bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Time frames for leaving
Authors: van Dam Karen
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This study seeks to investigate the time frames that employees use when considering leaving the organization, and aims to establish how employees with specific time frames differ from one another with respect to turnover predictors.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the results of a pilot study, five groups were distinguished, i.e. urgent leavers, determined leavers, undetermined leavers, long‐term leavers, and stayers. A total of 556 employees (57 percent response rate) returned the questionnaire. The groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's comparisons.

Findings

The findings provide evidence for meaningful differences (e.g. satisfaction, commitment, perceived job alternatives, outcome expectations, turnover attitude, and subjective norm) between these groups of potential leavers.

Originality/value

The findings suggest that established turnover models are useful for understanding employees' consideration of external job transitions in both the near and distant future. Organizations might use tailor‐made interventions to manage the careers and turnover of specific groups.
Rural education: learning to be rural teachers
Authors: Barter Barbara
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This paper draws on research which began in 2006 with students in a graduate course on rural education. Its purpose was to find out what graduate students saw as current issues of rural education, how that compared to the literature, and what they thought supporting agencies such as government and universities needed to be doing to advance rural education. This paper focuses on presenting the findings and initiating a dialogue that leads to further conceptual understanding of ruralness.

Design/methodology/approach

The inquiry design and implementation is grounded in theories of constructivism and personal practical knowledge.

Findings

Some of the more common issues for participants in the study such as, curriculum delivery; bussing; teacher training; insecurity in teacher allocations; and threats of consolidation, are synonymous with the literature. The data also points to the need for research in rural schools and rural communities which is set within a rural‐based theoretical framework.

Research limitations/implications

The study is conducted within the context of one Canadian province using participants from one specific setting. Therefore, the findings represent a localized instance of both curriculum research and literature review.

Practical implications

The study may serve to illuminate issues which can be expanded and become more global in its practicality.

Originality/value

The paper provides an example of curriculum research that is founded on the work and learning experiences of students and their instructor. This knowledge can play a significant role in determining future curriculum design; curriculum implementation; teacher training, recruitment, and retention while enhancing community development in rural areas.
Negotiating TVET for sustainable livelihoods
Authors: von Kotze Astrid
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the adequacy of UNESCO policy in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. People working in the informal economy in the Global South are looked at as a starting point.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines UNESCO/UNEVOC documents, the UNIFEM report on the “Progress of the World's Women”, development literature, and case scenarios from Southern Africa.

Findings

There is a mismatch between policy and the reality on the ground. Changes in policy and provision are necessary if a social justice agenda is to be met.

Practical implications

The approach to TVET planning and provision should shift in three ways: from an emphasis on the formal to the informal economy; from work defined as employment to work as livelihood activities; and from sustainable development to sustainable livelihoods. The paper argues that five conditions should be met so that TVET can begin to include workers from the informal economy.

Originality/value

The paper defines “work” more inclusively, focuses on education and learning in the informal economy, and challenges notions of sustainable development in favour of sustainable livelihoods.
Hard/soft, formal/informal, work/learning
Authors: Jubas Kaela , Butterwick Shauna
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This paper discusses insights from a study of women working, or seeking or preparing for work, in the information technology (IT) field. At issue is how and whether alternative career pathways and informally acquired skills and knowledge, as well as the operation of gender in learning and work, are acknowledged by employers, colleagues and participants themselves.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the qualitative technique of life and work history, this study mapped varied learning pathways of women working in the IT field. We used a feminist approach to explore this field, which is characterised as both highly masculine and filled with opportunities for all workers, including women.

Findings

Juxtaposing categories present in the data, such as female and male, formal and informal education, work and learning, hard and soft skills, and centre and periphery, we establish that binary constructs are both persistent and tenuous.

Research limitations/implications

Our analysis challenges assumptions about educating the global workforce and the learning pathways within the IT field. Moreover, it suggests the usefulness of further qualitative research on this topic in other geographic locations or fields of work.

Originality/value

In questioning epistemological and social binaries, our analysis contributes to the re‐theorisation of conceptions of knowledge and learning. In moving from an either/or to a both/and understanding of them, we offer a different way of talking about how they can be understood.
Global KBD community developments: the MAKCi experience
Authors: Garcia Blanca C.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

Inscribed in third generation KM schemes, this paper aims to collect the resulting experience of facilitating an international consultation process on knowledge‐city topics, called the Most Admired Knowledge City (MAKCi) Awards.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws together the experiences gained through facilitating an international consultation process.

Findings

The paper reports on observations of the MAKCi point of convergence within the knowledge‐based development (KBD) community. It recounts the experience of a group of KBD experts who have undertaken a learning journey into knowledge‐generative collaborative research. Linked to a globally based community of practice, the MAKCi exercise clearly fosters a research and learning space through a network of practice (NoP) within the greater global KBD community that is worth exploring from multiple standpoints.

Originality/value

The paper discovers how knowledge‐intensive research work could depend on community links and networks to gain the necessary perspectives and paths to learn and make sense of the changing world. The MAKCi exercise appears a challenging case of networked knowledge‐sharing experience through a connected expertise that brings a group of individuals together to create integrated knowledge, regardless of geographical or time constraints. The second part of the paper concentrates on bringing further understanding as to how learning and knowledge creation is possible through networks, by conveying higher levels of knowledge co‐creation at a global scale, so relevant in knowledge‐based development contexts. The paper advances some applications on how emerging models of knowledge‐intensive networks such as NoPs foster tacit knowledge conversion into explicit scholarly knowledge.
Development of personalized learning objects for training adult educators of special groups
Authors: Pavlis Korres Maria , García‐Barriocanal Elena
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The paper seeks to provide personalized learning objects to adults' educators of special groups (AESG) in a technology‐enhanced learning environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a definition of specific criteria by which personalization of learning objects is effected. An analysis under the scope of adult education and multicultural education is performed, resulting in the development of tools and a clear path leading to more efficient personalization of learning objects of AESG within an e‐learning environment.

Findings

Personalization of learning objects for AESG can be achieved to a much greater extent when the element of compatibility between educator and learner defines content, preceding and mapping with presentation factors.

Research limitations/implications

As the research is focused on AESG, the key notion of compatibility may not be applicable to adult educators of the general public.

Practical implications

The paper offers a path through which learning management systems can provide improved personalization of learning objects addressed to AESG.

Originality/value

The introduction of compatibility between educator and learner as the key element of the educator's profile in order to provide personalized learning objects addressed to AESG opens up new territory. The paper is also useful to the developers of learning management systems addressed to any group with special attributes which strongly affect the learner's profile.
Predicting web services performance from internet performance: an empirical study of resources and capabilities in e‐business SMEs
Authors: Webb Brian R. , Schlemmer Frank
Published: October 2008

Purpose

Web services promise a step change in business‐to‐business application models and practices. But how do we measure web services' performance? Because web services are so new, and implementations so few, the purpose of this paper is to take internet performance as a proxy for web services performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors surveyed 106 e‐business SMEs to identify key drivers for internet performance, and then predicted web services performance.

Findings

Surprisingly, it was found that while business resources and IT resources positively impact internet performance, dynamic capabilities do not. Also, there appear to be significant firm size effects.

Originality/value

The implications of these findings for the strategic management of web services are discussed, and in particular, managers' need to balance resources and capabilities in volatile business environments.
Process model for university‐industry research collaboration
Authors: Philbin Simon
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of university‐industry research collaboration through the development of a new process model.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was carried out on collaborative partnering and supporting factors namely social capital and the role of knowledge. Empirical research involved a series of 32 structured interviews with relevant stakeholders, with subsequent grouping and conceptualisation allowing common themes to be identified and a new process model to be proposed.

Findings

The study finds that there is a lack of integrative frameworks for the management of research collaborations. Through building on the suggested best practice described in the paper, application of the model to the management of an engineering research programme has allowed the benefits of this approach as well as some of the underlying issues to be explored in detail.

Research limitations/implications

The research focused on university‐industry research collaborations and although it may be applicable to other forms of collaborations, e.g. industry‐to‐industry, there could be features that are particular to the area under investigation.

Practical implications

A model has been proposed, which is a logical methodology that can be utilised by practitioners from both academia and industry in order to improve the process of research collaboration and facilitate more effective transfer of knowledge.

Originality/value

The model builds on previous literature on alliance and collaboration management but crucially is based on an innovative new process‐based methodology, which provides practitioners with a “route map” of how to develop and manage research collaborations. The model uses a holistic approach to collaboration through capturing process, knowledge and social elements.
The greening of commercial leases
Authors: Hinnells Mark , Bright Susan , Langley Angela , Woodford Lloyd , Schiellerup Pernille , Bosteels Tatiana
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to consider how policy changes may drive a change in leasing practices, in order to reduce environmental impact (particularly carbon dioxide emissions) from the commercial building stock.

Design/methodology/approach

In many countries, including the UK, environmental policy (particularly on carbon dioxide emissions from energy use) is beginning to impact on the commercial property market. This paper explores barriers to improved performance, two models for greening leases (a light green and dark green approach) based on work by the authors from Cardiff University and the Australian government, as well as how tenanted buildings can be managed “more greenly”. It then explores how green leases may penetrate the market.

Findings

The conventional relationship between the landlord (as building owner) and tenant (as occupier) largely neglects environmental considerations. However, change may be rapid, disruptive and challenging.

Originality/value

The paper lays out some of the issues, solutions, and pathways for the commercial property industry.
Engaging stakeholders in a sustainability context
Authors: Leal Filho Walter , Schwarz Jens
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences of RCE Hamburg, one of the latest Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) to be created. It outlines the activities performed by the RCE and describes its relationships with the various stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

A description of the region where the RCE is located is provided, along with some facts and figures related to the site. In addition, a description of the structure and the activities of the RCE Hamburg is provided, complemented by a description of the engagement of various stakeholders.

Findings

The paper shows that, by means of projects and action‐based initiatives, synergies between regional centres of expertise on education for sustainable development and agencies based at the local level can be achieved.

Originality/value

The RCE is characterised by an integrated approach where different target groups are involved (e.g. schools, NGOs and industry) and where a local university plays a catalyst role.
Can we be assured of quality scholarship in a peer review‐less environment?
Authors: Gorman G.E.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this short paper is to focus on peer review in academic publishing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyses the present situation with regard to an increasing lack of control.

Findings

The quality control aspect of peer review remains its greatest benefit to the scholarly community, but this gate‐keeping function is under threat, in various ways, from the internet.

Originality/value

The paper highlights how the loss of quality control that results from a peer review‐less environment should be of concern to the research community.
Factors affecting online research by nurses in Taiwan
Authors: Lu Hung‐Yi , Andrews James E. , Hou Hsin‐Ya , Chen Su‐Yen , Tu Yen‐Hwa , Yu Yung‐Chang
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to investigate predictors of online medical research by nurses.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross‐sectional study was conducted and a representative sample of nurses was selected from three Taiwanese hospitals from 1 January to 31 March 2007. A total of 274 female nurses completed the questionnaire.

Findings

The results indicate that the expectancy value of internet characteristics, attitude towards online information seeking and perceived credibility of online information significantly and positively predict online information‐seeking behaviour in nurses. Specifically, the multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the perceived credibility of online information is the strongest predictive variable of online information seeking.

Originality/value

The findings of this study suggest that an important task for professional health organisations is to educate nurses in assessing the reliability of medical information found on the web, such as looking for credible institutional sites, verifying available information with that from other sources or sites, and using common sense.
Semantic copyright management for internet‐wide knowledge sharing and reuse
Authors: García González Roberto , Gil Rosa
Published: October 2008

Purpose

To extract the full potential from internet‐wide knowledge sharing and reuse, the underlying copyright issues must be taken into account and managed using digital rights management (DRM) tools. The paper aims to focus on the issues involved.

Design/methodology/approach

Traditional DRM and open licensing initiatives lack the required computerised support and flexibility to scale to internet‐wide copyright management. Our approach is based on a semantic web ontology that conceptualises the copyright domain.

Findings

The Copyright Ontology facilitates interoperation while providing a rich framework that accommodates copyright law and copes with custom licensing schemes.

Research limitations/implications

The ontology is based on the description logic variant of the Web Ontology Language. Despite its scalability, this variant has some limitations on expression that will be overcome with the help of semantic web rules in future versions of the ontology.

Practical implications

The ontology provides the building blocks for flexible machine‐understandable licenses and facilitates implementation because existing semantic web tools can be easily reused. Moreover, existing initiatives can be mapped to the ontology to make it an interoperability hub.

Originality/value

The paper contributes a novel approach to DRM, based on semantic web technologies, that takes into account the underlying copyright legal framework. This is possible thanks to the greater expressiveness of semantic web knowledge representation tools.
Innovapost executes on high‐speed merger and acquisition activities
Authors: Brent Charland M.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of how our internal HR team overcame a number of hurdles and achieved 100 percent success in the transition of 85 targeted employees into Innovapost on a timeline that left barely five weeks from start to finish.

Design/methodology/approach

In July 2006 Innovapost found that it needed to plan for the transition of 85 new employees from epost and Borderfree, two members of the Canada Post Group of companies that would be dissolving on 1 November. Despite a timeline that left barely five weeks for the transition activities, the HR team was able to develop the transition approach, present it to the new employees, answer their specific questions and get 100 percent positive response to the offers of employment with Innovapost.

Findings

Although organizational and prioritization skills are critical for the success of this type of activity, having a clearly defined transition philosophy to guide you is critical. Decisions have to be made quickly and consistently to ensure that employees have faith in the success of the transition. It is also vital that the HR transition team establishes a visible presence among the transitioning employees and reiterates the message that they are seen as valued new additions to the parent company. There is no such thing as too much communication when dealing with employees, especially when the timeline is short and they are required to make decisions affecting their careers with very little notice.

Originality/value

The paper presents a methodology of how to successfully integrate employees from outside the company.
Developing environmental impact statement (EIS) guidelines for the management of environmental quality at major projects in Kuwait
Authors: Mohamed Al‐Damkhi Ali , Ahmed Abdul‐Wahab Sabah , Naser Al‐Khalaf Bader , Sa'ad Al‐Nafisi Abeer
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to set guidelines for the development and review of environmental impact statements (EIS) for major development projects proposed in the third review of the Kuwait Master Plan (KMP3). Best practices for environmental quality management to alleviate the impact of these projects on the environment are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper selects six major projects proposed for the period (2005‐2030) in KMP3. These projects include construction of new towns, power plants, highways, hospitals, waterfront projects and sanitary engineering projects. The current environmental impact assessment (EIA) system in Kuwait is reviewed and a comprehensive proposal to develop or review EISs for each of the six projects is recommended.

Findings

The projects selected are known to have adverse environmental impacts. The proposed EIS system will help developers prepare and submit a comprehensive EIS to obtain an environmental permit from the Environment Public Authority in Kuwait.

Practical implications

The proposed guidelines could be modified and applied to EISs for similar projects in other Gulf countries and other regions in the world that have similar climate conditions and geographies.

Originality/value

It is hoped that the proposed EIS guidelines will qualify as best practices for environmental quality management of comparable projects. The guidelines should reduce the time involved for preparing EISs and promote greater content accuracy in addition to promoting a “cleaner production” approach for these projects.
A comprehensive approach to drought and desertification in Nigeria
Authors: Nasiru Medugu Idris , Rafee Majid M. , Choji I.D.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate current government policies in combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought. This paper discusses the menace of desertification, the extent and the impact of drought in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The research reported in this paper was undertaken through review of existing literature, personal observations and interview with some of the residents in the affected areas as well as government officials in charge of programs in combating desertification.

Findings

The paper observes that the failure of current government policies include among others the top‐down approach, inconsistencies of government policies, neglect of indigenous knowledge, use of inappropriate technology, sectoral approach, inadequate funding, and inadequate awareness. Having identified the causes of the problem, this paper proposes that the national policy for drought and desertification should ensure sustainable development based on proper management of human‐environment interactions in the affected areas.

Practical implications

The evaluation method performed in this paper allows us to analyze the factors responsible for the failure of government policies in combating desertification in Nigeria. This paper suggests that a number of complementary policies, strategies and management approaches be put in place and such must take cognizance of the existing institutional settings and professional groupings as well as the complex historical, social, cultural, and legal considerations.

Originality/value

The paper provides a rational, holistic, practicable and comprehensive approach for finding solutions to the problems of drought and desertification in Nigeria.
Proposing intelligent alternative propulsion concepts contributing to higher CO2 savings with first generation biofuels
Authors: Cebrat Gerfried , Karagiannidis Avraam , Papadopoulos Agis
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how opting for multiple contributors to the lowC economy and introducing new intelligent solutions allows a smooth transition to renewable fuels. Undoubtedly, biofuels are no longer everybody's darling. This is partly owed to the need to produce bio fuels at the lowest possible price and absent sustainability regulations or their enforcement like the European parliament initiated by banning bio fuels with not sufficient evidence of saving CO2. But on the other hand, the end of cheap oil is clearly visible and it is clear that second generation lowC fuels may by no means be able to replace all of the worlds growing fuel consumption in a few years.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a tri‐fold approach which has originated of two EU‐projects (SUGRE and RECODRIVE) based on reduction of the propulsion demand, intelligent powertrain configuration and the use of residues and waste as feedstock. The RECODRIVE approach tested in the European project with the same name introduces a quality management in fleet management which comprises procurement, driving and maintenance. This approach comprising also logistics should be able to reduce the propulsion demand at least by 10 per cent targeting 30 per cent and more.

Findings

Hybrid power trains are regenerating the braking energy and are reducing the propulsion demand by 15‐25 per cent in stop'n go traffic in cities. Parallel or power split hybrids may operate with phlegmatized and thus more efficient combustion engines, but serial hybrid electric power trains drive this characteristics, the extreme which is helpful introducing alternative fuels. They decouple the production of energy from the throttle command and allow for a more steady operation of the internal combustion engine.

Practical implications

By employing a serial hybrid power train simpler low‐RPM engines may be used which are modified to run on plant oils and other alternative fuels which are difficult to use in modern highly performing diesel engines. By reducing the propulsion demand, a higher share of alternative fuels based on natural feedstock may be achieved. This feedstock may be also amended by better utilising waste. The paper describes two examples. In Graz, used frying oil is collected to feed a transesterification plant and in Linköping waste from the meat industry is collected to produce biogas.

Originality/value

The approach enables the transport sector to increase the independence on oil at short‐term without the risk of putting a lot of venture capital in the wrong fuel or engine technology. The serial hybrid electric concept remains the basis for future solutions working on different end energy like hydrogen.
The market reaction to the appointment of outside directors
Authors: Gunasekarage Abeyratna , Reed Debra K.
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the character of any market response to the appointment of outside directors. The main propositions tested are: whether the stock market responds unconditionally to these appointments or whether the market response is conditional on the degree of the agency problem faced by the firm and the affiliation of the appointees.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a New Zealand sample of the appointments of outside directors during the period from July 1999 to June 2004. The unconditional market response is examined analysing the abnormal returns generated by the appointing companies during the three‐day announcement period. The influences of the agency problem and the affiliation of directors are tested by employing multiple regressions.

Findings

The findings provide strong support for the second proposition; the market considers the degree of the agency problem faced by the firm and the affiliation of outside directors in responding to these appointments. The percentage of outside directors in the board emerged as the strongest governance mechanism which, together with firm size, posed a significant inverse influence on announcement period abnormal returns. A strong interaction effect between appointee status and the agency problem was not present.

Originality/value

The mere appointment of outside directors may not please the firm's investors. Such appointments are more useful for companies with severe agency conflicts; even if such a conflict is present, the affiliations that these outside directors have with the executives and the operations of the appointing companies may need to be considered in determining the value of such appointments.
Corporate governance and informed trading
Authors: Jackson David , Dutta Shantanu , Nitani Miwako
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically study the relationship between informed trading and overall corporate governance mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

A broad range of governance characteristics are used to measure the governance structure of firms in the Toronto Stock Exchange. The risk of informed trading is estimated using a PIN measure that avoids biases induced by trade classification errors. Our proxies for informed trading are regressed on measures of corporate governance.

Findings

Our most important result is that the observed trade‐off between CEO compensation and informed trading holds only for large firms. There is no correlation between CEO cash compensation and the risk of informed trading in small and medium sized firms. We find evidence that cross‐sectional differences in the risk of informed trading are explained by a firm's governance structure.

Research limitations/implications

Research finding a trade‐off between CEO compensation and informed trading merits closer examination.

Practical implications

Limitations on insider trading, and more broadly on informed trading, may involve different costs and benefits for large firms than for medium and small firms.

Originality/value

This paper expands the set of governance characteristics shown to interact with informed trading activity. The Toronto market is well suited to focusing on relations between informed trading and firm‐level governance characteristics.
Implementing decentralised management in Ghana
Authors: Kojo Sakyi Emmanuel
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the barriers to the implementation of management decentralisation of health services and programmes at district level in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for the study were collected through a qualitative technique in the Sekyere West district.

Findings

The findings are: transfer of authority for management decision making and planning was rarely operational at district level; and control over financial and personnel decisions remained centralised. The paper identified lack of staff capacity, lack of commitment and inter‐organisational conflict between health managers and local government officials as factors obstructing the implementation of management decentralisation in the district.

Originality/value

The lesson from the study is that the implementation of health care management decentralisation at district level has stalled because of the combined effect of internal and external constraints. The paper suggests that given the enormity of the problem of paucity of capacity to undertake new service management responsibilities, the process of transferring responsibilities, resources and control to lower level health managements should be gradual and incremental; the sequencing of reform too should be such that district health officers and stakeholders are given adequate training prior to the inauguration of new management reform.
Trade policy and wage inequality: evidence from Indian manufacturing
Authors: Sen Kunal
Published: October 2008

Purpose

There has been a period of slow but a steady increase in wage inequality in the Indian manufacturing sector since the mid‐1980s, which has gone hand‐in‐hand with an increase in the relative employment of skilled workers across all industries in the same period. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the co‐movement of relative employment and wages of skilled workers can be attributed to the changes in trade policy that has occurred in the Indian economy since the mid‐1980s.

Design/methodology/approach

The two dominant theoretical perspectives on why trade reforms lay lead to wage inequality are Heckscher–Ohlin theory and trade‐induced skill‐biased technological change (SBTC). The paper evaluates the applicability of these theoretical perspectives to the Indian case using disaggregated industry data from Annual Survey of Industries from 1973 to 1997.

Findings

Evidence was found of the validity of both the two dominant theoretical perspectives on wage inequality to explain the co‐movement in wage inequality and relative skill intensity in Indian manufacturing, with both variables increasing in the 1990s. Trade‐induced technological progress has led to an increase in relative skill intensity and wage inequality within industries. At the same time, the decline in protection that seems to have occurred more in unskilled labour‐intensive industries has led to a relative fall in the economy‐wide return to unskilled labour relative to skilled labour. Therefore, trade reforms have led to a widening of wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers, and an increase in relative skill intensity in Indian manufacturing.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to support of the trade‐induced SBTC hypothesis which may provide a consistent explanation of why many countries in the south experienced increases in wage inequality with the onset of trade liberalisation.
Transaction costs, information technology and development
Authors: Singh Nirvikar
Published: October 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of transaction costs on economic welfare and development, and the role of information technology (IT) in reducing transaction costs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper extends the static model of Romer, in which transaction costs reduce welfare by reducing the equilibrium number of intermediate goods, and estimate the welfare losses in the case of domestic transaction costs. The main analysis of the paper extends a dynamic model of Ciccone and Matsuyama to incorporate transaction costs. Also described are case studies of the use of IT in rural India.

Findings

In the static model, it is shown that domestic transaction costs have a substantial welfare impact when the number of goods is endogenous. In the dynamic model, it is shown that high transaction costs reduce the long‐run level of development, and may arrest development completely in the extreme case. Some preliminary, qualitative evidence from rural India is offered to illustrate how these reductions may occur through the use of IT.

Originality/value

The treatment of transaction costs in a dynamic model is novel, and the use of such a model provides a new theoretical underpinning for understanding the potential impacts of IT on development.
The total factor productivity in China and India: new measures and approaches
Authors: Nin Pratt Alejandro , Yu Bingxin , Fan Shenggen
Published: October 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to measure and compare agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth in China and India and relates TFP growth in each country to policy milestones and investment in agricultural research.

Design/methodology/approach

TFP is measured using a non‐parametric Malmquist index which allows the decomposition of TFP growth into its components: efficiency and technical change.

Findings

Comparing TFP growth in China and India it is found that efficiency improvement played a dominant role in promoting TFP growth in China, while technical change has also contributed positively. In India, the major source of productivity improvement came from technical change, as efficiency barely changed over the last three decades, which explains lower TFP growth than in China. Agricultural research has significantly contributed to improve agricultural productivity in both China and India. Even today, returns to agricultural R&D investments are very high, with benefit/cost ratios ranging from 20.7 to 9.6 in China and from 29.6 to 14.8 in India.

Originality/value

The applied methodology and the comparison between TFP growth patterns contribute to a better understanding of the consequences that the different approaches to agricultural reform followed by China and India had on the performance of agriculture in both countries.
A‐c‐h‐e‐s‐o‐n spells management!
Authors: O'Brien Michael
Published: October 2008

This paper briefly describes the background to the establishment of the Committee of Inquiry into the future development of the Public Health Function. It summarises some of the constraints, both explicit and implicit, which guided the committee's approach to its task. It points up the inextricable links between health authority responsibility, general management and public health medicine. Strengthening of the links between general management and public health medicine will enhance both for the benefit of public health.
Growth of bureaucracy in the British National Health Service
Authors: Gammon Max
Published: October 2008

‘Bureaucracy does not only hide its true nature from non‐bureaucrats, it hides it from itself.’ Nicos Mouzelis, ‘Organization and Bureaucracy’
Illuminating performance with computer‐based statistical searchlights
Authors: Fairey M.
Published: October 2008

While Ministers of the UK Government are mounting a wide‐ranging review of the country's National Health Service and attention is increasingly focussing on ways of stretching resources to treat more patients, more effectively, managers and clinicians are demanding more effective ways of looking at the performance of hospitals, clinics and health authorities to identify shortcomings.
Occupational stress among general practitioners
Authors: Cooper Cary L. , Hingley Peter
Published: October 2008

John Berger, in his well‐known book ‘A Fortunate Man’, drew an idealistic portrait of a country general practitioner whose high commitment to his vocation and a life of dedicated service to his patients and the community had brought self‐fulfillment and contentment of the highest order. Much of this, it was implied, was due to the traditional role of the GP in society, the implicitly rewarding nature of the helping relationship, the positive bond that grows between a family practitioner and his patients, and the status and rewards that the individual doctor could be assured of as part of his role. It would be interesting to speculate how many of the UK's GPs could recognise themselves in this portrait.
Funding and delivery: Valuing the alternatives
Authors: Halpern Stephen
Published: October 2008

It is not possible to make a totally objective analysis of any health care system without assuming various values. These values, in turn, assume that the delivery of health care should conform to various criteria. The Institute of Health Services Management (IHSM) set up a study which attempts to establish a framework of criteria against which alternative systems of funding can be tested. The conclusions of the study are based on a series of working papers which examined the available evidence. In addition the study contains a brief discussion of the management and organisation of the National Health Service.
Community physicians and general managers: Experience and expectations
Authors: Gabbay John , Williams Derek
Published: October 2008

Interview data from a two and a half year study of 20 District General Managers (DGMs) from a wide variety of backgrounds confirmed the view that there has been widespread dissatisfaction about the work of the District Medical Officer (DMO). This dissatisfaction was often mirrored by the DMOs themselves. We therefore supplemented the interviews with a questionnaire listing 16 principal functions of community medicine and asked the DGMs and their DMOs independently to rate the amount of attention devoted by the DMO to each function both currently and ideally. We found a contrast between the overall uncertainty and concern expressed about community medicine during discussions, and the enthusiasm for the itemized community medical functions. There was close correlation between the DGMs' and DMOs' mean rates, which were always higher in the ideal than the current rating, and particularly so for the DMO's work in information and assessment of need, in service evaluation, and — only among the DMOs' responses — in the independent advocacy of public health. We present the detailed results for all the functions, and discuss the implications of these and our interview data for the implementation of the Acheson Report and for the managerial education of public health physicians.
Racial Equality in Health Service Employment: the Development of Equal Opportunities Policies
Authors: Ellis Barbara
Published: October 2008

The National Health Service (NHS) is the largest employer in Britain and since its inception has been a major source of employment for the black and ethnic minority population. The NHS has relied upon minority group labour. Yet increasing evidence shows that black and ethnic minority employees do not enjoy equality of opportunity whether in recruitment, promotion or terms and conditions of employment. There is evidence also that the NHS has not yet faced up to this situation and implemented the well established procedures for eliminating racial discrimination which have been adopted by other major employers.
Contracting for neonatal intensive care services
Authors: Welling FCAA Stuart
Published: October 2008

South East Thames Regional Health Authority (SETRHA), in conjunction with the Brighton Health Authority, have negotiated a prospective contract for the provision of NICU services by Brighton Health Authority to district health authorities in the South West Thames Region.
Non‐destructive evaluation techniques
Authors: Berger Harold
Published: October 2008

This article is a condensation of the author's work that first appeared in “Dimensions” Nov. 1980, the magazine of the National Bureau of Standards, U.S. Dept. of Commerce. With non‐destructive testing techniques playing an increasing role in corrosion monitoring, it is published here as it is felt that it gives a succinct introduction to NDT which will be useful to those not yet familiar with the technology.
Barrier foils and the Trans‐Siberian Pipeline
Authors: Bass John S.
Published: October 2008

Polythene has been the most popular packaging material used in the UK for many years. Despite its obvious moisture vapour transmission rate inadequacies (five hundred gauge polythene allows water vapour through at a rate of four grammes per square metre every twenty‐four hours) polythene continues to be the most widely used means of packing protection.
Stainless steel in the food processing industry
Authors: Smith C.A.
Published: October 2008

Introduction To the corrosion engineer, the various types of stainless steel are as important as the bible is to a vicar. Corrosion technology never stands still, and developments in both the composition and application of stainless steel are continually being made to keep abreast of the demand to deal with the ever increasing complexity of situations that present themselves.
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO PROJECT WORK ‐ AN EXPLORATION OF ASSESSMENT PRACTICES FROM LECTURER PERSPECTIVES
Authors: Jacobs Cecilia , Miller Seirgei
Published: October 2008

Peninsula Technikon has for the past few years engaged in a review of their current qualifications with a view to transforming these curricula into Outcomes Based Education (OBE) format with learning specified in terms of broad, exit level outcomes. In turn the subjects making up these programmes were further broken down into enabling and sub‐enabling learning outcomes. The institution is currently engaged in designing tasks and assessment criteria which attempt to piece together these learning outcomes into projects which integrate student learning and introduce reflective assessment practices. The process underlying the design of these integrated projects has necessitated collaborative planning and assessment among academic staff at various levels of each programme. Through this process staff have grappled with and puzzled over the realities of implementing OBE at classroom level. This paper focuses on an integrated project designed for the exit level of the Civil Engineering diploma programme and explores the assessment practices from lecturer perspectives through unstructured focus group discussions, as well as individual, structured questionnaires and interviews. The outcomes of this research are presented as work in progress and tentative recommendations will be made regarding the implementation of integrated projects.
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO CURRICULUM AT FOUNDATION LEVEL
Authors: Jacobs Cecilia , Jacobs Keith
Published: October 2008

The prospect of state funding for foundation programmes has heralded a new interest in such programmes in the Higher Education sector. Already the proposed funding frameworks appear to be influencing the nature of foundation curricula. Against this background Peninsula Technikon is currently implementing pilot foundation programmes in Mechanical and Civil Engineering. This pilot draws on an integrated, extended curriculum model emerging in the Engineering faculty, which uses a focus subject from the mainstream programme around which to build the foundation curriculum. This paper presents a multi‐level analysis of policy articulation regarding foundation programmes, from a mode 2 (Gibbons 1994) perspective which emphasises the need for learning to be applied in real‐life, problem‐solving contexts which transcend disciplinary boundaries and reflect issues of importance to society. It examines this policy and responses to it, at the macro level of state and the Higher Education (HE) sector, as well as the micro level of an individual HE institution and two academic departments. Finally suggestions are made as to why and how articulation from the micro to the macro level could enhance policy implementation.
The Impact of Training and Education Characteristics Upon Plant Operator Maintenance Proficiency
Authors: Edwards David J. , Cabahug Ruel R. , Nicholas John
Published: October 2008

Hiring, selecting or assessing plant operatives' proficiency in the UK construction industry is an increasingly difficult task. A number of plant operator certification schemes are available to practitioners and each scheme trains to a myriad of bespoke standards. Consequently, the decision to employ a candidate often rests upon the employer's intuition and judgement and creates an unnecessary dilemma. To address this aforementioned problem, findings of research work that modelled plant operators' maintenance proficiency is presented. A UK nationwide survey was conducted to elicit plant professional opinion on what ‘training and educational’ (T&E) attributes constitute ‘good’ operator proficiency. The data was then arranged into three categories of operator maintenance proficiency: good, average and poor Multivariate Discriminant Analysis (MDA) was used on 75 percent of a simulated data set. The model utilised five T&E attributes, namely: duration of training provided, operator holder of alternative training card (not Certificate of Training Achievement (CTA) or Scottish/National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQ)), operator's oral communication skills, operator's planning skills and operator's mechanical knowledge. Performance analysis revealed that model classification accuracy was 89.10 percent. The remaining 25 percent hold out sample was then modelled for validation purposes using the derived MDA model. Accuracy of the sub‐sample model was high at 77.60 percent whilst a paired sample T‐tests for the 75 percent and 25 percent sample data established that there was no significant statistical difference between actual and predicted classifications. Future work is proposed that aims to model other factors that influence operator maintenance proficiency; namely, work situational, motivational management and personal factors.