bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does information technology affect the level of information literacy?
Authors: Isfandyari‐Moghaddam Alireza , Kashi‐Nahanji Vahideh 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe paper's aim is to study the role of information technology (IT) in the information literacy (IL) of high school students in Hamedan (Iran) through a comparative investigation into the IL skills of students of ordinary and intelligent high schools. An intelligent school refers to a school in which students make use of information technologies in education and have a lesson on “methods of research” and an ordinary school refers to a school in which students do not have any access to information technologies and have no lessons on “methods of research”.Design/methodology/approachThe method used was experimental research with post‐test‐only control group design. The research population consisted of 364 male and female high school students at 17 years of age in two groups of test and control in two kinds of ordinary and intelligent high schools. A questionnaire was used and it was completed by students on the basis of test and control group.FindingsThe results showed that the IL level was low among all students. The overall IL mean was 260. The IL mean was higher in intelligent schools (226.05) than in ordinary schools (161.18).Practical implicationsIn order to improve the IL level of students, it is recommended that schools give mandatory lessons related to research methods and IL to students. Training courses also should be offered to teachers in order to increase their knowledge of IL and their skills for teaching IL to students.Originality/valueThe findings of this research can contribute to the field of IL especially at pre‐university level.
The impact of regulatory reforms on the earnings forecasting behaviour of IPO firms
Authors: Gallery Gerry , Gallery Natalie , Linus Angela 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to jointly assess the impact of regulatory reform for corporate fundraising in Australia (CLERP Act 1999) and the relaxation of ASX admission rules in 1999, on the accuracy of management earnings forecasts in initial public offer (IPO) prospectuses. The relaxation of ASX listing rules permitted a new category of new economy firms (commitments test entities (CTEs)) to list without a prior history of profitability, while the CLERP Act (introduced in 2000) was accompanied by tighter disclosure obligations and stronger enforcement action by the corporate regulator (ASIC).Design/methodology/approachAll IPO earnings forecasts in prospectuses lodged between 1998 and 2003 are examined to assess the pre‐ and post‐CLERP Act impact. Based on active ASIC enforcement action in the post‐reform period, IPO firms are hypothesised to provide more accurate forecasts, particularly CTE firms, which are less likely to have a reasonable basis for forecasting. Research models are developed to empirically test the impact of the reforms on CTE and non‐CTE IPO firms.FindingsThe new regulatory environment has had a positive impact on management forecasting behaviour. In the post‐CLERP Act period, the accuracy of prospectus forecasts and their revisions significantly improved and, as expected, the results are primarily driven by CTE firms. However, the majority of prospectus forecasts continue to be materially inaccurate.Originality/valueThe results highlight the need to control for both the changing nature of listed firms and the level of enforcement action when examining responses to regulatory changes to corporate fundraising activities.
“The faggot clause”: the embodiment of homophobia in the corporate locker room
Authors: Rene Gregory Michele 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between “locker room” hegemonic masculinities at work and the construction of homophobia, particularly the use of the word “fag” to describe gay men – real or perceived. Although research indicates that men are more homophobic than women, examples are presented which examine some of the reasons why women use the word “fag” at work. Although equal opportunities at work have improved for sexual minorities over the past two decades, studies indicate that some forms of anti‐lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) behaviour continue, which raises the question whether a hierarchy of inequality exists in some organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe data used to analyze this under‐researched phenomenon come from the author's observations working for three multinational corporations in the USA.FindingsThe paper shows how men and women engage in locker room culture to construct homophobic narratives.Research limitations/implicationsThe issues raised in this article will be useful for empirical studies which examine the relationship between competitive sports and sexuality in the construction of masculine hegemonies in the workplace. Additionally, research should address the workplace experiences of sexual minorities who are also ethnic minorities, and disabled.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the largely invisible research on the role of sports culture, especially the locker room, and gender and sexuality in non‐sports work environments. It also contributes to the study of masculine embodiments by focussing on sports culture such as the locker room, heteronormative‐masculinities and homophobia.
SSHI methods for solving general linear matrix equations
Authors: Dehghan Mehdi , Hajarian Masoud 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find the efficient iterative methods for solving the general matrix equation A1X+ XA2+A3XH+XHA4=B (including Lyapunov and Sylvester matrix equations as special cases) with the unknown complex (reflexive) matrix X.Design/methodology/approachBy applying the principle of hierarchical identification and the Hermitian/skew‐Hermitian splitting of the coefficient matrix quadruplet A1; A2; A3; A4 the authors propose a shift‐splitting hierarchical identification (SSHI) method to solve the general linear matrix equation A1X+XA2+A3XH+XHA4=B. Also, the proposed algorithm is extended for finding the reflexive solution to this matrix equation.FindingsThe authors propose two iterative methods for finding the solution and reflexive solution of the general linear matrix equation, respectively. The proposed algorithms have a simple, neat and elegant structure. The convergence analysis of the methods is also discussed. Some numerical results are given which illustrate the power and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.Originality/valueSo far, several methods have been presented and used for solving the matrix equations by using vec operator and Kronecker product, generalized inverse, generalized singular value decomposition (GSVD) and canonical correlation decomposition (CCD) of matrices. In several cases, it is difficult to find the solutions by using matrix decomposition and generalized inverse. Also vec operator and Kronecker product enlarge the size of the matrix greatly therefore the computations are very expensive in the process of finding solutions. To overcome these complications and drawbacks, by using the hierarchical identification principle and the Hermitian=skew‐Hermitian splitting of the coefficient matrix quadruplet (A1; A2; A3; A4), the authors propose SSHI methods for solving the general matrix equation.
Male and female auditors' overconfidence
Authors: Hardies Kris , Breesch Diane , Branson Joël 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine if there exists a gender difference in overconfidence within an auditor population. Studies outside the accounting domain have found that men are more overconfident than women. It would be worthwhile to know if such a gender difference in overconfidence also exists within the auditor population. Such a gender difference could have far‐reaching consequences; among other things, it could explain why client firms with female audit partners have significantly higher audit fees. Because of substantial self‐selection and socialization it could however be that female auditors are as overconfident as their male colleagues.Design/methodology/approachAs is common in the psychological literature, calibration tests were used to measure the degree of overconfidence of male and female auditors.FindingsThe results provide no evidence for a gender difference in overconfidence within a population of auditors and warrant against generalizing findings from non‐audit populations to auditors.Research limitations/implicationsConsistent with previous research, overconfidence was treated as if it were a single construct. The different varieties of overconfidence may, however, not simply be interchangeable. It may be the case that one measure of overconfidence would produce a sex difference while the other would not.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the growing literature that examines the effects of gender on audit judgment and decision making. An important implication is that the results clearly warrant against generalizing findings from non‐audit populations to auditors.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate if a gender difference in overconfidence exists within an auditor population.
Laser microvia formation in polyimide thin films for metallization applications
Authors: Roeger Brent 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate laser microvia drilling of polyimide thin films from multiple sources before metallic sputtering. This process flow reduces Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB) material, chemical and operational costs by 90 per cent in the construction of flexible circuits.Design/methodology/approachThe UV laser percussion drilling of microvias in 25 μm thick polyimide films with low coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and elastic modulii was investigated. Results were obtained using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Surface Profilometry. Polyimide films tested included: Dupont™ Kapton® EN; Kolon® GP and LV; Apical® NPI; and Taimide™ TA‐T.FindingsThere was no direct relationship between the top and bottom diameters and ablation depth rates between the polyimide films tested using the same test conditions. There was a direct relationship with exit diameters and etch rates at different laser pulse frequency rates and fluence levels. Laser pulse rates at 30 kHz produced 20 per cent larger exit diameters than at 70 kHz, however at 70 kHz the first pulse etched 16.5 per cent more material. High fluence levels etched more material but with a lower etch efficiency rate. Other microvia quality concerns such as surface swelling, membrane residues on the bottom side and surface debris inside the microvias were observed. Nanoscale powder‐like surface debris was observed on all samples in all test conditions.Originality/valueThis is the first comparison of material specifications and costs for films from multiple polyimide manufactures and laser microvia drilling. The paper also is the first to demonstrate results using a JDSU™ Lightwave Q302® laser rail. The results provide the first insights into potential microvia membrane issues and debris characteristics.
The policy/procedure manualpart I: making and abiding by good policies
Authors: Fitsimmons Gary 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThis article's purpose is to show the importance of making and sticking to well‐made policies and how to make them.Design/methodology/approachThe article starts with the importance of good policies and procedures, differentiates between the two and then lays out points on how to make and abide by good policies.FindingsThe findings are that making and abiding by good policies reflects the library leader's management style and the values of the institution and they are necessary for any organization to be effective in carrying out its mission.Practical implicationsLibraries need to have and abide consistently by good policies in order to function properly.Social implicationsLibraries need to have and abide consistently by good policies in order to truly benefit their constituents.Originality/valueThe value of the article is in learning how to firmly establish a basic aspect of good library management that will help the library director make sound management decisions in diverse situations.
Leadership styles and information security in small businesses
Authors: Bhattacharya Debasis 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe objective of this study is to examine information security issues within small businesses and determine whether and to what degree any relationship exists between leadership styles and the level of concern for information security problems.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents an empirical study of 122 small business owners from the state of Hawaii with regards to their leadership styles and information security concerns.FindingsThe results of this study showed a significant correlation between transactional and transformational leadership styles and the level of concern towards information security problems within small businesses.Practical implicationsThis research suggests that small businesses leaders need to demonstrate more than one leadership style to broaden their preparation against a range of information security issues and problems.Originality/valueThe findings may be applicable to small business leaders who proactively search for a cost‐effective and optimal combination of leadership styles, technologies, and policies that will mitigate the evolving threats of cybercrime and information security problems.
Quantifying information dynamics through a new valuation system
Authors: Vaish Abhishek , Prabhakar Aditya , Mishra Himanshu , Dayal Nupur , Singh Shishir Kumar , Goel Utkarsh , Coull Natalie 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe aim of this research is to demonstrate the importance of placing a valuation on information assets and to propose a new valuation technique that complements existing valuation methods and provides improved results. It seeks to answer the following research question: what are the attributes of information relevant to value and how can they be used to produce a valuation of the information?Design/methodology/approachUsing a test bed, hosted on the college's intranet for 12 days, three important variables were calculated: accessibility, lifespan and outcome across five files. Calculating these three variables is essential to conducting an accurate valuation of the information asset.FindingsThe research demonstrates the relationships between these variable (accessibility, lifespan and outcome) as well as showing that they have a critical impact on the value of the information asset. The findings provide a strong rationale for the practitioner or researcher to adopt the model in real time situations. The correlation coefficients of our attributes are: 0.9996 for accessibility and lifespan; 0.9755 for accessibility and outcome and 0.9754 for lifespan and outcome.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the sensitive nature of some of the information held by the organization, the observations were somewhat limited. However, the model could be replicated with a collaborative arrangement between the organization and academia.Practical implicationsThis paper aims to provide a new model for risk management that can be used effectively to conduct a valuation of information assets. The approach will help the organization to better quantify their information assets and will prove to be a useful tool for the next generation of Information security managers.Originality/valueThis paper determines the valuation of information assets based on three variables; accessibility, lifespan and outcome. These variables have been identified from the extensive literature review in the area of intangible assets.
Design of secure and trustworthy mobile agent‐based e‐marketplace system
Authors: Patel Ahmed , Qi Wei , Taghavi Mona 
Published: November 2011

PurposeMobile agent‐based e‐marketplace is one type of business application that has been developed as a flexible and efficient approach to help companies or corporations to extend their businesses to outreach larger markets without regional and continental boundaries. However, every distributed system is unable to avoid the security problems due to the open internet environment. Mobile agent‐based e‐marketplaces are no exception. Thus, the security of mobile agents is a crucial factor in the design of mobile agent‐based e‐marketplaces. To overcome this kind of problem, the purpose of this paper is to design and implement a framework and system of secure and trustworthy mobile agent based e‐marketplace.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents the system design for the system implementation based on the designed framework. It includes three major aspects: the design issues, system design and development environment and tools for system implementation. The system architecture, use case diagram and use case specifications are presented in the system design section.FindingsThe system design is an essential step that is required before a prototype system is implemented. The system is designed based on the described and outlined requirements and evaluation criteria, therefore, to support a secure and trustworthy trading environment. The paper is concluded by discussing and highlighting further research work.Originality/valueThis paper presents the system design for implementing a secure and trustworthy mobile agent‐based e‐marketplace system by using the latest version of UML modeling tool and techniques.
Forecasting confidence under segment reporting
Authors: Birt Jacqueline , Shailer Greg 
Published: November 2011

PurposeChanges in Australian segment reporting standards over the last decade changed the required disaggregation of segment information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether increased disaggregation has implications for users' confidence in decisions based on segment reports and perceptions of segment reporting usefulness.Design/methodology/approachUsing an experiment based on the differences between the original AASB 1005 and the more detailed requirements of AASB 114, the authors test whether segment report users' confidence in forecasting and their perceptions of segment report usefulness differ between the different information sets provided under these standards.FindingsIt was found that the more disaggregated or finer reports based on AASB 114 provide significantly more confidence to users, compared to the coarser segment reports based on the original AASB 1005, but this is not associated with differences in segment report usefulness scores.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' experiment is based on AASB 1005 and AASB 114 and the results cannot be generalized to differences with other reporting standards. Examination of differences in recently released AASB 8 may reveal different implications for users' confidence and perceptions of usefulness. More generally, other tests of usefulness are needed to confirm whether opinions of usefulness that are not confirmed by decision‐making practices provide a reliable basis for determining usefulness.Practical implicationsBy confirming that decision makers' confidence can be increased by the provision of finer information sets, the authors' results have practical implications for accounting standard setting.Originality/valueBy testing the impact of report differences on user decision confidence, the paper addresses a previously overlooked issue.
Developing and enhancing independent learning skills
Authors: Luke Belinda , Hogarth Kate 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of short video tutorials in a post‐graduate accounting subject, as a means of helping students develop and enhance independent learning skills.Design/methodology/approachIn total, five short (approximately five to 10 minutes) video tutorials were introduced in an effort to shift the reliance for learning from the lecturer to the student. Data on students' usage of online video tutorials, and comments by students in university questionnaires were collated over three semesters from 2008 to 2009. Interviews with students were then conducted in late 2009 to more comprehensively evaluate the use and perceived benefits of video tutorials.FindingsFindings reveal preliminary but positive outcomes in terms of both more efficient and effective teaching and learning.Research limitations/implicationsThe shift towards more independent learning through the use of video tutorials has positive implications for educators, employers, and professional accounting bodies; each of whom has identified the need for this skill in accounting graduates.Practical implicationsThe use of video tutorials has the potential for more rewarding teaching and more effective learning.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the use and benefits of video tutorials as a means of developing independent learning skills in accountancy students – addressing a key concern within the profession.
Culture and international trade: evidence from Canada
Authors: Yeganeh Hamid 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of culture on international trade.Design/methodology/approachA measure of the cultural distance is incorporated into the Gravity model to test the marginal effects of cultural variables on bilateral trade between Canada and 53 other countries. In addition to the cultural distance and economic factors, other control variables such as religion and language commonalities are included.FindingsAfter controlling for the size of GDP and linguistic commonality, the effects of culture on international trade are found to be insignificant. The empirical analysis shows that while the linguistic commonality has positive implications for international trade, the cultural distance and religion commonality do not seem important.Research limitations/implicationsWhat is true for the Canadian international trade may not be true for other countries, especially for developing nations. Moreover, this study is limited to the Schwartz's cultural dimensions.Practical implicationsManagers should not stay away from culturally dissimilar partners as long as trade is economically beneficial. Instead, they should pay attention to training bilingual agents and standardizing trade procedures in order to streamline the negative effects of linguistic dissimilarity.Originality/valueThis study refutes the generally accepted idea that culture is subversive to any cross‐border business activity.
Values and psychological contracts in their relationship to commitment in the workplace
Authors: Cohen Aaron 
Published: November 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to examine relationships between individual‐level values, psychological contracts, and six workplace commitment forms (organizational, occupational, group, work, job, union). It also seeks to examine whether individual values and psychological contracts relate to commitment forms when controlling for demographic variables.Design/methodology/approachA total of 313 employees of a major bank in Israel took part in this survey study.FindingsThe findings show that individual values, particularly those that represent more traditional and conservative values, relate to commitment forms above and beyond the effect of the demographic variables. The results also show strong positive relationships between relational contracts and all of the commitment forms.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied upon a snapshot‐in‐time survey design. Such a design consists of a single observation with no control group and limited control over the effects of variables. Also, only one professional group, bank employees, was examined here, and one should be cautious about generalizing the results to other occupational groups.Originality/valueAn important contribution of this study is the examination of the psychological contract in its relationship to commitment, a relationship thus far little examined in the literature. Another important contribution of this study is its exploration of how psychological contracts relate to other forms of commitment in addition to organizational commitment.