bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bank soundness and liquidity creation
Authors: Sahyouni Ahmad , Zaid Mohammad A.A. , Adib Mohamed
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how much liquidity banks create and how liquidity creation changed over time in the MENA countries and to examine the soundness of banks in these countries based on the CAME rating system, in addition to investigating the relationship between CAME ratios and liquidity creation of these banks.

Design/methodology/approach

The study regresses the CAME ratios together with other control variables to model liquidity creation. The robustness of the results is evaluated by using a different measure of liquidity creation and by excluding the observations of the Islamic banks.

Findings

The results show that the CAME rating system, as an indicator of bank soundness, is negatively related to bank liquidity creation. Specifically, capital adequacy, management efficiency and earning ability ratios affect the on-balance sheet components of liquidity creation, while asset quality ratio affects its off-balance sheet component.

Practical implications

The paper offers insights to regulators and banks managers in terms of better understanding of the negative relationship between CAME rating system and bank liquidity creation.

Originality/value

This paper sheds more light on the relationship between bank soundness and liquidity creation by using the ratios of the CAMEL rating system as an indicator of bank strength and soundness.
Sexual and reproductive health self-care: a theory-based intervention
Authors: Havaei Marjan , Saeieh Sara Esmaelzadeh , Salehi Leili
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study, a theory-based interventional study, aims to promote self-care behaviors regarding sexual and reproductive health in adolescents (female) in Karaj, Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted on 90 female students of the Alborz University of Medical Sciences in Iran. For selecting subjects, the researchers went to two girls' dormitories on working days and tried to observe the proportion of students with different fields. Initially, 200 eligible female students were identified in the dormitories of Alborz University of Medical Sciences. Based on the sample size estimation, 100 research units were divided into two groups of receiving counseling (intervention group) and not receiving counseling (control group) by four-digit block randomization. Sexual and reproductive health self-care questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection before, after and one month after intervention. Data were analyzed by using X2 and ANOVA tests using SPSS (16).

Findings

Both groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic characteristics before the intervention. The results of the study indicated that after education, sexual and reproductive knowledge (p < 0.001), self-care of sexual health (p < 0.001), self-care of menstrual and genital health (p < 0.001) increased significantly. But, regarding parents' communications (p = 0.11), conversation barriers with parents (p = 0.83), interaction with (p = 0.79) and the perceptions of sexual risk behaviors relationships (p = 0.61) differences are not significant.

Research limitations/implications

Failure of parents to participate in this study and the implementation of this study only on the female sex were main limitations of the present study.

Practical implications

Theory-based education can improve sexual and reproductive health in adolescents' girls.

Originality/value

All Authors declare the manuscript entitled “Sexual and reproductive health self-care: a theory-based intervention” is original work of the author. All data, tables, figures, etc. used in the manuscript are prepared originally by authors; otherwise, the sources are cited and reprint permission is attached.
Linking corporate social responsibility to trust in the banking sector: exploring disaggregated relations
Authors: Bugandwa Toussaint Ciza , Kanyurhi Eddy Balemba , Bugandwa Mungu Akonkwa Deogratias , Haguma Mushigo Benjamin
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper has two purposes. First is to operationalise the concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and trust in the context of a developing country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Second purpose is to test in a disaggregated perspective the impact of each CSR dimension on trust.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 264 customers of six banks and processed with exploratory, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations using LISREL 9.1.

Findings

CSR is found to have five dimensions: legal responsibility, social needs responsibility, product responsibility, environmental responsibility and employee responsibility; trust is found to be a three-dimensional construct: integrity, compassion and partnership. Each CSR dimension has a positive impact on customers' perception of trustworthiness.

Research limitations/implications

Reliability of trust is not high enough, suggesting the need to deepen research in order to find a more adapted CSR scale for banks. The smallness of sample size might have influenced the robustness of our psychometric results. CSR and trust relationships might be analysed in a more enriched framework including service quality, reputation and banks' employee performance as moderating variables. This paper has measured the two concepts from the customers' perspective only. However, both CSR and trust are best understood in a stakeholder perspective. So, it might be insightful to extend future research in a stakeholder orientation perspective.

Practical implications

Banks from developing countries are also concerned with CSR and should invest in it. Clearly, each dimension of CSR should receive enough importance if Congolese banks are to recover their customers' trust. The findings of the study also suggest that banks' customers are aware of the necessity for banks to comply with the country's legislation. Non-compliance can have severe influence on customers' trustworthiness to banks.

Social implications

Financial institutions are generally evaluated through financial indicators. The findings suggest that banks customers and other stakeholders begin a shift towards requiring their banks to invest in social and environmental activities in order to improve their local milieu. These aspects are still very neglected, or adopted only as marketing strategies to improve image, without a true willingness to be socially responsive.

Originality/value

The two concepts are measured in a context where they did not receive enough importance (developing country), hence providing new knowledge in the field. Further, a disaggregated approach allowed understanding the way each CSR dimension impacts trust, which had not been the case in previous research.
Analysis of the relationship between barriers and practices in the lean supply chain management
Authors: Takeda-Berger Satie Ledoux , Tortorella Guilherme Luz , Rodriguez Carlos Manuel Taboada , Frazzon Enzo Morosini , Yokoyama Tamie Takeda , Oliveira Marco Aurélio de
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to classify the main barriers related to the implementation of lean supply chain management (LSCM) and prioritize its main practices. A case study approach was conducted to obtain values for the intensity of the relationship between LSCM practices and barriers to mitigate or even anticipate difficulties in its implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study in a company in southern Brazil that is in lean implementation is used for conducting this research. The methodology was structured in three steps, namely, classification of the main barriers through risk analysis, selection of LSCM practices appropriate to the company context and ranking and prioritization of the main practices of LSCM related to the barriers to lean implementation.

Findings

As a result, with the combination of two approaches, failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and analytical hierarchical process (AHP), it was possible to obtain values for the intensity of the relationship between LSCM practices and barriers. From the 12 barriers, 5 reached a high-risk degree that can be mitigated, and among the 18 practices found, 7 have the potential to be implemented.

Originality/value

This research allows direct efforts to continuously improve the supply chain to mitigate or even anticipate difficulties in its implementation. The proposed methodology, combining FMEA and AHP is easy to apply and understand, allowing managers and professionals to replicate it in the context of their supply chain and verify results similar and comparable to those obtained here.
When no news is good news: failing to increase dividends
Authors: Michayluk David , Neuhauser Karyn , Walker Scott
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The study's purpose is to examine market returns around dividend announcements that contrast with a pattern of prior dividend announcements.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper identifies firms that have a smooth dividend pattern of once-a-year dividend increases but at some point break that pattern and announce an unchanged dividend. The sample design allows the opportunity to investigate the market reaction to unchanged dividend announcements when an increase was likely to have been expected.

Findings

The results indicate that failing to increase the dividend is associated with significantly positive abnormal returns that are greater in magnitude for more entrenched dividend-increase records, supporting a contrast-effect hypothesis.

Originality/value

The results indicate that dividends are interpreted not only relative to the immediate dividend amount but also how the decision contrasts with dividends over a prolonged period. This finding suggests that the information content of the announcement of an unchanged dividend can vary according to the prior dividend pattern.
Engaged scholarship at the Brown University School of Public Health: designing education for better prisoner and community health
Authors: Macmadu Alexandria , Brinkley-Rubinstein Lauren , Gonsher Ian , Clarke Jennifer G. , Brockmann Bradley W.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the course, “Designing Education for Better Prisoner and Community Health,” which provided students with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to build real-world health education materials for persons who are criminal justice involved.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiphase engaged scholarship course was designed and implemented through the Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island, USA.

Findings

Students collaborated closely with instructors, subject matter experts and affected community members to develop highly tailored health education projects across six topic areas. The structure and outcomes of the paper are described with the hope that other instructors and institutions might replicate components of the model.

Originality/value

Engaged scholarship in public health can provide students with rich, collaborative learning experiences, and when executed effectively, these endeavors can provide underserved communities with robust and informed health education interventions and programs.
Implementing responsibility centre management in a higher educational institution
Authors: Rigby John , Kobussen Glen , Kalagnanam Suresh , Cannon Robert
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the design, development and implementation of responsibility centre management at a mid-sized Canadian university, within the context of decentralized decision-making. More specifically our study focused on the design, development and implementation of a revenue and cost allocation process known as transparent activity–based budgeting system (TABBS).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted this study using a qualitative case study methodology, rooted in grounded theory, as the primary approach to collect and analyse data, and report the findings. Primary data were collected from ten participants using semi-structured interviews.

Findings

The main takeaways from our research are that (1) such systems take time to design, develop and implement, (2) consultation, communication and information sharing and model adjustment and refinement are important enabling mechanisms, (3) internal and external events posed significant challenges, (4) although such systems are often designed keeping in mind several intended outcomes, there exists the possibility of experiencing some unintended consequences and (5) the juxtaposition of the above has the potential to negatively or positively impact organizational performance.

Originality/value

The research demonstrates that the design, development and implementation of a complex resource allocation model is an important element of a responsibility-centred approach to planning and decision-making. It highlights the importance and contribution of enabling mechanisms as well as the challenges that large, complex organizations may confront when introducing change.
Welfare implications of segregation of social and religious groups in India: analyzing from wealth perspectives
Authors: Mishra Aswini Kumar , Bhardwaj Vedant
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper analyzes the welfare implications of the unequal distribution of wealth amongst the social and religious groups by studying the segregation of these groups across different occupations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use measures suggested by Alonso-Villar and Río (2017) and del Río and Alonso-Villar (2018) to compute the well-being of social groups (based on caste system prevalent in the Indian subcontinent) and religious groups due to their segregation across different regions (urban and rural) and occupations and social welfare loss of the society due to the segregation. Here social groups comprise of ST: Scheduled Tribe, SC: Scheduled Caste, OBC: Other Backward Caste and Others: other remaining castes; while, religious groups comprise of followers of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other religious groups.

Findings

The result shows that SC and ST groups are worse; while, the “others” group is better off due to the segregation of social groups across both regions and occupation. Similarly, in the case of religious groups, the analysis reveals that followers of Christianity are better off due to the segregation across region and occupation. It further shows that followers of Hinduism are negatively impacted while followers of Islam and other religious groups were better off due to the segregation across the regions.

Originality/value

Various researchers have studied the wealth inequality and unequal distribution in India over the years but did not dive further into the welfare implications of segregation of social and religious groups from wealth perspectives in India.
Extent of urban agriculture and food security: evidence from Ghana and India
Authors: Bannor Richard Kwasi , Sharma Mohit , Oppong-Kyeremeh Helena
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The study attempted to assess the food security status of urban agriculture households in Ghana and India. Also, the extent of urban agriculture participation and its effect on food security in Ghana and India were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 650 urban agriculture farmers were interviewed for this study in Ghana and India. Food security status of urban households was assessed by the use of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, whereas the determinants of the extent of urban agriculture and its effect on food security were analysed by the use of the heteroskedastic linear regression and the Seemingly Unrelated Regression models, respectively.

Findings

From the study on average, households in Ghana were mildly food insecure, but that of India was moderately food insecure. The results further revealed that various demographic, economic, institutional and health and nutrition factors differently influenced urban food security and urban agriculture. Also, the extent of urban agriculture participation positively influenced food security.

Originality/value

Several studies in Asia (India) and Africa (Ghana) on urban food security have been geographically limited to New Delhi, Mumbai and Greater Accra, with few studies in the Middle Belt of Ghana, and Bihar in India. Besides, there is a limited, rigorous, empirical study on the effect of the extent of UA on food security in Asia (India) and Africa (Ghana) individually and together. Moreover, we extend the frontiers of the methodological approach by applying the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model to understand if the factors that affect food-security accessibility based on two food security accessibility tools are correlated.
Pre-service English language teachers’ conceptions of sustainable development: a case from Turkish higher education context
Authors: Yılmaz Fındık Leyla , Bayram İlknur , Canaran Özlem
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainable development (SD) is conceptualized by pre-service English language teachers in Turkey and design a specialized course syllabus on SD in English language teaching (ELT) in the light of the research findings.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study design and investigated the case of a state university in Turkey with the involvement of 133 pre-service English language teachers.

Findings

The findings indicated that most pre-service English language teachers received no training or a course on SD in their whole education life and tended to associate SD mostly with the economic growth of a country, followed by education, social and ecological concepts. It was also found that the majority of the participants had a unidimensional view of SD. No direct links with ELT have been detected from participants’ responses. The findings also pointed to the eagerness of the participants to receive an ELT-specific course on SD providing that the course involves interactive teaching and learning activities with reference to contemporary sources focusing on global and local issues, as well as studying the methods facilitating the incorporation of such issues into teaching practice.

Research limitations/implications

This research is based on the experience of one Turkish university with limited quantitative and qualitative data.

Practical implications

Based on the participants’ knowledge, views and suggestions, this paper contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence obtained from a local context and suggests a practical framework for a field-specific course syllabus aiming to enhance teacher candidates’ knowledge, skills and values related to SD and its incorporation into ELT.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study seeking to explore pre-service ELT teachers’ conceptualization of SD in Turkish higher education, and drawing on the research findings, the authors attempted to design a course syllabus targeted at pre-service teachers in ELT departments.
Financial reporting quality and firms’ information environment: a case of Iranian firms
Authors: Rezaei Pitenoei Yasser , Safari Gerayli Mehdi , Abdollahi Ahmad
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial reporting quality and information environment (IE) in firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, composite measures were used as the proxy to measure financial reporting quality and IE. In this regard, a sample of 1,490 firm-year observations of the firms listed on the TSE during the years 2008 to 2017 and a multivariate regression model was used to examine the research hypothesis.

Findings

Findings indicate that financial reporting quality has a positive relationship with firms’ IE. This result is robust to the alternate measure of financial reporting quality and endogeneity problem.

Originality/value

The present study is the first study to develop a composite measure for the firms’ IE in the Iranian capital market. As a result, it not only expands the theoretical literature on the firms’ IE but also helps policymakers, regulators, investors and financial reporting users make informed decisions.
The hiearchical resource nature of green logistics competency
Authors: Adams Frank G. , Gabler Colin B. , Landers V. Myles
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the common roots of both logistics and sustainability phenomena in supply chains to derive a new potential construct, green logistics competency.

Design/methodology/approach

Theoretical synthesis and conceptualization of new construct.

Findings

Based on Madhavaram and Hunt’s (2008) resource hierarchy concept, the key to successfully competing with a sustainable supply chain may lie in whether the resources enabling both sustainability and effective supply chains are interdependent, as opposed to merely co-existent.

Research limitations/implications

Most current theory regarding sustainable supply chains regards environmentally-friendly factors as resources that are additively bundled with supply chain resources. To determine if competitive performance differentials exist between truly green supply chains, and supply chains that merely adopt green practices, measurement must account for both the interdependence of green and supply chain resources, and their common cultural antecedents.

Practical implications

The study indicates that it is not sufficient for firms to have expertise in both sustainability and in supply chain practices; managers in each of those areas must develop the cultural antecedents of both supply chain and sustainability excellence if firms are to achieve meaningful competitive capabilities through sustainable supply chains.

Originality/value

This conceptual study addresses a paucity of theory describing how and why organizations build a genuinely green supply chain, as opposed to simply adapting supply chains to green practices.
Information activities in serious leisure as a catalyst for self-actualisation and social engagement
Authors: Mansourian Yazdan
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper reports findings from a research project about human information behaviour in the context of serious leisure. Various forms of information activities in this context have been identified and categorised to depict common patterns of information seeking, sharing, using and producing.

Design/methodology/approach

The project adopted a qualitative approach in an interpretive paradigm using a thematic analysis method. Data-collection technique was semi-structured interview and 20 volunteers were recruited via a maximum variation sampling strategy. The collected data was transcribed and thematically analysed to identify the main concepts and categories.

Findings

The participants have been experiencing six qualities of serious leisure during their long-term engagement with their hobbies or voluntary jobs and their experiences can be fully mapped onto the serious leisure perspective. The findings also confirmed serious leisure is a unique context in terms of the diversity of information activities embedded into a wide range of individual and collective actions in this context. Information seeking and sharing in serious leisure is not only a source of personal satisfaction for the participants, it also can provide them with a sense of purpose in a meaningful journey towards self-actualization and social inclusion.

Research limitations/implications

The generalisability of the findings needs to be examined in wider populations. Nonetheless, the existing findings can be useful for follow-up research in the area.

Practical implications

This study will be useful in both policy and practice levels. In the policy level, it will be beneficial for cultural policy makers to gain a better understanding about the nature of leisure activities. In the practice level, it will be helpful for serious leisure participants to understand the value of information seeking and sharing in their leisure endeavours. Also, information professionals can use it to enhance the quality of their services for the serious leisure participants who are usually among devoted patrons of libraries, museums, archives and galleries.

Social implications

Learning about serious leisure can provide new insights on people preferences in terms of choosing different entertaining and recreational pursuits – such as indoor and outdoor hobbies – in their free time.

Originality/value

The informational aspects of serious leisure is an emerging and evolving ground of research. This paper provides empirical evidence on this topic from a specific context in the regional areas in Australia.
The impact of co-structure of capital, profitability and corporate growth opportunities on stock exchange in Indonesia
Authors: Chandra Teddy , Junaedi Achmad Tavip , Wijaya Evelyn , Ng Martha
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is (1) to determine the factors that significantly influence the capital structure, (2) to determine the factors that significantly influence profitability, (3) to find the factors that significantly influence growth opportunities, (4) to find reciprocal influence between capital structure and profitability and (5) to find reciprocal influence between capital structure and growth opportunity.

Design/methodology/approach

The population of this research is a manufacturing company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period of 2010–2016. The number registered in the manufacturing sector is 144 companies. The sampling technique applied is purposive sampling. The fulfillment criteria are companies that have been approved before 2010. Another criterion is that the company is not delisting during the observation period. From that total of population, companies that meet the requirements are 117 companies. This observation was conducted for seven years since 2010–2016, so the center of the analysis of this research was a total of 819. The inferential statistics method used to analyze the research data is generalized structural component analysis (GSCA).

Findings

The results of this study indicate that (1) the factors that influence the capital structure include effective tax rate, financial flexibility, growth, uniqueness, asset Utilization, firm size and tangibility; (2) factors that affect profitability include liquidity, growth, firm age, uniqueness, tangibility, volatility, advertising and asset turnover; (3) growth opportunity have a negative and significant influence on capital structure. This means an increase in growth opportunity can be defined as an increase in depreciation that will not be used as collateral for managers to increase debt. This increase in debt will have an impact on reducing growth opportunities; (4) profitability and capital structure have a two-way causality relationship, which means they influence each other and (5) capital structure and growth opportunities have a negative reciprocal relationship.

Originality/value

The authenticity of the study is implied in the following explanation: The authors try to examine the reciprocal effect of capital structure on profitability and capital structure on growth opportunities and the factors that influence these two endogenous variables that have never been done by previous researchers. This research is motivated by research conducted by (Chathoth and Olsen, 2007; Jian-Shen Chen et al., 2009; Yang et al., 2010) using the structural equation model (SEM). However, this study uses GSCA as a method of research analysis.
Was trade openness with China an initial driver of cross-country human coronavirus infections?
Authors: Price Gregory N. , Adu Doreen P.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to consider if an initial driver of the cross-country global coronavirus pandemic was trade openness with China.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors estimate simple, seemingly unrelated and zero-inflated count data specifications of a gravity model of trade between China and its trading partners, where the number of human coronavirus infections in a country is a function of the number of distinct good/services exported and imported from China.

Findings

Parameter estimates reveal that the number of early cross-country human coronavirus infections increased with respect to trade openness with China, as measured by the number of distinct Chinese exported and imported goods/services, and can account for approximately 24% of early infections among China's trading partners. The findings suggest that one of the costs of trade openness and globalization is that they can be a driver of cross-country human disease pandemics.

Originality/value

This inquiry constitutes a first approach at embedding the possible disease pandemic costs of free trade, trade openness and globalization within a trade gravity model.
An assessment of students’ job preference using a discrete choice experiment: a postgraduate case study
Authors: Gyarteng-Mensah Henry , Owusu-Manu De-Graft , Edwards David , Baidoo Isaac , El-Gohary Hatem
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study aims to better understand the job preference of postgraduate students studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Institute of Distance Learning, Ghana and also rank the attributes of a job they deem important.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted a positivist epistemological design contextualised within a deductive approach and case study strategy. Primary survey data was collected from a stratified random sample of 128 postgraduate students with multi-sectorial career prospects. Sample students were subjected to a DCE in which their stated preferences were collected using closed-ended questionnaires with 28 pairs of hypothetical job profiles. Respondents’ preferences from the DCE data were then modelled using the conditional logit.

Findings

The research reveals that: salary in the range GHC 2,800.00 to GHC 3,400.00 ($1 = GHS 5.3); supportive management; very challenging jobs; and jobs located in the city were the top attributes that were significant and had the most impact in increasing the utility of selecting a particular job. Interestingly, jobs with no extra hours workload were not significant hence, had a negative impact upon student preferences.

Originality/value

This novel research is the first to use a DCE to better elicit preference and trade-offs of postgraduate students in a developing country towards varying job characteristics that have an impact on their future employment decisions. Knowledge advancements made provide invaluable insight to employers and policymakers on the key criteria that should be implemented to retain the best candidate.
Negative affect as a mediator of the relationship between emotional intelligence and uncivil workplace behaviour among managers
Authors: Loi Natasha , Golledge Carey , Schutte Nicola
Published: January 2021

Purpose

To improve understanding of uncivil workplace behaviour, the present study sought to examine the relationships between emotional intelligence, positive affect, negative affect and perpetration of uncivil behaviour in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

Email, workplace networks and social media were used to recruit 113 managers who completed an anonymous online self-report survey of measures relating to emotional intelligence, positive and negative affect and engaging in uncivil workplace behaviour.

Findings

Results showed that greater emotional intelligence was significantly associated with higher positive affect and less negative affect as well as less likelihood of engaging in uncivil behaviour. Higher levels of negative affect were associated with engaging in uncivil behaviour. Analyses indicated that the relationship between lower emotional intelligence and engaging in uncivil workplace behaviour was mediated by negative affect only. The findings support the importance of emotional intelligence and affect in workplace functioning and shed light on possible precursors of the destructive behaviours that comprise workplace incivility.

Originality/value

These findings contribute insight into uncivil workplace behaviour and provide a foundation for examining the contribution of all stakeholders including victims and perpetrators as well as implications for management and organisational practices.
The challenge of functional neurological disorder – views of patients, doctors and medical students
Authors: Hutchinson Gareth , Linden Stefanie Caroline
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore views and attitudes of doctors, patients and medical students in regard to Functional Neurological Disorders (FND), a common presentation in neurological and psychiatric practice.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 clinicians and obtained online questionnaires from 21 patients and 75 medical students. We applied thematic analysis.

Findings

The clinician and patient surveys highlighted the importance of the therapeutic relationship and need for transparent communication. However, patients criticised excessive reliance on online resources in doctor–patient communication. They also emphasised the relevance of triggering life events, which was not a prominent theme for clinicians. Medical students had only scant knowledge of the concept of functional neurological disorder.

Practical implications

A good therapeutic relationship is considered central for outcome of FND by both clinicians and patients. The survey of medical students has identified considerable gaps in undergraduate medical education in FND. The patient survey can inform recommendations for the explanation of aetiological models and treatment options in clinical practice.

Originality/value

This is the first study exploring the attitudes of clinicians, medical students and patients to FND. The study highlights potential areas of disagreement between these groups.
Is there a decision to make, boss? From understanding SME growth to managing employees' learning preferences
Authors: Tam Steven , Gray David E.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study examines employees' learning preferences in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at different life-cycle stages.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has two phases. Phase I classified a sample of 30 Hong Kong SMEs into three different life-cycle stages (inception, high growth or maturity). Phase II then explored/compared their employees' learning practices in terms of importance using a mixed-method design through an online learning questionnaire followed by face-to-face semi-structured interviews.

Findings

Based on a list of 32 learning practices common to SME workplaces, the study identified how SME employees perceive the importance of a learning practice. The top 5 and the bottom 5 learning practices in SMEs across life-cycle stages are presented to promote best interests for SME executives.

Research limitations/implications

While SME learning is highly varied, this study sheds light on some traceable context about it as an SME grows. Similar studies with additional SMEs, including SMEs in other locations, are encouraged to strengthen the findings.

Practical implications

The findings help SME executives understand what learning practices are most important (or least important) for their employees, given the life-cycle stage of the firm. Aligning a business with employees' learning preferences in a timely fashion is a managerial decision to be made for driving organizational effectiveness.

Originality/value

It is among the first studies connecting employee learning in SMEs and organizational life cycle to address a critical but missing inquiry.
Agency, generic ecosystems and sustainable development: Part 2 agency as an ecosystem
Authors: Yolles Maurice
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper is in two parts. The purpose of the first part was to explore the basis for the creation of an agentic ecology theory that could provide a generic multidisciplinary context-free manifold that can be applied to specific domains and contexts. As an element of this, it explored the relationship between agency and its agents (at various foci) and the nature of agency ecologies. It also explored the relationship between viability and sustainability. In this second part, the purpose is to create an agency model that will recognise the analytical and decision-making attributes of the viability–sustainability relationship by centring on the modelling a socioeconomic ecosystem and a social disciplinary species model.

Design/methodology/approach

Agency theory will be used to model a generic agency ecology and its environment of subordinate elements – especially those subordinates that can be used as amenities to satisfy the needs to agency development. Part 1 of the paper took a tour of concepts relevant to the representation of ecosystem structures and their application. Part 2 will centre on delivering a schema capable of embracing agency ecology from which applications may derive.

Findings

It is shown agency theory is not only a modelling schema but can also provide diagnosis to examine the condition of, or for locating problems within, an agency in its ecosystem environment. This is illustrated within a socioeconomic context.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is conceptual in nature, without any to diagnose any substantive issues within the socio-economic context.

Originality/value

A generalized agency ecology approach is proposed over this two-part paper that is novel through the use of 3rd order cybernetics.
The dynamics of organizational reputation and status: momentum and volatility
Authors: Kim Eunjung , Kim Tohyun , Rhee Mooweon
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Organizational reputation and status are similar yet distinct constructs, serving as signals conveying information about an organization and its products and thus constituting audiences' perceptions about the organization. However, compared to status, reputation tends to change more dynamically over time. In this study, the authors argue that the dynamic traits of reputation – particularly, its momentum and volatility – may serve as additional signals and/or noises, influencing potential exchange partners' perception about the organization and thereby determining its status.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test our hypotheses in the context of the US venture capital firms between 1990 and 2010. The authors collected 8,793 firm-year observations of 1,186 VC firms and used the Arellano–Bover/Blundell–Bond dynamic panel estimation method to estimate their model.

Findings

The authors’ findings show that reputation momentum has a positive effect on status, whereas reputation volatility does not have a significant direct effect. However, the authors found that volatility has indirect effects on status, serving as a noise weakening the signaling effects of reputation and its momentum.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on organizational reputation and status by suggesting the importance of considering the dynamic traits of organizational reputation, which are indeed the crucial factors that distinguish reputation from status. Also, this study provides managerial implications for the organizations that aim to enhance their status through managing their reputation.
Editorial
Authors: Wilkinson Nicholas
Published: January 2021

This first issue of 2005 contains a selection of some articles from the recent Open Building conference on Sustainable Environment held in Paris at the CSTB headquarters in September 2004. This issue signals the start of the regular publication of material dealing with Open Building projects either as additional articles in theme issues or as full open building issues twice a year. After more than thirty five years of experience Open Building is a recognizable part of mainstream Architecture in housing and in health care and renovation projects found in many different countries of the world. Open Building projects in general show how users are indispensable decision makers in the design process and act as forces of change and adaptability over time.
Building Resilient Urban Communities
Authors: Davis Ian , Izadkhah Yasamin O.
Published: January 2021

Many societies in the world live with different types of risks and the threat of disasters has always presented a major challenge to devise ways to achieve sustainable development by reducing patterns of vulnerability. Disaster reduction is therefore crucial and must have a place in national policies in order to create favourable conditions for effective and efficient hazard mitigation at various levels. This can help in increasing the resilience among communities at risk by enabling them to withstand shocks, cope with emergencies as they bounce back from the impact and adapt in new ways to cope with future threats.

The aim of this paper is to explore the concept of resilience in general and what this means before, during, and after disaster impact. Case studies are cited to indicate how resilience operates or fails to occur and why. The study defines how resilience can be developed to create sustainable systems and structures that focus on robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity.
Saving Shimla, North India, From the Next Earthquake
Authors: Gupta Manu , Sharma Anshu , Kaushik Rajesh
Published: January 2021

Shimla is a teeming city, with a population of 140,000. It is located in the north Indian Himalayas, in an area of high seismicity that was rocked by a devastating earthquake a hundred years ago. However, it is oblivious of the ticking time bomb below its foundations. Initiating risk reduction in this fast growing urban economic hub is an enormous challenge. A national non-governmental organisation (NGO) called SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) started working in the city just before the earthquake centenary, with the aim to identify ways of reducing earthquake risk through actions that could be carried out by the citizens and the local government.

The experience has been unique, and has led to further refinement of the community action planning approach that SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) has picked up and worked with over the last ten years in different vulnerable communities in the region. What emerges from the experience is a mix of tools for the improvement of technical aspects, community-based working approaches and governance for risk reduction. It is evident that community-local government-NGO partnerships are the key to solving such acute problems as earthquake safety in a resource strapped, vulnerable city. The assessment and planning phases initiate the building of these partnerships in the early stages of the process.

This paper is an attempt to share the experience of developing and testing a community based urban risk reduction approach for a city at extreme earthquake risk.
Fire Risk in Informal Settlements: A South African Case Study
Authors: Morrissey James , Taylor Anna
Published: January 2021

With the increased concentration of populations in urban areas and the consequent occupation of marginal land, largely by the poor, the need for effective means of understanding and managing urban risk is immense. This paper explores the existence and variability of fire risk in the informal settlement of “Imizamo Yethu”, an informal settlement situated in Cape Town, South Africa. The case study mainly analyses the factors influencing the conditions of risk. It highlights the need for a shift away from the hegemonic dialogue around so-called natural disasters and goes further to challenge the view of risk as an interaction between external, natural hazards and internally generated vulnerability. The paper explores how different factors affecting fire risk operate at different scales and the resulting importance of recognising and understanding intra-community and even intra-household variability of risk. In so doing, it becomes evident that for risk reduction strategies to be effective, focus cannot simply be placed on structural interventions, but must encompass elements of social development which are sensitive to current livelihood strategies.
New African Urban Risk Analysis Network
Authors: Benouar Djillali , Diagne Khady , Lerise Fred , Macgregor Helen , Meshack Manoris , Satterthwaite David , Songsore Jacob , Yitambe Andre
Published: January 2021

With many disasters taking place in urban areas of Africa on a regular basis, affecting millions of people each year, there is an increasing need to understand the processes by which the risks from potential disasters develop in urban areas. To address this, the African Urban Risk Analysis Network (AURAN) has been formed in January 2003 by six African institutions, with support from UNDP and ProVention Consortium. Work is underway in Accra, Algiers, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Saint Louis (Senegal) to identify
A Highrise Urban Village: Tectonic Mutation in a Design Studio
Authors: Park Jin-Ho
Published: January 2021

This paper presents the design exploration of a studio conducted at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The study began with the premise that high-rise housing in Honolulu is not a viable solution within such a unique natural and urban setting. Students have challenged the issue by testing and experimenting on a variety of distinct housing alternatives within the studio. The studio then introduced some pedagogical agenda of housing to students and required an analytical project that focused on the dwelling and its collective form to elucidate fundamentals of housing design. This study laid the groundwork of each student's design development throughout the project, upon completion a variety of different designs and solutions were proposed responded to distinct themes and problems. In this article, different types of housing prototypes and their distinctive clustering as a unique urban village as a whole are shown, and the final model of the studio as a collective form is presented. In conclusion, the pedagogical value of the design studio is discussed.
Mass Housing: Residents Satisfaction with their Housing and Environment
Authors: Berköz Lale , Kellekçi Ömer Lütfi
Published: January 2021

It is often necessary to assess the satisfaction of the house users with the house environment, in other words the compliance of the environment with their expectations, needs and goals.

The quality of residence and environment affects the general life satisfaction of the human. If the residents are satisfied with their residences and residence environments, this influences their psychological and physical health and these all together have an impact on the structure of the society. Therefore if the variables influencing the satisfaction of the people with their housing environment are known, this will aid us to set the criteria for the design of the housing and its environment. The aim of this study is to define the expectations of mass housing users from the houses and their environment and to assess the satisfaction of Bahcesehir Mass Housing users with the area they live in. The needs and expectations of families with different ages, cultures, educational backgrounds and income levels have been analyzed and the kinds of conditions necessary for satisfaction have been defined.

The factors necessary for the satisfaction of the users with the houses and their environment have been determined on the basis of the collected information about the features of the household, the houses and the house environment.

The survey within the scope of this study was carried out through 400 questionnaires. 327 of them were filled out in multi-family houses and 73 in single-family houses.

The findings of this study show that, not only the quality of the residence but also the environment of the residence is important. Residential environment constitutes not only the physical components of the residential area but also social and economic factors.

The assessments within this study will serve as a guide for future studies aiming to increase the quality of mass housing by taking the wants and needs of the mass housing users into consideration.