bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nottinghamshire's Letterbox Contact Service
Authors: Rajan Pat , Lister Liz
Published: March 2013

Pat Rajan and Liz Lister offer their views on the letterbox scheme which has been operating within Nottinghamshire's Support After Adoption team since June 1994. This confidential service aims to maintain links between adoptive parents and birth families once an adoption order has been granted. Rajan and Lister begin by outlining the background to the service's development, including the collection of information from consumers via national organisations. They describe concerns about confidentiality and recruitment of adopters, and discuss the criteria for selecting birth families most likely to respond to the scheme. By and large careful attention, both to the establishment of the letterbox service and to the selection of families who use it, has led to its success.
Kinship Care in the United States
Authors: McFadden Emily Jean
Published: March 2013

Within the last decade in the United States, kinship care (placement with relatives or those non-related friends of family known as fictive kin) has evolved from an infrequently utilised option for temporary care and/or permanence, to a widely used and often preferred solution for children in need of care. Emily Jean McFadden discusses the background to this development and how it is related to the rising placement of children of colour, particularly African American children and adolescents who are over-represented in the American foster care system. Wide professional recognition of the importance of culture in identity formation and advocacy by professional groups has led to the acknowledgment of kinship care as a preferred placement option; it is now used extensively in many states, both in informal care which takes place outside of court intervention and in the formal foster care system.
The Quality of Child Care in One Local Authority a User Study
Authors: Baldry Sally , Kemmis John
Published: March 2013

As part of a borough-wide quality initiative, the London Borough of Camden decided to undertake a number of user studies including one for its children looked after. The purpose of the study was to develop a quality assurance approach for the service for children and young people looked after by the local authority. It began by asking the young people for their views about the service they were receiving. Their feedback was to provide a check as to how far this was meeting the requirements and standards of the Children Act 1989 and the relevant regulations and guidance. The findings from this study were to be used by the local authority to decide how to improve the service. Sally Baldry and John Kemmis describe the approach used for this study and explore the main findings. First published as a research note in The British Journal of Social Work (1998), this is an expanded article taking into account other studies.
Adoptive Parents a Practice Perspective
Authors: Mann Susan
Published: March 2013

The advent of changing adoption legislation, policy and practice is impacting on all people touched by the adoption experience. Open adoption is now considered to be best practice. In South Australia adoption legislation was changed in 1988. All adoption records were made available retrospectively to adopted people and birth parents unless a five-year veto was placed by either the birth parent or adopted person requesting no contact with the ‘seeker’. As a consequence to these changes, the role of adoptive parents has changed considerably. This change has not been adequately planned for and adoptive parents have few supports in redefining their role in the adoption experience. Susan Mann presents a practitioner's view of the experiences of adoptive parents with recommendations about how to create a more positive and productive dialogue among all parties affected by varying adoption practices. Confidentiality is maintained throughout the paper by the use of pseudonyms.
Computers in Child Care New Resources, New Opportunities
Authors: Cowan Les
Published: March 2013

Computer games and entertainment software have often been seen by child care workers as not only of no specific therapeutic benefit but in fact quite opposed to what child counselling is all about. Using the example of Bruce's Multimedia Story which he himself developed in collaboration with the original authors, Les Cowan describes how, depending on the needs, stage and individual characteristics of the child, computer-based resources can be highly successful, bringing positive new elements to the therapeutic process. He argues that in ignoring computer-based media we may be missing a valuable and productive way of working which naturally appeals to children.
Leaving Care and Extended Families
Authors: Marsh Peter
Published: March 2013

Young people in their teens are particularly vulnerable when leaving care or accommodation. This is recognised in the Children Act 1989 for England and Wales, which seeks to improve the situation for care leavers by encouraging partnership between the young people themselves, their birth families and carers. Using findings from a study sample of 87 young men and women aged 16–17, Peter Marsh examines some of the ways in which these three groups are, and could be, more positively involved in the decisions and events leading up to leaving care, and, in particular, how extended families might be encouraged to lend more support.
The Outcome of Adoptions from Romania Predictors of Parental Satisfaction
Authors: Groothues Christine , Beckett Celia , O'Connor Thomas
Published: March 2013

In this study Christine Groothues, Celia Beckett and Thomas O'Connor examine the outcome of adoptions of 117 children from Romania and a comparison group of 52 UK adopted children, and consider associated factors in the context of previous research findings.

The children were assessed at four years and their mothers interviewed; the children had been with the adoptive family for at least two years. Overall the outcome in both groups was very positive, with no breakdowns and a high level of parental satisfaction. Negative parental evaluation of the adoptions was considered separately and a number of factors were found to be related to this outcome; multivariate analysis showed that the child's level of hyperactivity at the time of interview was the most important factor. Despite the severe physical and developmental delay at placement of many of the Romanian children, the outcome picture for both groups was very similar.
Is Permanency through Adoption in Decline?
Authors: Triseliotis John
Published: March 2013

The last five years have seen a small but steady drop in the number of children leaving care through adoption. John Triseliotis examines the evidence for this ‘alleged decline’. A number of possible contributing factors are discussed including limitations in resources, recent developments within Social Services Departments, the impact of the Children Act 1989, the challenge of the task, adverse publicity and possibly fewer people coming forward to adopt.
The Right to Be Heard
Authors: Freeman Michael
Published: March 2013

Children need to be taken seriously. In defending children's right to be heard, Michael Freeman argues for a cultural revolution in attitudes to childhood. Using several cases as examples, he takes a critical look at the meaning of ‘competence’ in relation to legal and judicial processes and how these fail to encourage the active participation of children in decision-making. The impact of specific legislation and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is also examined.
Transforming Adoption in the ‘New’ South Africa in Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic
Authors: Harber Mary
Published: March 2013

South African child welfare organisations are currently faced with a huge task. Not only must they find strategies to tackle poverty and redress the inequalities created by apartheid, but in addition they must develop effective models of care to support children and families affected by the rapidly spreading HIV/AIDS epidemic. This paper by Mary Harber looks at the implications of HIV/AIDS for the mainly black South African children and families affected by the epidemic and considers the consequences for child welfare organisations. It looks in particular at the role of adoption in South Africa and its potential to become a viable model of care for children affected by HIV/AIDS. It presents the results of research undertaken by the author which examined the achievements of, and dilemmas faced by, one child welfare agency as it attempted to adapt the ‘Western’ model of adoption, which is prevalent in South Africa, in order to create a more appropriate service for black South African children.
Adoption Information Exchange: Evaluation of a Letterbox System in a Local Authority
Authors: Carter Veronica , Magee Sally , Thoday Rosalind
Published: March 2013

Veronica Carter, Sally Magee and Rosalind Thoday describe the results of a survey of the Adoption Information Exchange, a ‘postbox system’ between adoptive and birth families which operates within Hampshire Social Services Department. The system, set up in 1993, provides a third-party, confidential means by which adoptive and birth families can share updating information. The survey sought the views of the adoptive and birth families involved, as well as social work colleagues who had set up exchange arrangements.
Permanency Planning for Children with Down's Syndrome: The Adolescent Years
Authors: Mason Kathy , Selman Peter , Hughes Mike
Published: March 2013

The recognition that ‘no child is unadoptable’ (Churchill et al, 1979) has been one of the most successful features of special needs adoption. This has led to a growing number of placements involving mentally disabled children (BAAF, 1983). Kathy Mason, Peter Selman and Mike Hughes report on the third stage of a longitudinal study of 12 children with Down's Syndrome placed for adoption by Barnardo's North East (Mason, Hughes and Selman, 1998). The children are now aged 12 to 16 years and this article focuses on new issues arising for the children and their families, including the onset of puberty and the dilemmas over what to tell the children about their adoption. Overall the placements continue to prove successful with no breakdowns and a majority of the adoptive parents have subsequently adopted at least one more child with Down's Syndrome.
Unlocking the Past: The Experience of Gaining Access to Barnardo's Records
Authors: Pugh Gill
Published: March 2013

Five years ago, through a series of television programmes on the work of Barnardo's, thousands of adults who had spent time in the agency's care learned for the first time that they could gain access to their birth records. Gill Pugh and Gillian Schofield report on a small-scale qualitative study which looked at the experiences of 12 people who subsequently sought and received information. They examine their backgrounds and motivation for searching, the process by which they found out about their history, the impact of receiving information on their sense of self, and relationships with those closest to them, and the implications for practice.
Disorders of Attachment and Attachment Therapy
Authors: Howe David , Fearnley Sheila
Published: March 2013

Many adopted and looked after children with histories of physical and sexual abuse, and severe loss and neglect, develop highly disturbed and distinctive problem behaviours. Those diagnosed suffering such ‘disorders of attachment’ put great stress on the resources and skills of their post-placement carers. Children with these behaviours have proved very difficult to treat. However, as David Howe and Sheila Fearnley discuss in their paper below, attachment therapies based on ‘cognitive restructuring’ and ‘therapeutic holding’, appear to be having some success with children who have failed to respond to other treatments employed by the child mental health services. The authors describe different patterns of attachment and the behaviours associated with children classified as disorganised and disordered in their attachment behaviours. They outline therapeutic interventions based on developmental attachment theory using a case example.
Foster Carers Speak about Training
Authors: Minnis Helen , Devine Clare , Pelosi Tony
Published: March 2013

Helen Minnis, Clare Devine and Tony Pelosi describe the qualitative pilot study of a new training programme for foster carers in Scotland. The study forms part of a larger research project which will examine the effect of the training on the emotions and behaviour of looked after children, due for completion in 1999. The aim of the training programme was to help foster carers develop their skills in communication and increase their confidence in their ability to cope with their foster children's feelings and behaviour. Carers felt that this aim was achieved but that, due to outside factors, the benefits were unlikely to be passed on to the children.
Setting New National Standards for Foster Care
Authors: Warren Derek
Published: March 2013

Foster Care Fortnight, in June 1999, saw the launch in England of new national standards for foster care by Social Services Minister John Hutton. Later in the year, when new administrations are up and running following parliamentary and assembly elections in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the standards will be launched separately in each of the other UK nations. Derek Warren discusses the background to this initiative and its implications for the future of foster care services.
Mediation and Post-Adoption Contact: The Early Experience of the Post-Adoption Centre Contact Mediation Service
Authors: Kedward Carol , Luckock Barry , Lawson Hilary
Published: March 2013

Post-adoption contact, whether through letterbox arrangements or direct links between the adoptive child and family and the birth parents and relatives, is becoming a common practice aspiration. However, adoption law remains rooted in assumptions of severance and the courts are extremely reluctant to order such contact and thereby interfere with the right of adoptive parents to make their own decisions. In this situation agreements have to be voluntarily negotiated and mediation has been proposed as a method of helping birth and adoptive parents to come to joint decisions about the nature and extent of post-adoption contact. Carol Kedward, Barry Luckock and Hilary Lawson report and discuss the results of a small-scale, evaluative study of the service outcomes and experiences of parents who were in touch with the Post-Adoption Centre Contact Mediation Service during the first two years of its operation.
Adoptive Mothers' Attitudes to Contact: Highlights from an Australian Study
Authors: Gair Susan
Published: March 2013

The topic of contact and reunion can be a complex and emotional one for birth parents, adopted people and adoptive families. While the perspectives of birth parents and adopted people regarding contact are evident in the literature, the range of possible attitudes taken up by adoptive parents are not extensively discussed. In this paper Susan Gair explores coping positions or attitudes taken by adoptive mothers in Queensland on the topic of contact. The larger research project from which these findings are drawn was concerned primarily with using qualitative research methods to explore the mothering experiences of Queensland women who have adopted children. The research findings suggest that adoptive mothers may be better understood by considering a number of factors which impact on the taking up of certain attitudes, and by recognising the transitory rather than assuming the static qualities of such positions.
Support for Birth Mothers in a Group Setting
Authors: Harris Francesca , Whyte Noel
Published: March 2013

In the last two decades, there have been a number of research studies into the effects of relinquishing a child for adoption. Each of these in turn has contributed to a better understanding of the initial impact and long-term effects of adoption on birth parents. Similarly, those working in the post-adoption field have met and counselled many birth parents and have learnt at first hand how they have suffered and how their lives have been distorted as a result. In this article, Francesca Harris and Noel Whyte describe why they decided to set up a group for birth mothers in a particular situation, the actual meetings themselves and the conclusions they drew from the whole experience.
A Parenting Programme for Parents of Children with Disturbed Attachment Patterns
Authors: Gordon Christine
Published: March 2013

It is widely accepted that early experiences colour the way in which children view the world and in particular their relationships with other people. In this article, Christine Gordon describes a programme of intervention with children who have attachment difficulties as a result of living in trauma during infancy. The article looks at developing a theoretical framework for understanding the ways in which early trauma affects a child at psychological, emotional and physiological levels. It describes an approach to parenting which is more effective than the traditional methods which tend to work better with children who have had healthy and relatively trauma-free early childhoods. The author briefly examines how this approach can be used with other forms of intervention which work more directly with children in helping them to untangle early experiences and make sense of their history.
Sources of Size Effect
Authors: Mohanty Pitabas
Published: March 2013

Mohanty (2002) documents the evidence of size effect in India. In the sample period, it is found that the small firms have generated an annual excess return of 70% over the large firms. There can be two possible interpretations of the above findings. Size may be a proxy for some unexplained risk factor. The market may also be inefficient. Using the Fama and French (1993) multi-factor model, it is found that size indeed is a proxy for risk. However, the high excess return generated by the small firms is simply too high and it cannot be explained by their factor risk loadings. Using the method adopted by Lakonishok, Shleifer, and Vishny (1994), the hypothesis that the market is inefficient could not be rejected.
Strategy of Customisation – A Case of Nokia
Authors: Bhatt P R
Published: March 2013

Nokia is a global leader of mobile communication. It owned 38% of the world mobile handset market in 2003. Its strategy was to take competitive advantage through customisation, collaboration, globalisation and innovations. Nokia has established their cutting edge technology and trend setting lifestyle in their mobile handset products. Nokia adopted strategy of mergers, acquisitions, alliance and collaboration to gain superiority in technology and competitive advantage. Nokia worked on cooperative ventures like WAP forum to leverage their competitiveness in Internet services. It had founded symbian to step up the evolution of wireless information devices. Jorma Ollila restructured the company to cope up with full in net sales in 2003. The restructure was to capture global market by exploiting economies of scale in mobile handsets, to focus on such functions as imaging, games, media and a range of other attractive contents in multimedia sector. Enterprise solutions offered a wide range of mobile devices and secured mobile connectivity solutions to enterprise.
Doing Business with Other Asian Countries
Authors: Usmani Tasneem
Published: March 2013

As India and other countries are gradually opening their doors for foreign investment, and more and more international companies from all over the world are showing their interest in increasing their economic activities with India, the need for understanding cultural differences between various countries has assumed great importance. Cross cultural negotiation – a process where two or more parties from different cultural backgrounds exchange goods or services, and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them is becoming an important part of modern business. Today cultural awareness is not just an advantage, but also an absolute necessity in order to create strong cross-cultural business relationships. There is a large body of research that concentrates on business practices in North America and Europe. Majority of the studies tend to place Americans and European at the center and explore the problems that managers of these countries face in foreign countries. However, India is increasing its economic activities not only with North America and Europe but also with other Asian countries. Hence, we also need a body of research that gives a fresh perspective to the study of international business and focuses on other Asian countries that have their own unique style of doing business.

This paper is an attempt in this direction. The paper discusses the problems of team building and group activities when two negotiating parties are separated by diverse cultures and how our own culture and language affect the ways in which we organize our world, think, feel, and respond. The paper also attempts to recommend and suggest tools to battle cultural insensitivity and to help international managers make their influence felt across the cultural divide.
Real Time Solutions for the Customers
Authors: Sinha A.K.
Published: March 2013

The proposed article describes how effectively the real time enterprise can address the customer queries in the minimum time without incurring heavy cost to the customers in all the three related areas of sales, marketing and after-sales service. The real time solution basically decreases process cycle time to the minimum after an inquiry is generated from the customer and to the point when his problem is fully resolved to his expectations. To the customer, it results in the satisfaction and long-term brand loyalty. However, it requires heavy investment to create a real time infrastructure for an enterprise. Need less to say, it could not be done overnight but Indian companies should be getting ready to provide real time solutions to the customers to create competitive advantage initially and survive in the long run.
Business Education in Changing Scenario
Authors: Chakrawal A. K.
Published: March 2013

Very rarely one can find a business education faculty up to the mark. The statement does not imply non-availability of good faculties; but the available resources are very less to their commensurate requirement. Since the ‘Business Education’ has been transformed in a “dream-selling profitable business”, the proprietors of such business organizations are always effortful to maximize their profit. They avoid appointing full-time faculties. Barring a few, BEIs are not adopting any mechanism to evaluate the performances. Dynamic courses offering institutions are very few. Most of the business education institutions offer traditional courses i.e. marketing management, financial management, corporate accounting, etc. In many cases, BEIs themselves are very much reluctant in making efforts for good liaison with industries and business world in the wake of practical exposure. Placement is a crucial component of management education. The Universities do not give any consideration to placements. The AICTE recognized institutes, barring a few, toe the university line. Most of the AICTE recognized institutes are not able to offer jobs to all their students. Looking to the prevailing poor condition of the business education system, an altogether new business education system is required to be evolved. This paper is an effort in such evolution.
A case on segmentation of Indian toothpaste market
Authors: Kumar Y. Lakshman , Nigama K.
Published: March 2013

The case deals with segmentation of Indian Oral Care market with a focus on toothpaste market. It gives a detailed description of players in the toothpaste market and the various brands offered by them. This case also gives a brief description about various segments in the toothpaste market.

The case can be used to demonstrate the theory of STP (Segmenting, Targeting & Positioning) analysis, the various ways of segmenting the toothpaste market and evaluating the viability of each segment. Finally the students can also learn how to position a new brand by using positioning map.
Application of CAPM in the Indian Stock Market A Comprehensive Reassessment
Authors: Dhankar Raj S. , Singh Rohini
Published: March 2013

There is conflicting evidence on the applicability of Capital Asset Pricing Model in the Indian stock market. Data for 158 stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange was analyzed using a number of tests from 1991–2002, the period which roughly coincides with the period after liberalization and initiation of capital market reforms. Taken in aggregate the various empirical tests show that CAPM is not valid for the Indian stock market for the period studied.
The Synergistic Upshot of The Learning Organization Constructs on ICT Based Organizations' Performance
Authors: Rose Raduan Che , Kumar Naresh
Published: March 2013

Global change is one of the most prevailing forces shaping ICT based organizations. Thus to a great extent these organizations are faced with the challenge of developing strategies to facilitate the advancement of financial and knowledge capacity. Asia, which is home for more than half of the world's population, have emerged as a competitive region whereby ICT based organizations have to accelerate the diffusion of new management paradigm, so called the learning organization. Moreover, Asia is a region where knowledge-based businesses are in the threshold of becoming global players. Thus it is imperative to examine to what extent learning organization constructs affects ICT based organizations’ performance.
Major Problems and Improvement Approaches in Indian Batch Manufacturing Firms: Inferences from an Exploratory Study
Authors: Chetty B.S. , Chowdary B.V.
Published: March 2013

Manufacturing plays an important rule in the economic and industrial development of a country. Effective planning and control of manufacturing is the key to developing a good production base. The objectives of this paper are to (i) highlight the problems of manufacturing planning and control (MPC) in batch manufacturing firms in India (ii) identify improvement approaches considered by them to reduce effectiveness of these problems. A questionnaire was developed and distributed, and the respondent firms were classified into four categories of batch manufacturing firms, namely, mechanical, electrical, electronic and chemical. The three most severe problems of MPC in Indian batch manufacturing firms found as the lack of timely availability of raw materials, fluctuations in demand and meeting the due date of delivery. Among generic approaches, materials requirement planning (MRP) is popular, just in time (JIT) is being implemented and optimized production technology (OPT) is almost unknown. Among the specific approaches considered by them are vendor development, predictive/preventive maintenance programs, total quality management, and technology including new processes and equipment.
E-Commerce: Future Prospects in Manipur
Authors: Prabhakar Lai
Published: March 2013

Today's market scenario is totally changed. In today's present market scenario customers will describe their specifications and manufacturers, distributors or retailers will try to supply it. In fact this is because of the choosy customers. Today manufacturer has to offer more and more varieties of product to the customers through advertising media such as television, print media, web etc. Many advertisements are coming up on the NET. Therefore business houses have to set up attractive electronic marketplace to attract customers. In Manipur, industries like agro based industry and handloom and handicraft industry produced different items for its own use and to export to other state of India. The numbers of Internet users in the state are increasing exponentially. Organisations can think to exploit the advantages of using Internet through BSNL, NIC and STPI Imphal. With the facilities available in Manipur, it is high time to exploit the potential of electronic commerce. So, organisations must be willing to change the way they do business. This is the right time to go for electronic commerce business by setting up electronic commerce website in Manipur. In fact, state government needs to play a big role in the formulation and implementation of electronic commerce as per IT policy of Manipur.
A case on Global Value (Supermarket) Chains and Small Producers: Governance, Participation, and Strategies
Authors: Singh Sukhpal
Published: March 2013

Whether or not local producers can gain access to global value chains and at which point is likely to be an important factor in determining whether they will benefit from trade liberalization. Understanding how these chains/networks are organized, controlled and governed is key to understanding how gains from them are shared across the chain participants. This paper analyzes the functioning of these chains with special focus on the implications for small producers in Asia. Besides defining and discussing the various aspects of the value chain framework and its utility for analysis, it also examines the context in which governance of these chains has acquired importance. It profiles the governance mechanisms and the issues involved, with specific focus on chains originating in Asia. The paper concludes by outlining some of the ways through which the participation of the small producers in these chains can be facilitated.
Emerging Indian Industries: The Case of Gems & Jewellery Sector Impending Constraints and Future Prospects
Authors: Ashra Sunil
Published: March 2013

In the Indian gems and jewellery industry, the cottage industry-based diamonds-processing and jewellery-making units compete with modern factories which use state-of-the-art machinery and computerized operations. The Indian gems and jewellery units have set up a worldwide network of offices in every hotspot on the diamond industry map.

The phenomenal growth in gems and jewellery exports is a record among the large Indian export sectors. In fact, the gems and jewellery industry presents itself as a perfect case study for discussing how to build competitiveness of Indian industries. This sector has grown to become one of the leading export oriented industries in the country and contributes around 15–20 per cent of total merchandise exports (and 20–30% of manufactured exports). This sector recorded an export turnover of US$ 14 billion during calendar year 2004. Now even the Government of India perceives the gems & Jewellery sector as not only a potential and a large foreign exchange earner but also a thrust area for employment generation.

The most important contributors in the industry have been Cut and Polished Diamonds; Coloured gemstones; and Gold Jewellery accounting for almost 95–97 percent of Gems and Jewellery exports of India. According to GJEPC, India accounts for 80–85 per cent of the world's CPD market in volume terms, 55–60 per cent in value terms and about 90 per cent in unit terms.

This figure clearly indicates that India is likely to become a leading exporter of jewellery and gems both in manufacturing and trading. The industry has shown a very impressive growth and is moving in the right direction. India has been able to achieve a dominant position in diamonds and is emerging as the fastest growing jewellery sector in the world. The adequate support extended by the government in terms of pragmatic policies has helped significantly in helping India to be a global hub for gems and Jewellery both in manufacturing and trading. However, lot more has to happen for potential of this sector to be fully achieved.
Re-engineering the HR Function at Harley Davidson
Authors: Sharma Rajesh
Published: March 2013

The case gives a detailed account of HR initiatives pursued by Harley Davidson, a leading manufacturer of motorcycles in U.S. The case describes the role of innovative HR practices in transformation of Harley Davidson company. The case also details the transition from Industrial Relations to Employee Relations at Harley Davidson and the emergence of HR function where HR strategy is aligned with Business Strategy.
Capital Markets and Poverty Alleviation
Authors: Lazar D. , Priya A. Julia , Jeyapaul A. Joseph
Published: March 2013

A maiden attempt is made in this paper by the authors to see the interrelationship between capital market with special reference to stock market and poverty alleviation in India. There is literature to highlight the point that poverty alleviation is possible only through various measures from social indicators like better education, best health facilities and so on. But not very many references on the role of capital market on poverty alleviation is available. Twenty-one year data set from 1981 to 2001 is considered in the study. These data were analysed through stepwise regression with other simple statistical tools like descriptive statistics and linear bivariate correlation. Six dimensional analyses are made with different assumptions. It is found that, size of the stock market represented by market capitalization ratio and concentration alone have influence on poverty and by concentrating on these two variables it is possible to achieve the goal of alleviating the poverty in India. Significantly in many of our assumptions stock market does not have impact on the poverty either negatively or positively. There was some evidence to say that stock market doesn't have role in poverty alleviation in an economy like India but that is not highlighted due to the fact that in some cases size and concentration of stock market have influenced. This is to be taken as a partial correlation between stock market and poverty with a caution that, there are many economic variables, which are to be simultaneously taken note of for reducing poverty.
A Study on Banks Performance in India: Fundamentals versus Stock Market
Authors: Singh Prakash
Published: March 2013

Stock price movements are used extensively by investors and researchers as a general indicator of the macroeconomic condition of the economy. During the past few years Indian capital Market has undergone metamorphic reforms and every segment of the market viz primary and secondary markets, derivatives, institutional investment and market intermediation has experienced impact of these changes. Our market, today, is being recognized as one of the most transparent, efficient and clean markets. Several techniques/instruments are used by academicians, policy markers, practitioners and investors to test the extent of efficiency of the market. In the present study, we try to study the correlation between actual financial performance and the stock market performance by focusing on Indian banking sector as a case study. We try to look at how has the continuous robust banking sector performance in the last few years has reflected itself in the stock markets in terms of prices, ROE etc. we have selected few general financial indicators like Profit After Tax, PAT/Total Assets, PAT/Operating Income, Return on Net Worth and some indictors specific to banking industry like Profit/Employee, Non Interest Income/Total Funds, NPA/Total Advances and try to study their correlation with stock prices for selected banks. The study clearly indicates that the overall banking sector performance is fundamental in nature. Most of the chosen indicators like PAT, PAT/Total Assets, Profit/Employee, RoNW, and PAT/Operating Income all show positive correlation results as expected. NPA/Net Advances also demonstrate a negative coefficient as expected. The only deviation from the expected is the correlation of NII/Total Funds.
New Algorithms for Permutation Passibility Behaviour of Some Irregular Multistage Interconnection Networks
Authors: Aggrawal Rinkle , Aggarwal Himanshu
Published: March 2013

There are many different ways to organize computational structures to exploit parallelism. Many research efforts around the world are being conducted with the purpose of determining hardware and software organizations that are best suited for general purpose parallel processing. In order to operate more efficiently a network is required to provide low latency and be able to handle large amount of traffic. Multistage Interconnection networks (MINs) play a vital role in the performance of these parallel multiprocessor systems. In multistage interconnection networks, the fixed interstate connections between adjacent stages exist with a number of switches at each stage that are dynamically set to establish the desired connections to route the requests from inputs to outputs. One very important parameter in measuring the performance of MINs is the permutation passability and the average path-length. The MINs can be Uniquepath or multi-path. The Unique-path MINs do not have fault tolerance at all. A multi-path MIN has fault-tolerance at each stage of the network. Also, It can easily be depicted from the construction of the Irregular networks that they are going to give better performance in terms of the average path length. For example in the best cases the source to destination path length in the Multi-path MIN the FT[2] is 2 and it is considerably more for the regular networks (3 or more, such as ASEN-2[3] it is 3). Therefore, FT is a strong candidate for such an analysis. Not many such studies have been reported in the literature. Therefore, new algorithms for the permutation passability of MDOT [1–2] and FT irregular MINs have been developed.
If It Glitters, Is It Gold? Scale Evaluation in Marketing Research
Authors: Saxena Sharad , Parikh Darshan
Published: March 2013

For the past half-century there has been a growing use of and interest in quantitative market research and the concomitant use of advanced statistical techniques within it. A review of scaling methods in market research and their analyses, validity and reliability is therefore, arguably, overdue. Marketing scholars and marketing research practitioners every time are in doubt about the validity of results in their research conduct, even over presentation and colorful reports, which can sometimes obfuscate the actual validity of a market research survey. Developing a valid and reliable scale in marketing research is very important for data collection and thereby deriving appropriate conclusions from the collected data. A reliable and valid scale is genuinely the foundation of any survey based research approach. This note explores fundamental theories and concepts behind these two issues of scale evaluation and the various approaches of evaluating the reliability and validity of a scale. An illustrative example has also been considered to discuss important issues regarding reliability and validity specifically how one can practically deal with reliability and validity.
Corporate Governance and Accountability
Authors: Chakrawal A. K.
Published: March 2013

Corporate governance is no longer a new dimension in the Indian corporate history. Corporate governance has succeeded in attracting a good deal of public interest because of its importance for economic health of corporations and the welfare of society. Corporate governance now encompasses the interest of not only the shareholders but also many stakeholders. In a general sense, corporate governance is all about promoting corporate fairness, transparency and accountability. Corporate governance is to be labeled as the processes and operating relationship that best achieve organizational goals. It is generally understood that the quality of corporate governance will shape the future of any capital market, and that is the reason why there is increasing acceptance of this particular concept in industry as well as financial markets. Progressive corporations in India have voluntarily put in place systems of high-quality corporate governance. More and more organizations are realizing that good corporate governance is indispensable to effective market discipline, rating relationship that best achieve organizational goals. Speaking in Indian context, Issues of corporate governance have come to force in the last couple of years. Consequently, the corporate governance problems in India require very different solutions at this stage of our corporate development. N R Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies says, “Corporate Governance is the acceptance by management of the inalienable rights of shareholders as the true owners of the corporation and of their own role as trustees.” The present paper tries to find out the state of Corporate Governance India and the Existence of Accountability in Indian Corporate Governance
A Harvard Professor and a Casino in Las Vegas
Authors: Desai S. S.
Published: March 2013

This is a case of how for the first time Customer Relationship Management has been used in the casino industry. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. had many casinos in US but it was difficult for it to compete with giants like MGM Mirage etc. since they spent a lot of money on glamour and pomp. The CEO of Harrah's brought in an Associate Professor at Harvard to help him device a strategy to increase their profits. The professor who had never stepped into a casino before brought about a turnaround of sorts by increasing the earnings from the same customers by using a unique strategy.
Understanding U.S. GAAP in the Context of Indian Companies Financial Reporting Practices
Authors: Chakrabarti Ahindra
Published: March 2013

In the context of globalization of the Indian economy, the domestic companies have started increasingly interacting with global fund managers, investors as well as investment institutions especially in the US. The US investors have become interested in the financial performance of the Indian companies and its reporting. Indian financial statements are different from US financial Statement in structure, form and content. Indian accounting standards also vary in terms of breadth and coverage. Can Indian companies fulfill the expectations of US investors and fill the gap of information asymmetry? This article presents a framework of how Indian companies aspiring to tap the US capital market has geared themselves up to the requirements of the US GAAP of financial reporting and disclosure standards.
Mean-Variance Approach in Portfolio Selection: A Test of Optimization under Different Economic Conditions
Authors: Dhankar Raj S. , Kumar Rakesh
Published: March 2013

The paper makes an attempt to examine the performance of portfolios, formulated on the basis of Mean-Variance approach. For the analysis, monthly adjusted opening and closing prices of composite portfolio of BSE 100 companies have been taken for the period ranging from June 1996 to May 2005. The study has wide ranging implications for finance professionals and policy makers. Ten portfolios have, firstly, been formulated and then evaluated by using Sharpe's excess return to beta approach. Nine portfolios’ expected returns out of ten are significant at 5 percent level of significance. A cross section analysis of same set of ten portfolios is carried out for three non over lapping sub periods (June 1996-Dec. 1999, Jan. 2000-Dec. 2002, and Jan. 2003-May 2005). The three sub periods exhibit successive different economic conditions in Indian economy, viz. decline, recession and growth respectively. The results so obtained, exhibit that portfolio expected return of all ten portfolios, in three different economic conditions, are optimal.
Role of Spiritual Intervention in Executive Burnout
Authors: Sharma Radha R.
Published: March 2013

Spirituality is often an ambiguous term which connotes different ideas. It has been considered as a tendency to guide thoughts, feelings and actions by an idea which is beyond, transcendent and ultimately important. Spiritual action generates positive emotions which in turn generate “upward spiral” and enhance emotional well-being (Fredickson, 2001) toward optimal functioning. The paper presents empirical results of spiritual intervention on executive burnout. Executive burnout was measured by Sharma Burnout Scale developed by the author with Cronbach alpha. 91 and concurrent validity coefficient with MBI. .35 (p<.01).
Is Brand Variety Influencing Brand Loyalty?
Authors: Anandan C. , Satish Medapatti , Sri R. Mathangi
Published: March 2013

This research paper is studying whether the concept of multi-brand loyalty has taken birth in the developing countries like India with a wide spectrum of brands now available across product categories to the consumers. A range of published works since 1979 is reviewed and a descriptive research study is carried out among the consumers by taking the products that both genders use in a ‘normal day’ life. A sample size of 178 customers is involved in the research. The scope of this research is to know the developing countries’ consumer psyche with respect to brand loyalty and the behavioural pattern exhibited with across product categories. The key findings are: Loyalty does not differ with respect to market shares of a brand. Multi-brand loyalty has not played any significant role in the developing market. It is hard to influence loyalty by promotions or offers. Also this paper addresses the issues like the impact of demographical variables on loyalty under the circumstances of multi branding. Also the various FMCG product categories are researched for the loyalty aspect (morning till evening used product categories) by making use of preference behaviour model. The breadth of the coverage on the product categories is the strength of the article.
The Case for FDI in the Retail Sector in India
Authors: Jhamb Sujata , Bhardwaj Astha
Published: March 2013

Services sector has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing sector in the world economy in the last two decades, providing more than 60 per cent of global output and, in many countries, an even larger share of employment. Not only has the services sector grown in terms of its share in global output and employment, its share in total trade has also grown rapidly in this period. Along with this, we find that global FDI is also shifting away from manufacturing towards services sector. Now services trade grew at the same rate as goods trade in the 1990s, i.e., about 6.5 per cent. In the FDI mode, share of services investment in the global annual flow of FDI has been over 50% in the late 1990s. Consequently, the importance of service activities in the global stock of FDI has risen to a share of about 43 per cent. According to the WTO, the value of commercial services has grown sevenfold as compared to fivefold increase in trade in goods during the period 1980 to 1999. Accordingly, we find that the share of services in GDP has increased steadily in both developed as well as developing countries in the last two decades. This study tries to build a case for, FDI in the retail sector in India by evaluating current FDI regime and looks at the Market size, market potential of the retail in the future and how this industry can grow at a very fast rate provided FDI is opened up.
Tiers of Enterprise Resource Planning Softwares
Authors: Singh N.P.
Published: March 2013

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software's are classified in different ways in to categories such as Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, Teir-5, ERP-II, component based ERP, Accounting ERP, Marketing ERP etc. These classifications are based on license fee, implementation fee they charge from their customers, size and types of customer's organization and also the functionalities of various ERP products. Various vendor websites have reported these classifications of ERP software's in the past but in pieces. In this article author reviewed these classification & presented five tiers of classification in a comprehensive manner. In addition, article also discusses the functionalities of ERP systems for different tiers and contradictions of their grouping to a specific tier.