bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Radio spectrum regulation as a matter of international affairs: discussing the effectiveness of the European Union at World Radiocommunication Conferences
Authors: Massaro Maria
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) at World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs) by comparing EU objectives prior to and outcomes of recent WRCs.

Design/methodology/approach

A thematic analysis of qualitative data extracted from documents is conducted. The effectiveness of the EU is discussed by using the concepts of agenda-setting and coalition-building, borrowed from international relations literature.

Findings

A clear conclusion on EU effectiveness could not be drawn based on the degree of match between EU objectives and WRC outcomes. Other factors need to be included in the analysis, such as relevance of the EU’s participation at WRCs to the EU member states and availability and allocation of EU resources to the various stages of the WRC process.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is encouraged to investigate the role of the EU at WRCs. In particular, interviews with experts involved in the WRC process may help gather relevant information on EU relevance and EU resource availability and allocation.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to existing research on international radio spectrum regulation by drawing attention to the role of the EU as an international actor.
Drama in higher education for sustainability: work-based learning through fiction?
Authors: Österlind Eva
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the use of drama in the context of professional learning for sustainability, and specifically, a drama workshop on sustainability for in-service teachers. The workshop was designed to explore environmental problems from several perspectives, by using drama techniques like bodily expressions, visualisations and role-play.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are drawn from questionnaires evaluating the effects of a drama workshop delivered in Helsinki in 2017. In total, 15 in-service teachers answered open-ended questions. Responses from experienced teachers were chosen as particularly interesting in relation to work-based learning.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that drama work contributes to education for sustainability in terms of increased self-awareness, critical reflections and signs of transformation; experienced professional learners bring their workplace context into the university, which enriches teaching and learning; and sustainability is a non-traditional subject in need of non-traditional teaching approaches.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this small-scale study are only valid for this particular group.

Practical implications

The study gives an example of how applied drama can contribute to learning for sustainability in higher education.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to a growing literature concerning how drama allows participants to work on real problems, from a safe position in a fictive situation, providing both closeness and distance. When students become involved in an as-if situation, it leads to increased motivation and practice-oriented learning. As the content of sustainability can be challenging, drama work offers a meaningful context in which concepts and issues can be explored. Fictive situations may contribute to more realistic learning experiences.
Natural convection in a rectangular cavity filled with nanofluids
Authors: Revnic Cornelia , Abu-Nada Eiyad , Grosan Teodor , Pop Ioan
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a numerical study of the steady natural convection in a rectangular cavity filled with the CuO–water-based nanofluid. It is assumed that the viscosity of nanofluids depends on the temperature and on the nanofluids volume fraction.

Design/methodology/approach

The mathematical nanofluid model has been formulated on the basis of the model proposed by Buongiorno (2006). The system of partial differential equations is written in terms of a dimensionless stream function, vorticity, temperature and the volume fraction of the nanoparticles, and is solved numerically using the finite difference method for different values of the governing parameters.

Findings

It is found that both fluid flow and heat transfer coefficient are affected by the considered parameters. Thus, the Nusselt number is slowly increasing with increasing volume fraction from 2 per cent to 5 per cent and it is more pronounced increasing with increasing Rayleigh number from 103 to 105.

Originality/value

Buongiorno’s (2006) nanofluid model has been applied for the flow with the characteristics as mentioned in the paper. A comprehensive survey on the behavior of flow and heat transfer characteristics has been presented. All plots presented in the paper are new and are not reported in any other study.
Predicting performance – a dynamic capability view
Authors: Hasegan Marcus F. , Nudurupati Sai Sudhakar , Childe Stephen J.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Production planning and resource allocation are ongoing issues that organisations face on a day-to-day basis. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues by developing a dynamic performance measurement system (DPMS) to effectively re-deploy manufacturing resources, thus enhancing the decision-making process in optimising performance output. The study also explores the development of dynamic capabilities through exploitation of the organisational tacit knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted using six-stage action research for developing DPMS with real-time control of independent variables on the production lines to study the impact. The DPMS was developed using a hybrid approach of discrete event simulation and system dynamics by using the historical as well as live data from the action case organisation.

Findings

Through the development of DPMS and by combining the explicit and tacit knowledge, this study demonstrated an understanding of using cause and effect analysis in manufacturing systems to predict performance. Such a DPMS creates agility in decision making and significantly enhances the decision-making process under uncertainty. The research also explored how the resources can be developed and maintained into dynamic capabilities to sustain competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

The present study provides a starting-point for further research in other manufacturing organisations to generalise findings.

Originality/value

The originality of the DPMS model comes from the approach used to build the cause and effect analysis by exploiting the tacit knowledge and making it dynamic by adding modelling capabilities. Originality also comes from the hybrid approach used in developing the DPMS.
Intention to travel internationally and domestically in unstable world
Authors: Stepchenkova Svetlana , Su Lijuan , Shichkova Elena
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether events such as acts of terrorism, political and social turmoil, military conflicts, epidemics, and similar influence preferences of Russian tourists for international and domestic travel (DT) and the role of psychographic and demographic factors in this process.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is a survey of 139 international tourists from a large Russian city. Variables representing the influence of instability in the world on selecting international vacations (unstable world, UW) and the willingness to turn to DT instead (domestic tourism, DT) were operationalized. The study operationalized the constructs of national attachment and consumer ethnocentrism and then converted them into manifest variables, NAT and CET. Hierarchical linear regression and logistic regression were conducted to investigate the relationship between UW and DT variables and personal factors. Supporting ANOVA and χ2 tests were conducted to further explore those relationships.

Findings

The study found that being a female, older and more attached to the homeland make Russian tourists more receptive to threats and risks of international travel; however, being wealthier, makes them less susceptible to those threats. Those with higher ethnocentric tendencies are more likely to turn to DT instead, while those with higher income are less likely.

Originality/value

The study does not pertain to a particular “destination-negative event” context. Nor the study is interested in a particular travel risk or whether or not Russian tourists perceive international travel as risky. The study focuses on to what degree those perceptions influence their decisions to travel internationally or domestically. Psychographic consumer ethnocentrism and national attachment variables that are rarely used in tourism studies were employed to better understand the destination selection process of Russian tourists in the UW.
Friction and wear of the middle trough in scraper conveyors
Authors: Li Junxia , Liang Shaowei
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The study of the friction law and wear characteristics of the middle trough material can better select the appropriate material for the scraper conveyor of fully mechanized working face and provide theoretical support for the wear-resistant treatment technology.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper investigated friction and wear of the middle trough in a scraper conveyor under different media. Lignite, coking coal and anthracite were selected media, and middle trough wear was maximum for anthracite and minimum for lignite, with coking coal being intermediate.

Findings

Wear increased linearly with increasing load nonlinearly with increasing sliding speed. Middle trough wear also increased with increasing media granularity up to approximately 0.4 mm (40 mesh), but had little effect beyond that.

Originality/value

It can provide a reference for the scraper conveyor running resistance. At the same time, it has great social significance and economic benefits for the safe, green and efficient coal mine industrial adjustment, etc.
Earnings management in the aftermath of the zero-earnings discontinuity disappearance
Authors: Makarem Naser , Hussainey Khaled , Zalata Alaa
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate earnings management by firms reporting a small profit or a small loss after the recent evidence that the discontinuity around zero earnings has disappeared.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a large sample of US firms for the period 2002–2011, regression analysis and earnings distribution approach are employed to examine the earnings management of small-profit and small-loss firms in terms of both accruals management and real activities manipulation.

Findings

The results suggest that both small-profit and small-loss firms are engaged in upward manipulation of accruals and real activities. This implies that failure to document a difference between firms to the right and left of zero by prior studies is not due to small-profit firms not managing earnings, but rather this is more attributable to loss firms engaging in upward manipulation. Furthermore, it is indicated that the discontinuity around the distribution of earnings change has also recently disappeared as firms reporting a small earnings decrease demonstrate similar earnings management behaviour to those reporting a small earnings increase.

Research limitations/implications

This study is subject to the measurement error which is a common limitation in the earnings management literature.

Practical implications

The results suggest that the users should be aware that, in addition to firms that meet benchmarks by a slight margin, firms narrowly missing benchmarks are also involved in earnings management.

Originality/value

This study shows that the disappearance of the discontinuity around zero earnings and zero change in earnings should not be interpreted as a sign of no earnings management. It also explains how earnings management could have contributed to the disappearance of the discontinuities in earnings distribution.
The valuation implications of strategy in R&D-intensive industries
Authors: Ballas Apostolos , Demirakos Efthimios
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the valuation impact of firm’s strategic choices in a setting of intangibles-rich industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt the conceptual framework of Miles and Snow (1978, 2003), which identifies three viable types of firms based on their organizational strategy profiles: defenders, prospectors and analyzers. The authors use a replicable strategy score, whose scoring convention is based on rolling ratings of six ratios for the previous four years (Bentleyet al., 2013), to distinguish between prospector and defender strategies.

Findings

The authors offer empirical evidence that supports the hypothesis that prospector strategies are positively associated with firm value in the industries of electronics and electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology and technology hardware and equipment. The authors do not find evidence to support such a relationship in the software and computer services sector.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this study have significant implications for researchers, who adopt a market-based accounting research framework to examine the characteristics, performance and valuation of firms with different strategic orientation.

Practical implications

The findings of this paper are useful to managers, who would like to pursue a value-adding strategy in dynamic industrial environments that are characterized by high levels of innovation, risk and growth.

Originality/value

Although previous studies have yielded mixed results with respect to the association between firm’s performance and prospector strategy, the authors identify a set of R&D-intensive industries, where the implementation of the prospector strategy adds significant value to the shareholders’ wealth.
Measuring radical innovation project success: typical metrics don’t work
Authors: Kristiansen Jimmi Normann , Ritala Paavo
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Firms frequently struggle with measuring the performance of their radical innovation activities. Due to the uncertainty and ambiguity involved, key performance indicators (KPIs) used for incremental innovation projects are often not useful in this context. The purpose of this paper is to explore suitable KPIs particularly useful for radical innovation projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study first reviews commonly used measures for innovation projects, which is then followed by case-study evidence from three industry-leading international firms. This study includes 13 in-depth interviews with innovation managers and directors in these firms, providing insights on how they measure the progress and performance of radical innovation projects.

Findings

KPIs used commonly in incremental innovation showed lackluster results in the case firms and were problematic for radical innovation context. A key finding was that radical innovation project performance should be evaluated based on the process rather than on the expected outcome. Concurrently, based on the literature review and the cases, three sets of KPIs with 13 specific KPIs useful for radical innovation projects are proposed.

Originality/value

The paper addresses a core challenge in using established KPIs in a radical innovation context. The paper gathers and synthesizes a range of measurement points suitable for radical innovation projects and provides specific suggestions for appropriate metrics that innovation managers can use.
Bank deserts in the USA and the Great Recession: geography and demographics
Authors: Kashian Russell D. , Tao Ran , Drago Robert
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify bank deserts in the USA in 2009 and 2015, separately for inner city, suburban, and rural areas. It also identifies correlations between bank deserts, population characteristics, market competition, and payday lending restrictions, both cross-sectionally and over time.

Design/methodology/approach

FDIC data on bank office locations are used to identify bank deserts, defined as the 5 percent of census tracts with the greatest distance from the centroid to the nearest office. Those data are matched to both American Community Survey data to identify population characteristics, to a list of states with payday lending prohibitions, and to levels of market competition. An alternative measure of bank deserts corrects for population density. Geography is analyzed, mean characteristics compared, and random effects regressions capture static and dynamic correlates.

Findings

Population density explains approximately half of bank distance variance. Bank deserts appear more often in southern and western states, and expanded significantly in inner cities while contracting in rural areas. Regression results suggest that African Americans were overall and increasingly likely to live in bank deserts and Native Americans were overall more likely to live in rural bank deserts. Rural poverty is linked to bank deserts, and the effects of competition are complex.

Practical implications

The space for policy intervention exists in African American inner cities and Native American rural communities.

Originality/value

The relative measure of bank deserts is novel, as are dynamic estimates and random effects analysis of correlates.
Ownership when AI robots do more of the work and earn more of the income
Authors: Freeman Richard B.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the likely impact of AI robotics technology on the labor market through the lens of comparative advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

The first section reviews the recent success of AI in outperforming humans in cognitive intense activities such as Go, poker and other strategic games, which portends a shift in comparative advantage in human brain power work to machines. It notes the potential for a portfolio of specialized computer algorithms to compete with human general intelligence in work. The analysis contributes to the debate between economists dubious about claims that AI robotics will disrupt work and futurists who expect many jobs to be fully automated in coming years. It advances three “laws of robo-economics” to guide thinking about the new technologies and presents evidence that growing robot intensity has begun to impact the job market.

Findings

The paper finds that the case for AI robotics substantially changing the world of work and the distribution of income is more compelling than the case that it will have similar impacts on wages and employment as past technological changes. It advances an ownership solution to spread the benefits of AI robot-driven automation widely.

Originality/value

To the extent that who owns the robots rules the world, it argues for a concerted social effort to widen the “who” in ownership from the few to the many. It reviews policies to expand employee ownership of their own firm and of the stream of revenue via profit-sharing and gain-sharing bonuses. But the paper notes that ensuring that growth of AI robotics benefits all through ownership will require expansion of workers’ and citizens’ stake in business broadly, through collective investment via pension funds, individual investment in mutual funds and development of sovereign wealth funds.
Property valuation in the UK: energy efficiency legislation and its impact on valuation
Authors: French Nick , Antill Jason
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into how the new energy efficiency legislation in the UK is impacting upon the valuation of certain properties. This paper looks at how to adapt implicit valuation models to reflect the new risks of the impact of legislation.

Design/methodology/approach

This practice briefing is an overview of the new legislation and comments on the appropriateness of valuation models in different scenarios.

Findings

This paper analyses the likelihood of capital and rental value changes under the new energy efficiency guidelines.

Practical implications

The role of the valuer in practice is to identify the impact of the new legislation on the value of the subject property and choose the correct model for the valuation task in hand.

Originality/value

This provides guidance on how valuations can be undertaken to reflect any impact of the new energy efficiency legislation.
Impediments to foreign real estate investment in an emerging market
Authors: Olapade Daramola Thompson , Ayodele Timothy Oluwafemi , Olaleye Abel
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the of characteristics of Lagos, Nigeria property market and its submarkets on the prism of the market practitioners’ characteristics, market transaction structure and market maturity. This is done with a view to provide information capable of improving the flow of foreign real estate investment to the Lagos property market.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were sourced through questionnaire administered on firms of property practitioners in the market. A total of 190 firms were selected using the stratified random sampling technique based on their geographical location. Descriptive statistics and Mann−Whitney U Test were employed for data analysis.

Findings

The results showed that the Lagos property market was characterised by practitioners whose highest level of education was majorly first degree, and with a mean computer literacy ranking of 3.38 on a five-point Likert scale. Also, major transactions in the market included letting and sales. The market maturity index of the market was 2.95 and therefore adjudged as an emerging market. The analysis also revealed that there was no significant difference in the characteristics of the submarkets.

Practical implications

The results of the study are capable of enhancing investment decision in the market.

Originality/value

The study differentiates itself from and adds to the previous studies on market characteristics through an examination of the property market on the prism of the market transaction structure, market practitioners’ characteristics and maturity of the market holistically in the context of an African emerging market.
A computational theory of consciousness: qualia and the hard problem
Authors: García-Baños Ángel
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the formulation of a theory of consciousness based only on computational processes. In this manner, sound computational explanations of qualia and the “hard problem” of consciousness are provided in response to a lack of physical, chemical and psychological explanations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyses the little that can be objectively known about qualia, and proposes a process that imitates the same effects. Then it applies the process to a robot (using a thought experiment) to understand whether this would produce the same sensations as humans experience.

Findings

A computational explanation of qualia and the “hard problem” of consciousness is possible through computational processes.

Research limitations/implications

This is a proposal, subject to argumentation and proof. It is a falsifiable theory, meaning that it is possible to test or reject it, as its computational basis allows for a future implementation.

Practical implications

Subjective feeling emerges as an evolutionary by-product when there are no strong evolutionary pressures on the brain. Qualia do not involve magic. These aspects of consciousness in robots and in organisations are capable of being manufactured; one can choose whether to build robots and organisations with qualia and subjective experience.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, no other computational interpretation of these aspects of consciousness exists. However, it is compatible with the multiple draft model of Dennett (1991) and the attention schema theory of Webb and Graziano (2015).
Internationalization of exploitation alliance portfolios and firm performance
Authors: Rossmannek Oliver , Rank Olaf
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of alliance portfolio internationalization (API) on firm performance in the context of exploitation alliances.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypothesis is tested by applying a panel regression using a sample of 64 airlines over a nine years period.

Findings

As a result, the study finds a U-shaped relationship between API and firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

The results are particularly relevant for firms using many exploitation (e.g. marketing) alliances.

Practical implications

In the context of exploitation alliances, managers should focus either on local partners or to take advantage of partners with a high degree of foreignness. Stuck in the middle seems to be not advantageous.

Originality/value

Previous work found an S-shaped relationship between portfolio internationalization and firm performance while concentrating on exploration alliances. In contrast, this study shows that exploitation alliance portfolios do not experience a decline of firm performance at high levels of portfolio internationalization.
Effect of economic growth, trade openness, urbanization, and technology on environment of Asian emerging economies
Authors: Munir Kashif , Ameer Ayesha
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the long-run as well as short-run effect of economic growth, trade openness, urbanization and technology on environmental degradation (sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions) in Asian emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes the augmented STIRPAT model and uses the panel cointegration and causality test to analyze the long-run and short-run relationships. Due to the unavailability of data for all Asian emerging economies, the study focuses on 11 countries, i.e. Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and uses balance panel from 1980 to 2014 at annual frequency.

Findings

Results showed that the inverted U-shape hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve holds between economic growth and SO2emissions. While technology and trade openness increases SO2emissions, urbanization reduces SO2emissions in Asian emerging economies in the long run. Unidirectional causality flows from urbanization to SO2emissions and from SO2emissions to economic growth in the short run.

Practical implications

Research and development centers and programs are required at the government and private levels to control pollution through new technologies as well as to encourage the use of disposed-off waste as a source of energy which results in lower dependency on fossil fuels and leads to reduce emissions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing literature by analyzing the effects of urbanization, economic growth, technology and trade openness on environmental pollution (measured by SO2emissions) in Asian emerging economies. This study provides the essential evidence, information and better understanding to key stakeholders of environment. The findings of this study are useful for individuals, corporate bodies, environmentalist, researchers and government agencies at large.
Thermal stress analysis of a thermosensitive functionally graded rectangular plate due to thermally induced resultant moments
Authors: Manthena V.R. , Kedar G.D. , Deshmukh K.C.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the temperature distribution of a thin rectangular plate made of thermosensitive functionally graded (FG) material. By finding out thermal deflection and stress resultants, the thermal stresses have been obtained and analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, the rectangular plate is kept at the surrounding temperature. The upper, lower and two parallel sides (y=0, b and z=0, c) are thermally insulated, while other parallel sides (x=0, a) are given convective-type heating, that is, the rate of change of the temperature of the rectangular plate is proportional to the difference between its own temperature and the surrounding temperature. The non-linear heat conduction equation has been converted to linear form by introducing Kirchhoff’s variable transformation and the resultant heat conduction equation is solved by integral transform technique with hyperbolic varying point heat source.

Findings

A mathematical model is prepared for FG ceramic–metal-based material, in which alumina is selected as the ceramic and nickel as the metal. The thermal deflection and thermal stresses have been obtained for the homogeneous and nonhomogeneous materials. The results are illustrated numerically and depicted graphically for comparison. During this study, one observed that variations are seen in the stresses, due to the variation in the inhomogeneity parameters.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is constructed purely on theoretical mathematical modeling by considering various parameters and functions.

Practical implications

This type of theoretical analysis may be useful in high-temperature environments like nuclear components, spacecraft structural members, thermal barrier coatings, etc., as the effect of temperature and evaluation of temperature-dependent and nonhomogeneous material properties plays a vital role for accurate and reliable structural analysis.

Originality/value

In this paper, the authors have used thermal deflection and resultant stresses to determine the thermal stresses of a thin rectangular plate with temperature- and spatial variable-dependent material properties which is a new and novel contribution to the field.
Integrity as performance-increasing factor within the real estate industry
Authors: Piazolo Daniel , Förster Gerhard
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the strengthening of integrity within the real estate industry can lead to higher performance. Sticking to restricting ethical standards might be seen as reducing the range of options and consequently performance. However, in a dynamic setting of interactions there is a different outcome due to the performance effect of integrity. This is due to new opportunities that would not exist without integrity.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of ethics and the economics of trust is presented along with an analysis why real estate is an industry linked with corruption scandals.

Findings

Fostering integrity has an embedded challenge: integrity is invisible. Most capabilities and skills can be learnt through observation and imitation. However, what you cannot see, you cannot imitate. Consequently, education is central to address this issue and to increase awareness and understanding. Professional bodies have to support life-long education to ensure its members’ integrity.

Practical implications

This paper emphasizes the importance of fostering integrity through higher education and professional bodies within the real estate industry.

Social implications

Integrity is a performance-increasing factor—also in the real estate industry. Thus, the stakeholders forming the real estate industry, including educational institutions and professional bodies, are called upon to examine how they can address this issue.

Originality/value

This contribution is the first paper to link the performance effect of integrity with the real estate industry.
Brokerage fee, ownership expropriation and earnings management of Malaysian property companies
Authors: Ung Lik Jing , Brahmana Rayenda Khresna , Puah Chin-Hong
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether real estate companies manipulate their earnings through the brokerage fee across ownership expropriation or not.

Design/methodology/approach

This study considers Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange listed real estate firms to investigate how the brokerage fee in the real estate industry might affect the earnings management of firms across its ownership expropriation. Using annual report data, the authors investigate the associations over a panel for the period 2008−2012. Robust panel regression is used to divulge the probability values with reference by probit regression.

Findings

Overall, the results show that high brokerage fees would drive more events of earnings management and that, generally, the ownership concentration among Malaysian real estate firms significantly affects the earnings management of the firms.

Practical implications

This study shows that firm profitability and brokerage fees enhance the probability of firm’s earnings management. A low brokerage fee would reflect low revenue to the company. Therefore, management would opt to manipulate earnings in order to overstate earnings, which garners more interest from investors.

Originality/value

Real estate values in Malaysia have climbed steadily over the years due to a combination of reasons giving companies a higher brokerage fee. Earnings management has become a big issue for property investors. The study demonstrates the relationship between earnings management and brokerage fee across ownership expropriation which can be considered by shareholders in their own strategic planning and investors in their own investing.
Compensation for land and building compulsorily acquired in Nigeria
Authors: Egbenta Idu Robert , Udoudoh Francis P.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Valuation for compensation on land and buildings compulsorily acquired for public purposes is statutory. The Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978 now cited as Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, CAP l5 LFN 2007, stipulates the use of Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) Method in the valuation for compensation purposes for building and installation. The purpose of this paper is to criticize the application of the DRC technique in the valuation by acquiring authority as it does not arrive at fair market value and adequate compensation in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The method adopted for the study was a case study of real world valuation for compensation. Data used in the study were gathered mainly from government ministries and agencies responsible for land acquisition and compensation purposes. They included the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Land Use and Allocation Committee, and Ministry of Works and Transport. Market data on rental value, sales prices and other relevant data were collected from firms of professional that deal in real property.

Findings

The result of the study reveals that valuation by acquiring authority using DRC methods as prescribed by the LUA does not reflect market value and it is inadequate to put the claimants in the position they were before the acquisition. As such, most victims expressed dissatisfaction with the amount paid to them, which sometimes result to crisis, conflict and prolonged litigation, resulting in delay in executing or abandonment of the intended project.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to only one case study on acquisition and compensation for land and buildings with particular reference to Akwa Ibom State. This limitation does not invalidate the result as the law is applicable to the whole country.

Practical implications

The implication is that the LUA needs to be review to fair market value as basis of valuation and payment for site value as well as the constitution to add “adequate” to Section 44 (1a). This will reduce the incidence of many communities and land owners protest against the decision of government or its agents to acquire their land for public purposes.

Originality/value

The methodology meets the requirement of the law regarding compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Nigeria: The LUA of 1978. Using three scenarios: the valuation by acquiring authority, claimant’s valuers and independent valuers to illustrate the critique of the methodology, the result shows the inadequacy of compensation.
Employability as an alternative to job security
Authors: Bernstrøm Vilde Hoff , Drange Ida , Mamelund Svenn-Erik
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Employability has been suggested as an alternative to job security in response to more flexible work arrangements, arguing that the important question for employees is no longer the security of their current job, but their employment security in the labour market. The purpose of this paper is to test two core assumptions of this argument: first, is employability associated with a lower preference for job security? And second, are individuals with lower job security in fact compensated with higher employability? Both assumptions have received criticism in recent literature. The focus is on employees’ perceived basic and aspiring employability. The former refers to employees’ expectations of remaining in employment and the latter to expectations of upward mobility.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in the analysis were nationally representative Norwegian survey data from 12,945 employees (2009–2013).

Findings

Employees with higher aspiring employability and education levels have a significantly lower preference for job security, but this is not the case for employees with higher basic employability. Additionally, while employees with lower job security have higher aspiring employability, they have lower basic employability and receive less employer-supported training.

Originality/value

The current paper is the first to investigate how employability relates to the employees’ own preference for job security. In line with critics of the employability argument, the results support that job security continues to be an important protection mechanism. Moreover, employees with low job security lose out twice as employers also invest less in their training and future employability.
Performance of coatings containing treated silica fume in the corrosion protection of reinforced concrete
Authors: Ahmed Nivin M. , Mohamed Mostafa G. , Tammam Reham H. , Mabrouk Mohamed R.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This study aims to apply novel anticorrosive pigments containing silica fume-phosphates (Si-Ph), which were prepared using core-shell technique by covering 80-90 per cent silica fume (core) with 10-20 per cent phosphates (shell) previously, to play dual functions simultaneously as anticorrosive pigments in coating formulations and as an anticorrosive admixture in concrete even if it is not present in the concrete itself. Two comparisons were held out to show the results of coatings on rebars containing core-shell pigments in concrete, and concrete admixtured with silica fume can perform a dual function as anticorrosive pigment and concrete admixture. The evaluation of corrosion protection efficiency of coatings containing core-shell pigments and those containing phosphates was performed.

Design/methodology/approach

Simple chemical techniques were used to prepare core-shell pigments, and their characterization was carried out in a previous work. These pigments were incorporated in solvent-based paint formulations based on epoxy resin. Different electrochemical techniques such as open-circuit potential and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to evaluate the anticorrosive efficiency of the new pigments.

Findings

The electrochemical measurements showed that concrete containing coated rebars with core-shell pigments exhibited almost similar results to that of concrete admixtured with silica fume. Also, the anticorrosive performance of coatings containing Si-Ph pigments offered protection efficiency almost similar to that of phosphates, proving that these new pigments can perform both roles as anticorrosive pigment and concrete admixture.

Originality/value

Although the new Si-Ph pigments contain more than 80 per cent waste material, its performance can be compared to original phosphate pigments in the reinforced concrete.
Correlation between repassivation kinetics and pitting potential of 316L stainless steel in the presence of green inhibitors
Authors: Ogunbadejo Adekunle Sulaimon , Aribo Sunday , Olaseinde Oluwatoyin Adenike , Ige Oladeji O. , Olubambi Peter
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the stability of passive oxide film formed on the surface of 316L stainless steel in 3.5 Wt.% NaCl in the presence of two environmentally non-toxic inhibitors, i.e. leaf extracts ofMusaspp. (MS) andJatropha curcas(JC).

Design/methodology/approach

Current transients and potentiodynamic polarization curves were used to explain the stability of the passive film on Current transients and potentiodynamic polarization curves were used to explain the stability of the passive film on 316L stainless steel at both ambient temperature (25 °C) and 70 °C. For the potentiostatic tests, the coupons underwent cathodic stripping to remove the native oxide on their surfaces at −850 mV for 600 s, and a potential of 50 mV was imposed to observe the repassivation for 200 s. For the potentiodynamic tests, the pitting potential measured at 100 μA/cm2, corrosion potential and cathodic current density were obtained for analysis.

Findings

The current transients perfectly fitted into the exponential decay curve; i = is+ ipeakexp(−t/τ), where the decay constant, τ measures the repassivating speed and extent to which the newly formed film heals and stabilizes. The current transients showed that MS and JC help in the repassivating process, especially at 300 ppm and 200 ppm, respectively, both at the lower temperature. The potentiodynamic curves mostly correlated with the current transients except for the hybrid inhibitor. The inhibitors increased the pitting potentials at concentrations that are correlated to their scanning electron micrograph images.

Research limitations/implications

Because they are cheap and environmentally friendly, plant extracts that are proven corrosion inhibitors could be used to aid the formation of passive film on passive alloys in not-so-aggressive environments.

Practical implications

Both MS and JC improve the film stability mostly at intermediate concentrations of 200 and 300 ppm, respectively, at ambient temperature and 70° C.

Social implications

Using leaf extracts of plants as green inhibitors is considered an environmentally friendly engineering solution.

Originality/value

The leaf extracts are a convenient resource of green inhibitors because their plants are readily available or could be easily naturalized, the processing technique to obtain the extracts is very cheap and the inhibitors are environmentally friendly. In addition, cathodic stripping exposes a relatively larger surface area than that obtained using the most common forms of depassivation; hence, the efficiency of the inhibitor in aiding the formation of the new oxide film to cover the bare surface would be better measured. There is very lean research data on the combined use of green inhibitors and cathodic stripping to study repassivating kinetics of passive alloys.
Local geographies of developing country social enterprises
Authors: Jammulamadaka Nimruji , Chakraborty Kamalika
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the geographic distribution of social enterprises at the local sub-district level in one Indian state.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a multimethod approach. The exploratory phase involved interviews and analysis of social enterprise distribution at the national level. Phase 2 involved mapping the distribution of social enterprises at the sub-district level in one state. Distribution around established social enterprises was plotted using latitude–longitude positions. Grounded theory approach to analysing qualitative data was adopted to identify the mechanism for agglomeration.

Findings

Social entrepreneurship sees the entrepreneurial problems as solving universalized social problems abstracting them out of the geo-historical and political economic context of the social problem. This study shows that solving a social problem is itself implicated in a social–historical organizational context of aid giving within developing countries. Networks of resources that early enterprises enable draw newer organizations toward them and lead to the formation of clusters. While such clusters might improve chances of enterprise survival, the phenomenon inadvertently leads to a new kind of inequity, as areas with fewer social enterprises lack the organizational infrastructure necessary for delivery of welfare.

Research limitations/implications

Research in social enterprises needs to pay more attention to the context of the enterprises or society in addition to its current focus on universal social problems. Social enterprises themselves could be new sources of inequity in terms of the organizational infrastructure they represent.

Originality/value

Policymakers need to make directed efforts that respond not only to social problems but also to the socio-historic-organizational contexts where the problems are being solved and seeding the entrepreneurial effort in those spaces.
Breaking compulsive buying-financial trouble chain of young Malaysian consumers
Authors: Aw Eugene Cheng-Xi , Cheah Jun-Hwa , Ng Siew Imm , Sambasivan Murali
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine compulsive buying and its interrelationships with careful spending, loan dependence and financial trouble. This study also aims to investigate the moderating role of gender.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted. Two hundred and seven responses were collected using purposive sampling technique. Partial least square–structural equation modelling was performed to analyze the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The salient findings are (1) careful spending negatively influences compulsive buying, (2) compulsive buying positively influences loan dependence and financial trouble, (3) loan dependence positively influences financial trouble, (4) the relationships between careful spending and compulsive buying, and between loan dependence and financial trouble differ between male and female consumers, (5) there is a sequential mediation effect between careful spending and financial trouble and (6) there are gender differences between careful spending and compulsive buying and between loan dependence and financial trouble.

Research limitations/implications

This study empirically validates the role of short-term money attitude, conceptualized as careful spending in compulsive buying context and how it attenuates the consequences of compulsive buying.

Originality/value

This study explains the serial mechanism in which careful spending can be used to counteract financial trouble of youngsters, and further looks into the differences of relationships in term of gender through multi-group analysis.