bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A training buddy peer-review process within physical education initial teacher education
Authors: Lamb Penny 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– Innovation in enhancing reflective abilities of trainee teachers was explored in this small-scale qualitative study. Opportunities for active engagement in peer- and self-reflection were provided to two cohorts of British Post-Graduate Physical Education trainee teachers (n=45: male=28, female=17), aged 21-30 years.

Design/methodology/approach
– Trainees were assigned a peer buddy, and tasked with the dual responsibility of being and having a training buddy for a lesson observation during two school placements. They visited each other's school and recorded their buddy teaching a lesson. Immediately afterwards, they watched the recording together, engaging in reflective discussion. Trainees acted as both a critical friend and a supportive extra pair of eyes, whilst also assuming the role of reflective practitioner. Data were collected through surveys, focus group interviews and individual reflections shared through an online discussion board. Grounded theory methodology informed an emergent model of reflective practice.

Findings
– By being and having a training buddy, trainees created their own rules, structures and practices for implementing the process. Themes pointed to a series of mutually created spaces: safe – non-judgemental and creating a sense of solidarity; relaxed – non-pressured and conversational; equal – involving participants at the same professional stage and status; pedagogic – involving the sharing of ideas; negotiated – allowing autonomy and ownership of the process; and alternative – experiencing a different school environment.

Originality/value
– Trainees endorsed the peer process, illustrating benefits derived from sharing reflection, giving and receiving feedback. It is suggested that collaborative spaces created and owned by training buddies enhance reflective ability and practice.
Adopting a contemporary performance management system
Authors: Behery Mohamed , Jabeen Fauzia , Parakandi Mohammed 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore the characteristics and issues related to the transition of a UAE-based fast-growth small-to-medium enterprise (FGSMEs) from the traditional performance management system (PMS) to a modern PMS through a design of a potential balanced scorecard (BSC) and strategy map for the company.

Design/methodology/approach
– The study was conducted in one of the FGSMEs that serves more than 16,000 farmers across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A qualitative case study methodology was used in this study. The focus was on “how” questions and exploratory analysis of primary and secondary data supported by in-depth interviews with senior managers.

Findings
– This research highlights the adoption of a new, more proactive performance management accounting – the BSC. It was found that the BSC initiatives already exist in the company but not clearly linked together and directed toward the effective implementation of BSC system. It was found that these initiatives were initiated by the interests of different work units but not properly integrated as one whole company system. Such initiatives if integrated together and aligned with the overall objectives and strategies of the company can facilitate the comprehensive adoption of the BSC system and maximize the possibility of achieving better measurement and management of organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications
– The study was limited to the UAE and it focussed exclusively on a single fast-growing enterprise. The results presented may not suitable to be generalized or extended to other contexts.

Practical implications
– Our study highlights the need for better understanding of the use of non-traditional-measurement mechanisms like the BSC, that may substitute for the roles of financial-based performance measurements and lead to superior performance to our case company. This study suggested that many of the roles played by traditional performance management can be substituted by, or supported by other mechanisms at the corporate level like the BSC system and the detailed design of a potential BSC and strategy map for the company will act as a guide to help in bringing the modern performance management techniques and tools into the other Eastern FGSMEs also.

Originality/value
– The paper contributes to the literature by being one of the first to study contemporary PMS within a middle-eastern context.
The role and responsibility of credit rating agencies in promoting soundness and integrity
Authors: Baber Graeme 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and responsibility of credit rating agencies in promoting soundness and integrity, especially in the course of their business activities.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper describes, and uses, the framework for the activities of credit rating agencies introduced by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), in order to give effect to this investigation.

Findings
– Credit rating agencies have implemented the provisions of the Code of Conduct Fundamentals for Credit Rating Agencies of the IOSCO on the quality and integrity of the rating process, to the extent of the resources available to them.

Research limitations/implications
– The main source of data is the information collected by the IOSCO from nine credit rating agencies, including the main three, on the quality and integrity of their rating processes. The absence of triangulation of research methods limits the robustness of the findings.

Originality/value
– The paper addresses a specific aspect of the credit ratings story since the financial crisis on which there is currently little in the literature. It also focuses upon the actions of credit rating agencies, rather than on how these organisations are, or should be, regulated.
An integrated product policy decision framework
Authors: Obradovikj Grncarovska Teodora , Dukovski Vladimir , Sharma Manu 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to formulate an integrated product policy (IPP) framework for the Republic of Macedonia, taking into account unique circumstances faced by the country, particularly the mandatory transposition of European Union (EU) environmental legislation, limited country-specific data availability and the low level of environmental awareness.

Design/methodology/approach
– The proposed IPP indicators at EU level and the available indicators in Macedonian conditions were used in order to create a composite IPP index as a method of measurement of the level of IPP implementation in the country. Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) are used as a policy decision approach for IPP. The purpose is to evaluate what decisions (taken now and in the future) would lead to the best possible level of IPP implementation. The approach applicability for long-term policy planning is demonstrated using a simple numerical example.

Findings
– A stylized numerical example utilizing the composite IPP index and the MDP approach indicate that policy makers should focus not only on transposing the mandatory EU legislation related to IPP, but simultaneously work to raise public awareness of IPP and environmental issues, since this opens the door for more beneficial policy alternatives in the future. Considering the long-term consequences of actions taken in the present time should be an essential part of policy design, given the pervasive and long-term nature of the effects of IPP policy. It is also very important to revisit the assumptions at regular intervals and incorporate into this framework the new learning and data obtained with time.

Originality/value
– This IPP framework and quantitative policy decision approach, in spite of its limitations, is a valuable and informative guide for IPP policy makers in the Republic of Macedonia. By incorporating a long-term view, explicit measurement of progress towards IPP implementation and the consideration of possible future consequences of policy decisions made in the present, it should be possible to significantly increase the likelihood of successful IPP implementation and improve environmental outcomes than those obtained using more conventional approaches.
Drinking water networks interconnections and green electricity production
Authors: Blanc Grégoire , Cherix Gaëtan 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– With the concept of interconnection among municipal drinking water networks, this paper presents an innovative methodology aiming to identify potential interconnections and new hydropower possibilities between separate municipal networks, at a regional level.

Design/methodology/approach
– Beside literature research, water framework directive, interviews with local actors and local case studies were employed. To ensure the soundness of the developed methodology and to give more accuracy to the scientific approach, the presented methodology was tested in a Swiss Alp pilot region (Martigny) composed of 23 independent municipal water networks.

Findings
– A methodology which makes it possible to compile on a unique map complex and dissociated elements describing water networks and their potential interconnections was developed. Furthermore, the methodology brings these elements together giving decision makers an overview focussed on added-value in terms of water resources and consumption as well as economic and energetic impacts.

Practical implications
– In a bottom-up approach, the targets of this study have been presented and discussed with all local actors. Some of the suggested interconnections are currently being completed.

Originality/value
– The use of GIS-based framework as a decision support system would improve the current practice of integrated drinking water management. The developed methodology would be useful for other watershed region where the efficiency of water networks can be greatly improved by the means of a systemic approach and the designing of new network interconnections.
A fuzzy logic-based controller for integrated control of protected cultivation
Authors: L. Iliev Oliver , Sazdov Pavle , Zakeri Ahmad 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to present a fuzzy logic-based control system for controlling the protected cultivation and describes its advantages over the traditional greenhouse automation control systems.

Design/methodology/approach
– In terms of systems theory, the greenhouse represents a complex non-linear system with emphasized subsystem interactions. Applying a non-linear control encompasses a number of difficulties due to incomplete knowledge of system dynamic. System decoupling is used in order to obtain simplified control structures for independent control loops. This gives limited results due to strong interaction between system variables and such control system does not allow optimization of system behavior primarily in terms of energy efficiency and/or water consumption.

Findings
– The paper presents a design of fuzzy logic-based controller, which optimizes the greenhouse energy and water consumption. The design includes the main linguistic variables for sensor and actuator subsystems. Membership functions of Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) are generated and simulation and analysis of the behavior of the designed control system is performed.

Research limitations/implications
– Obtained result shows that the designed control system beside its relative simplicity is flexible and adaptive, taking into account the differences in crop varieties and growth stages.

Practical implications
– Preliminary simulation of energy savings compared with the costs on actual field shows also good results. Still, number of different control strategies has to be applied in order to increase system flexibility regarding the different varieties and different stages of their growth.

Originality/value
– Obtaining an integrated controller based on fuzzy logic will highly improve possibilities for mass production of cheap technology. It will be easy to use by growers enabling them to incorporate their own informal growing knowledge and to create actual growing control strategy.
Firm external financing decisions: explaining the role of risks
Authors: Rashid Abdul 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– The main purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how firm-specific (idiosyncratic) and macroeconomic risks affect the external financing decisions of UK manufacturing firms. The paper also explores the effect of both types of risk on firms' debt versus equity choices.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper uses a firm-level panel data covering the period 1981-2009 drawn from the Datastream. Multinomial logit and probit models are estimated to quantify the impact of risks on the likelihood of firms' decisions to issue and retire external capital and debt versus equity choices, respectively.

Findings
– The results suggest that firms considerably take into account both firm-specific and economic risk when making external financing decisions and debt-equity choices. Specifically, the results from multinomial logit regressions indicate that firms are more (less) likely to do external financing when firm-specific (macroeconomic) risk is high. The results of probit model reveal that the propensity to debt versus equity issues substantially declines in uncertain times. However, firms are more likely to pay back their outstanding debt rather than to repurchase existing equity when they face either type of risk. Of the two types of risk, firm-specific risk appears to be more important economically for firms' external financing decisions.

Practical implications
– The findings of the paper are equally useful for corporate firms in making value-maximizing financing decisions and authorities in designing effective fiscal and monetary policies to stabilize macroeconomic conditions. Specifically, the findings emphasize on the stability of the overall macroeconomic environment and firms' sales/earnings, which would result stability in firms' capital structure that help smooth firms' investments and production.

Originality/value
– Unlike prior empirical studies that mainly focus on examining the impact of risk on target leverage, this paper attempts to examine the influence of firm-specific and macroeconomic risk on firms' external financing decisions and debt-equity choices.
Post-merger changes in bank credit risk: 1991-2006
Authors: Knapp Morris , Gart Alan 
Published: December 2013

Purpose– This paper aims to examine the post-merger changes in the credit risk profile of merging bank holding companies and tests whether there is an increase in credit risk after a merger due to changes in the mix of loans in the portfolio.Design/methodology/approach– The authors use the expected variability of the credit risk of a loan portfolio based on the mix of loan types in the portfolio and the variability of the industry credit losses of each type following the standard Markowitz procedure for finding the standard deviation of an investment portfolio. The authors then test to see whether there has been a significant change in the expected variability (the credit risk profile) after a merger.Findings– The authors find that there are significant differences in both the level and variability of loan charge-offs and non-performing loans (NPL) among the various loan categories. The authors also find significant changes in the mix of loan categories in the loan portfolio after a merger. In addition, the authors find that the expected variability in both the charge-off rate and the NPL rate rises significantly after a merger.Research limitations/implications– This is the first of two papers looking at post-merger changes in credit risk based simply on the changes in the mix of loan types; it does not consider the actual post-merger credit performance of the specific mergers. That will be addressed in a subsequent paper.Practical implications– Financial analysts evaluating banking merger announcements may wish to include the impact of the likely shifts in loan mix and credit risk shown in this paper as they project the likely impact of the merger.Originality/value– This paper addresses an aspect of bank mergers that has not been addressed in the literature, the impact of mergers on credit risk. The results are likely to be useful to investors, financial analysts and regulators.
Can the correlation among Dow 30 stocks predict market declines?
Authors: S. Jones Jeffrey , Kincaid Brian 
Published: December 2013

Purpose
– This paper aims to examine the relationship between the correlation among the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and overall returns on the broader market from 1950 to 2008.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper computes historical correlation of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and future returns on the S&P 500 index over various windows and examines the relationship between these two items using linear regression analysis. In addition, the paper develops a trading strategy based on the results.

Findings
– The paper finds that increased equity correlation serves as a leading indicator of overall market decline. Regression analysis shows that equity correlations are a statistically significant predictor of market decline, as measured by subsequent returns of the S&P 500 index. The significance of the results increases as the time horizon of the calculation is increased. With the exception of the 1990s, the findings are robust within decades.

Originality/value
– This is the first study that examines the relationship between the historical correlations among the Dow 30 stocks with future returns for the S&P 500 index. In addition, the paper develops an original trading strategy that achieves superior returns to a buy-and-hold strategy. The paper's findings are useful to portfolio managers, practitioners, and policymakers.
A conceptual framework for the quality evaluation of sustainability reports
Authors: Freundlieb Michael , Gräuler Matthias , Teuteberg Frank 
Published: December 2013

Purpose– This paper aims to outline a conceptual framework for the quality evaluation of web-based sustainability reports (SRs) aiding managers in determining and evaluating quality criteria for the sustainability report of their company.Design/methodology/approach– The paper reviews quality criteria in existing standards and guidelines on sustainability reporting and identifies research gaps. A conceptual framework including a multi-method approach for the quality evaluation of SRs is developed and evaluated.Findings– Existing standards and guidelines on sustainability reporting mainly focus on the content of the reports and neglect common information systems (IS) acceptance criteria such as ease of use and visual appeal. The proposed framework directly involves different stakeholder groups and research methodologies into the quality evaluation process.Research limitations/implications– The limitations of the research approach offer a number of starting points for future research. The proposed framework needs to be further evaluated by a larger number of test users in a more natural use setting.Practical implications– The application of a multi-method approach as well as the direct involvement of the stakeholders allows for an in-depth quality evaluation of SRs, enabling reporting companies to meet the readers' demand for information on economic, environmental and social activities of the reporting company. Common acceptance factors from the field of IS should be integrated into existing standards and guidelines on sustainability reporting. Coaching of the users through help functions, wizards, instructional videos or avatars is desirable.Originality/value– The proposed framework applies innovative technologies such as eye-tracking and software-supported attention analysis. By applying the framework to a set of sample reports, its usefulness and applicability are demonstrated.
Leader-member exchange and intent to turnover
Authors: M. Abu Elanain Hossam 
Published: December 2013

Purpose– Previous studies on leadership quality – staff turnover relationship – have been performed mainly in Western contexts. More empirical evidence is needed to understand the nature of the relationship between the quality of leadership and staff turnover in a non-Western context in general and in the Middle East in particular. Thus, this study has two objectives: to examine the impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) on staff turnover intentions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to test the mediating impact of role conflict, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment on the LMX-turnover intentions relationship. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– Data were collected from 241 employees working in 15 different service and industrial product organizations operating in Dubai. A structured questionnaire containing standard scales of LMX, role conflict, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intentions, and some demographic variables was used. After testing scales reliability and validity, the proposed hypotheses were tested using a series of separate hierarchical regression analyses.Findings– Consistent with Western studies, the study revealed that LMX played a functional impact on staff turnover intentions. Moreover, role conflict was found to play a partial role in mediating the influence of LMX on turnover intentions. Similarly, job satisfaction and organizational commitment were found to partially mediate the relationship between LMX and turnover intentions.Research limitations/implications– The limitations of common method variance and same source bias are discussed in light of implications for future research. Nevertheless, the results show that leaders need to monitor the quality of exchange between themselves and their followers to ensure high-quality relationships are maintained.Practical implications– The study has implications for reducing staff turnover. In general, enhancing LMX can result in lower level of employee turnover intentions. Also, managers should improve staff job satisfaction and organizational commitment in order to enhance the impact of LMX on reducing turnover intention. In addition, UAE managers should reduce role conflict in order to improve the impact of LMX on turnover intention.Originality/value– Previous studies on leadership quality – staff turnover relationship – have been performed mainly in Western contexts. This study is considered to be the first study to examine the mediating role of role conflict, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment on the relationship between LMX and turnover intentions in the Middle East.