bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communicating charity successes across cultures
Authors: Laufer Daniel , Silvera David H. , Brad McBride J. , Schertzer Susan M.B.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how different ways in which a charitable organization communicates successes (highlighting individual or collective achievement) can influence potential future donors, and to determine whether the effectiveness of the communication strategy is contingent on the cultural context.

Design/methodology/approach

Experiments were conducted in the USA and Mexico.

Findings

The findings of the study demonstrate that the effectiveness of communications with the public regarding a charitable organization's success stories depends on the type of message used in relation to the cultural context. When the message was congruent with the cultural dimension of individualism‐collectivism, the public was more likely to consider making a contribution to the charity.

Research limitations/implications

The study examined the impact of conveying a message congruent with the cultural context in the context of charitable contributions. Further research is needed to examine whether one would expect a similar result with a different type of charitable organization (issue‐related instead of cause‐related) or a non‐student sample.

Practical implications

The authors found that the effectiveness of communications with the public regarding a charitable organization's success stories depends on the type of message used in relation to the cultural context. Standardizing the message can have adverse implications on the public's intentions to donate to the organization.

Originality/value

Very few studies examine charity advertising in a global setting, and to the authors' knowledge this study is the first to examine communicating success stories to the public. In addition, previous studies do not examine the impact of different advertising appeals on intentions to donate to the charity, an important dependent variable for both researchers and practitioners.
The simulated system dynamics analysis of the natural gas supply and demand
Authors: Jingchun Sun , Ding Lv , Fan Wu
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to model the trend of natural gas supply and demand in China in different circumstances from 1990 to 2050.

Design/methodology/approach

The related factors were selected from references and classified into three categories such as endogenous, exogenous, and excluded factors. The three sub‐models of supply, demand and their interconnection were built and integrated. The impacts of natural gas resources, the investment of gas industry and the energy structure over natural gas supply and demand were analyzed based on scenario analysis.

Findings

The impact of energy structure in China is more evident compared to natural gas resources and the investment level.

Research limitations/implications

Import and transportation of natural gas will have growing impacts on the supply and demand in China when the model is applied.

Practical implications

A very useful method to analyze the equilibrium of natural gas supply and demand.

Originality/value

The paper presents a new prediction model of natural gas supply and demand in system dynamics. The paper is aimed at the researchers and decision makers in energy industries, especially in the fields of energy prices.
Classification rule extraction based on the rough concept lattice
Authors: Hai‐feng Yang , Ji‐fu Zhang , Li‐hua Hu
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the important application value of extending the concept of classification rule, so that it can describe and measure the uncertainty of classification knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

The rough concept lattice (RCL), which is an effective tool for uncertain data analysis and knowledge discovery, reflects a kind of unification of concept intent and upper/lower approximation extent, as well as the certain and uncertain relations between objects and attributes.

Findings

A classification rules extraction algorithm, extraction algorithm of classification rule (EACR), based on the RCL is presented by adapting the rough degree to measure uncertainty of classification rule. The algorithm EACR is experimentally validated by taking the star spectrum data as the decision context.

Practical implications

An efficient way for classification rule extraction is provided.

Originality/value

The algorithm EACR based on the RCL is presented by adapting the rough degree to measure uncertainty of classification rule.
Analysis of infrared images based on grey system and neural network
Authors: Heng Zhang
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a system to analyse the characteristics of infrared objects.

Design/methodology/approach

According to the gray scale of image pixel by the image entropy, gray scale estimating is carries on to construct the neural networks. And then the grey relational analysis and grey clustering methods are applied to filter the possible object. The target is predicted through image segmentation pretreatment based on the forecasting value by grey system and assigned corresponding mark. The forecasting precision is greatly elevated by GM (1, 1) model.

Findings

The paper illustrates that, based on the analysis and its experimental results, this system has a good recognition rate for infrared target.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides a way to grasp the minutial feature of the image. The filtering operation based on pixel level provided auto‐adapted filtering with a new stage.

Practical implications

Applications of grey theory deepened the content of detecting infrared targets and enriched technology of image processing.

Originality/value

This system introduces an effective method for detecting infrared targets.
Affect transfer in brand extensions: the role of expectancy and relevancy
Authors: Liu Xin , Hu Michael Y. , Grimm Pamela E.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The goal of the paper is to examine the affect transfer process of the brand extension by developing a conceptual framework that integrates two factors important to this process: the expectancy and relevancy of brand extensions.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experimental studies with a sample of 250 respondents provide empirical support that both expectancy and relevancy positively influence the affect transfer process.

Findings

The study first tests both factors at the product level as well as at the product attribute level. The two factors enhance the affect transfer process in different manners. Expectancy facilitates the transfer from the parent product category to the extension, whereas relevancy enhances the transfer from the brand associations to the extension product. The greatest affect transfer occurs when both factors are present.

Originality/value

The study proposes a theoretical framework that for the first time integrates the two main streams of literature in brand extensions. The proposed framework explains the affect transfer process in brand extensions, and helps understand consumers' attitude towards brand extension products.
Corporate social performance and financial‐based brand equity
Authors: Deanna Wang Hui‐Ming
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to empirically test the interrelationship between corporate social performance and financial‐based brand equity. This paper proposes that social performance leads to enhanced brand equity and, conversely, brand equity positively influences social performance. Firm size is hypothesized to play a moderating role in the interrelationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses cross‐sectional, secondary data of global brands. A system of equations is proposed and estimated using seemingly unrelated regression.

Findings

Prior social performance has a positive effect on brand equity, but brand equity only impacts future social performance among very large firms. The positive effect of prior social performance on brand equity is amplified in smaller firms.

Practical implications

Managers can increase brand equity by using corporate social responsibility as a strategic tool for positioning differentiation. To maintain competitive parity in social positioning and preserve brand equity, very large firms will likely need to ensure that they achieve comparable social performance as their global peer competitors.

Originality/value

This research offers a new perspective that looks at corporate social responsibility as a source and outcome of brand equity. The paper is the first empirical study that tests the interrelationship between social performance and financial‐based brand equity. The work offers global managers an improved understanding on how social responsibility relates to brand equity.
Uncovering the relationships between aspirations and luxury brand preference
Authors: Truong Yann , McColl Rod , Kitchen Philip J.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This paper seeks to test the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations on luxury brand preference. The objective is to help luxury marketers better understand and anticipate the psychological needs of their customers.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a thorough review of the literature, a series of hypotheses are derived and tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The final sample consists of a total of 615 participants.

Findings

The main findings show that aspirations can affect luxury brand preference depending on the type of aspirations: positive for extrinsic aspirations and negative for intrinsic ones. The findings also suggest that intrinsic aspirations play a more substantial role in luxury consumer behavior than had been previously thought.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that luxury marketers should take into consideration the duality of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations when designing marketing campaigns. Particularly, focusing advertising campaigns on extrinsic values seems restrictive and discards consumers who are intrinsically motivated.

Originality/value

Aspirations are important in social psychology research because they have a strong influence on individuals' behavior. However, little research has been done in marketing to assess the potential effects of aspirations on consumer behavior, especially within the context of luxury goods.
The two components of a fair price: social and personal
Authors: Maxwell Sarah , Comer Lucette
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to isolate the effects of personal fairness (the consumer's evauation of the magnitude of the price) and the social fairness (the acceptability of the price given the social norms of the society).

Design/methodology/approach

This research adapted the scenarios used in the pivotal fair pricing study conducted by Kahneman, Knetsch and Thaler. To demonstrate the difference between their results and the results when personal and social fairness were separated, the analysis replicated that of Kahneman, Knetsch and Thaler.

Findings

The paper finds that an individual's self‐serving concern for a personally fair price is moderated by their other‐serving concern for a socially fair price.

Research limitations/implications

This research demonstrates that there is a significant difference in the personal and social fairness of price, whether it is a price for goods, wages or rents.

Practical implications

Sellers, employers and realtors can benefit from the knowledge that providing a socially acceptable reason for the increase of a product or rental price or the decrease of a wage can increase the likelihood that the recipients will judge the price increase as being fair.

Originality/value

Prior research into price fairness has confused the two aspects of a fair price. By isolating the two separate components, we clarify how individuals perceive price fairness in the personal sense and how that perception is altered by a concern for fairness in the social sense.
Training ground: the role of interim library director
Authors: Medeiros Norm
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges presented by interim leadership in academic libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

The author reviews the literature in this field, and offers his own suggestions for succeeding in an interim capacity.

Findings

This paper brings to light the dearth of literature written on this common occurrence.

Originality/value

This paper offers suggestions to those who are serving in an interim leadership role.
Digitization and researcher demand
Authors: Novara Elizabeth A.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the challenges that special collections repositories face when creating digital surrogates driven by researcher demand, to link these digitization issues with archival practice, and to provide recommendations for improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

Presents an overview of the development of the University of Maryland Libraries' digital imaging workflows and a critique of current practices.

Findings

A viable digital repository can be built from surrogates created in response to researcher demand, but there are limitations to this approach, with opportunity for improvement.

Research limitations/implications

As a case study, this paper is limited to one institution's perspective.

Practical implications

Provides insight into constructing and managing digitization programs at special collections repositories.

Originality/value

This paper offers a case study approach for an institutional digital repository influenced heavily by researcher demand, in contrast to a digital repository constructed with a more structured plan.
A survey of digital library education in library schools in Africa
Authors: Baro Emmanuel E.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to bring to light the state of education in digital libraries (DLs) in library schools in Africa, and the readiness of library schools to produce future digital librarians in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey was carried out in two parts: first, a survey of web sites maintained by library schools was conducted to identify any DL course offered and also to analyze the course contents, followed by e‐mail messages containing three research questions to library and information science (LIS) faculty members to ascertain the availability of DL courses in the curriculum.

Findings

Results from the survey revealed that only a few library schools offer courses specifically related to DLs. Many library schools have not developed DL as a standalone course in their LIS curriculum; rather, it is briefly discussed as a topic in related courses. The reason for this is that the LIS departments lack the facilities and qualified personnel to teach a course on DL. More than 45 library schools were investigated, among them 20 institutions offering DL courses or related courses.

Originality/value

The results from the study presented in this paper will provide important data and insight into the current state of DL education in African library schools, and generate suggestions for educators and policy makers for developing and including “DLs” as a standalone course in the LIS curriculum.
John Hagel explains the concept and potential of the “pull” management model
Authors: Leavy Brian
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to present an interview with Deloitte researcher John Hagel III, the co‐author of The Power of Pull and co‐chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, which conducts research and develops concepts for new corporate growth.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the views of Hagel on how to help managers understand how the concept of “pull” – the management model that draws out people and resources as needed to address opportunities and challenges – can be systematically used to shape serendipity and drive more rapid performance improvement.

Findings

Hagel and his research colleagues found that the global center of innovation is shifting from the West to China and India; that the innovation that will matter most in the next wave of competition is neither product nor process innovation, but institutional innovation. This perspective extends the concept of management innovation beyond organizational boundaries to innovation networks.

Practical implications

Hagel foresees that the early phase of transformation will be largely a bottom‐up phenomenon and that the full promise of the “pull” concept will be its potential to generate “increasing returns” in performance, and ultimately reshape markets and industries.

Originality/value

The interview identifies the persistent failure of today's organizational forms to generate high‐commitment, high engagement cultures as the primary institutional innovation challenge and opportunity. The interviewee, Hagel, warns practitioners to prepare because the transition from a world of “push” management models to one where the “pull” model has an advantage is inevitable.
Rethinking the organization: leadership for game‐changing innovation
Authors: Denning Stephen
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The paper aims to identify the lessons CEOs of large established organizations need to learn to make continuous innovation a part of the firm's DNA. Instead of innovation and organizational learning being the responsibility of a few iconoclastic, courageous and rare individuals or departments, it needs to become institutionalized as an organization‐wide capability.

Design/methodology/approach

The author has drafted a lesson plan for top managers based on the best practice suggestions for introducing and fostering an innovation culture – pull management, authentic and interactive communication and putting the customer value zone at the center of the organization.

Findings

Pull management poses the complex challenge of delivering steadily increasing value to customers and engaging employees and customers in conversations. This is a radically different business environment. It requires understanding and mastering a radically different kind of management.

Practical implications

The management lesson plan: learn the skills required to practice pull management, authentic and interactive communication and putting the customer value zone at the center of the organization.

Originality/value

The paper postulates that organization‐wide continuous innovation, which will be vital to survival in the coming years, requires a radically new approach to management and the learning of a completely new set of skills.
Supply chain integration: an empirical study on manufacturing industry in Malaysia
Authors: Hussein Zolait Ali , Razak Ibrahim Abdul , Chandran V.G.R. , Pandiyan Kaliani Sundram Veera
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to identify the relationship between supply chain process integration and firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The dimension classification and measurement instrument of the framework adapted from the previous research focus on firm performance impacts of digitally enabled supply chain integration (SCI) capabilities. The study employed the quantitative method where convenience sampling and self‐administered survey questionnaires were sent to 98 conference participants in Malaysia. The research framework was pre‐tested using multivariate analysis.

Findings

The findings reveal that all three dimensions of supply chain process integration were statistically significant to firm performance. Furthermore, information flow integration shows a greater influence than physical and financial flow integration.

Research limitations/implications

This study focused on the manufacturing sector with respondents who were participants of a conference.

Practical implications

The results offer insights to supply chain management practitioners and policy makers on the importance of SCI and information technology (IT) infrastructure to improve the competitiveness of manufacturing industry in terms of operational excellence, revenue growth and customer relationship.

Originality/value

This study adds to the body of knowledge by providing new data and empirical insight on the relationship between SCI and firm performance specifically for the manufacturing industry in Malaysia. In addition, the findings may invite opportunities for comparative studies mainly with other industries as well as other developing and developed economies.
Expats and citizens: managing diverse teams in the Middle East
Authors: Forstenlechner Ingo
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The introduction to this special issue aims to describe the papers published in this volume as well as the setting of labour markets in the Arabian Gulf as the basis for the understanding the relationship between expatriates and the indigenous workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the context is explained, followed by a description of the peculiarities of the research setting. Then, the articles in this special issue are described, followed by an outlook on the future of the expatriate‐citizen relationship and suggestions for future research in this area.

Findings

Thanks to the efforts of authors, reviewers, and the editors of this journal, every single one of the articles in this volume provides valuable insights from new perspectives on the theme of this special issue.

Originality/value

This special issue expands the understanding of a truly underrepresented topic.
The role of family considerations in an expatriate majority environment
Authors: Schoepp Kevin , Forstenlechner Ingo
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to add to knowledge on the environment of self‐initiated expatriates and the importance of family in determining expatriate retention. It seeks to explore the role of family in an environment vastly different to that of previous research, one where expatriates are outnumbering citizens four to one. Further, the paper aims to explore familial adjustment differences that emerge amongst the different demographic segments within this expatriate majority environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on survey data obtained from 364 self‐initiated expatriates. Beyond a thorough demographic analysis providing additional background, data to test hypotheses were analyzed using SPSS and, where suitable, independent samples t‐test or one‐way ANOVA.

Findings

Evidence was found of what can be described as an environment easing expatriate adjustment as well as questioning the impact of many of the problems previously identified in literature on expatriates. Findings show an environment where some of the stressors associated with living abroad have been mitigated and family has more or less become a motivation to stay rather than to leave. In addition, the demographic analysis of expatriate faculty adds to knowledge about the globalization of higher education.

Practical implications

Definitions of what constitutes a hardship posting for expatriates may need to be revisited, taking into account national demographic characteristics. Current thinking on the expatriate family should also consider different settings where family may actually be a motivation to remain.

Originality/value

This paper provides a new perspective, as previous literature suggested family to be almost exclusively a reason for expatriate difficulties. Further, little focus has been made on countries where expatriates represent a large share or the majority of the population such as in several of the Arabian Gulf countries.
Evaluation of overall equipment effectiveness based on market
Authors: Anvari Farhad , Edwards Rodger , Starr Andrew
Published: August 2010

Purpose

Continuous manufacturing systems used within the steel industry involve different machines and processes that are arranged in a sequence of operations in order to manufacture the products. The steel industry is generally a capital‐intensive industry and, because of high capital investment, the utilisation of equipment as effectively as possible is of high priority. This paper seeks to illustrate a new method, overall equipment effectiveness market‐based (OEE‐MB) for the precise calculation of equipment effectiveness for full process cycle in order to respond to the steel market.

Design/methodology/approach

A refinement of the existing concept of OEE is developed based on a new scheme for loss analysis within market time. The paper illustrates the concept with a case study based on compact strip manufacturing processes within the steel industry.

Findings

While the results for OEE by ignoring a considerable amount of possible hidden losses might be satisfying, the OEE‐MB report shows potential room for improvement. It reflects changes in both the internal and external market for the steel industry, and therefore provides a tool not only for monitoring but also for managing improvement.

Practical implications

OEE‐MB is an applicable method for the precise calculation of equipment effectiveness that provides a sound perspective on improvement of steel plants by taking into consideration all losses within market time for meeting both internal and external demands.

Originality/value

OEE‐MB monitors production and measures the equipment effectiveness for full process cycle in order to meet the market. It makes communication more efficient and easier within the steel industry and may be used as a benchmark to achieve world‐class standard.
Flexible preventive maintenance planning for two parallel machines problem to minimize makespan
Authors: Su Ling‐Huey , Tsai Hsiao‐Ling
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine simultaneously the period of preventive maintenance and the sequence of each job for two parallel machines problem so that the makespan is minimized. With proper planning of preventive maintenance, a shop can avoid lack of flexibility between maintenance planning and production scheduling, and thus concentrate on production efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

This study addresses a scheduling problem, wherein each machine has to be shut down for maintenance during a maintenance interval [C, T] arranged in advance. The start time and end time of the preventive maintenance are the decision variables. A maintenance action is attended by a server who managers only one machine at a time. Three cases are studied in this paper: the unequal lengths of unavailable periods on both machines, the equal lengths of unavailable periods on both machines, and no waiting time is allowed between the two unavailable periods. Each case is solved optimally by an analytical algorithm developed in the study.

Findings

Although having exponential time complexities, all the proposed algorithms are quite efficient in solving large‐sized problems. Computational results show that it is able to generate the optimal solution for large sizes (up to 10,000 jobs) in a few minutes of computation time.

Practical implications

Most of the papers that dealt with preventive maintenance assumed that the maintenance period is known and specified. However, the flexible preventive maintenance problem, in which the start time and end time of the preventive maintenance are the decision variables, often occurs in the computer center, NC‐machine and IC‐testing machine for job scheduling and repairs arrangement.

Originality/value

The paper presents an efficient approach for each of the three cases of flexible preventive maintenance, which is relatively unexplored in the literature.
Economics, the financial crisis and corporate responsibility
Authors: Marsden Chris
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to reconsider “the crisis” in terms of a failure in dominant economic thinking and to discuss the repercussions for corporate governance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a rational narrative deconstruction of the crisis.

Findings

The paper suggests a new agenda for collaborative research and activism in the direction of more effective governance.

Originality/value

The paper concludes with a radical agenda for a new way of thinking.
Measuring the business and societal benefits of corporate responsibility
Authors: Drews Manuela
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The economic crisis has more than ever revealed the necessity for companies to extend their focus from the maximization of shareholder returns to the management of their complex stakeholder relationships including societal stakeholders. Although companies and scholars alike have been searching for adequate performance measurement systems that allow them to evaluate their relations with society, practical approaches to measure the benefits of CSR are still missing. This paper aims at filling this research gap. It proposes a measurement and a governance model to evaluate and manage the business as well as the societal benefits of CSR.

Design/methodology/approach

The research follows a two‐step approach. First, a measurement model is developed based on a sound theoretical analysis. It is then applied in an in‐depth case study to test its applicability to business practice.

Findings

The research finds that current measurement approaches fail to provide a practicable measurement framework, especially relating to an evaluation of individual CSR activities. Thus, a framework is developed that applies methods of investment appraisal as well as qualitative evaluation approaches to individual CSR activities. The case study offers an easy‐to‐use evaluation tool that can be directly applied by business practice.

Originality/value

Current research mostly focuses on quantitatively or qualitatively evaluating CSR. However, a comprehensive measurement of CSR needs to combine both. This is the focus of this paper. In addition, most measurement models focus on the business case for CSR. In this research, this perspective is complemented by proposing an evaluation from both perspectives – business and society.
Governing a more global world
Authors: Aart Scholte Jan
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to clarify the character of globalization, to identify the changes it brings to structures of governance, and to consider ways in which these arrangements could be made to serve a good (more global) society.

Design/methodology/approach

This essay takes a reflective approach.

Findings

The paper considers the rules and regulatory processes that govern today's more global world. The first step in the analysis identifies globalization as a trend whereby people's lives become more interconnected on a planetary scale. The second section describes the institutional apparatuses through which global issues are governed. Global governance is seen to take shape not as a “world government”, but as a complex array of regulatory networks that span local to global scales and also combine public and private sectors. The third section assesses the normative values that this “networked” and “polycentric” governance of global affairs might serve. Both an earlier “neoliberal” design of global governance and a currently prevailing “social market” paradigm are critiqued. An alternative vision of global social and ecological democracy is offered as a more promising road to a good society in the contemporary more global world.

Practical implications

The paper suggests alternative guiding principles for governance of today's more global society, including the role of corporations in it.

Social implications

The paper suggests ways in which global governance can deliver social justice, ecological sustainability and democracy along with material prosperity.

Originality/value

The paper consolidates a conception of post‐statist governance that can aid researchers and practitioners alike in mapping the processes of contemporary policymaking. The normative framework presented can, moreover, help to clarify the objectives that citizens of a more global world would wish regulation to provide.
Business‐government relations: beyond lobbying
Authors: Schepers Stefan
Published: August 2010

Purpose

Parallel with business and society relationships, the business and government relationship needs greater attention. Business and government relations beyond short‐term lobbying could be seen as a strategic activity aimed at creating sustainable value for the company. As such it would become much easier to achieve competitive advantage and align the company's commercial with the public interest. This paper seeks to examine this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper aims to scan the issue with a view to further research.

Findings

The economic crisis and the imminent new wave of regulation make a new approach to lobbying more pressing.

Originality/value

The paper is based on political and economic writings and on practical experience in the public and private sector.
Self‐ or rule‐based governance: analysis of choice‐making behaviour
Authors: Isaac Mostovicz E. , Kakabadse Nada K. , Kakabadse Andrew P.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This study seeks to propose self‐governance in organisations based on choice‐making behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines selected literature on the behaviour of choice, moving from the individual as the unit of analysis to the organisation, in order to draw lessons for proper governance. To do so, it refers to a series of three independent studies, namely, of luxury, leadership and the role of luxury in helping to cope with organisational pressure.

Findings

The paper reviews the need for choice (or human logic), exemplified by the Theta and Lambda worldviews, and the difficulties in its proper implementation. A study into luxury reveals the role of luxury in choice‐making behaviour and the language used for making these choices. These findings are applied to a study into leadership and followed by a third and ongoing study that provides empirical evidence that tension in organisations results, in numerous cases, from an imposed lack of choice because of improper governance. The paper concludes with recommendations for organisational governance.

Research limitations/implications

The claim that conflicts in organisations are based on differences between Theta and Lambda worldviews is based on some empirical evidence only. Criticising governance by rules, the paper does not look in detail into the reasons behind the drive for such a way of governance or how to help change an organisation's governance approach.

Originality/value

The paper introduces the concept of Theta and Lambda worldviews, provides a psychological definition of what luxury is and its importance to organisational life and questions the usefulness of enhanced governance.
Information contextualizer: making sense of the information overload
Authors: Bridle Paul
Published: August 2010

Purpose

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings

In 2011, hundreds of thousands of books will be written worldwide. Blogs and data on the internet are increasing at an exponential rate and each week sees the launch of new media outlets. Information is everywhere, available to all of us at the click of a button but what is relevant to whom when it come to learning; what will help and what will hinder? Google certainly provides results but it is unable to qualify and filter them. One solution – as is so often the case in business – is a person, an information contextualizer (IC).

Practical implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Social implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact.

Originality/value

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
Integer programming for optimizing habitat network permeability
Authors: Billionnet Alain
Published: August 2010

Purpose

Negative effects of habitat isolation that arise from landscape fragmentation can be mitigated, by connecting natural areas through a network of habitat corridors. To increase the permeability of a given network, i.e. to decrease the resistance to animal movements through this network, often many developments can be made. The available financial resources being limited, the most effective developments must be chosen. This optimization problem, suggested in Finke and Sonnenschein, can be treated by heuristics and simulation approaches, but the method is heavy and the obtained solutions are sub‐optimal. The aim of the paper is to show that the problem can be efficiently solved to optimality by mathematical programming.

Design/methodology/approach

The moves of the individual in the network are modeled by an absorbing Markov chain and the development problem is formulated as a mixed‐integer quadratic program, then this program is linearized, and the best developments to make are determined by mixed‐integer linear programming.

Findings

First, the approach allows the development problem to be solved to optimality contrary to other methods. Second, the definition of the mathematical program is relatively simple, and its implementation is immediate by using standard, commercially available, software. Third, as it is well known with mixed‐integer linear programming formulation it is possible to add new constraints easily if they are linear (or can be linearized).

Research limitations/implications

With a view to propose a simple and efficient tool to solve a difficult combinatorial optimization problem arising in the improvement of permeability across habitat networks, the approach has been tested on simulated habitat networks. The research does not include the study of some precise species movements in a real network.

Practical implications

The results provide a simple and efficient decision‐aid tool to try to improve the permeability of habitat networks.

Originality/value

The joint use of mathematical programming techniques and Markov chain theory is used to try to lessen the negative effects of landscape fragmentation.
Economic paper blending optimization model with competing materials
Authors: Pati Rupesh Kumar , Vrat Prem
Published: August 2010

Purpose

Demanding customers, legislation and raw materials shortages in the modern world have forced companies to minimize the system's environmental impact. The paper seeks to analyze the economic impact of blending in sustainable paper industries in countries such as India.

Design/methodology/approach

A linear programming model for a paper supply chain is proposed to minimize paper manufacturing cost by optimally blending wood pulp and after‐use paper under various conventional supply chain constraints. The issues of quality, environmental concern and reusability in the paper industry have also been taken into account.

Findings

Improving quality of after‐use paper by proper recovery network reduces the manufacturing cost. Increasing proportion of wood fiber in the finished paper decreases the cost, even at the cost of degradation in the environment. Thus, it is up to the manufacturer to reflect its degree of environmental concern to the government and society by assigning appropriate environmental and quality opportunity costs in the model.

Research limitations/implications

Difficulty in obtaining the estimates of the environmental and quality cost is a major limitation of the study.

Practical implications

This research provides manufacturers with a simple mathematical model to compare the economic feasibility of blending wood pulp and after‐use paper depending on the market situation.

Originality/value

The major contribution of the model is its capability to study the economic impact of blending by considering some of the important sustainable development issues like environment, quality, shortage, and reusability under one objective function.
Risk evaluation of real‐time accident scenarios in the transport of hazardous material on road
Authors: Tomasoni Angela Maria , Garbolino Emmanuel , Rovatti Massimo , Sacile Roberto
Published: August 2010

Purpose

This paper seeks to tackle the complex problem of integrating real‐time data information about the tracking of a hazardous material (hazmat) vehicle with classical risk evaluation methodologies in order to describe possible accident scenarios. The application deals with the transport of hydrocarbon dangerous goods, where the accident consequences may involve the population exposed along the infrastructure used for transportation.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken consists of three phases. First, the acquisition of real‐time data about the travel and the carried hazmat; second, the evaluation of the risk area; and finally, a Geographic Information System (GIS) are taken into account.

Findings

The findings of this analysis constitute the methodological basis to implement a decision support system as regards hazmat transport risk analysis, also in real time, with important evaluations for planning criteria. Using TIP (Transport Integrated Platform), the data collection is received in real time and the scenario construction and visualization may represent a user‐friendly tool for prompt risk evaluation.

Research limitations/implications

The information displayed by the GIS interface is easy to use, and gives prompt information about the accident consequences.

Originality/value

In terms of the total impact from the hazmat transport system to the whole environment (humans, goods, infrastructures, services and natural elements), the paper focuses on the importance of creating a historical real‐time database implemented from a real time information, that represents a standard set of information necessary to define an accident scenarios, for hazmat transport.
Internationalization and organizational resources of Chinese firms
Authors: Lau Chung‐Ming , Ngo Hang‐Yue , Yiu Daphne W.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The internationalization of Chinese firms has been gaining importance in recent years. Informed by Dunning's eclectic paradigm, this paper examines the factors leading to the “going international” decisions of Chinese firms in the very early days of the “go global” call, before the central government offered substantial support.

Design/methodology/approach

It is suggested that two types of organizational factors are relevant to these decisions: the firm's management capability and core competencies. A survey of data of chief executives from over 3,000 firms in the year 2000 was analyzed.

Findings

Empirical results indicate that different resources endowments have different relationships with internationalization decisions. The intention of going international is affected by organizational competencies of R&D and manufacturing. Two capabilities (production and sales, and operation and finance) have significant impacts on outward direct investment, while manufacturing and marketing competencies have positive effects on exports, together with production capability. In addition, manufacturing competencies also have a negative effect on the acquisition and use of international capital.

Originality/value

By using firm‐level data collected in China, a better understanding of the nature of internationalization and the foreign direct investment characteristics of firms has been obtained. The empirical results show that the impacts of the organizational resources are different for different internationalization decisions, and the effects of core competencies of a firm vary across different paths of internationalization.
Assessing foreign/second language writing ability
Authors: Coombe Christine
Published: August 2010

Purpose

Having a certain degree of assessment literacy is crucial for today's language teachers. The main aim of this paper is to provide that knowledge as it pertains to the writing skill. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main practical issues that teachers often face when evaluating the written work of their students. It will consider issues and solutions in five major areas: test design; test administration; ways to assess writing; feedback to students; and the effects on pedagogy.

Design/methodology/approach

The author took a very practical and principled approach to the complete process of assessing the written work of our students in a foreign or second language.

Findings

The cyclical relationship between teaching and assessment can be made entirely positive provided that the assessment is based on sound principles and procedures. Both teaching and assessment should relate to the learners' goals and very frequently to institutional goals.

Practical implications

Good teachers spend a lot of time ensuring that their writing assessment practices are valid and reliable. The author deals with the fundamental issues that underlie good test design in a very practical and understandable way and later suggests practical steps to ensure smooth and reliable test administration before dealing with ways to assess a range of different writing tasks. Then, the crucial issue of how best to provide useful developmental feedback to students is considered. She concludes by discussing how best testing practice should seek to accommodate the requirements of test takers.

Originality/value

This topic is significant as assessing foreign/second language writing skills is one of the most problematic areas in language testing. It is made even more important because good writing ability is very much sought after by higher education institutions and employers.
Perception‐based image classification
Authors: Henry Christopher , Peters James F.
Published: August 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present near set theory using the perceptual indiscernibility and tolerance relations, to demonstrate the practical application of near set theory to the image correspondence problem, and to compare this method with existing image similarity measures.

Design/methodology/approach

Image‐correspondence methodologies are present in many systems that are depended on daily. In these systems, the discovery of sets of similar objects (aka, tolerance classes) stems from human perception of the objects being classified. This view of perception of image‐correspondence springs directly from Poincaré's work on visual spaces during 1890s and Zeeman's work on tolerance spaces and visual acuity during 1960s. Thus, in solving the image‐correspondence problem, it is important to have systems that accurately model human perception. Near set theory provides a framework for measuring the similarity of digital images (and perceptual objects, in general) based on features that describe them in much the same way that humans perceive objects.

Findings

The contribution of this paper is a perception‐based classification of images using near sets.

Originality/value

The method presented in this paper represents a new approach to solving problems in which the goal is to match human perceptual groupings. While the results presented in the paper are based on measuring the resemblance between images, the approach can be applied to any application that can be formulated in terms of sets such that the objects in the sets can be described by feature vectors.