bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Academic-related stress among private secondary school students in India
Authors: Deb Sibnath , Strodl Esben , Sun Jiandong 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of academic stress and exam anxiety among private secondary school students in India as well as the associations with socio-economic and study-related factors.

Design/methodology/approach
– Participants were 400 adolescent students (52 percent male) from five private secondary schools in Kolkata who were studying in grades 10 and 12. Participants were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique and were assessed using a study-specific questionnaire.

Findings
– Findings revealed that 35 and 37 percent reported high or very high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety respectively. All students reported high levels of academic stress, but those who had lower grades reported higher levels of stress than those with higher grades. Students who engaged in extra-curricula activities were more likely to report exam anxiety than those who did not engage in extra-curricula activities.

Practical implications
– Private high school students in India report high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety. As such there is a need to develop effective interventions to help these students better manage their stress and anxiety.

Originality/value
– This is the first study the authors are aware of that explores the academic stress levels of private secondary school students in India. The study identifies factors that may be associated with the experience of high levels of stress that need to be explored further in future research.
Service-orientation and teaching quality: business degree students’ expectations of effective teaching
Authors: Kashif Muhammad , Ting Hiram 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– Higher education teaching is analogous to delivering services in various business sectors. Students are regarded as customers of universities having specific needs and wants, which, if well recognized, can lead to creating delightful student experiences. This paper aims to identify the core ideas about excellent teaching in business schools which faculty members may notice in order to achieve excellence in teaching.

Design/methodology/approach
– The study is epistemologically framed to focus on interpretivism. The qualitative data have been collected from 30 business degree students, following a naturalistic paradigm. The case study method has been employed to conduct face-to-face interviews.

Findings
– The results revealed five core themes pertaining to teaching excellence in business education. These include; communication style, knowledge, positive attitude, creative work, and courtesy of the instructor as postulated by the students.

Originality/value
– The insights are purposeful and contribute substantially to theory development in the area of service-oriented teaching delivery in business education.
An empirical study on the determinants of information disclosure of Malaysian non-profit organizations
Authors: Zainon S. , Atan R. , Bee Wah Y. 
Published: April 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of the extent of disclosure by non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Malaysia due to the growing interest in the disclosure practice studies of NPOs and given the importance of disclosure to ensure accountability and transparency.Design/methodology/approach– This study involves three phases. First, the paper identifies information items NPOs need to disclose. Second, the paper conducts an online survey to determine the ratings of importance for the disclosure items. Third, the paper measures the extent of disclosure from the annual returns of 101 Malaysian NPOs for the year 2009. The paper uses hierarchical regression analysis to determine the significant determinants of information disclosure.Findings– The key determinants are establishment of an external audit, financial performance and government support in terms of grants. The results show that the presence of external auditors promotes better reporting practice. Malaysian NPOs that receive funding and those with better financial standing disclose more information.Research limitations/implications– The sample only covers NPOs with tax-exempt status in the state of Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan in Malaysia. The sample size of 101 registered NPOs limits the generalization of the results. Inclusion and analyses of additional NPOs may offer generalizable results.Practical implications– This study provides empirical evidence concerning the establishment of external audit for better information disclosure. It also provides 88 items that are important and required by stakeholders.Originality/value– The study is based on 88 items of information according to the needs of stakeholders for information. The NPOs reporting index can assist the preparers of charity reporting in fulfilling the stakeholders’ requirements. The reporting index can also be used to assess the information disclosure of NPOs in Malaysia.
The expectation-performance gap in generic skills in accounting graduates
Authors: Abayadeera Nadana , Watty Kim 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the generic skills that are important for the career success of accounting graduates in Sri Lanka from the perspectives of university educators and employers.

Design/methodology/approach
– Bui and Porter's (2010) expectation-performance gap framework was modified to match with the context of the current study. Data collected via questionnaire survey was analysed for non-parametric tests: the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann-Whitney test, using SPSS version 20, and quantified the expectation-performance gap and its components.

Findings
– The major finding of this research is that the main cause for the expectation-performance gap, as identified in the analysis of the constraint gap is university educators’ low confidence in teaching the required generic skills for career success of graduates. However, university educators are aware of the employer expectations of graduate accountants in terms of generic skills. Employers indicated that many of the generic skills are not achieved by the accounting graduates.

Practical implications
– Findings of this study reflect the importance of expanding the accounting curricula by embedding and assessing generic skill development activities. In addition, it is vital to develop the capacities of university educators in terms of teaching and assessing generic skills in accounting degree programmes.

Originality/value
– This study contributes to the literature as one of few studies that investigate the generic skills development of accounting graduates in Asia, particularly in Sri Lanka.
Public disclosure and bank loan contracting: evidence from emerging markets
Authors: Hasan Iftekhar , Song Liang 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to fill this void in the existing literature and investigate how firms’ disclosure policies influence bank loan contracting in emerging markets after controlling for the influence of borrowers’ private information obtained by banks. Furthermore, the paper examines how firms’ disclosure and non-disclosure governance interact to affect financial contracts.

Design/methodology/approach
– The key variables Disclosure and Firm Governance are based on a survey by Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA) in 2000. The paper hand-merges CLSA disclosure and governance data with the Dealscan database and Worldscope database by firm names. The paper conducts a multivariate analysis to investigate how firms’ disclosure policies influence bank loan contracting and how firms’ disclosure and non-disclosure governance interact to affect financial contracts.

Findings
– The authors found that firms with superior disclosure policies obtain bank loans with more favorable loan contracting terms, such as larger amounts, longer maturity, and lower spread. In addition, the effects of disclosure on bank loan contracting are more pronounced for borrowers with superior firm-level non-disclosure governance or firms located in a country with better country-level governance.

Originality/value
– The paper provides a more comprehensive view of the effects of corporate disclosure has on financial contracts in emerging economies.
Conceptualizing communicative leadership
Authors: Johansson Catrin , D. Miller Vernon , Hamrin Solange 
Published: April 2014

Purpose– The concept of “communicative leadership” is used in organisations that analyse and develop leaders' communication competence. A scholarly definition of this concept is lacking, and the implications of leaders' communication and the development of communication competence for organisations are rarely discussed. The purpose of this paper is to create a theoretical framework around the concept of “communicative leadership”, which can contribute to future research and development of leaders' communication competence.Design/methodology/approach– Three research questions were addressed: what communicative behaviours are central to leaders? How can “communicative leaders” be characterised? What is a “communicative leader”? Literature from the leadership and communication research fields was reviewed and related to these questions.Findings– Four central communicative behaviours of leaders (i.e. structuring, facilitating, relating, and representing), eight principles of communicative leadership, and a tentative definition are presented. A communicative leader is defined as someone who engages employees in dialogue, actively shares and seeks feedback, practices participative decision making, and is perceived as open and involved.Practical implications– A theoretical foundation to the practice of analysing and developing leaders' communication competence is provided, which is related to employee engagement and organisational performance.Originality/value– Communicative leadership is a concept emerging from organisational needs, articulated by corporate and public organisation leaders. This article links its core constructs to academic quantitative and qualitative research in an integrated framework, which can guide further research and the development of leaders' communication competence.
Mixed-methods: measurement and evaluation among investor relations officers
Authors: W. Ragas Matthew , V. Laskin Alexander 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– While investor relations have become an established corporate function, research into how investor relations officers (IROs) practice measurement and evaluation is limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine which approaches and metrics IROs use to gauge their success.

Design/methodology/approach
– To address this gap in the literature, this study surveyed (n=384) the corporate membership of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the world's largest investor relations association, on the topic of measurement and evaluation.

Findings
– The results indicate that IROs strongly (80 percent) believe that mixed-methods (i.e. both quantitative and qualitative methods) should be used to measure the success of investor relations. Mixed-methods advocates place significantly more importance on measurement than IROs that prefer quantitative- or qualitative-only approaches.

Research limitations/implications
– The results of this survey indicate that IROs typically place the most value on metrics that are qualitative, non-financial and relationship-oriented. These findings suggest that IROs believe they should be evaluated in large part on their competency at relationship management.

Practical implications
– From a benchmarking perspective, these findings suggest that IROs looking to align with their peers should use a mix of both quantitative and qualitative evaluation measures that are non-financial and relationship management-focused.

Originality/value
– These findings contribute to recent efforts to explicate a general theory of investor relations. While investor relations scholarship has grown in recent years, up until this point, little attention had been paid to measurement and evaluation.
Private equity and corporate governance: managing Brazilian SMEs
Authors: Teixeira Latini Estêvão , Rubens Fontes-Filho Joaquim , L. Chambers Eric 
Published: April 2014

Purpose–This paper aims to identify the effectiveness of private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) funds in promoting best practices of corporate governance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) committed to PE/VC partnerships, in an institutional environment characterized by ownership concentration, lack of support for minorities' shareholder rights, and limited outside sources of finance for SMEs.Design/methodology/approach–Based on the literature related to similar work and context as in Eastern Europe and South Africa and best corporate governance practices developed for Brazil, the authors developed a list of aspects associated to practices related to SMEs. This list was submitted to 15 specialists, and the resulting compilation produced a list of 49 items that were submitted to a sample of 78 respondents to evaluate the relative importance of each item. Finally, a survey comprised of 70 entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs with investments from PE/VC funds evaluated the situation of their companies before and after forming a partnership with the fund.Findings–The study provides evidence that PE/VC funds play an important role in promoting best practices of corporate governance in invested SMEs, which contributes to development of the institutional environment and SMEs access to outside sources of finance.Originality/value–The study contributes empirical evidence to the role played by PE/VC funds and their influence on corporate governance practices.
Is director independence merely a box ticking exercise? A study of independence determinations in Irish listed companies
Authors: Mulgrew Mark , Lynn Theo , Rice Susan 
Published: April 2014

Purpose–The purpose of this study is to establish whether Irish listed firms comply with the substance of corporate governance guidance rather than the letter of the rule in the determination of director independence. The paper examines non-executive director independence from three perspectives: the first is from the viewpoint of the sample firms, the second from that given in corporate governance guidance when applied to the sample firms, and the third based on extensive financial statement analysis, prior research and prior literature. By exploring multiple perspectives of director independence, disparities in the interpretation of non-executive director independence can be identified.Design/methodology/approach–Descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistical analysis are used to examine for differences between multiple perspectives of non-executive director independence.Findings–The study identified significant disparities in the interpretation of independence by Irish listed firms. This may be explained by a misunderstanding of what director independence means, a deliberate choice to ignore pre-existing norms regarding NED independence or the desire to exceed such norms. The findings suggest Irish financial institutions exhibit higher levels of NED independence than the remaining sample firms explained in part by linkages with the institutions themselves. Findings suggest a lack of adequate oversight in the sample firms, which could ultimately lead to greater agency costs for shareholders.Practical implications–Policymakers and other stakeholders valuing director independence may need to reassess guidelines for interpreting director independence and related reporting, policies regarding adherence to such guidelines and associated director training requirements.Originality/value–This study is timely, topical and the first of its kind in relation to Irish listed firms and provides evidence into the lack of compliance within Irish listed companies with best practice guidance. The findings clearly identify a notable lack in a consistent means of interpretation in the sample firms as to what non-executive independence is and why it is an important part of good corporate governance. The paper provides a basis for future research. Such research may include studies of firm motivation in interpretation choice and comparative studies with other jurisdictions.
Internationalization and relationship marketing: an introduction
Authors: Khojastehpour Morteza , Johns Raechel 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– This paper aims to integrate the concepts of the internationalization process and relationship marketing (RM). It identifies two stages for internationalization (pre-internationalization and post-internationalization) and assigns RM components for each step.

Design/methodology/approach
– The study undertakes a review and synthesis of the extant literature examining internationalization and RM. It then identifies two stages of the internationalization process and its steps, associated with RM components.

Findings
– The study highlights that each step in the internationalization process requires appropriate RM component to be implemented successfully.

Practical implications
– Findings of this study highlight the importance of managing internationalization for firms intending to enter to foreign market and identify the issues that need to be understood, if firms are to effectively manage their internationalization strategy.

Originality/value
– The paper is the first to integrate the concepts of internationalization and RM and to identify the factors that make managing these two types of firm's strategy.
Barriers to well-being for Aboriginal gender-diverse people: results from the Trans PULSE Project in Ontario, Canada
Authors: I. Scheim Ayden , Jackson Randy , James Liz , Sharp Dopler T. , Pyne Jake , R. Bauer Greta 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– Despite health inequities experienced by Aboriginal and transgender (trans) communities, little research has explored the well-being of Aboriginal trans (gender-diverse) people. This paper aims to describe barriers to well-being in a sample of Aboriginal gender-diverse people in Ontario, Canada.

Design/methodology/approach
– In 2009-2010, 433 trans people in Canada's most populous province participated in a multi-mode health survey. In all, 32 participants identified as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit (Aboriginal); unweighted frequencies were calculated to describe their characteristics.

Findings
– Participants expressed diverse gender identities; 44 per cent identified with the pan-Aboriginal term two-spirit. High levels of poverty (47 per cent), homelessness or underhousing (34 per cent), and ever having to move due to being trans (67 per cent) were reported. In all, 61 per cent reported at least one past-year unmet health care need. Most participants had experienced violence due to being trans (73 per cent) and had ever seriously considered suicide (76 per cent). One-fifth had been incarcerated while presenting in their felt gender. Aboriginal spirituality was practiced by 44 per cent, and 19 per cent had seen an Aboriginal Elder for mental health support.

Research limitations/implications
– Action is needed to address the social determinants of health among Aboriginal gender-diverse people. Using principles of self-determination, there is a need to increase access to health and community supports, including integration of traditional culture and healing practices. Larger study samples and qualitative research are required.

Originality/value
– These first published data regarding the health of Aboriginal gender-diverse Ontarians illustrate both their heterogeneity and all-too-common experiences of individual and systemic discrimination, and barriers to care. Results highlight potential impacts of colonialism and social exclusion, and suggest priorities for ameliorative action.
Hays Challenge draws graduates to a career in recruitment
Authors: Cullens James , J. Waters Richard 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– Reveals how the Hays Challenge, a serious game developed to respond to key business objectives for the attraction of graduate recruits, was developed and implemented.

Design/methodology/approach
– Describes how a recruitment-orientated serious game was developed and implemented at Hays plc. Applied research was conducted through a series of focus groups that informed the design process.

Findings
– Reveals that more than 40,000 players from 190 countries have played the Hays Challenge. Within the UK business 73 percent of the most recent graduate applicants have played the Hays Challenge.

Practical implications
– Explains that anecdotal information from the internal-recruiting teams suggests that there has been an improvement in the quality of applicants and that their knowledge about recruitment consultancies is much more evident.

Social implications
– Describes an interesting and attractive way of providing information about careers in recruitment to today's internet-savvy young people.

Originality/value
– Fills a gap in the relatively limited published research into how serious gaming can be used in the attraction and initial self-selection stage of the recruitment process. Adds further insight for practitioners into this area and demonstrates some of the benefits of adopting such an approach.
Touch transforms the culture at HC-One
Authors: Rose Owen , Pollitt David 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– Observes how a learning program helped a new business created following the collapse of UK care-home company Southern Cross to deal with a legacy of poor management and damaged morale and their inevitable consequences for service quality.

Design/methodology/approach
– Explains the reasons for the introduction of the Touch learning program, the form it takes and the results it has achieved.

Findings
– Reveals that 24 bespoke courses have been created for the 15,000-strong workforce. There have been 250,000 course completions, taking around 228,000 hours in total. Around £4 million has been saved on training in the first year of the program.

Practical implications
– Describes how an effective communication program helped to secure support for e-learning among a workforce that had previously been less tech-savvy than the average.

Social implications
– Highlights the particular advantages of the training program for a dispersed workforce where regulatory compliance is an important issue.

Originality/value
– Provides the inside story of how a training program helped to transform organizational culture and individual performance.
Melding a multi-generational workforce
Authors: Wesolowski Peter 
Published: April 2014

Purpose
– Focuses on the potential advantages and pitfalls of a multi-generational workforce.

Design/methodology/approach
– Focuses on the potential advantages and pitfalls of a multi-generational workforce.

Findings
– Argues that younger people are often more technologically “savvy” than older employees and more at ease with open communication but that older employees also have a wealth of experience they can pass on to their younger colleagues.

Practical implications
– Demonstrates how organizations can use communication technology itself to bring the generations together.

Social implications
– Highlights how demographic factors are changing the nature of the workforce and moving the emphasis towards life satisfaction rather than simply career success.

Originality/value
– Reveals how new technology can help to solve some of the problems that the technology itself creates.