bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preparation of polypyrrolone nanofibres by polypyrrolone precursor electrospinning
Authors: Wang X.L. , Bai X.D. , Jiang X.K. , Wang C. , Chen C. 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to prepare polypyrrolone nanofibres and investigate the effects of concentration of polypyrrolone precursor and voltage on polypyrrolone precursor nanofibres by electrospinning, in order to achieve ideal nanofibres.Design/methodology/approachPolypyrrolone nanofibres were prepared by polypyrrolone precursor electrospinning. Various fibres were made with different concentrations of polypyrrolone precursor and different voltages. Morphology of fibres was characterised by scanning electron microscopy to study the effect of different preparation conditions on morphology of fibres.FindingsA method of preparation of polypyrrolone nanofibres with the polypyrrolone precursor by electrospinning was introduced which had not been reported. The effects of concentration of polypyrrolone precursor and voltage on the morphology of the nanofibres were studied. It was found that the concentration of polypyrrolone precursor was the major factor and the voltage also affected the distribution and dimension of polypyrrolone fibres to an extent.Research limitations/implicationsPolypyrrolone nanofibres provided potential applications in solar cells and field‐effect transistors.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no literature on the preparation of polypyrrolone nanofibres by electrospinning. Herein the preparation of polypyrrolone nanofibres by electrospinning is first reported. The polypyrrolone nanofibres might be used in solar cell, non‐linear optics, conducting and semi‐conducting materials.
UV curable polyester‐based polyurethane acrylate nanocoating
Authors: Mhatre R.A. , Mahanwar P.A. , Shertukde V.V. , Bambole V.A. 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe paper's aim is to synthesise ultraviolet (UV) curable polyurethane acrylate based on polyester polyol and to study change in its mechanical, chemical, optical and weather resistance properties with varying amount of nanosilica. It also seeks to determine its optimum loading levels for property maximisation.Design/methodology/approachNew UV curable polyurethane acrylate has been synthesised using polyester polyol, blend of isophorone diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate and hydroxyl ethyl acrylate. This resin was incorporated with nanosilica (1‐3 per cent) on the basis of total solids. The newly synthesised material was characterised by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical, chemical and optical properties of the coating films were studied and compared.FindingsThe hardness, tensile strength and abrasion resistance show significant enhancement with increasing amount of nanosilica. It is also found that UV cured polyurethane acrylate nanocoating exhibited improved weather resistance. The optimum concentration of nanosilica for better performance is found to be 3 per cent of total solids. The improvement is the result of inherent nature of nanosilica.Research limitations/implicationsNanosilica used in present context is having 10 nm mean diameter and near about 600 m2/g surface area. Nanosilica having different particle size, surface area and surface modification can be used to improve more specific properties.Practical implicationsAddition of nanosilica particles to polyurethane acrylate coating is a simple and inexpensive method resulting in phenomenal increase in properties.Originality/valueThe new organic‐inorganic hybrid nanocoating with improved weather resistance was synthesised. These coatings could find applications in demanding fields such as automotive topcoats.
Black and white labor market outcomes in the nineteenth century American South
Authors: Carson Scott Alan 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThis study aims to consider the nineteenth century relationship between biological markers and employment. This relationship is also considered for different occupations and by race.Design/methodology/approachUsing a large source of nineteenth century Texas state prison records, regression models illustrate the relationships between stature, body mass index (BMI), other observable characteristics and employment outcomes.FindingsAmong the nineteenth century Texas working class, stature and BMIs were not significant in the decision to participate in the southwest's labor market but were significant in Texas occupation selection. The probability of being farmers and unskilled workers were comparable by race. However, whites had easier access to white‐collar and skilled occupations.Practical implicationsRelationships between stature and BMI in developing countries may not be related to the decision to work; however, a relationship between these biological markers and occupation selection may exist.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few that consider the relationship between biological markers and employment outcomes. By considering the relationship between stature, BMI, and employment outcomes as the US economy develops, inferences can be drawn for the health and employment relationship in developing economies.
Islamic law and finance
Authors: Ghafar b. Ismail Abdul , Tohirin Achmad 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss Islamic laws which are relevant to finance. More specifically, it covers the types of contracts as foundation for the distinctive Islamic financial products. The current institutional framework of financial institutions seems to be incompatible with the nature of these Islamic contracts.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper describing the link between finance and economic growth in the present of Islamic contracts, which have various types from contract of partnership, buy‐sale contract, to contract of usufructs. The nature of Islamic contract is to avoid riba (i.e. interest system), because it is unjust and prohibited, meanwhile under conventional system they rely very much on the interest system.FindingsThe conclusion of the paper is that the distinctive character of Islamic contracts applied by Islamic banking and finance relies mostly on the profit and loss sharing mechanism which contains the cooperative spirit, in the contracts such as mudharabah (profit‐sharing), musharakah (partnership). The development of equity partnership instruments in the financial system necessitates a different set of regulation and institutions in order to achieve Islamic goal through economic/financial activities.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper opines that the current framework of financial institutions does not match with the nature of Islamic contracts.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that a new framework for financial institutions is necessary in order to accomplish the maqasid‐al‐shariah, by implementing the true spirit of cooperative through various Islamic contracts. Consequently, the rules and regulations and other relevant elements also need to adjust.Originality/valueThe paper indicates a possible different consequence on the link between finance and growth in the presence of Islamic contracts, i.e. a more positive relation.
Making the unequal global economic structure more just
Authors: Hosseini Hamid 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop principles through which the global economic structure could become more equal and just; it begins by demonstrating that world poverty is pervasive, and that the global economic structure is very unequal.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilizes conceptual/theoretical arguments in welfare economics, utilitarianism, Sen's capability approach, and Rawlsian theories of justice to argue that none of those theories can lead to a more equal global economic structure. Thus, the development of more egalitarian principles is needed.FindingsArguing that the principles that Rawls developed in his 1999 The Law of Peoples are more egalitarian than the other theories, the paper still finds them less than adequate. However, the principles developed in the paper can lead the world toward a more just and much more egalitarian economic structure.Originality/valueSince the principles developed in the paper are more egalitarian, helping toward ending world poverty and extreme inequality, the paper and its findings constitute an original and a valuable contribution.
A cross‐national investigation of an extended technology acceptance model in the online shopping context
Authors: Tong Xiao 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the cross‐national application of an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) in online shopping across the USA and China. Specifically, the proposed model is tested for invariance, and used to investigate the effect of the TAM constructs on online purchase intentions and interrelationships among the constructs across the two samples.Design/methodology/approachA total of 513 usable questionnaires were collected in the USA and China. Measurement and structural invariance of the proposed TAM model were assessed using multi‐group confirmatory factor analysis.FindingsThe paper revealed that both perceived usefulness and perceived risk of online shopping have an invariant effect on consumers' online purchase intentions, while prior online shopping experience does not have an invariant effect. Perceived ease of use shows an equivalent, positive effect on perceived usefulness; prior online shopping experience has an equivalent, positive effect on perceived ease of use and an equivalent, negative effect on perceived risks. But prior online shopping experience has a quite different effect on perceived usefulness across the two countries.Originality/valueThe paper not only tests the cross‐national application of the extended TAM, but also extends the TAM's use to examine key factors that influence online shoppers' purchase decision in the retail apparel sector.
Fast fashion in the retail store environment
Authors: Barnes Liz , Lea‐Greenwood Gaynor 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe paper aims to establish how fast fashion is translated and communicated in the retail store environment.Design/methodology/approachAn interpretive paradigm and inductive methodology made use of participant observation and key informant interviews.FindingsWhilst efficiencies in the supply chain have facilitated fast fashion's success, centralised control structures have meant that these efficiencies and flexibilities have not been translated into the retail store environment. Marketing communications activity is evident in relation to aspects of fast fashion, for example, through the use of “hero pieces” as identified in this research, however, availability and retail presence must support the fast fashion proposition.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper has a UK focus where fast fashion is well established, therefore generalisations relating to other fashion markets may not be appropriate.Practical implicationsRetailers may have interest in the findings to gain competitive advantage in fast fashion.Originality/valueAcademic research on fast fashion research is still in its infancy, however this paper provides some unique insights into the phenomenon which may add to the nascent literature.
Strategic objectives and competitive advantages of private label products
Authors: Hakan Altıntaş Murat , Kılıç Serkan , Senol Gokhan , Bahar Isin Feride 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine which strategic objective factors have significant effects on competitive advantage of private label manufacturers in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachA study was conducted of 90 Turkish private label manufacturers. A web‐based questionnaire was the chosen method.FindingsThree strategic objective factors were found to have an effect on competitive advantage: production efficiency, market embeddedness and product selling control.Research limitations/implicationsA comparative analysis between retailers and manufacturers of private labels was regarded as necessary to learn about their perspectives regarding competition. The large sample size encouraged confident generalization of the findings. Another limitation was only analyzing data from a country that has a low private label market share.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper offer valuable insights to retailers, national brand manufacturers and private label manufacturers, enabling them to learn the triggers for product manufacturing from the perspective of private label manufacturers.Originality/valueIt is hoped that this paper will reveal some valuable perspectives from an emerging private label market.
Mining deeper meaning in consumer decision maps
Authors: Mulvey Michael S. , Kavalam Beena E. 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain deeper insight into the meanings that structure and impel consumer choice by overlaying findings from a metaphor elicitation study onto the results of a traditional means‐end laddering study.Design/methodology/approachFirst, laddering interviews were conducted to elicit the reasons that structure the college choice decision of students. A second study using metaphor elicitation techniques surfaced additional meanings that constitute and connect students' thoughts and feelings about their experiences at the college. Together, the two modes of interviewing yield deeper insight into personal relevance and consumer choice than offered by either alone.FindingsCombining two modes of interviewing provides views at various levels of detail. Whereas laddering interviews use direct questioning to identify consumers' choice criteria, projective techniques rely on indirect questioning to surface the enduring and ephemeral feelings that charge consumer beliefs. Panning and zooming from the general structural overview provided by means‐end research to the nuance and detail surfaced by metaphor elicitation provides uncommon insight into the drivers of consumer choice.Research limitations/implicationsThe time, effort, skill, and expense required for data collection, analysis, and interpretation are non‐trivial and may limit adoption of the two study approach.Practical implicationsThe superimposition of metaphoric meanings onto consumer decision maps provides tremendous added value to managers aiming to enhance the creativity, relevance, and effectiveness of their marketing initiatives.Originality/valueMelding two interview methods adds depth to means‐end research and lends structure to projective associations. The deeper insights into personal relevance and choice benefit academics and practitioners alike.
Examining the use of nutrition labelling with photoelicitation
Authors: Koenigstorfer Joerg , Groeppel‐Klein Andrea 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study using photoelicitation interviews to investigate the relationship between the habitualised and unconscious aspects of consumers' food choices, the front‐of‐pack nutrition labelling schemes on food products and the healthiness of their diets.Design/methodology/approachTo this end, photographs of ten German middle‐class families at different stages of the family lifecycle were taken at the point of purchase (during a shopping trip made by the main person responsible for meal planning) and at the point of consumption (during a family meal at home). The paper used selected photographs as stimuli for photoelicitation. The interviews were recorded and analysed using a holistic approach.FindingsFour themes concerning food characteristics, participants' food choices and their healthiness emerged from the data: perceived time pressure at the point of purchase; the relevance of nutrition information for making inferences with regard to the healthiness and tastiness of products; consumers' trust in nutrition information; and their use of this information at the point of purchase or point of consumption.Research limitations/implicationsPhotoelicitation interviews allowed us to bridge the gap between researchers and respondents and to study what happens in real‐life situations when consumers go shopping and prepare family meals.Practical implicationsBy putting nutrition information on food packaging, especially on the front of the pack, manufacturers and retailers enable consumers to make faster and healthier decisions at the point of purchase – i.e. as long as the consumers notice, understand, trust and like the labelling and use it in making their final decision. Front‐of‐pack labels are of less relevance at the point of consumption.Originality/valueThe paper provides a number of insights into the processes involved in making healthy (or unhealthy) food decisions. It also provides directions for future studies in visual research and in the fields of consumer behaviour, marketing and public policy.
Owning vs leasing of real properties in the Swedish public sector
Authors: Lind Hans , Lundström Stellan 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an overview of a number of studies about owning vs leasing in the Swedish public sector and relate this to more general determinants of the choice between owning and leasing.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical results presented are primarily based on a number of case studies.FindingsThe research shows that there have been a number of “rational” reasons for moving from owning to leasing: primarily better risk allocation and more efficient management of complex properties with both public and private tenants. In other cases, the excess supply of capital and the need to strengthen the balance sheet seems to have been more important.Research limitations/implicationsThe result is based on a rather small number of case studies and this limits the possibility to generalise the results.Practical implicationsThe results also indicate that moving from owning to leasing can reduce flexibility and that it is very important for careful analyses about the pros and cons in specific situations.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights into the choice between owning and leasing in the Swedish public sector.
The impact of the recent financial crisis on EU competition policy for the banking sector
Authors: Kapsis Ilias 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the long‐term impact of the recent financial crisis on European Union (EU) competition policy.Design/methodology/approachThe paper, first, discusses the implications for competition from the measures adopted by national governments to address the recent financial crisis. Then, policy responses at EU level are presented and discussed. The paper culminates with a discussion of the future challenges.FindingsThe measures adopted by national governments to address the impact of the crisis on the financial sector and the broader economy, whilst necessary to stabilise the markets and pull the economies out of the recession, have potential adverse effects on competition inter alia by maintaining inefficient companies in the markets and delaying necessary market restructuring. The EU authorities have worked to facilitate the national efforts to address the crisis by adding flexibility to existing EU competition rules but they have declared that distortions of competition should be kept to a minimum. Nevertheless, despite these efforts, the current economic and political environment raises a number of challenges to competition policy which will have to be dealt with in 2010 and the years to come.Originality/valueThe paper contains a critical analysis of the impact on competition policy of the recent financial crisis and puts forward proposals for addressing these challenges. It contributes to the debate between economists and policy‐makers on the role impact of the financial crisis on competition policy.
Blurring regime boundaries: uneven legalization of non‐trade concerns in the WTO
Authors: Gstöhl Sieglinde 
Published: September 2010

PurposeThe regulatory reach of the international trade regime beyond its own boundaries is attracting increasing scholarly and political attention as the World Trade Organization (WTO) is expected to reconcile free trade with concerns related to public health, environmental and labour issues or intellectual property rights. This paper aims to investigate to what extent and why the degree of legalization of non‐trade concerns in the WTO varies across issue areas.Design/methodology/approachThe paper first assesses the degree of legalization (in terms of obligation, delegation and precision) for technical (phyto) sanitary, environmental, intellectual property and labour standards. It then adopts a neoliberal institutionalist perspective to account for the uneven legalization across issue areas.FindingsThe paper shows that legalization is strong for intellectual property rights, moderate for public health and environmental matters and weak for labour issues. It is argued that legalization is uneven because of members' (divergent) preferences regarding the regulation of non‐trade concerns and because of certain institutional aspects of the WTO.Originality/valueThe paper shows that it cannot be assumed that the WTO is a highly legalized trade regime, implying an even legalization across issue areas. It hopes to contribute to three strands in international relations literature: standard setting, legalization and “regime complexity”, a debate which deals with the interaction between partially overlapping, not hierarchically ordered international regimes.
WTO effectiveness in resolving transatlantic trade‐environment conflict
Authors: Hornsby David J. 
Published: September 2010

PurposeOne of the major strategic challenges facing the transatlantic trade relationship is the ability to regulate such risk areas as the environment whilst maintaining important trade flows. Much scholarship has emphasised formal United States (US)‐European Union (EU) trade disputes when considering the treatment of risk. However, these cases represent a minority of the trade conflict at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). A majority of trade conflict gets raised, debated and resolved informally in the WTO committee structure. The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement is the WTO institutional arrangement that seeks to reconcile environmental, health and food safety regulations with trade objectives. The SPS embodies “in‐house” dispute resolution mechanisms that are based on the notion of constructive engagement. Mechanisms like ad hoc consultations, registering official protests, use of the chair's good offices and coordination with international standard setting organisations have been effective in promoting harmonisation between states. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe paper traces the process that is embedded within the SPS Committee for resolving trade conflict over risk‐based regulations, highlighting a recent case in point of wood‐packing materials.FindingsThe paper elucidates a good news story about how American and EU policy makers utilize SPS Committee mechanisms to resolve differences over environmental regulations at the SPS Committee. Specific recommendations are offered on how to strengthen those mechanisms.Practical implicationsIf the recommendations offered are followed, trade conflict resolution over risk‐based issues in the SPS context will be strengthened.Originality/valueThe paper is the first utilizing a case study to assess the effectiveness of WTO/SPS mechanisms for trade conflict resolution.