bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Signal quality and service quality: a study of local and international MBA programs in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Tho D.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Although it is well known that firms can use signals to inform consumers about the unobservable aspect of their products or services in a market where asymmetric information exists, research on the relationship between signal quality and service quality is largely ignored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of signal quality in the quality of Master of Business Administration (MBA) education in Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 457 MBA students in both local and international MBA programs in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, was used to test a model that incorporates the relationships between signal quality, program investments, perceived quality, and program loyalty by means of structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results of this study indicate that signal quality has a positive impact on program quality. In addition, program investments affect both the signal quality and program quality, and program quality underlies program loyalty. Finally, no significant difference is found between local and international programs.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation of this study is the investigation of only one education service, i.e. MBA education. An extension to other types of education as well as other services would enhance the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

The results of this study suggest that MBA programs, local as well as international, should send clear, consistent, and credible signals to their students in order to position their brands in the market where information asymmetry exists.

Originality/value

A major contribution of this study is the use of signaling theory to examine the relationship between signal quality and service quality.
Teaching effectiveness, impression management, and dysfunctional behavior
Authors: Larry Crumbley D. , Reichelt Kenneth J.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) questionnaires are used in many countries, although much current research questions the validity of these surveys. US research indicates that more than 90 percent of academic accounting departments use this performance measurement. This paper aims to focus on the validity of SET data.

Design/methodology/approach

A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 1,000 accounting professors employed at four‐year universities and colleges in the USA. A total of 447 responses were returned for a response rate of 44.7 percent. Statistical results of the survey for data are reported.

Findings

Instructors engage in impression management when SET data are used for control purposes. Dysfunctional behavior of accounting instructors includes easy grading, inflating grades, course work deflation, and other defensive strategies which result in negative social implications. A significant 53 percent of the accounting instructors knew of other professors who have reduced grading standards and course content in order to improve SET scores.

Practical implications

Universities worldwide risk legal action when they defame faculty members by releasing unreliable and invalid SET results.

Originality/value

The paper illustrates some of the present problems with SET questionnaires.
Economic and cultural factors affecting university excellence
Authors: Jabnoun Naceur
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The ranking of top universities in the world has generated increased interest in the factors that enhance university performance. The purpose of this paper is to identify economic and cultural factors that affect the number of top ranking universities in each country.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first identifies the number of universities ranked among the first 300 in the world. Multiple regression is used to determine the relationship between the number of top ranked universities per country and the independent variables of gross domestic product (GDP), corruption perception, press freedom, and power distance.

Findings

Regression analysis revealed that the number of top ranked universities per country increased with GDP and lack of corruption, but decreased with decreased press freedom and higher power distance.

Research implications/limitations

This paper paves the way for further research on cultural, social, economic and political factors that affect university excellence. Similar research can also be conducted to investigate the impact of cultural aspects such as power distance and attitudes towards freedom, not just on institutions of higher learning, but on learning organizations in different industries.

Practical implications

This paper draws attention to important external factors that affect university excellence and that are usually overlooked by managers and policy makers. These managers and policy makers may minimize the negative effects that limited GDP ‐ high corruption, reduced press freedom, and high power distance ‐ may have on university performance. Some recommendations are presented to achieve this objective.

Originality/value

The paper describes factors affecting university excellence beyond the internal environment and processes of the university. It considers the economic factors of GDP and other national factors such us corruption levels, power distance, and press freedom. It provides a good understanding of barriers to university excellence in many countries. These barriers may also be pertinent to other institutions where learning is highly significant.
Impact of perceived technical protection on security behaviors
Authors: Zhang Jie , Reithel Brian J. , Li Han
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper based on compensation theory, is to incorporate perceived technical security protection into the theory of planned behavior and examined factors affecting end‐user security behaviors, specifically, compliance with security policies.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey is conducted to validate the proposed research model. The survey is sent out to an industrial panel. A total of 176 usable responses are received and used in the data analysis.

Findings

The results show that both perceived behavioral control (PBC) and attitude have significant impact on intention to comply with security policy. Perceived technical protection affects behavioral intentions both indirectly, through PBC, and directly. The negative direct effect (i.e. perceived high technical protection leads to low intention to comply with security policy) suggests possible risk compensation effects in the information security context.

Practical implications

This result should be of interest to practitioners. In practice (e.g. during security training), the power and capability of technical protection mechanisms should not be exaggerated. Instead, its limitations and drawbacks should be emphasized, so that end‐users will adopt more cautious security practices and adhere to the requirements of the organization's security policies.

Originality/value

This paper embeds risk compensation theory within the security policy compliance context and offers a useful starting point for further empirical examination of this theory in information security context.
Value‐creating networks: organizational issues and challenges
Authors: Allee Verna
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide examples of evaluating value‐creating networks and to address the organizational issues and challenges of a network orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

Value network analysis was first developed in 1993 and was adapted in 1997 for intangible asset management. It has been applied from shopfloor work groups to business webs and economic regions. It draws from a theory base of living systems, knowledge management, complexity theory, and intangible asset management.

Findings

The paper provides an overview of a value network analysis method and examples and insights from its practical application.

Research limitations/implications

The paper does not provide a detailed comparative analysis with social network analysis, but rather looks forward to where interest in social networks may evolve into continuing concentration on value‐creating networks.

Practical implications

Value network analysis provides an opportunity to overcome the “split” in business management practices, where human interactions and relationships reside in one world of models and practices, and business processes and transactions reside in another. The engineering approaches of the last two decades have focused on driving out variation, with the unanticipated consequence of stifling organizational agility and innovation. The more human‐centric orientation of the value network perspective brings these two worlds together in a powerful, simple, and pragmatic way to model business activities.

Originality/value

The paper augments and expands the growing application of social or organizational network analysis by pointing to a next generation of analysis and analytics that can support organizational effectiveness. The value network analysis method fills a gap between network theory and practical application for managers, executives, analysts, and researchers.
Solidarity networks: what are they? And why should we care?
Authors: Smith Janel
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the theoretical foundations of the solidarity network concept and its perceived utility as an enabling force for social organizations to influence change. The theoretical framework presented is intended to stimulate dialogue, interest and investigation on the subject of solidarity networks.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a discourse analysis‐type approach to developing a theoretical framework for conceptualizing solidarity networks through an analytical review of existing literature on solidarity and solidarity networks. It is through consideration of this literature that the “threads” of a theoretical model for solidarity networks are “woven” together.

Findings

Based on the findings of the analysis the paper asserts that the following characteristics are among the defining elements of solidarity networks and help to form the basis of a theoretical framework that strives to create a more cohesive understanding and an applied exploration for future analytical investigations. These characteristics are: support for “broad” values, anti‐oppression and vision‐based solidarity for the future; the flexibility and adaptability of the network's organizational structure and issue‐area(s) of focus; that network members are motivated by a sense of mutuality, or mutual self‐interest; that network members are motivated by “high‐order” values associated with the “public good”; and that there is a demonstrated ethic of social responsibility and social justice.

Originality/value

The paper represents a theoretically‐based approach to conceptualizing solidarity networks. It adds new dimensions to one's thinking about social networks as a form of social relationship and social network analysis (SNA) as a “tool” for describing social relationships.
Financial status, corporate governance quality, and the likelihood of managers using discretionary accruals
Authors: Demirkan Sebahattin , Platt Harlan
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, using data on US manufacturing firms, how and when corporate governance affects managers' decisions to use discretionary accruals and thereby artificially influence company financial reports.

Design/methodology/approach

Three‐stage least squares is employed to study the relationship between financial status, corporate governance and financial reporting discretion. The sample spans the years 2001‐2003 during a severe downturn in the US stock market. Financial status is measured with the Altman Z‐score.

Findings

A significant difference is found between firms not classified as healthy or failed (i.e. the mid‐range group) and the two extreme categories when examining governance quotient using a well‐known index. A positive relationship is found between discretionary accruals and the governance index. Strong governance appears to reduce the incidence of mid‐range firms engaging in accruals management. The least healthy and the most distressed companies have the weakest relationship with discretionary accruals. By contrast, mid‐range firms are more likely to resort to discretionary accruals.

Practical implications

Non‐executive members of boards of directors are warned to be particularly vigilant about discretionary accruals with firms transitioning between healthy and high‐failure risk.

Originality/value

The relationship between firms' financial health and discretionary accruals reveals an agency problem in credit markets with financially stressed firms. More attention is required on firms whose financial condition is uncertain. Also, it is documented that significant findings of importance to the earnings quality and corporate governance literature by documenting the role of corporate governance on discretionary accruals and financial status.
Institutional investors, political connection and audit quality in Malaysia
Authors: Aswadi Abdul Wahab Effiezal , Mat Zain Mazlina , James Kieran , Haron Hasnah
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the audit pricing literature by examining whether institutional investors and political connection are associated with higher audit fees.

Design/methodology/approach

Both descriptive and multivariate analyses are employed to address the research objectives. In addition, the authors use panel data to control for both heterocedasticity and contemporaneous correlations in each cross‐section.

Findings

Based on a panel analysis of 390 Malaysian firms from 1999 to 2003, a positive relationship between institutional ownership and audit fees is found, although the economic impact is minimal. Further, the authors find that audit fees are higher for politically connected firms.

Research limitations/implications

A thorough examination on the role of political connection is much warranted to provide a better understanding on such connection influences the audit market.

Originality/value

This paper provides an alternative view on the role of political connection, and on how they influence the audit market.
Evaluating the efficiency of European Union integration
Authors: Malhotra Rashmi , Malhotra D.K.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to measure the effectiveness of the integration of Europe by benchmarking economic progress made by the participating nations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data envelopment analysis, this paper compares the relative performance of 26 European Union (EU) nations against one another with seven economic variables as the benchmark parameters from 1999 to 2006.

Findings

The paper finds that not all the participating nations were equally efficient at the beginning of the economic integration in 1999. Economic integration does help in achieving convergence in economic performance of 26 EU nations, because 18 of the 26 nations were efficient in 2002. However, this paper finds that after 2002, there is a lack of convergence in the performance of 26 EU nations and some nations have performed more efficiently in contrast to other nations.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the member nations that are lagging behind and make recommendations as to how they can improve their performance to bring them at par with other participating nations.
Customer and non‐customer perspectives for examining corporate reputation
Authors: Shamma Hamed M. , Hassan Salah S.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Several studies on corporate reputation have proposed a customer‐based approach for assessing corporate reputation. Other studies proposed examining corporate reputation from the perspective of other primary stakeholder groups such as employees, investors or suppliers. Hence this paper aims to examine corporate reputation by considering both the customer's and the non‐customer's views.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was applied to the US wireless telecommunications industry. A random sample of 1,088 respondents composed of 518 customers and 570 representing the non‐customers, was generated for this study. The sample was randomly distributed by age, gender, income, education and geographic location.

Findings

The findings of this study revealed that the formation of perceptions about corporate reputation differ between customers and non‐customers. The dimension of emotional appeal is specific to the customer group and the dimension of vision and leadership is specific to the non‐customer group. Finally, social and environmental responsibility was not a significant element in forming the perceptions about corporate reputation for both customers and non‐customers.

Research limitations/implications

The study does not incorporate the effect of variables such as change in price or service quality nor take the impact of mergers and acquisitions into consideration.

Practical implications

This study helped to identify the primary and secondary elements for managing a company's reputation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on corporate reputation by determining how customers and non‐customers form their perceptions. The model provides a comprehensive assessment on how perceptions about corporate reputation are formed and what are the subsequent outcomes of those perceptions.
One brand perception? Or many? The heterogeneity of intra‐brand knowledge
Authors: Koll Oliver , von Wallpach Sylvia
Published: October 2009

Purpose

What customers associate with a brand is the result of what they have felt, learnt, seen and heard about the brand. This knowledge impacts the attitudinal and behavioral brand response of customers (and vice versa). This paper aims to identify how customer segments of one brand characterized by different levels of behavioral and attitudinal response intensity differ in terms of content and structure of brand associations..

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports findings of two single‐brand studies, each comparing brand associations of customer groups with different brand response intensity levels: one in a business‐to‐customer (B2C) setting where knowledge is determined via brand‐to‐association retrieval, one in a business‐to‐business (B2B) setting with benefit‐to‐brand retrieval.

Findings

The findings show that consumer segments with differing behavioral and attitudinal brand response intensity show unique brand knowledge patterns. Consumers with high response intensity elicit more (favorable) brand associations, and elicit the brand more frequently when stimulated with the brand name. In addition, identical brand associations are rated differently favorable depending on the intensity of brand response.

Practical implications

To learn about the strength of a brand, organizations may complement frequently used comparisons with competing brands by investigating what distinguishes brand knowledge of various customer segments that differ with respect to their relationship with the focal brand. This allows targeting various segments more specifically.

Originality/value

This paper adds to our understanding of brand strength by comparing multiple intra‐brand segments and by understanding how their brand knowledge differs depending on their attitudinal and behavioral brand response. Such a perspective may provide more useful insights to fostering brand response than studying inter‐brand differences.
Determinants of fashion store personality: a consumer perspective
Authors: Brengman Malaika , Willems Kim
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main determinants of fashion store personality, as perceived by the shopper. It aims to discover factors that are responsible for specific store personality trait perceptions in order to understand how these humanlike personality traits are induced in a retailing context.

Design/methodology/approach

With this end in mind, a qualitative exploratory study was undertaken. A total of 70 in‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of Belgian adult respondents to systematically assess the connotations of the 34 different store personality trait descriptors put forward by d'Astous and Lévesque. Respondents were asked which fashion stores they considered to embody these specific personality traits and they were probed for the sources of inference they used.

Findings

The findings reveal that the store environment and store design particularly is an important factor in determining the personality of fashion stores. Also, other factors such as corporate social responsibility, reputation, service level, the salespeople, the merchandise sold, price/quality perceptions and the consumer base determine perceptions of “genuineness”, “solidity”, “sophistication”, “enthusiasm” and “unpleasantness”.

Practical implications

A better understanding of the determinants of fashion store personality is essential for retail managers who wish to (re)position their stores. Retailers and store designers should be aware of the important role of “atmospherics” in this regard.

Originality/value

Apart from conceptual work, no empirical research has yet systematically investigated determinants of each of the main store personality dimensions.
Extending the brand: controllable drivers of feedback effects
Authors: Montaner Teresa , Pina José M.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how companies can leverage brand image through brand extensions without harming their image. It specifically seeks to analyse the influence of three variables: communication policy, brand breadth and extension‐brand fit.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from 599 individuals who took part in an experiment. The proposed hypotheses were tested by means of ANOVA methodology.

Findings

The results show that brand extensions far from the current markets damage the brand associations, although the use of advertising focused on the new product can reduce this negative effect. Moreover, feedback effects are less negative when the brand has not been over‐extended in the past.

Research limitations/implications

With the aim of increasing the external validity of results, non‐fictitious products and ads should be analysed. Moreover, the conceptual framework does not consider other communication tools like sponsorship or publicity.

Practical implications

The results suggest how to manage the launching of brand extensions in order to protect the extended brand image. It shows what kind of advertising is more appropriate for marketing extensions as well as role of brand breadth and perceived fit.

Originality/value

The paper examines the effect of different strategies in the consumer response toward extended brands. It focuses on variables that can be controlled by companies.
Corporate brand management in higher education: the case of ERAU
Authors: Curtis Tamilla , Abratt Russell , Minor William
Published: October 2009

Purpose

There is evidence in the literature that organizations struggle to formulate and implement their corporate branding strategies. This paper aims to provide an overview of the corporate brand building process in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology was used in this study. A single case study of a private American university was used to gather information about their corporate brand building process. University administrators and documents were used to gain insights into their brand building process.

Findings

The corporate brand building process addressed three key areas; web administration, program marketing and corporate brand positioning. The corporate brand building process was conducted in four phases and a description of these phases is provided.

Research limitations/implications

As this is a single case study further research will be needed to test the validity of the research findings by using other higher education institutions as samples.

Originality/value

The corporate brand building process has been described and will be of use to all higher education institutions as well as other organizations wishing to build their corporate brand.
Loyalty's influence on satisfaction in cross‐cultural settings
Authors: Allen Broyles S.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of customer loyalty on the predictive relationship between the meets expectations and affective feeling state customer satisfaction constructs and customers' future (re)purchase behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

New measures were developed for the attitudinal and behavioral aspects of customer loyalty, while extant measures were used for the satisfaction constructs and future (re)purchase behavior, leading to a survey that was administered to US and Chinese samples. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling for testing hypotheses developed from extant literature.

Findings

The study found that attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty are two distinct constructs with both US and Chinese samples, and that the influence of the two loyalty constructs on the predictive paths between meets expectations and affective feeling state and future (re)purchase intent vary by product category and culture.

Research limitations/implications

Only two brands were employed, and the survey was completed with university students instead of a broader range of age and socio‐economic groups.

Practical implications

This study builds on extant customer satisfaction and loyalty knowledge in order to further the empirical cross‐cultural understanding of whether standardized or localized marketing strategies are more suitable across cultures.

Originality/value

This study is a benchmark comparative cross‐cultural study of the influence of customer loyalty on customer satisfaction and future (re)purchase intent in a cross‐cultural setting.
New product development: an overlooked but critical course
Authors: Lantos Geoffrey P. , Brady Donald L. , McCaskey Patrick H.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the felt need for new products in organizations, the nature of the new product development (NPD) discipline, and the usefulness of NPD education, in order to show the importance of the paper's analysis of the dearth of NPD courses in AACSB‐accredited schools. It seeks to offer suggested changes for both academics and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis of AACSB‐accredited institutions' online catalogs determined a scarcity of NPD courses. Z‐tests and t‐tests revealed some differences among the types of schools offering NPD courses.

Findings

There is a scarcity of NPD courses, with only 9 percent of schools offering one. Regarding the likelihood of offering a NPD course, no differences were found between public and private schools or between doctoral‐ and non‐doctoral‐granting schools. Comparing schools offering and not offering a NPD course, no difference was discovered in the number of marketing courses available, number of marketing electives available, and number of full‐time marketing faculty.

Research limitations/implications

Analysis was based on catalog titles and course descriptions; specific course content was not ascertained. Hence, courses including significant NPD content might remain unidentified. This descriptive research only speculates on reasons for the paucity of NPD courses. Additional research should determine influences on educators to offer a NPD course and identify specific actions to increase the adoption of NPD courses. A number of recommendations for overcoming impediments to instituting NPD courses are offered.

Originality/value

This is the first study to empirically verify the low availability of NPD courses and to recommend rectifying courses of action for both academics and NPD practitioners.
Brand credibility in cause‐related marketing: the moderating role of consumer values
Authors: Bigné‐Alcañiz Enrique , Currás‐Pérez Rafael , Sánchez‐García Isabel
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the moderating effect of consumer altruistic values upon two drivers of brand credibility in cause‐related marketing (CrM): cause‐brand fit and consumer attribution of altruistic brand motivations.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a quantitative study. Data have been collected through personal interviews at households using the random route sampling technique. The sample is formed by consumers of insurance and personal hygiene products, using different brand‐social cause combinations. Data have been analysed through structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis to test the moderation hypotheses.

Findings

Findings show that altruistic consumers use mainly altruistic attribution to form their judgement on brand credibility in CrM messages, whereas non altruistic consumers base their assessment on cause‐brand fit.

Research limitations/implications

Real brands have been used in the empirical study and thus further research should replicate the study with fictional brands in order to avoid the effect of consumer prior information.

Practical implications

The findings have relevant implications for CrM campaign managers in helping them to understand how to increase brand credibility in CrM messages. They should emphasize altruistic motivations if their target comprises more altruists or brand‐cause fit if non‐altruists outweigh.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by making explicit the moderating role of altruistic values on two antecedents of brand credibility (cause‐brand fit and altruistic attributions) in a CrM campaign.
Designing and evaluating an online role play in conflict management
Authors: Hrastinski Stefan , Watson Jason
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to identify, through a literature review, key issues regarding how online role plays can be designed and to apply them when designing a role play on conflict management.

Design/methodology/approach

By drawing on the key issues identified in the literature review, a role play on conflict management was designed and evaluated. Data were collected by developing a survey that focused on perceived learning, participation and satisfaction.

Findings

Overall, a majority of the students felt that they learned and participated in the role play. The most positive finding was that the students were satisfied with their role play experience.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers are urged to further develop the dimensions and measures of online role play success. The measures that were developed for evaluating perceived learning, participation and satisfaction with role plays can be further developed and tested. It is suggested that the effects on learning need to be further explored.

Practical implications

It is suggested that teachers take the identified key issues of online role play design into account. An important challenge seems to be to encourage students to reflect and do additional reading and research in relation with online role plays.

Originality/value

Online collaboration is commonly argued as beneficial from an e‐learning perspective. However, a challenge for research and practice is to learn how collaborative e‐learning activities may be developed. This paper contributes by focusing on how online role plays can be designed and evaluated.
Using alternate reality games to support first year induction with ELGG
Authors: Piatt Katie
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to describe a pilot project investigating the use of alternate reality game/treasure‐hunt formats to provide an alternative to existing mechanisms for introducing new students to university information and services.

Design/methodology/approach

An alternate reality game was designed to be played online and offline, which aimed to be fun, intriguing and engaging through task design and storyline. The university's social network was used as a platform for players to support one another in solving each task as well as for fictional characters in the story to interact with the players.

Findings

Logistical problems are identified with the campus environment, and successes are highlighted where tasks were particularly effective or enjoyable. The game format also provided students with something special to “feel part of” and to provide a break from their formal course.

Practical implications

It was found that the game format did not appeal to all students, but was very effective for those that liked it.

Originality/value

The author believes the alternate reality game/treasure‐hunt format can provide an interesting alternative to existing mechanisms for introducing students to certain types of information or services.
Researching the research process
Authors: Medeiros Norm
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe undergraduate research habits, as identified through a study at Saint Mary's College of California.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper focuses on Summon, a new federated search tool produced by Serials Solutions.

Findings

The paper suggests that use of library‐supplied databases may be increasing due to the ubiquity of full‐text, and the ease with which it can be associated with online indexes.

Originality/value

The paper describes opposition to the Google Books settlement.
Library in the clouds
Authors: Fox Robert
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the issue of cloud computing and how it relates to digital library service provisioning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a viewpoint approach.

Findings

The paper is exploratory, and looks at the pros and cons of cloud computing for digital libraries.

Practical implications

The subject of cloud computing has been a hot topic for the past year or so. There are many implications regarding this for service provisioning for libraries. Several issues involving cloud computing are explored, and the advantages and disadvantages concerning this technology need to be seriously considered by digital library technology professionals.

Originality/value

The paper explores the issue of cloud computing technology, its relation to current internet business practices and the implications for providing library services over the next five years.
Providing online access to oral histories: a case study
Authors: Daniels Caroline
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical example of a process repositories may follow in making oral history interviews available online.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the decisions that must be made in the course of making analog audio available online. Legal, ethical and technical decisions are examined and evaluated in the context of one repository's experience. Issues such as copyright, privacy and defamation are examined, as are technical issues around analog audio capture and access. Different options for presenting the oral histories to the public are evaluated in light of ease of production and access.

Findings

The paper finds it is possible to provide easy‐to‐use online access to oral histories even in the absence of a large budget and programming staff to create cutting‐edge tools.

Practical implications

Many more repositories could be making their oral histories available online. There are many decisions to be made along the way, but individual repositories should not be afraid to make these decisions in their own context. While much of the literature available heretofore has focused on offerings of highly resourced repositories that are able to create “one‐off” databases, off‐the‐shelf applications such as CONTENTdm do a fine job of providing access to these materials.

Originality/value

The paper speaks to repositories looking for a practical model they can follow for making interviews available online. Rather than presenting a new technical approach, it demonstrates how existing and widespread technologies can be used for this purpose. It is aimed particularly at institutions with relatively fewer technological resources.
Usability analysis for redesign of a Caribbean academic library web site: a case study
Authors: Rogers Richard , Preston Hugh
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to present a usability evaluation of the web site of the Main Library of the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) to get users and site visitors to identify the major strengths and weaknesses of the site and to incorporate the results and participant feedback into a redesign that reflects users' intuitions rather than those of the site developers and librarians.

Design/methodology/approach

A combination of experimental and respondent research strategies was used to evaluate usability. These included survey questionnaires, focus groups, formal usability testing and card sort. In addition, both usability heuristics and ISO guidelines were used to assess effectiveness, learnability, usefulness and user satisfaction. Respondent strategies used a sample size of 529 participants for the self‐completion questionnaires and 16 participants in the focus group sessions. Experimental strategies combined observation of 21 individual participants and three groups of participants in the usability tests. In the card sort protocol nine individual participants and three groups of participants were observed.

Findings

The findings identified challenges in the site's information architecture (labelling and organisation) and in the interface design.

Research limitations/implications

More ethnographic approaches are needed to elicit distinctive Caribbean user behaviours.

Practical implications

The study concludes that similar usability evaluations should be undertaken at the other UWI campus library web sites and that usability training should be incorporated into the culture of the library organisation. Critical next steps for the web designer are also suggested.

Originality/value

The paper presents issues of organisational change and the impact of technology on the relationship between systems and user services librarians.
Giving voice to the past: digitizing oral history
Authors: Weatherford Stevens Kimberly , Latham Bethany
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the processes and procedures utilized by Jacksonville State University's Houston Cole Library to digitize an oral history collection and provide access to it through the Library's catalog, web presence, and the state‐wide digital repository initiative, Alabama Mosaic (see www.alabamamosaic.org).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the Library's experiences in acquiring, digitizing, creating metadata for and making accessible a collection of oral histories.

Findings

The paper describes the obstacles overcome, issues encountered, procedures established, and ramifications of the project.

Practical implications

Many institutions are currently digitizing unique collections as part of repository initiatives, both institutional and collaborative. Effective practices and guidelines must be developed in order to streamline the process and provide the most complete access to these unique collections. The paper provides a practical model to address these issues.

Originality/value

The paper provides common practices for the digitization, creation of metadata, and provision of access for unique oral history collections; it also provides insights into issues that can arise and how best to address them.
Using learning environments as a metaphor for educational change
Authors: Weller Martin
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that the online learning environment can be seen as the means by which higher education can explore the challenges and opportunities raised by online and digital society.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper argues that the online learning environment can be seen as a metaphor for how universities respond to the requirements and challenges of the digital age. Current learning management systems (LMSs) are examined, and compared with the values found in web 2.0 and social media. Current thinking on pedagogy for online learning is then examined. The SocialLearn project at the Open University in the UK is then explained, which seeks to create a disaggregated, decentralised, social system for learners.

Findings

The conclusion from the analysis is that there is a conflict between the centralised learning management system (LMS) and the requirements of online pedagogy. The traditional LMS can be seen as embodying the wrong metaphor, that of the traditional classroom. The paper concludes by arguing that such learning environments will be more useful to higher education in coming to understand its response to many of the changes being seen in society, which are facilitated by the new technologies.

Originality/value

The paper provides a framework for considering LMSs and their relation to universities and pedagogy, and an argument for the promotion of more decentralised systems.
Creating an innovation‐oriented technology strategy
Authors: Wilson Scott , Velayutham Kamala
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore technology strategies and policies in the areas of standards, repositioning of technology, and service‐oriented architecture that focus on enabling innovation while retaining coherence and viability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the concepts of shearing layers and Personal Learning Environments to define appropriate boundaries between individual, departmental, institutional, national, and global network control.

Findings

Education systems today can be characterised as a recursive metasystem of separate systems. Each system uses innovation as part of strategic planning to try to realise its potential and release its latency. However, these strategic activities generate friction with the metasystem, which puts the brakes on innovation in its subsystems. The architectural concepts of shearing layers and flexible couplings provide a model for reducing this friction. One way of enabling shearing layers in educational technology is to offer polymodal access to services.

Research limitations/implications

In managing technology, institutions should actively consider relocating functions to other layers of the education system, including technologies owned by individual learners and teachers. They should think of technology in terms of supporting flexible shearing layers between rapidly changing organisational structures. The concept of polymodal access should be used when looking to deploy services at any level of the organisation. Critical cross‐cutting issues of privacy, identity, and business intelligence need to be designed into the institutional and departmental service infrastructure. Institutions should develop innovation‐oriented technology policies. At the department or course level, policies should also reflect the position of the organisation with regard to the equitable experience of education.

Originality/value

The approach outlined demonstrates that institutions have the capacity to reinvent their technology strategies and policies in such a way as to unlock innovation at the departmental and personal level, without creating a crisis in IT service management. On the other hand, it also shows that the PLE perspective needs to be balanced with a broader view of student disposition and institutional goals to become recognised as part of the institutional technology strategy and policies.
An agile approach to managing open educational resources
Authors: Masson Patrick , Udas Ken
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that pointing to patterns of change in the adoption and institutionalization of educational resources, the appropriateness of traditional heavy and front‐loaded planning and management regimes is challenged in favor of alternative Agile Methods.

Design/methodology/approach

Starting from the simple observation that the original introduction of Course Management Systems to support online learning was ad hoc and evolutionary, rather than planned at an enterprise level, the paper points to the conflict between, and offers a solution for, open and decentralized resources and traditional teaching, learning, support, and management. By developing a logic to decentralization, a number of managerial strategies to improve agility are provided that address the changing nature of the university from one fundamentally designed to control, to one positioned to influence and adapt under the assumptions of change.

Findings

It is found that many components of the university including teaching, learning content, learning design, content development and management, and core infrastructure are shifting from centralized to decentralized models, while current management and governance practices remain centralized resulting in lagging development and increased risk.

Originality/value

The connections made here open a dialog for challenging and changing traditional management and decision‐making approaches within the organization, to better account for the environment that decentralized systems create.
Ownership structure, corporate governance and capital structure decisions of firms
Authors: Bokpin Godfred A. , Arko Anastacia C.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of ownership structure and corporate governance on capital structure decisions of firms on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

Design/methodology/approach

To analyze the impact of ownership structure and corporate governance on firms' financing decisions, unbalanced panel data covering a period from 2002 to 2007 is employed using the seemingly unrelated regression approach to mitigate the effects of multicollinearity among the regressors.

Findings

The regression results reveal that managerial shareholding significantly positively influences the choice of long‐term debt over equity. Among the corporate governance variables, board size is found to be positively and statistically significantly related to capital structure choices. Firm level factors such as volatility in earnings, asset tangibility, dividend payout ratio and profitability are significant determinants of corporate capital structure decisions on the GSE. The findings are largely consistent with theories of capital structure decisions observed in the literature.

Originality/value

The main value of this paper is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of forms of ownership and other governance practices on capital structure decisions of firms from an emerging market perspective.
Market volatility across countries – evidence from international markets
Authors: Mollah Sabur , Mobarek Asma
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the time‐varying risk return relationship and the persistence of shocks to volatility within GARCH framework both in developed and emerging markets.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses nonlinear ARCH and GARCH‐family models for testing the volatility both in developed and emerging markets.

Findings

The findings of the paper suggest that there is a long‐term persistence shock in emerging markets compared to developed markets.

Research limitations/implications

The data set used for the developed and emerging markets is not consistent in terms of sample period. However, this paper explores the venues for further research on the global diversification.

Practical implications

The implication of volatility measurement is vital in determining the cost of capital for investment and portfolio management, option pricing and for market regulations.

Originality/value

The unique features of the paper include large sample size with updated data set that reveals the nature of world economy and empirical evidence on volatility testing that reports the risk return characteristics of both developed and emerging markets.