bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The ethics challenge: establishing an ethics ambassador network to help embed an ethical culture
Authors: Irwin Judith , Bradshaw Katherine
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Creating and maintaining a consistent ethics program is a challenge for multinational organizations and establishing a network of ethics ambassadors is one way to help meet this challenge. This paper aims to summarize the role of HR in encouraging an ethical culture; looks at how to recruit ambassadors and establish a network; and examines some of the challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

The report upon which this paper is based draws on the experience of one of the authors as an ethics practitioner in a large multinational company, and an Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) survey of large companies taken in 2010, compiled from 12 responses from companies across different sectors, of which six are headquartered in the UK, four are headquartered in continental Europe, one in the USA and one unknown.

Findings

An ethics ambassador network is a cost‐effective way of ensuring that ethical values are embedded throughout an organization. An effective network can help mitigate integrity risks and encourage a culture that is supportive of high ethical standards and legal requirements.

Originality/value

This paper provides HR practitioners within multinational organizations with an insight into how they can facilitate the use of ethics ambassadors. A more in‐depth examination of the subject is published in the IBE's good practice guide, Ethics Ambassadors, available from www.ibe.org.uk
A process directed towards sustainable business operations and a model for improving the GWP‐footprint (CO2e) on Earth
Authors: Svensson Göran , Wagner Beverly
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe: a process to achieve sustainable business operations; and a sustainable business model of Global Warming Potential (GWP) footprint on Earth, GWP being the measure of how much a given amount of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. It is a relative scale which compares the effect of a given gas (e.g. methane or nitrous oxide) with that of the same amount of carbon dioxide.

Design/methodology/approach

A Swedish fast food chain selling hamburger meals is examined in a case study. Data were collected from available corporate internal and external documentation, by site observations as well as from non‐structured interviews with top managers and company employees.

Findings

The company's efforts to accomplish its target of “zero mission” GWP‐footprint (CO2e) on Earth consist of both an iterative and continuous process and business model. Both underpin the corporate notion and desire to reduce fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas emissions.

Research limitations/implications

The findings stress the importance of addressing corporate GWP‐footprints (CO2e) from a business perspective, rather than relying on political or governmental legislation and regulation. It also opens opportunities for further research.

Practical implications

The case shows the possibility of implementing successful sustainable operations and sustainable business models in national “for‐profit” organisations without governmental subsidies in a highly competitive market, dominated by powerful multinational fast food chains.

Social implications

Changing consumer behaviour and purchasing patterns, as well as governmental intervention imposed at top political levels worldwide, will most likely increase the necessity for companies to create sustainable business models linked to GWP‐footprint (CO2e).

Originality/value

The principal contribution based on the presented case study is an illustration of how one can achieve sustainable business operations and create a sustainable business model in an industry that often has been heavily criticised in the past for harming the natural environment. It also shows how to create awareness of the GWP‐footprint (CO2e) of a company's products so that in turn customers may be able to make conscious and deliberate product choices.
Sustainable technological policy options for rural water supply management in selected rural areas of Oyo State, Nigeria
Authors: Gbadegesin A.S. , Olorunfemi F.B.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

After almost 60 years of water supply development in Nigeria, it is unfortunate that as many as 43 per cent of the population still lack access to safe water. The situation is worse in the rural areas. There is, therefore, the need to better understand the constraints and challenges of water supply, especially in the rural areas of the country. With this regard this study seeks to assess the extent to which stakeholders are willing and able to adopt and implement sustainable, cost‐effective and environmentally friendly management options for water resources in selected rural areas of Oyo State, Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The study areas include three rural/semi‐urban Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Oyo state. The three LGAs are Ibarapa, Afijio, and Lagelu. The choice of the three study areas is justified on the grounds that the areas are different in terms of potable water supply problems and management. The study adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology, including Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), in‐depth interviews (IDIs) with stakeholders as well as a structured and semi‐structured questionnaires survey.

Findings

The outcome of the study reveals that the knowledge base of the different stakeholder groups about the technological, socio‐economic and ecological dimensions of water resources management is very low. For some communities, however, the indigenous knowledge in the conservation of traditional water sources (e.g. streams and rivers) exists but needs to be improved.

Originality/value

The results formed a database on the ideas and experience of local initiatives which could be adapted to solve water supply problems in similar rural communities in Nigeria and elsewhere in the African continent.
What are we doing?
Authors: Coeckelbergh Mark
Published: June 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to better understand the cultural‐philosophical significance of microblogging. In this way it seeks to inform evaluations of this new medium and of the culture and society it co‐shapes and in which it is rooted.

Design/methodology/approach

Engaging in philosophical reflection inspired by philosophy of technology, political philosophy, and cultural history, this paper identifies and discusses some structural features of microblogging such as Twitter.

Findings

This paper discusses the following structural features of microblogging as a medium: an emphasis on activity, the rule of opinion, emphasis on the ordinary and on the self, blurring of the private/public distinction, the primacy of the present, and the paradox of distance and proximity. The discussion also suggests that microblogging remediates “older” media such as letters, e‐mails, texting, diaries, and newspaper writings. Finally, the paper explores some strategies to cope with the new medium, including “hacking” it in order to widen the spectrum of possibilities it offers.

Social implications

The paper assists users and policy makers to reflect on how new media such as microblogging might change the way we live and think. It helps them to better understand the medium and to evaluate its use.

Originality/value

Although there are data available now on the use of Twitter and other microblogging technologies, there has been very little philosophical reflection on the phenomenon. This paper begins to bridge this gap and makes novel connections between ideas from different academic fields.
An analysis of the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010
Authors: Hervey Richard M.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010, P.L. 111‐325, signed into law on December 22, 2010.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper summarizes the Act and provides a detailed explanation and analysis of each of the provisions in the Act.

Findings

An investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 may elect to be taxed as a Regulated Investment Company (RIC) under the Internal Revenue Code. A RIC that satisfies certain additional minimum distribution requirements is generally allowed to deduct the amount of dividends paid to its shareholders in computing the RIC's taxable income and gains, with the result that the RIC's distributed net income and gains can be passed through to its shareholders free of tax at the RIC level. The Act makes a number of changes to the provisions in the Code related to RICs.

Originality/value

The paper provides practical guidance from experienced financial services lawyers.
Building a high‐commitment lean culture
Authors: Angelis Jannis , Conti Robert , Cooper Cary , Gill Colin
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The characteristics of successful lean operations make a committed workforce a necessity. However, there is an ongoing debate over whether lean characteristics inherently enhance or impede commitment. The purpose of this paper is to help settle the debate, as well as provide insights into the role specific work practices play.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on responses from 1,391 workers at 21 lean sites, the authors examined the relationship between the degree of lean implementation and worker commitment; as well as the commitment effects of 21 lean work practices.

Findings

The paper examines relationships between worker commitment and lean production, sheds light on the lean commitment debate and provides guidance for designing lean systems that complement high‐commitment work practices.

Practical implications

The results will be of value to readers with interests in operations, human resources and high‐performance work practices, as well as the management and implementation of lean and its associated practices.

Originality/value

The study described in the paper is unique in that it establishes a statistically valid relationship between lean production and worker commitment and associated work practices.
Learning to be lean: the influence of external information sources in lean improvements
Authors: Boyle Todd A. , Scherrer‐Rathje Maike , Stuart Ian
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of management exposure to external information sources, such as training sessions, plant visits, and conferences, in helping manufacturing organizations achieve lean goals.

Design/methodology/approach

A model is proposed highlighting the relationship between various key drivers of lean, external information sources, management commitment to lean, and lean thinking. To empirically test the model, 1,000 surveys were mailed to Canadian manufacturers with 109 usable surveys returned. Analyzing the data using partial least squares, the common sources of management information on lean and their effectiveness for lean improvements are discussed.

Findings

The final model confirms that management exposure to external information sources and commitment to lean both influence lean thinking within organizations. However, the direct relationship between external information sources and lean thinking is not supported. Instead, an indirect relationship exists, where increased exposure to sources of lean information, increases management commitment to lean, and ultimately the extent of lean thinking in the organization.

Practical implications

The practical implications of this research are that it will help manufacturing managers identify both organizational and environmental factors that may facilitate or inhibit the extensive use of lean in their organization, and the impact that their own understanding of lean and commitment to lean improvements will have on the overall success of a lean program.

Originality/value

The paper should help improve understanding of the differences in the extent of lean thinking between plants in the same company, organizations in the same industry, and organizations across industries.
Analysis and modeling of maintenance operations in the context of an oil filling plant
Authors: Savsar Mehmet
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present models and practical procedures for the analysis of maintenance operations and development of maintenance policies in the context of an oil filling factory. Basic maintenance models, maintenance policy selection and optimum spare part quantity determination procedures are illustrated with a specific case application in a factory.

Design/methodology/approach

Maintenance formulas are constructed and applied in a factory to determine down time due to various types of failures and maintenance practices in the system. Based on the analysis of the current system, a new preventive maintenance policy is proposed and its effect on reducing down time due to random failures is estimated by using the formulation developed. Procedures for spare part requirements and optimum order quantities with respect to total costs are outlined for critical spares.

Findings

Models and case study results presented in this paper demonstrate that selection of appropriate maintenance policy and optimum spare part order quantities should be based on scientific procedures since the results can significantly affect system performance.

Research limitations/implications

The results obtained in this paper are specific to the case application. However, the models and procedures presented are general and can be applied to any similar problems.

Practical implications

Formulations and procedures outlined in this paper can be used to determine effects of various types of maintenance activities and related policies on system performance. They can be valuable tools for maintenance engineers and operational managers in improving system productivity.

Originality/value

The paper considers a management problem related to maintenance policy selection and spare part order quantity determination in a factory. Detailed procedures outlined in this paper can be highly valuable tools for maintenance managers.
Teaching 2.0: (re)learning to teach online
Authors: Bullock Shawn Michael
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document and analyse the author's first two years of developing a pedagogy that meaningfully incorporates the content creation and social collaboration functions of digital technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses self‐study methodology to describe, interpret, and challenge excerpts from the author's teaching journal to develop warranted assertions for how and why digital technologies are used in particular ways during undergraduate and graduate level courses.

Findings

One finding of the paper is the relative ease with which the author slipped into a comfort zone of using digital technologies in rather superficial ways, since the major hurdle of ubiquitous access that he had previously encountered was removed due to the fact he was now teaching at a mobile‐enabled institution. The paper also reports on the relative success the author experienced using blogging tools to further develop relationships with undergraduate and graduate students and engage them in meaningful discussions outside of class time.

Research limitations/implications

Although this study focuses on the author's experiences as a new academic in a mobile‐enabled institution, and thus might initially seem limited in applicability, the practical implications of this research are inherent in the methodology and methods used to critique is pedagogical approach and to challenge himself to find ways to integrate digital technologies into his teaching.

Originality/value

The paper will be of interest to anyone who has ever struggled with questions of relevancy in the use of digital technologies in both off‐ and online post‐secondary classroom environments.
The role of project‐based learning in IT
Authors: Hogue Andrew , Kapralos Bill , Desjardins Franc¸ois
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Problem/project‐based‐learning (PBL) approaches have traditionally been shown to be effective for learning within many professional programs that are directly related to the students' future career. The PBL approach has been adopted for over four decades in such fields as medicine and engineering and studies have demonstrated that students working in a PBL context have improved their skill levels over students enrolled in traditional lecture‐based classes. In spite of these successes, PBL has not yet been often considered in computer science/IT‐related academic programs. This is due to a variety of factors, including lack of support from faculty, historical approaches precluding such innovation, and lack of motivation to innovate beyond the dominant and more traditionally known approaches. This paper presents a case study that outlines a particular approach that was adopted to attempt to overcome these limitations in order to introduce PBL to IT‐related studies. The context of this study is a particular program that involves students in industry‐relevant practices while learning the necessary theory and honing their skills. It aims to discuss how PBL has been integrated into the IT Game Development and Entrepreneurship program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, a laptop‐based institution. It also aims to provide qualitative results that would support the effective applicability of this PBL approach.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel method for learning technical game development (theory and practice) is illustrated using a PBL pedagogical approach. The primary objective is to maintain academic integrity, improve critical thinking and problem‐solving skills, and introduce students to the theory of designing and developing video games.

Findings

Preliminary results indicate that the proposed PBL method has improved students' skills and expanded their knowledge both theoretically and practically within their area of study. With the integration of this approach into the curriculum, the authors have seen a higher retention rate, increased motivation, and the development of higher quality work from students.

Originality/value

This paper provides a discussion on the role of PBL in IT settings with practical and positive implications on student learning, involvement, and retention. The approach is innovative in higher education and provides a framework that can be easily adapted to other fields of study.
An experimental system for measuring the credibility of news content in Twitter
Authors: Al‐Khalifa Hend S. , Al‐Eidan Rasha M.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Owing to the large amount of information available on Twitter (a micro blogging service) that is not necessarily true or believable, credibility of news published in such an electronic channel has become an important area for investigation in the field of web credibility. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

A system was developed to measure the credibility of news content published in Twitter. The system uses two approaches to assign credibility levels (low, high and average) to each tweet. The first approach is based on the similarity between Twitter posts (tweets) and authentic (i.e. verified) news sources. The second approach is based on the similarity with verified news sources in addition to a set of proposed features.

Findings

The evaluations of the two approaches showed that assigning credibility levels to Twitter tweets for the first approach has a higher precision and recall. Additional experiments showed that the linking feature has its impact on the second approach results.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed system is experimental; thus further experiments are needed to prove these findings.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the research on web credibility. It is believed to be the first which provides a proposed system to evaluate the credibility of Twitter news content automatically.
Exploring web neighbours in exploratory search
Authors: Efe Kemal , Asutay Alp , Lakhotia Arun
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Access to related information is a key requirement for exploratory search. The purpose of this research is to understand where related information may be found and how it may be explored by users.

Design/methodology/approach

Earlier research provides sufficient evidence that web graph neighborhoods of returned search results may contain documents related to users' intended search topic. However, in the literature, no interface mechanisms have been presented to enable exploration of these neighborhoods by users. Based on a modified web graph, this paper proposes tools and methods for displaying and exploring the graph neighborhood of any selected item in the search results list. Important issues that arise when implementing such an exploration model are discussed and utility of the proposed system is evaluated with user experiments.

Findings

In user experiments first, information related to intended search topic was often found in the web neighborhood of search results; second, exploring these graph neighborhoods with the proposed tools improved users' ability to reach the information they sought.

Research limitations/implications

The test participants are computer science graduate students. Their skills may not be representative of the broad user population.

Originality/value

The lessons learned from this research point to a potentially fruitful direction for designing new search engine interfaces that support exploratory search.
Managing failures in web services atomic commitment protocols
Authors: Puustjärvi Juha
Published: June 2011

Purpose

WS‐ReliableMessaging specification describes a protocol that allows messages to be delivered reliably between distributed applications in the presence of software component, system, or network failures. However, it ensures reliable communication only in the context of two sites – it does not provide any means for consistent termination of the executions spanning over more than two sites. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the Reliable WS‐AtomicTransaction protocol, and illustrates its implementation by exploiting WS‐Coordination, which describes an extensible framework for providing protocols that coordinate the actions of distributed applications. The paper also presents the ontology of the log, which is maintained by the Reliable WS‐AtomicTransaction protocol. The ontology is presented in a graphical form and in OWL.

Findings

The introduction of an atomic commitment protocol and its termination protocol increase the reliability of the executions of distributed applications in service‐oriented architectures. On the other hand, it complicates the management of distributed applications as the atomic commitment protocol has to maintain the log that is used by its termination protocol.

Originality/value

The paper presents an atomic commitment protocol and its termination protocol, which is failure resilient and non‐blocking as long as a failed site can communicate with a process that has received sufficient information to know whether the transaction will be committed or aborted. Decreasing the amount of blockings is important because blocking can cause processes to wait for an arbitrarily long period of time.
Examining the role of various psychographic characteristics in apparel store selection: a study on Indian youth
Authors: Narang Ritu
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The current study aims to identify the role of psychographic characteristics in apparel store selection among Indian youth of a tier‐II city.

Design/methodology/approach

The research instrument was based on focus group discussions and in‐depth interviews of young people and retailers. It consisted of a psychographic scale and a store scale. Data were collected from young students aged between 19 and 24 years.

Findings

Cluster analysis found four psychographic clusters: “Get Going Adopters”, “Disinterested Introverts”, “Confused Followers” and “Independent Life Lovers”, and the differences between these segments were found to be statistically significant. The findings suggest that “Independent Life Lovers’ consider apparel shopping to be a recreational activity, whereas “Get Going Adopters” prefer to spend less time in stores; both these segments were driven by layout, ambience and the availability of the latest designs and styles in apparel store selection. “Confused Followers”, who struggle to maintain their old dress style, consider convenience, entertainment and recommendations from friends/relatives to be important in store patronage, while “Disinterested Introverts”, the fashion‐resistant group, are lured by attractive sales promotion techniques and the availability of preferred brands.

Research limitations/implications

The study was confined to the city of Lucknow, and the use of students from educational institutes neglects those who are college and school dropouts.

Practical implications

The current study provides valuable insights into the apparel store selection criteria adopted by Indian youth.

Originality/value

Knowledge of the different psychographic clusters of Indian youth and the criteria adopted by them in making store choice decision encourages a better understanding of customers and provides valuable guidelines to the modern marketer/retailer in designing the retail‐mix strategy in one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
How organizational slack affects new venture performance in China: a contingent perspective
Authors: Pang Changwei , Shen Hao , Li Yuan
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between organizational slack, environmental characteristics, and new venture performance in China. The paper focuses on how different types of organizational slack, such as absorbed slack and unabsorbed slack, impact Chinese new venture performance. And it also examines the moderating effects of environmental characteristics, such as munificence and dynamism, on the slack‐performance linkage in Chinese transitional context.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review on organizational slack and institutional environment characteristics provides the model and hypothesis. Using a sample of 91 Chinese new ventures, the authors conduct the examination on the theoretical model and hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that the relationship between absorbed slack and new venture performance is negative and unabsorbed slack has an inverse U‐shaped effect on new venture performance. Furthermore, the institutional environments, such as munificence and dynamism in transitional economies have different moderating effects on the relationship between organizational slack and new venture performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on the new ventures of China, which is context specific. It is necessary to replicate this research in other transitional economies because of some specific differences between China and other transitional economies.

Practical implications

The results of the study suggest that new ventures should strengthen the management of resources and decrease absorbed slack in order to reduce the managerial cost, and then raise the level of resource utilization. In addition, how the new ventures make better utilization of organizational slack to deal with institutional environment uncertainty would be a core task in future business operations.

Originality/value

The paper is original in its investigation of the effect of organizational slack on new venture performance in contingent transitional environments. The paper explains the relationship between different types of organizational slack and new venture performance from a contingent perspective, thus extending the extant research.
Generation Y as young wine consumers in New Zealand: how do they differ from Generation X?
Authors: Fountain Joanna , Lamb Charles
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The primary aim of this research is to identify the wine consumption behaviour of Generation Y in New Zealand to explore whether differences exist in the wine behaviour of Gen Y in comparison to Generation X and to seek possible explanations for these differences, in terms of cohort, age and period.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative survey was conducted with a random sample of residents of Christchurch, New Zealand in 1998 and again in 2008. Three forms of analysis were undertaken: time lag (comparing Gen Y, aged 18‐29 in 2008 with Gen X, aged 20‐29 in 1998), cross‐sectional (comparing Gen Y in 2008 with Gen X, aged 30‐39 in 2008) and longitudinal (comparing Gen X in 1998 and 2008).

Findings

In relation of wine consumption, there is no difference in the proportion of Gen X and Gen Y in New Zealand consuming wine as young adults, which is remarkably similar to the proportion of wine drinkers in the population as a whole. In terms of the evidence reported elsewhere that Generation Y are consuming more wine, and at a younger age, than their Gen X counterparts, this research supports this contention; New Zealand Gen Y are drinking wine more frequently, and in more everyday contexts than their older counterparts were at a similar age, although they are less likely to consume wine on special occasions.

Research limitations/implications

The research focuses on a relatively small sample within a specific urban New Zealand setting and further application to the country as a whole may be useful. Qualitative research, perhaps using a recall methodology to explore previous consumption behaviour, would help to provide more explanation for the findings.

Originality/value

This is the first research project to explore the wine behaviour of Gen Y in a New Zealand context. This research has used a random and representative sample and has been able to analyse cross‐sectional, longitudinal and time‐lag data for Gen Y and Gen X; an approach that has not previously been used in generational research on wine consumption behaviour and which provides insights not available using one method alone.
Do Millennial generation's wine preferences of the “New World” differ from the “Old World”?
Authors: de Magistris Tiziana , Groot Etiénne , Gracia Azucena , Miguel Albisu Luis
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The aim of this study is to analyse Millennial generation's preferences for wine attributes in two countries, one from the “New World” (USA) and the other from the “Old World” (Spain), in order to see whether they are different. Heterogeneity in attribute importance is investigated, with wine consumers classified into different segments according to attribute importance.

Design/methodology/approach

The Best‐Worst choice method was used with information obtained from a survey conducted in two cities of Spain and the USA (Zaragoza and Fayetteville), respectively. Then, attribute importance heterogeneity was modelled and consumers were classified with a latent class model.

Findings

The results indicate that American and Spanish Millennial consumers present some similarities but also some differences in wine preferences. While Millennial consumers in the USA attributed more importance to “I tasted the wine previously”, Spanish Millennials ascribed more importance to the “designation of origin”. Moreover, heterogeneity in attribute importance in both countries was detected and five consumer segments were identified showing clear differences in terms of the importance attached to different wine attributes: “Traditionalists”, “Wine seekers”, “Label fans”, “Insecure” and “Price conscious”. These wine consumer segments could be characterized by traditional socio‐demographic profiles and only differed in wine consumer preferences.

Originality/value

The Best‐Worst method, used to compare wine consumers from the “New World” and the “Old World”, asks them to choose among hypothetical wines defined by a mix of traditional and novel attributes, according to previous studies.
Islamic investment behaviour
Authors: Tahir Imran , Brimble Mark
Published: June 2011

Purpose

In the past decade, there has been strong growth in Islamic finance and banking across the globe, there is little empirical evidence on the impact of religiosity on financial decisions. This paper aims to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses an experimental design to investigate the investment behaviours of a group of Muslims.

Findings

The paper finds that Islam does influence investment behaviour, however, the degree to which it does this is influenced by the degree of religiosity of the individual. In addition, evidence is found of “Western style” wealth maximisation amongst Muslim investors as well as a desire to consider sustainable investment principles in asset allocations.

Research limitations/implications

These findings have implications for investors, financial advisors, and policy makers.

Originality/value

The paper is original its use of the experimental design to test the impact of religiosity in the context of investment decisions by Muslims.
Measuring the gender gap in organizations
Authors: Sörlin Ann , Ohman Ann , Blomstedt Yulia , Stenlund Hans , Lindholm Lars
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a register‐based index that could provide a practical tool for gathering information and increasing our knowledge on gender equality at organizational level.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on Swedish gender policy and information available in public registers, six variables were chosen. For each variable, a gender gap was calculated as the ratio between the sexes, with the larger figure always treated as numerator. The study population consisted of 11,471 persons in 46 companies working in the computer sector, and 32,151 individuals in 77 companies employed in the grocery production sector.

Findings

The results show indices of 1.43‐2.09 for the computer sector and of 1.13‐2.14 for the grocery production sector, both with a normal distribution (one is considered fully gender equal and three least gender equal). Added together, the selected variables provide results that are sufficiently different to enable ranking. The variables vary in importance in the two sectors compared. The smallest index variation was for education and salaries; the largest was for parental leave and the number of men and women employed at the companies.

Originality/value

The index is based on public registers, treats men and women symmetrically, and the results generated by the index are easy to communicate to all stakeholders. This research could provide a useful tool for investigating the extent to which men and women differ in certain variables at company level.
A review of male and female Australian indigenous entrepreneurs
Authors: Wood Glenice J. , Davidson Marilyn J.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Research in indigenous small business entrepreneurship in Australia is sparse. This paper aims to provide a review of the available literature culminating in a comprehensive model of characteristics, motivations and potential barriers to entrepreneurial activity.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes the form of a literature review.

Findings

“Push” factors were predominant as motivators for setting up business ventures and were strongly linked to the desire to improve severe disadvantage through very poor economic situations and negative racial stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice as well as addressing the needs of their community. Potential barriers to business development included lack of formal education, prior work experience, language barriers, culture conflicts and problems attaining sufficient finance. Female indigenous entrepreneurs faced both gender and racial discrimination.

Practical implications

This paper concludes with some suggestions on future research and government and policy directions to encourage indigenous Australian entrepreneurship as a means of economic development for this population.

Originality/value

The paper presents a unique comprehensive review and model of both male and female Australian indigenous entrepreneurs.
A critical review of “green” procurement
Authors: Beer Sean , Lemmer Christian
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help readers understand the nature of the food supply chain and the way that environmental “costs” are accumulated along its length, with a view to developing more sustainable supply chains from political, social, economic technological and environmental perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to do this, the authors have examined elements of the supply chain starting off by looking at consumer expectations and moving on to the environmental impact of different food types, different production systems, food transport and food waste. A series of calculations looking at the costings for different types of meals, with different environmental credentials, that might be served at different events is included to put some of the more abstract ideas of and environmental cost/benefit into context.

Findings

Performing a thorough life cycle analysis of a meal is a very complex and far from certain procedure. It is essential for us to develop our techniques in order to make informed decisions, but in a commercial world probably the best approach is to adopt a broad set of criteria that are likely to give environmental benefits both to the business, the consumer and broader society. In some cases, this may be best achieved by adopting or developing some sort of accreditation scheme or brand.

Practical implications

This paper gives event managers and others involved in the food supply chain context within which to start thinking about more environmentally sound peculiar and of foodstuffs.

Originality/value

This paper represents a broad overview pulling together many sets of original findings from a very diverse interdisciplinary literature base.
The development of competitive advantage through sustainable event management
Authors: Henderson Stephen
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Whilst the debate rages between progressive and destructive considerations of economic development, this paper aims to develop thinking around the sustainable event and its contribution to competitive advantage.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper defines the sustainable event and considers different position that might be adopted by private and public sector organisations when addressing the triple bottom line of sustainable development.

Findings

Cost leadership strategies are unlikely to work and the event organiser must address competitive advantage via differentiation and focus strategies.

Practical implications

Event managers must gain a better understanding of the motivations of their audience in relation to sustainability and work towards clearer means to demonstrate that their event meets these sustainable development needs.

Originality/value

The intention being that if event organisers can see a competitive advantage in the sustainable event, their contribution to sustainable development will be increased.
Computational complexity of some intelligent computing systems
Authors: Tadjouddine Emmanuel M.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

As agent‐based systems are increasingly used to model real‐life applications such as the internet, electronic markets or disaster management scenarios, it is important to study the computational complexity of such usually combinatorial systems with respect to some desirable properties. The purpose of this paper is to consider two computational models: graphical games encoding the interactions between rational and selfish agents; and weighted directed acyclic graphs (DAG) for evaluating derivatives of numerical functions. The author studies the complexity of a certain number of search problems in both models.

Design/methodology/approach

The author's approach is essentially theoretical, studying the problem of verifying game‐theoretic properties for graphical games representing interactions between self‐motivated and rational agents, as well as the problem of searching for an optimal elimination ordering in a weighted DAG for evaluating derivatives of functions represented by computer programs.

Findings

A certain class of games has been identified for which Nash or Bayesian Nash equilibria can be verified in polynomial time; then, it has been shown that verifying a dominant strategy equilibrium is non‐deterministic polynomial (NP)‐complete even for normal form games. Finally, it has been shown that the optimal vertex elimination ordering for weighted DAGs is NP‐complete.

Originality/value

This paper presents a general framework for graphical games. The presented results are novel and illustrate how modeling real‐life scenarios involving intelligent agents can lead to computationally hard problems while showing interesting cases that are tractable.
A novel sexual adaptive genetic algorithm based on Baldwin effect for global optimization
Authors: Zhang Mingming
Published: June 2011

Purpose

A novel sexual adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) based on Baldwin effect for global optimization is proposed to overcome the shortcomings of traditional GAs, such as premature convergence, stochastic roaming, and poor capabilities in local exploring. This paper seeks to discuss the issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed algorithm simulates sexual reproduction and adopts an effective gender determination method to divide the population into two subgroups of different genders. Based on the competition, cooperation, and innate differences between two gender subgroups, the proposed algorithm adjusts adaptively sexual genetic operators. Furthermore, inspired by the acquired reinforcement learning theory based on Baldwin effect, the proposed algorithm guides individuals to forward or reverse learning and enables the transmission of fitness information between parents and offspring to adapt individuals' acquired fitness.

Findings

Global convergence of the proposed algorithm is proved in detail. Numerical simulations are conducted for a set of benchmark functions with different dimensional decision variables. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with that of the other evolutionary algorithms published recently. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm can find optimal or closer‐to‐optimal solutions, and is more competitive than the compared algorithms.

Originality/value

The proposed algorithm introduces, integrates and simulates correctly and adequately, for the first time, the mechanisms of sexual reproduction, Baldwin effect and adaptation to GAs by referring to the latest research results of modern biology and evolution theory.
Toward a typology of events venues
Authors: Hassanien Ahmed , Dale Crispin
Published: June 2011

Purpose

Events venues are incredibly diverse and yet a coherent typology fails to be apparent in the mainstream literature. Indeed, the focus of research has predominately been on the demand as opposed to the supply side of events venues. The article attempts to ameliorate this gap in knowledge and reviews the literature on current methods of classifying events venues.

Design/methodology/approach

To provide a context for the analysis and evaluation of events venues, it is necessary to explore the evolution of events venues classifications. Then, the paper offers a series of different criteria that can be used to explore the concept and scope of events venues.

Findings

The main aim of developing a new typology of events venues must be to produce a more effective and efficient classification of this sector. At the same time, the new typology needs to address various criteria that might further differentiate venues in terms of those factors which are outlined in the paper. Indeed, it should be noted that the discussed criteria could act as a foundation for how they can be classified into different types.

Originality/value

The proposed criteria provide a context that will guide academics and practitioners current and/or future classifications of events venues. A number of conclusions and recommendations for developing a new typology of events venues are then discussed.
Social media use in sports and entertainment venues
Authors: Rothschild Philip C.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to uncover how social media is used, managed, and perceived by sports and entertainment venue (SEV) managers. While there is considerable evidence that social media has been used effectively by Fortune 500 companies, it is not known how social media is administered and perceived among managers of arenas, stadiums, performing art centers, and convention centers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used survey methodology to capture the perceptions of 383 venue management professionals, all members of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM).

Findings

Most venue managers feel their social media efforts are proficient or at the expert level and most have a defined social media strategy. Others feel much less confident about their social media efforts and have no defined social media strategy. At a statistically significant level, those with a defined social media strategy report increased revenue, while those without a defined social media strategy do not. Venue managers forecast a significant increase in non‐traditional marketing strategies while using traditional marketing efforts over the next three years far less.

Research limitations/implications

While the 383 responders are IAVM active members who are in venue management, they reasonably represent SEV managers in general and these survey results can be generalized to SEV managers with an overall conservative margin of error of ±5.0 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The survey was conducted online by e‐mail invitation. While using the online media to deliver a survey related to the proliferation of various online activities was, at one time, questionable and, potentially, a source of responder bias, the current level of saturation of e‐mail use by and comfort with online activity of professionals mitigates these likely sources of responder bias and is not a source of additional concern with this study.

Practical implications

The paper concludes with a discussion of the results and a recommendation that venue managers define a social media strategy that includes hiring or reassigning staff to support this important area of social media marketing.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in that examines social media use in the unique context of SEVs.
Discretionary corporate social responsibility: introducing the GREENER VENUE
Authors: Whitfield Julie , Dioko Leonardo A.N.
Published: June 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual comparative framework measuring the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the UK conference sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A self‐administered internet‐based survey was conducted to examine the implementation of ten environmental policy initiatives, expressed by the acronym “GREENER”, using a CSR response scale, expressed by the acronym “VENUE”.

Findings

The greatest proportion of UK venues can be classified as “Eager”, with a quarter of respondents being deemed as “Unmotivated” or in “Eternal denial” regarding their implementation of CSR. It was also found that both size of venue space and venue type have significant effects on the level of CSR implementation.

Research limitations/implications

Environmental performance indicators are not the only components of CSR, there are others, including social, economic and ethical. Further research may expand the framework from a uni‐dimensional environmental framework to a multi‐dimensional framework, through the inclusion of some or all of these CSR components.

Originality/value

The GREENER VENUE framework contributes to two important areas hitherto overlooked in the CSR literature: first, it develops a framework with emphasis toward discretionary practices and illustrates the strength of this method through application to the sizeable and rapidly growing UK conference industry. Second, the framework exhibits conceptual and psychometric properties that enable its application to broad and diverse contexts. It is theoretically grounded but at the same time practical, easy to implement, easily understandable and highly relatable to organisational managers, frontline employees and many other key stakeholders of any industry.