bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of individualized pattern prototype based on classification of body features
Authors: Su Junqiang , Liu Guolian , Xu Bugao 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to concentrate on the development of individualized prototype of apparel patterns for young females from 3D body scanning data.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors presented a new pattern-making approach that is composed of three major steps: to establish the relationships between body features and corresponding elements in a prototype (e.g. curve or a point); to classify the relationship into grades that provide alternatives to fit a variety of bodies; and to assemble each individual element into a personalized prototype.

Findings
– The experiment demonstrated that this method could be used for customized prototype development from 3D body scanning in a relatively easy way.

Research limitations/implications
– Currently, the subjects of this study included only Chinese young females, and the regression models were just suitable for the similar body types though, the research method could be extended to other somatotypes and age groups.

Social implications
– This approach can be used in the field of made-to-measure, mass customization, and the quick response for apparel pattern making. The technology in this paper facilitates to generate an individualized pattern prototype from 3D body scanning data.

Originality/value
– Originated from the relationship between the features of a human body and the elements of a pattern prototype, the authors presented a new approach to develop an individualized pattern prototype by classifying the features into grades.
How does energy efficiency influence the Market Value of office buildings in Germany and does this effect increase over time?
Authors: Surmann Markus , Brunauer Wolfgang , Bienert Sven 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– The paper aims to estimate the effect of energy efficiency on the Market Value of office buildings and consider whether this effect increases over time.Design/methodology/approach– The authors analyze a dataset of office building valuations from 2009 to 2011, provided by the German Investment Property Database. The authors use hedonic regression models to determine the effect of energy efficiency and energy consumption on Market Values. Using generalized additive models (GAM) for modeling nonlinear covariate effects, the authors control for further building characteristics and location. Due to the small sample size, the authors introduce an innovative econometric approach that mitigates this problem.Findings– Mainly due to the small sample size, and in spite of the newly developed econometric methodology, the authors do not find clear evidence of the relationship between energy efficiency and the Market Value. However, the study nonetheless provides interesting insights into the composition of office building Market Values in Germany.Originality/value– In addition to the empirical results for the German office market, the main contribution of this paper lies in the econometric methodology. Beside the application of cutting-edge statistical techniques, the authors develop a method for handling datasets, for which the variable of interest is rarely observed, leveraging on the total available data. Thus, the methodology offers promising prospects for future research in similar settings.
Does asset liquidity matter? Evidence from real estate stock markets
Authors: Scholz Alexander , Rochdi Karim , Schaefers Wolfgang 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper in this context is to examine the impact of asset liquidity on real estate equity returns, after taking well-documented systematic risk factors into account. Due to their unique characteristics, real estate equities constitute an inherently low degree of underlying asset liquidity.Design/methodology/approach– Following the Fama-French time-series regression approach, the authors extend the conventional asset pricing model by a real estate-specific asset liquidity factor (ALF), using a sample of 244 real estate equities.Findings– The results, based on monthly data for the period 1999-2012, reveal that asset liquidity is a relevant pricing factor which contributes to explaining return variations in real estate equity markets. Accordingly, investors expect a risk premium from listed real estate companies with a low degree of asset liquidity, which is especially the case for companies facing financial constraints and during economic downturns. Furthermore, an investment strategy exploiting differences in the underlying asset liquidity yields considerable average excess returns of upto 8.04 per cent p.a.Practical implications– Considering the findings presented in this paper, asset liquidity should receive special attention from investors, as well as from the management boards of listed real estate companies. While investors who ignore the magnitude of asset liquidity may systematically misprice real estate equities, management can influence the firm’s cost of capital by adjusting the underlying asset liquidity.Originality/value– This is the first study to examine the role of an ALF in a real estate asset pricing framework.
Predicting the behaviour of Australian ESG REITs using Markov chain analysis
Authors: Siew Renard Yung Jhien 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present the use of Markov chain to predict the behaviour of Australian real estate investment trusts (REITs) that are more highly valued in the areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG).Design/methodology/approach– For the empirical analysis, states is defined as the price interval between 10-day moving averages and daily closing prices. A total of 18 Australian ESG REITs were analysed.Findings– The results show that there is inconsistency in the probabilities obtained for REIT prices across all four states: 1 (= −$0.05), 2 ( < −$0.05 to < $0.05], 3 ($0.05 < to = $0.1] and 4 ( > $0.1). The findings suggest that price movements are occurring in a random fashion and that ESG REITs do not necessarily have more superior performance.Research limitations/implications– The scope of analysis is only from 2008 to 2014. This is attributed to the availability of the Experts in Responsible Investment Services dataset, which is used to determine the “greenness” of Australian REITs.Originality/value– This research is original, not just in terms of the scope of analysis but also the methodology presented has not been applied to analyse REITs data.
Road project termination and rebidding strategies in Nigeria
Authors: Udofia Wilson Udo , Hadikusumo B. H. W. , Santoso Djoen San 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to identify and examine valid project termination reasons and the rebidding strategies of road construction project. Rebidding strategies is one of the measures to restructure terminated/troubled road construction project.Design/methodology/approach– An instrument which comprised 82 items entitled “Project Termination and Rebidding Strategies in Road Construction Projects in Nigeria” (PTRS) was developed to evaluate 60 randomly sampled road projects using qualified project/site managers and engineers as project respondents for the purpose of securing valid information on the terminated and rebid road construction projects. Mean, standard deviation and factor analysis shall be used as analytical tools in identifying valid termination reasons and rebidding strategies and as well as the relationship between them through regression analysis.Findings– The paper’s findings revealed major project termination reasons and rebidding strategies. It further indicated significant relationship between variables which constitutes project termination reasons and rebidding strategies through regression analysis.Practical implications– The outcome of the paper could be of immense benefits during the procurement phase of public project, especially regarding road construction. Stakeholders involved in the road procurement should seek relevant information concerning the road project reprocurement from the expert prior to contractual obligations.Originality/value– Major challenges confronting the road construction project involve inappropriate procurement practices which frequently culminate into late deliveries of project. Rebidding strategies serve as a model through which cost, time and quality needs of the project client can be reassured in restructuring a terminated/troubled project.
Information seeking behaviour of traditional leaders in the Shai Osudoku District of Ghana
Authors: BUADI DONUS WORLANYO , DZANDZA PATIENCE EMEFA 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to investigate the information-seeking behaviour of traditional leaders in the Shai Osudoku District of Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach
– The case study methodology was used. An interview schedule was designed to elicit information from 12 chiefs from the Shai Traditional Council.

Findings
– The findings of the study showed that traditional leaders sought information on issues that bordered on their community as well as information for their personal use. It also showed that they usually used informal sources such as the traditional council and their subjects but also exhibited similar information-seeking behaviour to that of professionals. They also used information dissemination or transfer methods that were in line with the oral culture of their traditional society. They had challenges in the use of information technology due to their low educational level, as well as challenges in having access to formal sources due to unavailability.

Practical implications
– The study brought to light the challenges traditional leaders encountered in executing their roles. It was therefore recommended that government agencies collaborate with them to enhance their work.

Originality/value
– Several studies have been conducted on information-seeking behaviour of different categories of people within different contexts. However, few studies have been conducted on the information-seeking behaviour of traditional leaders. This study thus sought to serve as a foundation research on the information-seeking behaviour of traditional leaders, with Shai Osudoku District of Ghana as the study area.
An investigation of the training needs on emotional intelligence of academic librarians
Authors: Khan Asad , Masrek Mohamad Noorman , Nadzar Fuziah Mohd 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to assess the training needs on emotional intelligence (EI) of librarians serving in the university libraries of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approach– A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from a randomly selected sample of Pakistani university librarians. A paired samplet-test was used to examine the significance of difference between the four indicators of EI. Further, descriptive statistics were used to assess the training needs on EI.Findings– The difference between all indicators of EI was found to be significant. The results showed less than 50 per cent of deficit, more than 50 per cent of surplus and 20 per cent of job best fit in terms of EI of university librarians. Further, results illustrated that librarians require training to cover the skill deficiencies. Similarly, top-down allocation of tasks is required to produce more person-job fit and control surplus or over utilisation of the skills.Practical implications– Findings of this study have several implications for university librarians, such as designing of training programs, incorporation of EI in the performance evaluation to investigate the causes of deficit and surplus in EI, etc.Originality/value– This study is a first attempt that extended the scope of EI towards librarianship in Pakistan. The findings probably motivate university librarians to improve the current level of their EI.
Reference service evaluation at an African academic library: the user perspective
Authors: Luo Lili , Buer Viscount B. 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to provide a detailed discussion of a large-scale library reference evaluation study conducted at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in Ghana. The study seeks to evaluate the reference service from the user perspective, focusing on how users use and perceive the service.

Design/methodology/approach
– Self-administered survey was used as the data collection instrument. One thousand questionnaires were distributed to library users in a three-week period, and the response rate was 63.7 per cent.

Findings
– The reference service had a high non-use rate of 42.6 per cent, which was primarily attributed to library users’ self-sufficiency and lack of awareness of the service. The top three motivations for library users to use the reference service were class assignments, personal interests and using library facilities. Although their overall altitude was positive, users felt that reference librarians were more successful at exhibiting customer service qualities than performing tasks related to identifying users’ information needs and searching/locating relevant information to fulfill the needs.

Practical implications
– The knowledge gained from this study will deepen the understanding of how the reference service is utilised and perceived by library users and offer insights on how to enhance the services to optimise the user experience.

Originality/value
– This study yields an enriched view of reference service provision in the African context. Its findings will help other academic libraries in Africa successfully plan and implement their own reference evaluation efforts and ultimately encourage more evidence-based library practices in the developing world.
Application of knowledge management factors on customer relationship management process
Authors: Hasanian Ghazaleh , Chong Chin Wei , Gan Geok Chew 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to study the application of knowledge management (KM) factors on customer relationship management (CRM) process in Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status organisations.Design/methodology/approach– A questionnaire survey was conducted on KM workers (customer service) in Malaysian MSC status organisations. Based on the extensive review of the current literature, eight KM factors were investigated to examine the application toward CRM process.Findings– The data, collected from 96 knowledge workers, suggest that KM process, organisational infrastructure and technology are three important predictors for effective CRM process.Practical implications– The practical implication of this paper could be useful for business managers who want to enhance organisational CRM through implementing KM practices to support their organisation’s KM efforts.Originality/value– This is one of the few papers to study the application of KM factors on CRM process in Malaysia.
Successful authors’ views on the editorial review processes of accounting journals
Authors: Adler Ralph W. , Liyanarachchi Gregory 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to report successful authors’ views about the editorial review processes of a set of 42 accounting journals. The two main objectives are: to enlighten editors and journal publishers in their quest to improve their journals’ editorial review processes and to inform prospective authors about the past experiences successful authors have had with the 42 accounting journals.Design/methodology/approach– A Webmail survey was used to collect data about authors’ experiences with publishing in one of the 42 accounting journals. A total of 856 responses (40 per cent response rate) was received. Various statistical analyses were used to explore a range of editorial review process features, including the timeliness of editorial feedback, timeliness of publishing accepted manuscripts, quality of the feedback provided and performance of the editor.Findings– Authors were found to be generally quite satisfied with the editorial review processes of the journals in which they published. There were, however, notable leaders and laggards observed among the 42 journal titles. The survey findings also revealed that many journals use the practice of basing their editorial decisions on the comments of a single reviewer. In fact, this practice is most prevalent among the journals that are commonly perceived as the field’s “top” journals. These and other editorial review results – for example, comparisons between journal-tiers, geographical locations of editorial review offices and journal specialties – are discussed.Originality/value– This paper extends and moves well beyond Adler and Liyanarachchi (2011), by exploring such additional author perceptions of the editorial review process as the performance of journal editors, the use of multiple reviewers and reviewers’ reporting of the typical faults/weaknesses in the papers they read. Exposing to public scrutiny an academic discipline’s editorial review processes is quite common in some fields of research, most notably medicine. Doing so in the accounting discipline addresses a need that many of the respondents felt was highly necessary and long overdue. While authors will benefit from the paper’s insights, editors and publishers are expected to as well.
The incidence and perceived managerial merit of customer accounting in New Zealand
Authors: Tanima Farzana Aman , Bates Ken 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– Two prior survey papers on the use and perceived merit of customer accounting (CA) practices, one in Australia and one in New Zealand (NZ), disclosed contrasting results with confusing elements. The purpose of this paper is to replicate and extend previous survey research in order to update and clarify our understanding of CA practices in NZ.

Design/methodology/approach
– Within a contingency theory framework, a mail questionnaire survey is used to measure the use and perceived merit of CA practices in NZ and investigate their relationship with six contingent factors: competitive strategy, market orientation, environmental uncertainty, costing methodology, company size and industrial sector.

Findings
– Mean CA usage and perceived merit scores in NZ in 2009 are much higher than was found in NZ in 2007 and similar to those found in Australia in 2002. A significant gulf between usage rates of historical and forward-looking CA measures is now found in NZ. There is strong evidence for a positive contingent relationship between the marketing concept of marketing management and both the use and perceived merit of historical CA measures. Also found is a significant positive relationship between the customer concept of marketing management and the use and perceived merit of customer profitability analysis at the individual customer level.

Research limitations/implications
– The survey method used prevents follow-up questions and clarification of ambiguities, but the survey results do provide new insights and potential avenues for further research.

Originality/value
– This survey provides researchers, teachers and firms using or considering using CA practices, with an improved understanding of current usage and perceived merit of CA practices in NZ companies.
Political connections, managerial incentives and auditor choice: evidence from China
Authors: Cheng Chia-Ling , Hsu Chih-Shun , Kung Fan-Hua 
Published: November 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the political connections of firms, managerial incentives and auditor choice. Data from China were used to determine whether managers in firms with political connections are more likely to hire auditors of low quality to help them cover up earnings management and opportunistic behavior.

Design/methodology/approach
– Cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data covering the period from 2003 to 2009 and the Top 10 auditors were used as a proxy to represent the demand for high-quality auditors. Three proxies were used to measure the political connectedness: state-owned enterprises (SOEs), politically connected CEOs and state ownership.

Findings
– This paper provides empirical evidence that firms with political connections do not demand stringency in the monitoring and information roles of auditing. Moreover, politically connected firms with high managerial incentives are likely to choose non-Top 10 auditors.

Originality/value
– This paper provides a unique focus on the role of managerial incentives in the appointment of auditors. This paper tests the managerial opportunism hypothesis in another context and results of this paper help to elucidate the effects of managerial incentives on the demand of audit quality.
Line-item budgeting and film-production
Authors: Friis Ivar , Hansen Allan 
Published: November 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to explore the role of line-item budgeting in film production in an effort to illustrate the positive effects that budgetary constraints can have on creativity.Design/methodology/approach– Using Elster’s (2000) constraint theory as a basis for the research, this paper conducted a case study on the making of a Danish adventure film and analysed the role budgeting plays from the film director’s point of view.Findings– This paper suggests that the constraints of the line-item budget imposed on the director had positive effects in terms of the pre-commitments entailed, which aided in protecting the director against the negative aspects of passion (e.g. distorted thought processes, myopia and weakness of will) in the creative process and in terms of the ability of the constraints to channel creativity in certain directions, thus preventing the availability of too many options from hampering the creative process.Originality/value– The paper contributes to management control research in two ways. By addressing calls to provide more insight into the positive effects management control constraints might have on creativity, this study explores somewhat ignored aspects of line-item budgeting, adding greater insight into the interrelations between creativity and control. By exploring the ways in which line-item budgeting might take on the role of pre-commitment advice and devices in the creative process, this paper further exposes the links between accounting constraints and self-control.