bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Barriers to the implementation of innovative financing (IF) of infrastructure
Authors: Badu E. , Edwards D.J. , Owusu‐Manu D. , Brown D.M.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Failure to resolve Ghana's infrastructure deficit, coupled with inability of traditional financing methods to meet current infrastructure demand, have triggered recent studies to explore strategic issues underpinning innovative financing (IF) of infrastructure. The purpose of this study is to explore potential impediments inherent in IF tools available to Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical aspect of the investigation used structured interviews and a survey questionnaire to gather data from project implementation agencies with experience of infrastructure IF. Factor analysis (principal component analysis) established which variables measured aspects of the same underlying dimensions.

Findings

A total of three key challenges were identified, and explained in terms of: investment capacity; implementation and revenue mobilization. Findings provide an early failure signal when implementing IF.

Practical implications

Conclusions and recommendations are of benefit to various international development partners and governmental and non‐governmental organizations that develop and/or implement infrastructure projects. Further research will seek to explore strategic, innovative solutions to on‐going challenges.

Originality/value

Knowledge of the critical challenges facing implementation of IF remain scant and incomplete.
Corporate governance and real estate assets management in Nigerian banks
Authors: Tunde Oladokun Timothy , Tajudeen Aluko Bioye
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the strategies adopted by Nigerian banks to integrate the management of their real estate assets into the overall business objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaires were distributed to the corporate real estate managers of the 24 recapitalised banks in the country and supplemented with interview. The study adopted the descriptive method of percentages, mean and proportion methods for analysis.

Findings

The study found that Nigerian banks have distinct real estate units that manage their substantial real estate holdings, which they revalue at the open market basis every six months. The study also found that in spite of the fact that Nigerian banks have substantial real estate holdings, employees of the real estate unit spend more time on the core business of the organisations than on real estate activities. While some of them have sole responsibility for real estate activities, others are gradually shifting attention to the importance of their real estate assets.

Practical implications

The study has major implications on corporate real estate management and banking practice in Nigeria. There is the need for organisations to re‐direct their focus towards the strategic perspective of CRE as an important and profit inducing tool of business. This may require exposing CRE executives to requisite training that will equip them for effective service delivery.

Social implications

Inefficient real estate management can result in huge loss of shareholders fund by investors and subsequently affect the economy.

Originality/value

The study identified real estate as a “turn around” tool that can be adopted by bank executives to improve their financial status and a pro active step towards building an efficient and virile profession to handle the emerging corporate real estate management sub discipline in real estate.
Contesting methodologies
Authors: Bogdanovic Danijela , Dowd Michael , Wattam Eileen , Adam Alison
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on and evaluate focus groups and privacy diary/interview methods used in a qualitative study of on‐line privacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a discursive evaluation of two methods employed to study on‐line privacy, informed by and situated in interpretive and constructivist approaches to knowledge.

Findings

The paper argues for the value of qualitative research methods in study of on‐line privacy. It confronts the positivist paradigm that informs much of the work in the field by foregrounding the need for methodological plurality in the study of privacy as relational, situated, dynamic and contextual. It deals with the notion of “sensitivity” as well as introducing often neglected issue of logistical challenges in qualitative research.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the existing debates about the value of employment of qualitative research methods broadly, as well as in the study of on‐line privacy more specifically. It demonstrates a range of advantages and challenges in use of the two methods, providing recommendations of how to supplement them. It opens up the discussion of process of sensitizing of the participants and thus the “co‐construction” of knowledge.
Designing a new service in a university language centre
Authors: Chan Freeman K.H. , Lee Alfred
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to present the design of a new service in a self‐access language centre of a university in Hong Kong. A language action literacy program is being designed to promote independent learning and to support undergraduates in developing preferred qualities, including what the Kano Model would classify as excitement qualities.

Design/methodology/approach

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is the decision support tool for selecting the literacy program contents to echo the Voice of Customer (VOC). The QFD exercises undertaken include: a telephone survey with 12 employers rating the importance of customer requirements; the program designers selecting program contents that match the customer requirements; determining the relationship between the customer requirements and the program contents; calculating the importance weighting of program contents; and determining the correlation between the program contents. The categorization of qualities by the Kano model is followed when discussing customer satisfaction.

Findings

Independent learning was rated as the most important of 20 customer requirements, and excitement qualities such as Critical thinking, Innovation, Creativity were rated as important. The QFD exercises led to the recommendations that seven types of literacy (e.g. Critical literacy, Activism & advocacy) and functional grammar should be prioritized as main program contents for empowering undergraduates to make an impact on a community or profession.

Research limitations/implications

Since the sample size of the importance survey was small, the new program would have to be evaluated by larger‐scale surveys after piloting.

Originality/value

A review of literature found no report on QFD‐based design of self‐access language centre services; this study is likely the first of its kind.
Using Web 2.0 technologies
Authors: Yu Mingmei , Yuen Allan H.K. , Park Jae
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to explore the perspectives of students, teachers, and parents in using Web 2.0 technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on the focus group interview data collected from two groups of students, two groups of teachers, and one group of parents in a secondary school in Hong Kong.

Findings

The findings indicate that there is no divide in terms of access to computer hardware and the Internet. However, the results suggest that there are different types and levels of usage given to such technologies. The students were found to use Web 2.0 technologies very frequently but seldom for educational purposes. The parents appeared to know less about the Web 2.0 technologies although they are more concerned about the influence of such technologies on their children's development. The teachers used Web 2.0 technologies merely for observing students' online behaviors.

Research limitations/implications

Due to limited sample participants and the weakness of the focus group interview research method itself, the authors could not suggest that these findings should reflect the whole scene because it was just a reflection of a case under a specific context. In the future, more empirical studies with a larger sample and both quantitative and qualitative research methods must be needed in the future to understand the problem well.

Practical implications

This study attempts to contribute to the literature on home‐school connection in education for the benefit of student development. Joint efforts must be made by school and home together to ensure the positive impact of Web 2.0 technologies on students.

Social implications

These typologies draw attention to the ways how parents, students and teachers make use of Web 2.0 technologies.

Originality/value

This paper was an original research based on focus group interview data that fulfil an identified need to study how teachers, students, and parents are using the Web 2.0 technology.
Unstructured queries based on mobile user context
Authors: Xue Wenwei , Deng Hailong
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Many mobile devices today are equipped with diversified sensors that enable the acquisition of rich user context (e.g. GPS location, phone activity) for application utilization. With the growing usage of mobile devices in daily life, the problem of conveniently and promptly searching a piece of content that a user has viewed on his/her device before becomes more and more crucial. This paper aims to propose a context‐based query processing framework called UCQP that supports unstructured queries for content search in a user's access history.

Design/methodology/approach

Beyond the keywords related to the content properties, a context query in the framework is specified with freeform phrases that describe high‐level mobile contexts of the user at a previous time when the user viewed the searched content.

Findings

Experimental results on a prototype system of the framework illustrate its good accuracy and small response time.

Originality/value

To tolerate the incompleteness and inaccuracy in user query texts caused by fading human memory, the authors develop several semantic query parsers that are tailored for different types of contexts using natural language processing and information retrieval techniques. The authors further propose a similarity model to rank the multiple result contents of a query by comparing context entities specified in the query and historical context values associated with each result.
A multi‐method approach for looking inside healthcare practices
Authors: Gorli Mara , Kaneklin Cesare , Scaratti Giuseppe
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore a specific multi‐method approach with which to detect and analyze professional practices in order to support organizational reflection and change.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a case study, the paper describes the methodological choices made during the research process. The qualitative potentials of narrative and ethnographic orientations, and a package of data gathering tools, are analyzed in depth.

Findings

The paper presents the advantages and drawbacks of tools to articulate practices and to develop hypotheses for change. It emphasizes the approach's innovative value and potential in contributing to knowledge sharing in organizations, and the implications for researchers and participants.

Practical implications

The paper furnishes concrete suggestions on how practitioners and researchers/consultants can be induced to pay particular attention to aspects of the operational knowledge that should accompany change processes. This appears even more strategic in healthcare organizations, characterized by the constant need to update the operational system in response to the introduction of new technologies, procedures, and protocols.

Originality/value

The paper discusses how research dimensions and results can be linked with action practices, while at the same time reducing the divide between researcher and practitioner. The value of the paper is that it presents tools known in the literature but analyzes them in regard to their use in real settings concerned with real‐world problems.
Marketing toys without playing around
Authors: Gardner Meryl P. , Michnick Golinkoff Roberta , Hirsh‐Pasek Kathy , Heiney‐Gonzalez Daniel
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into how both characteristics of toys and marketer‐provided cues influence parents' perceptions of advertised toys and their ideas of what life skills are important for their children's future well‐being and success.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected with a 2 (toy encourages structured play vs toy encourages unstructured play) × 2 (ad mentions “brain development” vs ad mentions “child development”) experimental design involving four advertisements for a hypothetical toy.

Findings

Parents recognized that the toy encouraging unstructured play has many benefits. Relative to parents who saw an ad with a “child development” appeal, those who saw an ad with a “brain development” appeal rated social and intellectual development as less important for their children.

Practical implications

Findings support the idea that manufacturers can and should continue to develop toys, which encourage relatively unstructured play; such toys are both appreciated by parents and valued by experts. They also support eliminating “brain talk” from advertising; such messages do not enhance parents' evaluations of toys and detract from parents' maintaining the value they place on social and intellectual development.

Social implications

By designing toys which encourage play which is most beneficial to children and promoting them with advertisements without “brain” language, marketers can support children's development and parents' values.

Originality/value

This paper provides insights into the effects of toy and ad characteristics on parents' perceptions of toys and what is important for their children.
Public leadership: motivated by values not bonuses
Authors: Maddock Su
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Turbulent times are here to stay and public leadership needs to become less managerial, more adept at harnessing resources and transforming governance. While the media continues to search for heroic leaders there is a growing awareness that there is more to public leadership than charisma and that compliant leaders do little to nurture innovation. The purpose of this paper is to address the varying concepts of leadership within public services in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper addresses the varying concepts of leadership within public services in the UK and offers a comparative discussion on these choices of types of leadership.

Findings

Evidence shows that successful public leaders tend to motivated by social values rather than money and that in the UK, transformative leadership is stronger at the local level than in central government, where although embryonic, political and executive leaders are forging platforms for innovation and new governance systems that central governments could learn from.

Originality/value

There are examples of exemplary public leadership in the UK and this paper attempts to unpack where these are, how they challenge existing leadership thinking and why new forms of leadership are critical at this time.
Domestic and international strategies in the Queensland wine industry
Authors: Bamberry Geoff , Wickramasekara Rumintha
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Over the past decade, the Queensland wine industry has experienced a greater percentage growth than the Australian national average. The aim of the research undertaken for this article is to identify specific national and international strategies that have allowed the industry to achieve this level of growth.

Design/methodology/approach

The study involved a quantitative survey of all Queensland wineries at the time (n=101), using a five‐point Likert‐scaled questionnaire with questions developed from the literature, together with a small‐scale qualitative survey involving in‐depth interviews of winery managers and industry leaders.

Findings

The findings indicated that key strategies in the domestic sector included a focus on cellar door sales combined with establishing links with the tourism industry, together with an incremental expansion of domestic markets. For the international sector, additional strategies included targeting familiar, psychically‐close and niche markets in the initial stages of exporting, as well as taking advantage of firm‐specific strengths and managerial competencies.

Originality/value

Not previously regarded as a major wine producing region of Australia, the Queensland wine industry has received limited attention in the literature, particularly the reasons for its rapid growth in recent years. The article helps to identify the strategies used by wineries in growing the industry.
ECRM and customers: a case of Askari Commercial Bank, Pakistan
Authors: Shakil Ahmad Muhammad , Rashid Shahid , Ehtisham‐Ul‐Mujeeb
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to observe and analyze current banking practices in Pakistan, regarding the electronic customer relationship management system (ECRM). The aim is to explore the variables in relation to operational problems that may occur with banks that use ECRM and the customer's perception of the usage of e‐banking.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design is divided into two sections using both qualitative as well as quantitative methods to represent the results. The first section explores the variables related to the operational problems with e‐banking while the second section discusses the variables related to the customer's perception of the usage of e‐banking systems. Descriptive statistics are used to define the demographic variables while correlation is used to describe the operational problems. Cross case analysis is used to present the customer perception of e‐banking practices. In total, 40 staff members and four customers are selected as samples for this study. SPSS was used for data analysis.

Results

Data analysis shows that customers are not ready to adopt new technologies, which results in a low level of satisfaction with e‐banking. Internet speeds and government policies are also not supportive of e‐banking in Pakistan. Owing to a lack of trust in technology and a low computer literacy rate, customers hesitate to adopt new technology. On the other hand, internet rates are too high and provided speed is in Kb/s.

Practical implications

The results of this study will provide some ideas and practical suggestions, which can be implemented, particularly with E‐banking in order to improve its continuance (i.e. customer satisfaction strategies as an effective means of maintaining the subscriber base, market share and the overall revenue of online banking).

Originality/value

The paper delineates the importance of understanding e‐banking in Pakistan and the reasons why more customers avoid using electronic banking.
Climate change in Oman: current knowledge and way forward
Authors: Ahmed Mushtaque , Choudri B.S.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to give professionals, researchers and policy makers in Oman and the region understanding of the climate change implications for better planning. The likely impacts will cause serious damage to the economy of Oman which already suffers from aridity, soil salinity, recurrent drought and water scarcity. This paper highlights the work being carried out and current knowledge and efforts being made in view of climate change challenges in Oman.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a literature review of texts and references sourced from scientific reports, research papers and other published documents by various national and international agencies.

Findings

Sultanate of Oman is vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change, the most significant of which are increased average temperatures, less and more erratic precipitation, sea level rise (SLR) and desertification. Integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation in development strategies and policies is a must for a country like Oman which is at the early stage of economic and industrial development.

Research limitations/implications

It is not clear from existing data that any organized research effort is ongoing in Oman to tackle various climate change related issues. There are number of projects undertaken may look impressive but none of the projects was taken up as a direct response to climate change concerns. A small and scattered number of research studies have been published in the field of climate change, and there are many gaps that still need to be filled in the future, especially pertaining to the vulnerability of water resources, agriculture, and biodiversity of Oman.

Originality/value

The paper offers inputs for researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders on issues related to climate change and its management in Oman and the region.
Generation Y workforce expectations: implications for the UAE
Authors: Ling Lim Hwee
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The United Arab Emirates' demographics show the entry of a large Generation Y (Gen Y) segment into the workforce. Companies need talented human resources hence this trend has implications for the country's continued economic growth. However, little is known about Gen Y in the UAE. Furthermore, the asymmetric distributions of the population and labor force by nationality, positively skewed for expatriates, present a diverse population that challenges our understanding of this generation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the life priorities and work preferences of Gen Y Emiratis and expatriates, so that organizations can effectively recruit this new generation into the nation's workforce.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey and interview results from Schwartz Value Inventory and Twenge et al.'s motivational model were analyzed for correspondence between life priority and work preference choices, and differences in preferences of Emiratis and expatriates.

Findings

Emirati and expatriate Gen Y regarded seeking stability as the most important life priority and were most motivated by extrinsic rewards. However, differences were found in the ranking of other life values and in comparison with the literature.

Originality/value

This research extended previous studies and increases understanding of Gen Y at work. Moreover, recommendations for the effective recruitment and retention are provided to help organizations manage this young generation who are central to the future of the Middle East.
HRM practices during the global recession (2008‐2010)
Authors: Wickramasinghe Vathsala , Perera Gayan
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate human resource management (HRM) practices adopted by firms during the recession period of 2008‐2010, their impact on employees' happiness at work, and whether there are any differences by the size of the firm.

Design/methodology/approach

Two survey questionnaires were developed for the study, one targeting non‐managerial employees and the other targeting senior managers. Two random samples of non‐managerial employees (n=263) and senior managers (n=76) attached fulltime to globally distributed software development firms in Sri Lanka responded. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used.

Findings

It was found that reduction in financial rewards, reduction in benefits, and training and development provision significantly vary by the size of the firm. Further, the communication of information, performance management, reduction in financial rewards, and reduction in benefits significantly predict employees' happiness at work during recession.

Research limitations/implications

The research was designed as a cross‐sectional study employing survey methodology. Respondent senior managers were reluctant to provide actual data on layoffs and quits during the recession period.

Practical implications

The findings of this study would contribute for practitioners to better understand the HRM practices adopted by the firms during recession and effects of these HRM practices on employees' level of happiness at work.

Social implications

Employees' happiness by doing what is worth doing, pursing important goals, and using one's skills and talents during the economic recession could be affected by the HRM practices adopted during the recession.

Originality/value

It is evident that firms facing economic recession launch cost reduction initiatives such as pay cuts and freeze in new hires. From the academic and practical standpoint it is important to identify the influence of such HRM practices adopted during the recession on employees' happiness at work. However, available research does not provide sufficient understanding about the influence of HRM practices on employees' happiness at work during recession as empirical research on this area is presently lacking.
Towards a framework for transferring technology knowledge between facilities
Authors: McBeath Andre , Ball Peter
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The transfer of technical know‐how is now recognised as an essential component in the globalised expansion of multinational companies. As these companies offshore or outsource their operations the success of the new facility can depend on the ability to convey both tacit and explicit knowledge willingly during all phases of the transfer. There is a lack of clarity in current literature on the success factors for effective transfer of knowledge on production parts transfer and an absence of frameworks. The purpose of the research reported in this paper is to examine documented success factors and propose an integrated framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Peer reviewed literature was used to establish dominant themes on knowledge‐sharing from which interview and survey were designed and undertaken to establish motivating factors.

Findings

Five key themes required for successful knowledge transfer were established for moving parts to new production facilities: willingness to share information, willingness to receive information, explicit knowledge transfer, tacit knowledge transfer and verification. These were then assembled into a transfer of technical intellect framework for knowledge transfer to new facilities.

Research limitations/implications

The research draws from the experience of practitioners across multiple parts transfers rather than examining a specific transfer. This work brings research not previously brought together. It draws from the literature and a significant survey of a large multi‐site engineering company and future work needs to be carried out to examine the generalisability of the work.

Practical implications

The proposed framework guides the tacit as well as explicit transfer of technical knowledge of production parts between facilities.

Originality/value

The research identifies the key themes and motivating factors for transferring tacit product knowledge to another organisation.
An indicator for decline of industrial estates
Authors: Beekmans Jasper , van der Krabben Erwin , Martens Karel
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Urban decline is a much‐researched topic in both urban and real estate literature. Yet, there is no generally accepted measurable indicator for decline. This paper starts to fill this void. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to better understand the process of decline of one particular urban area, industrial estates; based on that, to identify a possible indicator for decline; and to take a first step in the empirical testing of the suitability of this indicator.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on a review of the literature on definitions of urban decline, and inspired by hedonic price models, the average property value per hectare is identified as a promising indicator for urban decline. Drawing on hedonic price studies explaining the value of individual industrial property, the paper subsequently distinguishes a number of independent variables likely to influence the average property value of an urban area. The paper uses a simple OLS regression to test whether the relation between these independent variables and average property value is in line with expectations.

Findings

The analysis shows that nearly all independent variables have the expected effect on average property values of industrial estates. From this the authors conclude that constructing an indicator for decline based on the average property value of an urban area can prove fruitful to measure decline.

Originality/value

The decline of industrial estates, as a particular type of urban area, has not received much attention in the international real estate literature. Furthermore, the identification of average property value as an indicator for the decline of urban areas is new.
Further evidence on the association between corporate social responsibility and financial performance
Authors: Sun Li
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper performs an empirical test on the association between CSR and financial performance of a firm.

Findings

The regression analysis reveals a significant and positive association between CSR and financial performance. In addition, it finds that the age of long‐term assets is highly correlated with CSR.

Originality/value

This paper extends Cochran and Wood by using a larger and more recent sample to examine the association between CSR and financial performance of a firm. It contributes to the CSR literature.
Influencing factors of innovation for Turkish companies
Authors: Özdemir Güngör Dilek , Gözlü Sitki
Published: November 2012

Purpose

In this study, some of the internal and external determinants of innovation for Turkish companies are examined. The purpose of this paper is to determine which factors significantly influence innovativeness of Turkish companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study begins with literature research. The knowledge gained from literature is used to develop a research model, which displays internal and external determinants of innovation and innovation types as product and process innovations. In order to test the model, the data of “Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey”, provided by the World Bank, are used. The data are collected from 1,152 Turkish companies in 2008. Some statistical tests are conducted to determine significant relations between the determinants of innovation and innovation types. Finally, results are discussed in the light of previous literature.

Findings

The authors' results provide clues that the companies involved in product innovation activities mostly perform process innovations. There is also a group of companies which invest in capabilities, but are not involved in any of the innovative activities. R&D activities, licensed technology usage, formal training programs, and experience of managers are significant internal factors, although the investments accomplished are not significant. International relations are an outstanding external factor for Turkish companies.

Research limitations/implications

The data used in this study come from secondary source data, and it is not aimed at exploring innovation‐related issues. Also, this study does not aim to rank influencing factors for Turkish companies. Thus, it is not possible to reach a conclusion that compares internal and external factors.

Originality/value

This is a pioneer study that deals with internal and external influencing factors of both product and process innovations for Turkish companies.
Global trade and climate change challenges
Authors: Jafry Tahseen
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Due to changing climatic circumstances there is increasing uncertainty about the amount of agricultural produce any country can expect to achieve in particular seasons. As a result, there is a growing trend especially in developing countries to adopt and benefit from international trade as a coping strategy to overcome food shortages. Given the fact that much of the agricultural workforce is made up of women, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the need to develop an understanding of how agribusiness models of food security are affecting their livelihood opportunities, questions the validity of existing approaches to tackling the challenges of climate change and food security and describes a new approach to agricultural extension provision to overcome these challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

A description of trends related to agricultural growth, food security and the impact of climate variability on achieving this growth with special emphasis on poverty and gender is provided. This paper also provides an account of a new approach in tackling gender issues in the agricultural sector.

Findings

The poorest, most vulnerable farming communities and women farmers will not reap the benefits of global agricultural trade unless mechanisms are put in place to support them. A gender sensitive agricultural extension system is one support mechanism that can be used to design and develop meaningful programmes and help them to deal with climate change challenges that lie ahead.

Originality/value

This paper provides an overview of how agricultural extension systems need to adapt to provide gender equitable approaches to supporting the most vulnerable farming groups under changing climatic circumstances. For instance, at a micro level the ability to identify the changing needs of women farmers and at a macro level institutional reform.
Faulty genes: consanguinity in the Pakistani community
Authors: Ali Nasreen , Mclean Carl , Rehman Hamid
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper seeks to discuss the attitudes and beliefs of the Pakistani/Kashmiri community in Birmingham towards the cultural practice of consanguineous (cousin) marriage and health, and how an understanding of Pakistani/Kashmiri community views may help institute good practice for health care professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research study using eight gender‐ and age‐specific focus group discussions and eight in‐depth one‐to‐one interviews with participants who were in consanguineous relationships. All participants were from the Pakistani/Kashmiri community and residents of Springfield ward in Birmingham.

Findings

The findings illustrate Pakistani/Kashmiri attitudes towards consanguinity and health. There was awareness of still births and genetic conditions but a poor understanding of genetics; respondents were reluctant to accept the link between cousin marriages and birth issues and explanations for still births and impairments were largely attributed to the “will of God”. Female respondents were in favour of screening for genetic conditions but would not terminate pregnancies as this was contrary to Islamic ideas about pre‐destiny and all respondents wanted more medical and Islamic scholarly information on cousin marriage and how it is linked to disabilities. Clearly there is a need to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce infant mortality in the Pakistani/Kashmiri community.

Research limitations/implications

Research findings correspond with previous studies that have explored ethnic minority knowledge and attitudes to health and healthcare services and the need for culturally competent services.

Originality/value

This paper presents some suggestions on effecting behaviour change in this important area.
The intersectional invisibility of race and disability status: an exploratory study of health and discrimination facing Asian Americans with disabilities
Authors: Mereish Ethan H.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

There is a dearth in the literature on Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) with disabilities. Utilizing an intersectionality lens, the present exploratory study seeks to compare AAPIs with a reported learning, emotional, or physical disability to AAPIs without a reported disability on their experiences of discrimination, psychological and physical health, as well as their overall physical and mental health ratings.

Design/methodology/approach

The Asian American sample (n=2,095) of The National Latino and Asian American Study dataset was used to conduct the analyses for the present study. Participants with disabilities self‐reported the following disabilities: learning (n=46); emotional/mental (n=56); physical (n=71); and having a condition that substantially limits physical activity (n=157).

Findings

Despite some minor nuances, the overall results indicate that AAPIs with a learning, emotional, or physical disability reported more experiences of everyday discrimination, greater psychological and physical distress, and poorer physical and mental health ratings than AAPIs without a reported disability.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations to this study included assessment of disability through self‐report dichotomous measures, aggregation of AAPI ethnic groups, and some small effect sizes.

Practical implications

The results have several implications for research as well as clinical care and practice. These are highlighted in more detail in the discussion section.

Originality/value

These findings are novel as they are the first to demonstrate the discrimination and health experiences of AAPIs with disabilities. The results underscore the interlocking oppressions associated with their intersectional identities.
Fatigue damage in GFRP
Authors: Colombo C. , Libonati F. , Vergani L.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Composite materials are increasingly used in the structural and mechanical fields, thanks to their high strength‐to‐weight ratios and the possibility of tailoring them to meet specific requirements. This study is focused on the damage to a glass fiber reinforced composite under different loading conditions. The aim is to find, by coupling mechanical tests with thermal analyses, a damage parameter, able to define the damage initiation in the studied material.

Design/methodology/approach

The object of this work is a glass‐fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) laminate. To study the damage of this material under different loading conditions, static, dynamic and fatigue tests were carried out. During these tests, the surface temperature of the specimens was monitored by means of an IR‐camera. In the dynamic tests, a D‐mode (dissipation mode) analysis was also performed allowing the dissipated energy to be determined.

Findings

In the literature, thermography is an experimental technique which has always been applied to the study of homogeneous materials. Results obtained from the proposed experimental tests on this GFRP composite show how this practice can be applied also to this kinds of materials, to identify their damage initiation. From these observations, the results can be used to definite a stress corresponding to the damage initiation, which can be related to the fatigue behavior, and useful in design stage with these materials.

Originality/value

This paper provides for a useful tool to understand and predict fatigue behavior of a GFRP composite, from thermographic observations. Applications of thermography to the study of composite materials is an innovative research field, and the presented results seems satisfactory and promising for further experimental investigations.
Behavioural finance: the role of psychological factors in financial decisions
Authors: Muradoglu Gulnur , Harvey Nigel
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue of Review of Behavioural Finance entitled “Behavioural finance: the role of psychological factors in financial decisions”.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors present a brief outline of the origins of behavioural economics; discuss the role that experimental and survey methods play in the study of financial behaviour; summarise the contributions made by the papers in the issue and consider their implications; and assess why research in behavioural finance is important for finance researchers and practitioners.

Findings

The primary input to behavioural finance has been from experimental psychology. Methods developed within sociology such as surveys, interviews, participant observation, focus groups have not had the same degree of influence. Typically, these methods are even more expensive than experimental ones and so costs of using them may be one reason for their lack of impact. However, it is also possible that the training of finance academics leads them to prefer methodologies that permit greater control and a clearer causal interpretation.

Originality/value

The paper shows that interdisciplinary research is becoming more widespread and it is likely that greater collaboration between finance and sociology will develop in the future.
Environmental sustainability – aspects and criteria in forest biorefineries
Authors: Näyhä Annukka , Horn Susanna
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine what the most significant aspects of environmental sustainability in the forest biorefinery sector are and what kind of criteria should be applied to an evaluation of environmental sustainability in the forest biorefinery context.

Design/methodology/approach

The topic is approached by themed interviews in Scandinavia and North America with 23 representatives from the forest and bioproducts sectors. The interviews were examined using the thematic analysis method.

Findings

The study indicates that environmental sustainability may be an important driver for the forest biorefinery business. From the perspective of environmental sustainability, harvesting feedstock will be the most challenging part of the value chain to manage. Raw material availability and its sustainability, life‐cycle perspective and beneficial products were the most important criteria in the environmental sustainability assessment of forest biorefinery value chain companies.

Practical implications

A sector‐specific guideline was formulated for the most important criteria to be included in an environmental sustainability assessment of forest biorefinery value chain companies. The criteria comprise the first step of a more elaborate evaluation framework, which can provide more accurate information about the sustainability performance of biorefinery value chain companies. The criteria can encourage companies to analyze environmental sustainability challenges holistically, increase a company's transparency for its stakeholders and offer information to investors about the environmental status of the company.

Originality/value

The novelty of the study lies in the sector‐specific, holistic environmental sustainability evaluation in the emerging forest biorefineries.
Implications of biomass production and accountability for “water grabbing”
Authors: Tingey‐Holyoak Joanne , Pisaniello John D.
Published: November 2012

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a view on the implications of large‐scale increases in demand for biomass production on water storage behaviours. In climates of high variability in rainfall, the pressures on farmers to build up on‐farm surface water supplies to the detriment of communities and businesses downstream is already present. Therefore, the added water storage pressures that arise from future demands for biomass need to be investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

This viewpoint presents a review of the issues surrounding the forecast for demand for agriculturally produced biomass and the increased demands on surface water storage created. The paper then presents the problem of unfair and unsafe water storage in agriculture through a review of the surrounding literature and policy in place in Australia.

Findings

The paper finds that if predicted skyrocketing future demand for biomass production for energy eventuates, then surface water on‐farm storages would be placed at increased risk as farmers experience pressure to store more water than they are entitled to. Increased demands from biomass production could mean that surrounding communities suffer increased threat from unfair water sharing in times of drought, and unsafe water storage in times of flood.

Practical implications

Policy should be developed rapidly to address the current unsustainable water storage management practices of farmers and sustainable biomass production. Water management behaviour certification should be introduced immediately to counter the risk of over storage in light of the demands of the future.

Originality/value

The paper provides an overview of the issues surrounding unfair and unsafe on farm water storage in dams in climate extremes placed in the context of a new and emerging demand on farmers to produce in an unsustainable manner.
Political connections, bank loans and firm value
Authors: Yang Jinyu , Lian Jun , Liu Xing
Published: November 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of political connections and institutional environment differences on private enterprises' acquiring bank loans, and to analyze the governance effect of bank debts and its impact on firm value.

Design/methodology/approach

Choosing private listed enterprises in China as samples, this study builds equation models and uses the three‐stage least squares estimation method to estimate these models.

Findings

The results show that: political connections influence lending policies of banks; the politically connected private enterprises could acquire more loans from banks. In poorer institutional environment, political connections can help private enterprises to acquire more bank loans; building political connections is an informal substitute mechanism for private enterprises to overcome the drawbacks of market institutions. The bank loans have governance effects on politically connected private enterprises and can increase firm value; the allocation of bank loans through political connections is efficient.

Originality/value

This study provides a meaningful perspective for understanding the impact of political connections on firm value and allocation of social resources.
Developing the leave/abscond risk assessment (LARA) from the absconding literature: an aide to risk management in secure services
Authors: Hearn Dave , Ndegwa David , Norman Philip , Hammond Natalie , Chaplin Eddie
Published: November 2012

Purpose

Leave is an important part of life for both patients and clinicians in secure mental health and learning disability settings. Patients breaching leave conditions (i.e. absconding or failing to return) represent a small percentage of leave episodes; however when incidents occur there can be far reaching negative outcomes for potential victims, the patient and the service. The purpose of this paper is to devise a risk assessment specifically for leave decision making based on the literature available.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the approach followed in the violence risk assessment field, a literature review was carried out of papers relating to absconding. The results were used to develop the leave/abscond risk assessment (LARA).

Findings

There are a number of problems with the available literature: there is a dearth of research, definitions for absconding are varied (often including escape) making comparisons difficult and much of the literature focuses on psychiatric acute wards making it difficult to translate into secure environments. Characteristics of absconders vary and are not idiosyncratic enough from which to develop a risk assessment. Socio‐environmental factors are perhaps more important and so the LARA was devised around assessment of these.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this paper are clear: a risk assessment tool is proposed that has not been evaluated or validated in any way. The authors feel that the process warrants publication and invite readers to use the tool for clinical and/or research purposes.

Originality/value

The LARA is proposed as a specific leave‐decision‐making risk assessment tool for teams working in secure environments.