bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Creating future leaders: an examination of youth leadership development in Australia
Authors: Eva Nathan , Sendjaya Sen 
Published: August 2013

PurposeIn light of the research‐practice gap in youth leadership development, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of youth leadership development in Australia, on the basis of a multidimensional and holistic framework of servant leadership.Design/methodology/approachIn total, three separate studies were conducted to achieve the above purpose, namely 33 interviews with student leaders; ten interviews with secondary college teachers and principals, as well as youth leadership facilitators; and 97 survey responses from recent secondary college graduates.FindingsThere exists a significant gap between the perceptions of the students and those of the teachers/facilitators on what is being taught and what is required in youth leadership development programs. The study reveals that students have little exposure to ethics training throughout their leadership programs. The application of a holistic framework of servant leadership in youth leadership development programme is recommended and discussed.Originality/valueA framework in which to develop holistic leadership concepts, characteristics and competencies within students was developed from the findings. This framework can be used as the basis for teaching and developing young leaders in particular, as well as in more general leadership programs.
Progress in female education and employment in the United Arab Emirates towards Millennium Development Goal (3): gender equality
Authors: Kemp Linzi J. 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the progress in the United Arab Emirates towards achievement of Millennium Development Goal (3), “gender equality”, by the target date of 2015.Design/methodology/approachDemographic, social, and labor force statistics are collected from United Arab Emirates' government reports, the World Economic Forum, and UNESCO. Analysis is conducted to investigate current trends of gender equality in education and employment.FindingsResults for the education of women have been at a consistently high level for some years. Two themes are found for such progress: a government strategy to increase women's access to education; societal acceptance of educated women. Gender equality in employment is slow due to three themes: study choice dictates employment potential; recruitment within a narrow range of occupations; employment more likely within public sector employment. The future of gender equality in the United Arab Emirates will continue to be more positive for women in education than for employment.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation is the paucity of academic study about gender equality in education and employment in the United Arab Emirates. Reliability and validity of the study is somewhat limited by unverified, non‐specific, and older data on education and employment.Practical implicationsImproved strategies to increase study choice are required to enlarge the scope of women's careers. Management of the talent pool of educated females can increase women's share of paid employment in the future.Social implicationsA faster rate of change is required towards societal acceptance of women in employment to match female educational attainment.Originality/valueThe research is important for two reasons relevant for achievement of MDG (3) by 2015. Remarkable progress has been made on gender equality in education, and awareness is raised on limitations in the future for the employment of women.
UN Millennium Development Goals and gender equality in employment in the Middle East
Authors: Frederick Littrell Romie , Bertsch Andy 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address issues relating to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG) in the Middle East, analysing socio‐cultural issues having direct relevance to the region's progress toward “Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women”.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ meta‐analyses with data from the United Nations, the Arab Human Development Report, and various sources of measurement of national means for Hofstede's five‐dimensional model of cultural value.FindingsThe authors find that the percentage of women in employment, excluding the agricultural sector, in their sample of Middle East countries has declined since 2000, while in the samples of other Muslim‐majority and all other countries the percentage employed has increased.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the authors' research are that complete sets of data for women in employment are not available for all years for all countries in their samples.Practical implicationsImplications for practice for governments and businesses in Middle East countries are that women are a valuable economic resource which is being excluded from contribution and for the past decade the change in the Middle East has been in a negative direction.Social implicationsThe economic contributions and rights of women in the Middle East lag behind most of the developed and developing nations, including other Muslim‐majority nations.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence from publicly available data concerning the employment status of women in Middle Eastern nations. The authors found no similar empirical studies in the literature. The study is of value to planners and policy‐makers in business, government, and non‐governmental organisations.
Use of self-organizing suppression and q-Gaussian mutation in artificial immune systems
Authors: Shimo Helder Ken , Tinos Renato 
Published: August 2013

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to propose two operators for diversity and mutation control in artificial immune systems (AISs).

Design/methodology/approach
– The proposed operators are applied in substitution to the suppression and mutation operators used in AISs. The proposed mechanisms were tested in the opt-aiNet, a continuous optimization algorithm inspired in the theories of immunology. The traditional opt-aiNet uses a suppression operator based on the immune network principles to remove similar cells and add random ones to control the diversity of the population. This procedure is computationally expensive, as the Euclidean distances between every possible pair of candidate solutions must be computed. This work proposes a self-organizing suppression mechanism inspired by the self-organizing criticality (SOC) phenomenon, which is less dependent on parameter selection. This work also proposes the use of the q-Gaussian mutation, which allows controlling the form of the mutation distribution during the optimization process. The algorithms were tested in a well-known benchmark for continuous optimization and in a bioinformatics problem: the rigid docking of proteins.

Findings
– The proposed suppression operator presented some limitations in unimodal functions, but some interesting results were found in some highly multimodal functions. The proposed q-Gaussian mutation presented good performance in most of the test cases of the benchmark, and also in the docking problem.

Originality/value
– First, the self-organizing suppression operator was able to reduce the complexity of the suppression stage in the opt-aiNet. Second, the use of q-Gaussian mutation in AISs presented better compromise between exploitation and exploration of the search space and, as a consequence, a better performance when compared to the traditional Gaussian mutation.
Task‐technology fit for reverse logistics performance
Authors: Huscroft Joseph R. , Hazen Benjamin T. , Hall Dianne J. , Hanna Joe B. 
Published: August 2013

PurposeInformation technology is a key enabler of logistics performance. Unfortunately, most logistics information systems are implemented with forward logistics processes in mind, with little, if any, consideration for the reverse channel. Informed by task‐technology fit theory, the authors aim to explore how use of complementary information technologies to support reverse logistics processes can lead to enhanced process performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a survey method to gather data from logistics professionals who are positioned within various reverse logistics functions. Using reverse logistics processing effectiveness and reverse logistics cost effectiveness as dependent variables, the authors use multiple regression to examine the relationships between indicators of task‐technology fit and reverse logistics performance.FindingsThe authors’ models explain 49 percent and 30 percent of the variance in reverse logistics cost effectiveness and processing effectiveness, respectively. Information technology use and reverse logistics technology innovativeness are shown to enhance levels of reverse logistics cost effectiveness; information system compatibility and reverse logistics technology innovativeness are shown to enhance levels of reverse logistics processing effectiveness.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough limited by the sample frame, the authors’ findings remain consistent with task‐technology fit theory and suggest that employing information technologies that are designed to complement reverse logistics processes can lead to increased reverse logistics process performance.Practical implicationsThis study supports the notion that more attention should be given to reverse logistics processes. In order to achieve maximum return on investment, managers should consider allocating resources toward information technologies and systems that directly support reverse logistics.Originality/valueThis research employs a theory that has seen little attention in the logistics literature to provide insight into how use of complementary information technology can enhance reverse logistics processes.
Six days on the road
Authors: Kemp Elyria , Kopp Steven W. , Kemp Eramus 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThis research aims to examine the stressors that professional truck drivers experience and the impact these stressors may have on road safety.Design/methodology/approachBoth quantitative and qualitative data gathered from 435 professional drivers measured attitudes and behaviors related to safety and compliance. Interviews with professional truck drivers provided an assessment of the stressors that they experience. The insights offered from these individuals were then integrated into a conceptual model. The model was tested via data collected through surveys administered to drivers using structural equation modeling.FindingsResults from the interviews, as well as the results from the survey administered to professional drivers, suggest that truck drivers experience severe time pressures. Such time pressures create stress which can lead to physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Further, both of these debilitating conditions are related to negative attitudes about safety compliance and the current CSA regulation. Additionally, negative attitudes about safety compliance standards are positively related to violation of hours of service regulations.Originality/valueFindings call into question the effectiveness of the new regulation with regard to commercial transportation as well as possibly suggesting that drivers of automobiles might play a role in helping to ameliorate vehicular crash rates.
SME supply chain portfolios: firm satisfaction and organization resources
Authors: Tokman Mert , Glenn Richey R. , Morgan Tyler R. , Marino Louis , Dickson Pat H. 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the combination of relational and organizational resource factors that influence small‐to‐medium‐sized firm satisfaction with their supply chain portfolio performance.Design/methodology/approachThis research employs two complementary theoretical lenses frequently used in the explanation of relationship performance, resource‐based view of the firm and strategic behavior theory. The authors then used an international survey based in three Northern European countries to test their hypotheses with hierarchical linear regression.FindingsThe quantitative analysis supports all three hypotheses indicating that supply chain portfolio flexibility is an important determinant for small‐to‐medium‐sized firm satisfaction with supply chain portfolio performance. Additionally, firm alliance orientation and entrepreneurial orientation both significantly influence the relationship between supply chain flexibility and performance satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited by the categorization of the supply chain portfolio flexibility types as high and low resource linkages by the researchers. Future research may look at additional ways to measure individual agreements and have firms categorize them according to resource requirements. However, the findings of this research provide a theoretical and empirical foundation through the application of resource‐based view of the firm and strategic behavior theory for future research in the area of small‐to‐medium‐sized firms and their satisfaction with supply chain portfolios.Practical implicationsImportant managerial implications are found for small to medium‐sized firms and larger firms that work with them when managing portfolio satisfaction. This research indicates that it makes sense for managers to consider categorizing supply chain relationships similar to the way they categorize their end‐user relationships. This allows small‐to‐medium‐sized firms across the portfolio to be segmented into groups where appropriate relationship maintenance can take place and where more suitable satisfaction goals can be defined in terms of operational metrics.Originality/valueThe framework developed in this paper provides insights on small‐to‐medium‐sized firm satisfaction with supply chain portfolio performance. This research stimulates a new research stream towards an integrated theory of supply chain portfolio management.
Leadership style and organizational innovativeness drive motor carriers toward sustained performance
Authors: Overstreet Robert E. , Hanna Joe B. , Byrd Terry A. , Cegielski Casey G. , Hazen Benjamin T. 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the complex relationships between transformational leadership, organizational innovativeness, and motor carrier performance.Design/methodology/approachA covariance‐based structural equation model was developed, tested and validated to explain the effect of leadership style and innovativeness on motor carrier performance. The authors’ hypotheses were tested using responses from 158 North American motor carriers.FindingsThe results support a direct as well as an indirect positive relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance. Through the theoretical lens of dynamic capabilities theory, the results indicate that leaders motivate organizational change based on their own idiosyncrasies and perceptions of the environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis research was limited by its focus on the motor carrier industry and may limit the generalizability of the findings. While the sample of motor carriers was selected at random, the individuals within each of the organizations were purposively selected based on their positions.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that the proactive leader who makes calculated changes is likely to chart a course towards enhanced organizational innovativeness and performance that may provide the firm with a sustained competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis is one of the few works investigating leadership style and innovativeness in the motor carrier industry.
Default in a government‐sponsored agricultural loan programme in South‐Eastern Nigeria
Authors: Nwachukwu Jacinta 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThe Imo State Supervised Agricultural Credit Loans Board (ISACLB) has outright default rates of more than 50 percent. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify the major characteristics of the Board's beneficiaries who completely failed to honour their repayment commitment as opposed to those who partially repaid.Design/methodology/approachData on 36 potential causes of delinquency were collected through questionnaires distributed to 182 defaulters across ISACLB's three regional zones from 1987 to 1997; ISACLB's only completed loan cycle. Descriptive statistics were obtained using the odds ratio technique. Thereafter, a binary logistic regression estimated the marginal effect on the outright default probabilities of each factor.FindingsISACLB's large overdue problem was strongly linked to four key factors: age of borrowers, frequency of visits by loan officers‐cum‐extension agents, amount of savings deposits with informal clubs and total annual savings.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary drawback is the small size of the sample study, as well as the failure to correctly classify the partial defaulters in terms of the stage in the loan cycle at which they actually ceased to repay.Practical implicationsIn general, initiatives to attract young entrepreneurs, as well as to incorporate a FINCA‐type savings scheme into the design of ISACLB's future lending programme should help to resolve its overdue dilemma.Social implicationsOlder traditional farmers are the principal defaulters. A targeted monitoring, training and information provision appears to be required.Originality/valueThere are very few econometric studies dealing specifically with the characteristics of outright and partial microcredit defaulters.
Twitter data collecting tool with rule‐based filtering and analysis module
Authors: Byun Changhyun , Lee Hyeoncheol , Kim Yanggon , Ko Kim Kwangmi 
Published: August 2013

PurposeIt is difficult to build our own social data set because data in social media is generally too vast and noisy. The aim of this study is to specify design and implementation details of the Twitter data collecting tool with a rule‐based filtering module. Additionally, the paper aims to see how people communicate with each other through social networks in a case study with rule‐based analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe authors developed a java‐based data gathering tool with a rule‐based filtering module for collecting data from Twitter. This paper introduces the design specifications and explain the implementation details of the Twitter Data Collecting Tool with detailed Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams. The Model View Controller (MVC) framework is applied in this system to support various types of user interfaces.FindingsThe Twitter Data Collecting Tool is able to gather a huge amount of data from Twitter and filter the data with modest rules for complex logic. This case study shows that a historical event creates buzz on Twitter and people's interests on the event are reflected in their Twitter activity.Research limitations/implicationsApplying data‐mining techniques to the social network data has so much potential. A possible improvement to the Twitter Data Collecting Tool would be an adaptation of a built‐in data‐mining module.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on designing a system handling massive amounts of Twitter Data. This is the first approach to embed a rule engine for filtering and analyzing social data. This paper will be valuable to those who may want to build their own Twitter dataset, apply customized filtering options to get rid of unnecessary, noisy data, and analyze social data to discover new knowledge.
Evaluating the corporate social performance of Islamic financial institutions: an empirical study
Authors: Salma Sairally Beebee 
Published: August 2013

PurposeIn order to fulfill the Shari'ah objective of promoting the welfare of society, institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS) are expected to consciously align their decisions and actions so that they are “socially responsible”. An integral policy approach towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) would constitute assigning explicit social objectives to IIFS over and above their economic, legal, Shari'ah, and ethical responsibilities. Alternatively, the task of undertaking socially‐oriented projects could be argued to be a discretionary responsibility of IIFS, with the objective of CSR being sought merely as a peripheral practice. Recent debates on the evolution of the practice of Islamic finance highlighted the profit and economic efficiency motives of IIFS rather than their concern for socio‐economic equity and welfare. A divergence between the economics literature on Islamic finance and the course taken by the practical field of Islamic banking and finance has been argued to be arising over the years. An assessment of this contention motivates this study. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe study seeks to assess the corporate social performance (CSP) of a sample of 46 IIFS, located worldwide, which have responded to a questionnaire survey and whose CSR practices have been further verified by content analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed that the majority of the Islamic financial practitioners believed in attributing an integrated social role to IIFS. However, the practices of the IIFS reflected a more limited approach to CSR. Most of the IIFS were observed to be focused on meeting their legal, economic and Shari'ah responsibilities, that is, were concerned with the goals of profit maximisation and for their transactions to meet Shari'ah compliance. CSR was practised as a peripheral activity by the IIFS as opposed to being an integral, well thought‐out and deliberate policy decision of management.Practical implicationsIf the welfare of Muslim communities and general human well‐being are to be promoted by IIFS – in line with the maqasid al‐Shari'ah – this study questions whether the organisational structure of IIFS should be revisited and be re‐orientated to facilitate their efficient performance in terms of contribution towards social development and human well‐being. The question about the most appropriate business model of the Islamic finance practice that will bring about such a socially responsible outcome is yet to be resolved. This could be an important area for future research.Originality/valueThis study rises to the call of some Islamic researchers who voiced out the need to assess the performance of IIFS vis‐à‐vis their social objectives. The study is among the pioneers to quantify CSR practices of IIFS by conducting an empirical analysis on the CSP of the IIFS.
Ease of programming and sophisticated sensors see robots advancing in transport logistics, palletizing, order picking and assembly
Authors: Bloss Richard 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a review of the many recent innovations such as 3D vision, hydrogen power and autonomous mobility in robot technology such as logistics, order filling, product handling, and assembly for more efficient handling of products in warehouse as well as manufacturing situations.Design/methodology/approachIn‐depth interviews were conducted with both the exhibitors and integrators of robots at the recent dual Automate‐ProMat shows.FindingsRobot developments, such as easier programming, cheaper, more autonomous, and more versatile (two‐armed) units continue to address a rapidly increasing number of applications to move products in warehouse and manufacturing environments, assemble orders, perform product assembly tasks, automated measurements and conduct inspection and other quality guarantee tasks.Practical implicationsRobot advances such as lower prices, much easier programming, better versatility and more autonomy are opening many new applications to robotic answers. Hydrogen power can make mobile robots run longer between energy recharging for more up time.Originality/valueReaders will learn how others are rapidly applying robots to many new applications, saving money, getting a fast return on their investment and solving many old material handling and manufacturing problems even if they did not attend the ProMat/Automate 2013 exhibition in Chicago.