bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fostering in Wales the All Wales Review
Authors: Pithouse Andrew , Parry Odette
Published: March 2013

Andrew Pithouse and Odette Parry present key findings from the All Wales Review, a review of all local authority fostering services in Wales. Examination of provision in relation to fostering policy, service arrangements, foster carers, payments, parents and service evaluation revealed both similarity and marked contrast among providers. There was broad similarity around policy orientation towards fostering and general consistency over procedures for managing the fostering process. There was, however, considerable variation in areas such as operational structures, types of fostering provision, foster carer and parent involvement, and monitoring and evaluation of service quality and outcome. Such differences are not necessarily indicative of variable quality. Indeed, the diversity of fostering initiatives was considered by the Review as a valuable repository of models, knowledge and experience.
Local Government Reorganisation and Children's Services in England
Authors: Herts Barbara
Published: March 2013

Drawing on her experience of working with authorities undergoing major changes through local government reorganisation, Barbara Herts outlines some of these developments in England. She goes on to look at changing service structures and new joint arrangements between authorities, and considers their possible implications for the welfare of looked after children. Funding is clearly a key issue. Another is the need for collaboration between different services like education and health, especially if the implementation of Children's Services Plans is to be successful.
Effects in Adulthood of Separations and Long-Term Foster Care a French Research Study
Authors: Dumaret Annick-Camille , Coppel-Batsch Marthe
Published: March 2013

Annick-Camille Dumaret and Marthe Coppel-Batsch discuss findings from a French research study into outcomes for adults formerly placed in long-term foster care. The aim of the research was to measure the effects of adverse childhood experiences when followed by a minimum of five years' continuous care in a stable environment. A number of viewpoints were obtained during the course of the study, including those of foster carers and the agency through which all the placements in question were made. However, the findings in this article largely concentrate on the feelings, aspirations and living situations of a sample of 63 young adults, interviewed at least five years after leaving care. Despite clearly varied outcomes, the authors conclude that a stable care environment, backed up by substantial educational and psychotherapeutic support, can go a long way towards helping children separated from their birth families achieve satisfactory social integration in adulthood.
The Systemic Family Approach to Foster Care Assessment a Review and Update
Authors: McCracken Sylvia , Reilly Isobel
Published: March 2013

In this article Sylvia McCracken and Isobel Reilly apply systemic theory and practice to the assessment of foster carers. The authors believe that insufficient attention is paid to the foster carers' family context and propose that the systemic approach provides a useful framework with which to address the complexities of fostering. Their systemic position derives from both the research findings on fostering outcomes and the recently articulated voices of the birth children of foster carers. Beginning with an analysis of the concerns currently impacting on fostering services and the aims which assessment is expected to achieve, the authors review and update the application of the systemic approach in foster care. An assessment model is developed, based on the premise that the foster family as a whole serves as the context for any placement.
Focus on Planning
Authors: Giltinan Donal
Published: March 2013

Waiting for the actions of other people is an unsettling and frustrating experience. When one's whole life context may depend on what these others may do or do not do, then the waiting is charged with trepidation. Add to this a wait which is protracted and which no one seems inclined or able to end with a firm decision. Go further and imagine you are a child carrying these huge burdens … and you may gain some inkling of the feelings of children.
LAC Placement Patterns Managing the Process
Authors: Richards Sue
Published: March 2013

Following her article on LAC placement patterns ( Adoption & Fostering 22:3, 1998), Sue Richards reviews the literature on purchaser/provider splits in childrens's services, and discusses whether there have been quantifiable effects in Social Services Departments which have chosen this management structure. While the previous article sought to identify some very practical measures that might explain possible causes of high looked after numbers or low fostering percentages, this paper takes a more discursive approach to the possible consequences on placement patterns of high-level purchaser/provider management arrangements. The author draws on personal experience, interviews with senior and middle managers in a number of authorities and seminars involving other professions.
Secrets and Lies: Barriers to the Exchange of Genetic Origins Information following Donor Assisted Conception
Authors: Blyth Eric
Published: March 2013

Until the Warnock Report of 1984, the veil of secrecy surrounding donor assisted conception in the UK went more or less unchallenged. Starting with a look at the Report and subsequent legislation, Eric Blyth explores the main arguments for and against releasing information about their genetic origins to donor assisted offspring. Factors contributing to the debate include increasing public awareness of the importance of genetics in defining identity, the significant shift in attitudes towards openness in adoption which has taken place in England and Wales since the early 1990s and reluctance on the part of semen donors to be known to their offspring. Different attitudes in different parts of the world are also examined, as are the limitations of human rights legislation at both national and international levels.
The Health Care Needs of Looked after Children
Authors: Ngwane Eugenia
Published: March 2013

Dr Melissa Gladstone reports on an audit study looking at the use of ‘Boarding Out’ medical forms (Form R, Preliminary medical report on child to be looked after). The study was carried out with the support of Dr Mary Rodgman who works in the same Community Child Health department in Kings Square, Bristol.
Assessing and Matching Foster Care Relationships: An Interactional Framework
Authors: Street Eddy , Davies Mike
Published: March 2013

Eddy Street and Mike Davies explore ideas behind the current typical professional response to the placement of children in foster care and its breakdown. They discuss theories of family functioning in terms of their relevance to the assessment of the fostering relationship and outline a model of assessment based on the theory of Behavioural Exchange, which uses checklists for children and questionnaires for adults. Using clinical examples, they go on to explore particular behaviours found in looked after children in terms of this model and assessment process. The need for further research is emphasised.
‘It's Just Common Sense isn't it?’: Exploring Ways of Putting the Theory of Resilience into Action
Authors: Daniel Brigid , Wassell Sally , Gilligan Robbie
Published: March 2013

Planning for accommodated children may often be built around ensuring a secure home. However, it is also important to attend to other domains in children's lives. The promotion of the long-term emotional well-being of children has to be based on information about the factors associated with better outcomes. The findings from research into factors related to resilience in children provide many useful pointers for such practice. Brigid Daniel, Sally Wassell and Robbie Gilligan describe a pilot project aimed at exploring the feasibility of putting ideas from the concept of resilience into action. Through a series of workshops with child care practitioners the domains of secure base, education, friendship, talents and interests, positive values and social competencies were considered. Ideas for mapping levels of current resilience were discussed, as well as suggestions for practice aimed at its promotion.
The State's Legitimate Interest: An Open Letter to Matthew Engel
Authors: Stevens Charlotte
Published: March 2013

In May 1999 the journalist, Matthew Engel, published a feature article in the Weekend section of The Guardian about his personal experience of being assessed as an adoptive parent for a child from Siberia. He described his social worker as friendly, caring and conscientious, but he was highly critical of the law, practice and procedure relating to adoption:

This country has turned the adoption of a child into something very close to a crime; the perpetrators are harried, if not actually punished … British adoption practice has become so obsessed with finding the perfect parents that the best has become the enemy of the good.

He commended an American agencies' approach to home studies which he suggested resembles more of a chat over coffee and carrot cake.

Engel rightly questioned the state's legitimate interest here and raised some very important social issues about the nature of adoption in the natural cycle of parenthood and childhood. We do not know if his views are unique or widespread. The jury has been out for some time on how a good society should respond to the children orphaned by poverty in another nation or how a responsible profession can achieve the right balance between preparation and investigation in adoption work.

The following letter by Charlotte Stevens was originally written as a private response to Matthew Engel's article. We publish it here since it highlights many of the core issues and enriches the debate about the role of the state in the lives of the world's most vulnerable children.
The Role of Social Workers in Intercountry Adoption: An Analysis of the Experience of Adopters from Romania
Authors: Beckett Celia , Bredenkamp Diana , Castle Jenny , Groothues Christine ,   English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team
Published: March 2013

People who adopted children from Romania between 1990 and 1992 experienced considerable difficulties arranging the adoptions, both in Romania and the UK. It is not known how many more potential adopters were unsuccessful. Based on a study of 148 families adopting 165 children, Celia Beckett, Diana Bredenkamp, Jenny Castle, Christine Groothues and the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team shed light on the difficulties encountered in England and implications of agency and non-agency practice in relation to these adopters.

The placements are progressing well, but there is some evidence that those applicants who were approved by specialist local authority social workers have a more sustained sense of the importance for the child of issues concerning their background and identity.
Mixed messages of solidarity in the Mediterranean: Turkey, the EU and the Spanish press
Authors: Buckingham Louisa
Published: March 2013

This study examines the portrayal of Turkey as a potential EU member in the media narrative of Spain’s El País from 1999 to 2010. Spain has been a consistent advocate of Turkey’s possible accession on a political level, and, according to survey data, support from the Spanish population is higher than in most other EU countries. The study investigates how newspaper coverage portrays support for and opposition to Turkey’s bid for membership, and the extent to which the newspaper provides coverage of domestic debate on the issue. Using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework, this article examines the selection of topics and speakers, and identifies the referential strategies and metaphors used to refer to Turkey, Turkish leaders and Turkey’s candidature. The analysis reveals that little domestic debate has evolved on the issue and Turkey, despite official support, is still depicted as Europe’s cultural ‘Other’.
‘This is not gambling but gaming’: Methods of promoting a lottery gaming company in a Malaysian daily
Authors: Yoong David , Koon Tan Hooi , Min Ng Choung
Published: March 2013

Because of its gambling nature, lottery gaming has been associated with bankruptcy, the destruction of families, crime and gambling addiction. Despite these stigmas, a Malaysian lottery company has managed to brand itself, especially its gambling activities, in a positive way. Using Fairclough’s framework of analysis, the methods used to present this lottery company and its activities in a positive light are deconstructed by examining its contents in an influential daily newspaper. The false positive associations of the lottery company revealed in the analysis suggest that the lottery company is likely using the newspaper as a subliminal messaging media to promote its activities, thus indicating a possible compromise in journalistic and editorial integrity.
Constructing contexts, (re)defining immigrants: Mental models and social representations in immigration policy defense
Authors: Guillem Susana Martínez
Published: March 2013

This article examines two different instances of policy defense as a means to show how a socio-cognitive approach to contexts can help develop a dialectical account of the relationship between societal processes and our communicative practices. Based on such analysis, I argue that comparative analyses within a socio-cognitive theory of context can offer new insights into how, first of all, mental models control the process of discourse production and interpretation in important ways, and second, how they are intrinsically related to ideologically based understandings of particular groups and/or situations. Such an approach allows us to account for and explain the potential effectiveness of the discursive moves that emerge from this co-constitutive relationship between contexts and communicative practices.
People's Participation: A Framework
Authors: Firdausi Ali A
Published: March 2013

The concept of peoples’ participation in development endeavor has been defined and implemented differently by different users of the term across the globe. Emphasis on involving local community in development projects started with USAID's Foreign Assistance Act (1966) and has, since then, been followed by all International aid Agencies. However, the parameters of real participation have been debated along with various criteria such as: involvement of the local community in decision making, implementation strategies, sharing of direct and indirect benefits and monitoring and evaluation of the projects. Similarly, the participants’ profile has also been debated based upon the nature of their stakes in the common goals of the community. The functional modalities of participation such as leadership, managerial skills, legal rights and responsibilities are considered, equally, important for invoking meaningful participation.

People's participation (PP) as an instrument of social reengineering should, essentially ensure appropriate support conducive to attainment of a community-decided common goal and adaptation of an efficient code of conduct. It should also help the community in integrating cultural diversity and maintaining the social system. Experiences in most of the State-sponsored development projects have shown that the involvement of community is sub-optimal. While this being so, the involvement of NGOs as intermediary agencies is expected to accelerate the pace of project implementation and ensure quality and sustainability. The process of people's participation, therefore, requires a triangular partnership among local community, NGOs and Government Agencies. It is essential that a model is developed to identify the stages of the project cycle and define the role and expectations of the stakeholders at each stage. The scope for re-engineering of the stages and re-positioning of the stakeholders, as per the local requirements would ensure meaningful and sustainable involvement of local people, which will increase the longevity of the development endeavors.
Variability of Exports and Imports in Indian Perspective: An Empirical Study
Authors: Nandi Sukumar , Kumar Sunil
Published: March 2013

One aspect of liberalization of the Indian economy has been an increasing openness and the result has been a significant increase in both exports and imports. Exports and imports of a country are related to economic variables in a non-uniform and asymmetric ways and the result has often been disequilibrium in the balance of payments of the new transition economies. From this perspective it is an imperative to see whether exports and imports are interrelated. This aspect can be examined in an econometric framework, i. e., we can see the causality between exports and imports of India. The answer can also throw light on some issues related to the political economy of development. The paper attempts to address these issues.
Business Intelligence
Authors: Chandrasekhar S.
Published: March 2013

Business Intelligence (BI) will play a major role in coming years as with the convergence of Communication & Information Technology there is intense competition. Geographic barriers are slowly getting dismantled & the whole world is getting integrated. Those business will be able to survive who can convert vast amount of data that is collected using the ERP, SCM, CRM systems into knowledge about its customers, competitors & suppliers. This is what the business intelligence about.

In the past the BI tools were expensive & beyond the reach of many companies. Hence this technology was implemented by large scale organizations. With advancement in time there are tools available to cater to SME sector. IDC, FROST & SULLIVAN who are two well known technology forecasters have predicted that BI market will have a CAGR of 30% & majority of BI implementation will be in SME sector.

The paper introduces the concepts of HI, a case studies of BI applications in a new product introduction. At FORE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT we have developed a BI tool to cater to SME/Education segement. Some details are also given.
A Comparative Study of Popular Search Techniques With The Measure of Number of Tardy Jobs In A Job Shop Environment
Authors: Dominic P.D.D.
Published: March 2013

Job shop scheduling (JSS) problems consist of a set of machines and a collection of jobs to be scheduled.

Each job consists of several operations with specified processing order. In this paper, Job Shop Model problem is scheduled by using Genetic Algorithm (GA), Simulated Annealing (SA) and Hybrid Simulated Annealing (HSA). Those three are considered as different treatments of each problem and are compared with the objective measure of number of tardy jobs in a job shop environment. The conclusion is that the performance measure Number of tardy jobs is minimum in the most of the cases under Genetic Algorithm when compared with other two algorithms.
Disentangling the Effects of Stock Returns, Equity Market Timing and Firm Specific Characteristics on Capital Structure
Authors: Jairo Isaya J.
Published: March 2013

Recent prior research has had contradicting findings as to whether it is equity market timing or stock returns which is the major determinant of capital structure. In this paper we make attempts to disentangle the effects of equity market timing practice from that of stock returns on UK firms’ capital structures in order to reach a verdict as to which one is the major determinant of capital structure. We document that although equity market timing practice has statistically significant effects on gearing, stock returns are the most important capital structure determinant. Further robustness tests show that although the effect of equity market timing and firm-specific characteristics such as profitability, growth opportunities, size, and non-debt tax shields, is persistent and statistically significant, compared to stock returns effect, their economic role is negligible. Stock returns drive gearing mechanistically for a long time, even for more than 10 years. The results also show that managers do not strive to adjust their capital structure towards some optimal debt ratio when their debt-carrying capacity increases. The findings imply that there is no optimal capital structure.
The “Equator Principles” – Revisited by Financial Institutions
Authors: Sinha Anil Kumar
Published: March 2013

The “Equator Principles” is a set of guidelines, developed voluntarily by the leading banks and financial institutions of the world, for managing social and environmental issues related to project financing. It was adopted by ten prominent banks1 from seven countries in a meeting in London on June 3, 2003. Since infrastructure lending by these bankers constituted around 30% of the global infrastructure/project financing, they took lead. As of today, more than forty, 43 to be precise, leading financial institutions of the world have adopted the Principles. Based on their experiences for the last three years, they have revised the equator principles in a meeting in London on July 6, 2006.
The Global Software Industry Evaluating the Software Markets of the BRIC Nations
Authors: McManus John
Published: March 2013

The world software industry and associated markets are estimated to be worth 1.1 trillion US Dollars, ninety percent of the world's exports in software is from the United States and Europe evidence would also suggest that outside the United States and Europe, the new and emerging countries within the software industry are Brazil, Russia, India and China (known as the BRIC Nations). The Software industry greatly affects the economic systems of these countries. Although figures vary these emerging markets account currently for around 6 per cent of global export markets. While “lower cost labour” is the most commonly cited reason for offshoring, intense global competition in an environment of slower growth and low inflation demands constant vigilance over costs. Due to low costs and high quality, using offshore resources in selected countries seems to make good economic sense. Beyond the cost incentive, global sourcing provides several other practical benefits including: the ability of multinational organisations to efficiently stage all year round operations; the opportunity to customize products and services to meet local needs; and the means of geographically deploying workers and facilities to succeed in globally dispersed, highly competitive markets. This paper examines some of the issues within these emerging countries within the wider global software industry.
Forecasting the Time Volatility of Emerging Asian Stock Market Index
Authors: Selvam M. , Raja M. , Mozhi P. Yazh
Published: March 2013

Volatility is the measure of how far the current price of an asset deviates from its average past prices. Greater the deviation, greater the volatility. It indicates the strength or conviction behind a price movement. Stock market volatility is the function of the arrival of positive and negative market information. Pricing of securities is supposed to be dependent on the volatility of each asset. Matured / developed markets continue to provide over long period of time high returns with low volatility. Emerging markets, except India and China exhibit low returns. The exponential growth in the Asian derivatives markets necessitated the need to test whether the Asian market indices are more volatile or not. The study finds an evidence of time varying volatility, which exhibits clustering, high persistence and predictability for almost all the Asian market indices in the sample. With this background the present paper investigates the dynamic behavior of stock returns of ten market indices from Asian countries, using symmetric GARCH (1,1) model for a period of one year from January 2006 to December 2006.
The Significance of Tax as a Determinant of Leasing: Evidence from UK Tax changes
Authors: Mnzava Imanueli D.
Published: March 2013

This paper analyses the significance of corporation tax as one of the factors that influences leasing activities. I use the UK data and employ the Tobit model to test the debatable substitutional relationship between leasing and debt financing. The study also investigates whether there is any industrial influence on the relationship between lease rate and debt ratio. It finally tests the significance of tax as a factor influencing leasing and whether that significance varies across the sectors. The results show that in absence of dummy variable that capture the influence of industry to which the company belongs, debt ratio, size, liquidity and growth variables significantly influence the lease rate and also that lease and debt are substitutes. However, the extent to which debt and lease are substitute varies across the sectors implying that the nature of assets used in the production process has some influence on the leasing activities. The results show further that tax is an important factor influencing the leasing activities and its influence is significant irrespective of the sector to which the company belongs. In general the results suggest that any effort to promote leasing activities should focus on the tax incentives and the availability of debt financing as alternative to leasing.
The Four Types of Organizational Learning and their Impact on Innovation
Authors: Subramanian Annapoornima M.
Published: March 2013

The paper presents a learning model that explains the influence of four types of learning (i) conceptualization (ii) experimentation (iii) experience (iv) reflection learning, on the innovation performance of firms. Conceptualization and experience learning represent the competency of firms in developing scientific research and technological experience. Experimentation refers to the competency of firms to apply their scientific knowledge in practice for creating new technologies. Reflection is the extent to which firms have the ability to relate their technological experience back to science and draw lessons from it. Our results show that the competency of firms in conceptualization does not guarantee them valuable innovation. It is only by the application of scientific knowledge to the innovation process through experimentation and reflection that firms can transform their scientific competency into valuable innovation. One important research implication from the study is that firms need to be ambidextrous in experimentation and reflection learning as well as in using their experience learning in order to generate valuable innovation.
The Impact of Capital Adequacy Requirements on Performance of Scheduled Commercial Banks
Authors: Vyas R.K. , Singh Manmeet , Yadav Ravindra
Published: March 2013

This paper investigates the impact of bank level factors like, capital to risk weighted assets Ratio, non-interest income and net interest margin on bank performance measured through return on assets of scheduled commercial banks in India in a panel data study over the period 1997–2007. All the factors have a positive and significant impact on profitability. The results also indicate that there is no significant difference in profitability of public sector banks and Indian private banks with foreign banks operating in India.
Compliance Costs of Individual Income Tax Laws in India and US: An Empirical Evidence
Authors: Singh Jaspal , Sharma Poonam
Published: March 2013

In the present study, an attempt has been made to estimate the compliance costs borne by individual income taxpayers in India and Federal US, besides tracing the reasons why taxpayers avail services of tax professionals for filing tax returns. For most of the tax compliance activities considered in the present study, a monetary burden of upto Rs. 1000 (upto $23.61) has been observed for the Indian respondents as against a burden of up to $50 for the US taxpayers. For the respondents of both countries, time burden for tackling income tax issues varies between 26 to 50 hours. On studying the different reasons governing the use of professionals services, it has been observed that Indian taxpayers are more concerned about the mistakes in filing of tax documents and frequent changes in tax-laws. However, the tax law complexity has emerged as a main concern in United States.
Potential of Bamboo in Sustainable Development
Authors: Gupta Anu , Kumar Ajit
Published: March 2013

Bamboo is a naturally occurring composite material which grows abundantly in most of the part of the world. It is treated as a composite material because it has cellulose fibers imbedded in a lignin matrix. As a cheap and fast-grown resource, with superior physical and mechanical properties, bamboo offers great potential as an alternative to wood. Bamboo can widely substitute not only wood, but also the plastics & other materials in structural and product applications through improvements in processing technologies, product innovation with the application of scientific and engineering skills. Bamboo based industry has vast potential for generating income and employment, especially in the rural areas. A number of agencies are already working towards promoting the usage of bamboo into value-added products. The paper brings out technology overview of the products and associated business opportunities with a focus on sustainable development. Applications have been outlined, briefing the chemical and mechanical characteristics of different species of bamboo. A number of government initiatives have been highlighted with their contribution in bamboo promotion and hence the sustainable development.
Integrating Talent Engagement as a Strategy to High Performance and Retention
Authors: Jeswani Saket , Sarkar Souren
Published: March 2013

The paper focuses on how talent engagement is an antecedent of job involvement and what should company do to make the talents engaged. The paper also discusses the importance of talent retention strategies with special reference to the leadership style of the superiors within the organization. The paper suggests Talent Engagement Model, which explains the process of engagement, psychological ownership, performance and retention of talents and their relative relationships, which can help not only to retain the talents but also to increase the performance for the overall development of both the talents and the organization.
Determinants of Initial and Long-Run Performance of IPOs in Indian Stock Market
Authors: Sehgal Shikha , Singh Balwinder
Published: March 2013

The paper investigates the possible determinants of underpricing and the long-run performance of 438 Indian initial public offerings (IPOs) listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange during June 1992 – March 2001. The mean underpricing has been found to be 99.20 per cent, which is very high if compared with the international evidence. Age of the firm, listing delay at IPO and number of times the issue is subscribed have been found to be the important determinants of underpricing. Indian IPOs do not tend to underperform in the long-run and underpricing has been primarily found to explain the long-run performance. The study, thus provides evidence of overreaction hypothesis.
Testing Gibrat's Law: An Empirical Evidence from Indian Industry
Authors: Aggarwal Priyanka , Chander Subhash
Published: March 2013

According to Gibrat's law of Proportionate Effect, the growth rate of a given firm is independent of its size at the beginning of the examined period. The objective of this paper is to empirically analyze the pattern of corporate growth for an emerging economy, namely India. Balanced time series data of approximately 300 firms over the years 1991–92 to 2005–06 has been used to explore the size and growth relationship. The size of a firm has been measured in terms of net sales, total assets, and market capitalization. The data for various attributes has been taken from ‘PROWESS’ a database of CMIE. SPSS 10.05 has been used to perform the statistical applications.
FDI in Retail Sector in India: Opportunities and Challenges in the Present Scenario
Authors: Jain Shradha , Jain Ravi Kumar , Jain A.K.
Published: March 2013

Organized retailing is currently in a nascent stage in India. Although Organized retailing, contributes only 4% of total retail at present, will grow by 25–30% every year and become Rs.100,000 crore sector (Rs.1000 billion) by 2010, the organized retailing sector evaluation passes through the four important phases. In India, a number of barriers are found in the way of the development of organized retail market. FDI restrictions on the entry of international retailers in the country, different sales tax rates exists in different states of the country, implementation of VAT, complex cities in the tax structure, problem of funding from the banks, lack of proper infrastructure are constraints on the way of organized retailing. The three biggest challenges of the organized retail industry will be managing manpower, real estate and supply chain. This paper discusses, how Retail sector growth will help various sections of the society and country as whole and what kind of measures government should take for the growth of organized retailing in India?
Discovering Social Entrepreneurship
Authors: Jain Trilok Kumar
Published: March 2013

Entrepreneurship has been considered as a factor of risk and reward. However, there are instances of entrepreneurship for social cause, where social well being takes a priority over profit motive. In the present study, the researcher analyses the findings from study of 9 pioneering social organization using semi-structured interviews and discussions. The findings from these studies are presented as propositions and as a model for social entrepreneurship. A model has been proposed which shows the growth and direction of social organizations. The ultimate stage in the growth has been identified as the stage of centre of excellence, where the organization works for promoting other organization, as a role model. It tries to focus on HRD and institution building activities for other organizations and institutions. Factors relating to social entrepreneur have also been studied.
Entrepreneurial Characteristics and Behaviour Demonstration – A Comparative Study between Small Scale Manufacturing Entrepreneurs and Service Entrepreneurs
Authors: Srinath T.T. , Supriya M.V.
Published: March 2013

Certain personal characteristics, background, motivation and goals differentiate the types of entrepreneurs. The study attempts to understand the presence and intensity of entrepreneurial characteristics among small-scale entrepreneurs in the manufacturing and service sectors. 150 entrepreneurs from the manufacturing sector and 150 entrepreneurs from the service sector have been interviewed in the study and the collected data has been analyzed statistically.
Women Entrepreneurs: Motivational Factors and Problems (With Special Reference to Western Region in Tamilnadu)
Authors: Bharathi N.
Published: March 2013

It is the present trend that the number of women who prefer business as a carrier has significantly increased. The special characteristics of women like looking at business problems contextually, viewing than issues wholly then its parts are the requirements of the competitive world. Inspite of this the women entrepreneurs are prone to problems in their work culture. In this judicature empowering the women entrepreneurs is essential for achieving the goals of sustainable development. It is also necessary to eradicate the bottlenecks that affect their growth and ensure their full participation in the business. So the present study pays attention on the motivational factors, the level of satisfaction of the women entrepreneurs and the problems faced by them.
Body Image Drives New Environment for News Delivery
Authors: Cokley John , Volcic Zala
Published: March 2013

Body shape and aesthetics have been identified as a key driver of human motivations and actions. Of six key facets of body shape identified in the literature, five are variables which can be changed directly by attendance at regular exercise sessions in fitness clubs and we suggest these have driven club membership increases and challenged both the Habermasian nature of public sphere activity and its locus, which influences the nature and practice of various kinds of journalism. This article identifies club membership activities in health and fitness clubs (gymnasiums) in Europe, North America and Australia during 2006, as precursors to established standard conversational public sphere activity noted in 2008, and the clubs themselves (in general) as important emerging modern sites of such public sphere activity, driven by the intensification of sports news programming on cable television, the development of the wireless theatre and other services aimed at increasing fitness club memberships. At the centre of this, the worldwide phenomenon of the media-equipped ‘cardio-theatre’ in fitness clubs is described and evaluated as a significant journalism and business environment. Business and research opportunities are identified.
India-GCC Relation: Geo-Economics and Trade
Authors: Ahmed Faisal , Kohli Anju
Published: March 2013

The paper attempts to analyze India's relation with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) based on two broad parameters including geo-economic pursuits and the Trade Intensity Index (TII) analysis. The paper makes a geo-economic analysis of India-GCC relation with focus on broader areas of mutually compulsive cooperation. It also incorporates major commodities (in terms of value) of India's export to, and import from, the GCC countries over a period of time. Moreover, the paper also uses the Trade Intensity Index (TII) analysis to ascertain both the trade intensity of India with the GCC countries as well as that of the individual GCC countries with India. The study reveals that both India and GCC have huge potential for cooperation and thus need to strengthen their trade diplomacy to create conducive environment for trade facilitation.
A Study of Gender Differences in Investment Behaviour
Authors: Deb Madhurima , Chavali Kavita
Published: March 2013

The present study aims at evaluating the gender differences in investment decisions. The study is exploratory in nature. Stratified random sampling was employed to conduct the study where the respondents in the sample were divided into strata based on gender. The randomness was decided on the basis of every entrant to the bank with the motive of investment. The study was conducted using questionnaire prepared with the help of experts. Data was analyzed using bar-diagram and chi-square test was employed for hypotheses testing. Finding of the study reveals that there exists significant difference between male and female investors with regard to making financial decisions.
Performance Appraisal Practices in Indian Universities: A Study of Awareness Level and Perceived Significance
Authors: Punia B. K. , Siwatch Renu
Published: March 2013

Performance appraisal is a very critical HRD mechanism to provide specific documentation regarding current and future personnel actions. Performance appraisal in the university system has attained particular significance in the changed educational scenario. In higher education, the mechanism of performance appraisal is not as rigid as it is found in the industrial organisations. Performance of faculty as such cannot be well managed until and unless the organisation adopts a well organised system of performance evaluation. Furthermore, the performance evaluation of an organisation cannot give required and actual benefit or results until the employees are well aware about the existing appraisal system of the organisation. Due to its non-linkage with faculty promotion matters, many a times the faculty is not even aware of the prevalence and the significance of existing performance evaluation mechanism.

To explore the views of Indian academia the study has been carried out with a sample size of 500 faculty members from different universities in the country. It has been found that the faculty members working in the central universities, residential universities and general universities have shown the high level of awareness about the existing system as compared to the state university, technical/special character university and affiliating university faculty members. The variations in the views of central and state university respondents have been found statistically significant across gender, designation, designation experience and the organisation category. The newly appointed faculty members working in central universities, special character universities, and residential universities have attributed more significance to existing appraisal system. Significant variations in the perceived significance have emerged on designation experience, organisation experience, and the organisation structure dimensions.
Impact of Index Futures and Options Introduction: A Case of Spot Market Volatility in BSE
Authors: Selvam M. , Babu M. , Indhumathi G. , Krithiga S.
Published: March 2013

Derivatives in India were introduced in June 2000 with the introduction of stock index futures in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). An important reason for the introduction of futures and options in India was the high trading volatility of the Indian stock market. This paper seeks to provide evidence on the impact of futures and options on spot market volatility. The sample data consist of daily opening and closing price returns of Sensex from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2007. This paper uses family of GARCH techniques to capture the time-varying nature of volatility and volatility clustering phenomenon in the data. The study found that there are no significant changes in the volatility of the spot market due to the introduction of index futures and options in the Sensex Index.
Evaluation of Linkage between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intentions: An Application of SEM
Authors: Vanniarajan T. , Gurunathan P.
Published: March 2013

The study deals with the predictive ability of the two measurements, namely SERVQUAL and SERVPERF, on customer satisfaction in three service industries initially. Second, it investigates the role of mediation of consumer satisfaction between overall service quality and repurchase intention: and also the role of mediation of overall service quality between customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. Finally, it examines the relative importance of service quality factors on customer satisfaction in the three service industries. The result shows the betterment of application of SERVPERF measures and the mediation role of customer satisfaction between the overall service quality and repurchase intension. The relative importance of service quality factors on customer satisfaction differs in different service industries.
Performance Evaluation of Employees using Analytical Hierarchical Process: A Case Study of Indian IT Industry
Authors: Mittal K. C. , Goel Ashok Kumar , Mohindru Pankaj
Published: March 2013

Employee performance evaluation is considered to be a very time consuming and uphlll task by large number of Indian IT industries. Employers every year struggle to find just and fair ways to identify the best performers as it is a quite subjective task. An extensive literature review and a survey with HR managers provided the framework for the model development in this research. Performance evaluations represent a critically important decision that often involves subjective information. This research draws attention to a model for establishing promotion evaluation based on critical criteria. The proposed technique through this research is to produce a logical performance evaluation of various employees. A survey was conducted in IT companies to obtain a list of criteria that are significant for promotion of an employee. Afterwards, another survey was conducted to know about the details of latest promotion done to ascertain the criteria for three employees under consideration for promotion and to evaluate the relative weights of the criteria elements viz employees to demonstrate the proposed model using AHP to optimize the decision. This paper presents a methodology based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to enhance the decision making process for performance evaluation of employees. The findings of research will help the HR managers to assess their evaluation process.
Factors Influencing the Selection of a Mobile Phone Service Provider: An Empirical Study among Rural Consumers
Authors: Kathuria Lalit Mohan , Jain Manish
Published: March 2013

Rural consumers form a formidable block of over one-fifth of the total mobile phone user-base in India. In comparison to a tele-density of more than thirty per cent in urban areas, it is less than ten per cent in the rural areas, thereby indicating a huge scope for future growth. The study was conducted with an objective to identify the factors influencing the selection of mobile phone service provider among rural users. The study brought out clearly that the major factors influencing the choice of service provider were network coverage, price, value-for-money and billing integrity, recommendations from family and friends, customer service and company image. Network problem was observed to be the most important reason for switching over to other mobile phone service provider.
Clustering Consumers on the Basis of Attitudinal Variables
Authors: Singh Nripendra
Published: March 2013

There are various factors that have brought a perceptible shift in consumer behaviour today. One of the important factors is heavy use of consumer promotions to sell the products. Sales promotion offers are therefore intricately linked to the dynamics of consumer behaviour. It is thus important to develop new classification of consumers in relation to their affinity towards the promotions, which will help in formulating more accurate and effective promotional strategies. This study has been conducted with a view to provide an insight into the different categories of consumers based on certain attitudinal variables like purchase behaviour (planned vs. unplanned), affinity towards promotional offers (promotion proneness) and attractiveness of various categories of promotion offer (attractiveness). A total of 29 attitudinal variables are used to study the consumer patterns. Cluster Analysis is the tool used to find out the number of consumer clusters using SPSS package. Finally, four types of customers have been identified which are ‘Disciplined Promotional Diehards’, ‘Promotional Freaks’, ‘Promotional Sophists’, and ‘Offer Savvy Systematic Shoppers.’ The effort is to define these categories of customers and bringing out distinguishing characteristics in each.
Methane Emissions from Wastewater, Wetlands, Mangroves and Hydroelectric Dams: Developing Appropriate Emission Factors for Region-Specific GHGS (ERG)
Authors: Pandey J.S. , Kumar R. , Wate S. R. , Chakrabarti T.
Published: March 2013

In view of the complexity of today's research problems, it is increasingly felt that scientists should move beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines, especially when it concerns issues and impacts related with global environmental and climatic perturbations. Knowledge of ecological, socio-political and several economic policies is essential when one requires to develop a sound understanding of ecosystem. While dealing with many of the recently evolved issues like “Ecological Foot-printing (EF)” and “Carbon Foot-printing (CF)” etc., the present paper illustrates some model development exercises for Region-Specific GHG-Emission-Factors (ERG), which are based on realistic parameters for which data can be easily collected. The article also discusses those issues on which we should focus our immediate attention and continuously work on their future refinement. In particular, issues related to methane emission from wetlands, mangroves and hydroelectric reservoirs are analyzed. Need for spatial as well as temporal extrapolations of the local and regional values to global scales are also discussed. In short, the article presents a snap-shot of the kind of activities which need regular pursuance, refinement, modification and application in regard to evolving site-specific, region-specific and ecosystem-specific environmental management plans aimed at combating the climate regulated environmental crisis which is unfolding before us every day with a newer dimension.