bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Semiotic representations of Olympic mascots revisited
Authors: Knight Peter , Freeman Ina , Stuart Stephen , Griggs Gerald , O’Reilly Norm
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review Olympic mascots in the electronic and traditional communications environments.

Design/methodology/approach

– Olympic mascots from 2006 to 2012 are analyzed using a descriptive semiotic analysis technique.

Findings

– Results found that none of the 2006-2012 mascots clearly represented the two most recognizable icons of the Olympic movement, the Olympic Rings and the Olympic Flame. The association of the London 2012 mascots with the Olympic Games are found to be limited.

Research limitations/implications

– This research sets the stage for a number of future studies to further assess the management issues, social benefits, and potential missteps regarding mascots at the Olympic Games and other mega-events.

Practical implications

– The practitioner of today working for a mega-event like the Olympic Games needs to be aware of the potential benefits and inherent risks of developing and implementing a mascot.

Originality/value

– This research is the first to look specifically at Olympic mascots in the electronic age and contrast their use to traditional communications.
Utilising ethnography and participant observation in festival and event research
Authors: Jaimangal-Jones Dewi
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues surrounding the use of ethnography and participant observation in event studies. It considers the role and benefits of participant observation in terms of understanding event audiences and provides examples of the range of participant motivations and preferences such approaches can reveal and explore. As a methodological paper it focuses on the processes, challenges and benefits surrounding the utilisation of ethnographic methods within events research, with specific examples taken from an ethnographic study into contemporary dance music culture to contextualise the discussion.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ethnography and participant observation are flexible research approaches characterised by varying levels of participation in and observation of different cultural groups and activities. This paper focuses specifically on participant observation revolving around field trips, focus groups, internet research and key informant interviews.

Findings

– The challenges facing ethnographic researchers studying event audiences include identifying opportunities for observation and participation, identity negotiation for different research settings, their positioning on the participant observer spectrum, recruiting participants, recording data and the extent to which research takes an overt or covert approach, bearing in mind ethics and participant reactivity. It concludes that once these challenges are addressed, this multifaceted approach provides a valuable avenue for researchers exploring the range of socio-cultural forces at play surrounding event audiences and their experiences.

Originality/value

– It advocates a shift from attempts to quantify audience motivations and experiences, to methods which seek to understand them more fully through focusing on the entirety of the event experience and the influence of surrounding cultural networks and discourses.
The leadership journey Antony Sheehan
Authors: Sheehan Antony
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to trace the health management career of Antony Sheehan, a former executive in England's National Health Service and now president of the Church Health Center in Memphis, TN, and reveals principles that guide his management priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach is reflective, reading-based, and anecdotal.

Findings

– Three leadership priorities emerge: liberating talent, profound belief in knowledge, and purpose beyond self, all three being mediated by respect.

Research limitations/implications

– The narrative is not based on clinical research, but specific experience of the author.

Practical implications

– Readers may find inspiration to examine the principles that guide their own leadership efforts.

Originality/value

– Based in the author's own experience, the paper does not represent original research.
Veblen's evolutionary economics of religion and the evolutionary psychology of religion
Authors: G. Leathers Charles , Patrick Raines J.
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Because belief in a supernatural agent with extraordinary power is rooted in psychology, Veblen's instinct psychology was the essential basis for his evolutionary economics of religion. The innate behavioral traits that Veblen called instincts in human nature are now recognized in evolutionary psychology as domain-specific mechanism that evolved as adaptations to enable human survival and reproduction. The authors aim to explain how the modern evolutionary psychology of religion provides a modern psychological basis for Veblen's evolutionary economics of religion.

Design/methodology/approach

– First, the authors review how Veblen's theory of an evolved human nature of instincts was applied to explain the origins of religion in primitive societies and remained a resilient force despite evolutionary erosion of institutional religion as science advanced. Second, the authors note how evolutionary psychology explains the origins of religion in terms of the functioning of domain-specific psychological mechanisms that evolved as adaptations for purposes other than religion.

Findings

– The similarities between Veblen's instinct psychology and the explanation of religion as by-products of domain-specific psychological mechanisms are sufficient to allow the conclusion that the evolutionary psychology of religion provides a modern psychological basis for Veblen's evolutionary economics of religion.

Originality/value

– An evolutionary economics of religion has a great social value if it provides credible explanations of both the origins of religious belief and innate tendency for religious belief to continue even as science refutes elements of religious doctrines. With a modern psychological basis, Veblen's evolutionary economics of religion accomplishes that purpose.
Dynamics of social influence: an evolutionary approach
Authors: Dilmaghani Maryam
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to propose an analytical framework for social influence and mathematical formulation for its main components: conformity and peer-pressure. The framework is conceived to explain why certain behaviours and beliefs propagate in a society and some others disappear. It can also be used to study the emergence and the evolution of the status of the norms in terms of their adoption by the population.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is theoretical, making use of economic quantitative methods. The author proposes a new formulation for the evolutionary dynamics, increasingly borrowed by social scientists. Then, mathematically treating the equation, the author draws general conclusions in form of lemmas, which are proved.

Findings

– The author's main contribution is to show that even behavioural rules and beliefs that emerge in a minority subset of the population, do not procure any benefit for the agents adopting them can under certain conditions, evolve into the consensus of a society, become a norm.

Research limitations/implications

– More general conclusion (theorems and lemmas) could be stated and proved. But given that the main contribution of the paper is to the fields of social and behavioural economics, along a number of disciplines less mathematical than economics, the author kept the analysis that required fairy advance mathematics for later.

Practical implications

– The paper contributes to the evolutionary game theory, evolution of preferences, and evolution of beliefs and social norms. More precisely, the equation proposed in the paper can be used in the contexts the patterns of heterogeneity in a population are affected or caused by social influence. Or in the contexts, the social institutions are susceptible to affect an agent's sense of identity (e.g. voting, fashion industry, marketing).

Originality/value

– In this paper, for the first time, a mathematical formulation is proposed for the social influence and its main psychological components (conformity and status seeking). Using the above, the author proposed a new parametric fitness function for the evolutionary dynamics. The author believes the paper matters to a multidisciplinary public. It answers a question that challenged and puzzled the economists (as well other social scientists): the reasons behind the emergence and the prevalence of social norms do not positively contribute to the utility or payoff of the agents adopting them (and at times they are costly).
Individual religious involvements in America across time
Authors: Chan Alan , Lee Shu-Kam
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to characterize those who take part in three different type religious activities (prayers, monetary donations and worship attendances) in the USA using 1972-2010 General Social Survey pooled data.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors have identified factors that affect each activity using Tobit analysis.

Findings

– There are only three common factors (marriage, race and parental background) that influence all of these three activities and the directions of impacts are not the same. Black churchgoers are more engaging in all of these three activities, the same is true for those whose parents attend church regularly. However, marriage has positive impacts on both worship attendances and monetary donations, but has negative impacts on prayers.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes by breaking down giving into three categories and using 38 years of pooled data in the US General Social Survey.
How global brands create firm value: the 4V model
Authors: Steenkamp Jan-Benedict
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework – the 4V model – for better understanding how global brands create firm value. Organized around the global brand value chain, the 4V model includes four sets of value-creating activities: first, valued brands; second, value sources; third, value delivery; and fourth, valued outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach is conceptual with illustrative examples.

Findings

– The sources of global brand value and the processes through which global brands contribute to firm value differ systematically across types of global brands. This paper highlights interrelations and how different activities built upon and reinforce each other.

Research limitations/implications

– The 4V model ties together broad strands of research conducted to date and offers insights into ways the paper might better understand and study global brands. It should inspire empirical research on the associations between the 4Vs.

Practical implications

– International marketing managers should be able to develop and evaluate global brand strategies more effectively using the 4V model described in this paper. Linking their strategies to valued outcomes puts marketers more firmly at the level in the organization they deserve, namely, the C-Suite.

Originality/value

– The framework offered in this paper is unique in that it blends insights obtained from multiple sources, namely, academic research, articles that appeared in the business press, case studies, and interactions with managers and policy makers around the world.
Uncovering the influence of the international marketing function in international firms
Authors: Gnizy Itzhak , Shoham Aviv
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The role played by the marketing function (MF) has been subjected to considerable academic and public media attention. Recent research reflects an ongoing debate on MF's decreasing influence attributed by some to its poor performance. However, studies have analyzed the general marketing (GM) function and domestic operations and remained silent on international marketing's (IM) influence and its impact on firms’ international operations and performance as another aspect of marketing's influence. This lacuna is unfortunate, given that internationalization is crucial to many firms in today's globalizing world. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interactions between IM and GM functions as determinants of IM's influence.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study extends previous models to the international context, utilizes an inclusive set of strategic international orientations as consequences and mediators of IM's influence, and assesses possible synergy between orientations.

Findings

– IM functions are influential, valuable, and play an important role. IM-GM coordination enhances IMs’ influence while IM-GM conflicts and IM's influence are unrelated. IMs’ influence enhances performance directly and indirectly through orientations. Importantly, the combined orientations had a negative synergistic effect on performance.

Research limitations/implications

– International marketers and top management should consider tactics to increase IMs’ influence and thus benefit their firms.

Originality/value

– The study is the first to recognize and empirically focus on the relationships between IM and GM as distinct functions. The study accounts for a combined impact of international orientations on international performance.
Associations between socio-economic disadvantage and parenting behaviours
Authors: Gridley Nicole , Hutchings Judy , Baker-Henningham Helen
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Socio-economic disadvantage is linked to poor parenting skills and subsequently poorer child development. The most deprived geographical areas in Wales have been targeted under the Welsh Government Flying Start scheme to receive additional resources. Unfortunately, many in-need families either lived outside these areas or required further intervention above what was provided. The Welsh Government decision to extend Flying Start is appropriate but the proposed targeting method may still fail to reach all high-risk families. The purpose of this paper is to explore an alternative targeting method.

Design/methodology/approach

– The current study examined the association between five socio-economic and demographic risk factors and parenting outcomes in a sample of Flying Start families.

Findings

– Quality of housing (overcrowding and housing standards) played a significant role in predicting poorer parenting outcomes in terms of language and home stimulation. Exposure to multiple risk predicted poorer outcomes regardless of which risk factors were present.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to discussion about effective ways of allocating limited resources to best effect.
How to obtain more insight into the true nature of outcomes of youth martial arts practice?
Authors: Vertonghen Jikkemien , Theeboom Marc
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the processes that produce the effects found in studies of participation by young people in martial arts.

Design/methodology/approach

– A review of published studies.

Findings

– Studies of the developmental outcomes of young people participating in martial arts produce conflicting results. While some studies refer to increased antisocial behaviour, others indicate positive developmental outcomes. This is due to a tendency to treat martial arts as a unitary phenomenon and focus on outcomes without considering mediating factors, notably the type of martial art, the type of guidance and the social background and characteristics of participants.

Originality/value

– The paper shows that taking into account these and other possible influencing factors will contribute to a better understanding of the true nature of outcomes of martial arts practice. It will also enable a more thought-out and accurate approach when considering these outcomes.
Implementing mindfulness and yoga in urban schools: a community-academic partnership
Authors: Mendelson Tamar , K. Dariotis Jacinda , Feagans Gould Laura , S.R. Smith Ali , A. Smith Atman , A. Gonzalez Andres , T. Greenberg Mark
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Mindfulness-based interventions – which train capacities for attention, awareness, compassion, and self-regulation of thoughts and emotions – may offer unique benefits for urban youth exposed to chronic stress and adversity. Urban schools are promising settings in which to integrate mindfulness-based interventions; however, they pose complex challenges for intervention implementation and evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reflects on the experiences of our community-academic partnership conducting two school-based randomised trials on a mindfulness and yoga programme. The programme was developed by the Holistic Life Foundation and was delivered to middle school students in public schools serving disadvantaged urban communities.

Findings

– This paper discusses barriers and facilitating factors related to effective intervention delivery and evaluation, presents recommendations for future work and reflects on the potential benefits of mindfulness-based practices for students, teachers and schools.

Originality/value

– The paper offers a detailed account of challenges and opportunities associated with implementing mindfulness-based practices in urban school settings.
Innovation in centralized organizations: examining evidence from Soviet Russia
Authors: Chulkov Dmitriy
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the economic factors that determine innovation pattern in centralized and decentralized economies and organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Empirical evidence on innovation in the centralized economy of the Soviet Union is reviewed. Existing theoretical literature in this area relies on the incentives of decision-makers in centralized organizations and on the concept of soft budget constraint in centralized command economies and hard budget constraint in market economies. This study advocates applying the hierarchy/polyarchy model of innovation screening to explain the pattern of innovation in centralized economic systems.

Findings

– Screening and development of innovation projects can be organized in a centralized or decentralized fashion. The differences in innovation between centralized and decentralized economic systems may be explained by elements of the principal-agent theory, the soft budget constraint model, and the theory of decision-making in hierarchies and polyarchies. Empirical evidence shows a sharp slowdown in both innovation and economic growth in the Soviet economy following the economic decision-making reform of 1965. The theoretical explanation most consistent with this evidence is the hierarchy decision-making model.

Originality/value

– Comparisons of innovation in centralized and decentralized economies traditionally relied on decision-makers' incentives and the concept of soft budget constraint. Upon analysis of empirical evidence from the centralized Soviet economy, this study advocates explaining innovation patterns based on decision-making theory of hierarchy.
Predicting with a small amount of data: an application of fuzzy reasoning to regional disparities
Authors: Philip McArthur David , Encheva Sylvia , Thorsen Inge
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The aim of the paper is to propose a methodology that allows researchers and practitioners to structure a small amount of data in a way which aids understandings and allows predictions to be made.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper explores how formal concept analysis can be combined with fuzzy reasoning to make predictions based on small datasets. A dataset of nine regions in Norway described by six attributes is used. The paper focuses on regional disparities in labour market outcomes such as unemployment and wages.

Findings

– The paper finds that unemployment tends to be concentrated in the most prosperous parts of the study area. These regions have high incomes and experience population growth. More rural regions have virtually no unemployment. The methodology proposed allows these patterns to be seen. The authors made predictions with an accuracy rate of over 75 per cent.

Practical implications

– A common response to high unemployment in urban areas is to stimulate employment growth. The findings suggest that this will simply increase migration towards the cities. The net result will be no change in unemployment but an accelerated depopulation of more rural regions.

Originality/value

– To the authors' knowledge, this is the first application of fuzzy reasoning to the topic of regional disparities. The methodology aids in the interpretation of small datasets. The methodology should be of interested to practitioners at the local level, who are interested in analysing their own region, even when limited data are available.
How technical and functional service quality drive consumer happiness
Authors: De Keyser Arne , Lariviere Bart
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate the impact of technical (i.e. what is delivered) and functional (i.e. how is it delivered) service quality on consumer happiness in a multichannel environment. In so doing, this study responds to increasing calls from academics (e.g. transformative service research movement) and practitioners to move beyond pure financial measures when deciding how to manage businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

– With a sample of 809 customers of a medium-sized Belgian mail order firm, within-class regression models tested for the moderating role of channel usage.

Findings

– Both technical and functional service quality have positive impacts on consumer happiness. However, depending on the channel(s) used, the quality dimension that has the greatest impact on consumer happiness differs.

Practical implications

– The findings offer managers insights on how they can create and cultivate consumer happiness by delivering excellent service quality. This study stresses the importance of looking beyond purely financial measures to manage firms, and as such deliver value to consumers, the firm itself and society at large.

Originality/value

– This study advances transformative service research by being one of the few empirical studies relating service quality to consumer happiness in today's multichannel environment.
Who needs delight?
Authors: Maria Correia Loureiro Sandra , J. Miranda Francisco , Breazeale Michael
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this study is to determine whether the cumulative effects of satisfaction, trust, and perceived value may, under certain conditions, provide more explanatory power for customer loyalty intentions than the often studied and more elusive customer delight. Herzberg's two-factor theory is used to explain why the frequent nature of grocery shopping, a primarily utilitarian experience, might introduce considerations that have not yet been addressed in the study of delight.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey is administered to a quota sample of Portuguese supermarket shoppers via phone, using a CATI system.

Findings

– Research findings suggest that perceived value, trust, and satisfaction have a greater impact on behavioural outcomes than customer delight in the grocery shopping setting. In such a setting, cognitive drivers may be even more important for customers who are primarily concerned with hygiene factors (rather than motivators).

Research limitations/implications

– Retailers are encouraged to focus on the more mundane factors that influence consumers' perceptions of value and trust rather than trying to invest in the substantial resources required to continually delight consumers. Future research may explore other determinants of loyalty intentions and test the extended model in different service sectors, cultural contexts and countries.

Originality/value

– This study applies Oliveret al.'s consumer delight model in a utilitarian, frequent-use setting, finding previously undiscovered limitations to its validity.
Accessing resources for service innovation – the critical role of network relationships
Authors: Rusanen Helena , Halinen Aino , Jaakkola Elina
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore how companies access resources through network relationships when developing service innovations. The paper identifies the types of resource that companies seek from other actors and examines the nature of relationships and resource access strategies that can be applied to access each type of resource.

Design/methodology/approach

– A longitudinal, multi-case study is conducted in the field of technical business-to-business (b-to-b) services. An abductive research strategy is applied to create a new theoretical understanding of resource access.

Findings

– Companies seek a range of resources through different types of network relationships for service innovation. Four types of resource access strategies were identified: absorption, acquisition, sharing, and co-creation. The findings show how easily transferable resources can be accessed through weak relationships and low-intensity collaboration. Access to resources that are difficult to transfer, instead, necessitates strong relationships and high-intensity collaboration.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings are valid for technical b-to-b services, but should also be tested for other kinds of innovations. Future research should also study how actors integrate the resources gained through networks in the innovation process.

Practical implications

– Managers should note that key resources for service innovation may be accessible through a variety of actors and relationships ranging from formal arrangements to miscellaneous social contacts. To make use of tacit resources such as knowledge, firms need to engage in intensive collaboration.

Originality/value

– Despite attention paid to network relationships, innovation collaboration, and external resources, previous research has neither linked these issues nor studied their mutual contingencies. This paper provides a theoretical model that characterizes the service innovation resources accessible through different types of relationships and access strategies.
Corporate governance, directors' and officers' insurance premiums and audit fees
Authors: H. Chung Hyeesoo , P. Wynn Jinyoung
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the association between corporate governance and audit fees using directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance premiums as a proxy for overall governance quality. The use of an overall governance measure that captures both structural and non-structural governance features may shed light on the association between governance and audit fees, which is known to be inconclusive in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors employ D&O insurance premiums as a proxy for governance quality that reflects both the structural features and non-structural features of governance. D&O insurance premiums are hand-collected from a proxy circular of Canadian firms. Multivariate regression analyses are used for testing.

Findings

– The authors find a positive association between D&O premiums and audit fees, suggesting that auditors charge higher fees to firms with heightened corporate governance risk. Even after controlling for structural governance variables in the regression model, the authors find a significantly positive association between D&O premiums and audit fees.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings suggest that mandatory disclosures of D&O insurance policies can be useful for market participants. This study uses a relatively small sample of Canadian firms. A larger sample could strengthen the implications of the findings.

Originality/value

– The findings suggest that structural features of governance may be insufficient to provide a full understanding of the impact of corporate governance on audit pricing and add to the understanding of the determinants of audit fees.
Independent audit committee characteristics and real earnings management
Authors: Sun Jerry , Lan George , Liu Guoping
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of independent audit committees in constraining real earnings management. This study examines the relationships between audit committee characteristics and real activities manipulation.

Design/methodology/approach

– US firms with stronger incentives to undertake real earnings management are selected as a sample. Regressions are run for the empirical analyses.

Findings

– It is found that audit committee members' additional directorships are positively associated with real earnings management measured by abnormal cash flows from operations, abnormal discretionary expenses and abnormal production costs, suggesting that audit committees with high additional directorships are less effective in constraining real earnings management. The findings are consistent with the notion that audit committee members' busyness impairs their monitoring effectiveness.

Originality/value

– This study extends the extant research on audit committees' oversight of real earnings management by using refined research design and updated data. This study also provides further evidence on how audit committee members' additional directorships affect their ability to oversee both accrual and real earnings management.
New guidance on internal audit – an analysis and appraisal of recent developments
Authors: D. Chambers Andrew
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse and comment on recent enhanced pronouncements on internal auditing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses content analysis of five 2012-2013 sources of guidance, set out in the tables of this paper and summarised within the text, together with conceptual interpretations.

Findings

– Recent pronouncements respond, with considerable consensus, to stakeholder and public concerns and fill a partial vacuum left by The Institute of Internal Auditors' Standards. Principally this is about successfully enhancing the scope of internal audit and internal audit's independence from management.

Research limitations/implications

– While the paper is conceptual rather than empirical, it builds on the processes followed by the parties who developed the examples of enhanced guidance reviewed in this paper. Those processes included careful development by leaders in the field, public consultation of preliminary proposals, and final amended guidance based on feedback received.

Practical implications

– There are implications for staffing of internal audit functions and the seniority and calibre of chief audit executives.

Originality/value

– There has been no other attempt to map these developments. It has been done with a view to identifying possible ways forward for internal auditing, especially those which have a high degree of support and which are still to be incorporated into generally accepted internal auditing.
Dietary intake of fried and processed foods in the USA is inversely associated with obesity but positively associated with glucose intolerance
Authors: Penumetcha Meera , Arora Payal , Zhang Xu , Ganji Vijay
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Foods rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids are vulnerable to oxidation during processing and storage. The intake of oxidized lipids (OLs) and their subsequent relation with chronic disease risk are unknown in the US population. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The association between OL intake and markers of adiposity and glucose homeostasis was determined based on data collected from two cycles of National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys with a survey sample of 9,982 subjects between the ages of two to 85 years. Means or geometric means of markers of adiposity, glucose and lipid parameters were compared between the “low” and “high” consumers of OL using thet-test. Associations between OL intake and markers of adiposity, glucose and lipid parameters were determined by multivariate regression analysis.

Findings

– Mean markers of adiposity were all significantly lower in subjects in the “high” OL group as compared to the “low” OL group. Fasting glucose concentrations were positively associated with OL intake unlike markers of adiposity which were negatively associated with OL intake.

Practical implications

– Higher intake of OLs is associated with lower BMI and adiposity. However, the direct association between OL intake and fasting glucose levels suggests that lower markers of adiposity do not suggest a decreased risk of glucose intolerance.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to estimate the consumption of OLs in the US population and its link to adiposity and glucose tolerance.
Management challenges and responses
Authors: Christopher Taylor Paul
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Efforts to understand the nature of the demanding world of property managers have tended to focus on quantitative inquiry in areas such as property management portfolio decision making, without much study of their lived experiences (Levy, 2006). The purpose of this paper is to understand the management challenges and responses of Jamaican property managers in managing the property management organization and real estate assets.

Design/methodology/approach

– Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data to explore the nature of the management challenges and responses to them by property managers. Using the case study approach, property managers from eight of Jamaica's largest property management companies, accounting for a large share of the formal commercial and residential property management activity, were profiled. The collected data were then analyzed and the results presented.

Findings

– The research results provided support for the assertions that the nature of management challenges and responses reflected the nature or composition of property management portfolios or customers served; the professional success of these property managers was linked to their managerial innovativeness and team orientation; and that property managers utilized work demands and adversities as positive motivators.

Originality/value

– Responding to the paucity of qualitative research in the field of property management in small, open economies such as Jamaica, this paper employs the qualitative research paradigm to provide insights into the nature of management challenges experienced by property managers and their responses to those challenges. Review of the literature has unearthed no similar study.
The completeness of articles and citation in the Slovene Wikipedia
Authors: Noč Manca , Zumer Maja
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this research was to examine the number and type of sources cited by featured articles from the Slovene Wikipedia with the purpose of assessing their quality. A sample of random articles was also procured in order to give a clearer picture of the content of the Slovene Wikipedia.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research was conducted on 122 featured articles from the Slovene Wikipedia from 2009, 2010 and 2011. The following aspects of the articles were analyzed: topic and originality of the article and number, language and type of sources cited.

Findings

– The results have shown that most of the featured articles are adapted from the English Wikipedia, the most common topics being science, sports and history. Based on these results the authors have concluded that despite some deficiencies the featured articles on the Slovene Wikipedia are of much higher quality compared to random articles.

Research limitations/implications

– The biggest research limitation is the ever changing nature of Wikipedia and its articles, which hinders the process of analyzing results and relying on these results to be relevant in the future.

Originality/value

– This is the first such research of the Slovene Wikipedia that deals specifically with citation analysis of featured articles. Results of this research offer valuable information to both editors of featured articles and users, as they point out certain deficiencies, which can be eliminated.
Understanding validity and fairness issues in high-stakes individual testing situations
Authors: Caines Jade , L. Bridglall Beatrice , Chatterji Madhabi
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This policy brief discusses validity and fairness issues that could arise when test-based information is used for making “high stakes” decisions at an individual level, such as, for the certification of teachers or other professionals, or when admitting students into higher education programs and colleges, or for making immigration-related decisions for prospective immigrants. To assist test developers, affiliated researchers and test users enhance levels of validity and fairness with these particular types of test score interpretations and uses, this policy brief summarizes an “argument-based approach” to validation given by Kane.

Design/methodology/approach

– This policy brief is based on a synthesis of conference proceedings and review of selected pieces of extant literature. To that synthesis, the authors add practitioner-friendly examples with their own analysis of key issues. They conclude by offering recommendations for test developers and test users.

Findings

– The authors conclude that validity is a complex and evolving construct, especially when considering issues of fairness in individual testing contexts. Kane's argument-based approach offers an accessible framework through which test makers can accumulate evidence to evaluate inferences and arguments related to decisions to be made with test scores. Perspectives of test makers, researchers, test takers and decision-makers must all be incorporated into constructing coherent “validity arguments” to guide the test development and validation processes.

Originality/value

– Standardized test use for individual-level decisions is gradually spreading to various regions of the world, but understandings of validity are still uneven among key stakeholders of such testing programs. By translating complex information on test validation, validity and fairness issues with all concerned stakeholders in mind, this policy brief attempts to address the communication gaps noted to exist among these groups by Kane.
The trading patterns and performance of individual vis-à-vis institutional investors in the Qatar Exchange
Authors: Ahmed Walid M.A.
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The main thrust of the present study is to look into the trading patterns of behavior and investment performance exhibited by individual and institutional investor categories in the Qatar Exchange (QE). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The present study uses daily aggregated investment flows made separately by each investor group, as well as daily closing price observations of the QE stock composite index. The trading patterns of investor categories are examined by estimating a bivariate vector autoregressive process of order p, VAR (p). To determine whether each category performs well or poorly over the entire sample period, each investor category's cumulative returns are estimated and analyzed.

Findings

– The empirical results reveal that institutional investors pursue positive feedback trading strategies, whereas individual investors tend to be negative feedback traders. Both investor categories appear to be engaged in herding behavior. Additionally, institutional investors perform well over almost the entire sample period. In contrast, individual investors' negative market timing ability dominates their overall poor performance.

Practical implications

– The investment performance gap found between institutional investors and individual investors in the Qatari capital market may reflect a large information asymmetry in favour of the former category. Indeed, the poor performance of individual investors implies that their trading activities are generally driven by factors and considerations that are irrelevant to fundamentals. Moreover, their irrational trading decisions may play some role in the formation of asset price bubbles.

Originality/value

– The present study makes the first attempt to provide empirical evidence on the investment patterns and performance of individual and institutional investors trading on the Qatari capital market.
Corporate governance efficiency and internet financial reporting quality
Authors: Botti Laurent , Boubaker Sabri , Hamrouni Amal , Solonandrasana Bernardin
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to shed some light on the role of boards of directors in improving internet financial reporting (IFR) quality.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical study uses a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach on a sample of 32 French firms belonging to the CAC40 index as of December 2007.

Findings

– The empirical results show that 28 percent of the sample firms are located on the efficiency frontier for all IFR components. These firms' boards of directors and their committees seem to act as effective monitors of top executives, which improves the quality of the firm's disclosure policy through,inter alia, an increase in the level of IFR. Under efficient board control, firms develop user-friendly and readily accessible web sites disclosing the information required by various stakeholders. Additional empirical results show that 46.9 percent of the sample firms lie outside the efficiency frontier for all IFR measures, suggesting inefficiencies in the composition, structure, and/or functioning of their boards of directors. The inefficient monitoring and oversight of top executives by the board allowed for lower levels of IFR quality for nearly half of the CAC40 firms in 2007.

Research limitations/implications

– The study uses only CAC40 companies, which are relatively large and financially healthier than the average French firms, exhibiting diffuse ownership structures, with heavy foreign shareholding, and investing more in communications. This may limit the generalizability of the results to other French listed firms.

Originality/value

– The paper extends the literature on corporate governance and voluntary corporate disclosure by investigating the association between board characteristics and IFR quality. It examines the relative performance of the board directors in improving IFR policy.
Local economic impacts of an unconventional energy boom: the coal seam gas industry in Australia
Authors: Fleming David A. , Measham Thomas G.
Published: January 2014

Complementing the scarce economic literature about local impacts of energy extraction booms, this paper empirically investigates economic outcomes related to the new coal seam gas (CSG) industry located across southern Queensland. This Australian state has seen an unprecedented inflow of investments into the extraction of this previously unexploited unconventional natural gas over the last decade. We analyse census data to study income and employment effects associated with the CSG boom, exploiting the quasi‐experimental conditions provided by CSG extraction areas (treatment regions) and regions without this development (control regions). Findings show that treatment regions have higher income growth than control areas during 2001–2011 for families residing locally and for individuals present on census night. Employment in the mining sector also shows higher growth as has non‐mining employment in some areas. We include comparisons between CSG areas with no major mining history (the Surat basin) and CSG areas where mining was important before the CSG boom (the Bowen basin), to better understand boom effects in areas with different initial mining industry importance in their economies. Local job multipliers are also analysed for Surat basin CSG areas, where positive impacts (job spillovers) are restricted to construction and professional services jobs, while agricultural jobs have decreased.
‘To remove the stigma of the Poor Law’: The ‘Comprehensive’ Ideal and Patient Access to the Municipal Hospital Service in the City of Glasgow, 1918–1939
Authors: Williamson Clifford
Published: January 2014

The objective of the newly established Department of Health after the Great War was to ‘remove the stigma of the Poor Law’ from public health policy. Although there was no abolition of the Poor Law in its entirety there were strategies employed to encourage better health, and manipulation of the rules to extend free access to primary health care. This article examines the efforts of the Corporation of Glasgow from 1918 to 1939 to expand patient care to the citizens of the city who either did not qualify for poor relief or had no access to national insurance. The article examines the city's pioneering work in devising strategies to fulfil these changed priorities through the reorganization of services, building additional health infrastructure and through lobbying the Scottish Office to support legislation to create a legal context in which to expand patient access; this came to fruition in the health clauses of the 1929 Local Government (Scotland) Act. As Glasgow was the largest municipal authority outside the London County Council, its experience is crucial in understanding how changing national priorities were applied at local level and that despite great improvements in the scholarship on the inter‐war hospital service the neglect of the city has created a major hole in the study of public health before the creation of the NHS. This article will correct this omission and further add to the existing scholarship on the period.
The Medical Home Transformation in the Veterans Health Administration: An Evaluation of Early Changes in Primary Care Delivery
Authors: Werner Rachel M. , Canamucio Anne , Shea Judy A. , True Gala
Published: January 2014

Objective

To evaluate the effect of medical home implementation on primary care delivery in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Data Sources/Study Setting/Study Design

We link interview‐based qualitative data on medical home implementation to quantitative outcomes from VHA clinical encounter data. We use a longitudinal analysis with provider fixed effects (taking advantage of variation in timing of implementation and allowing each provider to serve as a control for him or herself) to test whether patient‐aligned care team (PACT) implementation was associated with changes in organizational processes and patient outcomes.

Principal Findings

Among 683 PCPs, caring for 321,295 patients, the uptake of eight of nine PACT structural changes significantly increased from July 2010 to June 2012 as did the percentage of primary care appointments occurring by telephone and hospital discharges contacted within 2 days of discharge. We found that PACT implementation was associated with significant improvements in 2‐day post‐hospital discharge contact, but not primary care visits occurring by telephone or within 3 days of the requested date. We found no association between medical home implementation and rates of emergency department use by patients.

Conclusions

Medical home implementation at the VHA resulted in large changes in the structure of care but few changes in patient‐level outcomes. These results highlight both the complexity of studying the effect of the medical home as well as implementing this model to change primary care delivery.