bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
View of Islam on earthquakes, human vitality and disaster
Authors: Ghafory‐Ashtiany Mohsen
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to increase public participation in the reduction process of growing disaster risk in developing countries by making optimum benefit from the richness of Islamic teaching toward developing an effective and scientifically sound risk communication and education plan that blends with historical traditions, religious beliefs and indigenous knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the correlation between the guiding principle of earthquake risk reduction and the views of Islam on disaster, earthquake, God's bounty, the earth, good deeds, as well as human behavior, safety and vitality in order to clear existing misconceptions and it shows the issues of environment protection, risk management, safety and human life in terms of religious teaching.

Findings

The dissemination of this type of knowledge has helped to clear the misconceptions and increase people's understanding of and knowledge about disaster‐related issues; as a necessary step in the process of disaster risk reduction and improving safety and development, all of which can be viewed as demonstrations of God's love for humankind.

Originality/value

It is the first time that this noble correlation between religion and risk reduction has been explained in a paper, and it is expected to open the road for research and discussion on this topic.
Kuwait's 1991 environmental tragedy: lessons learned
Authors: Mohamed Al‐Damkhi Ali , Ahmed Abdul‐Wahab Sabah , Mansour Al‐Khulaifi Nabeel
Published: June 2009

Purpose

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 precipitated an ecological tragedy in the Arabian Gulf region. During the course of the invasion Kuwait suffered severe losses to both its oil industry and its ecological system. The scale of damage was enormous, ranging from destruction as a result of oil fires and spills to the economic deterioration of Kuwait's oil industry. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the lessons learned from Kuwait's oil well catastrophe in the hope of preventing or at least minimizing future such man‐made disasters.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews and analyzes Kuwait's oil well tragedy in terms of its scope, logistical services provided to cope with the disaster, the techniques used in firefighting operations and related political issues. The paper also discusses the need to review existing environmental laws and the concept of environmental crime in light of this catastrophe.

Findings

There are many important lessons that can be drawn from Kuwait's catastrophic disaster, the most important of which is to ensure that dictators in the future never believe they can destroy the environment without severe repercussions from the international community.

Practical implications

The conflagrations in Kuwait demonstrate the dangerous consequences of large‐scale modern combat in an environmentally fragile area. Not just Kuwait but all oil‐producing nations, especially the Gulf countries, are vulnerable to this type of environmental and economic disaster.

Originality/value

Kuwait's tragedy highlights the need for immediate consideration of possible similar disasters in the future and how the global community will deal with them. The high cost of environmental degradation only gets more expensive when left unattended. The price is paid not only in hard currency for firefighting but in damage to the public's health and in other environmental problems. This paper shows that sustainable development is impossible in the presence of wars and terrorist activities.
Web‐based support system for flood response operation in Malaysia
Authors: Katuk Norliza , Ruhana Ku‐Mahamud Ku , Norwawi Norita , Deris Safaai
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the utilization of a web‐based support system for flood response operation in Malaysia. The system is intentionally designed to improve process and data management towards providing prompt and effective response to victims.

Design/methodology/approach

The implementation of the research adopted the knowledge acquisition method for implementing expert systems in organizations. The methodology consists of four phases of activities which are planning for knowledge acquisition, knowledge extraction, knowledge analysis, and knowledge verification.

Findings

The findings include the architecture of the web‐based support system for flood response operation which is presented in the form of conceptual and software models. The architecture of web‐based support systems for flood response operation can assist the flood management related agencies in managing and maintaining data related to floods. It also allows them to monitor the current situation of flood‐related matters.

Practical implications

Web‐based support systems for flood response operation is expected to improve the overall aspect of flood response operation by providing electronic features which facilitate the flood response process and data management. In future, expert systems for flood response operations is one of the enhancements to the current architecture.

Originality/value

This paper presents the architecture of a web‐based support system for flood response operation in Malaysia. The proposed architecture is beneficial for the flood management related agencies in order to plan further improvements in the current procedure for flood response.
Stress‐prevention in secondary schools: online‐ versus face‐to‐face‐training
Authors: Fridrici Mirko , Lohaus Arnold
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the evaluation of an internet‐delivered stress‐prevention program for adolescents as a possible alternative for school‐based implementation of mental health promotion.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 904 adolescents in grades eight and nine were assigned to four treatment conditions (online‐training in school, online‐training via internet from home, school‐based face‐to‐face training, control group without intervention). Before and after the training interval, all adolescents were questioned about their knowledge regarding stress and coping and their appraisal of stress‐evoking situations. The participants self‐assessed their perceived stress vulnerability, their coping behavior and their stress symptoms. In addition, the training groups were asked about their training acceptance.

Findings

The results show a considerable knowledge gain for participants of the online‐program. The number of positive cognitions in stress‐evoking situations also increased, although this effect was only observed in the school‐based online‐training setting. Regarding training acceptance, the best results were obtained for participants of the classical face‐to‐face intervention.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should examine factors that influence compliance rates in internet‐delivered prevention programs.

Practical implications

Although online‐prevention cannot completely substitute school‐based face‐to‐face‐training, it can be seen as an effective and economic complement to conventional methods of health promotion.

Originality/value

This paper presents not only a comparative evaluation of internet‐ and school‐based health promotion targeting adolescents, but also a comparison of the effects of online‐prevention under “real” and “ideal” conditions.
“Crazy? So what!”:
Authors: Conrad Ines , Dietrich Sandra , Heider Dirk , Blume Anne , Angermeyer Matthias C. , Riedel‐Heller Steffi
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the health‐promoting and stigma‐reducing effect of the German school‐based programme “Crazy? So what!”.

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi‐experimental longitudinal control‐study was carried out with assessments one week prior to the school programme, immediately after it and three months later. A total of 210 Year 9 and 10 students (aged 13‐18 years) were surveyed in four schools in Saxony, Germany. Data analysis was done descriptively based on frequency distributions. Random effects regression models for unbalanced panel data were used to estimate the change of the outcome variables over time.

Findings

At baseline, only 5.2 per cent of the intervention group would talk with their teacher about a mental health problem. Immediately after the programme, this number increased to 10.6 per cent and after three months to 17.9 per cent. There was also a positive, short‐term effect on students' social distance, i.e. an increase in positive attitudes towards those with a mental illness, but this was not sustained over time. By contrast, self‐efficacy proved resistant to change.

Originality/value

This school programme is successful in that the “experts on their own behalf” (young people, who have gone through mental illness) were able to encourage and reassure others on how to face a mental health crisis with more confidence, which also contributes to strengthening students' resilience. The results of this study indicate the importance of sensitising children and youth, but also teachers and other adults to mental health.
Succeeding in the new economic environment – three targets for leaders
Authors: Berman Saul , Davidson Steven , Longworth Sara , Blitz Amy
Published: June 2009

Purpose

Companies are now struggling to cope with the most severe recession in more than half a century. This paper aims to study how leading companies have successfully reacted to the crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers identified early winners in the current recession, beginning with large US‐listed companies whose stock appreciated by at least 5 percent in 2008, at a time when the S&P declined by 37 percent. They looked at best practices of 61 companies.

Findings

Winners have learned to ask, “Which strategies will allow the company to both survive in this economic transformation and, potentially, to thrive in it?”

Practical implications

Overall, the early winners the following: focus on value via sustainable strategies that emphasize long‐term value; exploit opportunities presented during downturns, including growing through low‐cost acquisitions and stock buy‐backs; and act quickly, with the agility to respond ahead of, or at least to keep pace with, rapid changes in the new economic environment.

Originality/value

As winning firms have learned, there are the three targets for leaders in the new economic environment. The article offers a how‐to guide to achieving them: leadership target no. 1: focus on value; leadership target no. 2: exploit opportunities; and leadership target no. 3: make speed a competitive advantage.
Distressed M&A and corporate strategy: lessons from Marvel Entertainment Group's bankruptcy
Authors: Calandro Joseph
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to illustrate the viability of distressed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by way of case study utilizing the modern Graham and Dodd valuation approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a distressed acquisition case study of the 1996 Marvel Entertainment Group (Marvel) bankruptcy. It draws on previously published Graham and Dodd methodological materials as well as a financial case study of Marvel that was prepared at the time. The valuation presented in this paper is the sole work of the author.

Findings

The case study supports the view that distressed M&A can be a viable corporate strategy alternative. It also demonstrates how a multi‐layered valuation approach such as Graham and Dodd can be ideal for identifying value that may be hidden in the confusion and distress of bankruptcy.

Research limitations/implications

The case study illustrates the valuation insights that the modern Graham and Dodd approach can produce in a distressed setting.

Practical implications

The case study illustrates the viability of distressed M&A as a corporate strategy alternative.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that we are aware that applies Graham and Dodd‐based distressed M&A valuation to corporate strategy.
The future of interpretive accounting research
Authors: Durocher Sylvain
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the polyphonic debate on the future of interpretive accounting research (IAR) by addressing the issues of cumulative knowledge and embedment of IAR in wider literatures.

Design/methodology/approach

McCracken's method of inquiry, adapted to incorporate meso‐level considerations, can be used to help resolve these issues. Accounting‐related phenomena can be studied by first identifying the cumulative knowledge contributed by different theoretical perspectives that provides broad skeletal categories to be investigated in the context of an interpretive study. In addition, micro‐ and macro‐level “external” theories are incorporated in a global meso‐level framework to provide a high‐level lens to guide data generation and analysis, fostering the embedment of IAR in wider literatures.

Findings

Meso‐level research implies thinking organizationally and behaviourally, and thinking about linkage. By extension, it requires reflecting on the characteristics of the context in which the phenomenon occurs and the actors behave, the nature of the task or decision to perform, and possible links between macro‐ and micro‐factors that help identify “external” theories and frameworks that contribute to understanding the phenomenon.

Research limitations/implications

The contribution of the suggested approach is highlighted in the context of financial accounting research. Reflexive accounts on the choice and use of a meso‐level approach are presented, and the issue of appropriate balance between theoretical and empirical material is addressed.

Originality/value

Creativity is fostered when cumulative knowledge about a specific phenomenon is embedded in wider meso‐level theoretical perspectives, leading to the discovery of new insights about the topic under study and contributing to the advancement of knowledge.
The impact of sports on team performance management
Authors: Ratten Vanessa
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the special issue on the relationship of performance management to sports teams.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains the importance of performance management to sports teams and justifies the need for the special issue.

Findings

The paper finds that there are a variety of different types of teams that operate in the sports context, including professional league teams, college teams, teams at the workplace, volunteer teams and coaching teams.

Originality/value

This editorial provides an overview of this special issue, which comprises eight original papers that are best practice examples of the latest developments in the research on teams in the sports context. Each of these articles is briefly discussed in terms of its contribution to the literature.
Managing legitimacy and uncertainty in professional team sport: the NBA's draft lottery
Authors: Soebbing Brian P. , Mason Daniel S.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the complexity of – and conflicts inherent in – managing sports leagues at both the league and franchise level.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on changes to the National Basketball Association's (NBA) amateur entry draft, which has attempted to balance the need to preserve league parity and reduce the incentive for teams to deliberately lose games in order to improve draft position.

Findings

The discussion reveals the conflict between league and team goals. In addition, using Oliver's strategic decisions as a framework, the findings also illustrate how sport league commissioners have to balance pressures from both the internal and external environments.

Originality/value

This paper expands our understanding of how leagues manage institutional pressures, and how these pressures impact the team, leagues, and the decision makers involved.
Organizational structure and home team performance
Authors: Foster William M. , Washington Marvin
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate that organizational task interdependence has an impact on the performance of home teams in sport.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a cross‐sectional research design. It tests the authors' hypothesis using a probit analysis of nine years of data from Major League Baseball and eight years of data from the National Hockey League.

Findings

The paper determines that the underlying task interdependence of a sport has a significant impact on the performance of a sport team.

Originality/value

The paper argues that sport managers need to consider organizational structure when accounting for team performance. Moreover, the structure of the sport(s) needs to be considered when making adjustments to the league(s) that might affect the competitive balance.
Volunteer motivation and demographic influences at a professional tennis event
Authors: Pauline Gina , Pauline Jeffrey S.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine the demographic make‐up of volunteers and their motives for participating in a professional tennis event.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a cross‐sectional descriptive study to investigate the primary motivation of volunteers from a US Open Series professional tennis event. A MANOVA was also conducted to compare the volunteer motivation factors (purposive, egoistic, leisure, material, external) by demographic factors (gender and age).

Findings

Volunteers' demographics closely resemble the tennis participation population and are similar to other tournament volunteers in the sport of golf. Volunteers were strongly motivated by material and purposive factors. Gender and age had no significant effect on the motivation to volunteer.

Research limitations/implications

The sample being from a single event can limit the generalizations, but the work can serve as a framework for more extensive studies, including focusing on a women's event to examine the differences in motivation.

Practical implications

Implications of the results are provided in an effort to assist sport managers to design quality volunteer experiences that enhance the overall experience, supporting episodic volunteers' work ethic, and management of the event. There is clear evidence that volunteer satisfaction is higher when their motives are met. It is intended that this research will offer more support for event organizers based on the growing usage of volunteers and concerns in the sport industry.

Originality/value

This study is the only one that examines tennis volunteers in general as well as exploring the effect of the dependent variables of gender and age on motivation.
Luxury suites and team selling in professional sport
Authors: Lawrence Heather J. , Moberg Christopher R.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for team selling to sports firms that can be used to more effectively select members for sales and CRM teams and improve the performance of teams in attracting and retaining premium seating customers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a two‐stage framework based on the personal selling process and the activities that support CRM programs. Recommendations are guided by the sport marketing and team selling literature streams and by best practices in sport marketing.

Findings

The paper recommends the formation of two teams (personal selling and CRM) during the customer relationship cycle and provides guidelines for team member selection based on the critical activities that occur during the personal selling and CRM processes. Key success factors are provided, including the establishment of a customer‐focused organization and effective communication practices among team members and between selling teams.

Originality/value

Although the use of selling teams is gaining popularity in several industries, the broader sales literature lacks research that can support the development and effective management of selling teams. Within the sport marketing literature, there is no research on selling teams. The main academic contribution of the paper is the cross‐disciplinary merging of existing team selling research in the sales literature with current research and industry information on marketing and sales by sport organizations (luxury suite sales). For the practitioner, the framework provides guidance on effective team member selection and best practices for the effective management of selling teams.
NFL head coaches as sensegiving change agents
Authors: Goosby Smith J.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that a key role of the professional US NFL head coach is as a sensemaker, sensegiver, and driver of intentional change.

Design/methodology/approach

Intentional change theory and sensemaking are used to explore NFL head coaches' roles as sense‐givers of intentional change during their pre‐game and post‐game press conferences.

Findings

This paper presents propositions that if substantiated demonstrate that examining professional head coaches' behavior during pre‐ and post‐game press conferences will yield insight into the coaches' skills as sensemakers, sensegivers, and agents of the intentional change process.

Research limitations/implications

In addition to this paper being conceptual, not empirical, other limitations exist. There may be gender differences in coaching behavior; however, since there are no female NFL head coaches, gender‐related patterns can not be observed in this context. Since this study only addresses one sport, there may be differences in how coaches manage change in different sports. Future research will test these hypotheses empirically, distinguish these behaviors with respect to team performance, study different sports, and examine similarities and differences of male and female coaches in the same sport.

Practical implications

If the propositions in this paper are supported by future empirical work, this paper gives coaches (and those who evaluate them) additional insight into their behavior. It also will give another view into what makes for a successful coach.

Originality/value

While research inspired by athletic coaches influences organizational development research, few studies examine athletic coaches as organizational change agents. This paper conceptualizes coaches beyond their technical roles; it focuses on their sensegiving about the team's progress along the intentional change trajectory that they have set.
Procurement of agricultural products using the CPFR approach
Authors: Fang Du Xiao , Leung Stephen C.H. , Long Zhang Jin , Lai K.K.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to apply a framework of collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) to develop a procurement model for agricultural products.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering the biological nature, seasonality and perishable characteristics of agricultural raw materials and products, the paper revises the CPFR reference model. Then, the paper constructs a n‐tier CPFR procurement model by extending a two‐echelon supply chain to a multi‐echelon supply chain and incorporating upstream suppliers in the supply chain. Moreover, the concept of collaborative transportation management (CTM) is integrated into the n‐tier CPFR procurement model. Finally, a case study is analysed and the efficacy of the proposed model is also validated.

Findings

The finding suggests that CPFR approach is applied in the procurement of agricultural products. The case results show that the service level is increased and inventory variance is reduced. The proposed model can thus improve the accuracy of forecasting and reduce inventory losses.

Originality/value

The paper offers a useful insight into procurement of agricultural products. The proposed model is a useful development for the agricultural industry in implementing CPFR in the future.
Supply chain partners' trust building process through risk evaluation: the perspectives of UAE packaged food industry
Authors: Laeequddin Mohammed , Sardana G.D. , Sahay B.S. , Abdul Waheed K. , Sahay Vinita
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to identify the up‐stream supply chain member's (manufacturers, suppliers, supplier's service providers) characteristics, economics, dynamic capabilities, technology and institutional perspectives of risk in relationship to develop a trust building model through risk evaluation and to address the issue: should a supply chain member strive to build the trust or strive to reduce the risk with its members and from which perspectives?

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework was developed considering five key perspectives (characteristics, economics, dynamic capabilities, technology and institutions) to evaluate the member's risk in relationship and derived the hypothesis from the framework. A survey was conducted in UAE packaged food industry upstream supply chain covering senior managers of 102 companies. Data were analysed using multiple regression analyses through SPSS. The selected supply chain members of this industry include packaged food products companies as manufacturers, packaging material converters as suppliers of packaging material to manufacturers and packaging raw material suppliers as supplier's suppliers of manufacturer.

Findings

From the survey results it is found that characteristic and institutional risk perspectives influence significantly to initiate a trustworthy relationship. Economics, dynamic capabilities and technology risk perspectives play a significant role to maintain trust in relationship. No perspective of members is found to be significantly risk‐free.

Research limitations/implications

This study has identified the perspectives of risk that can initiate and build trust between supply chain members in the context of a global business environment with a strong institutional system. Further research is required to identify the supply chain member's risk‐worthy characteristics, threshold levels of risk bearing capacity and the extent to which the institutions can reduce the membership risk to build trust.

Practical implications

The study results suggest that the supply chain members should strive to reduce the membership risk levels to build trust rather than striving to build trust to reduce the risk. As long as a member's risk levels are within their bearable limits trust can be considered as a risk coping mechanism and when the risk levels exceed their bearable limits the subject of trust turns into risk management/security management.

Originality/value

This study may be one of the first to develop a trust building model through a risk evaluation process and also one of the first to study the trust in supply chain member's relationship in UAE. Findings from this research should prove useful to management researchers and practitioners.
Learning conditions for non‐formal and informal workplace learning
Authors: Kyndt Eva , Dochy Filip , Nijs Hanne
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the presence of learning conditions for non‐formal and informal workplace learning in relation to the characteristics of the employee and the organisation he or she works for.

Design/methodology/approach

The questionnaire developed by Clauwaert and Van Bree on learning conditions was administered to 1,162 employees of 31 different organisations. An explorative factor analysis was performed to reduce the number of variables and to look for underlying constructs in the data. Second, a series of analyses of variance were calculated in order to be able to compare the factors in different kinds of groups of employees.

Findings

The authors concluded that for the five learning conditions that were identified in this research, different kinds of groups of employees have different chances for non‐formal and informal learning. These learning conditions are “feedback and knowledge acquisition”, “new learning approach and communication tools”, “being coached”, “coaching others”, and “information acquisition”.

Originality/value

The value of this research is that it has shown that characteristics of the employee and his or her organisation have a relationship with the presence of learning conditions or chances for non‐formal and informal workplace learning. Moreover, this research included all kinds of employees and not only those responsible for training and education in the organisation. This research focused on conceptions and perceptions of “regular” employees.
Utilizing cash‐to‐cash to benchmark company performance
Authors: Randall Wesley S. , Theodore Farris M.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show how the cash‐to‐cash (C2C) metric may be used to benchmark supply chain performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilizes C2C variables as a means to benchmark company performance.

Findings

Three case studies are offered where firms have benchmarked to: review their internal accounts payable policies; linked results of their benchmarking to profitability to help focus implementation efforts; and served as a call to action to proactively seek improvements with key trading partners. The models developed in this paper provide a benchmark approach to inter‐firm supply chain financial management. These models have direct application in a cost conscious economy and represent a non‐zero sum gain for cooperating corporations.

Research limitations/implications

C2C variables are readily available for use in benchmarking.

Practical implications

C2C benchmarking allows the firm to identify where to focus improvements with their supply chain trading partners.

Originality/value

C2C has been touted as the first multi‐dyadic supply chain metric.
En route to a theory of benchmarking
Authors: Moriarty John P. , Smallman Clive
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the epistemology of benchmarking and identify methodological elements of a theory of benchmarking.

Design/methodology/approach

A thematic approach is applied to origins, primal and functional definitions of benchmarking.

Findings

Benchmarking remains theoretically underdetermined, with publications focusing on pragmatism and praxis rather than epistemology. Analysis of the literature leads to a new definition of benchmarking focusing around the teleological processes that lead to state‐transformation of organizations.

Research limitations/implications

A theoretical foundation for benchmarking should be consistent with current organizational paradigms. Going forward the paper aims to develop a theory of benchmarking based on illustrative model derived from the thematic review.

Practical implications

The paper initiates the development of a more rigorous theoretical base for future benchmarking practice, which will strengthen organizations' business cases for undertaking such processes.

Originality/value

Recasts much of the extant literature in beginning to focus on the fundamentals of benchmarking.
The impact of Auto‐ID on logistics performance
Authors: Johansson Ola , Pålsson Henrik
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how logistics performance is affected by the use of different identification technologies and practices for utilising the tracking data.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the survey method. The survey instrument is developed in co‐operation with an expert group consisting of both researchers and industry representatives. The data are analysed using multivariate techniques and hypothesis testing.

Findings

This paper indicates better logistics performance for companies using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, while no significant differences can be seen for companies using Auto‐ID in general. In terms of registration, best‐in‐class firms have more identification points along their supply chains compared to other firms. Best‐in‐class firms also seem to have more extensive sharing of tracking data with supply chain partners, both upstream and downstream, and in terms of frequency and scope, which contributes to superior logistical performance.

Research limitations/implications

To provide a more robust scientific justification of the survey results, in‐depth case studies should be carried out. Further studies are needed to verify the links between RFID and logistics performance.

Practical implications

The findings may enable managers to estimate the potential of using identification technologies and learn of practices which may enable their organisations to improve logistics performance.

Originality/value

This paper presents empirical links between different identification technologies, attributes of the tracking system, use and sharing of tracking data and logistical improvements.
Automated measurement of earthwork volume in construction projects
Authors: Shehab Tariq
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to present an automated system that measures the volume of excavated soil in earthmoving operations. It focuses primarily on presenting the use of the radio frequency identification – real time location technology and image analysis techniques in isolation of stockpiles from their noisy backgrounds, extraction of their geometrical attributes and determination of their location.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive literature review of image analysis techniques is performed to identify the ones most applicable in developing the proposed automated system. A set of techniques are selected and experimented to evaluate their effectiveness in the proposed application. A review of the state‐of‐the‐art distance measurement technologies is also conducted to identify the most suitable system to be used in the proposed system.

Findings

A set of image analysis techniques that positively contribute to the accuracy of the proposed system is identified. Geometrical attributes of stockpiles are automatically extracted for volume measurement purposes. The use of an affordable and reliable automated distance measurement tool is also suggested.

Research limitations/implications

Although the proposed methodology is believed to be applicable to most configurations of stockpiles, it was tested on conical ones only.

Originality/value

The current practice of measuring the volume of excavated soil is time consuming and costly. Furthermore, it does not facilitate monitoring of excavation activities on close time intervals. The proposed system overcomes the problems associated with the current practice and provides an automated strategy that can be easily used by field personnel and/or home office management staff to closely monitor the progress of their earthmoving operations without physical human intervention.
How healthcare states matter
Authors: Burau Viola , Fenton Laura
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to identify variation in the introduction of New Public Management reforms in healthcare and how this variation is related to country‐specific healthcare states.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis uses the introduction of clinical standards in Britain and Germany as cases. The two countries are characterised by interesting differences in relation to the institutional set‐up of healthcare states and as such present ideal cases to explore the specific ways of how healthcare states filter clinical standards as tools of a generic managerialism.

Findings

Both countries have introduced clinical standards but, importantly, the substantive nature of clinical standards differs, reflecting differences in initial institutional conditions. More specifically, in Britain clinical standards have taken the form of two parallel policies, which strengthen hierarchy‐based governing and redefine professional self‐regulation. In Germany, by contrast, clinical standards come in one single policy, which strengthens the hybrid of network‐ and hierarchy‐based governing and to some extent also pure hierarchy‐based forms of governing.

Originality/value

First, with its cross‐country comparative focus, the analysis is able to identify systematic variations across healthcare states and the specific ways in which they impact on the introduction of New Public Management. Second, with its focus on clinical standards, the analysis deals with the governance of medical practice as one of the central areas of healthcare states.
New hospital payment systems
Authors: Marije van Essen Anne
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to identify different medical strategies adopted in relation to the new hospital payment systems in Germany, The Netherlands and England and analyse how the medical strategies have impacted on the emergence of these New Public Management policy tools between 2002 and 2007.

Design/methodology/approach

A comparative approach is applied. In addition to secondary sources, the study uses publications in professional journals, official publications of the (national) physician organisations and a (non‐random) expert questionnaire to obtain the views of the medical corporate bodies in the three countries.

Findings

The results reveal differences in the medical strategies in the three countries that point towards the significance of institutional and interest configurations. The Dutch corporate medical body was most willing to solve the conflict, while the German and English corporate medical bodies seem to be keen to use a strategy of confrontation. The differences in medical strategies also impact on the ways in which hospital payment systems have emerged in the three countries.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is necessary to study the medical strategies in healthcare reforms from a broader perspective, for instance by including other countries.

Originality/value

The paper gives insights into the interplay between the medical profession and the government in the context of new managerial governance practices in the hospital sector. It adds to the scholarly debates about the role of the medical profession in health policy‐making.
Teaching and studying marketing history: a personal journey
Authors: Savitt Ronald
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the challenges and rewards of engaging in the inextricably intertwined activities of studying and teaching marketing history. The secondary purpose is to encourage marketing scholars to expand work in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach invokes the memoir and that format traces the author personal development in the field of marketing history over 30 years. It discusses what the author learned, how he learned, and how these lessons can be applied.

Findings

The paper offers several findings: marketing history can be part of every marketing course; students should be engaged in the development and application of historical findings; marketing scholars must develop an understanding of historical methods as a means of supporting research and teaching; and marketing history should eventually be seen in marketing as economic history is seen in economics.

Practical implications

The paper puts forth an approach for undertaking historical research in marketing and suggests how to use those findings in teaching marketing history. The emphasis focuses on engaging students with the caveat that history is not predictive. The goal is to put marketing events in their proper context, to understand how they develop and how they play out. Marketing history has its own intrinsic value but also provides a new dimension for decision making.

Originality/value

The paper uses a first person narrative of working in developing a field, a historic device not frequently found in marketing. It also represents a historiography of marketing history.
Capitalism, early market research, and the creation of the American consumer
Authors: Ward Douglas B.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the way American businesses and marketers used research to shape the concept of the consumer at the turn of the twentieth century.

Design/methodology/approach

A historical, cultural approach is used to examine published and unpublished writings of economists, marketers, researchers, and publishers from the 1880s to about 1930. The primary focus is Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of the Saturday Evening Post and Ladies' Home Journal, and creator of one of the first market research departments in the USA.

Findings

The argument is made that publishers and advertisers took the values of a republic, values which has long empowered and idealized white property owners, and redefined those values in terms of buying ability. In doing so, they embed many biases in their market research, yet gave businesses a working concept of the consumer and helped shape society's ideals of the consumer.

Research limitations/implications

As with all historical research, it is limited by the primary sources that have survived and are available.

Originality/value

This paper shows how early market research can provide an important perspective into the making of a consumer society, and how it can be used by historians and current practitioners to understand the methods, biases, and assumptions that have guided marketers and market research.
J. Walter Thompson: building trust in troubled times
Authors: Mishra Karen E.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how J. Walter Thompson (JWT) utilized its private forums for its executives over the period 1936‐1938 to build trust both within its own organization as well as with the public in the 1930s. This was a time when the advertising industry was under public scrutiny resulting from using what consumers considered emotional and irrational appeals in their advertising practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This archival research examines the meeting minutes of these forums to discover what topics were most important to the leaders of JWT at this time. The archives are located at the Hartman Center at Duke University.

Findings

This paper highlights the importance of these forums that were led by the top management team and attended by the creative staff of JWT. These forums played an important role in strengthening the culture of JWT, by building organizational trust and fostering organizational communication with a new generation of JWT leadership.

Originality/value

This paper utilized primary data sources – the meeting minutes from 1936 to 1938 – to uncover the values of JWT and how those values were disseminated to their employees, as well as how it impacted their work with their clients and ultimately the public.
State promotion of consumerism in Safavid Iran: Shah Abbas I and royal silk textiles
Authors: Minowa Yuko , Witkowski Terrence H.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

This purpose of this paper is to investigate the policies and consequences of state‐directed consumerism in Iran during the reign of Shah Abbas I (1587–1629) of the Safavid dynasty.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based upon several secondary literatures, especially Middle Eastern studies and art history, as well as primary source materials in the form of architecture, its decorative elements, and other works. The visual content and consumption themes of a selected tile painting are described and analyzed.

Findings

The Shah strengthened the state by building infrastructure, encouraging international trade, and creating a robust silk industry where he controlled production and marketing. He utilized his city and its architecture as a means of communication to impress his subjects and foreign visitors and to increase domestic demand for silk textiles. These promotional efforts led to a surge in spending, which occurred about the same time as similar booms in England and France. Economic problems and rising Islamism dampened this episode of Persian consumerism in the latter part of the seventeenth century.

Research limitations/implications

The set of visual data sources is small and limited to works from just one city, Isfahan.

Originality/value

The research fills gaps in the marketing and consumption history literatures which have not as yet fully considered the use of state resources to promote domestic consumption, consumer marketing in the Middle East, and the promotional roles played by architecture and its decorative elements.
An overview of The History of Marketing Thought
Authors: Tamilia Robert D.
Published: June 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to be more than a book review essay on the work by Tadajewski and Jones, The History of Marketing Thought. It reviews the literature on marketing history and thought, and includes suggestions for additional research on that topic.

Design/methodology/approach

The research relies heavily on previously published articles and on databank searches.

Findings

A more complete time line of the history of marketing thought is presented. It is also shown that more biographical historical research is needed, especially on those pioneer practitioners of marketing whose legacy has influenced marketing thought and practice.

Practical implications

Knowing more about the history of marketing thought will prove useful both to academics and to practitioners. Biographies are also practical because we learn more about both the scholars and the times that have transformed this discipline.

Originality/value

The essay offers a brief but succinct summary of the history of marketing thought over millennia while at the same time reviewing a readings book on the topic.
The Impact of Poverty on Children and Young People’s Use of Services
Authors: Wager Fiona , Hill Malcolm , Bailey Nick , Day Rosie , Hamilton Douglas , King Caroline
Published: June 2009

This article describes a qualitative study exploring the impact of poverty on children’s access to and use of services, which took a comparative approach to gather the views of children from more and less affluent households. Findings suggest affordability and related factors including limited mobility constrained service use for less affluent children, resulting in cumulative missed opportunities. However, extended family, friends and agencies facilitated service access, mitigating the impact of poverty on service use to some extent. Research implications include the importance of listening to and taking account of the views of children from lower income families in service planning.
In Two Minds? — Parental Attitudes toward Physical Punishment in the UK
Authors: Bunting Lisa , Webb Mary Anne , Healy Julie
Published: June 2009

Since the Millennium, the use of physical punishment in the home has been a widely debated topic across the UK. Reliance on public opinion has been an important feature of this debate with a variety of UK surveys showing that many find physical punishment acceptable and do not support a complete ban on smacking. Drawing on the results from a comprehensive review of the literature, this article highlights that public/parental opinion is less than straightforward. Parents are often ambivalent about physical discipline, do not view it as an optimal method of behaviour management and are more prone to smack when stressed or angry. Likewise, a survey of the disciplinary practices and attitudes of 1000 parents in Northern Ireland shows that majority of parents have negative attitudes towards physical discipline. Nonetheless, many parents continue to smack despite the fact they do not believe it to be effective. Lack of parental support for legislative reform should be reconsidered in the light of this ambivalence. Most important, the UK Government needs to reframe the smacking debate in terms of children’s rights rather than relying on public opinion if it is to fulfil its commitment to protect children from harm as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.