bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Moving towards responsible events management
Authors: Musgrave James 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThis article attempts to provide a concise overview of the approaches towards managing events in a changing market environment and summarises issues of responsibility, sustainability and quality management within events organisations.Design/methodology/approachIn doing so, the paper will reconcile elements of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development within organisations. Whilst within a context of the events industry, the article will synthesise total responsible management and concepts of sustainable events management and provide an introduction towards a premise of responsible events management.FindingsA mapping of management models found parallels that can be drawn upon to create a responsible event management approach, embedded by an amalgamation of quality management and sustainable principles.Practical implicationsIn essence, the combination of approaches enables a business value and ethical led development towards responsible management and one which represents a holistic understanding and strategic intent to reduce event organisation impacts.Originality/valueThis article represents a theoretical introduction to concepts that underpin the development of knowledge towards sustainable management within the events industry and will allow students, academics and practitioners to develop an introductory awareness.
Chinese entrepreneurs
Authors: Chu Hung M. , Kara Orhan , Zhu Xiaowei , Gok Kubilay 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThis article aims to investigate motivations, success factors, problems, and business‐related stress of entrepreneurs in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises and relates them to the success of the Chinese entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approachA total of 196 entrepreneurs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were randomly selected for a survey, which was analyzed to determine motivations, success factors, problems, and business‐related stress by gender. Ordered logit models were applied to motivation and success factors.FindingsResults showed that 68 percent were male and 32 percent female. The average age of the entrepreneurs was about 32 years old and time devoted to their business was almost 45 hours per week. Of the total respondents, 56 percent were married and 44 percent single. When asked to indicate their motives for business ownership, these entrepreneurs suggested that increasing income, becoming their own boss, and to prove that they can succeed were the most important reasons. Reputation for honesty, providing good customer services, and having good management skills were reported to be necessary conditions for business success. Friendliness to customers and hard work were also critical for high‐performance enterprises. Among the problems encountered by entrepreneurs, unreliable/undependable employees were the most critical. Intense competition and lack of management training also proved to be great challenges for Chinese entrepreneurs.Practical implicationsPolicy makers can strengthen its small business entrepreneurs by promoting the factors that lead to entrepreneurs' success, such as the ability to manage personnel and management skills through business outreach services provided by universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the government has the ability to simplify the tax system, and reduce payroll taxes. Technical assistance in areas such as market research, human resources management, and technological support should be provided to small business owners.Originality/valueThis study applied to Chinese entrepreneurs in addition to an extensive analysis of the factors that affect motivations, success, problems, and business stress.
The 3‐3‐3 framework and 7P model for teaching creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship
Authors: Sun Hongyi 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe education of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (CIE) has attracted the attention of the Chinese Government and universities in the past years. The Chinese Ministry of Education recently promulgated “the recommendation on promoting innovation and entrepreneurship education at universities”. However, there are still four basic questions about CIE education, namely, why to teach, what to teach, how to teach and who will teach. This paper aims to discuss the four basic questions and propose an integrated syllabus and a new teaching model.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes a 3‐3‐3 syllabus/curriculum framework and a 7P model for teaching CIE. The 3‐3‐3 curriculum covers three steps (i.e. creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship), three new outputs (i.e. new idea, new product and new business) and three training areas (i.e creative thinking in brain, hands‐on experiences in new product development and going to society for market research). The 7P model includes project, performance, process, problem, principle, practice and presentation.FindingsThe 3‐3‐3 syllabus and the 7P model provide a practical and operational method for planning and implementing the teaching of CIE in an integrated course or program. The syllabus and the teaching model have been assessed by hundreds of students in the past years with very satisfactory feedback.Practical implicationsThe 3‐3‐3 curriculum and 7P model have been implemented at City University of Hong Kong for over ten years and were well accepted and welcomed by students. It will be promoted to more Chinese universities under a project sponsored by China Higher Education Association. A train‐the‐trainer program is also under consideration, with the aim to train more teachers for Chinese universities.Originality/valueEducation of CIE as a separate course is not new. However, how to integrate the three in one course or program is very new. The model reported in this paper is perhaps a contribution in integrating CIE in education.
An augmented particle swarm model based bi‐acceleration factor
Authors: Mohamed Ben Ali Yamina 
Published: June 2011

PurposeParticle swarm optimization (PSO) has been applied with success to many numerical and combinatorial optimization problems in recent years. However, a great deal of work remains to be done to improve the particle swarm performance. The purpose of this paper is to present a new adaptive PSO approach to overcome convergence drawbacks. Thus, the updating of the particle position rule and the introduction of new acceleration parameter augment the performance of the proposed model developed in this perspective.Design/methodology/approachIn the studied picture, each particle defined in a multidimensional search space is represented by a vector of three adaptive parameters representing, respectively, the adaptive cognitive factor, the adaptive social factor, and the bi‐acceleration factor. Therefore, to updating its position rule, the authors add a gaussian noise to each updated velocity in order to increase the diversity in the population swarm.FindingsThe simulation experiments uses the CEC, 2005 functions benchmark. The achieved results show that the proposed model improves the existing performance of other algorithms compared to the same benchmark.Originality/valueThe proposed algorithm improves the performance of the PSO based on the self‐adaptation strategy. Thus, it can actually resolve hard functions which introduces noisy and shifted functions.
Decentralized decision‐making technique for dynamic coalition of resource‐bounded autonomous agents
Authors: Mouaddib Abdel‐Illah , Jeanpierre Laurent 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend the existing approaches of coalition formation to how to adapt dynamically the size of the coalition according to the complexity of the task to be accomplished.Design/methodology/approachA considerable amount of attention has been paid to the coalition formation problem to deal efficiently with tasks needing more than one agent (i.e. robot). However, little attention has been paid to the problem of monitoring a coalition during the execution by modifying it according to the progress of the accomplishment of the task. In this paper, the authors consider a coalition of resource‐bounded autonomous agents with anytime behavior solving a common complex task. There is no central control component. Agents can observe the effect of the other agents' actions. They can decide whether they should continue to contribute in solving the common task or to stop their contribution and to leave the coalition. This decision is made in a distributed way. The objective is to avoid the waste of resources and time by using the same coalition along the task accomplishment while some agents become unnecessary to pursue the accomplishment of the task. The authors formalize this decentralized decision‐making problem as a decentralized Markov decision process (DEC‐MDP).FindingsThe paper results in a framework leading to Coal‐DEC‐MDP, which allows each agent to decide whether to stay in the coalition or leave it by estimating the progress on the task accomplishment.Research limitations/implicationsThe approach could be extended to deal with more than one coalition.Practical implicationsDecentralized control of a fleet of robots accomplishing a mission.Originality/valueThe paper deals with a new problem of adapting dynamically the coalition to the target task and the use of DEC‐MDPs.
Web 2.0 as a marketing tool for conference centres
Authors: Davidson Rob 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe paper aims to provide an overview of how UK conference centres have incorporated Web 2.0 applications, such as Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter, into their marketing communications strategies.Design/methodology/approachFollowing an analysis of the impacts of Web 2.0 applications on purchase decision‐making processes in general, the market environment within which conference centres promote themselves was examined. The results of a questionnaire‐based survey of UK conference centres' marketing communications strategies were then analysed.FindingsThe paper's findings suggest that while some UK conference centres have comprehensively adopted Web 2.0 applications into their marketing communications programmes, others have yet to harness the potential of these new promotional tools. A few serious barriers to wider adoption remain.Research limitations/implicationsThe extent to which the results may be generalised beyond the geographical parameters of this study may be limited, therefore further research is required, to test the findings across a broader range of locations. In addition, the insights provided by this study need to be complemented by research into the use of Web 2.0 applications by those who are responsible for selecting venues.Practical implicationsThe paper considers the consequences of venues using Web 2.0 applications in their marketing communications strategies. These include potential loss of control of the venues' marketing messages, resource issues and the need to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools.Originality/valueThis study therefore takes a first step towards achieving an understanding of how venues are using the opportunities and dealing with the challenges created by the availability of Web 2.0 applications as potential and actual elements in their marketing communications programmes.
The use of graphics in promoting management ideas
Authors: Free Clinton , Qu Sandy Q. 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on the role of graphics in the propagation of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) through the persuasive capacity of graphism to “scientize” management ideas. Scientization, through professionalization of knowledge, rationalization of management and the empowerment of human actorhood, is widely seen as an important element in embedding new management concepts and techniques; a determination based on some version of the positivist belief that science offers a privileged access to reality.Design/methodology/approachBased on an analysis of popular literature of the BSC in core business media during 1992 and 2010, the paper focuses on the publications authored by Kaplan and Norton, the creators and authority on this topic.FindingsThe paper argues that the use of graphics has played an important role in promoting the claims made by proponents of the BSC by portraying the technique as both scientific and as descended from a venerable tradition of knowledge. Specifically, it argues that graphics are mobilized to: enable the technique to be portrayed as developing cumulatively towards the present vantage, from flawed measurement to management break‐through; promoters of the BSC to defensibly extend claims about the BSC (i.e. rationalize management through the visual representation of causality and strategic focus); and open up multiple interpretations and iterations of concepts which enable the empowerment of human actorhood (i.e. management).Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the accounting literature relating to diffusion of management innovations, and research examining the generative mechanisms and the processes through which management innovations come about.
The Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act and its implications for accounting practice and research
Authors: Lodhia Sumit 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to draw out the accounting implications of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act in Australia.Design/methodology/approachAn analytical approach is undertaken to ascertain the (accounting) practice and research implications of the NGER Act.FindingsAccounting researchers, especially those with interests in social and environmental issues, have a critical role to play in highlighting the potential of the accounting practice in managing, and providing accountability over, carbon emissions, facilitated via the NGER Act. A number of opportunities in social and environmental accounting research are also identified in this paper.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights that the NGERS legislation which requires reporting of carbon emissions by affected parties has a number of implications for the accounting practice.Originality/valueThe paper relates a practical issue, in this case the NGER Act, to accounting and suggests that the accounting process can play a critical role in organizational attempts to manage, communicate and price carbon emissions.
The private sector's role in agricultural extension systems: potential and limitations
Authors: Feder Gershon , Birner Regina , Anderson Jock R. 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe poor performance of public agricultural extension systems in developing countries engendered interest in pluralistic concepts of extension involving a variety of service providers. Within the reform agenda, modalities relying on private‐sector providers were perceived as a path to improvement. This paper aims to assess the potential and limitations of such modalities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the conceptual underpinnings of these extension approaches, highlights theoretical and practical challenges inherent in their design, and provides an assessment of several performance‐based case studies described in the formal and informal literature.FindingsMany of the modalities reviewed entail partnerships between the public sector, farmers' organizations or communities, and private‐sector providers. The paper concludes that while private‐sector participation can overcome some of the deficiencies of public extension systems, there are also challenges that have been faced, including misuse of public funds, insufficient accountability to farmers, inequitable provision of service, inadequate quality, and limited coverage of the wide range of farmers' needs.Practical implicationsThe review suggests that private‐sector involvement in extension is no panacea. Extension systems need not be uniform, and will require different providers for different clienteles, with public providers and funding focusing more on smaller‐scale and less commercial farmers. The public sector may need to provide some regulatory oversight of private‐sector extension activities, particularly when public funding is involved.Originality/valueThe paper draws conclusions from a diverse range of experiences, some of which are recent, and provides comparative insights. It may be of interest to development scholars and practitioners.
Innovation, cooperation and business performance
Authors: Najib Mukhamad , Kiminami Akira 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is threefold: to understand the cooperation activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in food processing industry clusters; to understand the role of cooperation in improving innovation; and to understand the relationship between cooperation, innovation, and business performance of SMEs in food processing industry clusters in rural areas of Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical survey was conducted on SMEs in food processing industry clusters. Primary data collected in five SMEs clusters were analyzed by regression and correlation analyses using the path‐analytic approach. In this study, the following two hypotheses were examined: cooperation is positively related to innovation; and innovation of SMEs is positively related to business performance.FindingsUsing the path analytical method, this paper provides evidence that cooperation is significantly related to innovation of SMEs in food processing industry clusters. Moreover, business performance is a function of innovation, in which research results show that innovation significantly affects the business performance of SMEs.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence that the cooperation of SMEs with universities and other firms, which are activities more likely to occur within clusters, is positively associated with innovation. Such a contribution is very important for completing the explanation of innovation phenomena that exists in the clusters, since empirical research exploring the role of cooperation in the innovation of SMEs in food processing industry clusters is still rare.
Modernizing African agribusiness: reflections for the future
Authors: Haggblade Steven 
Published: June 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to look forward to explore the links between projected rapid rates of agribusiness expansion and Africa's economic growth, equity and spatial development.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws inferences from 30 years of agribusiness value chain research in Africa.FindingsAfrica's agribusinesses stand poised for exceptionally rapid growth over the coming 40 years. Because of strong interdependencies between agribusiness and agriculture, productivity growth in agribusiness systems will critically affect Africa's overall economic growth rate, its spatial development patterns and progress toward poverty reduction. But the necessary efficiency gains in agribusiness performance will not appear automatically. They will require substantial private investments, a competitive private sector and heightened public attention in areas where governments have historically proven weak: promoting regional trade, improving town and regional planning, financing scientific research, funding higher education and building commercially viable rural financial systems.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers can help by assembling empirical evidence in these topic areas and by examining value chain models that stimulate private sector investment, accelerate efficiency gains and facilitate access and egress by the poor.Originality/valueDrawing on 30 years of value chain research in Africa, the paper examines links between agribusiness trajectories and economic growth, equity and spatial development.
Brief report: The sexual and physical abuse histories of offenders with intellectual disability
Authors: Lindsay W. , Steptoe L. , Haut F. 
Published: June 2011

AbstractBackground  Some studies have found higher rates of childhood sexual abuse in sex offenders while others have failed to find such relationships.Method  This study reviews the sexual and physical abuse histories of 156 male sex offenders with intellectual disability (ID), 126 non‐sexual male offenders with ID and 27 female offenders with ID.Results  Sexual offenders reported a higher rate of sexual abuse in childhood than non‐sexual male offenders (32.6% vs. 17.8%), while the opposite was true for non‐accidental injury (16.0% vs. 32.5%). Female offenders reported the highest rates of sexual abuse in childhood (59.3%).Conclusions  Some specificity of childhood abuse was evident in the male cohorts suggesting limited evidence of a developmental pathway to offending, while the women were a group highly vulnerable to all forms of abuse.
Evaluating aggressiveness and host range of Alternaria dauci in a controlled environment
Authors: Boedo C. , Benichou S. , Berruyer R. , Bersihand S. , Dongo A. , Simoneau P. , Lecomte M. , Briard M. , Le Clerc V. , Poupard P. 
Published: June 2011

The aggressiveness of Alternaria dauci isolates was investigated in greenhouse conditions. Twenty‐seven isolates were pre‐selected from a large collection to represent high diversity according to geographic or host origins and intergenic spacer (IGS) polymorphism. IGS sequence analysis revealed that isolates were grouped within three different clusters. Eleven isolates were selected and inoculated on a susceptible carrot cultivar. Three criteria (mean lesion number, mean necrotic leaf area and mean disease index) were used to assess the aggressiveness of isolates. Continuous variation in aggressiveness was shown and no clear division into isolate classes was evident. For the host range study, two isolates were inoculated under greenhouse conditions onto nine cultivated Apiaceae species, two wild Daucus species and six cultivated non‐Apiaceae species representing six botanical families. Lesions varying in severity were observed on all dicot species (Apiaceae and non‐Apiaceae), but no symptoms developed on the two monocots studied (leek and sweetcorn). Plant species were also differentiated on the basis of expanding lesions (cultivated and wild carrot, dill and fennel) or non‐expanding lesions (other dicot species). Typical A. dauci conidia were observed after in vitro incubation of leaves with symptoms. Fungal structures were isolated from lesions and A. dauci was confirmed on the basis of conidial morphology and specific conventional PCR results. Genotyping of individual isolates performed with microsatellite markers confirmed the presence of the inoculated isolate. The results clearly showed that, in controlled conditions, the host range of A. dauci is not restricted to carrot.
Molecular characterization of Apple scar skin viroid from Himalayan wild cherry
Authors: Walia Y. , Dhir S. , Bhadoria S. , Hallan V. , Zaidi A. A. 
Published: June 2011

SummaryHimalayan wild cherry (Prunus cerasoides), widely distributed in the Himalayas, was examined for viroid infection. Two of 15 samples collected from various regions of district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India gave positive amplification with primers specific for three fruit tree viroids. Sequencing of these two amplicons confirmed the presence of ASSVd in Himalayan wild cherry and share 99% identity. The isolates share 91–98% sequence identity with reported sequences from Greece of sweet cherry, Prunus avium, cv. Tragana Edissis (acc. no. FN376408, FN376409, FJ974069) and wild cherry, P. avium, originated from seedlings (acc. no. FJ974062, FJ974063 and GQ249350). They also share 98% sequence identity with an Indian isolate of ASSVd (acc. no. FN547407). The present study reports the presence of ASSVd in Himalayan wild cherry.