bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In sharing economy we trust: the effects of host attributes on short-term rental purchases
Authors: Wu Jiang , Ma Panhao , Xie Karen L.
Published: October 2017

Purpose

Trust has been widely recognized as the crucial factor of consumer purchase intention when shopping on peer-to-peer short-term rental platforms where hosts and renters are strangers. However, the specific attributes of hosts that help build trust with potential renters and drive their purchase of short-term rentals remain unknown. This study aims to explore the effects of host attributes on renter purchases made on Xiaozhu.com, one of the top short-term rental platforms in China, while controlling for short-term rental characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

A crawler program was developed by Python to collect the host attributes and their short-term rental characteristics of 935 hosts in Beijing from November 18, 2015 to February 14, 2016. The authors use Poisson regression models to estimate the effects of host attributes on renter reservations. They also conduct a series of robustness checks for the estimated results.

Findings

The authors found that host attributes such as the time of reservation confirmation, the acceptance rate of renter reservations, the number of listings owned, whether a personal profile page is disclosed and gender of the host significantly affect renter reservations, whereas the response rate of the host does not influence renters when purchasing short-term rentals online.

Originality/value

This study identifies which host attributes are perceived as trustworthy and affect renters’ purchase decisions, a topic of both theoretical and practical importance but currently less researched. The findings add to emerging literature by providing insights on trust-building in the peer-to-peer economy. Useful suggestions are also provided on strengthening the trust mechanism on short-term rental platforms to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions. Notably, the study is the first attempt to examine the perception of Chinese users toward short-term rentals despite its global prevalence. The analytical insights revealed from large scale but granular online observations data of host attributes and actual renter reservations greatly supplement findings of extant literature using survey and experiment approaches.
Mapping patterns of financial distress among consumers in Zimbabwe
Authors: Chamboko Richard , Kadira Gerald , Mundia Lisho , Chamboko Rumbidzai K.T.
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a mapping of financial distress among consumers in Zimbabwe. To inform policy, it nuances the understanding of the level of financial distress and the precise location of the most distressed consumers in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

The study mapped financial distress among consumers on the ten provinces of Zimbabwe using credit repayment behavioural indicators from retail consumer loans data.

Findings

Findings showed widespread financial distress among consumers across the country with Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces being the most affected, whilst Harare and Manicaland were better off. The study underscores the urgent need for an overhaul of the Zimbabwe’s haemorrhaging economy in order to restore dignity among consumers and relieve them of financial hardships.

Originality/value

The paper provides vital input for policy. Policy measures aimed at invigorating sustained economic growth, troubleshooting and revamping productivity, enhancing external competitiveness and creating employment across the country are desperately needed. Also, there is need for a functional consumer education and counselling entity to roll-out financial literacy programmes and counselling financially distressed obligors across this economically beleaguered country.
Mapping patterns of multiple deprivation in Namibia
Authors: Chamboko Richard , Re Alessandro , Guvuriro Sevias
Published: October 2017

Purpose

As an alternative poverty analysis approach, the purpose of this paper is to map the patterns of multiple deprivation in all 13 administrative regions of Namibia using the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey data.

Design/methodology/approach

Unsupervised statistical learning methods including the principal component analysis, k-means clustering and bivariate analysis were applied.

Findings

The results show that the multiple deprivation approach is a useful alternative in characterising poverty dynamics in the country. Specifically, the mapping shows that other dimensions of poverty such as access to utilities and services among other things are equally useful welfare indicators as they scored higher than income and consumption on discriminant ability.

Originality/value

Unpacking the multi-dimensionality aspect of poverty has drawn significant attention from development economists and continues to play a major role in policy formulation for developing countries. The study recommends buttressing of conventional income poverty measures with multiple deprivation approaches for a comprehensive picture on poverty issues.
Paternal religious affiliation and practice in Lithuania: spiritual goods or secular utilities?
Authors: Medvedovski Dmitri , Allison Kirk
Published: October 2017

Purpose

Religious pursuits may promote explicitly “spiritual” goods (theo-relational connectedness, character formation, etc.) and “secular” utilities including health. The purpose of this paper is to initiate investigation of this intersection for paternal religious practices in Lithuania’s dynamic post-Soviet social context. Reflecting on religio-political history, the nature of the religious field, spiritual capital, and externalities related to confessional identity, what relationships exist between institutional engagement, devotional practice, education and other predictors in the post-Soviet Lithuanian religious context?

Design/methodology/approach

Original data were collected in 2011 (returning 73 of 100 surveys) in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Correlation andχ2identified variables for regression analysis. Given Ordinary Least Squares heteroscedasticity (Breusch-Pagan test), weighted least squares modeling estimated coefficients for extra mural and institutional religious practice generically and differentiated by confessional identity.

Findings

Generically and by confessional identity, utility differences in institutional context appear paradoxical to secularization hypotheses. While correlated, institutional engagement and non-institutional devotional practice evidenced non-complementarity regarding educational attainment: greater education predicted higher institutional engagement but sparer devotional life. The authors suggest in explanation higher opportunity costs in individual devotional practice opposite positive offsets from secondary institutional utilities (e.g. social networking). Both were predicted by education, work hours, the non-dependent religious practice variable, self-reported health status, patterned by confessional identity, specifically Protestant opposite majority Catholic. Intergenerationally, a gender gradient was identified.

Originality/value

This analysis illuminates with original data divergent public institutional and private devotional religious practice utility structures in a dynamic transitional post-Soviet context.
Relationships of collapse: network brokerage, opportunism and fraud in financial markets
Authors: Hannibal Bryce , Ono Hiroshi
Published: October 2017

Purpose

This paper explores the social-behavioral aspects of financial markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social relations and networks which contributed to the market crash in the US telecommunications sector in the late 1990s.

Design/methodology/approach

A network theoretic approach is used to examine historical qualitative data. The authors suggest that the network characteristics of financial intermediaries allowed security analysts to control and manipulate information that was disclosed to the investing public.

Findings

The authors find evidence that brokerage locations in the network of actors within the telecommunications market allowed select individuals opportunities to engage in unethical behavior and malfeasance. The authors further highlight the harmful effects of over-embeddedness by illustrating that strong and dense network ties within the financial sector were exploited to distort the flow and reliability of information. The paper concludes with a note on the generalizability of this study and an examination of the current economic-legal structure of Wall Street.

Originality/value

Recently, some economists and network scholars have begun examining social relations more thoroughly in the financial sector. This paper is one of the first that focuses specifically on the role and network location of research analysts prior to a market collapse.
Can food production diversity influence farm households’ dietary diversity? An appraisal from two-dimensional food diversity measures
Authors: Akerele Dare , Shittu Adebayo Musediku
Published: October 2017

Purpose

Emphasis on the potential roles diverse farm production systems could play in enhancing food consumption variety and nutritional well-being in rural developing countries has increased in recent times. However, there are paucities of empirical works connecting diversity in agricultural production and dietary diversity in Africa, and Nigeria in particular. The purpose of this paper is to, therefore, examine, among others, the causal link between farm production diversity and consumption of varied diets among farm households in Nigeria using a nationally representative panel data.

Design/methodology/approach

Unlike the simple food count measure, the authors adopt two-dimensional indices to assess food diversity, and estimated both fixed and random effects versions of panel data econometrics models with the two-dimensional indices as regressands.

Findings

Results show that food production system is less diverse with an average farm household consuming fairly varied foods across seasons. All the econometrics models estimated consistently established positive and statistically significant influence of farm production diversity on household dietary diversity. Higher food prices, especially rice and roots and tubers could substantially reduce dietary diversity with the negative effects likely to be more devastating for low-income farm households. The specificity of household being a net food seller had positive, although weak influence on dietary diversity.

Originality/value

The findings accentuate, among others, the need for strategies to promote farm production diversity, transform farm households to net-sellers of foods and enable them take advantage of food price signals to boost farm incomes as important pathway for diet quality improvement and reduction of food insecurity, malnutrition and related diseases in rural Nigeria
Micro determinants of the extent of credit rationing amongst SMEs in Ghana
Authors: Domeher Daniel , Musah Godwin , Poku Kwasi
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the micro determinants of the extent of credit rationing experienced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted the direct approach to investigating the presence of credit rationing. This involves the use of surveys permitting loan applicants to report on their credit market experiences. The multinomial logistic regression model was then applied to the survey data to arrive at the findings reported.

Findings

The study amongst other things confirms the existence of credit rationing in the SME sector. It also revealed that the extent to which SMEs are rationed varies and these variations are determined by the characteristic of the SME owner and the characteristics of the business.

Research limitations/implications

The use of the survey method in investigating credit rationing could introduce some biases in the responses obtained. However, the lack of publicly available data did not permit the use of the indirect method which is based on the testing for possible violation of the permanent income hypothesis. Despite its weakness, the survey method remains the more realistic approach to investigating credit constraints especially in the data-constrained developing countries. The design and piloting of the questionnaire as well as the use a large sample size all went a long way to reduce any possible biases in the responses.

Originality/value

Despite the fact that a number of studies exist on SME financing problem in Ghana, available studies present the problem as if it were the same for all SMEs. Even though there is evidence to suggest that SMEs may be rationed in the credit market to different extents, currently, there are no known studies that have empirically investigated the various degrees of rationing and factors that determine the extent to which SMEs may be credit rationed. This paper thus attempts to contribute to the literature by unearthing these factors.
Building bridges or gates? Gated communities’ escape from reality
Authors: Sarpong Sam
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look at the emergence of “gated communities” in Ghana. It explores gated communities as a nexus of social and spatial relations within the context of urban inequality. It is concerned with the phenomenon in which the rich now live in isolation behind barbed wires and gates, fearing for their lives and properties.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a sociological approach to the study. It does so initially by focusing on the social constitution of a gated community. The gate becomes a focal point of the analysis because by its function, it separates the residents from others. This spatial construction of gated communities does not only preserve the social stratification of class and demographic groups, it institutionalises this already extant stratification. The paper, therefore, uses social inequality and the status attainment theory as the basis of its work. Status processes play a part in the development of powerful inequalities, which shape the structure of groups and societies as well as, directly and indirectly, the opportunities of individuals (Bergeret al., 1980).

Findings

The paper finds that although people feel safer behind gates, at the same time the fear of the outside world increases for them. Their desire to find a small area in which they feel secure, meanwhile, only expands the vast areas in which they feel insecure. It notes that security can be achieved only and much better, if the causes of insecurity, namely poverty and exclusion, are addressed.

Originality/value

The paper wades into the gated communities’ phenomenon. It contributes to the discussion in which social difference and inequality have become more marked features of urban society. Its relevance lies in the fact that it analyses this issue through a sociological perspective.
Channels of financial sector development and rural-urban consumption inequality in India
Authors: Mehta Atul , Bhattacharya Joysankar
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct (microcredit), medium-direct (bank credit), and indirect (through economic growth) effect of financial sector development (FSD) on rural-urban consumption inequality (RUCI) in India using state-wise annual data from 1999-2000 to 2011-2012.

Design/methodology/approach

A panel data analysis for a sample of 15 major Indian states using the generalized method of moments estimators provides an empirical evidence for the direct (microcredit), medium-direct (bank credit), and indirect (economic growth) effect of FSD on RUCI.

Findings

FSD is pro-urban in India resulting in a declining rural-urban consumption ratio (RUCR) and increasing RUCI. The negative effect of FSD on RUCR is greatest through the medium-direct channel followed by the indirect and direct channels.

Research limitations/implications

The study questions the social banking initiatives of the government in rural areas where more than 80 percent of the poor reside. There is a need for restructuring financial inclusion programs with a shift in their focus on rural areas and an improved mechanism to target the poor.

Originality/value

The paper proposes that formal financial services by banks are primarily availed by non-poor and urban population and hence acts as a medium-direct channel whereas the semi-formal financial services by microfinance institutions specifically target the rural poor and act as a direct channel to affect the poor. It is the first ever study to use state-wise data on microcredit disbursed under Self-help Group Bank Linkage Program to assess the direct impact of FSD on RUCI.
So why is Uttar Pradesh still poor? Poverty incidence and its correlates
Authors: Arora Akarsh , Singh S.P.
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the regional profile of poverty in Uttar Pradesh, one of the most populated and impoverished states of India. It also identifies the factors underlying the inter-regional differences of poverty in the state.

Design/methodology/approach

Regional estimates have been evaluated by dividing the state into four economically classified regions (Western, Central, Southern, and Eastern), using the unit-level records of two latest available Consumption Expenditure Surveys of NSSO representing the period 2009-2010 and 2011-2012. Poverty has been defined by the latest available Rangarajan Expert Groups’ poverty line and aggregated in terms of headcount ratio and share of below poverty line population. Furthermore, to investigate the correlates of poverty, a survey-based logistic regression has been estimated specifically for each region and for both rural and urban areas.

Findings

Estimates reveal that though overall poverty in the state has declined, inter-regional poverty trends witness rise in the level of impoverishment particularly in urban Southern Region (SR), rural Eastern Region (ER), and in both rural and urban areas of Central Region. Nevertheless, the inter-regional disparity in poverty has observed a decline; it can further be eliminated if such high poverty reduction in urban ER and rural SR is sustained along with a similar progress in their impoverished counterparts.

Originality/value

The study recommends that poverty alleviating policies in the state should focus more on reducing the household size, development of socially excluded sub-groups (Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes), delivery of basic facilities (education and health care), and enhancement of employment prospects for casual laborers, with special emphasis on identified impoverished regions.
Safety net programs in West Bengal: how much effective?
Authors: Mukherjee Arghya Kusum
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find the determinants of participation and targeting efficiency of the following safety net programs in West Bengal: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), self-targeted program; National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), subsidy based livelihood program; Indira Awaas Yojona (IAY), targeted cash transfer program and Public Distribution System (PDS), targeted in kind transfer program.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a household survey comprising 900 households across three Districts: Murshidabad, Nadia and Burdwan.

Findings

Benefits from MNREGA and PDS are not substantial, whereas financial benefits are substantial from NRLM and IAY. This paper shows that poor people have higher likelihood of participation in MNREGA and PDS. But, non poor get disproportionate benefits from IAY and NRLM both have been designed for the poor. Therefore, targeting cannot remove elite capture altogether. Socially down trodden section have higher participation in MNREGA and PDS, whereas people who are at upper tier of social hierarchy enjoy the benefits of IAY and NRLM. However, it cannot be said that these programs miss their target completely.

Practical implications

The study suffers from the usual limitations of sampling.

Social implications

Programs targeted for the poor are being appropriated by the non poor. If there is better targeting money will be channelized to the desired beneficiaries and welfare will be enhanced.

Originality/value

The study has unearthed the underlying reasons behind why some safety net programs have better targeting and some safety net programs have poor targeting.
An empirical investigation of the link between infrastructure development and poverty reduction
Authors: Chotia Varun , Rao N.V.M.
Published: October 2017

Purpose

India is a developing nation where the marginal benefit of infrastructure development is tremendous. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between infrastructure development and poverty reduction for India using the yearly data from 1991 to 2015.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the principal component analysis to construct indices for four major sub-sectors, namely, transport, water and sanitation, telecommunications and energy, falling under the broad infrastructure sector and then using these sectorwise indices, the authors construct an overall index which represents infrastructure development. The authors provide evidence on the link between infrastructure development and poverty reduction by using the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound testing approach.

Findings

The ARDL test results suggest that infrastructure development and economic growth reduce poverty in both long run and short run. The causality test confirms that there is a positive and unidirectional causality running from infrastructure development to poverty reduction.

Research limitations/implications

The study confirms that India’s Infrastructure development plays a vital role in reducing poverty and calls for the Indian Government to adopt economic policies which are aimed at developing and strengthening the infrastructure levels and bringing in more investment in the infrastructure sector in order to help the poor population by making them exposed to better opportunities of employment and income growth, thereby achieving the goal of poverty reduction.

Originality/value

This paper is a fresh and unique attempt of its kind to empirically investigate the causal relationship between infrastructure development and poverty reduction in India using modern econometric techniques.
The importance of co-operatives to the New Zealand economy
Authors: Altman Morris
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to measure the size of New Zealand’s co-operative sector, in terms of its direct contribution to output and employment as well as its indirect impact. This adds to the construction of a rigorous representation of the global co-operative economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings here are based on data derived largely from surveying the co-operative sector in 2012. A value added approach is used to estimate the co-ops sector’s contribution to New Zealand’s GNP.

Findings

The author estimates suggest that the cooperative sector is much larger, even in its direct impact on the economy, than the prior estimates indicate.

Research limitations/implications

Assumptions were made on the size contribution of missing firms and the value added contribution of co-ops. These assumptions need to be interrogated and improved upon, albeit the assumptions are designed to generate lower bound size estimates.

Practical implications

The methodology adopted in this paper can be used to develop more rigorous estimates of the size of the co-op sector globally.

Social implications

The results empirically challenge the worldview of conventional economics that co-ops are not economically sustainable, where co-ops offer a more equitable and democratic mode for production and development.

Originality/value

This paper presents revised, relatively robust, and methodologically transparent estimates of the size of New Zealand’s co-operative sector. These estimates suggest a much larger sector than previously thought. The methodology developed here can contribute to developing more robust estimates of the size of the co-op sector globally.
The value-orientations of Catholic and Buddhist entrepreneurs
Authors: Kovács Gábor
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the core operating values of Catholic and Buddhist entrepreneurs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is an empirical investigation of the value-orientations of Catholic and Buddhist entrepreneurs in Hungary. By applying qualitative content analysis, document analysis and qualitative comparative analysis, the study presents the distinctive spiritual values in business.

Findings

Regardless of their different approach, Catholic and Buddhist value-orientations are implemented in the same value-dimensions that are: the ontological conceptions, procedural aspects, and the other-directedness of business activities.

Social implications

The findings substantiate the understanding of the behavior and the motivations of spiritually value-oriented entrepreneurs, furthermore Catholic and Buddhist values may serve as inspirations of genuine ethical behavior in business. By promoting these values a more ethical, more sustainable economic framework can be established.

Originality/value

Spiritual values are studied by comparing the value-orientations of Catholic and Buddhist entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the study explores Catholic social teaching and Buddhist economics, and their practical implementation in a comparative way.
Determining the optimal allocation of time among work, sports, internet use, and sleep
Authors: Ben David Nissim , Tur-Sinai Aviad
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extract the optimal time allocation of weekly hours among work, sleep, sports, and internet use for 16 different demographic groups.

Design/methodology/approach

The agent wishes to minimize the gap between his or her actual and optimal allocation for each activity. His or her actual allocation of time for each activity is affected by his or her allocations for other activities and by exogenous variables. A system of simultaneous equations is constructed, with the four levels of time allocation as the endogenous variables. Using a cross-section database of 928 Israel residents, the authors estimate the system and predict the actual allocation of time. Inserting the forecast equations into the agents’ target function and differentiating by each actual time allocation, the authors extract the optimal time allocation for 16 different demographic groups.

Findings

The results make it clear that the optimal desired level of sleep hours is highest among married Jews and non-Jews of both genders, whereas the desired level of work hours is highest among female non-Jews whose children have a computer and among married males, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Female Jews and non-Jews wish to allocate the most hours to internet use, while married males of both nationalities wish to allocate the fewest. The desired level of sports hours is highest among married and non-married Jews. Examining the effect of age on time allocation, the main findings show a very significant cutback in allocation of hours for sleep among agents at age 20.8 and an increase of about 2.5 hours of sleep among agents aged 60.8, both relative to those aged 40.8.

Originality/value

The original model presented here brings a non-traditional approach to the analysis of time allocation. The authors believe that each agent wishes that he or she could allocate his or her time for personal benefit on the basis of a theoretical apportionment determined on the basis of experience and tendencies. Even though an agent’s actual time allocation may be affected by many factors, he or she still has a sense of disutility when the actual allocation deviates from selected optimum.
The sexual orientation wage gap in the USA
Authors: Sayers Rachel , Levendis John , Dicle Mehmet
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of the wage gap between genders and sexual orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses OLS on pooled repeated cross-sections.

Findings

The differences in wages between gay/straight men and women mirror what would be expected from labor force attachment more so than direct heterosexism.

Research limitations/implications

The authors use a functional definition of sexual preference that reflects whether the respondent had sex with someone of the same gender in the same year. It does not ask whether the person identifies publicly as gay/lesbian/bisexual.

Originality/value

The authors verify and extend earlier findings on the sexual orientation and gendered wage gap.
Did the time frame associated with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act noticeably impact consumer bankruptcy filings?
Authors: Hackney Donald D. , Friesner Daniel , Johnson Erica H.
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the timing associated with the implementation of the health insurance-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) altered the presence and distribution of medical/non-medical debts accumulated by different types of bankruptcy filers.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were drawn from the US Bankruptcy Court’s Eastern Washington District over the years 2009, 2011 and 2014 using interval random sampling. Binary probit and Tobit analyses were used to model the existence, and distribution, of medical debts and total debts, respectively, at the time of filing. The impact of the time frame associated with the ACA was operationalized via a Chow test for structural dynamic change.

Findings

Chapter 13 filers in 2014 (post-ACA-based health exchange implementation) were more likely to report medical debts than Chapter 7 filers in the pre-intervention period, and were also more likely to report a larger proportion of outstanding debts owed to a single creditor. Filers claiming health insurance premium expenses in 2011 were (at the 10 percent significance level) more likely to report a more skewed distribution of medical debts.

Originality/value

The time frame associated with the implementation of the ACA impacts the distribution of medical debts among filers who have sufficient net disposable income to fund a Chapter 13 plan. The polarization of outstanding medical debts may indicate coverage gaps in existing health insurance policies, whose costs would be disproportionately borne by patients operating on thin financial margins.
Determinants of household health expenditure in Nigeria
Authors: Olasehinde Noah , Olaniyan Olanrewaju
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of health expenditure at the household level in Nigeria with specific focus on the household and individual unique characteristics. It presents some stylised facts about the Nigerian health system and its financing options. It went further to show that household is the major financial organ of healthcare in Nigeria. The study aims to expand the domain of household health expenditure by analysing at national, urban and rural levels.

Design/methodology/approach

It adopted Engel curve approach, which was estimated using ordinary least squares technique. The model was structured to take care of life-cycle implications by examining effects of age in years and age groups (0-9, 10-19, 20-39, 40-59 and 60+) on healthcare spending. Data were drawn from the 2010 Harmonised Nigeria Living Standards Survey (HNLSS) conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics and analyses were conducted nationally, for urban and rural locations.

Findings

The result shows that individual characteristics like age, religion, education and household characteristics like income, size and headship commonly influence healthcare expenditure in Nigeria significantly. The household-level variables possess stronger significant effects among the rural households while marital status and employment had differential effects in both urban and rural locations. It also confirmed that Nigeria engages in intergenerational transfer of healthcare by the working population to the young and older generations.

Research limitations/implications

HNLSS was only limited to those who were sick or injured in the last two weeks preceding the survey, leaving out those whose sickness preceded the two weeks before the survey. Also, the scope of health expenditure is limited to curative care spending that exclude expenses on preventive care, rehabilitative care as well as other cost-saving services.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to examine the determinants of household health expenditure at the national, urban and rural locations.
MovRec: a personalized movie recommendation system for children based on online movie features
Authors: Ng Yiu-Kai
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to suggest suitable movies for children among the various multimedia selections available these days. Multimedia have a significant impact on the social and psychological development of children who are often explored to inappropriate materials, including movies that are either accessible online or through other multimedia channels. Even though not all movies are bad, there are negative effects of offensive languages, violence and sexuality as exhibited in movies. Parents and guidance of children need all the help they can get to promote the healthy use of movies these days.

Design/methodology/approach

To offer parents appropriate movies of interest to their youths, the authors have developed MovRec, a personalized movie recommender for children, which is designed to provide educational and suitable entertaining opportunities for children. MovRec determines the appealingness of a movie for a particular user based on its children-appropriate score computed by using the backpropagation model, pre-defined category using latent Dirichlet allocation, its predicted rating using matrix factorization and sentiments based on its users’ reviews, which along with its like/dislike count and genres, yield the features considered by MovRec. MovRec combines these features by using the CombMNZ model to rank and recommend movies.

Findings

The performance evaluation of MovRec clearly demonstrates its effectiveness and its recommended movies are highly regarded by its users.

Originality/value

Unlike Amazon and other online movie recommendation systems, such as Common Sense Media, Internet Movie Database and TasteKid, MovRec is unique, as to the best of the authors’ knowledge, MovRec is the first personalized children movie recommender.
Service composition in the multi cloud environment
Authors: Barkat Abdelbasset , Okba Kazar , Bourekkache Samir
Published: October 2017

Purpose

User requests over the cloud are not achievable with one single service, multiple services need to be executed to fulfill what a user asks for. Typically, such services are composed and presented as one global service. Moreover, the same operation can be achieved by multiple services available at different clouds, which can result in different possibilities in composing them. This paper aims to decrease the number of clouds involved in the composition process, so that user requests are satisfied with minimal cost (communication costs, execution time and financial charges).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper investigates the use of an intelligent water drops (IWDs) optimization-based algorithm, and an integer linear programming model to optimize the number of cloud bases involved in the composition process. A comparison of the solutions found by these two techniques is presented in the paper.

Findings

The obtained results show that the number of cloud bases can be decreased without affecting user satisfaction.

Originality/value

The paper is a first attempt to use the IWDs algorithm for service composition, tested with big-size data.
Partial adjustment toward target accounts payable ratio
Authors: Abuhommous Ala’a Adden
Published: October 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to test for a potential target accounts payable ratio and the determinants of accounts payable ratio.

Design/methodology/approach

The author use data from 104 firms over the period 2000-2014 and analyse these data using the system-generalised method of moments methodology.

Findings

The author find that Jordanian firms have a target accounts payable ratio and more than 65 per cent of the deviation from target is closed within a year. He find a positive impact of growth, positive growth and supply of credit on the accounts payable ratio. Furthermore, large firms use less trade credit to finance their purchases.

Research limitations/implications

A number of limitations affect this study to be considered in future research. Future researchers could cover longer period of time. To generalise the results, non-listed firms may be included in the sample.

Practical implications

In addition to extending the finance literature, this study has managerial implications regarding trade credit policy. There is strong evidence that the trade credit policy is affected by firm’s access towards capital market funds. Thus, regulators and policy maker should bear in mind that the banking system should help firms to achieve their target accounts payable ratio. In addition, firm’s management should be aware of the importance of trade credit to finance sales growth. All of these results should assist firm managers to find the factors that affect the target accounts payable ratio, which ultimately may affect the firm value and performance.

Originality/value

To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first study on the partial adjustment model and determinants of accounts payable in Jordan. Thus, the authors aim to contribute to the existing literature, as there are very few studies test for target trade credit policy.
Doing social network ethics: a critical, interdisciplinary approach
Authors: Jones Simon
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an inter-disciplinary approach to the ethics of social networking services (SNS) that connects critical analysis with the doing of ethics in terms of both pedagogic and technological practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Primarily conceptual and discursive, drawing on theoretical concepts from a broad, inter-disciplinary field. These concepts are integrated into a multi-dimensional framework that proceeds through four sequential stages: socio-economic, ethical, legal and practical/professional. Particular instances of SNS are used as illustrative examples.

Findings

The evaluation of ethical issues can be enriched by broader, holistic approaches that take account of the socio-economic, technical and legal contexts in which SNS technologies are designed, deployed and used. Inter-disciplinary approaches have the potential to generate new connections and possibilities for both the teaching and the professional practice of ethics.

Practical implications

Applied ethics are used to consider practical solutions that explore regulatory measures and envision alternative models of social networking. The approach proposed has practical value for teachers and students of computer ethics, as well as for IT practitioners.

Originality/value

This paper synthesises elements from media, communication and cultural studies, science and technology, information systems and computer science. The paper offers a strategy of inquiry to understand various aspects of SNS ethics – legal, socio-economic and technical. It presents a methodology for thinking about and doing ethics which can be used by IT practitioners.
The instructional factors that lead to cheating in a Korean cyber university context
Authors: Costley Jamie
Published: October 2017

Purpose

This paper looks at a particular type of cheating that occurs in an online university setting. That is, when students who have a connection from outside the online learning environment conspire to cheat together. It measures the correlations between student variables and cheating, instructional variables and cheating and learning outcomes and cheating. The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationships between these factors and cheating, in the hope that the multifaceted nature of academic dishonesty can be better understood.

Design/methodology/approach

This study surveyed a group of students (n = 88) who participated in cyber university classes in South Korea. The study investigates the correlations between student characteristics, student attitudes, instructional design, lecture quality and learning outcomes with cheating.

Findings

The research looks at correlations between stable demographic factors and student attitudes towards cheating and finds no strong relationships. On the other hand, this study finds statistically significant negative correlations between instructional design quality and cheating, and lecture quality and cheating. This shows that instructors can affect the amount their students cheat through improving the quality of their courses. Also, there was a significant relationship between students’ levels of learning, satisfaction, engagement and interest and cheating.

Originality/value

Looking at cheating from a variety of angles within a single research agenda gives a clear understanding to instructors as to how cheating in their class will manifest, and how it will negatively impact the quality of a student’s experience.
Selected aspects and conditions of the use of robots in STEM education for young learners as viewed by teachers and students
Authors: Smyrnova-Trybulska Eugenia , Morze Nataliia , Kommers Piet , Zuziak Wojciech , Gladun Mariia
Published: October 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss issues related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. It is emphasized that the need to prepare students with twenty-first-century skills through STEM-related teaching is strong, especially at the elementary level. The authors present selected previous experiences, publications, research into the study topic, and review examples of primary school robotics and programming curricula, as well as associated educational activities. The authors stress that workshops, using kits to build and programme robots, are a modern form of interdisciplinary education of children and youth.

Design/methodology/approach

The rationale for conducting such activities in schools is found in the European reference framework in the context of training of key competences. Classes in robotics – if properly taught – will have an impact on the development of mathematical literacy and scientific–technical information and social competences. At the same time, competence is understood to mean a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the situation. Besides, an analysis is presented of basic legal regulations in this matter as well as results of a survey, conducted in Poland and Ukraine among in-service teachers and prospective teachers.

Findings

The study was carried out with the participation of 91 primary school teachers and future teachers in the province of Silesia and at the University of Silesia in Poland, and in Ukraine, at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University. The survey contained 15 questions about the pedagogical research “Robotics and children”. The study was carried out to determine the needs of modern education to introduce the basics of robotics in the educational process of primary school.

Originality/value

It can be expected that the findings from the prior Polish and Ukrainian surveys can be extrapolated into curricula for secondary schools and vocational education and training (VET) in the coming years.
Picture-based persuasion in advertising: the impact of attractive pictures on verbal ad’s content
Authors: Kergoat Marine , Meyer Thierry , Merot Alain
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The present study aims to further examine the persuasive effect of pictures in a print ad according to the recipient’s ability to process the information and to observe to what extent the presence of a picture could negatively influence recipients’ attitude toward the ad’s verbal claim.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies were designed to manipulate the presence vs absence of an attractive/unattractive picture, the kind of verbal claims (affectively based vs rationally based) and the recipient’s ability to process the ad (cognitive load vs no cognitive load).

Findings

Main findings showed that the presence of an attractive picture elicited an unfavorable attitude toward the functional verbal claim when recipients were not cognitively charged. Furthermore, it proved to be a mediator of the influence of pictures on attitude toward the ad. The positive influence of an attractive picture on product evaluation and purchase intention was greater under a cognitive load but showed contrasting results for price perceptions. For the unattractive picture, cognitive load was found to be a moderator only when recipients had to infer the product price.

Research limitations/implications

The present research emphasized the negative influence of attractive pictures on functional verbal claims and the moderating role of cognitive load on pictorial stimuli either acting as peripheral or central cues in the persuasive process.

Practical implications

Practitioners may want to consider that an attractive picture in advertising is not always the best route for persuasion, especially when the verbal ad content emphasizes the product’s properties.

Originality/value

The present study provides new insights regarding the role of pictures in advertising persuasive effectiveness. Until now, no research had addressed the extent to which the presence of a picture could affect processing of an ad’s verbal claims. Additionally, the present study expands research on persuasive communication and affirms the necessity of more intensively investigating the role of pictures in advertising under the rubric of information processing level.
Default prediction using balance-sheet data: a comparison of models
Authors: Behr Andreas , Weinblat Jurij
Published: October 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to do a performance comparison of three different data mining techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

Logit model, decision tree and random forest are applied in this study on British, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish balance sheet data from 2006 to 2012, which covers 446,464 firms. Because of the strong imbalance with regard to the solvency status, classification trees and random forests are modified to adapt to this imbalance. All three model specifications are optimized extensively using resampling techniques, relying on the training sample only. Model performance is assessed, strictly, based on out-of-sample predictions.

Findings

Random forest is found to strongly outperform the classification tree and the logit model in almost all considered years and countries, according to the quality measure in this study.

Originality/value

Obtaining reliable estimates of default propensity scores is of immense importance for potential credit grantors, portfolio managers and regulatory authorities. As the overwhelming majority of firms are not listed on stock exchanges, annual balance sheets still provide the most important source of information. The obtained ranking of the three models according to their predictive performance is relatively robust, due to the consideration of several countries and a relatively long time period.