bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conceptualising work engagement
Authors: Fearon Colm , McLaughlin Heather , Morris Lynn
Published: March 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of multi-level forms of efficacy and organisational interactions necessary for promoting effective work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

– Work engagement is explored from a multi-level efficacy perspective (self, collective and organisational). Based on the ideas of Bandura, workplace interactions are investigated through the theoretical lens of social cognitive theory (SCT).

Findings

– The ability to conceptualise engagement from individual, group and organisational perspectives, helps researchers and HR practitioners appreciate the complexities involved. The paper also highlights a need for developing new organisational interactions that promote engagement, as opposed to reinforcing stale managerial policies, or one-sided strategies for short term productivity gains. Organisational interactions should respond to job demands at both individual and collective levels. The paper also suggests that new interactions and stronger communication helps promote collective and organisational efficacy.

Research limitations/implications

– This is a theoretical discussion piece that attempts to set the scene and examine broad issues, and thus there is no measurement or empirical analysis attempted. Additional work is required to operationalise constructs further, as part of a case study protocol for future in-depth empirical analysis.

Originality/value

– This thought-piece paper is significant for managers in retail and researchers alike, when developing organisational interactions from a multi-level efficacy perspective. The conceptual contribution of the paper is a fresh macro-analytical perspective concerning efficacy and work engagement. Some ideas are also presented for future research.
Faculty‐specific factors of degree of HE internationalization
Authors: Jiang Nan , Carpenter Victoria
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the difference in the process of higher education (HE) internationalization across faculties in a post‐1992 university and to identify faculty‐specific factors through evaluating the four faculties in the case study.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research is conducted in a post‐1992 UK university. Four faculties are involved and a total of 20 interviewees from three key departments participate in this project. Content analysis, critical discourse analysis and categorization of meaning are adopted as data analysis strategies.

Findings

This study explains the reasons why the level of internationalization across faculties is different.

Research limitations/implications

This research helps gain rich understanding of faculty‐specific factors in terms of the degree of internationalization. Further research in this area is encouraged to test these faculty‐specific factors through quantitative population studies in other institutions.

Practical implications

Most faculty‐specific factors are management matters which can be improved by internal adjustment. HE internationalization cannot be conducted the same way in each faculty, but should be considered a part of faculties’ particular focus. These factors highlight the areas where the faculties need to improve, in order to better accommodate HE internationalization.

Originality/value

This research evaluates and identifies the faculty‐specific factors in relation to the level of internationalization from a faculty's standpoint. These critical factors are unique to HE internationalization and transferrable to other similar institutions.
Effects of reflow on the interfacial characteristics between Zn nanoparticles containing Sn‐3.8Ag‐0.7Cu solder and copper substrate
Authors: Chan Y.H. , Arafat M.M. , Haseeb A.S.M.A.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of zinc (Zn) nanoparticles on the interfacial intermetallic compounds (IMCs) between Sn‐3.8Ag‐0.7Cu (SAC) solder and Cu substrate during multiple reflow.

Design/methodology/approach

The nanocomposite solders were prepared by manually mixing of SAC solder paste with varying amounts of Zn nanoparticles. The solder pastes were reflowed on a hotplate at 250°C for 45 s for up to six times. The actual Zn content after reflow was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES). The wetting behavior of the solders was characterized by analyzing the contact angles and spreading rates according to the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS 23198‐3, 2003). The interfacial microstructure of the solder joints were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDAX).

Findings

It was found that upon the addition of 0.3 wt% Zn nanoparticles to the SAC solder, the growth of interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) layers was retarded to a minimum value. Excessive amount of Zn nanoparticles (0.8 wt%) induced an additional IMC layer (Cu5Zn8) which increased the total IMC thickness and raising the reliability issue.

Originality/value

It is concluded that Zn nanoparticles undergo melting/reaction during reflow and impart their effect on the IMCs through alloying effects.
Optimal maintenance policies for cumulative damage models with random working times
Authors: Zhao Xufeng , Nakamura Syouji , Nakagawa Toshio
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider maintenance policies for an operating system which works at random times for jobs. Each job causes some damage to the system and these damages are additive, and the system fails when the total damage has exceeded a failure level K.

Design/methodology/approach

Using techniques of cumulative damage models, the maintenance is made at the N‐th completion of working time for the first model and at a damage level Z with a limit number of working times N for the second model.

Findings

The system is maintained at the first completion of the working time over time T for the third model. The system fails with probability p(x) when the total damage is x and undergoes minimal repair at failure for the fourth model. The expected cost rates are obtained and optimal maintenance policies are discussed analytically and computed numerically.

Originality/value

The paper discusses four maintenance policies for an operating system which works at successive random times for jobs, where the system fails due to damage that can be additive caused by jobs.
Minimal cut sequences and top event probability of dynamic fault tree
Authors: Yuge Tetsushi , Yoneda Taijiro , Tamura Nobuyuki , Yanagi Shigeru
Published: March 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to present a method for calculating the top event probability of a fault tree with priority AND gates.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper makes use of Merle's temporal operators for obtaining the minimal cut sequence set of a dynamic fault tree. Although Merle's expression is based on the occurrence time of an event sequence, the paper treats the expression as an event containing the order of events. This enables the authors to treat the minimal cut sequence set by using the static fault tree techniques. The proposed method is based on the sum of disjoint products. The method for a static FT is extended to a more applicable one that can deal with the order operators proposed by Merle et al.

Findings

First, an algorithm to obtain the minimal cut sequence set of dynamic fault trees is proposed. This algorithm enables the authors to analyze reasonably large scale dynamic fault trees. Second, the proposed method of obtaining the top event probability of a dynamic fault tree is efficient compared with an inclusion‐exclusion based method proposed by Merle et al. and a conventional Markov chain approach. Furthermore, the paper shows the top event probability is derived easily when all the basic events have exponential failure rates.

Originality/value

The methodology presented shows a new solution for calculating the top event probability of dynamic fault trees.
The black swan effect and the impact on Australian property forecasting
Authors: Higgins David M.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The term “Black Swan” has gained recent popularity to describe an extraordinary event that causes extensive damage. The combination of low predictability and major impact makes an upswing in the magnitude of Black Swan events an important factor when making property market forecasts. The difficulty is that the preferred property forecast models traditionally depend on input data constructed on a normal (bell curve) conditions. As outliers, Black Swan events appear not to form part of the property forecast process. The aim of this research is to examine Black Swan events.

Design/methodology/approach

This research examines Black Swan events and tests their impact on the accuracy of short term, six month bi‐annual survey forecasts from leading economists and property analysts for key Australian property market determinants: economic activity (GDP), ten year bonds and CBD office vacancy rates for the 2005‐2011 period.

Findings

A range of statistical tests showed inconsistencies with the expert forecasts to actual performance and importantly all the experts appeared to miss the start of the Global Financial Crisis in the December 2008 period. The variations in the margin of forecast error suggest that the experts examine the selected property determinants independently. Also, for economic activity and CBD office vacancy rates, there is an interesting trend that in several consecutive time periods, a simple naïve “no change” forecast was better than those of the experts.

Originality/value

In an environment of increasing occurrence of Black Swan events, this inability to forecast short term property market determinants with confidence highlights serious issues with the current approach to forecasting property market performance. The first step for research in this area is to understand and frame the property risks associated with Black Swan events.
Forming mechanisms and structures of a knowledge transfer network: theoretical and simulation research
Authors: Wang Xiaoguang
Published: March 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the exchange and reciprocal mechanism behind individual knowledge transfer activities as well as their impact on the individual knowledge transfer networks.

Design/methodology/approach

The author conducted theoretical and simulation research. Agent‐based technology is employed to construct an agent dynamics agent‐based model that simulates and explains how an individual initiates the evolution of a knowledge network through knowledge transfer activities.

Findings

The results demonstrate that the two mechanisms can improve the knowledge levels of the network members; the exchange mechanism is more efficient as it can improve the values of both sides. Individual knowledge transfer networks evolve from random networks to small‐world networks.

Research limitations/implications

The research model must include more variables. Computer simulation research will be cross‐confirmed by other research methods in future studies.

Practical implications

Individual knowledge transfer networks form and subsequently evolve as a result of social interaction. The research findings will contribute to the policy making for knowledge management in organizations.

Originality/value

Little has been published about the dynamics of individual knowledge transfer networks. The author believes that the paper is the first to analyze the internal mechanisms behind individual knowledge transfer activities and test them with agent‐based technologies.
Cross‐cultural competitive benchmarking of fast‐food restaurant services
Authors: Min Hokey , Min Hyesung
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help fast‐food restaurants successfully penetrate foreign markets and then strengthen their foothold in those markets by identifying cross‐cultural differences in the perceived service quality of fast‐food restaurants; and by examining how those differences affect the globalization of fast‐food restaurant franchises based in the USA and Korea.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper develops a set of target performance standards that helps fast‐food restaurants monitor their service delivery process, identify relative weaknesses, and take corrective actions for continuous service improvements in cross‐cultural settings using analytic hierarchy process and competitive gap analysis.

Findings

This study reveals that a service attribute considered most important to the fast‐food restaurant customers' impressions of service quality differs from one country (USA) to another (Korea). It was found that US customers valued taste of food most whereas Korean customers valued cleanliness most. Also, it was discovered that Koreans considered employee courtesy far more important for their service impression of service quality than Americans, while they were less concerned about food price than their US counterparts. Furthermore, Koreans tended to be more brand‐conscious than Americans and thus considered word‐of‐mouth reputation more seriously than Americans for restaurant selection.

Research limitations/implications

The current study is limited to the evaluation of comparative service quality of fast‐food restaurants in only two countries (namely the USA and Korea). Thus, this study cannot be generalized to the restaurant customers' perceived service quality in other countries or cultural settings. Also, this paper focuses on the performance aspect of benchmarking rather than the strategic aspect of benchmarking.

Practical implications

Saturated with the US restaurant market selling fast‐serving and cheap meals, a growing number of US fast‐food restaurant franchises began to explore foreign markets to increase world‐wide customer bases. However, it is not easy for them to duplicate their domestic success in foreign soils due to different needs, tastes, and preferences of foreign customers. This paper helps the fast‐food restaurant franchises develop viable market penetration and localization strategies and then provides practical guidelines for enhancing their competitiveness in the emerging foreign markets.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to compare the service quality of fast‐food franchises in the USA to that of Korean fast‐food restaurant franchises from the cross‐cultural perspectives.
Measuring the longitudinal performance of 3PL branch operations
Authors: Joo Seong‐Jong , Keebler James S. , Hanks Sue
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the longitudinal efficiency of branch operations of a third party logistics (3PL) company for comparative performance measurement and internal benchmarking.

Design/methodology/approach

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used for measuring the performance of a branch of a 3PL company for 36 months using internal data.

Findings

Despite increasing revenues, the branch suffers diminishing efficiencies in recent months. Indirect expenses are identified as a major source of inefficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The 3PL company has over 600 branches. However, due to the availability of data and the regulation on information disclosure for publicly traded companies, this study includes information on only one branch.

Originality/value

The contributions of this study include demonstrating a novel framework for internal benchmarking with longitudinal data, providing actionable managerial insights, and the use of internal data, which is not accessible to the general public.
Developing partnerships with the community for coastal ESD
Authors: Kawabe Midori , Kohno Hiroshi , Ikeda Reiko , Ishimaru Takashi , Baba Osamu , Horimoto Naho , Kanda Jota , Matsuyam Masaji , Moteki Masato , Oshima Yayoi , Sasaki Tsuyoshi , Yap Minlee
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw lessons for developing community‐university partnerships from experiences in promoting coastal education for sustainable development (ESD).

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative data collected from two coastal community outreach projects were analyzed.

Findings

The outreach projects improved the relationship between university and community members. It is important to conduct interviews at the early stages of the projects to understand the needs of the community and set project outcomes to meet community‐defined priorities. The most effective means for promoting an ESD program based upon community‐university partnerships is to reach out to and network with local individuals who have been active in community projects and embed the program concept into the activities of those individuals. Mediators who link the academic community with the local community are helpful in promoting the partnerships, and university students were found to be successful mediators.

Originality/value

On the basis of the experiences gained from starting an ESD program in the community, this research provides some clues to initiate service learning or community‐based research based upon community‐university partnerships.
Leakages in the tourism systems: case of Zanzibar
Authors: Anderson Wineaster
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The objective of this study is to estimate leakages in tourism systems. More precisely, the study aims to investigate the sources of the annual requirements in the resorts and to identify the triggers for leakages in tourism systems in Zanzibar. It then seeks to explore the challenges that operators face when sourcing the inputs locally. Likewise the study seeks to trace the distribution channel of the tourists arriving in Zanzibar from generating markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews involving 150 resorts were conducted during 2010 in the island of Unguja, where almost 97 percent of Zanzibar's resorts are found. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis were employed.

Findings

The findings reveal massive internal (import‐coefficient leakages) and external leakages that only 16 percent of the resort requirements are sourced within Zanzibar. Unreliable capacity in terms of quantity and quality of the local supplies are among the leading factors that trigger high leakages. Most resorts in Zanzibar are owned, managed and operated by non‐locals. Tourism in this archipelago is revolving around the beach product; whereby the direct charter inclusive tourists, mainly from Europe, dictate the tourism channels. Nevertheless, a number of tourists buy pre‐arranged tours to Zanzibar as an “add‐on” to their mainland Tanzania safaris.

Practical implications

This study lays out the case for the need for more local linkages in the supply chain by revealing the extent to which the accommodation sector depends upon imported as opposed to local goods and services. Practical strategies to minimize leakages are proposed.

Originality/value

An abundance of literature has been written on linkages and leakages in tourism in several destinations. The same amount of work has yet to be done in sub‐Saharan Africa. The choice of Zanzibar is therefore justified.
Data confidentiality using fragmentation in cloud computing
Authors: Hudic Aleksandar , Islam Shareeful , Kieseberg Peter , Rennert Sylvi , Weippl Edgar R.
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this research is to secure the sensitive outsourced data with minimum encryption within the cloud provider. Unfaithful solutions for providing privacy and security along with performance issues by encryption usage of outsourced data are the main motivation points of this research.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a method for secure and confidential storage of data in the cloud environment based on fragmentation. The method supports minimal encryption to minimize the computations overhead due to encryption. The proposed method uses normalization of relational databases, tables are categorized based on user requirements relating to performance, availability and serviceability, and exported to XML as fragments. After defining the fragments and assigning the appropriate confidentiality levels, the lowest number of Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) is used required to store all fragments that must remain unlinkable in separate locations.

Findings

Particularly in the cloud databases are sometimes de‐normalised (their normal form is decreased to lower level) to increase the performance.

Originality/value

The paper proposes a methodology to minimize the need for encryption and instead focus on making data entities unlinkable so that even in the case of a security breach for one set of data, the privacy impact on the whole is limited. The paper would be relevant to those people whose main concern is to preserve data privacy in distributed systems.
Towards a domain‐specific context acquisition, presentation and rule‐based control platform
Authors: Kapsalis Vassilis , Christos Fidas , Hadellis Loukas
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Research on context‐aware systems design has received significant attention lately. One of the research directions on context‐aware systems is towards context‐aware frameworks adapted to domain‐specific requirements, aiming to improve their applicability in a variety of applications, which share common requirements. The purpose of this paper is to present the design of a domain‐specific context‐aware platform supporting context acquisition, presentation and rule‐based control.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed platform uses a formal context model, based on ontologies description, aiming to provide a common representation of contextual information, facilitating thus integration and reusability in application domains, which embrace a common set of requirements. A context‐aware system has been built upon a well defined data model, which inherits a list of offered functionalities and/or services at the acquisition, presentation and reasoning level. The presented platform entails an event‐driven context‐based inference mechanism aiming to enable automated reasoning.

Findings

The proposed platform has been applied in two different case studies, aiming to provide a proof of concept towards the applicability of the proposed framework in different application areas through the offered integration and adaptation mechanisms. Evaluation results, in the frame of these case studies, show the ease of using the platform and its acceptable performance in practice.

Originality/value

As context‐aware applications within specific domains share common requirements, it becomes mandatory to offer solutions, like the proposed in this paper, which can be easily adapted to application semantics and can be reused with different levels of abstractions in order to meet specific requirements. The present paper proposes a domain‐specific platform, which applies on a variety of application types with a common set of requirements.
Adoption of environmental management systems and standards in Norwegian education and nursing
Authors: Monkerud Lars C. , Ytterhus Bjarne
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to explore the driving forces and cost/benefit effects of introducing environmental management systems (EMS) and standards in education and nursing in five of the largest Norwegian cities. The relevant standard is the Eco‐Lighthouse program which offers a Norwegian environmental certificate.

Design/methodology/approach

Multivariate analyses of data on motivating factors and perceived costs/benefits from reported EMS adoption from a survey going to executives in 391 schools and 87 nursing homes.

Findings

The study confirms that EMS adoption is driven by resources and capabilities, rather than simply institutional pressure, and that managers in nursing and education perceive reduced costs and other benefits from EMS adoption. The value added of the Eco‐Lighthouse certification is ambiguous.

Research limitations/implications

Since the study builds on survey data on perceived effects from EMS adoption, a potential limitation is non‐representativeness, although sampled and un‐sampled institutions are similar in relevant respects. Moreover, since data are cross‐sectional, dynamic effects from EMS adoption is difficult to assess.

Originality/value

The paper corroborates results from previous studies. A novelty in the study is its attempt to control for the effect of rationalization and/or social desirability bias in effects reporting. The likely impact of rationalization/social desirability bias is in general positive but not significant in analyses of cost reductions, although both positive and significant in analyses of other benefit effects.
Researching the gap between strategic and operational levels of corporate responsibility
Authors: Kujala Johanna , Rehbein Kathleen , Toikka Tiina , Enroth Jenni
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand differences between the strategic level and the operational level of corporate responsibility within an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted as a single case study of one of the more noteworthy Finnish firms with respect to corporate responsibility reporting.

Findings

The results show that strategic and operational levels differ in terms of their developmental stage of corporate responsibility. The strategic level is more focused on responsibility issues concerning external stakeholders, on reporting, on corporate image and on quantitative measures. The operational level emphasizes internal stakeholders, acting, daily existence, and qualitative criteria.

Research limitations/implications

A well‐known corporate responsibility model was useful for identifying how perspectives concerning corporate social responsibility vary within the corporation. However, to explore the reasons for this variation, the actors, actions, outcomes and drivers of corporate responsibility need to be examined. The single case study method limits the generalizability of the results.

Originality/value

The research presents a unique case study with novel empirical data. The study contributes to the corporate responsibility research by discussing the differences between words and deeds of corporate responsibility, by testing the usefulness of a corporate responsibility framework and by trying to understand the reasons why different functions of an organization are at different developmental stages regarding corporate responsibility.
Foreign direct investment and innovation in Estonia
Authors: Masso Jaan , Roolaht Tõnu , Varblane Urmas
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to study the linkages between inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and the innovation inputs and outputs of domestic and foreign owned companies in Estonia, a small economy in CEE.

Design/methodology/approach

The econometric analysis of the data about the linkages between FDI and innovation is made using the model by Créponet al., which allows estimation of the innovation expenditure equation, the knowledge production function (with various innovation output variables as dependent variables) and the productivity equation (production function), with all the equations including company and industry level FDI variables.

Findings

The results show that the higher innovation output of foreign owned companies vanishes after various company characteristics are controlled for, but there were significant differences in innovation inputs such as the higher use of knowledge sourcing and the lower importance of various impeding factors. Outward investment has a positive influence on innovativeness among both domestic and foreign owned companies.

Practical implications

The managers can benefit from this study by tapping into a wider range of knowledge sources via diverse and active involvement in exporting and investing activities. Often they fail to realise that initiation of international activities can also serve as an important learning opportunity in becoming more innovative. The policy implications suggest that government policies as well as triple helix cooperation should be oriented not only towards attracting foreign interest, but also towards building opportunities for more extensive regional and international business networking by exporting and outward FDI.

Originality/value

The originality of the study lies in the usage of the data from a small open economy of Central and Eastern Europe. This region is a good candidate for studying the impacts of FDI; while CEE countries were closed to FDI before the onset of transition, since the beginning of transition they have witnessed massive FDI inflows. The present study seems to be one of the first ones to use three different waves of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS), specifically CIS3 covering 1998‐2000, CIS4 (2002‐2004) and CIS2006 (2004‐2006). Thereby the authors are able to study the impact of the changing economic environment on the link between FDI and innovativeness.
Addressing indigenous (ICT) approaches in South‐East Asian learning systems
Authors: Amato Silvia
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a structural overview about indigenous approaches to learning in South East Asian countries, with a particular reference to education initiatives that have been operating in this region; and especially to investigate information and communication technologies (ICT) systems, in combination with institutional approaches for enhanced knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

Discussed issues have been designed together, through a rights‐based approach that can frame verified access to indigenous cultures under the changing methods concerning ICT, as well as, similarly compare collective challenges for applicable methodologies towards poverty reduction and sustainability.

Findings

This research process has followed developmental options already in place from the recent spread of technologies in Asia. A lack of equal distribution patterns due to the presence of multiple actors has been advanced in this study, with the gradual reduction of opportunities in education in rural/remote settings.

Research limitations/implications

Constraining factors about the compatibility of information systems and policy impacts need functional/operational data of information sources for further testing of explicative explorations.

Practical implications

This research focus, oriented to changing implications of IT solutions in Asia, has increased a comparative analytical understanding about the direct transfer of IT methodologies to subjects for learning enhancement.

Originality/value

This study activity has explored grassroots transition in terms of limiting factors for ICTs adaptability and empowerment.
Distance learning and skill acquisition in engineering sciences
Authors: Potkonjak Veljko , Jovanović Kosta , Holland Owen , Uhomoibhi James
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an improved concept of software‐based laboratory exercises, namely a Virtual Laboratory for Engineering Sciences (VLES).

Design/methodology/approach

The implementation of distance learning and e‐learning in engineering sciences (such as Mechanical and Electrical Engineering) is still far behind current practice in narrative disciplines (Economics, Management, etc.). This is because education in technical disciplines requires laboratory exercises, providing skill‐acquisition and hands‐on experience. In order to overcome this problem for distance‐learning developers and practitioners, a new modular and hierarchically organized approach is needed.

Findings

The concept involves simulation models to emulate system dynamics, full virtual reality to provide visualization, advanced social‐clubbing to ensure proper communication, and an AI tutor to supervise the lab work. Its modularity and hierarchical organization offer the possibility of applying the concept to practically any engineering field: a higher level provides the general framework – it considers lab workplaces as objects regardless of the technical field they come from, and provides communication and supervision – while the lower level deals with particular workplaces. An improved student's motivation is expected.

Originality/value

The proposed concept aims rather high, thus making the work truly challenging. With the current level of information and communication technologies, some of the required features can only be achieved with difficulty; however, the rapid growth of the relevant technologies supports the eventual practicality of the concept. This paper is not intended to present any final results, solutions, or experience. The idea is to promote the concept, identify problems, propose guidelines, and possibly open a discussion.
A social exchange perspective of the individual guanxi network
Authors: Ahmed Ishfaq , Khairuzzaman Wan Ismail Wan , Mohamad Amin Salmiah , Musarrat Nawaz Muhammad
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Using the social exchange perspective, the aim of this research is to add value to the construct by looking at direct and indirect effects through perceived organizational support (POS) and leader‐member exchange (LMX) of the guanxi network in job involvement, and ultimately the effect of job involvement on in‐role performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was used as the medium for data collection. A total of 458 respondents took part in research at two points of time. Respondents were selected using random sampling technique from hotels of western part of Malaysia. Descriptive statistics, CFA, and SEM were used for this purpose.

Findings

Findings of the study reveal that individual guanxi network significantly contributes towards social exchange relations (POS and LMX), and employees' job involvement. The individual guanxi network has both direct and indirect effects on job involvement, which confirms that individual guanxi network affects involvement through social exchange relations, i.e. POS and LMX; it also confirms the basic notion of individual guanxi network (social relations with norm of reciprocity).

Research limitations/implications

This study covers only hotel employees working in Western Malaysia. Other sectors can be selected for future research endeavours with a larger sample size.

Practical implications

One obvious implication of this research is that management should utilize the guanxi network of employees, which can result in increasing involvement and improved performance.

Originality/value

The main contributions of the study contain: consideration of LMX as a mediator and explaining the social exchange essence of individual guanxi network.
Values and the value system of the youth, using the example of student population
Authors: Silic Ivana , Dulcic Zelimir , Visic Meri
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The youth (especially students) with their values have major influence on further value system of society in general in the future. Exploring the values and value systems focused on youth, students in the field of economic science are in the interest of this study. Pedagogical interest for the research of values among youth can be double‐natured: the authors want to find out how much students manage to adapt to validity system of a certain society, or they want to find out what values in which youth can bring to future generation as a special group of people. The aim of this research is to find out whether there are differences in the hierarchical values and the value system between the Economics university students from EFST (Croatia) and GUF (Germany) or not.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to find out if there are values in general and also a value system of the youth, the research was conducted using questionnaires at Universities in Split and Frankfurt. The questionnaire was constructed based on psychometric Likert‐analytical methods. The collected statistical data are entered and stored in the file of the statistical package SPSS.

Findings

The value system of the youth is an important indicator for a specific trend of the society, because young people represent the future backbone of the society. The current situation in society affects the formation of confounding value attitudes to a greater or lesser impact on the actual behavior of young people. Based on obtained results it can be concluded that the Economics students of the University of Split and Frankfurt have a statistically significant difference in the assignment of significance values and the value system as a whole.

Originality/value

This study primarily examines the value systems of students who live in very different social environment. Social environment has affected their value system.
The impact of ICT services on perceptions of the quality of life of older people
Authors: Damant Jacqueline , Knapp Martin , Watters Sarah , Freddolino Paul , Ellis Margaret , King Derek
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to report results of the impact of the information and communication technology (ICT) platform and telecare services developed by the MonAMI consortium on the quality of life (QOL) of older people in three European communities.

Design/methodology/approach

In a three‐month trial, the MonAMI technology was installed in the homes of older people with various needs, in the cities of Stockholm, Sweden; Zaragoza, Spain; and Kosice, Slovakia. Evaluation criteria and instrumentation were developed to assess the effects of the services on users' perceived QOL in the domains of independence, physical health, psychological wellbeing, social networking, and physical environment.

Findings

A total of 62 users, with a mean age of 79 years, participated in the trial. Results demonstrate that the MonAMI services had some positive, significant effects on users' QOL. For instance, users with a higher number of disabilities at baseline reported greater confidence in keeping intruders from entering their home compared to users with fewer disabilities (OR=2.51, 0.01 p<0.05). However, overall findings show that healthier, more independent users perceived more benefits from the services compared to users who report more health problems and are less independent.

Research limitations/implications

The complexities of conducting the MonAMI trial led to a small, heterogeneous sample of users over a short time span. This in turn created difficulties in observing the potential effects of the services and achieving significance on some indicators of QOL.

Originality/value

This paper provides quantitative analyses around the impact of telecare services; suggests important directions for further research; and highlights the methodological challenges of evaluating ICT‐based care services in a community setting.
GPS and IMU (inertial measurement unit) as a navigation system for the visually impaired in cities
Authors: Zegarra Flores Jesus , Farcy René
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this work is to improve navigation solutions for the visually impaired, specifically problems with the heading given by the current GPS antennas. This heading is not reliable when the speed of the pedestrian or of the car is less than 10 km/h. The solution proposed is the use of one inertial measurement unit (IMU) coupled to a GPS, giving the navigation information in the way of heading and distance to the final destination.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have developed their system using their IMU (compass, gyroscope and accelerometer) developed in the laboratory. They have also developed the user interface in one Smart Phone in the Android operating system coupled to the IMU using the Bluetooth transmission. Furthermore, the authors have tested their system in bad GPS reception conditions in Paris. They also used two other GPS systems (Navigon and Ariadne GPS) for testing the best way of giving the information: either “car navigation information: turn left or right at 100 meters … ” or “heading and distance to the final destination: destination at 2 o'clock, 150 meters”.

Findings

The main finding is that we can have a better way of navigation (for the visually impaired in pedestrian navigation) using one IMU, coupled to a compass and a GPS antenna in cities even in the case of hesitation of the user, using the information of “heading and distance to the final destination”.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates how GPS coupled to an IMU can give a better way of navigating for the visually impaired; in especial using the information about heading and distance to the final destination.
Animation: children, autism and new possibilities for learning
Authors: Holmgaard Aase , Pedersen Hanne , Abbott Chris
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to discover whether and to what extent children with autism can find the production of animations useful for their learning and self‐experience. The study seeks to understand how the participants produce animations and what implications this has had for their learning abilities and social interaction skills.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a mixed methods approach, but with participant observation as paramount, the authors worked with two children identified as being on the autistic spectrum to document their understanding and use of animation as a tool for concept development and for narrative and meaning‐making.

Findings

The project showed that the two participants in question gained greater learner autonomy through their involvement in animation. Teachers also reported that they understood more about the two students than had previously been the case. One participant has become much more actively involved in learning processes than before and sees herself in a new way, mainly because her anxiety has been reduced; the other participant has learned much about the component parts of a narrative sequence and is now able to assemble these more effectively.

Originality/value

The greatest benefit of animation in the classroom comes from young people becoming producers of it rather than merely consumers. Being able to express themselves through movement opens the possibility of understanding and interpreting emotions, moods and situations in a way that is of great benefit. This case study suggests that being actively involved in the production of an animated story is particularly beneficial for children's emotional, social and verbal development. Combining experienced reality with bodily expressions and subsequently with verbal language is difficult for most children with autism. Creating animated stories can be a useful stepping stone to enable children to transform experienced reality into words. The outcomes described in this paper are essentially linked to the nature of the production task and could not have been achieved through passive absorption of animation.
Service user involvement in occupational therapy education: an evolving involvement
Authors: Cleminson Sandra , Moesby Aidan
Published: March 2013

Purpose

Service user involvement in higher education is now an expectation, with university learning and teaching strategies ensuring it is a priority. Service users have highlighted the importance of collaborative working and the sharing of their experience. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an example of how lived experience of mental illness can be used to increase students' awareness of the impact of this and to offer indicators of how they can respond more effectively by following the professional philosophy of client‐centred practice. By involving a service user on an occupational therapy programme, it was expected that students would benefit from the narrative of a service user's experience of mental illness.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper illustrates the experience of collaborative working between a service user and university lecturer, which progressed beyond the telling of the narrative to include more active involvement and the opportunity to influence students' thinking.

Findings

The reported benefits for the service user included feeling valued and a sense of empowerment.

Originality/value

The paper concludes that collaborative working can increase involvement, which promotes recovery for service users and allows learning to be more directly influenced by what service users want from health care professionals.
Finding the personal in the clinical psychology swamp
Authors: Wood Helen , Lea Laura , Holttum Sue
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between the professional and personal, and particularly personal realities reflected in the Equality Act (2010), within a clinical psychology training context.

Design/methodology/approach

An innovative action research process involving discussions, seminars and focus groups. The first author was a trainee on the programme and had been an informal carer. The other two authors are programme staff with service user experience. In the cycle presented here, six staff members and 14 trainees attended five 50‐minute reflective group sessions. Data were collected by focus group and analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Participants voiced continuing uncertainty about the personal‐professional interface alongside increased understanding of ways to enact it. Parenthood, class and mental health were identified as important domains and competition between these emerged as a theme.

Research limitations/implications

The reflective groups and focus group have contributed to a process of change in relation to service user involvement and trainee learning. Transferability of the findings to other programmes is discussed and further research is required.

Practical implications

The authors would advocate for partnerships between trainees, staff and service users as a means of learning, researching and change within mental health training.

Originality/value

The authors are unaware of any other similar work: the unusual collaboration by the authors, the use of action research and the adoption of reflective groups within the process is unique.
Could prescribing be part of the clinical psychologist's role?
Authors: Newman Andrew
Published: March 2013

Purpose

The number of mental health professionals able to prescribe has, for a number of years, reached beyond medics, but UK clinical psychologists are not yet permitted to train to prescribe. The purpose of this paper is to ask if prescribing could be part of the clinical psychologist's role.

Design/methodology/approach

This article lays out three core areas of discussion: what was the drive for non‐medical prescribing? Could psychologists be trained to prescribe? Could prescribing be another tool for psychologists? Currently, UK clinical psychologists are not able to prescribe unless they have an additional qualification as a medic, pharmacist or nurse. This paper ends by considering the position of a clinical psychologist who is also a registered nurse and wonders about the pros and cons of training to prescribe.

Findings

It was argued that clinical clinical psychologists who are also registered nurses are best placed and currently perhaps the only clinical psychologists able to train to prescribe. The author questioned his motives for considering training to prescribe and looked at the risks in prescribing.

Originality/value

The author is unsure if he wants to pursue prescribing privileges but makes no objection to clinical psychologists prescribing.