bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimation of VaR in conditional heteroscedastic models for principal‐protected notes
Authors: Chen Fen‐Ying
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine the accuracy of GARCH and provide a comparison of GARCH‐type and the other time series models in financial commodity markets.

Design/methodology/approach

First, a model fitting is performed to choose suitable models with conditional volatility for principal‐protected and path‐dependent notes by means of Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Schwartz Bayesian information criterion (SBC). Second, this paper adopts the backtesting criteria and the Diebold and Mariano test to compare the performances of the selected time series models.

Findings

The empirical results show that the performance of GARCH is significantly worse than EGARCH(1,1) based on the Diebold and Mariano test criteria. By backtesting test criteria, the null hypothesis that a given confidence level is the true probability in ARCH(4) cannot be rejected. The interesting results are different from past studies.

Originality/value

There is little literature of principal‐protected notes that focuses on the downside risk for investors. But, managing downside risk is important for individual and institution investors. This paper offer new insight into the literature of principal‐protected notes.
Access control and privacy in web‐based social networks
Authors: Carminati Barbara , Ferrari Elena
Published: November 2008

Purpose

Web‐based social networks (WBSNs) are today one of the most relevant phenomena related to the advent of Web 2.0. The purpose of this paper is to discuss main security and privacy requirements arising in WBSNs, with a particular focus on access control, and to survey the main research activities carried out in the field. The social networking paradigm is today used not only for recreational purposes; it is also used at the enterprise level as a means to facilitate knowledge sharing and information dissemination both at the internet and at the intranet level. As a result of the widespread use of WBSN services, millions of individuals can today easily share personal and confidential information with an incredible amount of (possible unknown) other users. Clearly, this huge amount of information and the ease with which it can be shared and disseminated pose serious security and privacy concerns.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the main requirements related to access control and privacy enforcement in WBSNs. It presents the protection functionalities provided by today WBSNs and examines the main research proposals defined so far, in view of the identified requirements.

Findings

The area of access control and privacy for WBSNs is new and, therefore, many research issues still remain open. The paper provides an overview of some of these new issues.

Originality/value

The paper provides a useful discussion of the main security and privacy requirements arising in WBSNs, with a particular focus on access control. It also surveys the main research activities carried out in the field.
S2ProT: rank allocation by superpositioned propagation of topic relevance
Authors: Ågren Ola
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assign topic‐specific ratings to web pages.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses power iteration to assign topic‐specific rating values (calledrelevance) to web pages, creating a ranking or partial order among these pages for each topic. This approach depends on a set of pages that are initially assumed to be relevant for a specific topic; the spatial link structure of the web pages; and a net‐specific decay factor designatedξ.

Findings

The paper finds that this approach exhibits desirable properties such as fast convergence, stability and yields relevant answer sets. The first property will be shown using theoretical proofs, while the others are evaluated through stability experiments and assessments of real world data in comparison with already established algorithms.

Research limitations/implications

In the assessment, all pages that a web spider was able to find in the Nordic countries were used. It is also important to note that entities that use domains outside the Nordic countries (e.g..com or.org) are not present in the paper's datasets even though they reside logically within one or more of the Nordic countries. This is quite a large dataset, but still small in comparison with the entire worldwide web. Moreover, the execution speed of some of the algorithms unfortunately prohibited the use of a large test dataset in the stability tests.

Practical implications

It is not only possible, but also reasonable, to perform ranking of web pages without using Markov chain approaches. This means that the work of generating answer sets for complex questions could (at least in theory) be divided into smaller parts that are later summed up to give the final answer.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the research on internet search engines.
Automatic violent content web filtering approach based on the KDD process
Authors: Hammami Mohamed , Guermazi Radhouane , Ben Hamadou Abdelmajid
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The growth of the web and the increasing number of documents electronically available has been paralleled by the emergence of harmful web pages content such as pornography, violence, racism, etc. This emergence involved the necessity of providing filtering systems designed to secure the internet access. Most of them process mainly the adult content and focus on blocking pornography, marginalizing violence. The purpose of this paper is to propose a violent web content detection and filtering system, which uses textual and structural content‐based analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The violent web content detection and filtering system uses textual and structural content‐based analysis based on a violent keyword dictionary. The paper focuses on the keyword dictionary preparation, and presents a comparative study of different data mining techniques to block violent content web pages.

Findings

The solution presented in this paper showed its effectiveness by scoring a 89 per cent classification accuracy rate on its test data set.

Research limitations/implications

Many future work directions can be considered. This paper analyzed only the web page, and an additional analysis of the visual content can be one of the directions of future work. Future research is underway to develop effective filtering tools for other types of harmful web pages, such as racist, etc.

Originality/value

The paper's major contributions are first, the study and comparison of several decision tree building algorithms to build a violent web classifier based on a textual and structural content‐based analysis for improving web filtering. Second, showing laborious dictionary building by finding automatically discriminative indicative keywords.
DTD schema: a simple but powerful XML schema language
Authors: Liu Mengchi
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel XML schema language called DTD Schema that solves major limitations of document type definition (DTD) and supports features that XML Schema supports in a simple and concise way.

Design/methodology/approach

DTD Schema is designed based on DTD and data definition language of object‐oriented and object‐relational databases. It extends DTD with namespaces, richer built‐in types and user‐defined subtypes, local elements and attributes, complex types with nonmonotonic multiple element and attribute inheritance with overriding, blocking, conflict handling, and polymorphism.

Findings

XML Schema is recommended by W3C as the schema language for XML. It uses a set of predefined XML tags to define the schema, which is often a long, intricate specification, full of details and concepts and its verbose syntax often doubles or triples the document length. It is so complicated that even XML experts do not find it human‐readable, mostly due to the XML‐based syntax.

Research limitations/implications

The only limitation is that DTD Schema is not in XML. But for the same reason, it is simple and concise.

Practical implications

DTD schema is halfway between DTD and XML Schema and thus it is less complex and much easier for human to use than XML Schema.

Originality/value

DTD Schema supports all functionalities of XML Schema and also the best of object‐oriented features including multiple inheritance, overriding, blocking, conflict handling and polymorphism. Therefore, it is much more expressive than XML Schema.
Managing spoiled identities: dirty workers' struggles for a favourable sense of self
Authors: Grandy Gina
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a group of dirty workers, that is, exotic dancers employed in a gentlemen's club, engage in identity construction amidst various macro, meso and micro considerations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a social constructivist approach in exploring the stories of a group of 21 dancers employed at a chain of exotic dancing clubs in the UK, For Your Eyes Only.

Findings

Identity construction is a complex process whereby dancers struggle to secure a positive sense of self among the various resources they encounter. The findings focus upon the processes of distancing through projecting disgust upon clients, other dancers and other clubs. Dancers do this to minimize the stigma associated with their own identities and position themselves in a more favourable light to others. In doing this, dancers construct a variety of identity roles for themselves and “others.” This process of distancing also results in the construction of a hierarchy of stigmatization whereby dancers categorize motivations for dancing, type of dancing and type of clubs to rationalize the work they perform and manage their spoiled identities.

Practical implications

The stories of these dancers illustrate the messy nature of identity construction for dirty workers. In turn, it also illuminates how a better understanding of the complexity of identity construction for exotic dancers can offer insights transferable to other dirty work occupations and organizations in general.

Originality/value

The paper provides an indepth look at an occupational site that is relatively unexplored in organization studies and thus makes a unique empirical contribution. It also offers a more comprehensive theoretical lens for understanding identity construction and dirty workers.
What forms of the bancassurance alliance model is customers' preference?
Authors: Wu Cheng‐Ru , Lin Chin‐Tsai , Lin Yu‐Fan
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the relationships among the flexibility enablers and to prepare a hierarchy of these enablers to know their influences over each other in global supply chain. The framework suggests that the priority of enablers in supply chain should be determined on the basis of their driving power and dependency.

Design/methodology/approach

Various enablers used by researchers and practitioners for flexibility management of global supply chain have been identified. These enablers have been classified as strategic, operational and performance‐based enablers. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to establish mutual relationships among the flexibility enablers and to prepare a hierarchy‐based model.

Findings

It has been observed that some enablers having high‐driving power and low dependency are of strategic importance. These enablers require more attention while other enablers based on operations and performances are dependents of strategic enablers.

Practical implications

The index of enablers based on driving power and dependency provide an insight for supply chain managers to make the entire supply chain highly flexible, that would help them to respond to global uncertainties.

Originality/value

Presentation of enablers in the form of hierarchy using ISM and ranking them into various driving power and dependent categories is a good effort to make flexible global supply chain.
A model of foreign direct investment flows at the municipal level in South Africa
Authors: Okeahalam Charles , Dowdeswell Mark
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between South Africa's foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic fundamentals at the municipal level.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a data set and an econometric model to analyze FDI flows at the municipal level in South Africa.

Findings

The empirical results derived from municipal level data support the findings in some of the established literature (which for the most part uses country‐level data) and indicates: that FDI tends to flow to areas with high factor (capital, labour and land) productivity; and that increases in higher labour productivity lead to higher investment.

Research limitations/implications

This paper has used a cross‐section of municipalities. A further area of research would be to carry out a similar exercise with panel data.

Practical implications

These findings indicate that FDI flows can be considered at the municipal level and this justifies the need for careful selection of the geographic basis for economic policy and development planning.

Originality/value

Whereas most studies on FDI use country‐level data as standard geographic units of analysis, this paper analyzes FDI flows at the municipal level.
A metafrontier model to assess regional efficiency differences
Authors: Matawie K.M. , Assaf A.
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The major aim of this paper is to model, estimate and compare the technical efficiency and technology gap ratios of health care foodservice operations that operate in different Australian regions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a metafrontier model to analyse the difference in health care food efficiency across the various Australian regions. The interesting feature of this model is that it allows for the estimation of firms' efficiency in of various groups that might differ in technology and other production environments. In testing the model, cross‐sectional input/output data were used reflecting on the operational characteristics of health care foodservice operations.

Findings

The estimation process was initially supported by a hypothesis test which confirmed the validity of the metafrontier model in comparing the efficiency of the different outlined groups. Results showed that operations in the states of NSW and Victoria are producing on average 85.6 per cent of their potential output with respect to the metafrontier technology. The ratio is lower in other states with an average of 73.4 per cent. The average technical efficiency for operations in NSW and Victoria is also higher both in terms of local (87.8 per cent) and metafrontier technologies (66.6 per cent).

Originality/value

The paper is the first to introduce the metafrontier model to the health care foodservice area, especially for Australian regions.
The Role of CSR in Re‐empowering Local Communities
Authors: Shaw Hillary J
Published: November 2008

Purpose

To investigate CSR initiatives and suggest how these might re‐legitimate, where necessary, current systems of democracy.

Design/methodology/approach

The CSR programmes of the world's largest 60 companies were examined, along with more unusual CSR activities of smaller companies worldwide. Democratic systems were analysed to elicit what deficiencies exist in this form of government. CSR initiatives were classified according to the balance of their benefit to the community against benefit to the company itself. This classification was used to suggest how CSR might fill the democratic gap left by the increasingly global scale of government.

Findings

Too often, CSR comprises companies claiming credit for programmes they would be legally obliged to undertake or which increase company profits, although some CSR is genuinely altruistic. Traditionally, local communities have little say as to what companies put back into their neighbourhood however if competitions, for example “best kept village”, were encouraged involving companies at a local level, CSR would then have greater relevancy. Perhaps global actors, both corporate and governmental, would in this way gain legitimacy.

Research limitations/implications

Approximately 100 companies were used for this study. A larger sample could have been used although this selection covers most of the types of CSR currently being practiced. The findings are only applicable to democratic countries, although this system of government is practiced by the majority of countries worldwide.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a novel classification of CSR, by geographical scope and by type of initiative. New links are made between the concept of CSR and the deficiencies of the democratic system of government.
Environmental Reporting Verification: A Critical Evaluation of Accountants’ Views and Corporate Practices in India
Authors: Pahuja Shuchi
Published: November 2008

Purpose

To obtain opinions of Chartered Accountants (CAs) on the need for verifying environmental statements produced by a concern and desired status and qualifications of experts doing such an audit. To examine EIA systems of large manufacturing companies operating in India.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data collected by using two structured questionnaires: the first one to obtain opinions of CAs and the second one to examine EIA practices followed by the selected companies.

Findings

The users think that companies should produce duly verified environmental reports to increase credibility of these reports. They prefer appointment of a team of external duly qualified environmental auditors for this purpose. Majority of the sample companies prepare only statutorily required environmental statements. Most of these companies claim that they provide audited information in these statements verified generally by external environmental auditors.

Research limitations/implications

Some of the respondents gave incomplete answers for not disclosing their organizational policies because of perceived sensitive nature of environmental issues. Non‐manufacturing and small companies not included in the sample.

Practical implications

Make EIA mandatory at least in major polluting industries. An urgent need to develop standards covering the scope and limitations of third party EIAs was realised. Companies should also voluntarily try to provide audited environmental information in the annual reports to build credibility and trust among corporate stakeholders.

Originality/value

The paper presents empirical evidence from interviews with CAs and executives from the selected companies in India and provides insight into the need for EIA.
Corporate Social Responsibility in Your Own Backyard
Authors: Arthur Len , Cato Molly Scott , Keenoy Tom , Smith Russell
Published: November 2008

Purpose

To explore the link between enterprise scale, ownership and responsibility, specifically with regard to environmental responsibility. The paper argues that more local ownership and the co‐operative organisational form may ensure a higher level of corporate responsibility

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is mainly discursive, although three case‐studies of companies are used to illustrate the argument: Shell, Vaux Brewery, and Tower Colliery.

Findings

The central findings are that the nature of ownership, the scale of an enterprise, and the governance form are key considerations in terms of the corporate responsibility of firms.

Research limitations/implications

Further explorations of CSR in relation to the nature of governance and ownership of firms, and the scale of their operations, would develop and explore this paper's central argument further and thus provide more valuable insights.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that the issue of scale and the role of co‐operatives may be of more significance as corporate governance comes under greater scrutiny and sustainability plays a more central role in business practice.

Originality/value

This is the first conceptual application of the concept of CSR to co‐operative ownership and governance.
Corporate Social Disclosures by Indonesian Listed Companies: A Pilot Study
Authors: Gunawan Juniati
Published: November 2008

Purpose

As one of the world's leading producers of energy resources, offering a large domestic market and workforce, Indonesia is susceptible to the issue of corporate social responsibility. As this research area is considered relatively new in the Indonesian context, the purpose of this paper is to provide useful information and describe early pictures of corporate social disclosure (CSD) practices in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the extent of CSD in Indonesian listed companies. Content analysis method is applied to analyse the companies' annual reports. An exploratory study was also carried out to find the motivation of the companies in making CSD, as well as the perceived importance of CSD information by Indonesian stakeholders. Finally, some preliminary independent variables were selected to be examined in their relationships to the extent of CSD.

Findings

The results show that the most important information on CSD perceived by the stakeholders is about “products” while information about “community” is perceived as the least important. However, “community” is considered as the most influence party of CSD for the companies. Additionally, there are three main motives for the Indonesian listed companies in conducting CSD: “to create positive image”, to “act accountability” and to “comply with stakeholders' needs”. This study also indicates that the extent of CSD in Indonesian listed companies is very low. Further, the correlation examinations demonstrate that the majority of null hypotheses were accepted.

Originality/value

There is currently a level of research or invent CSD practices in developing countries. This paper helps to fill some of this gap.
A Quest for Ethical Decision Making: Searching for the Holy Grail, and Finding the Sacred Trinity in Ethical Decision‐Making by Managers
Authors: Luca Casali Gian
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify what ethical framework(s) small business managers use in making decisions, and whether they differ from those drawn on by the wider community?

Design/methodology/approach

A scale for managerial ethical decision‐making has been used, targeting small business people and academics and students in Australia. This scale was piloted in a geographical test community in Queensland Australia. Targeted respondents were asked to fill in the self‐assessment survey (MEP). A quantitative evaluation of the results was carried out by measuring variance between eight ethical variables by ANOVA (analysis of variance).

Findings

This study found statistically significant differences in the ethical decision‐making profile of business and non‐business decision makers. Contrary to expectations, small business people do not hold economical return as the most important factor in making managerial decisions to the exclusion of other more ethical criteria. There are, however, significant differences between small business people and academics and students in relation to which ethical principles are the most important when making a decision.

Originality/value

A new scale has been developed and validated to profile the ethical style of managers. From this tools can be further developed for self‐assessment or by organizations wanting to profile the ethical styles of their managers.
What Level of Trust is Needed for Sustainability?
Authors: Aras Güler , Crowther David
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to argue that the main ontological position of modern capitalism, founded on the philosophy of utilitarianism, derived of course from the work of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, is fundamentally flawed as it ignores power inequalities and assumes that the economic fiction of perfect competition can actually exist.

Design/methodology/approach

Nevertheless it provides a legitimating mechanism for modern capitalism and the operation of firms within a market economy. More significantly, from the viewpoint of this paper, is the problem caused by the naïve assumption that the firm as nexus of treaties is sufficient to negotiate the contracts between the various stakeholders. This is significantly inadequate because it ignores the aspect of trust between the parties – the focus of the paper.

Findings

In this paper it is argued that the sustainability of a firm is not predicated in the negotiated contracts it enacts but rather in the underlying trust which is implied and that one of the problems of the modern firm is that this trust has been negated in the drive for efficiency and shareholder value. The purpose of this paper therefore is to explore the nature of trust between the various stakeholders to the social contract which the firm enacts, paying particular attention to the involuntary stakeholders. In doing so, the role of trust in each aspect of sustainability identified in a previous paper is analysed and consider whether it is necessary for each stakeholder or just they key ones, or whether it is different for each aspect? In doing so, particular attention is paid to involuntary stakeholders.

Originality/value

This argument has implications for every business in managing its stakeholder relations.
CSR Initiatives of Indian Banking Industry
Authors: Narwal Mahabir
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The paper's purpose is to highlight the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives taken by the Indian Banking Industry, which can help them to enhance their overall performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on the survey questionnaire, administered to 33 public‐private sector banks in Northern Haryana, including its capital Chandigarh, which has been analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics and factor analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that banks have an objective view‐point about CSR activities. They are concentrating mainly on education, balanced growth (different strata of society), health, environmental marketing and customer satisfaction as their core CSR activities. The Indian banking industry is found to be adopting an integrated approach by combining CSR with the ultimate customer satisfaction. Irrespective of location, the nature of CSR activities undertaken by banks is found to be similar.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted on 33 banks. As the banks are undertaking CSR activities under the guidance of their respective head office, this perhaps generalizes its usefulness elsewhere.

Practical implications

As CSR improves the performance of banks in terms of goodwill, social image and expanding business, this may be a fruitful example for other industries as well.

Originality/value

This paper observes that the work done for society may pass on the advantages to the corporate world and initiatives in this area may enhance the value.
Transition in Poland: Economic Success and Social Failure?
Authors: Aluchna Maria
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The paper seeks to focus on the results of Poland's transition from central planning to market economy and from communist regime to democracy. It attempts to answer the question of fulfilling the transition's aims and expectations, identifying main successes and failures observed in Poland today.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the literature review of the socialistic state's and transition process's main characteristics and a set of data and research provided by institutions and centres illustrating the current stage of economic and social development in Poland. The analysis uses statistical data comparing the pre‐transition period with the economic and social indices for 2006.

Findings

The evidence collected during 18 years of transition process and data on the current situation provide a unique opportunity to test whether the formulated goals were achieved. The analysis reveals substantial improvement in all economic indicators referring to macroeconomic stability, inflation and growth rates and private sector activity, while the social conditions related to unemployment and recent emigration to Western Europe, income distribution, homelessness and poverty ratios remain disappointing.

Research limitations/implications

The paper presents the current stage of Polish society and economy, not discussing the problems of other CEEC countries that underwent a transition process in 1989 (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary). Moreover, the economic and social development remains highly dynamic, particularly due to substantial EU funds currently invested in Poland. Since the analysis is based on data 1989‐2006 one may expect changes in Poland's society and economy in the very near future.

Practical implications

The paper points up the difficulty of formulating the agenda of the transition process which would assure balancing of the economic as well as social goals. Moreover, it suggests that institutions and systems building seems to be easier, while transition sets significant challenges for society and its ability to adjust to new conditions.

Originality/value

The analysis sheds light on the discussion of the state's orientation towards social responsibility on a macro scale, since the impact and strategies of state formulate patterns and a regulatory framework for the corporate legal environment (e.g. working conditions), rules of behaviour and business practice.
Applying the 2003 Beers update to Medicaid/Medicare enrollees
Authors: Blackwell Steven A. , Ciborowski Gary M. , Baugh David K. , Montgomery Melissa A.
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine rates of potentially inappropriate prescribing in a population dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid using the new 2003 Fick update, which revises the previous 1997 Beers list.

Design/methodology/approach

Cross sectional retrospective review of 2003 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) Medicaid Pharmacy claims data. Claims data submitted for outpatient and nursing home residents for elderly enrollees dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid were analyzed. Potentially inappropriate drug use was assessed using the 2003 Fick update to the previous 1997 Beers list. Inappropriate use was identified based on these criteria for drugs independent of diagnosis.

Findings

Of enrollees with drug use, 34 percent received an inappropriate drug per the 1997 Beers list; 47 percent per the 2003 Fick update. Hispanics had the highest percentage of drug recipients receiving an inappropriate drug in the Northeast region per the 2003 Fick update. Within therapeutic category, the number of inappropriate genitourinary products dispensed to total genitourinary products ranked the highest at 20 percent per the 2003 Fick update.

Practical implications

This study examines variations in Beers drug use in the elderly dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid population in 2003 by applying the 2003 Fick et al. update of the 1997 Beers list to one of the nation's largest sources of person‐specific data on prescribed drugs. Inappropriate use was identified for drugs independent of diagnosis. Of enrollees with drug use, 34 percent received an inappropriate drug per the 1997 Beers list; 47 percent per the 2003 Fick update. Within therapeutic category, the number of inappropriate genitourinary products dispensed to total genitourinary products ranked the highest at 20 percent per the 2003 Fick update. The paper's findings provide evidence that the potential use of inappropriate drugs in Hispanics should be considered separately from other ethnicity groups.

Originality/value

A markedly higher rate of potentially inappropriate drug use in the elderly Medicaid population exists following the Fick update. These findings provide evidence that the potential use of inappropriate drugs in Hispanics should be considered separately from other ethnicity groups. By comparing drug use based on therapeutic category, genitourinary products were found to have the highest potential for inappropriate prescribing.
Value creation in virtual communities: the case of a healthcare web site
Authors: Misra Ram , Mukherjee Avinandan , Peterson Richard
Published: November 2008

Purpose

With the advent of the internet café, chat sessions, instant messengers, special interest e‐groups and now blogs, people do not need to be physically close together to exchange their ideas. The participants can have shared experiences that are instantaneous and pretty much of the same nature that is usually realized by the traditional collection of special interest people in close proximity. The members of these virtual communities share their knowledge, cooperate with each other to solve problems, and feel responsibility for each other. Internet based technologies have been the great enablers of virtual communities. In the high‐involvement healthcare sector, patients are increasingly seeking online advice and information by participating in virtual communities. The purpose of this paper is to understand the process of consumer value creation in virtual communities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first adopts Cothrel's framework for the creation of value in virtual communities followed by an application of Kozinets' segmentation model of online consumers to explore the process of consumer value creation by a healthcare virtual community. “Netnography” was used as the research technique for this study. Netnography is an ethnographic research method adapted to the online environment. Discourse analysis is applied to interpret the huge volume of online postings.

Findings

The paper identifies four segments of virtual community users – tourists, minglers, devotees, and insiders, and studies their online activities and discussion topics to demonstrate their differential roles as members of healthcare virtual communities.

Originality/value

Most of the earlier works that are focused on virtual communities have been conducted at the conceptual level. In this paper a priori user segments in healthcare virtual communities are empirically profiled. Based on the findings, managerial implications for healthcare virtual communities are formulated.
Social enterprise and renewable energy: emerging initiatives and communities of practice
Authors: van der Horst Dan
Published: November 2008

Purpose

After years of attempting to develop renewable energy (RE) mainly through large private sector initiatives, the UK government has broadened its approach to provide more support for other actors in this sector. The purpose of this paper is to assess what role social enterprise (SE) activities can play in the development of the RE sector in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach consists of an initial effort to map the sector in terms of project types; and to assess the benefit of supporting SE activities in RE through an empirical case study. Two types of SE‐RE initiatives are examined here, namely a Scottish SE‐RE consultancy (the Highlands and Islands Renewable Energy Company – HICEC) and the various SEs it supports in developing RE projects through grants like the Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative (SCHRI).

Findings

A typology of enterprise activities in RE is developed, based on activities along the RE supply chain. The case study demonstrates the value of partnership working between HICEC staff and the staff of local SEs, and suggests that the emergence of a community of practice is a key benefit of the SCHRI and the collaborative way in which it was implemented by HICEC. The success of this approach does throw up questions about replicability in different geographical settings.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to explore SE activities in RE. It illustrates that collaborative learning‐by‐doing by individuals across organisational boundaries is key for the successful implementation of RE projects that are new to the UK.
Are fair trade organisations necessarily social enterprises?
Authors: Huybrechts Benjamin , Defourny Jacques
Published: November 2008

Purpose

Fair trade organisations (FTOs) have been taken quite early as examples of Social Enterprises (SE) and have contributed to the shaping of the SE concept. The purpose of this paper is to examine more deeply the link between FTOs and SE, both at a conceptual and at an empirical level.

Design/methodology/approach

First, different theoretical frameworks of SE are introduced and confront FT to each of these frameworks. The second step is an empirical study of FTOs across four European countries to illustrate and deepen the links between FT and SE, focusing on the goals and the governance structures of FTOs.

Findings

All the FTOs combine in some way economic, social and sometimes also political goals. FTOs are thus coherent to the “hybrid goals” nature of SEs. FTOs' governance is also quite specific and often innovative in terms of organisational architecture and stakeholders' involvement. Some FTOs are closer to the European – participatory – approach while others are closer to US – individual – approaches. Finally, the governance structures of FTOs seem to reflect quite well their goal mix.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides a more solid basis for the often implicit link between FT and SE. Future researches could use this work to explore specific topics of the SE literature in the context of FT (e.g. stakeholders' involvement). The FT example could also be used to examine further the shifting boundaries of the SE reality.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is to apply the SE concept to a specific field and to show how, within this field, there is at the same time a diversity of organisations, reflecting the diversity of SE approaches; and a range of specific features (especially in terms of goal mix and governance) distinguishing SEs from other types of organisations.
Appalachian By Design: lessons on creating social value
Authors: Lynch Diane , Elliott Barbara Ann , Brock Debbi D.
Published: November 2008

Purpose

There has been great interest in social enterprise as an innovative response to challenging social problems, where mission and market are intertwined in a hybrid organization. The purpose of this paper is to provide students with a rich learning experience about social enterprises and how a social entrepreneur balances the double bottom line while trying to create social value.

Design/methodology/approach

The teaching case study was developed using personal interviews with the founder, board of directors and employees of the organization, observations and materials from the organization.

Findings

The findings from the field show that it is one thing to design a social enterprise that fulfils a social mission, quite another to make it sustainable. At the end of the 2005, the founder of Appalachian By Design (ABD), Diane Browning was faced with the difficult task of improving the financial condition to save the organization. The epilogue and detailed teaching notes provides insights into the impact of the organization on creating job opportunities for rural women in a shifting global economy.

Practical implications

This longitudinal descriptive case study provides social enterprises with the lessons learned and raises questions that all social entrepreneurs face when developing a social enterprise. The case provides a detailed analysis of the organization development and sustainability which will assist social entrepreneurs in addressing these issues early in the organizations development.

Originality/value

The value of the case of Appalachian By Design to the field is providing a robust analysis of the issues facing social enterprises and building a business model that sustains social value.
Review and analysis of current Shariah‐compliant equity screening practices
Authors: Derigs Ulrich , Marzban Shehab
Published: November 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of applying alternative Shariah screens on the resulting universe of halal assets and to show that Shariah screening procedures currently used in practice are inconsistent with respect to discriminating between halal and haram.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical data analysis of the different asset universes obtained when applying the criteria specified by the most prominent Shariah‐compliant funds and indexes to a common standard asset universe, the assets contained in the S&P 500 index.

Findings

Analysis reveals that the asset universes are significantly different in size as well as constituents, i.e. for every index there is a substantial number of assets which are specified as halal or haram but classified the opposite way for other indexes. This indicates that, so far, there is no universal or generally accepted understanding of how to transform the descriptive Shariah rules into a system of checkable investment guidelines.

Research limitations/implications

The results presented in this paper could motivate the development of a standardized screening framework which, taking into account the existing Shariah guidelines, produces a controlled, unified and understandable classification of assets, by which the credibility and consistency of Islamic equity products is enriched.

Practical implications

Islamic institutions and Shariah scholars are guided to set up a common and standardized Shariah screening norm based on which computer‐based management systems for Shariah compatible portfolios could be developed.

Originality/value

This paper is believed to be the first empirical comparative analysis identifying the impact of using different Shariah screens on the composition of the compliant asset universe. The sensitization of Shariah scholars, fund managers and Islamic investors for the consequences of this so far undiscovered relation will certainly contribute to an enrichment of the credibility and consistency of Islamic equity products.
Design of Heat Conduction Panel: The Case of Multiple Heating Elements Cooled by a Displaced Heat Sink
Authors: Nakayama Wataru
Published: November 2008

This paper reports the design study performed on a heat conduction panel having several heat sources at separate locations and a heat sink on one of the panel corners. The panel is given a thickness distribution so as to provide spatially varying heat conduction paths from the heat sources to the heat sink. The objective of thickness distribution design is to reduce the variation among heat source temperatures and the maximum heat source temperature simultaneously. The genetic algorithm is used to search for an optimum thickness distribution. The problem is a generic representation of the situations that are becoming common in a compact electronic equipment.
Microscale and Nanoscale Thermal Characterization Techniques
Authors: Christofferson J. , Maize K. , Ezzahri Y. , Shabani J. , Wang X. , Shakouri A.
Published: November 2008

Miniaturization of electronic and optoelectronic devices and circuits and increased switching speeds have exasperated localized heating problems. Steady-state and transient characterization of temperature distribution in devices and interconnects is important for performance and reliability analysis. Novel devices based on nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and single molecules have feature sizes in 1–100 nm range, and precise temperature measurement and calibration are particularly challenging. In this paper we review various microscale and nanoscale thermal characterization techniques that could be applied to active and passive devices. Solid-state microrefrigerators on a chip can provide a uniform and localized temperature profile and they are used as a test vehicle in order to compare the resolution limits of various microscale techniques. After a brief introduction to conventional microthermocouples and thermistor sensors, various contact and contactless techniques will be reviewed. Infrared microscopy is based on thermal emission and it is a convenient technique that could be used with features tens of microns in size. Resolution limits due to low emissivity and transparency of various materials and issues related to background radiation will be discussed. Liquid crystals that change color due to phase transition have been widely used for hot spot identification in integrated circuit chips. The main problems are related to calibration and aging of the material. Micro-Raman is an optical method that can be used to measure absolute temperature. Micron spatial resolution with several degrees of temperature resolution has been achieved. Thermoreflectance technique is based on the change of the sample reflection coefficient as a function of temperature. This small change in 10−4–10−5 range per degree is typically detected using lock-in technique when the temperature of the device is cycled. Use of visible and near IR wavelength allows both top surface and through the substrate measurement. Both single point measurements using a scanning laser and imaging with charge coupled device or specialized lock-in cameras have been demonstrated. For ultrafast thermal decay measurement, pump-probe technique using nanosecond or femtosecond lasers has been demonstrated. This is typically used to measure thin film thermal diffusivity and thermal interface resistance. The spatial resolution of various optical techniques can be improved with the use of tapered fibers and near field scanning microscopy. While subdiffraction limit structures have been detected, strong attenuation of the signal reduces the temperature resolution significantly. Scanning thermal microscopy, which is based on nanoscale thermocouples at the tip of atomic force microscope, has had success in ultrahigh spatial resolution thermal mapping. Issues related to thermal resistance between the tip and the sample and parasitic heat transfer paths will be discussed.
An Alternative Method for the Cooling of Power Microelectronics Using Classical Refrigeration
Authors: Chiriac Victor , Chiriac Florea
Published: November 2008

Classical refrigeration using vapor compression has been widely applied over the past decades to large-scale industrial systems, with few known applications to the microelectronic cooling field, due to the small size limitation. The present study proposes an efficient mechanical refrigeration system to actively cool the electronic components populating a printed circuit board in high-power microelectronic system. The proposed system includes several miniaturized components—compressor, evaporator, and condenser—part of a refrigeration system designed to fit the smaller scale power electronics. The system is thermally optimized to reach high coefficients of performance (COPs). An array of microchannels is used for the evaporator/condenser units. A previous study indicated that the R-134s refrigerant provides the best COP/feasibility ratio, while being the most suitable for microelectronic applications (Phelan, et al., “Designing a Mesoscale Vapor Compression Refrigerator for Cooling High-Power Microelectronics,” Proceedings of the ITHERM’04, Las Vegas, NV). The present study develops an analytical model of the proposed small scale vapor-compression refrigerator using the R-134a refrigerant. The refrigeration system is thermally optimized for cooling powers ranging from 20 W to 100 W, with the COP of the system reaching values up to 4.5. The advantages of the proposed system are highlighted, establishing a baseline performance versus size relationship for vapor-compression refrigerators, to serve as the basis for comparison for future miniaturized refrigeration systems.