bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Momentum investment strategies, corporate governance and firm performance: an analysis of Islamic banks
Authors: Nawaz Tasawar 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the effect of investments in organisational resources and corporate governance features on market-based performance of Islamic banks (IBs).Design/methodology/approachThe required data to calculate different constituents of banks’ investment strategies and governance mechanism were hand collected from 268 annual reports. Different regression models were used to determine the impact of investment in human and structural capital and corporate governance features on market performance of IBs.FindingsThe paper finds that investments in knowledge resources (human capital, in particular) have a significantly positive impact on the market value of IBs. The results further reveal that IBs’ strategy to rely on long-term human capital accumulation can be seen as idiosyncratic problem-solving knowledge capital. Based on market measure, the paper finds role duality to have a significant positive impact and the size of the advisory board to have the opposite effect on market value.Research limitations/implicationsThis study includes IBs only and ignores other Islamic financial services providers such as Takaful (insurance) companies. The study leaves this chasm to be filled by future researchers.Practical implicationsThe findings may serve as a useful input for both Islamic bankers and regulators to apply knowledge management in their institutions. Furthermore, the dominant role of human capital also provides insight to managers with respect to business performance levers.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this paper is to provide insight into the Islamic banking business model using a unique hand-collected data set, to identify the effect of investments in organisational resources and bank governance on market value in before, during and after financial crisis.
Corporate boards and environmental offence conviction: evidence from the United Kingdom
Authors: Tauringana Venancio , Radicic Dragana , Kirkpatrick Alan , Konadu Renata 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThis paper aims to report the results of an investigation into the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the United Kingdom (UK).Design/methodology/approachThe study uses binary logistics regression analysis to model the relationship between corporate boards and the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK, controlling for firm size, financial leverage and profitability.FindingsThe results suggest that the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence increases with board size but decreases with the presence of a woman on the board. No support is found for the authors’ hypotheses about the proportion of outside directors and the presence of a lawyer on the board. Marginal effects’ results also show that adding one member to the board increases the chance of a firm being convicted for an environmental offence by 4.2 per cent, while having a woman on the board decreases the likelihood of a firm being convicted of an environmental offence by 31.8 per cent.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size of 55 firms is small which could affect the generalisability of the study.Originality/valueThe study uses proprietary data obtained from the UK Environmental Agency to provide evidence for the first time how corporate boards affect the chances of a listed firm being convicted of an environmental offence in the UK.
The relationship between corporate governance, corruption and forward-looking information disclosure: a comparative study
Authors: Agyei-Mensah Ben Kwame 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between corporate governance, corruption and disclosure of forward-looking information in listed firms in two African countries, Botswana and Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach
The study uses 174 firm-year observations between the period of 2011-2013 for listed firms in the two countries. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the disclosure of forward-looking information index. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis which forms the main data analysis.

Findings
The findings show that firms in the least corrupt country, Botswana, disclose more forward-looking information than firms in Ghana, one of the most corrupt countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This confirms the relationship between the transparency level of a country and the transparency level of the listed firms in that country.

Originality/value
This is one of the few studies in sub-Saharan Africa that considered the impact of corporate governance factors on transparency and disclosure of forward-looking information. This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between corporate governance and disclosure by showing that disclosure of forward-looking information in Ghana is associated with the proportion of independent board members. The disclosure of forward-looking information in Botswana on the other hand is influenced by board ownership concentration. The findings of this study will help market regulators in Ghana, Botswana and sub-Saharan Africa, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Sub-Sahara African Exchanges in evaluating the adequacy of the current disclosure regulations in their countries.
Impact of gender diversity on social and environmental performance: evidence from Malaysia
Authors: Alazzani Abdulsamad , Hassanein Ahmed , Aljanadi Yaseen 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThis study is guided by the upper echelon theory and argues that the role of females on boards of directors may differ between cultures. In a culture where the community has a significant humane orientation, female directors may pay much more attention to the social issues of corporate sustainability rather than environmental issues. Therefore, this study aims to differentiate between the social and environmental performances of companies to examine whether the presence of females on the boards of directors of Malaysian firms could affect social and environmental performances differently.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of firms listed in Bursa Malaysia and develops two disclosure indices to measure social and environmental performances. Three proxies of female directors are used in the empirical models. The ordinary least square model is used to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe empirical results suggest a positive association between social performance and the presence of female directors on the board of directors of Malaysian firms. However, no association was found between environmental performance and the presence of female directors on those boards. These results confirm the prediction of this study that the female directors of Malaysian firms pay more attention to social issues than to environmental ones.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the effects of the presence of female directors on Malaysian firms’ boards of directors on social and environmental performance. It also contributes to the upper echelon theory by illuminating the importance of gender diversity in influencing the social and environmental behaviors of corporate leaders. The results provide the important implication that the association between a firm’s social and environmental performance and gender diversity depends on the culture within which the company operates.
A context-centred, root cause analysis of contemporary terrorism
Authors: Sawalha Ihab Hanna 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is threefold: identifying the root causes and other causal factors of terrorism, exploring the recent shifts in terrorist activity, and proposing a context-centred framework for deterring terrorism risk.

Design/methodology/approach
The first part of this research is based on extensive up-to-date observations made by the author and extracted from real-life settings and social interactions. The second part is based on a survey questionnaire reflecting public views on terrorism and related issues.

Findings
The risk of terrorism risk is increasingly becoming a major concern of all societies including Jordanian. The results have shown that terrorism is context related and that there are several and different root causes for this phenomenon. Many other causal factors have the potential to increase the impact or probability of terrorism risk in Jordan. The existing framework(s) for deterring terrorism risk in Jordan is not adequate and need to be reformed extensively.

Practical implications
This study provides insight to the root causes of the potential terrorist activity in Jordan, as well as other causal factors. It is expected to establish a foundation for policy-makers and decision-makers to start considering the causes of social unrest and subsequently develop appropriate frameworks for mitigating terrorism risk.

Originality/value
This study is made in a time of unprecedented political instability and terrorist activity in the Middle East and the Arab World. It reflects genuine observations and public opinions, thus providing authentic findings and better understanding of the concerns of the society. Most importantly, the study proposes context-related framework for counteracting terrorism activity and future evolution of this phenomenon in the Middle East, in general, and Jordan, in particular.
Community-based social partnerships in crisis resilience: a case example in Greece
Authors: Drakaki Maria , Tzionas Panagiotis 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe in-depth a community-based social partnership, emerged in response to the financial crisis in Greece, with members from the private, public and civic sectors, using a case example of a grass-root self-organised national network.Design/methodology/approachFormal and informal interviews as well as written communication with members of the partnership mainly formed the basis for the analysis. Topics covered formation and implementation activities, outcomes, relationship issues, such as trust and links to social capital.FindingsA shared community risk and a national media campaign to increase public awareness of the issue were catalysts for individuals’ sensitisation and participation in the partnership. The shared risk was the loss of community’s social cohesion, through poverty aggravated by the financial crisis. Self-organisation led to innovative relationships, whereas trust, collective action and collaboration show social capital attributes in the partnership enabling resilience development.Research limitations/implicationsThe research contributes in the fields of community-based partnerships and engagement in building community and crisis resilience. The findings are based on a case example. More evidence is needed in order to derive generalised statements about the partnership’s contribution to crisis resilience.Practical implicationsThe partnership has shown impact on community engagement, health and well-being.Originality/valueThis paper presents a partnership type for building community and crisis resilience with the case example of one such partnership in Greece, formed to alleviate community distress caused by the crisis.
Urban critical infrastructure interdependencies in emergency management
Authors: Baloye David O. , Palamuleni Lobina Gertrude 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to map the cascade effects of emergencies on critical infrastructure in a fast-growing city of a developing country. The paper specifically seeks to refocus the attention of decision makers and emergency managers towards a more effective way of reducing risk and costs associated with contingencies.

Design/methodology/approach
The study was based on a 2D representation of the three initiating events of fire, flood and automobile crashes. Detailed analysis was undertaken of the effects on the critical infrastructure, based on the probability of occurrence, frequency, spatial extent and degree of damage for the emergencies studied. Subsequently, a cascade matrix was generated to analyse the level of interaction or interdependencies between the participating critical infrastructures in the study area. A model of the cascade effects under a typical emergency was also generated using a software model of network trace functions.

Findings
The results show that while different levels of probability of occurrence, frequency and extent of damage was observed on the evaluated critical infrastructure under different emergency events, damage to the electricity distribution components of the critical infrastructure recorded the highest cascade effect for all emergency events.

Originality/value
This paper underlines the need to pay greater attention to providing protection to critical infrastructure in the rapidly growing cities, especially in developing countries. Findings from this study in Abeokuta, Nigeria, underscore the needs to expand the prevailing critical infrastructure protection beyond the current power and oil sectors in the national development plan. They also highlight the urgency for greater research attention to critical infrastructure inventories. More importantly, the results stress the need for concerted efforts towards proactive emergency management procedures, rather than maintaining the established “fire brigade, window dressing” approach to emergency management, at all levels of administration.
Secondary school students’ views of food and nutrition education in Kolkata, India
Authors: Rathi Neha , Riddell Lynn , Worsley Anthony 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
School-based nutrition education programmes have the potential to reinforce healthy dietary behaviours in adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to understand the views of secondary school students in Kolkata, India, regarding the food and nutrition curriculum, food skill acquisition at school and home and barriers to learning food skills.

Design/methodology/approach
The sample of 1,026 year nine students was drawn from nine private, English-speaking secondary schools in Kolkata, India to participate in a cross-sectional, self-reported paper-based survey. Data analyses including descriptive statistics and χ2 analyses were performed.

Findings
The majority of the respondents (65.3 per cent) were female. Biology, Home Science and Life skills classes were the main places in which students acquired food and nutrition knowledge. Almost two-thirds of the respondents acknowledged the importance of acquiring food-related knowledge and skills. Approximately half (48.3 per cent) reported that the food and nutrition curriculum involved excessive memorisation while around the same proportion described the curriculum as interesting (47 per cent) and easy to comprehend (50.3 per cent). However, relatively few students said they enjoyed attending food and nutrition classes (38.7 per cent). Only a minority reported receiving food skills training, i.e. cooking skills (23 per cent), meal planning skills and food purchasing skills (12.3 per cent) at school. Despite some parental support received at home, time constraints (50.5 per cent) and lack of interest (26.3 per cent) were cited as prominent barriers to learning food skills.

Practical implications
These data underscore the need for a skills-focussed food and nutrition curriculum to improve Indian adolescents’ food-related skills, nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviours.

Originality/value
This is the first cross-sectional survey to investigate the delivery of nutrition education and food skills in the Indian school context.
Implementation of a health promotion programme: a ten-year retrospective study
Authors: Darlington Emily Joan , Simar Carine , Jourdan Didier 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
Implementing health promotion programmes in schools is key to improving children’s health and well-being but difficulties in achieving expected results are often reported in the research literature. Discrepancies between expected and achieved outcomes can originate from differences in contexts. Understanding how interactions between contexts and programmes generate variable outcomes is, therefore, critical. The purpose of this paper is to explore the outputs of a programme implemented in different school contexts. The focus is to pinpoint outputs, understand the involvement of combinations of contextual factors and identify recurrences in these combinations.

Design/methodology/approach
This retrospective study covers a period from 2006 to 2016. Data collection includes two sets of data in eight high schools in the Rhône-Alpes Region in France: written documents and interviews with school staff. Realist evaluation is used to attempt to pinpoint outputs and relating contextual factors.

Findings
Results highlight the limited outputs of the programme. Differences between schools appear to originate from existing school policy prior to participation, existence of a project team, identification of the issue as priority and staff turnover. Analysis of contextual factors led to considering the implementation process as enabling health capacity building and enhanced the capacity of settings and communities to promote health.

Research limitations/implications
The data provided remain partial as there was high staff turnover, reluctance to participate due to failure to implement the project, and schools being over burdened with other requests.

Originality/value
Previous research suggests that top-down implementation of a standard programme is not an efficient strategy for all schools to engage in the development of suitable health promotion policies. A potential way forward is to base support for the local development of health promotion in schools on a better understanding of the contexts in which implementation occurs.
Teaching health education
Authors: Pickett Karen , Rietdijk Willeke , Byrne Jenny , Shepherd Jonathan , Roderick Paul , Grace Marcus 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand early career teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a pre-service health education programme on their health promotion practice in schools and the contextual factors that influence this.

Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 primary and secondary trainee and qualified teachers who had trained at a university in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings
The teachers found the training to be a useful introduction, particularly when it was relevant to their practice. They valued gaining practical skills at university, on placement and in school once qualified. They reported that witnessing pupils’ lives in school had increased their awareness that health education is important. Their personal qualities, life experience, the school’s ethos and competing pressures influenced their practice. Teachers considered that building relationships with colleagues, pupils and parents facilitated health promotion, and that health education needs to be relevant to pupils. Some teachers expressed that teaching about health could be a “minefield”. They also discussed whether schools or parents are responsible for educating pupils about health issues and the place of health promotion within education’s wider purpose.

Originality/value
Few studies have followed-up trainee teachers once they are in teaching posts to explore the longer-term perceived impact of pre-service health education training. The findings suggest that teachers’ development takes place via an interaction between training and practice, suggesting that training could particularly aim to provide teachers with a contextualised understanding of health issues and practical experience.
The impact of instructional leadership, professional communities and extra responsibilities for teachers on student achievement
Authors: Alam Abdullah , Ahmad Mushtaq 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of instructional leadership, professional communities and extra “non-teaching” responsibilities for teachers on student achievement.

Design/methodology/approach
For a sample of 214 teachers from 88 primary schools in Pakistan, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to study the factor structure of the items. Correlation and hierarchical regression analysis was done to study the impact of the independent variables on student achievement; directly and through the mediation effect of teacher commitment.

Findings
The analysis of the data reveals that teacher commitment mediates the relationship between the independent variables and student achievement.

Practical implications
This study has implications for the education management and policy community in the sense that they should not engage teachers into non-teaching roles and promote instructional leadership within the school managers and help in development of teacher networks which will subsequently add to student achievement.

Originality/value
The role of teacher commitment in explaining the student achievement has not been researched extensively in the past. The study at hand intends to fill this research gap. Furthermore, the impact of extra “non-teaching” responsibilities on teacher commitment and subsequently the student achievement has not been studied before. Hence, this study is expected to open up a new dimension in this regard.
Knowledge management in doctoral education toward knowledge economy
Authors: Stamou Adamantia 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and the scope of knowledge management (KM) in doctoral education, in the emerging knowledge economy (KE) context, and the recommendation of a framework for KM in doctoral education.Design/methodology/approachAn extended literature analysis was contacted to elaborate the role and the scope of KM in universities and research institutions in the context of global KE, and the role of knowledge workers, including doctoral students, as well as, the current directions for doctoral education. Literature analysis is followed by synthesis of the proposed framework for KM in doctoral education toward KE.FindingsA framework for KM in doctoral education is proposed, which could be used to enhance quality of doctoral studies and could lead to research optimization and innovation growth. Finally, proposals are recommended for enhancing KM in doctoral education and utilize doctoral students as knowledge workers and change factors toward the notion of global KE.Originality/valueThe paper is an effort to start filling the literature gap in the emerging but under-researched subject of KM regarding doctoral education in the context of KE, with the purpose to enhance quality of doctoral studies and capture the socio-economic development advantages that come from training such a highly skilled workforce.