bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding emotional and psychological harm of people with intellectual disability: an evolving framework
Authors: Robinson Sally , Chenoweth Lesley
Published: June 2012

Purpose

A schema for more clearly understanding the emotional and psychological abuse and neglect of people with intellectual disability was developed to support a narrative study with people with intellectual disability, families and other supporters about the lived experience of this maltreatment in disability accommodation services in Australia. This paper aims to describe the underpinning review of emotional and psychological abuse and neglect and the evolving new framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of existing understandings of this form of abuse in research and policy was conducted, and a framework developed and tested for “trustworthiness” with participants in the research.

Findings

A framework of emotional and psychological abuse and neglect is presented. It centres on the misuse of power and control, details behaviours and interactions which can occur when it is inflicted, and is tested against the experiences of people who have experienced this sort of abuse and neglect.

Research limitations/implications

This is an evolving framework, applied through one study only. Further application and research is needed to test the robustness of the framework.

Originality/value

A more complex construction of emotional and psychological abuse and neglect may inform the development of service policy and support education for people with disability, families, and workers.
Considering the safeguarding risks presented by agency or temporary social care staff: research findings and recommendations
Authors: Manthorpe Jill , Cornes Michelle , Moriarty Jo
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Little is known about the implications of employing agency staff on safeguarding or the reasons why employers recruit staff from agencies who specialise in supplying staff to the sector or why social care staff work for such agencies. This paper aims to present findings from a study of agency workers in social care services in England.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a review of the literature and policy documents, the study involved a survey of local authorities and interviews were conducted with 93 agency workers and other stakeholders. The interviews took place in three selected localities and data were analysed thematically. The survey investigated local authorities' use of agency workers, enquiring about reasons for this means of employment and any trends. The survey findings were contextualised by national data from England.

Findings

Analysis of interview and survey data revealed a variety of reasons for the employment of agency staff. In relation to safeguarding, agency workers filled staffing gaps and met needs for social care services or assessment; however, their abilities to offer continuity of care and sometimes to work within existing systems were compromised. Some employers did not provide agency workers with access to professional development opportunities or supervision.

Practical implications

The findings are used to develop recommendations for safeguarding practice at local level.

Originality/value

There is a temptation to depict agency workers as presenting safeguarding risks: this paper argues that a more rounded picture should be offered and a systems approach adopted.
Involvement of service users in adult safeguarding
Authors: Wallcraft Janet
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to summarise findings of a review of service user and carer involvement in safeguarding and recommendations for good practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The study involved a review of selected literature and a consultation exercise with experts in the field of adult safeguarding and telephone interviews with 13 Adult Safeguarding Leads across England and Wales.

Findings

Service users value rights, independence, choice and support. Adult Safeguarding policy sets out an expectation of service user involvement in the process and expects agencies to balance rights to self‐determination with properly managed risk. In practice, agencies tend to be risk‐averse and service users often do not feel involved in their safeguarding processes. Processes such as collaborative risk enablement, training and capacity building, working with BME groups and evaluation of involvement help. Good practice examples of involvement in Safeguarding Boards or local forums, developing new methods of user feedback and community involvement were found. Recommendations include more involvement of service users in research, more effective forms of involvement of groups who may be more excluded, shared responsibility for risk, and more training in rights legislation.

Practical implications

The paper offers recommendations for good practice in improving involvement in adult safeguarding, which is a requirement and an essential component of delivering good services to vulnerable adults.

Originality/value

Service user involvement in health and social care is now widespread, but there is little knowledge of how to involve the most vulnerable service users who are in need of protection, or how to balance risk and empowerment. This paper addresses the dilemmas facing Adult Protection staff, summarises the experience of practitioners based on the first decade of adult safeguarding work and sets out guidance for improving practice.
Older adults who seek care in the home
Authors: Wilby Frances , Chambless Cathy
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the characteristics of 260 adults, 65 and over, who applied for services through an Area Agency on Aging in a western state in the United States, and to determine the conditions that resulted in referral to the state‐funded Home and Community Based Alternatives Program (Alternatives) or the Medicaid Aging Waiver (Waiver) program.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was an exploratory one utilizing quantitative data from an existing database of older adults who sought home and community based services from Mountainlands Area Agency on Aging (AAA) between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007.

Findings

Although most of the sample lived at or near poverty levels, results suggest that higher monthly income and living alone predict referral to the Alternatives program, whereas greater need for assistance with bathing and performing heavy housework are the primary determinants of referral to the Medicaid Waiver program.

Originality/value

This study adds to the body of knowledge concerning the characteristics of people who access home and community based services. Most people in this study, who were seeking assistance from public programs, were living at or below the US Federal Poverty Line. One home and community based program was more likely to serve people who lived with others and had cognitive impairments, and referral to a Medicaid home and community based program was more likely for people who needed assistance with bathing and heavy housework.
Balance of occupation in older adults: experiences in a residential care home
Authors: Hearle Deb , Rees Val , Prince Jane
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The significant increase in the number of older adults in the UK population is expected to continue. Physical and psychological problems associated with ageing often require older adults to move into residential care where opportunities to participate in previously enjoyed occupations may be limited. Engagement in self‐selected purposeful activities is positively related to physical and psychological well‐being. This paper aims to focus on some of these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnographic approach, a single case study of one care home in a semi‐rural area of Wales was designed to investigate the balance of occupation of residents. Occupations were observed and recorded using a time‐sampling frame over 12 hours on three consecutive days. Field notes were used to contextualise the data in reflecting the home environment.

Findings

The majority spent their time in the lounges and remained passive, interacting infrequently with staff and one another. Little opportunity or intervention has been afforded to residents to encourage or support participation in occupation.

Research limitations/implications

A single case study may not be representative of the experiences of residents in other care homes. Time limited observation over different locations may miss activities. Future research could extend the scope of the study.

Practical implications

Older adults in residential care should be supported to engage in occupations. Employment of occupational therapists could allow support to be individually and appropriately focussed. There are implications for health and social care course design and also for the training of care workers.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates observation of activities in a care home over an extended period.
How Specsavers attracts and nurtures outstanding talent
Authors: Newby Leah , Howarth Chris
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to detail the innovative campaign co‐developed by Words&Pictures and Specsavers to raise the caliber of Specsavers' profile in the optics profession among university optometry graduates, to produce a continuous flow of talent within the company, and to give customers the best service.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a collaborative approach, Specsavers' canvassed the opinions of its employees and joint venture partners to develop a new HR strategy to attract and nurture outstanding talent. In order to implement the new strategy, Specsavers turned to Words&Pictures, which created a high‐end internal brand, INsight, to showcase the new five‐part recruitment and development program.

Practical implications

Organizations that face similar recruitment challenges would do well to re‐assess the needs of the business, including the inter‐personal and communication skills required by their employees.

Originality/value

Working together, Specsavers and Words&Pictures combined their unique strengths to create a visually stunning, professional, practical, aspirational and fun suite of training materials for pre‐registration optometrists. This has helped to elevate Specsavers' pre‐registration optometrists' program above its competitors and positioned the company as unrivalled in its attitude towards employee acquisition, development and retention.
Future female talent development
Authors: Garcea Nicky , Linley Alex , Mazurkiewicz Katarzyna , Bailey Trudy
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This article sets out to highlight some of the positive outcomes in the development of rising female leaders. Latest research shows that organizations and women need to be aware of the challenges hindering the realization of female talent. The article provides an overview of how the strengths approach can help address these challenges through its integration into future female leader development programs. It also presents a pilot case study of strengths‐based development from Thomson Reuters, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

Thomson Reuters explored using the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology's (Capp) 3S‐P model of talent development in relation to the development of female leaders. The 3S‐P model looks at the effect that working on strengths, strategy and situation has on performance. As part of this exploration, Capp's 4M model of strengths development was also used in a coaching and development environment to help delegates align their strengths to their organizational objectives.

Findings

The pilot, which was targeted at emerging female future leaders, showed that the strengths‐based “Women in Leadership” program at Thomson Reuters was just as effective for delegates who received the program face‐to‐face as those who received the training virtually, and demonstrated that strengths awareness had an impact on their capacity to deliver their goals and ability to influence.

Practical implications

Strengths‐based emerging female leadership development provides an effective and reliable methodology for developing talent at this level and helps ensure that future female leaders can align their unique strengths profile to their goals and career aspirations.

Originality/value

Thomson Reuters is the first organization to take an explicit strengths‐based approach to the development of its rising female leaders. It is also one of the few organizations to maximize the use of virtual technology in order to develop women at this level in locations around the world. This approach is consistent with the organization's commitment to developing future leaders who demonstrate global mind set and embrace technology to effectively communicate and influence virtually.
K2 & AXA Insurance (UK) – transforming the culture in a key part of the organization
Authors: Constable Jim
Published: June 2012

Purpose

K2's work with AXA (UK) has developed from a single “athlete at work” workshop for one manager into a high‐performance coaching program across 40 claims teams in multiple sites. It also formed part of AXA's Fast Forward initiative for accelerating individual talent. This paper aims to explore how the program developed at such scale, changing the inherent performance culture within AXA's critical claims business and giving the teams improved control over their results outcome.

Design/methodology/approach

Delivery of K2's elite team program to front line claims teams and management personnel was designed to inspire confidence, improve morale and establish a network of support, thereby triggering a sustainable cultural change within the organization and all‐round better performance.

Findings

The author demonstrates how a structured, premeditated performance program can often lead to unexpected, organic shifts in behavior that positively influence and alter a company's future outlook and performance ratio. By taking ownership of new styles of working, leaders can inspire and innovate through workforce participation, creating highly beneficial standalone initiatives that are adopted into the business on a permanent basis.

Originality/value

The article summarizes the relationship between K2 and AXA Claims, the difficulties facing both staff and leaders at the outset of the program, and how K2 set about effecting lasting change through use of individual and team techniques and methodologies.
All together now? Strategic segmentation in talent and reward
Authors: Durham Gemma , Charman Chris
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the marketing notion of segmentation in the HR context and specifically how this thinking can be applied to talent and reward programs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a best practice guide and discussion based on a combination of recent survey data and the authors' experience of applying this thinking across a range of companies and industry sectors.

Findings

Segmentation can be applied as a principle with benefits across talent and reward programs but it presents a range of change challenges. Long‐term low levels of people spend in Western multinationals may lead to segmented thinking being a logical response to future people challenges. Reward and talent professionals should consider this as a potential response early and strategically.

Originality/value

The article points to the adoption of a bottom‐up, role‐based approach to segmentation as a valuable approach to thinking through the implications of segmentation in any organization.
Unintended consequences? The impact of NHS reforms upon Torbay Care Trust
Authors: Farnsworth Anthony
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Torbay Care Trust has been widely promoted as an effective model of integrated health and social care, and yet the impact of reforms introduced by the previous and current governments has been to destabilise its partnership coherence and its organisational form. This paper seeks to explain why this is the case, highlighting the potentially damaging consequences for the local, currently productive, system of care; and to indicate the local adaptations necessary to maintain progress, which are seen as under continuing threat in the current financial environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a personal reflection by the chief executive of Torbay Care Trust, reviewing the documented progress made since 2005.

Findings

The model of partnership, collaboration and risk sharing carefully nurtured over 15 years in Torbay has been proven to be beneficial not only for local people, but for NHS financial and clinical performance generally, and for social care performance. This is now paradoxically being undermined by the more commercially‐minded policy approaches of Labour's Transforming Community Services programme and by the current NHS reforms. New tensions have arisen across the “health and social care divide”.

Originality/value

The current government is unequivocally committed to integrated care, and specifically to integrated health and social care. The Torbay experience gives insight firstly into the care and attention which may be needed by government to secure this over forthcoming years; and secondly to the way in which integrated commissioning will have to be conceived and organised in the new system, and how integrated services will have, in turn, to be commissioned, and operated.
Benchmarking integrated care for people with long‐term neurological conditions
Authors: Bernard Sylvia , Aspinal Fiona , Gridley Kate , Parker Gillian
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to report results from a national survey of primary care trusts (PCTs) that explored the strategic, organisational and practice context of services for people with long‐term neurological conditions (LTNCs). It seeks to provide benchmarks for integrated service provision and to discuss possible reasons for the variability in progress.

Design/methodology/approach

Earlier phases of the research identified three models of care that promoted continuity of care for people with LTNCs: community interdisciplinary neurological rehabilitation teams, nurse specialists and pro‐active day opportunities. Based on this evidence, a benchmarking questionnaire was developed and a telephone survey of PCTs in England undertaken in 2009.

Findings

The survey found that the prevalence of models of good practice varied widely across and within PCT areas. Strategic support and commissioning arrangements were also variable. A little over half of responding PCTs had completed a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) that included a reference to LTNCs and a quarter of PCTs had no joint commissioning arrangements in place for LTNCs. The complex interplay between strategy, organisational structures and models of delivery, in a context of competing priorities, may account for this variation and patchy progress.

Originality/value

Service provision for people with LTNCs is an under‐researched area, despite having major implications for long‐term care and support. The paper will be valuable to policy makers and commissioners in benchmarking organisational activity and models of good practice for integrated services.
The role of leadership in learning and knowledge for integration
Authors: Williams Paul
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role and approach to leadership for learning and knowledge management within integrated care arenas.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a critical review of the relevant literature, the paper analyses the findings from case study research in South Wales which generated evidence from in‐depth qualitative interviews with a diverse set of health and social care managers and professionals.

Findings

The paper argues that the leadership role for learning and knowledge management needs to focus on four main areas – promoting common purpose, developing a collaborative culture, facilitating multi‐disciplinary teamwork, and developing learning and knowledge management strategies. The most effective leadership approach to undertake these roles is predominantly collaborative and dispersed but may need to be flexible to reflect the hierarchical imperatives of performance and accountability.

Research limitations/implications

The research study is limited to a small case study and more in‐depth examples involving different integrated services are necessary to begin to accumulate more knowledge in this area of study.

Practical implications

There a number of implications that flow from this paper for policy and practice both in terms of leadership development and training, and for the design of planned strategies for learning and knowledge management.

Originality/value

The paper addresses an undeveloped area of research and has value to both theory and practice. It frames the challenge of integration as one of learning and knowledge management and argues that this has significant implications for the role of, and approach to, leadership.
New conversations with new players?
Authors: Lotinga Alan , Glasby Jon
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Against the backdrop of the significant changes taking place in health and social care, a key relationship is likely to be between social care and general practice. This paper aims to focus on these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports the outcomes of a series of workshops held with lead GPs, councillors, managers and service users in Birmingham to explore current and future joint working.

Findings

The paper identifies a series of key issues for future policy and practice.

Research limitations/implications

This is an under‐researched area – so the knowledge of what works is likely to be heavily dependent on practical experience and lessons learned.

Practical implications

While current policy changes are unsettling, they also offer opportunities for new conversations with new players.

Originality/value

In the absence of detailed research evidence, the paper provides a practical example of the conversations taking place at local level in response to current policy changes.
The user voice: older people's experiences of reablement and rehabilitation
Authors: Trappes‐Lomax Tessa , Hawton Annie
Published: June 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to report verbatim the voices of older people describing their experiences of rehabilitation services in community hospitals and local authority short‐term residential units followed by “usual care” services at home. It aims to contribute directly to the implementation of the DH Section 256 “reablement guidance”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a qualitative study, based on semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews in 2002/3, with 42 participants (mean age 81.4 years) using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Findings

Four main themes emerged from users' comments: the complexity of rehabilitative need, the influence of the setting, the role of the staff and the availability of reablement support back at home.

Research limitations/implications

Qualitative studies have limited generalisability, but these findings are consistent both with other studies of user experience and with earlier related evidence about assessment, institutionalisation and psychological factors.

Practical implications

The findings clearly demonstrate changing rehabilitative needs along the care pathway, with implications for commissioners and providers of reablement services. The findings bring a user perspective to current debates about the integration of services and the use of pooled budgets.

Originality/value

Effective reablement is critically dependent on service users' co‐operation and motivation. It therefore needs to be highly responsive to their needs and views. This study offers specific user views about their experiences in different settings and at different stages of reablement, together with their ideas for how it might work better. The data are analysed within a single framework, offering an example of the type of local evaluation currently sought by the Department of Health.
The interface between TRIPS and CBD: efforts towards harmonisation
Authors: Laxman Lekha , Haseeb Ansari Abdul
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the interface between the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to determine measures available to the global community to resolve the conflict between them, in order to prevent the rapid loss of biodiversity despite the diverse interests of nations.

Design/methodology/approach

Within the framework of sustainability, this paper adopts a socio‐legal approach by undertaking a content analysis of the relevant treaties and juristic writings that sheds light on the existing matrix of interaction between the two legal instruments.

Findings

The findings reveal that there is an urgent need to review all the instruments, particularly in the area of trade, intellectual property and conservation of biodiversity that causally influence the people's freedoms and capabilities in the said areas. To overcome the range of these surmountable barriers, a comprehensive approach to development is required, i.e. an all‐encompassing functional relation amalgamating distinct development concerns in relevant spheres, especially in economic matters.

Practical implications

The paper explores the changes that need to be incorporated in the TRIPS and CBD in order to develop an appropriate normative framework with regards to property in genetic material.

Social implications

The research provides amicable solutions that can be explored particularly by the providers of genetic resources, in order to overcome the monumental challenges during the joint implementation of TRIPS and the CBD.

Originality/value

The comprehensive review undertaken in this paper enables the stakeholders to explore measures that enable sustainable development without jeopardizing Earth's biodiversity.
Analysis of the Brazil‐USA cotton dispute
Authors: Ridley William , Devadoss Stephen
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain and conceptually analyse the origins and outcomes of the Brazil‐USA cotton dispute.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is conducted using a conceptual framework to show the effects of US policies on Brazil and the world cotton market. The historical context of the conflict is presented, to explain the motivations of both countries and the background of the dispute.

Findings

US cotton subsidies and related policies have the effect of harming international producers, including Brazil. This analysis, along with an explanation of Brazil's role in world cotton production, explains why Brazil had cause to complain to the WTO and why the WTO ruled in its favor.

Practical implications

The implications of these rulings are that the international dispute and its unique resolution could foreshadow similar conflicts in the future between different parties over different commodities, and the analysis presented in this paper will serve to explain them.

Originality/value

This is the only paper to present a complete history of the Brazil‐USA conflict, along with a conceptual analysis of the targeted US policies.
Trade and investment potential among BCIM countries: prospects for a dynamic growth quadrangle
Authors: Masudur Rahman Mohammad , Kim Chanwahn
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the trade and investment potential under the ambit of sub‐regional cooperation comprising the four contiguous countries of Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM).

Design/methodology/approach

The study addressed both intra‐regional and intra‐industrial trade, applying a dynamic gravity model of bilateral trade flows by product group of BEC's 1‐digit product classification, to set a panel data for the period of 1992‐2009.

Findings

The analysis reveals that higher trade transaction costs and tariff between each pair of countries reduce the trade flow. One of the major findings of the paper is that a large part of BCIM's trade has remained unrealized and the trade transaction cost is one of the major trading barriers prohibiting the growth of BCIM intra‐regional trade. The paper concludes that liberalization of non‐policy barriers will spur BCIM's trade, particularly in a time of ongoing global economic and financial crisis.

Practical implications

The study reinforces that improvement in infrastructure that leads to less trade transportation costs should be a necessary step in order to realize BCIM's trade potential. The paper concludes that liberalization of non‐policy barriers will spur BCIM's trade and economic cooperation, particularly in time of ongoing global economic and financial crisis.

Originality/value

This paper is the first‐ever attempt to estimate the trade potential of BCIM countries using dynamic gravity model.
Regulatory watch list for 2012: the shifting landscape for hedge funds and other private funds
Authors: Cain James M. , Frydman Daphne G. , Roby David , Koffler Michael , Ramirez Raymond A.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain legislative and regulatory changes and related developments that will be of interest to hedge funds and other private funds as they traverse the shifting regulatory landscape in 2012.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a general overview of the new regulatory regime that the Dodd‐Frank Act imposes on over‐the‐counter (OTC) derivatives; describes the rescission of a regulatory exclusion from the commodity pool operator (CPO) definition that was previously available to registered investment companies and the repeal of an exemption from CPO registration requirements for operators of funds whose shares are exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933; discusses proposed changes to CPO and commodity trading advisor (CTA) compliance requirements; discusses Dodd‐Frank Act changes to existing securities laws and regulations, including with respect to large trader reporting and investment advisers; highlights some of the concerns raised by MF Global, Inc.’s collapse; and describes recent tax law developments.

Findings

The paper reveals that the Dodd‐Frank Act significantly alters the space within which hedge funds and other private funds currently operate.

Practical implications

Whereas the majority of the regulations to implement the Dodd‐Frank Act have yet to become effective, federal regulators are working diligently to implement their mandates and hedge funds and other private funds should begin preparing to comply with the new Dodd‐Frank Act requirements now.

Originality/value

The paper provides expert guidance by experienced securities, derivatives and tax lawyers.
SEC publishes risk alert on investment adviser use of social media
Authors: Robinson Keith T. , Kelly Joseph P. , Baron Andrea E.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the implications of an SEC Risk Alert and two FINRA regulatory notices concerning the use of social media by registered investment advisers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes the SEC Office of Compliance and Inspections National Examination Risk Alert dated January 4, 2012, including general observations and factors for investment advisors to consider such as usage guidelines, content standards, policies for representatives and solicitors, monitoring procedures and third‐party content and testimonials. It discusses FINRA's detailed, bright‐line guidance in Regulatory Notice 11‐39 (August 2011) and Regulatory Notice 10‐06 (January 2010).

Findings

The paper recommends ways for investment advisers to address the use of social media.

Practical implications

Until more concrete guidance and market practice has emerged, firms may benefit from taking a conservative approach by limiting the use of social media and the ability of non‐firm personnel to “like” or post content to the firm's social media website, and by retaining all records of social media interactions in case of examinations.

Originality/value

The paper presents analysis and practical guidance from experienced financial services lawyers.
US Securities and Exchange Commission amends dollar threshold tests under qualified client standard, requires exclusion of net equity in primary residence
Authors: Cohen Rory M.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the SEC's new dollar threshold tests under the qualified client standard.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explains the amendments to the dollar thresholds, which provide for inflation adjustments to the assets under management and net worth tests every five years; the exclusion of net equity in the primary residence from the net worth calculation; and certain transitional provisions designed to allow investment advisers and their clients to maintain performance fee arrangements that existed when they entered into advisory contracts.

Findings

The paper finds that these increased dollar thresholds codify the increased thresholds that the Commission issued in its July 12, 2011 order as required by the Dodd‐Frank Act.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical guidance from an experienced financial services lawyer.
Lehman Brothers: treatment of TBA contracts
Authors: Sosnick Fredric , Schodek Ned S. , Loo Alexa J.
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help parties to “TBA contracts” better understand how their claims would be treated in the event that a Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 (SIPA) proceeding was commenced with respect to their counterparty.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper explores the arguments made in favor of and against treating TBA contract claims as “customer claims” under SIPA in the Lehman Brothers Inc. SIPA proceeding and the resulting decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on the issue.

Findings

The Bankruptcy Court found that TBA contract claims are not “customer claims” under SIPA and properly are classified as general unsecured claims.

Practical implications

This was an issue of first impression for the Bankruptcy Court and may have a binding effect on other TBA contracts (although other TBA contracts may have distinguishable facts). Future investors may alter the way they purchase and sell these securities in order to manage counterparty risk. Deeming TBA contract claims as general unsecured claims will also result in a larger pool of assets for creditors actually deemed customers of Lehman Brothers Inc. under SIPA.

Originality/value

The paper provides guidance from experienced bankruptcy lawyers.
UWIRS‐REC: integrating web information retrieval with recommendation services
Authors: Barraza‐Urbina Andrea , Carrillo Ramos Angela
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe UWIRS (Ubiquitous Web Information Retrieval Solution), an agent‐based Web Information Retrieval (WIR) solution designed taking into account the unique features of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the limitations of existing WIR solutions for ubiquitous environments.

Design/methodology/approach

UWIRS can offer recommendation services by using the Multi‐Agent Vizier Recommendation Framework (Vizier). Vizier was designed under a generic approach and therefore can provide services to information retrieval applications so these may offer product recommendations that consider several adaptation/personalization dimensions (e.g. user dimension, context, among others).

Findings

Overall, the main challenge resides on: location, retrieval, integration and presentation of information from the WWW, quickly and accurately, to satisfy a user's singular information needs.

Originality/value

In UWIRS, agents cooperate in order to retrieve personalized information, considering user needs, goals, preferences and contextual features. UWIRS's agents are responsible for: interpreting user input and adding adaptation information by means of a query enrichment process; identifying and selecting the appropriate data sources taking into consideration the Profile Set (composed of User, Device and Information‐Provider Profiles); executing query routing and the information retrieval process; integrating and filtering the retrieved results; and lastly, coherent presentation of quality and relevant ubiquitous information (anytime, anywhere and anyhow) that satisfies the user's particular information needs and constraints associated to his/her access device.
RDF packages: a scheme for efficient reasoning and querying over large‐scale RDF data
Authors: Ohsawa Shohei , Amagasa Toshiyuki , Kitagawa Hiroyuki
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the performance of querying and reasoning and querying over large‐scale Resource Description Framework (RDF) data. When processing RDF(S) data, RDFS entailment is performed which often generates a large number of additional triples, which causes a poor performance. To deal with large‐scale RDF data, it is important to develop a scheme which enables the processing of large RDF data in an efficient manner.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose RDF packages, which is a space efficient format for RDF data. In an RDF package, a set of triples of the same class or triples having the same predicate are grouped into a dedicated node named Package. Any RDF data can be represented using RDF packages, and vice versa.

Findings

It is found that using RDF packages can significantly reduce the size of RDF data, even after RDFS entailment. The authors experimentally evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of triple size, reasoning speed, and querying speed.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed scheme is useful in processing RDF(S) data, but it needs further development to deal with an ontological language such as OWL.

Originality/value

An important feature of the RDF packages is that, when performing RDFS reasoning, there is no need to modify either reasoning rules or reasoning engine; while other related schemes require reasoning rules or reasoning engine to be modified.
AdaptRDF: adaptive storage management for RDF databases
Authors: MahmoudiNasab Hooran , Sakr Sherif
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a two‐phase approach for designing an efficient tailored but flexible storage solution for resource description framework (RDF) data based on its query workload characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach consists of two phases. The vertical partitioning phase which aims of reducing the number of join operations in the query evaluation process, while the adjustment phase aims to maintain the efficiency of the performance of the query processing by adapting the underlying schema to cope with the dynamic nature of the query workloads.

Findings

The authors perform comprehensive experiments on two real‐world RDF datasets to demonstrate that the approach is superior to the state‐of‐the‐art techniques in this domain.

Originality/value

The main motivation behind the authors' approach is that several benchmarking studies have recently shown that each RDF dataset requires a tailored table schema in order to achieve efficient performance during query processing. None of the previous approaches have considered this limitation.
Stress, gender and compulsive buying among early adolescents
Authors: Roberts James A. , Roberts Camille
Published: June 2012

Purpose

Despite growing concerns over the increasing incidence of compulsive buying among young consumers, scant research attention has been focused on this darker side of consumer behavior among adolescent consumers. The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of compulsive buying as a coping mechanism in early adolescents.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study is the first to experimentally manipulate a common and important stressor in the lives of adolescents, academic stress, and measures its impact on compulsive buying among a sample of 12‐13 year old seventh graders. Next, the authors investigate whether gender moderates the stress‐compulsive buying relationship.

Findings

The present study finds that early adolescents increasingly turn to compulsive buying in an attempt to cope with heightened levels of academic stress. Surprisingly, gender was not found to moderate this relationship. Both boys and girls were found to respond to higher levels of academic stress with higher incidences of compulsive buying. Results suggest that compulsive buying is a common coping strategy for adolescents from both genders.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study suggest that compulsive buying is a common coping strategy in early adolescents. Additionally, both boys and girls were found to use compulsive buying as a means to cope with stress associated with school. Whether compulsive buying can be considered an adaptive or maladaptive coping strategy when dealing with stress requires further study be conducted in this area of research.

Originality/value

The paper makes several unique and important contributions to the literature. First, it describes one of few studies to investigate compulsive buying in early adolescents – a hard to reach population. Second, it is the only study to experimentally manipulate stress levels to investigate its impact on compulsive buying. Third, the study's findings in regard to gender's impact (or lack thereof) on the stress‐compulsive buying relationship suggest that compulsive buying begins early in adolescence and is a common coping strategy for both boys and girls. How young people cope with common stressors such as school has important implications for their mental and physical well‐being.
The effect of pediatricians' obesity and gender on children's perceptions
Authors: Brudvig Susan , Borna Shaheen
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of pediatricians' obesity and gender on children's perceptions of physicians. In particular, to examine the extent and direction of obesity and gender on children's perceptions of likability, expertise, and trustworthiness.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes an experimental design. The actual sample is 138 children between six and 12 years of age.

Findings

The results indicate that physicians' gender did not influence children's perception of pediatricians' personal characteristics. However, physicians' obesity did influence children's perceptions. Specifically, obese pediatricians were judged less likable and less expert than non‐obese pediatricians.

Originality/value

The research informs two important gaps in the literature. First, personal characteristics influence perceptions of credibility, and children perceive obese persons negatively, just as adults do. Second, the paper lays out a rigorous experimental design that adapts scales and materials for use with child‐subjects.
Children's influence in family buying process in India
Authors: Chaudhary Monica , Gupta Aayushi
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to categorize and rank products based on children's influence and to compare their influence on the different stages of the family buying process.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was based on an extensive literature review and focus group discussions. Using a structured questionnaire, a survey was conducted with children aged 8‐12 years. The sample size was 175.

Findings

Factor analysis revealed three distinct product clusters: “loud”, “noisy” and “quiet” goods. Children's influence was found to be highest for noisy goods, lesser for loud goods and lowest for quiet goods. One‐way MANOVA analysis found that for loud and noisy goods children's influence was highest in the initiation stage, and lowest in the search stage. For quiet goods, the highest influence was in the final decision stage followed by initiation and choice stage.

Practical implications

The identified product clusters and children's relative influence across the buying stages for these clusters are expected to enhance marketer's understanding of children's role in family decision making. Marketers should take these observations into consideration while designing and implementing their marketing strategies.

Originality/value

The results are important because previous studies have dealt with children's influence for various products at a broad level. In this paper, an innovative segmentation for products based on children's influence level has been identified and the influence measured across these clusters.
Young Saudi adults and peer group purchase influence: a preliminary investigation
Authors: Opoku Robert
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The role that peer influence plays in shaping young adult consumers' products purchase decision cannot be overemphasized. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of peer influence in shaping young adult male consumers' product purchase decisions in Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

To measure peer influence in this study, a survey of around 200 university students aged between 16 and 30 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using well‐established scales. Hypotheses are tested by investigating and comparing mean levels of the susceptibility of these young adults to peer influence across four product categories.

Findings

With the products studied, the overall preliminary results suggest that the levels of influence were greater in normative influence than in informational situations. The results further provide a sense of the degree to which peer influence on purchase decision could be dictated by culture.

Practical implications

Based on the results of this study, practical implications for marketing strategies are suggested and future research directions proposed.

Originality/value

The paper adds richness to the peer influence theory from a unique culture such as Saudi Arabia, which is also under‐researched.
Best practices of the Finnish Government Information Society Policy Programme
Authors: Inkinen Tommi
Published: June 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to classify the best practices selected by the “Finnish Government Information Society Policy Programme” with a framework that includes four segments: technology, supply, demand, and spatial impact scale. These segments are elemental parts of service development processes, the best of which are classified into seven distinct categories: Telecommunications; Citizen Readiness; Education and Research; Working Life; Public Sector Electronic Services; Social and Health Care; and Electronic Commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical material includes the best practices as defined by the Finnish Government Information Society Policy Programme 2003‐2007. The best practices were analyzed through their project descriptions. The data were classified with textual content analysis into categories that were further analyzed numerically. The tools of statistical analysis included cross‐tabulations and chi‐square tests.

Findings

The results reveal differentiation among the best practices. The majority of service development concerns applications and software. However, physical infrastructure development was also present in the largest cities. Public sector organizations produced more than half of all of the best practices selected. Public‐private partnerships were also common, and the majority of service development was targeted to the national level.

Research limitations/implications

The best practices analyzed illustrate the view of the Finnish Government Information Society Policy Programme. Consequently, the analysis highlights the values of the policy program. The data include only a small segment of on‐going development activity and represents a case study and therefore it is limited to the Finnish and Nordic context.

Originality/value

This paper uses a unique primary data set. The results obtained reflect the originality of the study and clearly provide sufficient grounds to consider electronic service development. The results are also transferable to public sector decision makers dealing with regional policies and development.