bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Innovative assignment rubrics for ODL courses: design, implementation and impact
Authors: Mariapan Rames 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a new standard of assignment rubrics to minimize various interpretations and confusing expectations of the assignment outcome among all stakeholders and enhance the assignment rubrics to function not only as a grading tool but also as an assignment guiding tool for self-managed learning among open and distance learning (ODL) learners.Design/methodology/approachThe paper looks into the problems and issues related to assignment rubrics such as various interpretation, confusing expectations and the need to have appropriate descriptions in the rubrics in order to reflect proper learning outcome among the assignment stakeholders. To solve these issues, the paper explores the new and improved requirements which were imposed to support the new assignment rubrics for courses in the university via a self-guided manual known as Rubrics Formulation Guide.FindingsBased on the feedback received from university’s lecturers, who also functioned as moderators, it was indicated that the time taken to moderate the assignment rubrics had drastically reduced and in terms of grading, the clarity of the assignment performance expectations among the learners showed improvement, whereby as compared to the previous semester, there was significant drop for the application of remarking of assignments among May 2014 semester learners.Practical implicationsThe paper includes implications of developing innovative rubrics that enhance common understanding and consistent expectation of what the final outcome of the assignment should be.Originality/valueThis paper fulfills the purpose of expanding the potential of assignment rubrics which is to guide and grade.
Drivers and barriers to re-use Open Government Data (OGD): a case study of open data initiative in Philippines
Authors: Saxena Stuti 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
Given that the Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives of any country are founded on principles of transparency and accountability, it is important that the data sets permit a user-friendly interface for the data sets to be re-used. This paper aims to underline the major drivers and barriers to re-use the data sets in the context of the Philippines.

Design/methodology/approach
In line with the model proposed by Sieber and Johnson (2015), the paper invoked an investigation of the national OGD portal of the Philippines following a documentary analysis research approach.

Findings
The OGD portal of the Philippines permits data search and sharing via social media. Data sets are available in user-friendly formats with a detailed description of the data set itself in the form of metadata. At the same time, the OGD portal of the Philippines has many barriers to re-use. Data sets are not current, and no attempts have been made at updating the records. While the provision of data mapping is provided, the same is not effective as of now. Conducting statistical analysis is not possible online and some of the links are not active. Finally, users’ suggestions are acknowledged, but the contribution of users toward the existing data sets is not permitted as of now.

Research limitations/implications
Given that only a single country’s OGD initiative has been investigated in the study, further research is warranted to undertake a comparative analysis of OGD institutionalization across different countries.

Practical implications
Government authorities are encouraged to be more proactive in furthering the OGD initiative. Policymakers and practitioners may appreciate the underlying barriers in re-using the data sets and seek to address these concerns.

Originality/value
The OGD initiative of the Philippines has not been investigated so far despite the rising tide of the OGD initiatives across the globe. Given that most of the research on OGD is focused in developed countries, the present study seeks to contribute toward the extant literature by investigating the OGD portal of the Philippines and underlining the major drivers and barriers in re-using the data sets available via the portal.
Weekend Works: Junkart at a crossroads
Authors: Banerjee Tushar Sankar , Kataria Ekkank 
Published: June 2018

Subject area
Entrepreneurship.

Study level/applicability
Undergraduate/postgraduate students in Management.

Case overview
This case concerns the startup, Weekendworks Private Limited and their flagship service – Junkart – which aims to solve waste management issues in Delhi, India. Using recent technological improvements, the co-founders have developed a business model that connects customers/scrap owners and the vendors/Kabadiwalas. The case is focused on their entrepreneurial journey and the critical social issues that their dream aims to solve. It also focuses on displaying the strategic issues faced by an entrepreneur working in the informal sector of waste management and the entrepreneurial dilemma of a social entrepreneur.

Expected learning outcomes
The case can be used in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The students should develop an entrepreneurial mindset by learning key entrepreneurial traits; develop an ability to recognize an entrepreneurial opportunity especially in the context of social entrepreneurship; recognize entrepreneurial processes and outcomes in real-world situations; and understand entrepreneurship within a set of practical frameworks and concepts.

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

Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
The trade-off between synergy success and efficiency gains in M&A strategy
Authors: Rozen-Bakher Ziva 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThis study raises the question of whether the nature of the merger and acquisition (M&A) strategyper se, that is reflected throughout the M&A process, may lead to a potential trade-off between the two main objectives of M&As – synergy success and efficiency gains, which may explain the high failure rate of the M&A strategy. The purpose of this paper is to present a mediation model to explore the potential trade-off that may exist between synergy success and efficiency gains. The model examines whether the change in the workforce size during the M&A process mediates the relationship between the types of M&A and M&A success, resulting in a trade-off.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a sample of 394 public firms.FindingsThe study reveals that if the management over-increases the workforce size to realize the synergy potential, then it heightens the risk of the “win synergy-lose efficiency” trade-off, resulting in an increase in revenue growth but a decrease in profitability. The results even show that international M&As lead to an “over” increase in the workforce size to maximize the synergy potential, but at the same time, an increase in the workforce size harms the efficiency gains, resulting in a decrease in profitability. However, vertical and conglomerate M&As may lead neither to synergy success nor to efficiency gains, which reflects a situation of no benefits from the M&A for the acquirer.Originality/valueThe study emphasizes that one of the main challenges in the implementation of the M&A strategy is to strike a balance between the objective of improving efficiency through cutting costs and workforce reduction during the integration stage and the objective of realizing the synergy potential, despite the workforce reduction during the M&A process.
Gender diversity in employees and discretionary accruals: the Korean evidence
Authors: Kim Hyun Ah , Jeong Seok Woo 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relation between gender diversity in employees and earnings quality. Specifically, how gender diversity among full-time and part-time employees is associated with discretionary accruals in Korea is examined.Design/methodology/approachThe author analyzes the association between women ratio among full-time (part-time) employees and discretionary accruals by using 3,687 firm-years of Korean listed companies from 2010 to 2012. The regression model used in Barua et al. (2010) is adopted. The dependent variables, the absolute value of discretionary accruals, are proxied by the Modified Jones Model of Dechow et al. (1995) and the Performance Matched Model of Kothari et al. (2005).FindingsFirst, a higher ratio of women among full-time workers is related to lower discretionary accruals, whereas that of part-time female employees is not related to discretionary accruals. Second, the effect of gender diversity in employees varies depending on the possibility of earnings management. Third, the results are robust with sample firm-years without female executives, thereby suggesting that the results are not driven by the existence of female executives, and robust to accounting standards and firm-year clustering.Originality/valueThis paper expands the understanding about the determination of discretionary accruals by demonstrating the impact of full-time female employees on earnings quality. Previous studies demonstrated that female workers are more ethical in the workplace, and the quality of accounting information disclosed by firms with female CFOs or directors, i.e. high ranking officers, is higher. It is observed that accounting information quality is higher when firms simply have more female workers, regardless of their relative position in the firm. This complements the results of previous studies and indicates gender diversity among employees is a sign of accounting information quality.
Nexus between financial literacy and financial inclusion
Authors: Bongomin George Okello Candiya , Munene John C. , Ntayi Joseph Mpeera , Malinga Charles Akol 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
Premised on the argument that cognition structures the way how individuals think and make decisions, the purpose of this paper is to test the interaction effect of cognition in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach
The study used cross-sectional research design and quantitative data were collected and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Baron and Kenny guidelines were adopted to test for existence of moderating effect of cognition in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. Furthermore, ModGraph excel software was used to establish the magnitude of moderating effect of cognition in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda.

Findings
The results revealed that cognition significantly moderate the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. In addition, both cognition and financial literacy also have direct effects on financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda.

Research limitations/implications
The study adopted cross-sectional research design and data were collected by use of only questionnaires. Future studies through longitudinal research design may be employed. Besides, further studies using interviews may be adopted. Furthermore, this study collected data from only tier 3 financial institutions, thus, ignoring the other financial institutions. Future studies could focus on financial institutions under the other tiers.

Practical implications
The findings from the study enlightens policy-makers, managers of financial institutions, and financial inclusion advocates on the importance of cognition in enhancing financial literacy among the poor, especially in rural Uganda. Cognition combined with financial literacy helps the poor to make wise financial decisions and choices toward consuming financial services and products provided by formal financial institutions. This leads to increased scope of financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. Therefore, advocates of financial literacy should assess community cultural cognition and utilize them to design and fashion effective financial literacy interventions that can promote financial inclusion.

Originality/value
The study uses Baron and Kenny and ModGraph excel software to test for the interaction effect of cognition in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. While several studies exist worldwide on financial inclusion, this study is the first to test the interaction effect of cognition in the relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion of the poor in rural areas in a developing country context.
On the theorization of lesson study and learning study
Authors: Wood Keith 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction of the papers in the current issue.

Design/methodology/approach
By revealing contrasting features of alternative theories of learning, this paper offers a contribution to the on-going discussion about the role of learning theory in Japanese lesson study and its global adaptations.

Findings
Attempts to theorize lesson study in contrast to the theory-based learning study reveal a fundamental difference in the learning theories used to underpin this task related to the different world views on which they are founded.

Originality/value
This paper review provides an overview of the insights into lesson and learning studies provided by the authors in this issue of the journal.
Customers’ perception of service quality of banking sectors in Bangladesh
Authors: Rouf Md. Abdur , Kamal Mostafa , Iqbal Mohammed Masum 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The main purpose of the study is to find out the customer perception of service quality of banking sectors in Bangladesh and measure their relations with regard to the customer personal characteristics like gender, age, education and occupation.

Design/methodology/approach
The research method applied in this study is random sampling survey method. The data are analysed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, t-test and f-test.

Findings
The findings indicate that the overall customer perception is neutral level. Aspect like gender, age and occupation are found to be statistically significant, and education is not statistically significant.

Originality/value
The findings of the study will be a benchmark or the board for policymakers and implementers in torching the avenues of improvement in raising the level of customer satisfaction.
Planners as leaders: finding their comfort zone
Authors: Johnson Bonnie J. 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
Planners are expected to leave leadership to elected officials. Yet, they are often asked to do more. Should planners lead? The purpose of this paper is to examine how leadership is seen in the profession and then outline major theories of leadership and planning.

Design/methodology/approach
Using content analysis, the major theories of planning and descriptions of what planners do from professional planning organizations’ codes of ethics from around the world are compared.

Findings
Results indicate that new ways of thinking about leadership (Group leadership, Servant, Adaptive, Authentic and Followership) can help planners find leadership styles that fit their comfort zones better than old leadership definitions emphasizing heroic individuals.

Originality/value
Existing literature regarding leadership in planning indicates that planners must run for office if they are to lead. This examination of planners’ codes of ethics and newer theories of leadership indicates they can be leaders and operate well within current ethical boundaries.
Improving the tie force method for progressive collapse design of RC frames
Authors: Naji Arash 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recover the deficiency of existing tie force (TF) methods by considering the decrease in section strength due to cracking and by selecting limit state of collapse according to section properties.

Design/methodology/approach
A substructure is selected by isolating the connected beams from the entire structure. For interior joints, the TFs in the orthogonal beams are obtained by catenary action. For corner joints, the TFs are assessed by beam action. For edge joints, however, the resistance is gained by greater of the resistance under catenary action for periphery beams and beam action for all the connecting beams in both directions. For catenary action, the TF capacities must satisfy Equation (20). On the other hand, for beam action, the TF must satisfy Equation (16), while R is calculated from Equation (17). In the case where the length of the connecting beams is similar, Equation (19) can be used.

Findings
Closed form solutions are available for TFs on both beam and catenary stages.

Originality/value
The proposed formulation makes designing more practical and convenient. However, the proposed formulation had good agreement with experimental results.
Porous exponential slider bearings lubricated with MHD-couple stress fluid
Authors: Naduvinamani N.B. , Hosmani Shridevi S. 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) effect on porous exponential slider bearings lubricated with couple stress fluid and to derive the modified Reynolds’s equation for non-Newtonian fluid under various operating conditions to obtain the optimum bearing parameters.

Design/methodology/approach
Based upon the MHD theory and Stokes theory for couple stress fluid, the governing equations relevant to the problem under consideration are derived. This paper analyzes the effect on porous exponential slider bearings with an electrically conducting fluid in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. Semi-numerical solutions are obtained and discussed.

Findings
It is found that there is an increase in the load carrying capacity, frictional force and decrease in the co-efficient of friction in porous bearings due to the presence of magnetic effects with couple stress fluid.

Originality/value
This study is relatively original and gives the MHD effect on porous exponential slider bearings lubricated with couple stress fluid. The author believes that the paper presents these results for the first time.
Expectation as a key determinant of international students’ satisfaction
Authors: Beloucif Ahmed , Mehafdi Messaoud , Komey Naa Ayeley 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore international postgraduate students’ expectations of UK university education, covering various aspects of student expectation at a leading business school in Scotland. The authors present in this paper the findings from the qualitative stage of this study, offering a fresh insight into the factors that influence students’ expectations of postgraduate university education and the impact this has on the students’ satisfaction with their courses.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative inquiry was adopted, collecting primary data by means of semi-structured interviews of business school international students enroled in different taught 12-month MSc courses.FindingsInternational students are found to have high expectations of improved job prospects after graduating from their chosen UK university, underlined mainly by the university’s reputation for improving student employability. The most significant a priori factors that form students’ expectations are word of mouth, recommendations and the students’ belief in the calibre of lecturers and the quality of the facilities.Research limitations/implicationsThe students are universities’ most important customers in an increasingly competitive and financially constrained UK higher education environment. Theoretically, the study contributes to the growing literature in this challenging environment not only by identifying the components of international postgraduate students’ expectations but also by exploring how the expectations can be met or exceeded to improve students’ satisfaction. Future research can also replicate this study to other subject areas and draw the similarities and differences that may exist in the expectations of non-business international MSc students.Practical implicationsPractically, this study’s findings should help university students’ recruitment and engagement services develop tailored marketing strategies to better manage international students’ expectations, for example, by being more proactive in embedding employability into postgraduate education provision. Moreover, the findings can also be drawn upon to improve the design and delivery of taught MSc courses in order to meet and exceed the expectations of prospective international postgraduate students.Originality/valueThis research offers a fresh insight and contributes to the understanding of international students’ expectations and their satisfaction of university education services.
Poisoning expertise and outcomes in malicious contamination incidents
Authors: Kilbane Sarah 
Published: June 2018

PurposeIt is often assumed that poisoners and product tamperers are likely to share an interest in or knowledge of poisonous substances. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether perpetrators with existing poison knowledge will choose different contaminating agents than non-experts, as well as whether there is a link between poison expertise and outcomes in malicious contamination cases. Based on their expertise, it is expected that those perpetrators with some form of existing poison knowledge would select more concerning and difficult to obtain agents, and that attacks committed by experts would result in more harm than attacks by non-experts.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis was conducted on qualitative descriptions of malicious contamination events, with relevant behavioural variables identified as being present or absent for each individual case. Differences between experts and non-experts in agent choice and incident outcome were then explored using descriptive statistics, contingency tables and Mann-WhitneyUtests.FindingsAgent choice was found to differ between experts and non-experts, with different agents chosen depending on whether the event was a threat or a genuine contamination incident. However, attacks by poison experts were found to be no more deadly than attacks perpetrated by non-experts.Originality/valueThis research provides the first known analysis comparing agent choice and outcomes in malicious contamination incidents as a factor of perpetrator knowledge. Investigative applications are discussed.