bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Uncertainties collide: lawyers and money laundering, terrorist finance regulation
Authors: Michelle Gallant M.
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the tentative, highly contingent nature of the contemporary press to impose stringent anti‐criminal finance regulatory obligations onto Canadian legal counsel.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach used in this work is to bring together problems associated with different areas of the anti‐criminal finance project in order to demonstrate how these problems compound in the context of the fusion of Canadian lawyers and anti‐criminal finance regulation. It draws chiefly on Canadian law and Canadian and international scholarship.

Findings

This paper shows that the tasking of Canadian legal counsel with additional regulatory burdens continues the pattern of developing legal strategies without paying sufficient attention to the actual results that the strategies produce.

Practical implications

This paper suggests that any continued construction of an anti‐criminal finance apparatus should be accompanied by enhanced study of its actual ability to generate results.

Originality/value

Most investigations of anti‐criminal finance developments assume the effectiveness of a strategy focused on detecting and intercepting resources linked to crime. Rather than assume its effectiveness, this paper demonstrates that an extraordinarily level of uncertainty animates that development.
How to deal with corruption in transitional and developing economies
Authors: Sato Yasunobu
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose alternate dispute resolution (ADR) as a possible tool to prevent corruption.

Design/methodology/approach

After the literature reviews on theory of corruption, the Pacific Consultants International (PCI) case of the Japanese prosecution is examined as a case study of Vietnam, based on some empirical research.

Findings

The PCI executives were indicted and sentenced guilty on all counts and the Japanese Government has frozen Yen‐loan until the Vietnamese Government prosecutes the Vietnamese official.

Research limitations/implications

This would be a tip of the iceberg. It would be difficult to find all the details of corruption at practice.

Practical implications

For enhancing transparency in such informal practice, if it is inevitable, a special dispute processing panel should be established as a Japanese and Vietnamese joint venture as ADR.

Originality/value

This is the first major case in which the Japanese Government, which was internationally criticised for its inaction despite adopting the international anti‐corruption regime, took action against the Japanese official development assistance‐related bribing case in Ho Chi Minh City.
“Mind the gap”, progress towards developing anti‐fraud culture strategies in UK central government bodies
Authors: Button Mark , Brooks Graham
Published: July 2009

Purpose

There is increasing guidance for public bodies on the appropriate counter fraud strategies to pursue. One area covered is anti‐fraud culture strategies. Building upon the work of the UK Government's HM Treasury, the purpose of this paper is to assess the extent and quality of anti‐fraud culture strategies in UK central government bodies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based upon analysis of HM Treasury survey data as well as a survey undertaken by the authors.

Findings

The paper shows that the quantitative data from HM Treasury surveys when compared to the qualitative data also drawn from the authors survey highlights significant numbers of central public bodies with limited anti‐fraud culture strategies.

Research limitations/implications

Some of the responses on screening strategies used by central government bodies varied in the detail offered in response to the authors' survey.

Originality/value

Provides much greater depth to the strategies utilised by central government bodies to develop an anti‐fraud culture.
Intellectual capital and economic espionage: new crimes and new protections
Authors: Snyder Herbert , Crescenzi Anthony
Published: July 2009

Purpose

Intellectual capital's (IC's) rising value in the production of wealth has been mirrored by its increasing vulnerability to crime. Among these are the increasing frequency of cybercrime, the intangible nature of IC which facilitates theft and the lack of legal remedies for the theft of IC. Taken together, these factors have created a new environment in which IC is uniquely at risk from financial crime. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to examine the efficacy in current legal remedies and formulate suggestions for better protecting IC.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is conceptual, using frameworks drawn from legal scholarship and traditional views of law‐enforcement practice.

Findings

This paper explores the risks of crime inherent in IC and a distributed cyber environment in greater detail in order to demonstrate that traditional legal remedies are largely ineffective to protect IC property rights and that, given this policy environment and the nature of IC itself, prevention is the only reasonable means for protecting IC.

Research limitations/implications

Conceptual papers offer an intrinsically different form of evidence than empirical studies. Significant public debate prior to enacting legislation and subsequent empirical testing of the paper's propositions, if enacted into legislation, are strongly encouraged.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the development of legal protections based on guarding sensitive information at its source, rather than traditional reactive policing and legal actions after a theft has been committed.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to propose useful and concrete legal solutions that deal with the increasing importance of IC and the concomitant frequency of crimes that involve its theft.
Are labor contracts efficient to combat fraud?
Authors: Azevedo Araujo Ricardo
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to approach the issue of fraud prevention by using the theory of incentives to design a mechanism that makes employees to reveal their true type, that is, their willingness or ability to combat corruption. Based on this information, the manager may propose particular contracts for different types of employee.

Design/methodology/approach

The mechanism design approach assumes that the manager or the principal is entrusted with the power of making the employees agents – to provide effort. This methodology is adapted to assess the efficiency of the labor contracts to prevent fraud.

Findings

The paper shows that the labor contracts are efficient to combat fraud when the type of the employee, measured by his/her willingness to cope with fraud prevention is known by the manager. If this worker's private information not available for the manager, then the contract is not efficient due to the problem of hidden information that leads to a moral hazard. Only a second‐best solution is attained in this case.

Research limitations/implications

The labor contracts are subject to the problem of hidden information.

Practical implications

This is a theoretical result that points out the importance of using labor contracts in order to stimulate workers to cope with fraud prevention.

Originality/value

The paper presents an attempt to apply an incentive theoretic approach to evaluate the efficiency of the labor contract scheme of combating fraud. Also, it reveals the fragile points of such an approach and how to overcome them.
Prosecuting extortion victims
Authors: Ferrer Montse
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of USA Executive Order 13224, one of the most important US counter‐terrorist finance measures, on corporations operating in countries with designated terrorist organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The effects of Executive Order 13224 are focused on the case of Chiquita Brands International, a major US banana‐exporting corporation that operated in Uraba, Colombia until 2004. The US Government prosecuted Chiquita for “engaging in transactions” with an illicit, Colombian paramilitary group considered by the US a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as a specially‐designated global terrorist. This paper presents the duress defense that Chiquita could have raised at trial under US federal law.

Findings

Executive Order 13224 was drafted hastily and under pressure leading to over‐inclusive language and over‐broad implementation. Chiquita's case suggests that Executive Order 13224, drafted with the intention of reducing terrorist funding, has made it possible for an extortion victim to be prosecuted for payments it has not chosen to make. This paper will suggest narrowly tailoring the language of Executive Order 13224 or providing an exculpatory provision.

Research limitations/implications

Counter‐terrorist finance measure Executive Order 13224 has not been sufficiently examined by scholars. Research on this topic should go hand in hand with enquiry into possible defenses for corporations operating in countries with designated terrorist organizations and having to make extortion payments.

Practical implications

Suggestions are put forward for corporations operating in countries with designated terrorist organizations as well as for drafters of counter‐finance terrorist measures.

Originality/value

Although the designation of terrorist organizations under the executive order has been discussed, few scholars have addressed cases of over‐broad application of the executive order. The unexamined case of Chiquita is a unique case in that the extortion victim, and not the extortion perpetrator, is prosecuted. Also, Chiquita was prosecuted for an activity (making extortion payments to the Autodefensas Unidas Campesinas that became a crime after Chiquita began its engagement with such an activity. Furthermore, examining this case thoroughly is important because it has repercussions on at least two public policy levels: the US' War on terrorism and the rights and remedies of corporations investing in countries with designated terrorist organizations.
Knowledge flows in international business: a JIBS citation analysis
Authors: Yeheskel Orly , Shenkar Oded
Published: July 2009

Purpose

As an interdisciplinary, integrative field, international business exchanges knowledge with other academic areas. The inflow of theories, models, constructs and empirical findings infuses the field's theoretical and methodological base, while outflow represents impact on other academic areas. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the knowledge flows into and from international business, using journal citation counts as the primary indicator.

Design/methodology/approach

Following Salancik, the paper opted to use an index of structural influence over the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) impact factor, focusing on the sub‐area of management. It analyzed cross‐citations between the Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) and a group of the leading management journals over a 13‐year period.

Findings

Using cross citations method, JIBS was found to be a net importer, especially from strategy; however in the most recent period the journal has become a net knowledge exporter.

Research limitations/implications

The present analysis confirms that international business is at a crossroads. While its outflow level can be explained in a narrow domain and its high import level can be interpreted to be the result of a more open market than that of its competitors, the fact that its largest deficit is with a competing area that is itself integrative is not encouraging.

Originality/value

Implications for the network location of the field, its content, impact and competitive position are outlined in this paper. Suggestions for the future direction and development of international business are drawn.
Reflection on knowledge transfer methodologies in Eastern/Western European co‐operations
Authors: Sánchez Bengoa Dolores , Rüdiger Kaufmann Hans , Orange Graham
Published: July 2009

Purpose

In order to win the global race for innovation as a source for competitive advantage, many companies enter into any kind of business co‐operation. Beyond intending to grow merely quantitatively, co‐operation partners should target to commonly create new knowledge and to transfer knowledge as a basis for qualitative growth. This apparent deficiency of practitioners is compounded by a lack of theory and empirical research on intercultural knowledge transfer. This task becomes even more daunting, when co‐operation partners transcend borders, and the knowledge transfer process becomes impacted by national cultures. This paper aims to present empirical research that illuminates the effects which national cultures have on the transfer of knowledge between Central/Eastern Europe (CEE) using Russia as a case study, and Western European partners.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper applies a phenomenological approach applying grounded theory for data generation and analysis. The research method is a case study, and as research techniques 11 interviews with senior Russian managers and academics were conducted and three participant observation events in Russian settings were chosen. The researchers applied a fundamental shift from a mere comparative study of cultural differences to the study of interactions.

Findings

This stage of the research presents a reflection on Eastern perceptions on Western knowledge transfer methodologies related mainly to the content of the knowledge as well as the attitudes when transferring knowledge. In addition, a self‐reflection on the characteristics of the Russian knowledge receivers is provided.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations of this research refer to a lack of differentiation as to ownership, type of co‐operation, company size or industry type. It has to be underlined that the focus of the research was to concentrate on the holistic problems that were not sufficiently addressed in previous research. On this basis more specific and differentiated further research can be conducted.

Originality/value

This research aimed to develop an understanding of why Eastern and Western European partners experience different barriers when transferring and receiving knowledge and provides recommendations to overcome the barriers. It facilitates an understanding of the feelings and obstacles in the learning process between Russian and Western European partners serving as a reflective and eye‐opening starting point for urgently required theory generation and change of attitudes. The paper contributes to the development of a coherent body of knowledge in the field. Contemporary authors criticise the lack of research on a dyadic level and theory on intercultural knowledge transfer. This research addresses these shortcomings by having selected respondents that are currently involved in Eastern/Western co‐operations and by comparing Eastern and Western perspectives at a later research stage.
Ethics, social responsibility and business performance in a transition economy
Authors: Grbac Bruno , Lončarić Dina
Published: July 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to explore the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility in achieving the organisational effectiveness among managers in transition economy, the impact of demographic characteristics of managers on it, and the relationship between managers' attitudes towards the role of ethics in business and the firm's performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was been done by a survey method based on a sample of managers from the most successful Croatian firms. In order to establish the attitudes of Croatian managers on social responsibility, the PRESOR scale was used.

Findings

It has been established that among Croatian managers a positive attitude on the importance of ethics and social responsibility for the firm's success prevails. Except for the age, the connection between other individual variables and the perception of the role of ethics and social responsibility in doing business was not established. A positive correlation between the perception of the role of ethics and social responsibility in doing business, profit and work productivity has been discovered.

Practical implications

The research results show, to managers in transition and developed market economies, that business success, ethics and social responsibility are compatible.

Originality/value

The original PRESOR scale has been tested on the sample of managers in transition economy. Except for the marketing managers the sample includes also managers in other functions and on different organisational levels.
The international imperfect banking systems: the Israeli case
Authors: Malul Miki , Shoham Amir , Rosenboim Mosi
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The banking system has a huge impact on a nation's economic environment. A concentrated banking system has a negative impact on the economy. Therefore, the research in this paper has two main goals: to explore the main factors that impact the level of concentration in the banking system; and to demonstrate how a reform in a banking system can reduce the negative impact of high levels of concentration.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 42 nations was used with various levels of concentration in their banking system to examine factors influencing bank concentration. Logit and OLS regressions were conducted to highlight the impact of the independent variables on the level of concentration in those nations. The latest Israeli reforms in the banking system were used to illustrate how reforms reduce concentration.

Findings

The empirical results concluded that economic freedom had a positive impact on the level of concentration. It was also found that cultural variables had an impact on the concentration level. Finally, analyzing the banking sector in Israel, it was found that the reform did decrease the level of concentration of the banking system.

Originality/value

The innovation of this paper is that it adds Hofstede's cultural variables as explanatory variables for the level of concentration in the banking system. It also highlights the role of public regulation for achieving efficiency in the banking sector by using the example of Israeli banking reforms.
Brand architecture and brands portfolio: a clarification
Authors: Chailan Claude
Published: July 2009

Purpose

This research aims to clarify the nature of the links between brand architecture and brands portfolio. Although these two themes have been the focus of significant research, the question of a link between the two concepts has not truly been asked; and yet the major role of brands raises the question of brand optimisation and balance at the core of an individual company.

Design/methodology/approach

After having clarified the two concepts by way of synthesising various works, the paper examines the similarities, differences, complementarities and oppositions between these two methods of organising and utilising brands.

Findings

This work shows that brand architecture corresponds, in its essence, to a hierarchical relationship approach between brands; whereas the brands portfolio concept corresponds to a non‐hierarchical method of organising the brands within themselves. The combination of these two approaches allows going beyond the idea of competition at the individual brand level and rather to replace that with a metadimension better suited to reconcile the needs expressed by consumers with organisational logistics and company profitability.

Practical implications

The research may assist managers in better understanding and controlling brand regrouping because the research illustrates some benefits for a company that executes well‐coordinated multi‐brand management.

Originality/value

The discussion distinguishes clearly the concept of brand architecture from the one of brand portfolio and shows their contribution to a stronger link between marketing and strategy.
Cultural influences on motives for organic food consumption
Authors: First Ivana , Brozina Staša
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test whether differences in motives for healthy food consumption stem from differences in cultural dimensions and whether cultural dimensions could serve as predictors for health food consumption motivations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study correlated secondary data on motives for healthy food consumption in a number of West European countries to cultural dimensions of those countries. In addition, primary data for prime motives of healthy food consumption were collected for Croatian consumers.

Findings

Influence of cultural dimensions was partly confirmed and that only for individualism and assertiveness, while human orientation and uncertainty avoidance showed no correlation to organic food consumption motivation. Croatian consumers display homogeneous collective awareness, i.e. they almost exclusively consider health as prime consumption motive.

Research limitations/implications

Correlation analysis was conducted on a small data set; the units of analysis were not distributed along the whole range of independent variables (cultural dimensions), coding of motives might be too robust. Future research should better tackle the exposed problems and also aim at discovering alternative antecedents that could improve prediction of prevailing motives.

Practical implications

By definition cultural dimensions capture variations in consumers' motives. Because of exposed limitations, the study did not provide full evidence for the conceptual proposal (that healthy food motivation is determined by cultural dimensions). Nevertheless, the conceptual model could serve managers as an initial indicator in predicting motives for healthy food consumption.

Originality/value

This research proposes a relationship between cultural dimensions and consumer motivation, which is an under researched field.
Strategic planning for increasing profitability: the case of marina industry
Authors: Raviv Amos , Yedidia Tarba Shlomo , Weber Yaakov
Published: July 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the international marina industry, encompassing both marina customers and managers. It also aims to put forth the argument that marinas as business entities can create and sustain competitive advantage by maximizing the advantages that stem from their superior resources and core competences.

Design/methodology/approach

To ensure proper representation for the marina managers worldwide, questionnaires were sent to 200 managers of various marinas on five continents, in order to receive a representative sample. The questionnaires were distributed for the most part via e‐mail (where an address was available), some by fax and additional questionnaires were distributed at the international ICOMIA conference for marina managers held in Sydney, Australia. Overall, 138 marina managers replied. The statistical analysis applied in the study is a structural equations analysis, which is known in the literature as covariance structure modeling and structural equations modeling (SEM).

Findings

The correlation between government intervention and occupancy is a negative correlation, meaning that the greater government intervention, the lower occupancy rate. The correlation between crowding and occupancy is a positive one. The remaining correlations are not significant. This shows that it is not possible to claim a relationship between the occupancy index and the other variables examined: view, services, level of security/safety, environmental protection, distance from competitors, proximity to customer/city and local community.

Research limitations/implications

The study offers a method of classifying variables according to which marinas can be characterized. Second, these criteria are placed in clusters viewed by the marina managers as being related to one another, adding structure to the process of classification, which is similar to the “conceptual map” that exists in the minds of the marina managers.

Originality/value

This research provides corroborative empirical evidence to the hypothesis that occupancy can be used as a proxy for marina's profitability. Finally, the model provides tools for strategic planning and ongoing management of an existing marina and/or for the establishing of a new marina.
Early participation in the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment
Authors: Swearingen White Stacey
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze those US campuses that became signatories of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) during the charter membership period of December 2006 through September 15, 2007.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on literature in organizational change, organizational learning, and innovation diffusion to develop a tentative idea as to what types of campuses might be most likely to be climate change innovators. It then characterizes signatory campuses with respect to such variables as their size, location, and type.

Findings

The paper shows that there is no typical signatory among the 379 ACUPCC charter members. Many types of institutions, public and private, small and large, and located throughout the USA, have pledged to become climate neutral through this commitment.

Practical implications

Understanding more about how USA higher education is responding to global climate change is an important component of the larger discussions surrounding this critical issue.

Originality/value

Higher education has a vital role to play in global climate change mitigation and adaptation, but there has been little prior scholarly attention to this topic. This paper contributes to the understanding of this issue through its analysis of the most innovative and comprehensive climate initiative in US higher education.
Using a class to conduct a carbon inventory
Authors: Wells Christopher W. , Savanick Suzanne , Manning Christie
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the practical realities of using a college seminar to fulfill the carbon audit requirement for signatories to the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and presents evidence of this approach's advantages as an educational and practical tool.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the course structure and presents research findings, based on student questionnaires on student learning outcomes.

Findings

Structuring a course around a campus carbon audit has unique educational advantages for students and practical advantages for ACUPCC signatory campuses.

Originality/value

This paper enumerates the concrete advantages to using a college class to conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and provides evidence of valuable learning outcomes for students in such a class.
University leadership in island climate change mitigation
Authors: Coffman Makena
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the University of Hawaii at Manoa's (UHM's) initiatives in achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions on campus and at the state level.

Design/methodology/approach

UHM has taken a “lead by example” approach to climate change mitigation in terms of working to meet the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, becoming a founding member of The Climate Registry, and providing university leadership in crafting the policy to meet Hawaii's Climate Change Solutions Act of 2007.

Findings

Universities are uniquely poised to play a role in not only climate change research, education, and community outreach, but also in the regional and national policy‐making arena. In the absence of federal legislation, states are paving the way to create binding US GHG reduction commitments – making crafting innovative and appropriate policy all the more important and meaningful at the state and regional levels.

Practical implications

The paper discusses the multi‐prong approach UHM is taking in addressing the threats of climate change: from on‐campus GHG measurements and reductions to helping guide overarching state policy.

Originality/value

Islands are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. UHM has taken a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change, from forming strategic partnerships with the electric utility, to developing campus and state GHG reduction strategies, to helping mobilize planning for impacts like sea‐level rise. This paper presents the efforts of UHM, including faculty, student and administration‐led projects, specifically illustrating the role of Universities in meeting GHG reduction commitments through a “lead by example” approach at both the university and state levels.
Climate action planning at the University of New Hampshire
Authors: Cleaves Sara M. , Pasinella Brett , Andrews Jennifer , Wake Cameron
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the recent history of climate action planning at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), a public university with a long history of sustainability action and commitment. Items discussed include a partnership with Clean Air‐Cool Planet (CA‐CP) to produce a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory tool that adapted national and international inventory methodologies to the unique scale and character of a university community; involvement of administrators, faculty, staff and students in climate action planning, including to meet the requirements of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC); and the role of climate action planning within a broader institutional goal of integrating sustainability across curricula, operations, research and engagement efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

Background and historical information is shared in terms of best practices and lessons learned.

Findings

Successful climate action planning includes campus‐wide stakeholder involvement, an institution‐wide commitment to sustainability, and careful planning and partnerships that tie into a higher education institution's educational mission and identity and that take into account the culture and sense of place of each institution.

Practical implications

The paper contains lessons learned and best practices from which other institutions of higher education might learn.

Originality/value

UNH, a recognized national leader in sustainability and climate protection, and CA‐CP developed one of the first emissions inventory tools for higher education in the USA. The tool has been adopted by more than 1,000 campuses and was adopted by the ACUPCC as the recommended tool for campuses not already participating in another GHG inventorying program. Instead of recreating the wheel, campuses may be able to learn from UNH and CA‐CP's climate planning experience and history.
Towards carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability at CCSU
Authors: Button Charles E.
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide information about past and present efforts undertaken at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) to reduce its carbon footprint and to institute a campus culture centered on the principles of environmental sustainability. Provide some recommendations to other institutions of higher education interested in reducing their own carbon footprint.

Design/methodology/approach

This manuscript will first discuss past attempts at implementing ecologically sustainable practices at CCSU. Then, it will speak about current successes and close with a discussion about future goals for the university.

Findings

Instituting carbon neutrality and sustainability programs at institutes of higher education requires support from the faculty, administration, students, and facilities management staff.

Practical implications

The information in this paper will provide useful information to other institutions of higher education that are seeking to institute carbon reduction and sustainability programs.

Originality/value

This paper is original in that it provides details about CCSU's carbon neutrality efforts and recently initiated sustainability program that only someone intimately involved would know. Its value lies in helping others know of methods that have been successful in reducing a campus' carbon footprint.
Student‐led campus climate change initiatives in Canada
Authors: Helferty Anjali , Clarke Amelia
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive list of student‐led, campus‐based climate change initiatives, and offers details on many specific cases. The paper also documents the roles students have played and considers the larger youth engagement implications. Many of these initiatives can be replicated elsewhere, thereby providing a starting point for students wanting to begin an initiative or providing ideas for other campus stakeholders wanting to engage students in initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

Campus reports were collected by the Sierra Youth Coalition from 65 Canadian Universities and Colleges. This qualitative information was coded for student‐led climate‐related initiatives, and for the roles students played in those initiatives. The patterns were identified and clustered, and are presented in this paper.

Findings

Students were found to be successfully leading eight different types of campus climate change‐related initiatives, both with the support of other campus stakeholders and without this support. Students were also found to be able to successfully take on a variety of types of leadership roles in these initiatives. Youth engagement ranged from socialization to influence to power, depending on the type of initiative.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this research is that only 65 of the approximately 227 colleges and universities in Canada participated. Also, it is possible that some schools may not have reported all student‐led initiatives, or all the student roles. In addition, the data were limited to the 2007/2008 academic year, so is limited to the initiatives which occurred in that year.

Originality/value

This paper presents different types of student‐led climate change initiatives, the roles students have played in these initiatives, and the implications for youth engagement in creating climate change solutions. It contributes to the climate change, the campus sustainability, and the social movements literatures.
Findings from a research study of construction safety in Hong Kong
Authors: Wong Francis K.W. , Chan Albert P.C. , Yam Michael C.H. , Wong Edmond Y.S. , Tse Kenny T.C. , Yip Kendra K.C. , Cheung Esther
Published: July 2009

Purpose

Falls continue to be the major cause of fatalities in the Hong Kong construction industry, as well as in other countries. Published statistics of the Labour Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) showed that from 2000 to 2004 approximately half of the fatal construction accidents were a result of fall of person from height. In view of this phenomenon, the purpose of this paper is to present the findings and recommendations of a research paper which investigates the problems associated with fall of person from height in the construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Accident data obtained from the Architectural Services Department, HKSAR, was analysed according to the 14 available factors collectively to derive explanations for common situations and reasons leading to fall accidents.

Findings

The findings of this rigorous analysis are presented to practitioners whose feedback on the findings are recorded by means of a questionnaire survey. The responses from the survey show that “re‐enforced safety training” and “equipments for working at height” are the adoptable methods to enhance the workers' safety performance. The paper shows that “poor safety attitude and behaviour of workers” is the main problem in obstructing the implementation of safety procedures and guidelines for construction sites. In addition, over half the respondents agree that “closer monitoring and supervision” and “higher standard of projects” is observed by public projects when compared to private projects.

Originality/value

The statistics analysed in this paper are limited to public sector projects only. However, the findings are still believed to be valuable for safety practitioners so that they can adopt the necessary measures to prevent fall from height accidents occurring in future projects.
Agility through the interfacing of CAD and CAM
Authors: Vinodh S. , Sundararaj G. , Devadasan S.R. , Kuttalingam D. , Jayaprakasam J. , Rajanayagam D.
Published: July 2009

Purpose

Agile manufacturing (AM) refers to the capability of an organisation to quickly respond to the customers' dynamic demands. The purpose of this paper is to report a research which is carried out to explore the interfacing of computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in a traditional manufacturing company with the purpose of acquiring AM characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The CAD model of an existing electronics switch is developed using Pro/E package. Then, the mold adviser package is used to design the existing mold of this component. On studying this mold, ten new models of it are designed using the mold adviser package.

Findings

The new models developed through CAD/CAM interfacing are found to possess more agile characteristics than those possess by the existing mold.

Research limitations/implications

The explorative study is conducted in only one traditional manufacturing company. In this company several world class manufacturing strategies like kaizen and total productive maintenance are implemented. This endeavour mimics those pursue in majority of the companies situated in different parts of the world. This implies that the contributions of this research would be useful to majority of those companies as well.

Practical implications

A roadmap is developed which will be useful for practically applying CAD/CAM interfacing with the objective of implementing AM.

Originality/value

It appears that no researcher has examined the interfacing of CAD/CAM for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations. This paper reports a research, which is conducted to fill this research and practice gap. Hence, this research is original and valuable to both researchers and practitioners.
Geographic diversification, performance, and the risk profile of UK construction firms
Authors: Makarfi Ibrahim Yahaya , Makarfi Ibrahim Aliyu , Kabir Bala
Published: July 2009

Purpose

Executives are often faced with the challenge of making sound decisions regarding the product and geographic markets into which the company should diversify. This situation is even more glaring with respect to construction companies, owing to the volatile nature of the construction market. The purpose of this paper is to present empirical results on the impact of geographic diversification on the performance and risk profiles of construction firms in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

Published financial data of construction firms covering the period 1995‐2004 are employed in the paper. From this data, extent of geographic diversification, performance, and risk are computed. Firms are grouped based on the extent of diversification into undiversified, moderately diversified, and highly diversified. Performance of these groups is then compared using thet‐statistic based on return on equity (ROE), return on total asset (ROTA), return on capital employed (ROCE), and profit margin (PM).

Findings

The results show that firms that remain focused within the UK market outperform those that expand into international markets on PM only. There is no significant difference in performance based on ROE, ROTA, and ROCE. However, as expected, highly diversified firms are found to exhibit the best risk profile.

Originality/value

These results are invaluable to managers in strategic decision making. They also provide a first step to understanding the nature of the relationship between geographic spread and performance of UK construction firms.
Construction plant and equipment management research: thematic review
Authors: Edwards David J. , Holt Gary D.
Published: July 2009

Purpose

A literature review is presented in the subject of construction plant and equipment management (CPeM) to: delineate the subject; consider its development over recent years; and identify principal themes within it. The paper aims to close the gap in knowledge, by using these objectives as a mechanism to observe how research themes relate to primary CPeM functions, and to suggest future research direction.

Design/methodology/approach

A thematic review of CPeM academic literature (in the main, refereed journal papers published in English‐speaking countries over the last decade) is undertaken; the nature of identified themes is discussed, for instance, regarding why they might have evolved as they have; and based on the foregone, themes for future research in the field are proffered.

Findings

CPeM is found well established within the broader subject of construction management. Eight principal themes are identified, namely plant maintenance; downtime and productivity; optimisation; robotics and automation; health and safety; operators and competence; machine control; and “miscellaneous”.

Research limitations/implications

It is proffered that based on informational/technological advancements coupled with growing environmental/financial pressures, future CPeM research will strive to facilitate even greater plant reliability and safer modes of working. It is suggested that “optimum production methods” and “minimal resource consumption” will become inherent theme goals.

Originality/value

This is the first time that CPeM research has been consolidated and reviewed for publication in this manner.
Wire rope selection for manual winch application
Authors: Oduori Moses , Mbuya Thomas
Published: July 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the application of analytical decision making during the selection of engineering entities in an engineering design setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a quantitative method for wire rope selection and uses handbook data to demonstrate the use of the method in selecting a suitable type and size of wire rope for the hoisting/hauling mechanism of a hypothetical manual winch.

Findings

Wire rope data can be processed into forms that are more readily useable in a quantitative selection method. Moreover, computer software such as Microsoft Excel may be used in the selection process, so long as the data are in suitable form.

Originality/value

The selection of engineering entities often occurs in engineering design processes. An information processing approach to wire rope selection has been developed and demonstrated. The method demonstrated in this paper should be applicable in other situations in which a need for the selection of engineering entities arises.
Application development environment for event‐driven ubiquitous devices
Authors: Sagara Ryohei , Kishino Yasue , Terada Tsutomu , Nishio Shojiro
Published: July 2009

Purpose

In ubiquitous computing environments, not only programmers but also general users come to develop/customize applications. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a new application development environment for ubiquitous computing environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper clarifies the requirements for application development environments of ubiquitous computing environments. It then designs and implements a prototype of a development environment that fulfills these requirements.

Findings

It is found that the requirements for application development in ubiquitous computing environments are: easy programming, detection of current status, programming awareness of network connections between multiple ubiquitous devices, and debugging with cooperation among real/virtual environments.

Research limitations/implications

This prototype of application development environment is designed for event‐driven ubiquitous devices.

Practical implications

A prototype development environment has been implemented to show the effectiveness of this approach, and is presented an example of an application development to show the effectiveness of the approach.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a new style of application development for ubiquitous computing environments
Baton: a service manager for better sustaining agent coordination in smart spaces
Authors: Suo Yue , Li Jingyu , Shi Yuanchun , Xiang Peifeng
Published: July 2009

Purpose

Smart spaces are open complex computing systems, consisting of a large variety of cooperative smart things. Central to building smart spaces is the support for sophisticated coordination among diverse smart things collaborating to accomplish specified tasks. Multi‐agent systems are often used as the software infrastructures to address the coordination issue in smart spaces. However, since agents in smart spaces are dynamic, resource‐bounded and have complicated service dependencies, current approaches to coordination in multi‐agent systems encounter new challenges when applied in smart spaces. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents Baton, a service management system to explicitly resolve the particular issues stemming from smart spaces when coordinating agents. Baton is designed as a complement to coordination approaches in multi‐agent systems with a focus on mechanisms for service discovery, composition, request arbitration and dependency maintenance. Baton is now deployed in our own smart spaces to achieve better agent coordination.

Findings

The effectiveness and efficiency of Baton is validated by its practical use in the designed scenario and some evaluation experiments.

Research limitations/implications

An attempt at performing dynamic service composition in Baton is made by using semantic information in future work.

Originality/value

Baton, a service management system to explicitly resolve the particular issues stemming from smart spaces when coordinating agents is presented.
ENME
Authors: Østhus Egil C. , Osland Per‐Oddvar , Kristiansen Lill
Published: July 2009

Purpose

In many settings, the users are mobile (e.g. away from their desks) while high quality multimedia telephony equipment has fixed locations. This may result in unsuccessful multimedia calls and motivates a context aware system which supports session mobility. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to utilize state‐of‐the‐art in‐context awareness and integrate this into a real time telecom system based on SIP. System requirements are formulated and the system is designed, implemented and (technically) tested.

Findings

The paper contains a thorough analysis of why baseline SIP and SIP REFER alone cannot solve our case and why a new SIP extension is introduced. The solution is evaluated and compared to solutions such as “virtual terminals”.

Research limitations/implications

It is pointed out that the context model does not directly support roaming between two different business domains. This issue is however of limited impact in an enterprise setting. The current prototype is thoroughly tested from a technical viewpoint, but user studies in real organizations are recommended as further work.

Practical implications

The paper shows that human issues and issues relating to computer mediated communication (CMC) are strongly linked to technical details in SIP. In practice this means that researchers in CMC and CSCW should look more into building prototypes where real time conversational features are supported together with dynamic change of media types.

Originality/value

The main value of the paper is a thorough described technical realization of the context aware multimedia application ENriched MEdia (ENME). The background material and the appendix should be of value to anyone interested in convergence between computing and communication.