bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring Spatial Concentration: The Use of Threshold Profiles
Authors: Johnston Ron , Voas David
Published: January 2003

The measurement of spatial pattern is often undertaken using one of a number of single-number indices, such as the Gini coefficient, which may not illuminate certain aspects of the pattern involved—especially the degree to which the members of the reference group are spatially concentrated. We suggest an alternative approach based on a concentration profile which shows the degree to which a group is spatially concentrated according to a range of thresholds. This is illustrated with data on male unemployment in England and Wales in 1991, which also shows the importance of spatial scale to the study of concentrations and, potentially, to the formulation of spatially focused public policies.
Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) for Town Council Management in Singapore
Authors: Han Sun Sheng , Peng Zhen
Published: January 2003

The authors examine the relevance of public participation geographic information systems (PPGISs) to housing-estate management in Singapore. Formal interviews were conducted with five key informants to collect data. A mock-up PPGIS was developed and evaluated. Informal interviews with property managers and secondary data also contributed to the discussions. Findings suggest that the current level of information technology applications and the mandate to build a ‘People's Town’ in Singapore's public housing estate have laid a solid base for introducing PPGIS to housing-estate management. The existing channels of public participation in town council management also pointed to a collective form, based on the Residents' Committees, for accessing and using the PPGIS. It is hoped that this study contributes to PPGIS research by extending explorations to a new cultural context and to a new application area.
Evaluation of Accessibility Impacts of Land-Use Scenarios: The Implications of Job Competition, Land-Use, and Infrastructure Developments for the Netherlands
Authors: Karst T , van Eck Jan R Ritsema
Published: January 2003

Activity-based accessibility measures, describing the level of access to spatially distributed activities, are not put to the same use in land use and/or transport policy evaluations as are infrastructure-based accessibility measures, which describe congestion levels or the average speed on the motorway network. In this paper we attempt to improve the current evaluation practice by the application of potential, activity-based, accessibility measures for the analysis of job accessibility, using existing traditional land-use and transport data and/or models. We try to improve the interpretability of the results by estimating the separate influence of land-use changes, infrastructure projects, and congestion on the development of job accessibility. A case study of the Netherlands shows the importance of incorporating job competition and the match between educational and job levels in the analysis of job accessibility.
Recursive Voronoi Diagrams
Authors: Boots Barry , Shiode Narushige
Published: January 2003

This paper introduces procedures involving the recursive construction of Voronoi diagrams and Delaunay tessellations. In such constructions, Voronoi and Delaunay concepts are used to tessellate an object space with respect to a given set of generators and then the construction is repeated every time with a new generator set, which comprises members selected from the previous generator set plus features of the current tessellation. Such constructions are shown to provide an integrating conceptual framework for a number of disparate procedures, as well as extending the existing functionality of the basic Voronoi and Delaunay procedures to variable spatial resolutions. Further, because they are shown to be fractal in nature, it is suggested that this characteristic can be exploited in the development of new strategies for spatial modelling.
Cue Gradient and Cue Density Interact in the Detection and Recognition of Objects Defined by Motion, Contrast, or Texture
Authors: Bull Neva J , Hunter Mick , Finlay David C
Published: January 2003

The human visual system is able to extract an object from its surrounding using a number of cues. These include foreground/background gradients in disparity, motion, texture, colour, and luminance. We have investigated normal subjects' ability to detect objects defined by either motion, texture, or luminance gradients. The effects of manipulating cue density and cue foreground/background gradient on both detection and recognition accuracy were also investigated. The results demonstrate a simple additive relationship between cue density and cue gradient across forms defined by motion, luminance, and texture. The results are interpreted as evidence for the notion that form parsing is achieved via a similar algorithm across anatomically distinct processing streams.
Endogenous Shifts of Covert Attention Operate within Multiple Coordinate Frames: Evidence from a Feature-Priming Task
Authors: Barrett Doug J K , Bradshaw Mark F , Rose David
Published: January 2003

The locations of visual objects and events in the world are represented in a number of different coordinate frameworks. For example, a visual transient is known to attract (exogenous) attention and facilitate performance within an egocentric framework. However, when attention is allocated voluntarily to a particular visual feature (ie endogenous attention), the location of that feature appears to be variously encoded either within an allocentric framework or in a spatially invariant manner. In three experiments we investigated the importance of location for the allocation of endogenous attention and whether egocentric and/or allocentric spatial frameworks are involved. Primes and targets were presented in four conditions designed to vary systematically their spatial relationships in egocentric and allocentric coordinates. A reliable effect of egocentric priming was found in all three experiments, which suggests that endogenous shifts of attention towards targets defined by a particular feature operate in an egocentric representation of visual space. In addition, allocentric priming was also found for targets primed by their colour or shape. This suggests that attending to targets primed by nonspatial attributes results in facilitation that is localised in more than one coordinate frame of spatial reference.
A Sideways Look at Configural Encoding: Two Different Effects of Face Rotation
Authors: Lewis Michael B , Glenister Thomas E
Published: January 2003

Inversion has a disproportionate disruptive effect on the recognition of faces. This may be due to the disruption of holistic or configural encoding employed to recognise upright faces. The paradigm developed by Tanaka and Farah (1993 Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Section A46 225–246) was used to investigate the effect of 90° (or orthogonal) rotation on configural encoding. Faces learnt in the orthogonal condition were not recognised as well as upright faces, but a whole-face advantage was found in both cases. This whole-face advantage did not occur for inverted faces. It appears that 90° rotation affects recognition but not specifically configural encoding. It is concluded that rotating a face can have at least two different effects on face processing depending on the range of rotation. Implications for the nature of facial dimensions and the expertise account of the inversion effect are considered.
Correlation between Stereoanomaly and Perceived Depth When Disparity and Motion Interact in Binocular Matching
Authors: van Ee Raymond
Published: January 2003

The aim of this study was to find out to what extent binocular matching is facilitated by motion when stereoanomalous and normal subjects estimate the perceived depth of a 3-D stimulus containing excessive matching candidates. Thirty subjects viewed stimuli that consisted of bars uniformly distributed inside a volume. They judged the perceived depth-to-width ratio of the volume by adjusting the aspect ratio of an outline rectangle (a metrical 3-D task). Although there were large inter-subject differences in the depth perceived, the experimental results yielded a good correlation with stereoanomaly (the inability to distinguish disparities of different magnitudes and/or signs in part of the disparity spectrum). The results cannot be explained solely by depth-cue combination. Since up to 30% of the population is stereo-anomalous, stereoscopic experiments would yield more informative results if subjects were first characterized with regard to their stereo capacities. Intriguingly, it was found that motion does not help to define disparities in subjects who are able to perceive depth-from-disparity in half of the disparity spectrum. These stereoanomalous subjects were found to rely completely on the motion signals. This suggests that the perception of volumetric depth in subjects with normal stereoscopic vision requires the joint processing of crossed and uncrossed disparities.
Attending to Faces: Change Detection, Familiarization, and Inversion Effects
Authors: Barton Jason J S , Deepak Shaunak , Malik Numaan
Published: January 2003

We tested detection of changes to eye position, eye color (brightness), mouth position, and mouth color in frontal views of faces. Two faces were presented sequentially for 555 ms each, with a blank screen of 120 ms separating the two. Faces were presented either both upright or both inverted. Measures of detection ( d') were calculated for several different degrees of change for each of the four dimensions of change. We first compared results to an earlier experiment that used an oddity design, in which subjects indicated which of three simultaneously viewed and otherwise identical faces had been altered on one of these four dimensions. Subjects in both of these experiments were partially cued, in that they knew the four possible types of changes that could occur on a given trial. The change-detection results correlated well with the oddity data. They confirmed that face inversion had little effect upon detection of changes in eye color, a moderate effect upon detection of eye-position or mouth-color changes, and caused a drastic reduction in the detection of mouth-position changes. An experiment in which uncued and fully cued subjects were compared showed that cueing significantly improved detection of feature color changes, but there was little difference between upright and inverted faces. Full cueing eliminated all effects of inversion. Compared to partial cueing, changes in mouth color were poorly detected by uncued subjects. Last, a change in the frequency of the base (unaltered) face in an experiment from 75% to 40% showed that increased short-term familiarity decreased the detection of eye changes and increased the detection of mouth changes, regardless of face orientation and the type of change made (color or position). We conclude that uncued subjects encode the spatial relations of features more than the colors of features, that mouth color in particular is not considered a relevant dimension for encoding, and that familiarization redistributes attention from more to less salient facial regions. Inversion effects are not simply an exaggeration of the salience effects revealed by withdrawing cueing, but represent an interaction of spatial encoding with salience, in that the greatest inversion effects occur for spatial shifts in less salient facial regions, and can be eliminated through the use of focused attention.
Information regarding Structure and Lightness Based on Phenomenal Transparency Influences the Efficiency of Visual Search
Authors: Mitsudo Hiroyuki
Published: January 2003

Phenomenal transparency reflects a process which makes it possible to recover the structure and lightness of overlapping objects from a fragmented image. This process was investigated by the visual-search paradigm. In three experiments, observers searched for a target that consisted of gray patches among a variable number of distractors and the search efficiency was assessed. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that the search efficiency was greatly improved when the target was distinctive with regard to structure, based on transparency. Experiment 3 showed that the search efficiency was impaired when a target was not distinctive with regard to lightness (ie perceived reflectance), based on transparency. These results suggest that the shape and reflectance of overlapping objects when accompanied by transparency can be calculated in parallel across the visual field, and can be used as a guide for visual attention.
Hearing Foreign Voices: Does Knowing What is Said Affect Visual-Masked-Speech Detection?
Authors: Kim Jeesun , Davis Chris
Published: January 2003

We investigated audio-visual (AV) perceptual integration by examining the effect of seeing the speaker's synchronised moving face on masked-speech detection ability. Signal amplification and higher-level cognitive accounts of an AV advantage were contrasted, the latter by varying whether participants knew the language of the speaker. An AV advantage was shown for sentences whose mid-to-high-frequency acoustic envelope was highly correlated with articulator movement, regardless of knowledge of the language. For low-correlation sentences, knowledge of the language had a large impact; for participants with no knowledge of the language an AV inhibitory effect was found (providing support for reports of a compelling AV illusion). The results indicate a role for both sensory enhancement and higher-level cognitive factors in AV speech detection.
Coherent Perspective Jitter Induces Visual Illusions of Self-Motion
Authors: Palmisano Stephen , Burke Darren , Allison Robert S
Published: January 2003

Palmisano et al (2000 Perception29 57–67) found that adding coherent perspective jitter to constant-velocity radial flow improved visually induced illusions of self-motion (vection). This was a surprising finding, because unlike pure radial flow, this jittering radial flow should have generated sustained visual–vestibular conflicts—previously thought to always reduce/impair vection. We attempted to ascertain the essential stimulus features for this jitter advantage for vection by examining three novel types of jitter display. While adding incoherent jitter to radial flow was found to impair vection, adding coherent non-perspective jitter had little effect on this subjective experience (contrary to the notion that jitter improves vection by reducing adaptation to radial flow). Importantly, we found that coherent perspective jitter not only improves the vection induced by radial flow, but it also appears to induce modest vection by itself (demonstrating that vection can still occur when there is an extreme mismatch between actual and expected vestibular activity). These results suggest that the previously demonstrated advantage for coherent perspective jitter was due (in part at least) to jittering vection combining with forwards vection in depth to produce a more compelling overall vection experience.
Aging and the Perception of Speed
Authors: Norman J Farley , Ross Heather E , Hawkes Laura M , Long Jennifer R
Published: January 2003

Two experiments were conducted to explore the potential effects of aging upon the perception and discrimination of speed. In the first experiment, speed difference thresholds were obtained for younger and older observers for a variety of standard speeds ranging from slow to fast. The second experiment was designed to evaluate the observers' ability to discriminate differences in the speed of moving patterns in the presence of significant amounts of noise (the noise was manipulated by limiting the lifetimes of individual moving stimulus elements). The results of both experiments revealed a significant deterioration in the ability of the older observers to perceive or detect differences in speed. While the presence of noise was found to affect the observers' discrimination performance, it affected both younger and older observers' thresholds in a proportionally equivalent manner—the older observers were no more affected by noise than the younger observers.
Nasal Biopsies of Children Exposed to Air Pollutants
Authors: Calderon-Garciduenas Lilian , Rodriguez-Alcaraz Antonio , Valencia-Salazar Gildardo , Mora-Tascareno Antonieta , Garcia Raquel , Osnaya Norma , Villarreal-Calderon Anna , Devlin Robert B. , Van Dyke Terry
Published: January 2003

Southwest Metropolitan Mexico City (SWMMC) atmosphere is a complex mixture of air pollutants, including ozone, particulate matter, and aldehydes. Children in SWMMC are exposed chronically and sequentially to numerous toxicants, and they exhibit signifi cant nasal damage. The objective of this study was to assess p53 accumulation by immunohistochemistry in nasal biopsies of SWMMC children. We evaluated 111 biopsies from 107 children (83 exposed SWMMC children and 24 control children residents in a pollutant-compliant Caribbean island). Complete clinical histories and physical examinations, including an ear—nose—throat (ENT) exam were done. There was a signifi cant statistical difference in the upper and lower respiratory symptomatology and ENT fi ndings between control and exposed children ( p < 0.001). Control children gave no respiratory symptomatology in the 3 months prior to the study; their biopsies exhibited normal ciliated respiratory epithelium and were p53-negative. SWMMC children complained of epistaxis, nasal obstruction, and crusting. Irregular areas of whitish-gray recessed mucosa over the inferior and middle turbinates were seen in 25% of SWMMC children, and their nasal biopsies displayed basal cell hyperplasia, decreased numbers of ciliated and goblet cells, neutrophilic epithelial infi ltrates, squamous metaplasia, and mild dysplasia. Four of 21 SWMMC children with grossly abnormal mucosal changes exhibited strong transmural nuclear p53 staining in their nasal biopsies (p 0.005, odds ratio 26). In the context of lifetime exposures to toxic and potentially carcinogenic air pollutants, p53 nasal induction in children could potentially represent. a) a checkpoint response to toxic exposures, setting up a selective condition for p53 mutation, or b) a p53 mutation has already occurred as a result of such selection. Because the biological signifi cance of p53 nuclear accumulation in the nasal biopsies of these children is not clear at this point, we strongly suggest that children with macroscopic nasal mucosal abnormalities should be closely monitored by the ENT physician. Parents should be advised to decrease the children's number of outdoor exposure hours and encourag e a balanced diet with an important component of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Nature of the Heterozygous Trp53 Knockout Model for Identifi cation of Mutagenic Carcinogens
Authors: French John , Storer Richard D. , Donehower Lawrence A.
Published: January 2003

The heterozygous Trp 53 null allele C57BL/6 (N5) mouse is susceptible to the rapid development of neoplasia by mutagenic carcinogens relative to control strains. This mouse model of chemical carcinogenesis demonstrates 1) dose-related rapid induction of tumors (26 wks), 2) multiple sites of carcinogen-specifi c tissue susceptibility, and 3) carcinogen-induced loss of heterozygosity involving the Trp53 wild-type allele or a p53 haploinsufficiency permitting mutation of other critical protooncogenes and/or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes driving tumorigenesis. Demonstration of mutation or loss ofheterozygosity involving the Trp53 locus is consistent with a common finding in human cancers and supports extrapolation between rodents and humans. Using diverse experimental protocols, almost all mutagenic rodent carcinogens (including all mutagens that are carcinogenic to humans), but not nonmutagenic rodent carcinogens, induce tumors within 26 weeks of continuous exposure. These characteristics and results indicate that the mouse heterozygous for the Trp53 null allele may be of significant use for the prospective identification of mutagenic carcinogens of potential risk to human health.
The Syrian Hamster Embryo (SHE) Cell Transformation Assay: Review of the Methods and Results
Authors: Mauthe R.J. , Gibson D.P. , Bunch R.T. , Custer L.
Published: January 2003

The Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cell-transformation assay represents a short-term in vitro assay capable of predicting rodent carcinogenicity of chemicals with a high degree of concordance (LeBoeuf et al [1996]. Mutat Res 356: 85—127). The SHE assay models the earliest identifiable stage in carcinogenicity, morphological cell transformation. In contrast to other short-term in vitro assays, both genotoxic and epigenetic carcinogens are detected. The SHE assay, originally developed by Berwald and Sachs (J Natl Cancer Inst 35: 641—661) and modifi ed as described by LeBoeuf and Kerckaert (Carcinogenesis 7: 1431—1440), was included in the International Life Sciences Institute, Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (ILSI/HESI). Alternative Carcinogenicity Testing (ACT) collaboration to provide additional information on the use of short-term in vitro tests in predicting carcinogenic potential. A total of 19 ILSI compounds have been tested in the SHE assay: 15 were tested for this project, whereas clofi brate, methapyrilene, reserpine, and Di(2-ethylhexyl ) phalate (DEHP) were tested previously. Of the 3 noncarcinogenic compounds tested, 2 were negative in the SHE assay, whereas ampicillin was tested positive. The remaining 16 compounds tested were either known rodent carcinogens and/or human carcinogens. From this group, 15 tested positive in the SHE assay whereas phenacetin, a genotoxic carcinogen, was tested negative. Therefore, overall concordance between the SHE assay and rodent bioassay was 89% (17/19), whereas concordance with known or predicted human carcinogens was 37% (7/19). Based on these data, it is concluded that the SHE cell-transformation assay has utility for predicting the results of the rodent carcinogenesis bioassay but lacks the selectivity to distinguish between rodent and human carcinogens.
Distortion in the spherical metric under quasiconformal mappings
Authors: Hästö Peter
Published: January 2003

This paper contains bounds for the distortion in the spherical metric, that is to say, bounds for the constant of Hölder continuity of mappings

f
:
(

R

n

,
q
)
→
(

R

n

,
q
)

f \colon ({\mathbb R}^n,q) \to ({\mathbb R}^n, q)

where

q
q

denotes the spherical metric. The mappings considered are

K
K

-quasiconformal (

K
≥
1

K\ge 1

) and satisfy some normalizations or restrictions. All bounds are explicit and asymptotically sharp as

K
→
1

K \to 1

.
The successful clone: the vector of dissemination of resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Klugman K. P.
Published: January 2003

A small number of pneumococcal clones dominate the population of antibiotic-resistant pneumococci. The emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in these clones predicts the dissemination of fluoroquinolone resistance in countries where the clones are present and community use of fluoroquinolones for respiratory infections is common. The molecular basis of resistance to a number of classes of antimicrobials can be used to predict the likelihood of dissemination of the resistance genes.
Antimicrobial resistance: a class effect?
Authors: Prieto J. , Calvo A. , Gómez-Lus M. L.
Published: January 2003

Antibiotic use has led to increased resistance to certain group markers: penicillin, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin for β-lactams, macrolides and quinolones, respectively. The influence of resistance to markers in decreasing susceptibility to the drugs included (on the basis of chemical structure) in the corresponding antibiotic group can be defined as ‘resistance class effect’. In the case of macrolides, this effect is dependent on the prevalent resistant phenotype among the isolates of the target bacteria: the class effect exists completely if the mechanism of resistance is constitutive MLS B (all macrolides are affected by resistance to erythromycin), and only partially if the mechanism is the efflux M phenotype (all but 16-membered macrolides are affected). In Spain, the first case is exemplified by Streptococcus pneumoniae and the second by Streptococcus pyogenes . For β-lactams and quinolones, resistance to the group markers results in large decreases in the antimicrobial activity of the less potent members of the group, penicillin being a better driver of resistance for oral cephalosporins than for aminopenicillins, and ciprofloxacin being a better driver for older rather than for the newer quinolones, which have enhanced anti-pneumococcal activity. Empirical prescription guidelines based on the pharmacoepidemiology of resistance, recommending the use of potent drugs that are less influenced by resistance to the marker, may help to counter the spread of resistance in the community.
Knowledge management, user education and librarianship
Authors: Koenig Michael E.D.
Published: January 2003

The role for librarians in knowledge management (KM) in terms of designing information systems, creating classification systems and taxonomies, and implementing and operating those systems is obvious. Not so obvious is a key role for librarians in user education and training. A recent study by KPMG of KM systems implementations reveals an alarmingly high failure and disappointment rate, with more than half of the failures attributable to inadequate user training and education (though remarkably this goes essentially unremarked upon). Librarians are skilled in user education and training. The need and the match is obvious. Develops that theme and draws on two other key information phenomena. and draws conclusions from them about the potential role for librarians in user education and training in the context of KM initiatives.
The economics of publishing and the publishing of economics
Authors: La Manna Manfredi
Published: January 2003

The paper explores the relationship between economics and scientific journal publishing in a number of areas by: establishing the fact, neglected by some librarians, that the “serials crisis” is not exclusively a plague infecting the STM sector, but that economics too has been badly affected; providing a more disaggregated analysis of the market power exerted by the dominant commercial publisher in economics journal publishing; considering briefly three academic‐led experiments aimed at improving scholarly communication in economics; comparing the policy stance taken by the UK Competition Commission on scientific publishing and on banking for small businesses in two recent reports and exposing its glaring inconsistency; and suggesting a modest proposal to remedy some of the inefficiencies identified in this paper.
Internet use among faculty members of universities in Ghana
Authors: Adika Gifty
Published: January 2003

Lack of access to current materials in libraries of universities in developing countries is a major problem that hinders research and teaching. Interlibrary loans and document delivery projects have not solved this problem by themselves. The Internet makes it possible for users to have access to large volumes of information irrespective of their geographical location. The three older universities in Ghana are all linked to the Internet. The assumption then is that their faculty now have access to current information through the Internet. Research results show that in spite of the benefits of the Internet, its use among faculty is still very low. The main reasons for this are lack of access to the Internet and the need for training. Clearly, university authorities need to take immediate steps to provide general access points for faculty through computer laboratories. Again, the expertise of librarians, information professionals and computer scientists needs to be tapped to provide training and refresher sessions for faculty to keep up to date on harnessing the immense potential of the Internet as a source of information for teaching and research.
Bibliographic exchange in Malaysia: variations in name headings
Authors: Mansor Yushiana
Published: January 2003

Studies the prospect of bibliographic exchange among libraries in Malaysia. Investigates the compatibility of MARC records as prepared by selected Malaysian academic libraries. Reports on the different cataloguing practices found in preparing name headings, i.e. MARC fields “1XX” and “7XX”. Results of the study exemplified different cataloguing practices among Malaysian cataloguers.
An empirical investigation of symptoms of obsolete costing systems and overhead cost structure
Authors: Chan Siu Y. , Suk‐Yee Lee Dominica
Published: January 2003

The purpose of this study is to identify the most frequently found symptoms of obsolete costing systems and to investigate whether these symptoms are associated to the proportion of overhead related to non‐output unit activities in a business environment in which traditional costing systems are prevalent. Since traditional costing systems use output‐unit related cost drivers to allocate overhead, these systems are more likely obsolete when a large proportion of a firm’s overhead is not directly related to its output volume. The results from a survey with a sample of Hong Kong manufacturing companies indicated that the four most frequently encountered symptoms of obsolete costing systems were: competitors’ prices for high‐volume items appear to be unrealistically low; no resistance from customers to higher prices; frequent use of accounting department to conduct special studies; and establishment of department’s cost systems for decision making. It was also found that the proportion of a firm’s overhead related to non‐output unit activities was positively associated with the total frequency rating of all the proposed symptoms of problem costing systems, suggesting that using an outdated overhead allocation method could be a major cause for a costing system to become obsolete. The implications of these results are discussed.
Auditor recall and evaluation of internal control information: does task‐specific knowledge mitigate part‐list interference?
Authors: Lloyd Bierstaker James
Published: January 2003

Part‐list interference occurs when reading a few items from a previously viewed list interferes with recall of the remaining items. The purpose of this study is to examine if the review of an incomplete flowchart, following the review of a complete narrative, interferes with auditors’ recall and evaluation of internal control information. The potential interaction between auditors’ internal control knowledge and the extent of part‐list interference is also investigated. The results indicate there was a significant interaction between knowledge and part‐list interference, suggesting that interference related to an incomplete flowchart occurred primarily with less knowledgeable auditors. Therefore, higher levels of knowledge may reduce interference when recall cues are organized schematically, as found in flowcharts.
Career drivers of junior auditors: an exploratory study
Authors: Ming Chia Yew
Published: January 2003

This exploratory study profiles the career drivers of junior auditors in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Specifically, the study identifies what “drives” a junior auditor in a public accounting firm. Comparative examinations of the career drivers are also performed using the gender and size of firm variables. The results identify the presence of statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between male and female junior auditors in the career drivers of material rewards, search for meaning, and affiliation. When the size of auditing firms – big‐five firms versus non‐big‐five firms – is used as a basis for comparison, there are significant differences found in the career drivers of material rewards, power/influence, search for meaning, expertise, autonomy, and security. Significant gender‐firm interaction effects are found in the career drivers of expertise, autonomy and security. Implications for both the profession and academic educators and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Implementing the EFQM excellence model in a local authority
Authors: George Carol , Cooper Fraser , Douglas Alex
Published: January 2003

Many organisations, including a number of those in the public sector, have adopted the EFQM excellence model as a means of improving performance. Supported, and in some cases driven, by central government’s “best value” agenda, some local authorities have adopted the model as a means of improving services and demonstrating continuous improvement. For many organisations there can be problems getting employees to “buy in” to the model’s approach and this can adversely affect the benefits that could be gained from implementation. This paper reports on a unique approach to implementation that managed to get all employees involved in the process and thus allowed the organisation to reap the necessary benefits and advance to the next stage in the improvement process.
The auditors’ client inquiry process
Authors: Comunale Christie L. , Sexton Thomas R. , Gara Stephen C.
Published: January 2003

The efficiency and the effectiveness of the audit depend in part on the efficiency and the effectiveness of the client inquiry process. This paper presents a model that helps auditors to understand the stages of the client inquiry process and the factors that influence its reliability. The model serves to illuminate the client inquiry process and thereby assist auditors in evaluating the evidence thus obtained. Our model is a multistage communication channel that connects reality, the client’s perception of reality, the client’s representation of reality, the auditor’s perception of reality, and the auditor’s representation of reality. Distortions of reality occur between adjacent stages as the result of the subjectivity, technical incompetence, untrustworthiness, and poor presentation skills of either the client or the auditor. We discuss our model in the context of the analytical review task.
“Consultobabble” and the client‐consultant relationship
Authors: Williams Russell
Published: January 2003

Consultants are never far from criticism not least because of the so‐called “consultobabble” used it is argued to hide their lack of objectivity or deficiencies in terms of providing useful solutions to improve management processes. Utilising Erving Goffman’s role theory and the idea of conspicuous consumption to explore the client‐consultant relationship and the place of consultobabble within it, this paper suggests however that clients are not really so passive and exploited. Consultobabble is a product of a complex consultant‐client (supply and demand) relationship.
Effects of emotional intelligence on concern for quality and problem solving
Authors: Afzalur Rahim M. , Minors Patricia
Published: January 2003

This study tested the relationships of the three dimensions of emotional intelligence (EQ) (self‐awareness, self‐regulation, and empathy) to managers’ concern for the quality of products and services and problem‐solving behavior of subordinates during conflict. The results of hierarchical regression analysis show that self‐awareness and self‐regulation are positively associated with problem solving, and self‐regulation was positively associated with concern for quality. There was a marginally significant main effect of empathy on quality and interaction effect of self‐regulation and empathy on concern for quality. The implication of the study is that supervisors, who are deficient in EQ, may be provided appropriate training in it that will improve their concern for quality and problem solving.
Development ethics: a research agenda
Authors: Clark David A.
Published: January 2003

Development ethics is a new and rapidly expanding discipline within development studies and social science. The cultivation of development ethics has the potential to produce a coherent account of human well‐being for guiding development policy and thinking. Although discussions of well‐being can be traced back to Greek antiquity, most development economists have managed to avoid reflecting sufficiently on the concept and meaning of “development”. While philosophers have reflected more fully on the nature and character of a good human life, they have not tested their theories of well‐being in the public domain or confronted their accounts of the “good” with the values of ordinary people. This is partly because philosophers (in contrast to social scientists) lack the necessary tools and expertise for such tasks. Yet it is only through the synthesis of scientific inquiry and philosophical reflection that we will uncover the central human values behind a more realistic and reliable development ethic. While a first attempt has now been made to develop an account of human development that rests firmly on the values and attitudes of ordinary people, more empirical work is required to confirm the strength of the results.
Racism and ethics in the globalized business world
Authors: Sintonen Teppo M. , Takala Tuomo
Published: January 2003

This paper analyzes the concept of racism in the context of business ethics and globalization. It first introduces three ethical traditions to understand moral issues in business: deontological, utilitarian and virtue ethics. Then it discusses about the challenges and demands that globalization has set to multicultural and multinational business operations. Third, it clarifies how racism works when it is understood as an ideology‐based phenomenon. It argues that there is a great value of knowing how racism works for the development of an anti‐racist and nondiscriminating organization. Although any of the three traditions on ethical thinking does not give direct answer to the question of how to develop and manage an anti‐racist business organization, but connected with the understanding of racism they can be useful tools for the leader of a multicultural organization.
Trade‐offs in social health insurance systems
Authors: Jacobs Rowena , Goddard Maria
Published: January 2003

This paper examines some of the key features of social health insurance systems by drawing on experiences in Germany, Switzerland, France and The Netherlands. These countries have all implemented a variety of reforms, including some competition between health insurers in order to meet some of their health care objectives. The paper highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in these systems and how they perform on a number of criteria and suggests a number of trade‐offs which policymakers will have to grapple with to attain some of their (often competing) health system goals of efficiency, choice, solidarity and equity. This paper should provide useful information for countries with health care systems in transition or those considering adopting aspects of social health insurance systems.
A model for the Smarandache anti‐geometry
Authors: Torretti Roberto
Published: January 2003

The Smarandache anti‐geometry is a non‐euclidean geometry that denies all Hilbert’s 20 axioms, each axiom being denied in many ways in the same space. In this paper, one finds an economics model to this geometry by making the following correlations: a point is the balance in a particular checking account, expressed in US currency (points are denoted by capital letters); a line is a person, who can be a human being (lines are denoted by lower case italics); and a plane is a US bank, affiliated to the FDIC (planes are denoted by lower case boldface letters).
Interests sharing and responsibilities bearing of human resource
Authors: Wenxian Zhang , Chenhung Ko , Weifu Gao
Published: January 2003

The principle of distributing the incomes according to the production elements implies that the value of employees’ human resources should be considered in the distribution. The incomes should be distributed according to employees’ abilities and performances in the course of generating wealth (including realized or unrealized portion). The employees have the rights and interests of participating in the course of distribution, and share the losses which can achieve the goal of combining the rights, responsibilities and interests.
Tacit knowledge transfer and firm innovation capability
Authors: Tamer Cavusgil S. , Calantone Roger J. , Zhao Yushan
Published: January 2003

This study surveys a broad spectrum of US manufacturer and service firms to examine the effect of tacit knowledge transfer on firm innovation capability. The authors present a set of hypotheses concerning the relationships between inter‐firm relationship strength and tacitness of knowledge transfer, extent of tacit knowledge transfer and innovation capability, and innovation capability and innovation performance based on the theory of knowledge. Moderating roles of firm collaborative experience and firm size on the relationship between inter‐firm relationship strength and the extent of tacit knowledge transfer are considered. Empirical results generally support the predictions from the theory and managerial implications are included.
Exclusivity and relationalism in marketing channels
Authors: González‐Hernando Santiago , Iglesias Argüelles Víctor , Trespalacios Gutiérrez Juan A.
Published: January 2003

Inter‐firm channel relationships have recently attracted great interest in academic research. This paper attempts to make a study of the governance mechanisms in manufacturer‐distributor relationships and the role played by the relationalism perceived by channel members. In particular, the aim is to account for why exclusive dealing and exclusive territories agreements frequently appear in association. Two theories are compared regarding this question. In one of the theories relationalism plays a mediating role between both vertical restraints, whereas according to the other theory the relation between the two is independent of the degree of relationalism. A sample of 96 Spanish manufacturers was used to test the hypotheses proposed, obtaining empirical support for both theories.
Industrial buyers’ perceptions of industrial salespersons
Authors: Stafford Thomas F. , Royne Stafford Marla
Published: January 2003

There are many anecdotal accounts about industrial buyers’ perceptions of sellers, but little research exists empirically to determine these perceptions. This research generates a profile of industrial buyer perceptions of salespeople developed from a perceptual inventory gathered from a national sample of purchasing professionals. Both positive and negative profiles are identified, but means analysis generally supports the contention that industrial buyers have largely positive perceptions of salespeople. These profiles can be useful to both researchers and industry professionals in assessing the effects of buyer perceptions in industrial, business‐to‐business, and relationship marketing situations.
Market orientation and industrial salesforce: diverse measure instruments
Authors: Bigné Enrique , Küster Inés , Torán Francisco
Published: January 2003

This paper supports the need for a market‐oriented industrial salesforce. So, in the first part, a definition of industrial salesforce market orientation is proposed, distinguishing between a philosophical approach and a behavioural approach. In the second part, an empirical research is carried out to propose and analyse diverse instruments to measure market orientation in an industrial salesforce context. Unidimensionality, reliability and validity are studied. The aim is to offer some guidelines to sales managers in order to implement market orientation at salesforce level.
Gatekeeping in organizational purchasing: an empirical investigation
Authors: Theng Lau Geok , Razzaque Mohammed A. , Ong Angeline
Published: January 2003

Owing to the complexity of the task and the risks inherent in it, the effectiveness of any organizational buying decision largely depends on the information available for the decision‐makers’ use. Within any typical organization, flow of the information needed in the decision‐making process is influenced by the gatekeepers – the people who link the organization with the outside environment. However, despite the important role played by these people, not much is known about their behavior. This research makes an attempt to study gatekeeping behavior and examine factors which may influence this behavior.
The ethical imperative to lead change: overcoming the resistance to change
Authors: Calabrese Raymond L.
Published: January 2003

School administrators must be forward looking and recognize shifting paradigms in contemporary society. The rapid rate of change in the new millennium influences administrators in the small rural school district as well as the large urban school district. An effective school administrator understands the significance of needed change and consequences of what it means to be a change‐driven school administrator. A starting point for an effective school administrator is to know when it is time to leave one paradigm and embrace a new paradigm shift.
Involving stakeholders in determining professional development center attendance policies
Authors: Good Jennifer
Published: January 2003

Professional development opportunities are an important aspect of teacher development and should be embraced by both teachers and school leaders in a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, certain professional development events are plagued with high absenteeism rates. At a regional inservice center in the South (USA), high absenteeism was targeted as requiring immediate administrative attention. Thus, the members of the governing board and the director of the center engaged in an action research plan to combat the problem. Over the course of a summer program, the no‐show rate (average number of participants who registered for a workshop yet did not attend) was tracked in 62 independent workshops. Considerations such as time of day, location, workshop topic, and teaching level of teacher were analyzed, yielding nonsignificant results and no discernible patterns. Instead, a pattern of chronic absenteeism for some individuals, in certain school systems, was noted. Using this data, an action plan was devised. Suggestions included increased marketing, communication with individual no‐show offenders, and communication with school leaders from targeted systems.
Internet education: potential problems and solutions
Authors: Sharma Preeti , Maleyeff John
Published: January 2003

The Internet has been welcomed by educators as a great tool for use in the classroom or to create virtual classrooms. It can be used to connect students in disparate countries as well as an increase in student comfort with technology. This paper highlights some of the unplanned and unanticipated consequences that might be encountered as the use of the Internet in education increases. These consequences are discussed as potential problems, categorised as problems of judgement, distance, and ethics. Implications for educators and administrators are addressed by suggesting course design, pedagogical, and student activity solutions.
Widening access and participation in UK higher education
Authors: Tonks David , Farr Marc
Published: January 2003

The general context for this paper is access to higher education (HE) in the UK but the particular concern is participation. An important distinction is drawn between access and participation. The heterogeneous characteristics of HE and the complex choice processes of applicants mean that a finer level of description and analysis is required which goes beyond aggregate measures of access and examines the extent and the nature of participation. Equality of opportunity provides the underpinning for this paper, access to HE is the starting point, the focus is on participation and the approach is empirical and pragmatic. In 2002, the target for access to UK HE was set at 50 percent, which requires attention to shift from broad measures of access towards detailed measures of participation; particularly when the agenda is one of social inclusion, and when certain groups within society are still significantly under‐represented and disadvantaged at the level of participation.