bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Students’ perceptions among foreign languages in the EHEA
Authors: Isabel Sanchez-Hernandez M. , Gallardo-Vazquez Dolores , Corchuelo Martinez-Azua Beatriz
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ opinion on their proficiency in one or more foreign languages, and the importance they attribute to their foreign language competence because the adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) implies the promotion of the mobility of teachers and students.

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative and quantitative approach conducted at the University of Extremadura in Spain. The method used was to triangulate the data resulting from three quite different procedures: promoting the participating students’ awareness of the issue through a seminar on the importance of mastering other languages and their relevance for graduate employability; inquiring into the students’ impressions when receiving an English class with a focus group; and a questionnaire on their opinions about the importance of proficiency in foreign languages.

Findings

– The findings highlight how teaching in English in European universities could bring real opportunities for the development of the EHEA. Furthermore, the development of foreign languages competences have to be a priority line of innovation in higher education in order to build a more meaningful relationship between education institutions and the European project.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is a first attempt to analyse the need to teach in English in European higher education institutions. Results are not completely generalizable because the study has been conducted in one university, in the field of social sciences in the branch of Economics and Business, and it has been examined only the views of students.

Originality/value

– The paper draws attention to the need for, and suggestions on how higher education institutions can be more aware to the needs of developing studentś English competences when designing programmes in the EHEA.
Baroque manorial cores and the landscape
Authors: Nurme Sulev , Kotval Zenia , Nutt Nele , Hiob Mart , Salmistu Sirle
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The concepts of “historically valuable landscape,” “historical landscape space,” “landscape space attached to an object of cultural importance,” etc. seem to be understood by most landscape professionals, yet these terms are highly abstract with many possible interpretations. The protected zone of cultural monuments prescribed by law helps to ensure the preservation of these historic artifacts and signifiers of local heritage. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper seeks to provide guidelines that can be articulated to protect cultural landscapes. These guidelines are based on a manorial core study was carried out in 2010 to analyze the changes in road networks and spatial systems of manors over the past 150 years. This study is part of a larger research effort on different aspects of Estonian baroque manor gardens.

Findings

– Many landscapes may contain historically relevant objects and phenomena not protected by law, which, nevertheless form the basis of a unique local landscape. The altering of such a landscape not only changes its natural form, but may directly impact the cultural identity and milieu of the area, thereby affecting how its inhabitants relate to their environment.

Originality/value

– Preservation of historic buildings and landscapes plays an important role particularly in relation to manor landscapes. This network has remained well preserved, and the rural landscape based on this Baltic-German manor culture is still strongly reflected in the current landscape through the existing historic landscape elements like housing, viewsheds, roads, etc. Without landscape analysis, it can be challenging for an outsider to understand the spatial context, especially when it has changed and evolved through the years.
Fire and heritage protection in Australian public housing
Authors: Hardie Mary , Green Melvyn , He Yaping
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Heritage housing in inner city areas represents a valuable cultural asset that belongs, in part, to the community as a whole. Despite this, the risk of destruction by fire in closely spaced heritage housing has not received a great deal of research attention. The purpose of this paper is to identify potential faults in building fabric that may result in unacceptable fire safety risks to irreplaceable heritage streetscapes.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper examines a sample of publically administered heritage houses in inner Sydney. A condition survey looks at the occurrence of noted defects, or non-compliances to the current building regulations, in fire separation between attached or closely spaced occupancies.

Findings

– Fire spread between adjacent buildings is identified as a potential hazard which needs to be addressed in order to ensure both the sustainability of the remaining heritage housing stock and the safety of the occupants.

Research limitations/implications

– While the survey is small, it represents a significant proportion of a dwindling stock of nineteenth century heritage housing in public ownership in Sydney.

Practical implications

– Based on the results of the survey, a recommendation has been made in regard to improving building surveying practice when dealing with renovation of heritage housing.

Social implications

– Concern over the diminishing availability of social housing in inner city locations indicates the need for more attention to the fire safety of the remaining stock.

Originality/value

– The research provides original data on the level of fire safety risk in a regional cluster of heritage housing.
ERP system fit – an explorative task and data quality perspective
Authors: Glowalla Paul , Sunyaev Ali
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to facilitate understanding of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and data quality interdependency by presenting ERP systems’ use within data quality management.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply task technology fit (TTF) in an explorative study, conducting semi-structured expert interviews with participants in information technology strategic decision making. The authors analyzed the interviews with iterative descriptive and subsequent interpretive coding.

Findings

– Although considered sustainable, continuously increasing regulations challenge ERP systems. However, compliance with regulations may serve as a bridge for organizations to engage in data analysis. Organizations are embedded into evolving task environments with the need to continuously adapt their systems or the organization and the need for contextual understanding of data quality.

Research limitations/implications

– With ERP systems being used for administrative functions, future research might draw on extant ERP systems research from the manufacturing sector. However, for insurance-specific tasks, ERP systems and their data need to be considered in a sector-specific context with the need for further research.

Practical implications

– ERP systems are considered sustainable. High initial fit is desirable, but the sector's relevance for ERP system vendors might be more important for sustainability. Ensuring TTF will be an increasing challenge with increasing task non-routineness.

Originality/value

– Applying TTF provides guidance for fit research, while the qualitative approach accounts for a deeper understanding, especially when exploring data quality issues since deficiencies might have several root causes. The authors show that ERP systems have an impact on data quality beyond its typically examined functionality.
Dual sourcing for mitigating humanitarian supply chain disruptions
Authors: Iakovou Eleftherios , Vlachos Dimitrios , Keramydas Christos , Partsch Daniel
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Proactive planning strategies for “slow-onset” disruptions that affect humanitarian supply chains (SC) developed to address chronic pressing societal problems, can have a significant impact on boosting the operational and financial performance of these chains. The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology that quantifies the impact of a risk mitigation strategy widely employed in commercial SCs, namely emergency sourcing (ES), on the performance of humanitarian SCs taking into account backorders’ clearance time, unsatisfied demand, and cost.

Design/methodology/approach

– Discrete event simulation is employed in order to evaluate alternative ES strategies based on a total cost criterion, which incorporates inventory-related costs, as well as premium contract costs paid for emergency replenishment. Backorders’ clearance time and time-to-recovery are also employed as a design parameters.

Findings

– The results document the significant impact of disruptions on expected total cost, and the beneficial role of ES in hedging against disruptions. To that end, the proposed methodology determines the optimal emergency contracted capacity for a given premium, or alternatively the maximum premium cost value that ensures the feasibility of the implemented ES strategy in the long-run, along with the associated cost and time savings, and reduction of the unsatisfied demand.

Originality/value

– The fundamental objective is to provide a decision-making support methodology for deciding on whether to implement an ES strategy or not in humanitarian SCs, and the level of the optimal contracted reserved capacity. The results could be of great value to aid providers, policy-makers, and regulators.
A bottleneck analysis in the IFRC supply chain
Authors: Buddas Henrietta
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of bottlenecks occurring when preparing for humanitarian operations in the humanitarian supply chain. The focus in this paper is set on the activities of aid supply procurement and aid consolidation into standardised deliveries of humanitarian aid.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper follows a qualitative case study and builds a theoretical bottleneck analysis framework, using, e.g. the theory of constraints as an important building block. The case study as such involves the IFRC supply chain.

Findings

– The findings in the empirical study show that there is a need for long-term planning (practical and strategic planning) of the supply procurement, as well as organisational commitment in order to remove bottlenecks in a humanitarian operation.

Research limitations/implications

– The research framework built for the case study is applicable in similar future analyses of humanitarian supply chain operations and projects, as well as modifiable to other types of project or operation analyses.

Practical implications

– This paper gives a wide perspective insight into constraining bottleneck areas as well as areas of improvement in disaster preparedness. Additionally the paper provides an applicable tool for humanitarian practitioners to use for analysing process bottlenecks, to decide on corrective actions.

Originality/value

– The paper constructs a bottleneck analysis framework, which can be utilised beyond the humanitarian setting. Bottleneck analyses have not previously been conducted within the humanitarian context.
Powerless positions, silenced voices? – critical views on health and social care management
Authors: Hujala Anneli , Laulainen Sanna , Lindberg Kajsa
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide background to this special issue and consider how critically oriented research can be applied to health and social care management.

Design/methodology/approach

– Basic principles of critical management studies are introduced briefly to frame subsequent papers in this issue.

Findings

– In order to identify the wicked problems and darker sides of the care field, there is a need to study things in alternative ways through critical lenses. Giving a voice to those in less powerful positions may result in redefinition and redesign of conventional roles and agency of patients, volunteers and professionals and call into question the taken-for-granted understanding of health and social care management.

Originality/value

– The special issue as a whole was designed to enhance critical approaches to the discussion in the field of health and social care. This editorial hopefully raises awareness of CMS and serves as an opening for further discussion on critical views in the research on management and organization in this field.
International air transport demand: drivers and forecasts in the Indian context
Authors: Srinidhi S. , K. Manrai Ajay
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide a framework for the airlines to forecast demand, specifically on international routes operated from major metros of the USA and position their services by designing the service positioning matrix. Major benefits include route contemplation, effective fleet scheduling, decisions on aircraft and fuel purchases and developing optimal fare policies. Much effort has been directed to developing forecasts of air transport demand, particularly by airline companies and professional bodies in the air transport industry. However, detailed analysis of the characteristics of demand for air transport over long-haul or international routes is less researched.

Design/methodology/approach

– Major methodologies used were regression, time series analysis – Holts’ exponential smoothing method. Two econometric models are formulated that capture the direct and indirect drivers of airline demand in the Indian context. Forecasts of demand are made over the next seven years until 2020.

Findings

– It is interesting to find that demand not only is influenced by direct parameters such as population- and behavior-oriented parameters such as income, but the macroeconomic environment of the country concerned also plays a major role in demand origination. Variables like investment, gross domestic product, etc. contribute a lot in terms of international airline demand. It is also expected that in the Indian context, demand is on a spike path over the next seven years considering the macroeconomic environment and other general economic conditions.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is developed and applied in the Indian context. Results may change when applied to different countries depending on their macroeconomic conditions.

Practical implications

– This study will be useful for any airline in route planning, and in formulating major policy decisions. Other benefits include effective fleet scheduling, decisions on aircraft and fuel purchases and developing optimal fare policies.

Originality/value

– This paper adds to the existing literature by developing two demand drivers’ models in the Indian context. It is first such attempt to analyse the Indian aviation industry ever since the Indian economic liberalization in 1991. Forecasts provided yield major benefits for airlines operating to and from India.
Daily deliberative dissonance acting among police officers
Authors: R. van Gelderen Benjamin , B. Bakker Arnold , Konijn Elly , Binnewies Carmen
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the relationships of daily deliberative dissonance acting (DDA) with daily strain and daily work engagement. DDA refers to the deliberate acting of emotions to achieve one's work goals. The authors hypothesized that daily DDA would be positively related to strain through feelings of emotional dissonance. In addition, the authors predicted that DDA would be positively related to daily work engagement via job accomplishment.

Design/methodology/approach

–The authors applied a five-day quantitative diary design with two measurement occasions per day using a sample of 54 police officers (i.e. 270 measurement occasions). In the multilevel analyses, the authors controlled for previous levels of the dependent variables in order to analyse change.

Findings

– Multilevel analyses revealed that police officers deliberatively engaged in emotional labor with both detrimental and beneficial consequences, as assessed via their daily reports of strain and work engagement.

Practical implications

– The results suggest that acting emotions is not inherently harmful, but may also be beneficial for job accomplishment, which fosters work engagement. The training of police officers and possibly other service employees should include the topic of DDA as a form of emotional labor and its consequences for psychological well-being.

Social implications

– Police officers who accomplish their job tasks by acting the appropriate emotions may not only experience strain, but may also become more engaged in their work.

Originality/value

– The present study showed that police officers engage in deliberate dissonance acting. The authors showed how this emotion regulation technique is related to strain and engagement – on a daily basis.
What a performance! the influence of call centre workflows on workers’ skills and emotional wellbeing
Authors: Alexander Clarke Julian
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This purpose of this paper is to use the concepts of performance and emotional labour to shed new light on the skills workers use on two workflows in one call centre. In addition, the paper demonstrates how different workflows impact on workers everyday emotional experiences and wellbeing.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using an auto-ethnographic approach to data collection the paper provides insights by focusing on both the self and others as objects of research. The underpinning theoretical inspiration is drawn from Labour Process Theory but considering the interactive nature of front-line call centre work, it adopts Goffman's (1959) dramaturgical concepts and draws on micro-sociological analyses of the labour process, particularly Hochschild (1983).

Findings

– The case study illustrates how workers use social skills, through the performance of emotional labour, to different extents on contrasting workflows. The concept of performance is also used to demonstrate how management rely on worker's social skills to deliver fast and quality customer service. Contrary to other research, this study finds that the greater time front-line workers spend on calls and the wider scope they have for exercising discretion does not necessarily mean they experience greater levels of satisfaction and emotional wellbeing. Rather, the workflow with the tightest scripting and shortest call cycles – which inhibit the need to perform emotional labour – offered the greatest protection from the emotional demands of the job.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to apply Goffman's theatrical metaphors and concepts of performativity to unpack the nature of front-line call centre workers’ skills.
On‐line brokers may be better positioned than regular brokers in regard to money laundering laws
Authors: Hogan Michael J. , Schneider Howard , Schadé Elisabeth J.
Published: November 2014

To comply with the USA PATRIOT Act (the “Act”), Broker‐Dealers (“BDs”), among others, must establish an anti‐money laundering compliance program (“Program”) by April 24, 2002. NASD Regulation, Inc. (“NASDR”) filed, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), a proposed rule change to adopt new Rule 3011 prescribing the minimum standards required for each NASD member firm’s Program (“NASDR Proposal”). This article highlights those provisions affecting on‐line U.S. BDs and reviews them in summary fashion.
E‐mail and instant messaging retention, review, and production
Authors: Wolk Michael D.
Published: November 2014

The SEC and the SROs have demonstrated through the threat of significant enforcement action that the rules requiring the capture, retention, and review of e‐mail communications will be strictly enforced and, where violated, significant disciplinary penalties will be imposed. Securities firms must use automated technology to comply with such rules and establish, maintain, and enforce its supervisory system to ensure compliance. Moreover, until the SEC and the SROs have addressed the record‐keeping requirements for instant messaging, firms would be best advised to take a conservative view and attempt to capture the messages, if the available technology will allow it, or prohibit the use of such technology.
New scrutiny of broker‐dealers’ expense sharing arrangements
Authors: Cohen Lawrence
Published: November 2014

The wave of new business and accounting laws and regulations that arose during 2002 were triggered by the actions of giant organizations – Enron, Global Crossing, Arthur Andersen, Tyco, and Merrill Lynch – representing a broad spectrum of industries. The alleged misconduct of the management of these enterprises fostered a new regulatory environment, the impact of which has reached beyond the practices and procedures of major, public companies.
Functional regulation in the 21st century
Authors: Brant David , Griffin Royce
Published: November 2014

If complaints about an agent’s sale of “ABC” mutual fund are handled by the state securities commissioner… Why should complaints about the same agent’s sale of a variable annuity invested in “ABC” mutual fund be handled exclusively by the state insurance commissioner? Are state laws enacted 35 years ago still relevant today when most agents who sell variable annuities are also licensed to sell mutual funds?
Supervising the supervisors: internal controls in the brokerage industry
Authors: Saxon Denise S. , Kieswetter Beth D.
Published: November 2014

Late last year, the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) proposed rule changes designed to strengthen the requirements relating to supervision and internal controls. Through these rule proposals, the NASD and NYSE appear to be emphasizing the need for brokerage firms to have in place internal controls separate and distinct from supervisory systems. In speeches, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) also has emphasized that internal controls are integral to a brokerage firm’s operations. But, where did the concepts of “supervision” and “internal controls” come from? How has the concept of “internal controls” evolved in the brokerage industry? Do the NYSE and NASD proposals change the substantive supervisory obligations of broker‐dealers? What steps can brokerage firms take now to prepare for, and respond to, regulatory scrutiny of their systems for supervision and internal controls? This article explores these issues.
Sentiment-based commercial real estate forecasting with Google search volume data
Authors: Alexander Dietzel Marian , Braun Nicole , Schäfers Wolfgang
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine internet search query data provided by “Google Trends”, with respect to its ability to serve as a sentiment indicator and improve commercial real estate forecasting models for transactions and price indices.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper examines internet search query data provided by “Google Trends”, with respect to its ability to serve as a sentiment indicator and improve commercial real estate forecasting models for transactions and price indices.

Findings

– The empirical results show that all models augmented with Google data, combining both macro and search data, significantly outperform baseline models which abandon internet search data. Models based on Google data alone, outperform the baseline models in all cases. The models achieve a reduction over the baseline models of the mean squared forecasting error for transactions and prices of up to 35 and 54 per cent, respectively.

Practical implications

– The results suggest that Google data can serve as an early market indicator. The findings of this study suggest that the inclusion of Google search data in forecasting models can improve forecast accuracy significantly. This implies that commercial real estate forecasters should consider incorporating this free and timely data set into their market forecasts or when performing plausibility checks for future investment decisions.

Originality/value

– This is the first paper applying Google search query data to the commercial real estate sector.
Compulsory purchase and compensation update – 2014
Authors: Sams Gary
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to summarise and analyse the new compensation provisions brought in by the government for Phase 1 of the HS2 high-speed train line.

Design/methodology/approach

– To summarise each of the proposals and provide a critical assessment of each of them.

Findings

– For the most part, and the Homeowner Payment Scheme (HPS) is a marked exception, the new HS2 compensation provisions set out a logical approach to reducing the impact of the scheme on the people most directly affected by its blighting affect. There are, however, a number of concerns as to whether there are more urgent reforms that have not been considered.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposals were announced in April and in respect of some of them, particularly the HPS, very little information is available as yet.

Practical implications

– The paper should provide factual information on a very new set of compensation provisions and a critical appraisal of their value.

Originality/value

– As the compensation provisions have been published only recently there will be few other similar commentaries available.
The performance of entrepreneurial ventures
Authors: Jayawarna Dilani , Jones Oswald , Lam Wing , Phua Sabrina
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Despite the importance of marketing to the success of entrepreneurial ventures very few researchers have studied the links with new business performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine a number of marketing practices in relation to the performance of new firms. Furthermore, the study considers the moderating influence of market competitiveness on the marketing practice-performance relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

– Both postal and web surveys were utilized to collect responses from 128 entrepreneurs in the early stages of business creation. The data were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factory analyses to establish the marketing practices in new ventures. These results were then subjected to hierarchical regression analysis to study the marketing-performance relationship. Further analysis was conducted to explore the moderation hypotheses.

Findings

– The results demonstrate that some practices generally associated with marketing – selective distribution, market segmentation and advertising – have limited impact on performance in new ventures. In contrast, other practices such as product/service innovation, market research and service quality and functionality – do help establish competitive advantage. The results suggest that marketing practices associated with “entrepreneurial behaviour” and not “hard” marketing techniques drive new venture success. The results also support the moderation hypotheses confirming that market conditions help explain the role of marketing in new venture success.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper offers a new theoretical framework to better understand the marketing-performance relationship in new ventures and offers suggestions as to the specific conditions for effective use of various marketing practices.

Originality/value

– This is one of the first attempts to explore the underlying mechanisms that support marketing practices in new ventures. It reveals the hidden dimensions of the marketing-performance relationship and thereby makes a contribution to both the marketing and entrepreneurship literatures.
High growth trajectories in small and medium sized enterprises: a comparative study
Authors: Chanut-Guieu Cécile , C. Guieu Gilles
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Rapid growth constitutes both a theoretical and an economic issue. Thanks to a comparative study of five high growth small and medium sized enterprises located in Rhône-Alp and Provence (France), the authors propose a processual analysis of high growth trajectories. The purpose of this paper is to identify trajectories and tools implicated in the construction and maintenance of a high growth trajectory.

Design/methodology/approach

– The contribution is a comparative, qualitative study of five medium size companies in France that have experienced growth of more than 20 percent annually for at least four years. This study is based on 25 semi-directive interviews with company managers.

Findings

– First, high growth is a result of the psychological state of the company leader. Second, high growth is a manifestation of a secure enterprise geographically based where the company originated. This, however, implies discomfort once high growth occurs when physical expansion obliges moving to unfamiliar locations. Finally, in companies with high growth trajectories, support functions develop relatively late.

Originality/value

– The results corroborate certain previously presented findings and bring forth new conclusions particularly concerning the place of the leader, the existence of thresholds and the relative homogeneity of trajectories.
Comparison of Post-Relational and Object-Relational modelling for real-world database applications
Authors: N. Karanikolas Nikitas , Vassilakopoulos Michael
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of two Object-Relational models against the use of a post-Relational model for a realistic application. Although real-world applications, in most cases, can be adequately modeled by the Entity-Relationship (ER) model, the transformation to the popular Relational model alters the representation of structures common in reality, like multi-valued and composite fields. Alternative database models have been developed to overcome these shortcomings.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on the ER model of a medical application, this paper compares the information representation, manipulation and enforcement of integrity constraints through PostgreSQL and Oracle, against the use of a post-Relational model composed of the Conceptual Universal Database Language (CUDL) and the Conceptual Universal Database Language Abstraction Level (CAL).

Findings

– The CAL/CUDL pair, although more periphrastic for data definition, is simpler for data insertions, does not require the use of procedural code for data updates, produces clearer output for retrieval of attributes, can accomplish retrieval of rows based on conditions that address composite data with declarative statements and supports data validation for relationships between composite data without the need for procedural code.

Research limitations/implications

– To verify, in practice, the conclusions of the paper, complete implementation of a CAL/CUDL system is needed.

Practical implications

– The use of the CAL/CUDL pair would advance the productivity of database application development.

Originality/value

– This paper highlights the properties of realistic database-applications modelling and management that are desirable by developers and shows that these properties are better satisfied by the CAL/CUDL pair.
Customer delight and work engagement
Authors: C. Barnes Donald , E. Collier Joel , Robinson Stacey
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the current research is to evaluate how customer contact level and customer service-based role conflict influence the relationship between customer emotions and work engagement, while simultaneously evaluating psychological capital as an outcome of work engagement. Customer service research highlights the impact of employee attitudes and behaviors on customer satisfaction. More recently, this relationship has been examined in reverse, evaluating how customer emotions influence the employee. Unfortunately, previous research has not evaluated variables that inhibit the impact of customer emotions on the employee.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from frontline employees across high and low customer contact service contexts. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

– This research provides empirical evidence that employee-perceived customer delight impacts employee work engagement. However, through a process of feedback, customer service-based role conflict impacts the relationship between customer emotions and employee emotions. Finally, the conceptual model illustrates how engaged employees can create their own personal resourcesvis-à-visthe broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.

Research limitations/implications

– This research identifies both antecedent and outcomes variables associated with work engagement, as well as identified mediating factors.

Practical implications

– Results suggest that the quality and level of contact that frontline employees have with customers impact their work engagement. Furthermore, engaged frontline employees have the ability to create their own personal resources.

Originality/value

– This research makes contributions to the understanding of the impact of positive customer emotions on frontline employees.
Information cascades in online reading: an empirical investigation of panel data
Authors: Liu Qihua , Zhang Liyi
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine information cascades in the context of users’ e-book reading behavior and differentiate it from alternative factors that lead to herd behavior, such as network externalities and word-of-mouth effects.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper constructed panel data using information concerning 226 e-books in 30 consecutive days from Sina.com’s reading channel (Book.Sina.com.cn) from October 2, 2013, to October 31, 2013 of the same year in China. A multinomial logit market-share model was employed.

Findings

– E-books’ ranking has a significant impact on their market share, as predicted by informational cascades theory. Higher ranking e-books’ clicks will see a greater increase as a result of an increase in clicks ranking. Due to the information cascades effect, review volume had no impact on the market share of popular e-books. Total votes had a powerful impact on the market share of e-books, showing that once information cascade occurred, it could be enhanced by the increase in total votes. The total clicks of e-books had a significant impact on their market share, suggesting that online reading behavior would be influenced by network externalities.

Practical implications

– As important information, the ranking or popularity of e-books should be carefully considered by online reading web sites, publishers, and authors. It is not enough for the authors and publishers of e-books to simply pay attention to the content. They should design their marketing strategies to allow network externalities and informational cascades to work for them, not against them. Online reading web sites should also focus on eliminating certain behavior, such as “brush clicks” and “brush votes,” in order to prevent an undesirable information cascade due to false information.

Originality/value

– To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to examine information cascades in the context of users’ e-book reading behavior. Moreover, this study can help other researchers by utilizing a large sample of daily data from one of the earliest online reading platforms in China.
Measuring service quality of the Greek Ministry of Agriculture
Authors: Kontogeorgos Achilleas , Tselempis Dimitrios , Aggelopoulos Stamatis
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is mainly to investigate how Greek Farmers perceive service quality provided by the Greek Ministry of Agriculture and secondly, to confirm the five quality dimensions proposed by the SERVQUAL instrument for the Ministry’s service.

Design/methodology/approach

– A questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL scale, was used to determine farmers’ perceptions of service quality in the area of central Macedonia in Greece. A total of 245 completed questionnaires were collected.

Findings

– The analysis has shed some light on the quality gaps for the services provided by the Greek Public sector, suggesting that there is scope for improvement strategies. The results revealed a three-dimensional structure instead of the five dimensions of the SERVQUAL instrument. “Social skills” of the human factor were revealed as being the most critical dimension of quality.

Practical implications

– This paper provides guidelines for policymakers to develop strategies to identify service quality gaps, while the decrease of such gaps could result in the public services’ improvement.

Originality/value

– The current study is the first attempt to measure farmers’ perceptions of the service provided by the Greece ministry of Rural Development and Food. Secondly, this study provides additional evidence that the modification of the SERVQUAL scale could be used in different service sectors and cultures.
Assessing the impact of Forestry II program on agricultural productivity in the Arid Zone of Nigeria
Authors: Nasiru Medugu Idris , Rafee Majid M. , Johar Foziah , Sinami Taiwo Ibijoke
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess the sustainability of a forestry management strategy in checkmating desert encroachment and it also examines the impacts of the Forestry II program on agricultural productivity in the rural communities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study adopted a quantitative approach in assessing the rural farmers’ level of participation in the Forestry II program in which 201 respondents were interviewed in the study area. Structured questionnaires’ were also administered to afforestation officials/extension workers in the two states regarding the different components of the projects and probable cause(s) of failures/successes as well as the level of involvement of the community in the project. Field observations of the project sites were also carried out with a view to examining the level of achievements on the physical components of the projects.

Findings

– The findings of this study revealed that, involvement of the stakeholders and participation of the community was lacking at the early stage of the program and the negligence of indigenous knowledge as well as the influence of bottom up approach was not incorporated in the project. The study further revealed that, appreciable positive impacts have been recorded at various levels of its implementation. The improvement of livelihood of the rural people through increased forest products supply was noted, fuel-wood and poles supply were also increased and this had gone a long way in creating employment for the rural dwellers.

Research limitations/implications

– The study involved the establishment of shelterbelts, windbreaks, woodlots, orchards and nurseries which were complimented by social forestry, and which raised public awareness through campaigns such as school forestry programs, forestry extension services and a fuel-wood conservation program.

Originality/value

– The study articulated success and failure as well as a detailed assessment of the Forestry II project. The study showed that government could significantly combat desertification in the arid zones through sustainable afforestation if adequate resources were employed.
Accounting for environmental pollution in production function
Authors: Hoon Lim Siew
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Traditionally, economic production models consider pollution as bads that may be modeled as either outputs or inputs in economic models. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of these modeling choices on the measurements of productive efficiency and private costs of pollution control.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply the hyperbolic distance functions to measure trucking efficiency and the private costs of pollution control.

Findings

– The results show: (i) regardless of the choice of modeling, when only one bad was incorporated in hyperbolic distance functions, the efficiency loss and private abatement cost measures derived from the two models were equivalent, but potential pollution reduction and good output expansion differed; (ii) when more than one bad were introduced, the equivalence of efficiency loss measure in (i) did not hold; and (iii) the potential amounts of pollution reduction and good output expansion were larger when bads were modeled as inputs. With multiple bads, private abatement costs varied considerably under the two modeling treatments.

Practical implications

– From a policy standpoint, the results suggest that one should consider the modeling options with caution when multiple economic bads are involved, because the resulting measures of economic burden of pollution control differ.

Originality/value

– The paper shows that the traditional conceptual framework for modeling pollution in hyperbolic distance functions could yield inconsistent results.
An ecological review of the WGEEP report (2011) and environmental management planning in India
Authors: Puyravaud Jean-Philippe , Davidar Priya
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, set up the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) in March 2010 to provide guidelines for improved management within the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. The WGEEP's Mandate was to identify ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs). The Panel submitted their report in 2011 but it remained unimplemented. It was not clear whether the delay was due to the unwillingness of civil society to accept ambitious environment management plans, or whether the report had shortcomings. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors undertook a critique of the WGEEP report and its Mandate, to evaluate key issues that could have prevented its implementation.

Findings

– The analysis indicated that the WGEEP Mandate was ill-defined and the WGEEP report identified ESAs without providing a working definition. The absence of critical review of earlier environment management failures, the delayed dialogue with civil society, the absence of legislative foundation upon which such a management plan could be implemented, and the vague definition of ESAs were possibly the reasons for the unease among various stakeholders.

Originality/value

– The paper stresses that in order for large-scale biodiversity management projects to succeed, it is important that first, the civil society understands the project's objective before its initiation, second stakeholders are formally involved alongside ecological experts and third, that methods are critically reviewed. The lack of acceptance of the report cannot be dismissed only as a rejection of enlightened practices.
User satisfaction with mobile websites: the impact of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and trust
Authors: Amin Muslim , Rezaei Sajad , Abolghasemi Maryam
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and trust on mobile website satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 302 valid questionnaires were collected to empirically test the research model. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model and structural models.

Findings

– The results show that there is a positive relationship between PEOU, PU and mobile users’ satisfaction. PU is positively related to trust and mobile users’ satisfaction. Moreover, trust positively influences mobile users’ satisfaction.

Practical implications

– Drawing on the technology acceptance model and trust theory, this study develops and empirically examines a model for consumers’ satisfaction to use mobile services. This study contributes new insights concerning the marketing literature by examining the impact of PU, PEOU and trust on mobile users’ satisfaction.

Originality/value

– The contribution of the study is significant for both mobile marketers and academicians in the era of the third-generation environment. This study is among the first few attempts to integrate the TAM with trust to determine mobile user satisfaction.
Pound wise and penny foolish? OTC stock investor behavior
Authors: R. Nofsinger John , Varma Abhishek
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore some commonly held beliefs about individuals investing in over-the-counter (OTC) stocks (those traded on Over-the-counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) and Pink Sheets), a fairly pervasive activity. The authors frame the analysis within the context of direct gambling, aspirational preferences in behavioral portfolios, and private information.

Design/methodology/approach

– Contrary to popular perceptions, the modeling of the deliberate act of buying OTC stocks at a discount brokerage house finds that unlike the typical lottery buyers/gamblers, OTC investors are older, wealthier, more experienced at investing, and display greater portfolio diversification than their non-OTC investing counterparts.

Findings

– Behavioral portfolio investors (Shefrin and Statman, 2000) invest their money in layers, each of which corresponds to an aspiration or goal. Consistent with sensation seeking and aspirations in behavioral portfolios, OTC investors also display higher trading activity. Penny stocks seem to have different characteristics and trading behavior than other OTC stocks priced over one dollar. Irrespective of the price of OTC stocks, the authors find little evidence of information content in OTC trades.

Originality/value

– The paper provides insight into individual investor decision making by empirically exploring the demographic and portfolio characteristics of individuals trading in OTC stocks.
Mechanical properties of commercial rapid prototyping materials
Authors: Kotlinski Jaroslaw
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to relate to the study of mechanical properties of materials used in rapid prototyping (RP).

Design/methodology/approach

– Comparison of mechanical properties of commercial RP materials. The study of the literature was the essential source of obtaining the results necessary to complete the evaluations and to determine the property ranges.

Findings

– Specifications of mechanical properties collected in one paper about mechanical properties and anisotropy enable to define limitations for prototype properties.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is limited to accessible data concerning materials from manufacturers’ offers.

Practical implications

– The study is particularly useful in the RP methods application.

Originality/value

– The obtained study of mechanical properties makes a quick analysis possible. This article also includes the guideline for design engineers, which determines RP method suitability to create functional prototypes of the machines. Mechanical properties of materials have been adopted as a criterion.