perceived probability of punishment and attitude toward insurance fraud were significantly different among the four identified segments.

Practical implications

– Specific policies are proposed in order to prevent insurance fraud, tailored to the specific profile of each segment.

Originality/value

– Using a psychological perspective and a data-driven methodology, this study identifies four heterogeneous segments of unethical insurance customers with dissimilar values, attitudes toward fraud and perception of punishment probability.
Customer satisfaction and loyalty in the United Arab Emirates banking industry
Authors: Sayani Hameedah
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of consumer loyalty in Islamic and conventional banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study has relevance and importance in a country with a dual banking system. Since the products and services offered by the banks are largely homogenous, customer loyalty is mostly associated with the quality of certain tangible and intangible dimensions of service. It is important for the banks to understand the factors that lead to higher satisfaction and subsequent loyalty among consumers in the context of the UAE.

Design/methodology/approach

– More than 300 respondents were surveyed to understand the factors that lead to continuing a relationship with Islamic and conventional banks. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and stepwise regression.

Findings

– The findings of the study indicate that Islamic banks’ customers are satisfied with the Shariah Advisory Board, convenience-related factors such as number of branches, and efficiency-related factors like handling issues on the phone. However, an inverse relationship is found between advice by the personnel and length of association with the bank. On the other hand, the importance of reputation and efficient handling of issues on the phone is highlighted with respect to conventional banks.

Research limitations/implications

– The study focusses only on consumers that bank either with Islamic or conventional banks and excludes those who deal with both Islamic and conventional banks simultaneously.

Practical implications

– The research has several managerial implications, as the findings of the study not only highlight the factors that banking consumers value the most in the UAE banking sector, but also provide insight into the factors which need immediate attention. These decisions have strategic and resource-related implications for banks. This knowledge will allow banks to align services with their long-term objectives and invest into resources and capabilities that will provide them competitive advantage.

Originality/value

– The study allows identification of factors that are valued the most by banking consumers in a culturally and religiously diverse country with a dual banking system.
Wage differentials between immigrants and the native-born in Australia
Authors: Cai Lixin , Liu Amy Y.C.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the wage differentials along the entire distribution between immigrants and the Australian-born.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, the authors apply a semi-parametric method (DiNardoet al., 1996) to decompose the distributional wage gap between immigrants and native-born Australians into composition effect and wage structure effect. The authors further apply the unconditional quantile regression (UQR) method (Firpoet al., 2007) to decompose the overall wage structure effect into contributions from individual wage covariates.

Findings

– Relative to the native-born, both effects favour immigrants from English-speaking countries. For male immigrants from non-English-speaking countries (NESC) the favourable composition effect is offset by disadvantage in the wage structure effect, leaving little overall wage difference. Female immigrants from NESC are disadvantaged at the lower part of the wage distribution.

Practical implications

– The increasingly skill-based immigration policy in Australia has increased skill levels of immigrants relative to the Australian-born. However, the playing field may yet to be equal for the recent NESC immigrants due to unfavourable rewards to their productivity factors. Also, immigrants are not homogeneous. Countries of origin and gender matter in affecting wage outcomes.

Originality/value

– The unique wage-setting system and the increasingly skill-based immigration policy have made Australia an interesting case. The authors examine the entire wage distribution between migrants and native-born rather than focus on the mean. The authors differentiate immigrants by their country of origin and gender; and apply the UQR decomposition to identify the contributions from individual wage covariates.
How to empower employees: using training to enhance work units’ collective empowerment
Authors: Voegtlin Christian , Boehm Stephan A. , Bruch Heike
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine, theoretically and empirically, whether an employee training program can enhance the collective perception of empowerment of work units within an organization. The authors hypothesized that training participation relates to empowerment by enhancing the potency, meaningfulness, impact, and autonomy of the employees.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors collected data at two time points, before and after the training intervention. Over the two periods, the sample consisted of an average of 2,383 employees nested in 36 work units of a large multinational company.

Findings

– The results indicated a positive relationship between training participation and increased levels of collective psychological empowerment, with differential effects on the dimensions of empowerment.

Practical implications

– This study provides evidence of the positive relationship between training and empowerment, suggesting training effects across levels of analysis. The results indicated dimensions of empowerment that are more and such that are less prone to training. Such knowledge may help to inform organizations in developing training strategies. The authors provide recommendations for a respective training program.

Originality/value

– This is one of the first studies to investigate the relationship between training participation of individual employees and shared empowerment perceptions within their work units, adding an important antecedent to the research on empowerment. In addition, the authors propose ways of how individual employees can affect shared perceptions among work-unit members. The study offers insights into the development of empowered work units, the vertical transfer of training across levels of analysis and implications for training programs.
Exploring the “mid office” concept as an enabler of mass customization in services
Authors: Silvestro Rhian , Lustrato Paola
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Mass customization (MC) is a well-established strategy for providing high levels of customization while achieving the scale economies of high volume production. The purpose of this paper is to explore a new service design configuration, the “mid office,” as a service interface which may support front office customization capabilities while protecting the back office from disruption. The authors posit that it may facilitate MC by enabling product/service and organizational modularity.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research is based on a single case study of a large European bank’s payment services, traditionally high volume, low variety operations. The bank adopted a MC strategy which involved the creation of a mid office. The analysis spans product/service and organizational design.

Findings

– When combined with menu-driven customization and reuse modularization, the mid office appears to support partial rather than full MC. It facilitates postponement of customization to the assembly stage through service coproduction, organizational decoupling, and the streamlining of employee adaptive behaviors.

Research limitations/implications

– The study bears the limitations typical of case study research; however this was appropriate given the exploratory nature of the research into a nascent concept.

Practical implications

– The paper identifies a series of design decisions to enable practitioners to choose between full and partial service MC, ensuring design coherence through a mirror effect of service modularity and organizational modularity.

Originality/value

– It is argued that the mid office is a service interface which facilitates partial MC by enabling service and organizational modularity. The paper reinterprets the archetypes of full and partial MC in service terms, and proposes a contingent approach to service MC implementation based on service value.
Organising health services through modularity
Authors: Vähätalo Mervi , Kallio Tomi Juhani
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the way in which the factors influencing a transformation towards or away from modularity, according to general modular systems theory, appear in the context of health services, and the extent to which the special characteristics of health services might support or prevent its application.

Design/methodology/approach

– The arguments constructed in the study are based on the theme of modularity, reflected against the special characteristics of health services identified in the context of health economics.

Findings

– The results include 11 proposition pairs that direct health services both towards and away from modularity.

Research limitations/implications

– Health services are highly heterogeneous in nature and the authors illustrate this with a wide range of examples from elderly care as the authors discuss the application of modularity in this context. Nevertheless, the authors recognise that modularity might suit some health services better than others. The findings provide potentially important information to health service managers and providers, enabling them to understand how modularity would benefit health service provision and where contradictions are to be expected.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the discourse on service modularity in general, and complements the literature on modularity with reference to both public and private health services.
Brand loyalty in enterprise microblogs
Authors: Zhang Hong , Zhang Kem Z.K. , Lee Matthew K.O. , Feng Feng
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– With the prevailing microblogging phenomenon, many marketers have created their microblog accounts to promote products, advertise brands, and attract consumers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of consumers’ community commitment, information technology (IT) habit, and participation on their brand loyalty in the context of enterprise microblogs.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 364 valid data were collected from fans or followers of enterprise microblogs through a survey onWeibo.com. The data were analyzed with smart partial least squares.

Findings

– Community commitment and IT habit directly lead to brand loyalty and indirectly affect brand loyalty through the mediating influence of participation. Information quality, perceived expertise, and social interaction are antecedents of community commitment. Satisfaction, importance, and social interaction positively affect IT habit.

Research limitations/implications

– To enhance the generalizability of the study, future studies may examine findings in other platforms (e.g. Twitter) with a large sample size.

Practical implications

– Practitioners can increase consumers’ brand loyalty through enterprise microblogs. Considerable attention should be directed to facilitating members’ community commitment and IT habit. In addition, the study points out significant antecedents of community commitment and IT habit for researchers, managers, and companies.

Originality/value

– To uncover the marketing potential of microblogging technology, the authors highlight the need for investigating how enterprise microblogs generate promising marketing outcomes. The present study examines key determinants of brand loyalty. The model empirically shows the significant effects of community commitment, IT habit, and participation.
The health information seeking and usage behavior intention of Chinese consumers through mobile phones
Authors: Deng Zhaohua , Liu Shan , Hinz Oliver
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Although the health information seeking behavior of consumers through the internet has received great attention, limited attempt has been made to integrate both the health information seeking behavior and the usage behavior in a mobile online context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that influence consumer mobile health information seeking (MHIS) and usage behavior based on information quality, perceived value, personal health value, and trust.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey was conducted to collect data. A two-step approach of structure equation modeling based was used to test the measurement model and hypothesis model.

Findings

– Information quality, perceived value, and trust were found to have positive effects on both the intention to seek and to use health information, and that the intention to seek affects the intention to use. Among the three components of perceived value, the utilitarian and epistemic values were found to have significant effects on intention to seek. In addition, the current health status of health consumers moderates the relationships between MHIS and usage intention and their determinants.

Originality/value

– Studies have primarily focussed on online health information seeking behavior, whereas a few of these studies have examined the seeking behavior intention and the usage behavior intention in a general model. The results indicate that health information usage behavior intention is closely related to the seeking behavior intention in the mobile context, which enriches the research on the relationship between information seeking and its outcomes. Furthermore, this study highlights the impact of information quality, perceived value, and trust on the intention to seek, and the impacts of information quality and trust on the intention to use, which have been overlooked in previous studies on MHIS.
The digital divide and social inclusion among refugee migrants
Authors: Alam Khorshed , Imran Sophia
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which influence refugee migrants’ adoption of digital technology and its relevance to their social inclusion in Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research developed a conceptual framework keeping the “use” of digital technology as the centre-piece of the digital divide. The empirical data were derived from a series of focus group discussions with refugee migrants in an Australian regional city, Toowoomba in Queensland.

Findings

– There is a digital divide among refugee migrant groups and it is based on inequalities in physical access to and use of digital technology, the skills necessary to use the different technologies effectively and the ability to pay for the services. The opportunities to use digital technology could support the social inclusion of refugee migrant groups in the broader Australian community.

Research limitations/implications

– Further research is required to examine whether this digital divide is unique in the regional context or common to Australian society and to confirm factors that might contribute significantly to refugee migrants’ social inclusion.

Originality/value

– This paper determined the role digital technology can play in building social capital and hence social inclusion among refugee migrant groups. Many of the factors identified as influencing refugee migrants’ use of digital technology can inform the Australian government and the information and communication technology industry in devising supportive policies and plans to reduce the risk of social exclusion, alienation and marginalisation among refugee migrant groups.
With best intentions
Authors: Iivari Netta , Kinnula Marianne , Kuure Leena
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Children have been recognized as an important user group for information and communication technology (ICT) and methods for involving them in ICT design have already been devised. However, there is a lack of research on children’s genuine or authentic participation in ICT design as well as a lack of critical research scrutinizing how “children” and “their participation” actually end up constructed in ICT design. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– An intervention involving children in ICT design following the research strategy of nexus analysis was implemented. A qualitative data archive of this intervention is examined through a Foucauldian lens.

Findings

– The study reveals that numerous discourses were relied on when talking about “children” and “their participation” in the case project: the discourses of participation, equality, domination, segregation, rebellion, and patronization were identified. Moreover, “children” were constructed as equal partners and influential, but also as ignorant, ignored, silent, and silencing each other. Some of the findings are in line with the existing ICT literature on the matter, others even with the literature on genuine participation of children. However, children and their participation were also constructed as “problematic” in many senses.

Research limitations/implications

– The study contributes to and opens up avenues for critical research on genuine participation of users, especially children.

Practical implications

– Practical suggestions for researchers interested in participation of children in ICT design are provided.

Originality/value

– While research literature offers an abundance of best practices and an idealized view on children and their participation, this study shows the multitude of challenges involved and discourses circulating around.
Building your own ERMS
Authors: Simon Jason C
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The paper aims to demonstrate a method for creating an electronic resource management system (ERMS) from freely available open source tools. This system will help manage bibliographic data, holdings and statistical and financial data for electronic databases and periodicals.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper demonstrates how to create a database and interface for managing serials and electronic resources using PHP and MySQL within a *AMP framework.

Findings

– By following this approach, libraries can maintain structured data regarding their electronic and print holdings with minimal expense and with flexibility that is not necessarily possible through large commercial products, while avoiding the burden of implementing a large, open source solution.

Originality/value

– While many products exist on the market, either commercial or large open source solutions, there is little documentation on how to create a small scalable ERMS. This paper attempts to demonstrate a method.
Opening libraries to cloud computing: a Kenyan perspective
Authors: Wasike Jotham Milimo , Njoroge Lawrence
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the types of cloud computing, models, characteristics, descriptions, applications, considerations for use and benefits of the following technologies to library users. Cloud computing has taken libraries in Kenya by storm. Because of this, many libraries do not know what to do. They are at cross-roads. They lack policies to govern them. However, the recent realization by information professionals that cloud computing has a critical role to play in the provision of information services has created a desire to effectively harness and manage them for scholarly communication.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research reviewed previous studies on the topic by examining both electronic and print information resources available in the libraries and internet.

Findings

– The findings revealed that libraries in Kenya are yet to fully embrace cloud computing in their operations. There are mixed feelings by librarians on the degree at which they should integrate these technologies in their service provisions. However, there is a positive progress toward this noble venture.

Research limitations/implications

– Kenya as a developing nation has limited local content on the subject. The study established that some of the available literature is restricted by intellectual property rights. This forced the researcher to rely heavily on foreign literature for the study.

Practical implications

– Appreciation of emerging cloud computing technologies by libraries is inevitable for the sustainability and management of modern libraries. Cloud computing makes libraries more competitive by adequately meeting user’s technological needs. This study will also act as a benchmark for the Government of Kenya to improve the current information communication technology (ICT) national policy.

Social implications

– Apart from revolutionalizing library operations and delivery of services, cloud computing will tremendously revolutionize the social-cultural and communication landscape of the society.

Originality/value

– The paper provides vital information and insights into how libraries are embracing cloud computing in the provision and dissemination of varied information services to library users.
Using two-step cluster analysis to identify homogeneous physical activity groups
Authors: Rundle-Thiele Sharyn , Kubacki Krzysztof , Tkaczynski Aaron , Parkinson Joy
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to: first, illustrate how market segmentation using two-step cluster analysis can be used to identify segments in the context of physical activity; second, identified segments are used to offer practical implications for social marketers working in the area of physical activity.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 1,459 respondents residing within 20 kilometres of the Melbourne Central Business District participated in an online survey. The questions in the survey included items relating to respondents’ health perceptions, health knowledge, attitudes, intentions to start a new physical activity, demographics, place of residence and self-reported physical activity. Two-step cluster analysis using the log-likelihood measure was used to reveal natural groupings in the data set.

Findings

– This research has identified four distinctive segments in the context of physical activity, namely: Young Disinteresteds, Successful Enthusiasts, Vulnerables and Happy Retirees.

Research limitations/implications

– The study was conducted in March and some sports were not in season at the time of the study, therefore future research should extend the current sample to take seasonality and geography into account and to ensure the clusters are fully representative of the Australian population.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the literature by outlining a two-step cluster analytic approach to segmentation that can be used by social marketers to identify valuable segments when developing social marketing programmes.
An empirical study of the antecedents and consequences of brand engagement
Authors: Wong Ho Yin , Merrilees Bill
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model of brand engagement. More specifically, the aim is to evaluate both antecedents and consequences of brand engagement, from a management perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– A quantitative survey of 403 firms is undertaken to test the model. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to estimate the parameters of the model.

Findings

– A reliable and valid measure of brand engagement is established. The SEM model works well, in terms of goodness of fit indices. The results demonstrate that there are major brand performance benefits (consequences) of brand engagement. Additionally, and important for the practical implications, the results show that brand orientation is a major antecedent to brand engagement.

Research limitations/implications

– The study needs to be replicated in other countries, with scope to add other explanatory variables for influencing brand engagement. The results have considerable practical benefits for guiding the introduction of measures to enhance brand engagement.

Originality/value

– The study builds on earlier (mainly consumer) conceptual approaches to brand engagement, but goes further in that it provides empirical evidence about the nature, antecedents and consequences of brand engagement and further, offers a management rather than consumer perspective. Essentially, the study reveals a new perspective of factors that encourage firms to connect/engage their brands with consumers. Brand engagement is a dual concept, reflecting both a consumer and a firm perspective.
Race and attitudes toward police: the mediating effect of social distance
Authors: Lee Joongyeup , Gibbs Jennifer C.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Given the consistent finding in the literature that members of minority groups hold less favorable views of the police than white citizens, social distance may be an important, yet untested, mediator. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of social distance net of other established correlates.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sample of students attending a university in the northeastern USA completed an online survey in 2013. The survey was about their contact with the police, attitudes toward the police, and lifestyles, among others.

Findings

– Race, along with other predictors, significantly influenced confidence in police. However, race is the only factor that turns nonsignificant when social distance is included in the model. Mediation tests confirmed that social distance mediates the relationship between race and confidence in the police.

Research limitations/implications

– To maximize confidence in the police, administrators should focus on closing the social distance between the public and the police through initiatives like community policing.

Originality/value

– While there is extensive research on public attitudes toward the police, social distance has been neglected as a determinant, despite movements like community policing that promote citizens’ relational closeness to the police – that is, to decrease the social distance between police and the public. The current study would be an exploratory study and reference for future studies.
In or out of the group? Police subculture and occupational stress
Authors: Rose Trina , Unnithan Prabha
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Policing is associated with a pronounced occupational subculture. Policing is also known for physical and mental stressors that are, arguably, more than other professions. The purpose of this paper is to hypothesize that those police officers who perceive themselves as not a part of the subculture (i.e. “out-group”) would experience more occupational stress in comparison to those who perceive themselves as a part of it (i.e. “in-group”).

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use data from the Work and Family Services for Law Enforcement Personnel in the US survey (Delprino, 1997) and OLS regression to assess the direct association between officers’ perceptions of policing subculture membership and occupational stress.

Findings

– Results support the hypothesis, with in-group officers reporting significantly less occupational stress than out-group officers. This finding holds, with slight variations, when demographic and experiential variables are introduced as controls.

Research limitations/implications

– Findings are from an earlier survey and based on responses from 1,632 officers in 51 agencies. They are geographically limited.

Practical implications

– The importance of the protective function of subculture needs to be taken into account when attempting to deal with police stress.

Social implications

– This study provides ideas on how departments can utilize occupational subcultures to deal with the stress experienced by members.

Originality/value

– The relationship between police subculture and stress has not been examined empirically before. This study documents the positive impact of police subculture in terms of helping members deal with stress.
Police selection – implications during training and early career
Authors: Annell Stefan , Lindfors Petra , Sverke Magnus
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The cost of selecting and training new police officers is high. However, previous research has provided limited guidance on how to select the best applicants. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of the possibilities to select suitable applicants by using combinations of four common categories of selection methods, namely cognitive tests, personality inventories, physical tests, and rater-based methods (i.e. interviews).

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a sample of Swedish police recruits (n=750) the authors performed hierarchical multiple regression analyses, predicting four criteria – performance, satisfaction, retention, and health – at three consecutive time points (after two years of academy training, after six months of field training, and after the first work year).

Findings

– No group of selection methods consistently predicted all four criteria at the three time points. In most analyses more than one class of selection methods were statistically significant, but the findings did not support the use of rater-based methods.

Practical implications

– Instead of the common praxis of using interviews, the findings suggest an alternative praxis. This involves using the remaining information from cognitive tests, personality inventories, and general fitness tests that had been used in earlier hurdles to screen out unsuitable applicants.

Originality/value

– The study extends previous research by including several follow-ups, showing the value of combining different selection methods, and using alternative criteria of successful police recruitment (i.e. satisfaction, retention, and health).
Differentiating confidence in the police, trust in the police, and satisfaction with the police
Authors: Cao Liqun
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to differentiate clearly between three frequently used concepts found in the research literature on public perceptions of the police: confidence in the police, satisfaction with the police and trust in the police.

Design/methodology/approach

– Systemic literature review and thematic analysis are employed to assess each key term in the official English language dictionary and in the research literature. Their individual origins, their evolvement and their current usages are examined with great care.

Findings

– The findings of the study suggest that the three phrases are indeed distinct in their connotation. It is concluded that “confidence in the police” is the preferred choice when we survey the citizenry about the level of support for the police and when the police is evaluated as a political institution.

Practical implications

– Given that most criminologists believe that we are doing scientific research, it is our duty to be attentive to the pitfalls of lack of conceptual clarity.

Originality/value

– The essay advances the conceptual clarification of one of the popular themes in the study of the police.
Dermoscopic features of hidroacanthoma simplex: Usefulness in distinguishing it from Bowen's disease and seborrheic keratosis
Authors: Shiiya Chihiro , Hata Hiroo , Inamura Yuka , Imafuku Keisuke , Kitamura Shinya , Fujita Hiromi , Shimizu Hiroshi
Published: May 2015

Hidroacanthoma simplex (HAS) is a rare benign eccrine adnexal tumor. HAS is sometimes clinically or pathologically misdiagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma in situ (Bowen's disease; BD), seborrheic keratosis (SK) or other adnexal tumor. To date, there has never been a report focusing on dermoscopic features to distinguish HAS from BD and SK. We found the following dermoscopic findings to be characteristic of HAS: fine black dots/globules (75% of cases) and fine scales arranged annularly (100% of cases). In contrast, glomerular vessels, which are typically observed in BD, were not seen in any of the four cases. Cerebriform appearance and milia‐like cysts, which are typically observed in SK, were also not seen in any of the four cases. The existence of “scattered fine black dots/globules” and “fine scales arranged annularly”, and the absence of the glomerular vessels, may contribute to precise diagnosis of HAS. Even though HAS resembles BD or SK clinically, it can be distinguished from these by the characteristic dermoscopic features.
Feasibility of virtual source reflection seismology using interferometry for mineral exploration: A test study in the Lalor Lake volcanogenic massive sulphide mining area, Manitoba, Canada
Authors: Cheraghi Saeid , Craven James A. , Bellefleur Gilles
Published: May 2015

Approximately 300 hours of ambient noise data were recorded on a grid of receivers covering an area of 4 km2 over the Lalor Mine, Canada, to test the capability of seismic interferometry to image ore deposits in the crystalline rock environment. Underground mining activities create the main source of ambient noise in the area. Alongside the ambient noise survey, a larger three‐dimensional active‐source seismic survey was also acquired and used to evaluate the interferometry results. Power spectral density calculations show random ambient noise with a frequency range of 2 Hz–35 Hz. A beamforming analysis identified body waves arriving from the west–northwest (pointing towards the mine) and surface waves propagating from the northeast. The calculated virtual shot gathers retrieved by cross‐correlating ambient noise at all receivers were processed following both two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional approaches using a sequence similar to the one applied to the active‐source three‐dimensional data. The dip‐moveout stacked section reveals a number of events similar to those observed on the processed active seismic sections. In particular, the passive seismic interferometry method is capable to partly image shallowly dipping reflections but did not produce convincing images of steeply dipping reflections. Dip‐moveout stacked sections obtained with different cross‐correlation time windows indicate that the strength and number of reflections generally increase with longer noise records. However, a few reflections at depth show reduced coherency with longer noise time windows. The passive seismic interferometry results over the Lalor mining area are encouraging, but image quality of the passive survey is lower than the acquired active three‐dimensional survey at the area. Future ambient noise surveys with longer offsets, shorter receiver spacing, and wider azimuth distribution are needed in crystalline rock environment to address the potential of the method for mineral exploration.
Territorial Finance and the Future of Barnett
Authors: N. F. Bell David
Published: May 2015

This article traces the changing funding relationships between Scotland and the UK government. Beginning from the Barnett Formula, it examines how the changing support within Scotland for greater political autonomy from Westminster has influenced the mechanisms that have determined Scotland's fiscal structure. Increasing support for the SNP, and then for the Yes campaign in the September 2014 independence referendum, has led to a mixture of new powers being granted to the Scottish Parliament. The Scotland Act 2012 extends the Scottish government's control over income tax and some other small taxes. Although independence was rejected by the Scottish people in September 2014, the ‘Vow’ made by the Westminster parties immediately before the vote is leading to far‐reaching changes in the UK's fiscal structure. This will cause a very substantial change in intergovernmental relations within the UK, which the Barnett Formula may not survive.
The Rise of the Far Right in Debtor and Creditor European Countries: The Case of European Parliament Elections
Authors: Halikiopoulou Daphne , Vlandas Tim
Published: May 2015

While the 2014 European Parliament elections were marked by the rise of parties on the far right‐wing, the different patterns of support that we observe across Europe and across time are not directly related to the economic crisis. Indeed, economic hardship seems neither sufficient nor necessary for the rise of such parties to occur. Using the cross‐national results for the 2004, 2009 and 2014 EP elections in order to capture time and country variations, we posit that the economy affects the rise of far right‐wing parties in more complex ways. Specifically, we compare the experience of high‐debt countries (the ‘debtors’) and the others (the ‘creditors’) and explore the relationship between far right‐wing party success on the one hand, and unemployment, inequality, immigration, globalisation and the welfare state on the other. Our discussion suggests there might be a trade‐off between budgetary stability and far right‐wing party support, but the choice between Charybdis and Scylla may be avoided if policy‐makers carefully choose which policies should bear the brunt of the fiscal adjustment.