bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How do consumers respond to fun wine labels?
Authors: Lunardo Renaud , Rickard Bradley
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Because consumers nowadays face a wide diversity of wine labels – from very traditional to a range of modern styles that include color and various images – the purpose of this paper is to better understand the effects of the presence of fun elements on wine labels. Specifically, it aims to identify the underlying mechanisms that explain why fun elements on labels can lead to a decrease in consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) and purchase intentions. The authors also test whether consumers’ risk propensity acts as a boundary condition for this effect.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses an online experiment conducted among a sample of 271 US residents. Multivariate analyses – including analyses of mediation, moderation and moderated mediation – are performed to test the theoretical model of the effects of fun elements on WTP and purchase intentions through reassurance impressions and quality perceptions, and the moderating role of risk propensity.

Findings

This research demonstrates that when consumers face a wine label that incorporates a high degree of fun elements, they perceive the label as less reassuring, leading to a decrease in perceived quality, and ultimately exhibit lower WTP and purchase intentions. Importantly, this research also shows that the effects of such wine labels are moderated by the individual variable of risk propensity; consumers react more positively to funny wine labels when they have a higher level of risk propensity.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this research lies in that it has been conducted online, while an experiment in a real purchase setting may have yielded results that are more likely to mimic response in the marketplace.

Practical implications

By showing that fun elements in a wine label can negatively affect consumers’ WTP and purchase intentions, this research suggests that wine marketers should be cautious when designing labels. Nevertheless, because consumers who are risk-loving exhibit less negative responses to funny wine labels, wine producers should consider segmenting their consumers on the basis of risk propensity and design front labels with fun elements only for customers who can be classified as risk-loving (vs risk averse).

Originality/value

While prior research recognizes the wide diversity of wine labels and the increasing use of fun elements in labels, no research to date has proposed and validated a model of their effects. This research fills this gap by empirically demonstrating that fun elements in labels have an overall effect of making consumers feel less reassured, leading to a decrease in perceived quality, and ultimately lower WTP and purchase intentions.
Haute cuisine and country of origin
Authors: Presenza Angelo , Messeni Petruzzelli Antonio
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the role of country of origin (COO) for the competitiveness of luxury restaurants. The main goal is to understand how an haute cuisine (HC) chef can develop a personal cooking style and language based on the exploitation of COO in such a highly institutionalized field.

Design/methodology/approach

A single case study methodology is applied based on the analysis of the Italian HC chef Niko Romito.

Findings

Findings of this paper highlight the existence of pervasive use of strategies based on the search, recombination and codification of procedure that take direct inspiration by national and regional traditional gastronomic resources and recipes.

Research limitations/implications

Research implications refer to the interpretation of how a chef can work by formulating and developing competitive strategies through the recombination, reinterpretation and codification of local and typical gastronomic resources and cooking recipes.

Practical implications

The paper provides managerial insights into the relative effectiveness to use COO as a strategic resource for HC restaurants.

Originality/value

A model is presented and the three gears that form the COO chain of chef Romito are explained. This model will help academics and practitioners to better understand the ways need to be followed to improve firms’ competitiveness fostering COO.
Moderating claims and disputes through collaborative procurement
Authors: Elhag Taha , Eapen Smitha , Ballal Tabarak
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Following the global financial crisis in 2008, the construction sector in UAE has been facing emergent criticisms for growing adversarial culture and rising prevalent claims and disputes between stakeholders. The complex, large size and fast track nature of construction projects in UAE, make project management very challenging under the commonly used traditional procurement routes. This paper aims to examine whether implementing collaborative procurement approaches can facilitate resolving the escalating number of claims and disputes in the UAE construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Considering the nature of the study, a quantitative method was selected to realize the research objectives. The questionnaire was uploaded using an online survey facility and distributed through e-mails and professional networks. The questionnaire was piloted with experts to assess whether the questions are unambiguous, easy to respond and intelligible. The feedback received was mostly positive with few comments and recommendations. The pilot responses were incorporated and the questionnaire was modified before the final sending out. The questionnaire survey consisted of six main sections to fulfill the research objectives.

Findings

Around three-quarters of the experts believe that the relationship is adversarial, with a lack of trust, win-lose attitude, with dismissive and opportunistic behavior. The survey reveals that the top causes of claims and disputes comprise the following: variations because clients initiated change requests; contractors selection on low bid only rather than including quality and performance considerations; and unfair risk allocation where majority of risks are transferred to contractors. The findings also identify eight collaborative practices, which have crucial positive impacts such as early identification of problems, better communication and enhanced trust and teamwork.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the enhancement of the management of claims and disputes for construction projects, which encompasses the following: the key characteristics of collaborative arrangements to improve the adversarial construction culture comprise: mutual respect, openness, fairness and non-opportunistic behaviors; the foremost roles of collaborative procurement in reducing claims and disputes embrace: early identification and resolution of problems, enhanced trust and teamwork spirit, improved relationships and better quality communication; the major practical barriers of implementing collaborative approaches incorporate: lack of awareness of their benefits, primitive legal framework of partnering arrangements and lack of transparency in procurement processes.
Alison Bourne: leading at Bergmann engineering works (SA)
Authors: Ronnie Linda , Boyd Sarah
Published: November 2019

Learning outcomes

The learning objectives to be drawn from the case are to evaluate the various biases that women face in organisational life, understand the challenges facing women at all organisational levels, understand the importance of adopting a proactive approach to change perceptions and discriminatory behaviours and processes and appreciate the role that an inclusive culture within an organisation can play in advancing and championing women’s progression to senior management roles.

Case overview/synopsis

The case highlights the challenges facing women in leadership positions in emerging economies and societies in transition like South Africa and explores the role that gender plays in the world of work. It focuses on the dilemmas faced by Alison Bourne, newly promoted to the CEO role at Bergmann Engineering Works (SA).The case shows that, despite the positive contribution resulting from the inclusion of women in organisations, women experience a multitude of obstacles. Some of the limitations highlight that women must work even harder to be perceived as legitimate leaders. These challenges come about despite research showing that the inclusion of women in the workforce improves company performance, enriches the knowledge base and improves the decision-making quality of company boards.

Complexity academic level

Postgraduate business students at the master’s level.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 6: Human Resource Management
Numerical evaluation of separation efficiency in converging T-junction with slug flow
Authors: Pao William , Memon Zeeshan Qadir
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Excessive liquid carryover in T-junction presents a serious operational issue in offshore production platform. Slug flow and diameter ratio of T-junction are considered as two major factors causing liquid carryover. Regular and reduced T-junction are being used as partial phase separator but their efficiency is low. Converging T-junction with two distinct diameters (primary and secondary) in branch arm is used to improve the phase separation efficiency. The motivation is to combine specific feature of regular and reduced T-junction to increase separation efficiency of existing T-junction without involving too much operational workover. The purpose of this paper is to numerically evaluate the separation efficiency of a converging T-junction design. The present model and its methodology was validated with in-house experimental data for 3 inches diameter flow loop.

Design/methodology/approach

The slug flow regime was simulated using incompressible Eulerian mixture model coupled with volume of fluid method to capture the dynamic gas-liquid interface.

Findings

The analyses concluded that T-junction with primary-secondary branch arm diameters combination of 1.0-0.5 and 0.67-0.40 managed to achieve 95 per cent separation efficiency. The research also confirmed that over reduction of T-junction secondary diameter ratio below 0.2 will lead to decrease in separation efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The present research is limit to air/water two-phase flow but the general results should be applicable for wider application.

Practical implications

The proposed design limited excessive workover and installation for current and existing T-junction. Hence, cutting down installation cost while improving the separation efficiency.

Social implications

The present research resulted in higher separation efficiency, cutting down production down time and lead to operational cost saving.

Originality/value

The present research proposes an original and new T-junction design that can increase phase separation efficiency to over 90 per cent. The finding also confirmed that there is a limitation whereby smaller diameter ratio T-junction does not always resulted in better separation.
The impact of training on firm outcomes: longitudinal evidence from Canada
Authors: Renaud Stéphane , Morin Lucie
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of three training indicators, namely offer, participation and cost, on three firm outcomes, namely voluntary turnover, firm performance and profit.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis is carried out using firm-level data sourced from a Canadian national data set. In total, data from 5,237 for-profits firms with ten employees or more were analyzed longitudinally over eight years. Results were generated by XTREG fixed effect longitudinal analyses between the three variables of training, voluntary turnover, firm performance and profit.

Findings

Training offer, operationalized as the number of different formal training programs offered annually by an employer, significantly decreases voluntary turnover while it significantly increases performance and profit. Training participation, operationalized as the percentage of employees receiving training per year, has a significant positive impact on voluntary turnover. Training cost, operationalized as the annual cost of training per employee, has no impact on the three firm outcomes.

Practical implications

Among the various human resource practices a firm can use to strengthen its human capital, training can have a significant impact of its own. Investing in a diversified training offer brings value to a firm by decreasing employee voluntary turnover while increasing firm performance and profit.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the strategic impact of organizational training, demonstrating the impact of training on key organizational outcomes over time. Further, this paper contributes to the empirical literature by making a distinction between voluntary and involuntary turnover. Last, even though this study does not entirely addresses the problem of possible reverse causality, using longitudinal objective data, this study addresses several limits of past research at the macro-level of analysis.
Government transfers, income inequality and poverty in South Africa
Authors: Gomo Charity
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the impact of social or government transfers on income inequality and poverty in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

A top-down, bottom-up (TD-BU) model which combines an econometrically estimated labor supply model, a detailed tax-benefit module and a computable general equilibrium model is used in order to analyze the impact of government transfers on income inequality and poverty in South Africa. The paper uses a merged South African income and expenditure household survey and labor force survey for the year 2000, and a South African social accounting matrix as the main data sets.

Findings

Simulation results suggest that doubling of government transfers lead to a 5.5 percent reduction in poverty if a relative poverty measure is used and a 7 percent reduction if an absolute poverty line is used. In addition, simulation results show differences in poverty and inequality measures between the MS-only model and the linked TD-BU model confirming the importance of linking the two models.

Originality/value

The TD-BU approach is important since it explicitly accounts for the following aspects: that labor supply should adjust to changes in the tax-benefit model, general equilibrium effects and the heterogeneity of economic agents. This allows for a richer micro-household modeling.
Performance enhancement of two-camera robotic system using adaptive gain approach
Authors: Krishnan Megha G. , Vijayan Abhilash T. , Sankar Ashok
Published: November 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to improve the performance of a two-camera robotic feedback system designed for automatic pick and place application by modifying its velocity profile during switching of control.

Design/methodology/approach

Cooperation of global and local vision sensors ensures visibility of the target for a two-camera robotic system. The master camera, monitoring the workspace, guides the robot such that image-based visual servoing (IBVS) by the eye-in-hand camera transcends its inherent shortcomings. A hybrid control law steers the robot until the system switches to IBVS in a region proven for its asymptotic stability and convergence through a qualitative overview of the scheme. Complementary gain factors can ensure a smooth transition in velocity during switching considering the versatility and range of the workspace.

Findings

The proposed strategy is verified through simulation studies and implemented on a 6-DOF industrial robot ABB IRB 1200 to validate the practicality of adaptive gain approach while switching in a hybrid visual feedback system. This approach can be extended to any control problem with uneven switching surfaces or coarse/fine controllers which are subjected to discrete time events.

Practical implications

In complex workspace where robots operate in parallel with other robots/humans and share workspaces, the supervisory control scheme ensures convergence. This study proves that hybrid control laws are more effective than conventional approaches in unstructured environments and visibility constraints can be overcome by the integration of multiple vision sensors.

Originality/value

The supervisory control is designed to combine the visual feedback data from eye-in-hand and eye-to-hand sensors. A gain adaptive approach smoothens the velocity characteristics of the end-effector while switching the control from master camera to the end-effector camera.
International business accreditation as a trigger for business school development
Authors: Sohlo Sauli , Nätti Satu
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Business schools turn to prestigious international accrediting bodies (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA) in their quest for legitimacy, improved status and reputation. What pains and gains are involved when pursuing these credentials? What are the facilitative and friction forces, supporting or inhibiting development in the different levels of the organization? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative single case study provides an extant literature review on business accreditations and their effect on business school development. Through examining the business school organization from four angles, “levels of change,” the accreditation process related events in a Nordic business school during 2009–2017 are analyzed.

Findings

Regardless of the typical path-dependency of academic organizations, an accreditation process significantly affects the business school development in all four levels of the organization – dominant logic, culture, structures and systems – through changing the everyday activities. Individual actors become more aware of the underlying values, beliefs and assumptions behind their own behavior as well as that of the overall organization. Deeply rooted understanding of “academic freedom” is challenged. New relationships and working culture are created across sub-units and individuals. Introducing faculty qualifications criteria may lead to department mergers. Accreditation data systems bring transparency into academic work, increasing the consciousness and result orientation among individuals.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the limited theoretical understanding of the development a professional organization through accreditation, adds to the understanding of practical consequences on the level of an individual organization, as well as offers managerial suggestions for business school leaders.
Managing participatory destination branding
Authors: Trapp N. Leila
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the contemporary interest in participatory destination branding. Because of a lack of empirical and evaluative studies on this form of branding, the current case study examines a volunteer resident ambassador program, which began as part of Aarhus, Denmark’s year as a European City of Culture in 2017, and has become permanent because of its success.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study is based on official document analyses, participant observations of program activities, and interviews with volunteer program managers and volunteers who greet cruise ship tourists.

Findings

Findings indicate that while the two managers and the volunteers all report on three volunteer roles – personal hosts, place promoters and providers of information – they prioritize and understand the roles differently. Similarly, the volunteers’ encounters with visitors are all unique, and this inevitably results in the conveyance of unruly and incidental destination images.

Practical implications

This unruliness is not necessarily problematic: despite the wide-spread interest in the management of participative branding initiatives, it is seen to be the lack of explicit brand-centered management that fosters the program’s positive outcomes, including authentic and pleasant interactions between volunteers and tourists, which, in turn, result in positive attitudes amongst tourists toward their visit.

Originality/value

This study discovers that positive participatory destination branding outcomes depend on managers respecting the ambassadors’ coveted autonomy, and letting go of control of a destination brand. Because of the growing hostility toward mass tourism in cities internationally, it is also noted that a resident ambassador program’s success is expected to depend on residents’ positive attitudes toward tourists.
The post-disaster emergency planning problem with facility location and people/resource assignment
Authors: Wang Jian , Situ Chenqi , Yu Mingzhu
Published: November 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to study a dynamic post-disaster emergency planning (PDEP) problem in an integrated network through the investigation of the selection of shelters, medical centers and distribution centers (DCs), and the allocation of evacuees and injured people. The resource and people assignment in multiple periods are considered.

Design/methodology/approach

A mathematical formulation is provided for the PDEP problem. The authors decompose the model into two sub-models as follows: the primary model is an integer programming model and the subproblem is a nonlinear programming model with continuous variables. The simulated annealing is used to solve the primary problem, and particle swarm optimization (PSO) mixed with beetle antennae search (BAS) is used to solve the subproblem.

Findings

The paper finds that BAS can increase the stability of PSO and keep the advantages of PSO’s rapid convergence. By implementing these algorithms on emergency planning after the Wenchuan earthquake that happened in China in 2008, this paper finds that the priority of different levels of injured people is influenced by several factors. Even within the same disaster, the priority of different levels of injured can be inconsistent because of the differences in resource levels.

Originality/value

The authors integrate the shelters, medical centers and DCs as a system, and simultaneously, consider evacuees and injured people and different resource assignments. The authors divide the injured people into three levels and use survival rate function to simulate the survival conditions of different people. The authors provide an improved PSO algorithm to solve the problem.
Maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS): implementation and legal issues
Authors: Li Stephen , Fung K.S.
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to see whether the concept of autonomous ship is having an effect on pioneering the sea transportation as well as improvement of ship safety and the possibility of local development. Following the lead of the first autonomous surface ship by Norway that met to develop the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Application (AAWA) and introduce of autonomous operation to the region, this study also aims to compare the initiation of action by surface ships to that of the air and land vehicle automation.

Design/methodology/approach

The ideas for writing this paper came from meeting and interview with maritime professionals such as ship captains, marine chief engineers and naval architects. Through the review of various international journals, the development of Autonomy and Technology are explored and analysed. Owing to the practical approach of this paper, a qualitative research method is used with collecting and analysing information.

Findings

The findings of this paper are as follows: it brings out the importance on the potentials of unmanned vessels and its competitive advantages over existing cargo ships. Besides its contribution to reduce fatigue and workload of navigating officers, the improvement of navigational safety by eliminating human errors and reduction of harmful exhaust emission can make shipping safer and more sustainable. However, as the technology is still under development, it is too early for a final evaluation. That said, as the international regulation body, International Maritime Organisation is required to gain acceptance to future unmanned shipping and to designate routes and impose regulations for their safe operation.

Originality/value

Recently, there are many conferences and meetings on autonomous surface vessel focussing on regulation, technology, human-factor, legal and regulatory framework for such ships around the world. This paper summarises the current development of the autonomous surface ships, in term of the design and technology, their interaction and co-existence with manned ships and suggest some operation issues on board an autonomous surface ship during voyage. Taking Hong Kong as an example, this paper attempts to examine the feasibility for introducing the autonomous surface ships in local waters.
Influence of leaders’ authentic competences on nepotism-favouritism and cronyism
Authors: Akuffo Isaac Nana , Kivipõld Kurmet
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore how an authentic leader’s internal (self-regulation, self-awareness and internalised moral perspective) and external competencies (relational transparency and balance processing) influence nepotism, favouritism and cronyism (NFC).

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a quantitative research approach and respondents were sampled from private and public banks across the ten regions of Ghana using survey questionnaires. Overall, 127 branch managers and 997 subordinates were sampled. The collected data were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple regression was used to explore the influence the of authentic leadership (AL) competences on NFC.

Findings

On leader’s internal competences, the results revealed that self-awareness had a significant decreasing influence on nepotism in terms of operations, while internalised moral perspective had a significant increasing influence on favouritism in the context of position. Self-regulation did not have any significant influence on NFC. Regarding the leader’s external competences, relational transparency had a significant positive influence on favouritism and nepotism, while balance processing had a significant negative influence on favouritism and nepotism in the context of position and operations, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

The results suggest that AL competences have a mixed influence on NFC in the context of this study. However, the findings are limited to Ghana and cannot be generalised to countries that do not share a similar culture with Ghana such as countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and even certain countries in Africa.

Practical implications

The authors advise family businesses to use free and fair measures to appoint or promote employees who have the required skills to manage the office rather than appointing family members to positions without merit. Training on AL and NFC should be conducted for managers to enable them to understand the potential negative effects of NFC on the employees and the organisation at large.

Social implications

Laws must be passed to guard against appointments or recruitments of employees in the public sector organisations based on NFC to minimise these unethical behaviours.

Originality/value

This is the first study which empirically explores AL competences influence on the leaders’ behaviour in the context of NFC.
Determinants of innovative behaviors among self-initiated expatriates
Authors: Hussain Taiba , Iren Perihan , Rice John
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Expatriate mobility is increasing globally, in volume and diversity. A growing element of this overall increase has been the greater share of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) working outside their home countries. In some host countries, SIEs make up a majority of the overall workforce. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of innovative work behavior (IWB) of SIEs in one such country. Drawing upon leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and the conceptual framework of the resource-based view of career capital, the authors’ examine the influences of LMX, perceived innovation-reward, job knowledge and contextual knowledge on SIEs’ IWB.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the analysis of survey results from 229 SIEs based in the United Arab Emirates. The authors use hierarchal regression and an SPSS macro to assess the significance of the interaction effects.

Findings

Results indicate significant direct effects for LMX and perceived innovation-reward on SIEs’ IWB. Results also reveal significant interaction effects suggesting that the relationship between LMX and SIEs’ IWB is stronger when job knowledge is high and when reward for innovation is high.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the determinants of SIE’s IWB. This study investigates the effect of LMX, career capital differences (job knowledge and contextual knowledge) and perceived innovation-reward on SIEs’ IWB. This is also the first study to examine the interaction effects of LMX and individual differences (job knowledge and contextual knowledge) on SIEs’ IWB.
Leadership influences? It depends on followers! The relationship between the Ohio State leader behaviors, employee self-regulatory focus, and task performance
Authors: Choi Dongwon , Cheong Minyoung , Lee Jihye
Published: November 2019

Purpose

While the Ohio State leadership approach had been forgotten for several decades, scholars in the field of leadership have begun revisiting the validity and the role of leader consideration and initiating structure. Building on self-expansion theory, this study suggest the effects of leader consideration and initiating structure on employee task performance. Also, integrating self-expansion theory and regulatory fit theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose and examine the moderating role of employee regulatory focus on the relationship between the Ohio State leadership behaviors and employee task performance, which was mediated by emloyees’ creative behavior as well as citizenship behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypothesized model of this study, cross-sectional data were collected using questionnaires. Pairs of survey packages, which included group-member surveys and a group-leader survey, were handed out to employees in organizations. The authors collected data from 47 groups and 143 group members in 25 private companies in the Republic of Korea, including from financial, technology, manufacturing, and research and development organizations.

Findings

The results showed that leader consideration exerts significant effects on employee task performance. Also, the authors found the moderating role of employee regulatory promotion focus on the relationship between leader consideration/initiating structure and employee task performance, which were mediated by creative behavior and citizenship behavior.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the advancement of the Ohio State leadership approach by integrating self-expansion theory and regulatory fit theory to investigate the distinct mechanisms and boundary conditions of its leadership process. The current study also contributes to the literature on extra-role behavior that the Ohio State leadership behavioral dimensions can be considered as one of the antecedents of employees’ creative and citizenship behavior.
Clean development mechanism and carbon emissions in Nigeria
Authors: Mohammed Sani Damamisau
Published: November 2019

Purpose

Carbon emissions from gas flaring in the Nigerian oil and gas industry are both a national and international problem. Nigerian government policies to eliminate the problem 1960-2016 yielded little or no results. The Kyoto Protocol (KP) provides Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as an international market-based mechanism to reducing global carbon emissions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analytically highlight the potentials of CDM in eliminating carbon emissions in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviewed the historical background of Kyoto protocol, Nigerian Government policies to eliminating gas flaring in its oil and gas industry 1960-2016 and CDM projects in the industry. The effectiveness of the policies and CDM projects towards ending this problem were descriptively analysed.

Findings

Government policies towards eliminating gas flaring with its attendant carbon emissions appeared not to be yielding the desired results. However, projects registered under CDM in the industry looks effective in ending the problem.

Research limitations/implications

Therefore, the success recorded by CDM projects has the policy implication of encouraging Nigeria to engage on establishing more CDM projects that ostensibly proved effective in reducing CO2 emissions through gas flaring reductions in its oil and gas industry. Apparent effectiveness of studied CDM should provide a way forward for the country in eliminating gas flaring in its oil and gas industry which is also a global menace. Nigeria could achieve this by providing all needed facilitation to realising more CDM investments.

Practical implications

CDM as a policy has proved effective in eliminating gas flaring in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The government should adopt this international policy to achieve more gas flaring reductions.

Social implications

Social problems of respiratory diseases, water pollution and food shortage among others due to gas flaring are persisting in oil and gas producing areas as government policies failed to end the problem. CDM projects in the industry have proved effective in eliminating the problem, thus improving the social welfare of the people and ensuring sustainable development.

Originality/value

The paper analysed the effectiveness of Nigerian Government policies and an international market-based mechanism towards ending gas flaring in its oil and gas industry.
The influence of CSR on perceived value, social media and loyalty in the hotel industry
Authors: Mohammed Abdulalem , Al-Swidi Abdullah
Published: November 2019

Purpose

This study aims to examine how perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities (i.e. environment, society and stakeholders) enhance perceived value, social media engagement to win customer loyalty in the hotel industry. In addition, it investigates the mediating effects of customer perceived value and social media engagement between CSR activities and customer loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

A self-administered survey was conducted on customers in Malaysia. Based on the data collected from 389 customers, the analysis used the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. The validity and reliability of the measurements were confirmed before the hypotheses of the study have been tested.

Findings

The results revealed that CSR related to the environment has significant direct and indirect impacts on customer loyalty. In addition, the effect of perceived value and social media engagement on customer loyalty has been supported. The results also demonstrated the mediating role of perceived value and social media engagement between CSR activities and customer loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

This study advances the understanding of the impact of CSR activities, perceived value and social media engagement on customer loyalty in the hotel industry. Hoteliers can gain benefits by understanding how specific CSR activities can enhance customer perceived value and social media engagement value, thus leads to customer loyalty.

Originality/value

This study investigates the association between CSR activities, perceived value, social media engagement and customer loyalty, which has been lacking a full investigation in the hospitality literature.
Factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following natural disaster among Indonesian elderly
Authors: Aurizki Gading Ekapuja , Efendi Ferry , Indarwati Retno
Published: November 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among elderly who live in a post-earthquake area.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a cross-sectional study involving 152 elder people who survived the disaster and were selected conveniently. The study was conducted in two worst-affected districts of Lombok Utara regency. PTSD was diagnosed using a modified version of the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale version 5 (CAPS-5). The demographic data were assessed using a self-developed questionnaire consisting of 13 items. All data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, χ2 test and binary logistic regression with p<0.05.

Findings

Out of the 152 elder people, 91 (59.9 percent) suffered PTSD. Intrusion symptoms were the most common symptoms experienced by the respondents (94.1 percent). The factors associated with the PTSD in the elderly after the earthquake were having chronic illnesses (OR=2.490; 95% CI=1.151–5.385), public health center utilization (OR=2.200; 95% CI=1.068–4.535) and occupational status before the disaster (OR=2.726; 95% CI=1.296–5.730). These findings highlight that individual factors and access to health care services remain an important aspect of stress identification among the elderly following the disaster event.

Social implications

Elder people constitute a vulnerable group that is often forgotten and neglected during post-disaster recovery, though they have potentially higher psychosocial distress than younger age groups. This study was conducted to raise awareness about mental health problems suffered by the elderly.

Originality/value

This is the first study to apply CAPS-5 to assess PTSD among Indonesian elderly people following a natural disaster. This paper also provides insights that can be used by governments and other relevant parties to address PTSD problems suffered by many elderly people in a post-disaster area.
Book talk and aphasia: the power of a book
Authors: Henriksson Ingrid , Laakso Katja
Published: November 2019

Background

Reading is most often affected in aphasia and this has an impact on most aspects of everyday life. Being able to read makes a significant difference to how well a person can participate in society. In this study, people with aphasia recount their experiences of being in a book club.

Aims

This small scale, exploratory study employs a qualitative approach to investigate how persons with aphasia (PWA) and a librarian experience participating in a book club. The aim was to explore their overall experiences of participation, including their views regarding the design of the book club. The research questions were: How did participants experience participating in a book club? How did participants experience the structure and the content of the book club?

Methods & Procedures

Three men and one woman with aphasia took part in a book club, which was led by a librarian and met once a week for 9 weeks. The group read a book that had been adapted to suit adults who are not very skilled readers or who have a poor knowledge of the Swedish language; it was also available in an audio version. Data were collected through observations, interviews and field notes, and were analysed thematically to find patterns across data and across participants.

Outcomes & Results

The analysis showed that, despite their language difficulties, the participants experienced the book club as highly rewarding, possibly because the focus was on the content of the book and not on each individual's reading ability. The overarching theme identified in the data was ‘Empowerment through a joint reading experience’. This encompassed three sub‐themes: ‘Structure and flexibility’, ‘Enjoyment of reading’ and ‘Fruitful discussions’.

Conclusions & Implications

The PWA experienced the activity as positive and encouraging despite their language difficulties. What yielded the positive experience were the joint literary discussions. The project also showed that a dedicated group leader (here the librarian) and a flexible structure based on the situation and abilities of each individual were crucial for the encouraging findings.
Question–response–evaluation sequences in the home interactions of a bilingual child with autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Bottema‐Beutel Kristen , Oliveira Gabrielle , Cohen Shana R. , Miguel Jessica
Published: November 2019

Background

Prior research has described the prevalence and utility of questions in children's language learning environment. However, there has been little empirical investigation of the interaction sequences that ensue following caregiver questions. Understanding these interactions may be especially important for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who may have difficulty engaging in reciprocal interactions. Question–response–evaluation sequences (QRE) are a particular type of interaction sequence launched by questions that have been examined primarily in classroom contexts. Less research has been devoted to understanding how caregivers and children with ASD leverage this interactional format in the context of home interactions.

Aims

We focus on QRE sequences within interactions between a 5‐year‐old bilingual child with ASD and his parents. In these sequences, the adult poses known‐answer questions, the child responds and the adult evaluates the response. QRE sequences are primarily structured by the questioner (i.e., the parents in our context), and we examine the interactive work done by parents to initiate, maintain and close these sequences. We also examine the child's contributions to these sequences.

Methods & Procedures

We applied conversation analysis (CA) to video recordings of home routines, such as play, book‐reading and schoolwork. Videos were fully transcribed using CA conventions, and 55 QRE segments were isolated from the data corpus for further analysis.

Outcomes & Results

Q‐word questions (i.e., where, what, why, when, how questions) were the most prevalent question format, and repetition of the child's response was the most prevalent form of evaluation. We found that QRE sequences were embedded within a variety of action trajectories that extend beyond pedagogical functions. These included repairing a prior utterance, extending collaborative play routines and engaging in topically connected labelling rituals.

Conclusions & Implications

QRE sequences appeared to strike a balance in terms of the level of constraint they placed on the child's contributions to interactions, and the affordances they provide for participating in and progressing through interactions. This study can help clinicians understand the types of interactions that can be pursued with QRE sequences in their work with children with ASD. The findings may also aid intervention researchers’ efforts to leverage caregivers’ existing strengths for adapting their interactional overtures to maximize children's engagement. Finally, this study provides an illustration of caregiver–child interactions in a population that is currently under‐represented in the literature.
Once in a Lifetime? The Effects of the Global Financial Crisis on Household Willingness to Take Financial Risk
Authors: Cardak Buly A. , Martin Vance L.
Published: November 2019

We investigate the effect of the global financial crisis (GFC) on household willingness to take risk. A model incorporating experienced returns as a determinant of risk tolerance is specified, with time‐varying weights on past stock returns capturing changes during the crisis. Results show that households became more myopic during the GFC, placing greater weight on more recent stock returns when evaluating financial risk attitudes. Households have been more sensitive to financial shocks during the GFC and post‐GFC periods, with the change in sensitivity found to be uniform over the life cycle and other household characteristics, but differing by income.
Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion reduces the risk of postoperative infection
Authors: Mou Yune , Ma Delin , Zhang Jianhua , Tao Jing , He Wentao , Li Wenjun , Mu Yiming , Yu Xuefeng
Published: November 2019

Background

Perioperative hyperglycemia was associated with postoperative infection, and proper management of perioperative glucose has become critical in improving the prognosis of patients.

Methods

A total of 1015 diabetic patients who underwent surgery and received insulin treatment for their hyperglycemia in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. According to propensity matching, we obtained 253 pairs of patients from the group which received continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy (CSII group) and the group which received insulin injection therapy (non‐CSII group). Perioperative glucose levels and corresponding outcomes were compared between the two groups.

Results

Compared with the non‐CSII group, the CSII group had lower fasting and mean glucose levels, lower incidence of fever (operation day: 18.6% vs 10.2%; P = .014; first postoperative day: 55.1% vs 34.7%; P < .001), a positive rate of postoperative secretion culture (6.3% vs 1.2%; P = .004), and a shorter time of antibiotics use (total antibiotics use: P = .002; postoperative antibiotics use: P < .001) and hospital stays (P < .001). However, there was no difference in the total medical expenditure between the two groups (P = .499). Further analysis showed that CSII therapy was superior to multiple daily insulin injection (MDI) therapy in its effect on infection and other postoperative outcomes when 64 pairs of patients from the CSII group and MDI group were compared.

Conclusions

CSII therapy provides better perioperative glucose control and a lower risk of postoperative infection without increasing the total medical expenditure.
pime: A package for discovery of novel differences among microbial communities
Authors: Roesch Luiz Fernando W. , Dobbler Priscila T. , Pylro Victor S. , Kolaczkowski Bryan , Drew Jennifer C. , Triplett Eric W.
Published: November 2019

The data used for profiling microbial communities is usually sparse with some microbes having high abundance in a few samples and being nearly absent in others. However, current bioinformatics tools able to deal with this sparsity are lacking. pime (Prevalence Interval for Microbiome Evaluation) was designed to remove those taxa that may be high in relative abundance in just a few samples but have a low prevalence overall. The reliability and robustness of pime were compared against existing methods and tested using 16S rRNA independent data sets. pime filters microbial taxa not shared in a per treatment prevalence interval started at 5% prevalence with increasing increments of 5% at each filtering step. For each prevalence interval, hundreds of decision trees were calculated to predict the likelihood of detecting differences in treatments. The best prevalence‐filtered data set was user‐selected by choosing the prevalence interval that kept a large portion of the 16S rRNA sequences in the data set while also showing the lowest error rate. To obtain the likelihood of introducing type I error while building prevalence‐filtered data sets, an error detection step based was also included. A pime reanalysis of published data sets uncovered other expected microbial associations than previously reported, which may be masked when only relative abundance was considered.