bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Explaining support for redistribution for different groups of the needy
Authors: Habibov Nazim , Cheung Chi Ho , Auchynnikava Alena
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore factors which may explain support for redistribution for different groups of the needy in 28 post-communist countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a cross-country survey (n=25,845), the authors evaluate preferences for redistribution to the elderly, the disabled, families with children, the working poor, and the unemployed.

Findings

People in post-communist countries made the distinction between deserving groups of the needy – the aged, the disabled, and families with children, and undeserving groups – the unemployed and the working poor. Among the individual-level factors, adherence to equality and attributing poverty to structural problems increased the probability of supporting redistribution. Among country-level factors, the authors’ results stress the positive influence of income inequality on support for redistribution for all groups of the needy under investigation. Notably, the authors did not find a negative influence of the business cycle on support for the working poor and unemployed.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that examines support for the needy in a diverse sample of 28 post-communist countries. The findings will help policy-makers and social administrators to better understand factors influencing support for redistribution toward different groups of the needy.
Duration of low-wage employment: a study based on a survival model
Authors: Silva Francisco , Vieira José , Pimenta António , Teixeira João
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate low-wage retention using a survival analysis approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Variables explaining low-wage retention take into account the characteristics of the employee, such as education, age, tenure with the company, gender and nationality, and the characteristics of the job and the company such as industry affiliation, number of employees, age of the company and location.

Findings

Female workers and workers with low level of education, older ones, those with more seniority in the company and those of Asian origin remain longer in a low-wage situation. Also, workers in smaller and older companies located outside the Lisbon region are more likely to stay in a low-wage situation.

Practical implications

The policy implications are clear. Education plays a prominent role: the higher the level of education of the individual, the higher the probability of him/her leaving low pay. Training programs may help employees in Portugal to leave the low-wage situation. Furthermore, policies must address the different mobility rates of different nationalities and different activities. Training programs are more urgent for hotels and restaurants and transports and communication. The findings also indicate that those initially working in younger firms and larger firms have a higher probability of leaving the low-wage situation. This is a stimulus for decision makers to stimulate employment in the younger firms or in the larger firms.

Originality/value

Despite low-wage retention being a well-known field of research, to our knowledge this is the first research paper using survival analysis to explain the duration of a low-wage situation.
The relationship between urbanization and economic growth
Authors: Nguyen Ha Minh , Nguyen Le Dang
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between urbanization and economic growth in ASEAN countries for the period 1993-2014.

Design/methodology/approach

The Granger causality test and the regression estimation method with static and dynamic panel data (FE, RE, Driscoll and Kraay, D-GMM and PMG) were used. The sample includes seven ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Findings

The results show that at least a causal relationship exists between urbanization and economic growth and urbanization positively impacts economic growth. However, the relationship between urbanization and economic growth is non-linear. The urbanization reaches a threshold after which it may impede the economic growth. The estimated threshold is 69.99 percent for the static model and 67.94 percent for the dynamic model.

Research limitations/implications

The evidence from this study suggests that there is a non-linear relationship between urbanization and the economic growth. Urbanization has the potential to accelerate the economic growth, and this potential will depend on the establishment of favorable institutions and investments in appropriate public infrastructure.

Practical implications

The decision on the model of urbanization needs to be based on social and environmental considerations as well as market-based economic efficiency. The quality of urbanization manifests in the way that people and businesses perceive when they come to cities and their position in the labor market, urban housing, niche commodity markets, supply chain, collaborative network and physical space for the operation of the business. Most ASEAN countries have not yet reached a high level of urbanization, despite having a number of policies for promoting urbanization to contribute to the economic growth. However, policymakers should find ways to facilitate the development of urbanization that contributes to economic growth, employment growth, environmental sustainability, rather than the pursuit of speeding up the process of urbanization.

Originality/value

Between urbanization and economic growth at least a causal relationship exists. Urbanization positively impacts economic growth. However, the relationship between urbanization and economic growth is non-linear. The urbanization reaches a threshold after which it may impede the economic growth. The estimated threshold is 69.99 percent for the static model and 67.94 percent for the dynamic model.
Stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in higher education
Authors: Ferrero-Ferrero Idoya , Fernández-Izquierdo María Ángeles , Muñoz-Torres María Jesús , Bellés-Colomer Lucía
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of stakeholder engagement in the context of sustainability reporting (SR) for higher education institutions (HEIs), together with the materiality principle and stakeholder expectations.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses an exploratory approach based on content analysis, a case study and descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings

Three key findings come out of this research. First, the results indicate that HEIs use diverse criteria for grouping stakeholders and that stakeholder engagement is a heterogeneous process. Second, the expectations of internal stakeholders align with the material aspects of SR. Finally, among internal stakeholders, students and academics disagree on the prioritisation of some sustainability aspects, with non-academic staff adopting an intermediate position.

Practical implications

This analysis improves our knowledge of stakeholder engagement in HEIs. It helps to identify the relevant impacts of stakeholder engagement, enhances the quality of reporting and encourages a real dialogue with stakeholders.

Originality/value

The study examines stakeholder engagement and how the materiality principle is adopted by HEIs through SR. Furthermore, it compares these results with stakeholder expectations, considering the discrepancies between stakeholders. The results open the way to future research to explore the potential conflicts and collaborations between and within stakeholders to advance towards more sustainable institutions in the higher education sector.
The role of distributed leadership in mainstreaming environmental sustainability into campus life in an Israeli teaching college
Authors: Avissar Ilana , Alkaher Iris , Gan Dafna
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Distributed leadership has been reported in the literature as an effective management approach for educational organizations such as institutions of higher education. This study aims to investigate the role of distributed leadership in the promotion of sustainability in an Israeli college of teacher education.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the Multi-Level Model of Leadership Practice in higher education, taken from Bolden et al. (2008a) and from Woods et al. (2004), the authors investigated how the characteristics of distributed leadership are expressed in three central organization-wide structures in the college (a student group, the green council and a professional development program). They also explored in what ways aspects of distributed leadership promote sustainability-oriented activities on campus. They used a deductive and inductive interpretive approach in this case study.

Findings

The authors found three organization-level processes that are based on the principles of distributed leadership and that promote sustainability on campus: distributed leadership enables change in the organization’s internal culture with respect to mainstreaming sustainability; distributed leadership encourages collaboration between the entire campus population and between different departments and distributed leadership on campus enables the development of diverse “bottom-up” and “top-down” structures in the organization.

Originality/value

While the study’s findings indicated several challenges regarding the implementation of distributed leadership in the organization, they ultimately support the idea that distributed leadership may contribute to the long-term, organization-wide implementation of sustainability in higher education institutes. Therefore, the authors recommend that institutions that are willing to promote sustainability adopt distributed leadership as their major management approach.
Corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD), corporate governance and the degree of multinational activities
Authors: Coffie William , Aboagye-Otchere Francis , Musah Alhassan
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corporate governance and degree of multinational activities (DMAs) on corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) within the context of a developing country.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the annual report of 33 listed firms spanning from 2008 to 2013, the authors employed content analysis based on an adapted index score of CSRD developed by Hackston and Milne (1996) as applied in similar studies (e.g. Deegan et al., 2002; Hassan, 2014). Guided by the authors’ hypotheses, the authors model quantity and quality of CSRD (two separate econometric models) as functions of multinational activity and corporate governance.

Findings

The results show that the DMA has a positive association with both quality and quality of CSRD. The results also show that certain corporate governance characteristics such as board size (quality and quantity) as well as the presence of a social responsibility sub-committee of the board (quality) have a positive relationship with CSRD. However, increasing the number of non-executive directors (NEDs) may not necessarily improve the quantity or quality of disclosure.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by theory and geography. Theoretically, the study is based on the legitimacy theory and feels compelled to reiterate the importance of considering alternative theoretical perspective in future research. Again the study is limited geographically as the investigation is based on Ghana only and the authors suggest that future research be extended to other countries.

Practical implications

This study is important as it demonstrates the importance of providing quality of CSRD to stakeholders when the board of a firm has a sub-committee responsible for corporate social responsibility.

Originality/value

The results of the study extend the literature on CSRD by demonstrating a new evidence on how the degree of firm’s multinational activities together with corporate government mechanism affects both quantity and quality of CSRD in the context of unchartered developing country. The results support the theoretical view that companies engage in CSRD in attempt to legitimize their operations based on the pressure exerted on them and the mechanism put in place to respond to those pressures.
Voluntary disclosure in emerging countries: a literature review
Authors: Md Zaini Syeliya , Samkin Grant , Sharma Umesh , Davey Howard
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the approaches used by researchers in examining the influences of external factors towards voluntary disclosure in emerging countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The data collected in this study were collected through a review of empirical literature based on 35 articles published between 1998 and 2013. The sample articles on the link between external factors and the level of voluntary disclosure were located by searching keywords in the most relevant social science research databases such as Business Source Premier, Emerald full text, JSTOR, Science Direct, Scopus, and Social Science Research Network.

Findings

The result reveals that research in voluntary disclosure practices by companies in emerging countries remains low. The majority of studies employed content analysis to examine the extent of voluntary disclosure practices. Results from studies show that greater regulatory enforcement in the region and increase in stakeholders’ comprehension about their rights and choices with regards to business activities can influence the majority of the companies to provide voluntary disclosure. The literature revealed that social responsibility and environmental information are the popular categories of voluntary disclosure while risk and human capital/intellectual capital are the least popular categories.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is limited to a review of 35 articles.

Practical implications

The study provides avenues for policy makers and regulators to carry out reforms on voluntary disclosure practices.

Social implications

The findings may provide insights to capital market regulators when conducting effective regulation and supervision of information transparency in listed companies.

Originality/value

Since limited studies exist that examine voluntary disclosure in emerging countries, little is known about the implications of external factors such as a country’s policy, regulations, stakeholders, and business environment on voluntary disclosure practices. This paper contributes to filling this gap by a review of articles of empirical research on voluntary disclosure in emerging countries.
Leapfrogging to empowerment and inclusivity
Authors: Back Robin M. , Lowry Linda L. , Cartier Elizabeth A.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate an example of current practices and processes that enable transformation in the workplace in a South African multi-unit hospitality and tourism business, affording previously disadvantaged people the opportunity to advance in the organization and participate in the management and ownership of that organization.

Design/methodology/approach

A constructivist grounded theory methodological framework is used for the collection of data, analysis and theoretical development, utilizing Charmaz’s (2006, 2011, 2014) approach in both the collection and analysis of data as well as the theoretical perspective that emerged from the research process. Intensive semi-structured recorded interviews were conducted with the owner and managers of the company. Following transcription of the interviews, multi-level data coding allowed the move from an inductive to an abductive process with theoretical sampling allowing the shift toward conceptual and theoretical development.

Findings

Study findings provide insight about the processes and practices that enabled previously disadvantaged people to move into management and ownership of a multi-unit South African hospitality and tourism business. Leapfrogging emerged as a theoretical perspective that provides interpretive understanding of atypical upward employment mobility, i.e. “human leapfrogging.”

Research limitations/implications

While this study is limited to a single hospitality and tourism company in South Africa that is not necessarily typical of other South African businesses, it provides a vivid illustration of the impact that visionary leadership and a genuine desire to “level the playing field” can have on individuals, both personally and professionally, and their wider communities.

Practical implications

Leapfrogging theory in the context of “human leapfrogging” suggests innovative business practices for fast-tracking marginalized individuals out of poverty and provides an urgently needed theoretical perspective for this process.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, the leapfrogging concept has not previously been applied in the context of atypical employment progression within the corporation, nor has its impact on the corporation and the lives of the affected individuals and their communities been examined.
Improving visiting nurses’ post-hospital medication management
Authors: Kollerup Mette , Curtis Tine , Laursen Birgitte Schantz
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Employing a participatory approach, the purpose of this paper is to identify possible areas for improvement in visiting nurses’ post-hospital medication management and to facilitate suggestions for changes in future practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a previous study on visiting nurses’ post-hospital medication management, two workshops were conducted in a visiting nurse department in a Danish municipality.

Findings

The visiting nurses emphasised knowledge of patients’ basic needs and prioritised their performance of context-specific nursing assessments, with a preventive focus as a prerequisite for improved patient safety in post-hospital medication management.

Research limitations/implications

The participatory approach can increase the acceptability and feasibility of changes regarding future practices and thereby reduce the gap between official documents and daily practice. Although the local development of suggestions for changes in practices does not provide general knowledge, a subsequent detailed description of the changes in practices can promote transferability to other healthcare settings after local adjustments are made.

Practical implications

Flexible home healthcare, with stable relationships enabling the continuous assessment of the patient’s needs and symptoms, along with subsequent adjustments being made in care and medical treatment, might enhance patient safety in post-hospital medication management.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the knowledge of the need for integrated care in medication management in patients’ homes. It argues for primary healthcare professionals as “experts in complexity” and suggests a reconsideration of the purchaser-provider division of care to patients with unstable health conditions and complex care needs during the first days following hospital discharge.
School conditions of different forms of teacher collaboration and their effects on instructional development in schools facing challenging circumstances
Authors: Webs Tanja , Holtappels Heinz Günter
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Teacher collaboration is regarded as a central feature of school quality that promotes students’ learning processes, teachers’ professional development, and school improvement. Although the phenomenon is complex, studies often use global constructs and measures. To meet the research demands, the purpose of this paper is to take a differentiated perspective on teacher collaboration, its particular school conditions and effects on instructional development.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a survey of 1,105 teachers at 36 secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Using multivariate analysis of variance and structural equation modeling, the occurrence of three different forms of teacher collaboration and their relations to activities of instructional development, structural and cultural working conditions, represented by appropriate scales and indexes, are analyzed.

Findings

The results show that teachers use less resource-intensive forms of collaboration more often and practice more demanding forms of collaboration less frequently. More demanding forms of collaboration not only depend on the working climate but also on individual self-efficacy, institutionalized teams, collaborative and instructional principal leadership and in turn promote the development of interdisciplinary curricula and concepts for individual support.

Originality/value

This study provides evidence for the importance of distinguishing different forms of teacher collaboration. Furthermore, by relating different collaborative activities of teachers to certain school conditions and instructional development, this study makes a contribution to research by emphasizing the relativity of teacher collaboration regarding its desired outcomes as well as its necessary requirements.
Antecedents of consumer attitudes’ toward corporate blogs
Authors: Colton Deborah A.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of consumers’ attitude toward corporate blogs. The antecedents include credibility, involvement and attitude toward the corporation. Blog is one marketing communications tool that has seen considerable growth in the past few years. Understanding the antecedents of attitudes toward corporate blogs may benefit practitioners responsible for communications strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

A pilot study was conducted to address any issues with the survey or stimuli. The main study involved 219 participants that viewed a corporate blog in a lab and then completed a survey. The data were analyzed using moderated regression.

Findings

The results show blogging involvement, blog credibility and attitude toward the corporation are related to attitude toward the corporate blog. Corporate image consistency did not moderate the relationship between attitude toward the corporation are attitude toward the corporate blog.

Research limitations/implications

This study used a convenience sample thus reducing the generalizability of the findings. The stimulus was limited to a well-known electronics firm. The findings may differ for other product categories and organizations.

Practical implications

Marketing communications strategies are becoming more dependent on social media to reach target audiences. When using social media, organizations should focus on building credibility of their blogs. Social media strategies should consider target markets that are more involved with the specific social media.

Originality/value

This study examines the importance of involvement, credibility and attitude toward the corporation in the context of corporate blogging.
Damage identification using combined acceleration and voltage matching with one-dimensional PZT patch model
Authors: Shankar K. , Jinesh N.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an effective and simple technique for structural parameter identification, particularly to identify multiple cracks in a structure using simultaneous measurement of acceleration responses and voltage signals from PZT patches which is a multidisciplinary approach. A hybrid element constituted of one-dimensional beam element and a PZT sensor is used with reduced material properties which is very convenient for beams and is a novel application for inverse problems.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-objective formulation is used whereby structural parameters are identified by minimizing the deviation between the predicted and measured values from the PZT patch and acceleration responses, when subjected to excitation. In the proposed method, a patch is attached to either end of the fixed beam. Using particle swarm optimization algorithm, normalized fitness functions are defined for both voltage and acceleration components with weighted aggregation multi-objective optimization technique. The signals are polluted with 5 percent Gaussian noise to simulate experimental noise. The effects of various weighting factors for the combined objective function are studied. The scheme is also experimentally validated by identification of cracks in a fixed-fixed beam.

Findings

The numerical and experimental results shows that significant improvement in accuracy of damage detection is achieved by the combined multidisciplinary method, when compared with only voltage or only acceleration-matching method as well as with other methods.

Originality/value

The proposed multidisciplinary crack identification approach, which is based on one-dimensional PZT patch model as well as conventional acceleration method, is not reported in the literature.
A note on some solutions of micropolar fluid in a channel with permeable walls
Authors: Raza Jawad , Rohni Azizah M. , Omar Zurni
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate different branches of the solution of micropolar fluid in a channel with permeable walls. Moreover, the intention of the study is to examine the effect of different physical parameters on fluid flow.

Design/methodology/approach

The mathematical modeling is performed on the basis of law of conservation of mass, momentum and angular momentum. The governing partial differential equations were transformed into ordinary differential equations by applying suitable similarity transformation. Afterwards, the set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations was solved numerically by a shooting method.

Findings

The study reveals that various branches of the solution of the proposed problem exist only in the case of strong suction.

Originality/value

The investigation of new branches of the solution of non-Newtonian micropolar fluid is relatively difficult as far as the single solution is concern. This study explores the new branches of the solution of a micropolar fluid in a channel with suction/injection. Simultaneous effect of suction Reynolds number and vortex viscosity parameter on velocity and micro-rotation profile is examined for different branches of solution in order to make the analysis more interesting.
Temperature influences on shear stability of a nanosize plate with piezoelectricity effect
Authors: Malikan Mohammad
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to predict the mechanical behavior of a piezoelectric nanoplate under shear stability by taking electric voltage into account in thermal environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Simplified first-order shear deformation theory has been used as a displacement field. Modified couple stress theory has been applied for considering small-size effects. An analytical solution has been taken into account for various boundary conditions.

Findings

The length scale impact on the results of any boundary conditions increases with an increase in l parameter. The effect of external electric voltage on the critical shear load is more than room temperature effects. With increasing aspect ratio the critical shear load decreases and external electric voltage becomes more impressive. By considering piezoelectric nanoplates, it is proved that the temperature rise cannot become a sensitive factor on the buckling behavior. The length scale parameter has more effect for more flexible boundary conditions than others. By considering nanosize, the consideration has led to much bigger critical load vs macro plate.

Originality/value

In the current paper for the first time the simplified first-order shear deformation theory is used for obtaining governing equations by using nonlinear strains for shear buckling of a piezoelectric nanoplate. The couple stress theory for the first time is applied on the nonlinear first-order shear deformation theory. For the first time, the thermal environment effects are considered on shear stability of a piezoelectric nanoplate.
Critical success factors in managing sustainable indigenous businesses in Australia
Authors: Bodle Kerry , Brimble Mark , Weaven Scott , Frazer Lorelle , Blue Levon
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate success factors pertinent to the management of Indigenous businesses through the identification of points of intervention at the systemic and structural levels. Through this approach, the economic and social values that First Nations communities attach to intangible Indigenous cultural heritage (ICH) and Indigenous cultural intellectual property (ICIP) may be both recognised and realised as assets.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a multidisciplinary approach to address a global issue of economic and social significance to First Nation peoples, their businesses and the Australian Aboriginal communities. The authors adopt a First Nation epistemological standpoint that incorporates theoretical perspectives drawn from a diverse range of fields and theories (Preston, 2013), as well as advocate the use of Indigenist methodology for research with First Nation peoples as it is underpinned by critical race theory.

Findings

The authors argue conceptually that accounting, accountability and auditing consideration are required to fully identify what is impacting the successful management of Indigenous enterprises. Specifically, in relation to accounting, Elders should be included to assist in valuing the intangible ICH and ICIP assets. Furthermore, the authors emphasise the need to improve the financial and commercial literacy levels of Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Practical implications

The authors prescribe the use of tools for the accounting treatment of ICH and ICIP as intangible assets within an Australian regulatory environment and define an auditing process and accountability model incorporating cultural, social and environmental measures. A central tenet of this model relates to improving levels of personal and commercial financial literacy in the First Nation participants. Collectively, these factors promote informed participation and decision-making, and may promulgate more sustainable outcomes.

Social implications

Integrated thinking requires all these factors to be considered in a holistic manner, such that a First Nation enterprise and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can understand, and make decisions based on, the overall impact it has on all their stakeholders and generally on the society, the environment and the economy.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to Australia’s strategic research priorities of maximising social and economic participation in society and improving the health and well-being of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The authors address the inability of current Western accounting standards, practices and models to suitably account for communally held and protocol-bound intangible Indigenous cultural heritage and Indigenous cultural intellectual property assets.
Land under roads and the power of politic
Authors: Elhawary Hassan Mohamed Abdalla
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer the following questions: What are the theoretical and practical antecedents for recognising land under roads (LUR) as an asset in local government financial reports? Why was the process of regulating this aspect of accounting practice so protracted and so controversial?

Design/methodology/approach

The method used a critical analytical review and synthesis of relevant literature.

Findings

This study rejects the recognition of LUR, and suggests that the requirements to account for LUR should be withdrawn immediately. Regardless of the way that the debate has evolved as to the need or otherwise to value LUR or the methodology to be adopted, until the issue of a consistent, standards-based data set is addressed, there is unlikely to be a unified useful outcome.

Research limitations/implications

The study’s findings provided opportunity to reach an overall conclusion and make policy recommendations regarding the saga of accounting for LUR by Australian local governments. However, the ability to generalise beyond Australia to other countries would need to be tested by additional research.

Practical implications

The study’s findings provided assessment of the impact of valuing LUR on financial reporting by local governments and suggested policy recommendations.

Social implications

This study provided an understanding of Australian local governments’ accounting choices in regard to the valuation of LUR and documented the history of early adoption of valuation of LUR by local governments.

Originality/value

The literature on the public sector and accrual accounting is extensive and varied. However, there have been only isolated studies on the specific issue of LUR (Barton, 1999a, 1999b; Hoque, 2004; Rowles et al., 1998a, 1998b, 1998c, 1999). This study adds to the few isolated studies on the specific issue of accounting for LUR. Originality/value – This study provided policymakers with rich information about accounting for LUR and, it should have the capacity to impact on the future policy directions and recommendations.
DuPont analysis and dividend policy: empirical evidence from Malaysia
Authors: Benjamin Samuel Jebaraj , Mohamed Zulkifflee Bin , Marathamuthu M. Srikamaladevi
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the informativeness of asset turnover (ATO) and profit margin (PM) of the DuPont analysis in explaining dividend policy.

Design/methodology/approach

Annual financial data from Compustat for the period 2004-2009 were used to analyze a sample of Malaysian firms.

Findings

This study finds both PM and ATO to strongly explain contemporaneous dividends. The decomposition of return on net operating assets (RNOA) into PM and ATO also improves the explanatory power of dividends. The results of the predictive model show that PM and ATO are useful in predicting the propensity of firms to pay dividends. The results of the change dividend model, however, do not provide any significant results for PM and ATO.

Practical implications

Understanding the influence of ATO and PM on dividends could enable managers to realize the importance of these factors when making dividend policy decisions. Other market participants, such as financial analysts and lenders, could also recognize the empirical specifics related to decomposing the profitability measure into its two components, one measuring the asset efficiency and the other measuring the profitability per unit of product, in the context of dividend policy.

Originality/value

This study extends the empirical specifics of prior dividend policy studies by decomposing the popular profitability measure of return on assets into its two components of PM and ATO.
Scope, measurement, impact size and determinants of indirect cost of financial distress
Authors: Farooq Umar , Jibran Ali Qamar
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to systematically review the literature of indirect cost of financial distress to understand its scope, measurements, impact size and determinants to synthesis with future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

Five-step process of systematic literature review (SLR) as applied by Opoku et al. (2015) is used. SLR extracted 47 studies of indirect cost after applying specified search criteria. Data regarding measurement, impact size and determinants are presented and summarised in specified tables.

Findings

SLR showed that the study of indirect cost in developing countries is a literature gap. It is also found that opportunity loss, operating profit loss, market loss and risk premium are most studied indirect costs using legal definition or ex ante proxy of financial distress. However, future studies are recommended to use both non-linear leverage and ex ante proxy of financial distress. Future studies are also suggested to use the moderation technique while studying the determinants of indirect cost.

Research limitations/implications

Literature selection is based on specific search criteria that can miss some of the other related literature.

Originality/value

The indirect cost of financial distress is more costly and difficult to measure due to its complex concealed effects. A detailed literature of indirect cost is needed to understand the construct that eventually will help to define the future research agenda. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no SLR of indirect cost is provided yet. Therefore, the outcome of this research will be valuable for both academicians and practitioners.
Failure analysis of solder layer in power transistor
Authors: Jiang Maogong , Fu Guicui , Wan Bo , Xue Peng , Qiu Yao , Li Yanruoyue
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a failure analysis of the solder layer in a Darlington power transistor in a TO-3 package.

Design/methodology/approach

A failed Darlington power transistor in a TO-3 package was examined by different kinds of failure analysis techniques. At first, internal gas analysis was conducted to measure the atmosphere. Then, scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) was performed to check the quality of the solder layers in the failed device, and the failure location was determined in the solder layer between chip and substrate. Next, the failed device was decapped to observe the defects. After removing the chip from the substrate, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied and the main elemental composition of the solder layer was identified.

Findings

Internal gas analysis indicated that the moisture and oxygen contents exceeded the allowed maximum value. Large areas of voids were found in the solder layer by SAM. The main elemental compositions of the solder layer were identified by scanning electron microscopy and EDS. Furthermore, the valences of the chemical components in the solder layer were identified by XPS. Except for the few simple substances of the initial solder material, the chemical formulae of oxidation products in the solder layer were deduced. In addition, the root causes are also discussed.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on the solder layer failure of a power transistor. Factors such as the presence of oxygen, voids and other factors, which can cause transistor damage, were comprehensively analyzed. The analysis process is worth learning from and the results can be used to improve the reliability of power devices in this kind of package.
Open Government Data (OGD) in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan: a comparative approach
Authors: Saxena Stuti
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The main aim of this study is to do a comparison of Open Government Data (OGD) frameworks in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan and underscore the prospects and challenges in OGD implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Basing itself on two OGD models offered by Kalampokis and his colleagues (Kalampokis et al., 2011) and Sieber and Johnson (2015) and the typology of “good” and “bad” data based on factors such as “usability”, “findability” and “understandability”, the study uses a documentary analysis for generating evidences by scanning the websites linked with OGD across the three countries. Following a qualitative methodology, countries shall be classified in terms of these models and the typology depending upon their OGD nature and scope.

Findings

OGD adoption in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan is at a nascent stage, and the OGD nature is of the “bad” type. These countries have merely “aggregated data” over their Web interfaces which are incomplete, outdated and do not permit analytics. Besides, there are a number of challenges which need to be overcome for proper OGD adherence. Nevertheless, there are a lot of prospects for harnessing OGD for improved citizen–government interaction by creating a culture of transparency, collaboration and accountability.

Practical implications

The study holds immense significance for government bodies to appreciate the potential of OGD which would go a long way to add social and economic value to propel the country’s growth.

Originality/value

No study has been conducted so far which compares Iran, Lebanon and Jordan in terms of their OGD policies; this is the main contribution of the study. Also, conceding the significance of the three countries in terms of their socio-economic indices, academic research is warranted in relation to these countries.
Addressing the challenges of e-Government: learning from the IT industry
Authors: Nath Anupam , Kanjilal Debjani
Published: December 2017

Purpose

This study aims to identify the challenges in current government organizations while providing services that require a collaborative effort. It also identifies the ways through which government organizations can address the collaboration challenges in ways such as those adopted by leading information technology organizations. Finally, this research also aims to identify the obstacles in government organizations, which could prevent them from successfully adopting new technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, a case study was conducted on a government organization identifying the challenges in delivering services that require collaboration among different stake holders. In the second phase, multiple case studies were performed on three leading organizations who have successfully implemented the Web 2.0 technologies to address collaboration challenges while providing efficient service deliveries. In the third phase of the research, a case study was conducted on a government organization to identify the obstacles faced while implementing the identified solution(s).

Findings

Identification of existing problems while providing efficient service deliveries was possible using a case study approach. This research also finds that Web 2.0-based knowledge management tools can be very effective in addressing the existing challenges in the current state of e-Government. Finally, the research also finds that realization by the upper management, technology adoption cost, adoption of new work paradigm and time to create an effective repository are some of the major obstacles faced by the government organization while trying to adopt the proposed solution.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to conduct rigorous case studies on three different leading information technology organizations simultaneously to address a challenge in the current state of e-Government. This research also provides implications for practitioners as, based on the findings, they can implement the Web 2.0 technologies to address challenges in government organizations while providing efficient service deliveries. Furthermore, the research provides implications for further research to analyze the performance of the government organizations after they adopt these technologies.
Bullet Trajectory after Impact on Laminated Particle Board
Authors: Mattijssen Erwin J. A. T. , Kerkhoff Wim , Bestebreurtje Marlies E.
Published: December 2017

When reconstructing a bullet's trajectory prior to impact using the spatial orientation between two consecutive bullet defects (e.g., by probing), it is important to take the bullet's deflection into account. The (critical) ricochet angles as well as the vertical and horizontal deflection angles of eight cartridge types on laminated particle board have been studied. For all eight of the cartridge types combined, the critical ricochet angles lie between approximately 14° and 26°, while for the subgroup of the jacketed bullets, this range lies lower, between approximately 14° and 18°. The data from this study can be used to assess the accuracy and precision of the applied method. The results show that the highest deflection angles are seen near the critical ricochet angle. Generally speaking, vertical and horizontal deflection angles can almost be neglected above angles of incidence of 30° or 40° for handgun ammunition when shooting at laminated particle board.
Key High‐efficiency Practices of Emergency Department Providers: A Mixed‐methods Study
Authors: Bobb Morgan R. , Ahmed Azeemuddin , Van Heukelom Paul , Tranter Rachel , Harland Karisa K. , Firth Brady M. , Fry Randy , Schneider Katherine , Dierks Kathryn K. , Miller Sarah L. , Mohr Nicholas M.
Published: December 2017

Objective

The objective of this study was to determine specific provider practices associated with high provider efficiency in community emergency departments (EDs).

Methods

A mixed‐methods study design was utilized to identify key behaviors associated with efficiency. Stage 1 was a convenience sample of 16 participants (ED medical directors, nurses, advanced practice providers, and physicians) identified provider efficiency behaviors during semistructured interviews. Ninety‐nine behaviors were identified and distilled by a group of three ED clinicians into 18 themes. Stage 2 was an observational study of 35 providers was performed in four (30,000‐ to 55,000‐visit) community EDs during two 4‐hour periods and recorded in minute‐by‐minute observation logs. In Stage 3, each behavior or practice from Stage 1 was assigned a score within each observation period. Behaviors were tested for association with provider efficiency (relative value units/hour) using linear univariate generalized estimating equations with an identity link, clustered on ED site.

Results

Five ED provider practices were found to be positively associated with efficiency: average patient load, using name of team member, conversations with health care team, visits to patient rooms, and running the board. Two behaviors, “inefficiency practices,” demonstrated significant negative correlations: non–work‐related tasks and documentation on patients no longer in the ED.

Conclusions

Average patient load, running the board, conversations with team member, and using names of team members are associated with enhanced provider productivity. Identification of behaviors associated with efficiency can be utilized by medical directors, clinicians, and trainees to improve personal efficiency or counsel team members.