bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Service innovation in academic libraries: is there a place for the customers?
Authors: Scupola Ada , Westh Nicolajsen Hanne 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate whether management and employees in academic libraries involve users in library service innovations and what these user roles are.Design/methodology/approachThe article first reviews the literature focusing on innovation, new product development, new service development and library science with specific focus on users and management. Subsequently the research uses a case study approach to investigate management and customer involvement in a Danish academic library.FindingsResults from the case study show that academic libraries are making some attempts to draw on customers in service innovations and not only rely on management and employees. The main conclusion is that there are unexplored possibilities for customer involvement in library service innovations.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation relates to the difficulty of generalization of the findings to other Danish libraries and especially other national contexts. The other one relates to the preponderance of the literature from sources outside the field of library management and library science. Therefore, library managers might have to be cautious in using the results of this study.Practical implicationsThe article has practical implications for library managers, employees, library science and innovation researchers alike.Originality/valueThe article is original because it generates new insights into management and especially customer involvement in academic library service innovations on the basis of an in‐depth case study of a Danish academic library.
Use of UGC‐Infonet Digital Library Consortium resources by research scholars and faculty members of the University of Delhi in History and Political Science
Authors: Bhatt R.K. 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThis paper focuses on the use of UGC‐Infonet Digital Library Consortium Resources by research scholars and faculty members of University of Delhi in History and Political Science. The main aim is to determine the needs of research scholars and faculty members of University of Delhi in the discipline of history and political science and to find out how far their information needs are fulfilled by the information resources available through UGC‐Infonet Digital Library Consortium. The paper attempts to define this consortium, its objectives, scope, e‐resources subscribed and the government initiative to provide current information in various disciplines for research and teaching excellence.Design/methodology/approachTo study the information usage pattern and needs of the respective users a survey was conducted among faculty and research scholars. The population included in the study comprised 105 respondents from both departments and of that, eight are faculty and 97 are research scholars.FindingsThe study tangibly explains the genesis, e‐resources facilities and usage of e‐resources available through UGC‐Infonet Digital Library Consortium (a University Grants Commission of India sponsored consortium) to provide e‐resources and current information in various disciplines. The UGC‐Infonet Digital Library Consortium is the most important consortium providing access to a large array of e‐resources to all academic universities and colleges in India and thus facilitates the prompt access and efficient and effective usage of e‐resources for teaching and research activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of the study is confined to faculty members and research scholars of the Department of History and Political Science of the University of Delhi respectively, regarding the use of e‐journals provided by UGC‐INFONET Digital Library Consortium.Originality/valueThe paper reflects the users' awareness regarding the consortium resources available in the respective fields, information about important databases and e‐journals, search techniques, recurring usage for information and knowledge, help and support in research output and teaching activities, benefits accrued such as saving of time, effort and the problems faced.
Theory, research and practice in library management 8
Authors: Sen Barbara 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of market orientation (MO) as a strategic orientation in the management of libraries.Design/methodology/approachThe literature is examined to identify aspects of market orientation, and evidence of adoption of market orientation in libraries. Lessons that can be learned from other sectors regarding market orientation are presented, and their relevance for libraries is examined.FindingsIt is found that market orientation is relevant for libraries as one of many strategic orientations. It found that there is a lack of systematic application of MO in library management, with the focus on selected aspects of MO, e.g. customer orientation.Originality/valueThe paper provides an overview of how library managers can adopt a market‐orientated approach to the strategic management of their library services.
Vulnerability and discrimination among women, children and ethnic minorities
Authors: Ernesto Caroleo Floro , Claudia Giannelli Gianna , Pastore Francesco 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThis purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on vulnerability and discrimination among women, children and ethnic minorities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the articles in the special issue which employ a variety of individual‐level data, some of which are newly available, and of econometric methods for the analysis of the determinants of labour supply and wages of different vulnerable groups.FindingsThe articles manifest an amazing similarity of issues, nuances and policy implications, showing that the causes and consequences of absolute and relative vulnerability are common all over the world. The first set of papers may be framed within the definition of relative vulnerability: in fact, they refer to gender discrimination in Spain and Italy; gender and ethnic wage differentials in China; discrimination against Roma in Southeastern Europe; and the gender gap in early career in Mongolia. The second set of papers deals with absolute vulnerability: in fact, they study different aspects of child labour in India, Indonesia and Pakistan.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a number of articles using little used data and uses a wide range of up‐to‐date theoretical and methodological approaches to the issues of vulnerability and discrimination.
The distribution of gender wage discrimination in Italy and Spain: a comparison using the ECHP
Authors: Pena‐Boquete Yolanda , De Stefanis Sergio , Fernandez‐Grela Manuel 
Published: May 2010

PurposeIn this paper the aim is to focus on the individual distribution of gender wage discrimination in Spain and Italy, relying upon the development of Jenkins' distributional approach proposed in Del Rio et al.Design/methodology/approachThe authors estimate the degree of individual discrimination for each employed woman and, relying on the decomposability properties of these estimates, assess the nature and extent of discrimination across various socio‐economic groupings.FindingsSome mechanisms inhibit the access of highly educated women to highly rewarding occupations in Italy, especially in the public sector, but not in Spain.Research limitations/implicationsThe treatment of occupation and sector of activity has some impact on the results, shedding doubt on the robustness of some previous analyses of discrimination in these countries.Practical implicationsWhile no doubt the appraisal of the glass ceiling in the Italian labour market will gain extensively from further research, some prima facie evidence is found highlighting the role of appointment and promotion procedures.Originality/valueA remarkable institutional divide characterises Spain and Italy in the domain of gender wage discrimination. Powerful political pressure along the lines of gender quotas for public employment has long been in place in Spain, while nothing of the kind has existed in Italy.
A comparison and decomposition of reform‐era labor force participation rates of China's ethnic minorities and Han majority
Authors: Maurer‐Fazio Margaret , Hughes James W. , Zhang Dandan 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine observed differences in China's ethnic majority and minority patterns of labor force participation and to decompose these differences into treatment and endowment effects.Design/methodology/approachData from the three most recent population censuses of China are employed to explore differences in the labor force participation rates of a number of China's important ethnic groups. Gender‐separated urban labor force participation rates are estimated using logit regressions, controlling for educational attainment, marital status, pre‐school and school‐age children, household size, age, and measures of local economic conditions. The focus is on the experience of six minority groups (Hui, Koreans, Manchu, Mongolians, Uygurs, and Zhuang) in comparison to the majority Han. The technique developed by Borooah and Iyer is adopted to decompose the differences in labor force participation rates between pairs of ethnic groups into treatment and endowment effects.FindingsSizeable differences are found between the labor force participation rates of prime‐age urban women of particular ethnic groups and the majority Han. Men's participation rates are very high (above 95 percent) and exhibit little difference between Han and ethnic minorities. For almost all pairwise comparisons between Han and ethnic women, it is found that differences in coefficients account for more than 100 percent of the Han‐ethnic difference in labor force participation. Differences in endowments often have substantial effects in reducing this positive Han margin in labor force participation. Roughly speaking, treatment of women's characteristics, whether in the market or socially, tend to increase the Han advantage in labor force participation. The levels of these characteristics on average tend to reduce this Han advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper analyses only one aspect of the economic status of China's ethnic minorities – labor force participation. It would be useful also to examine income, educational attainment, occupational attainment, and unemployment.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to and expands the scant literature on ethnicity in China's economic transition.
“It's not that I'm a racist, it's that they are Roma”
Authors: O'Higgins Niall 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThis paper uses a unique survey of Roma and non‐Roma in South Eastern Europe with the aim of evaluating competing explanations for the poor performance of Roma in the labour market.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a descriptive analysis, econometric models are employed to identify the determinants of educational achievement, employment and wages for Roma and non‐Roma. Limited information maximum likelihood (LIML) methods are employed to control for endogenous schooling and two sources of sample selection bias in the estimates. Non‐linear and linear decomposition techniques are applied in order to identify the extent of discrimination.FindingsThe key results are that: the employment returns to education are lower for Roma than for non‐Roma whilst the wage returns are broadly similar for the two groups; the similar wage gains translate into a smaller absolute wage gain for Roma than for non‐Roma given their lower average wages; the marginal absolute gains from education for Roma are only a little over one‐third of the marginal absolute gains to education for majority populations; and, there is evidence to support the idea that a substantial part of the differential in labour market outcomes is due to discrimination.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey data employed do not include information on hours worked. In order to partially control for this, the analysis of wages is limited to employee wages excluding the self‐employed.Practical implicationsExplanations of why Roma fare so badly tend to fall into one of two camps: the “low education” and the “discrimination” schools. The analysis suggests that both of these explanations have some basis in fact. Moreover, a direct implication of the lower absolute returns to education accruing to Roma is that their lower educational participation is, at least in part, due to rational economic calculus. Consequently, policy needs to address both low educational participation and labour market discrimination contemporaneously.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to attempt to econometrically distinguish between discrimination and educational explanations of Roma disadvantage in the labour market in Central and Eastern Europe. The survey data employed are unique and appropriate for the task. Unusually for analyses dealing with returns to education, the LIML econometric approach employed controls for both endogenous schooling and two sources of sample selection bias.
Children in home worker households in Pakistan and Indonesia
Authors: Mehrotra Santosh , Biggeri Mario 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to understand whether children in home‐worker (HW) households in Pakistan and Indonesia are more likely to work than other children, and, if so, how this impacts their capabilities. The paper also aims to outline some policy implications for the two countries.Design/methodology/approachThe data are drawn from two ad hoc surveys and country studies carried out in Pakistan and Indonesia in 2000/2001. The paper examines the incidence and reasons of child work and child schooling in home‐worker households, the work conditions, and gender issues. A bivariate probit is applied to analyse the determinants of child activity status.FindingsChildren from HW households have a higher probability of working. There is evidence of the feminisation of home work from childhood. This is dramatic in Pakistan while little evidence is found for Indonesia. In Pakistani urban slums the majority of children are working, but in Indonesia they are in school. The mother's education and per capita income/expenditure or assets in the household are important determinants of the child's activity status.Research limitations/implicationsThe model cannot use the control group for econometric analysis since the number of households and children interviewed (although randomly chosen) are not sufficient.Practical implicationsCollective action plays a role in the reduction of children “only working”. The number of hours that children work in Pakistan suggests that their ability to do school‐related activities is likely to be impacted.Originality/valueAlthough child labour is common in home‐based manufacturing activities in the informal sector in most Asian developing countries research on child labour remains scarce. This paper contributes to this area of research.
The relation between child work and the employment of mothers in India
Authors: Francavilla Francesca , Claudia Giannelli Gianna 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThis paper aims to study the relation between the employment of mothers and the activities of children with the aim of contributing to the understanding of child work in India.Design/methodology/approachMultinomial logit specifications of children's activities and mothers' employment are estimated on survey data drawn from the National Family Health Survey 1998‐1999 for all India. The joint specification combines four states of children aged 6‐14 (studying, working in the market, working for the family or being inactive) with the employed/not employed status of mothers.FindingsThe results show that the mother's preferred choice is not working and sending children to school. This is especially true for more educated mothers. Also the father's education is positively (negatively) related to child schooling (work), but the effect is smaller as compared to that of mothers. All specifications yield the result that the probability of children working increases if their mothers work. Higher levels of household wealth play a fundamental role in lowering the risk of child work.Research limitations/implicationsThis empirical model does not take into account the unobserved heterogeneity of two types – namely, the residual correlation among the outcomes of mothers and children, and the residual correlation among children of the same mother.Practical implicationsThe evidence that children of employed mothers have a higher risk of working suggests that the problem may be related to the low quality and pay of jobs accessible to women in India, especially in rural areas. The policy indication would then be to improve the condition of women in the labour market and also to improve the welfare of their children.Originality/valueWhile women's and children's time allocation has been studied in separate settings, in this paper these two aspects are analysed together for the first time.
Factors influencing Federal Reserve forecasts of inflation
Authors: Baghestani Hamid , AbuAl‐Foul Bassam 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThis study aims to both test the asymmetric information hypothesis and explore the factors influencing the one‐ through four‐quarter‐ahead Federal Reserve inflation forecasts for 1983‐2002.Design/methodology/approachEncompassing tests are used to examine the asymmetric information hypothesis. In modeling the Federal Reserve inflation forecasts, the authors are mindful of alternative theories of inflation which emphasize such determinants as cost‐push, demand‐pull and inertial factors.FindingsFirst, the Federal Reserve inflation forecasts embody useful predictive information beyond that contained in the private forecasts. Second, with the private forecasts controlled for, the near‐term Federal Reserve inflation forecasts make use of qualitative information, and the longer‐term forecasts are influenced by the forecasts of growth in both unit labor costs and aggregate demand as well as the preceding‐quarter inflation forecasts and monetary policy shifts.Research limitations/implicationsThe Federal Reserve forecasts are released to the public with a five‐year lag and are currently available up to the fourth quarter of 2002. This limits the use of the most up‐to‐date forecasts desirable for this study.Originality/valueThe factors influencing the Federal Reserve inflation forecasts are basically those emphasized publicly by monetary authorities. This finding points to the Fed's transparency and should thus help enhance its credibility with the public. Also, our results (which shed light on the predictive information in the Federal Reserve inflation forecasts not included in the private forecasts) are of value, since they can help the Fed better predict how inflation will respond to policy actions, and they can help the public form more informative inflationary expectations.
An extended DEA windows analysis: Middle East and East African seaports
Authors: Salem Al‐Eraqi Ahmed , Mustafa Adli , Tajudin Khader Ahamad 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of 22 cargo seaports situated in the regions of East Africa and Middle East.Design/methodology/approachThe data envelopment analysis (DEA) with window analysis model evaluates the efficiency score in terms of normal efficiency and super efficiency. The analysis is based on the panel data for the period of 2000‐2005.FindingsThe number of efficient decision making units (DMUs) under super efficiency is more than the number under normal efficiency.Originality/valueUsing panel data, this paper is the first study to use super efficiency with window analysis that compares the efficiency estimated with the normal efficiency and with super efficiency.
Decomposition of economic growth in Bulgaria by industry
Authors: Ivanov Stanislav , Webster Craig 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to present a methodology for the decomposition of economic growth by industry which allows interindustry comparisons.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the growth decomposition methodology developed by Ivanov and Ivanov and Webster for tourism and generalizes it for all industries in the national economy.FindingsThe methodology is exemplified with analysis of the contribution of specific industries to economic growth in Bulgaria for the period 2000‐2005. However, the model presents an approach that is general and can be applied to other countries and industries.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodology identifies the direct impacts of specific industries on the per capita growth of real gross domestic product/gross value added. Future research might integrate indirect and induced effects in the analysis. The methodology could be further refined by decomposing the gross domestic product/gross value added to their constituent elements.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies the industries in the Bulgarian economy that generate economic growth.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a new methodology for measuring the contribution of specific industries to economic growth. It might be of value to both academics and macroeconomic policy makers.
Growth, investment and military expenditure in the European Union‐15
Authors: Kollias Christos , Paleologou Suzanna‐Maria 
Published: May 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between growth, investment and military expenditure in the case of the European Union‐15.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses fixed panel models, random coefficient models and a trivariate VAR model to examine empirically the relationship between these three macroeconomic variables.FindingsThe results obtained and reported herein show a significant positive effect of the growth rate on the share of military expenditure and on the share of investment. However, on the whole, the findings do not seem to point to any consistent quantitative relation between defence spending and either growth or investment. Thus, they appear to be in line with the findings of other studies.Originality/valueThe economic effects of military spending have drawn considerable attention. Demand side effects on capacity utilisation are one possible channel through which the economy can be positively affected by such expenditure. On the other hand however, reduced investment and capital stock have been reported as a possible negative economic impact of defence outlays that can more than offset any growth inducing effective demand stimulation. The paper attempts a simultaneous assessment of the impact of defence expenditure on both growth and investment for the EU‐15, something that has not been tried before.