bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The use of national registries data in three European countries in order to improve health care quality
Authors: Sousa Paulo , Bazeley Matthew , Johansson Sören , Wijk Helle 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of national health registries in three European countries in order to improve patient care.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used was a literature review of databases in Sweden, the UK and Portugal, and a search on Medline and Pubmed as well. In addition case studies from the three countries are included.FindingsIn Sweden registries encompassing cardiac intensive care, hip‐fractures and stroke are the most developed. In the UK, the collection of information on healthcare performance, both specific to particular specialties and general hospital performance, is widespread. There are some national and regional registries in Portugal, but the most developed areas are the Cardiovascular and the Oncology areas. The collection of information on health quality/performance indicators, based on administrative and clinical data is an important tool for quality improvement.Originality/valueThis paper showed differences and similarities between the three countries with a common aim; to improve quality of care, delivered on equal terms for the whole populations, and in an effective and efficient way and will be useful to those in the field of patient care.
Sharing best practice
Authors: Reddy William , McCarthy Siobhán 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThis article seeks to explore ways in which one can share and spread best practice, that have the potential for transformational change. It describes the cultural and behavioural mindset that is needed to make this happen.Design/methodology/approachThe overall approach is aimed at documenting the essential features of a best practice, giving pointers to relevant experts in that practice, deducing general guidelines, diffusing basic knowledge, and using subject‐matter experts to apply and adapt the practices in a new context.FindingsBest practice resources require to be actively promoted, otherwise one may end up with databases and people that are under‐used and not fulfilling their potential. One should resist the temptation to focus on explicit knowledge; databases of best practices are insufficient. Databases point to examples and people, but it is through people that deep knowledge is transferred.Originality/valueThe information provided in this article is the viewpoint of the authors, who are experts in the field. Hopefully, their views will give the potential for transformational change.
Educational decentralization in three Asian societies: Japan, Korea and Hong Kong
Authors: Sui‐chu Ho Esther 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThis paper aims to identify and compare the nature of decentralization that has emerged in three important Asian societies after a decade of their involvement in the decentralization movement.Design/methodology/approachData from the first cycle of the program for international student assessment were analyzed to investigate educational decentralization in three Asian societies: Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. Cluster analysis was used to reveal the nature and extent of decentralization of the schooling systems in the three societies.FindingsThe results revealed four models of decentralization: highly centralized, school‐driven, teacher‐driven, and highly decentralized. Whilst the school‐driven model was dominant in Hong Kong, indicating that the school itself is largely responsible for making school‐related decisions, the centralized model was dominant in both Japan and Korea, indicating that authorities outside the school are largely responsible for making school‐related decisions.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on cross‐sectional design and focuses mainly on secondary schooling systems in the three Asian societies.Originality/valueOECD/PISA constitutes one of the most comprehensive and rigorous international databases about different aspects of educational systems. It provides a unique opportunity to assess the distribution of decision‐making responsibilities between the different stakeholders in different education systems. This enables for the first time a country‐wide comparison on issues of decentralization of various decision areas in this paper.
Minimizing retail shrinkage due to employee theft
Authors: Mishra Birendra K. , Prasad Ashutosh 
Published: October 2006

PurposeEmployee theft is a major component of retail shrinkage. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of two methods, internal control and random inspections of the locations at which employees work, to deter employee theft. An inspection strategy is designed in which retailers try to minimize their costs while trying to prevent employees from stealing.Design/methodology/approachWe employ an analytical approach. The employees are assumed to be strategic, i.e. they respond to the decisions made by the retailer, and likewise the retailer is strategic. Consequently, game theory is used to model their interaction, and to obtain the best decisions for both the retailer and employee after taking into consideration the other's actions.FindingsThe solution of the game depends upon various parameters such as the cost and effectiveness of random inspections and of the internal control system. The paper determines the optimal frequency of inspections, the total budget to be spent on inspections and the total expected retail shrinkage due to employee theft. The paper also shows the extent to which an effective internal control system and the recruitment of honest employees can benefit retail organizations in preventing losses due to employee theft.Practical implicationsThe paper provides normative guidelines for decisions such as the frequency of inspections. Retailers can limit employee theft but eliminating theft altogether turns out to be too expensive if the goal is to minimize organizational losses. The retailer should try to reduce inspection costs and increase their effectiveness. Adding honest employees helps the retailer, but note that adding just a few is not beneficial because organizational losses remain unchanged, but adding a larger number qualitatively affects the equilibrium outcome and lowers organizational losses. The paper describes when investing in better internal control systems is appropriate.Originality/valueThe underlying assumption is of strategic retailers and employees. This gaming analysis brings a new perspective to examining retail crime problems than has been hitherto the case. This work follows in the tradition of the economics of crime literature, which views crime as a rational choice decision made by potential offenders. The study examines employee crime in the context of retail organizations, and provides several new insights. Although the idea of random inspections is not new, features of the retail environment such as internal control system, employee dissatisfaction and the ability to recruit honest employees have no direct parallels in the economics of crime literature, and are being touched upon for the first time.
Sed quis custodiet? Employee theft in UK retailing
Authors: Bamfield Joshua 
Published: October 2006

PurposeEmployee theft is a significant part of retail losses from shrinkage, yet has been comparatively underexplored compared with shoplifting. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impacts of different forms of staff theft and fraud upon retail crime losses and analyse the characteristics of offenders.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is based on a statistical analysis of the details (from retail records) of all staff offenders apprehended for theft by four major UK retailers over a two‐year period. The results are then compared with shrinkage losses for these retailers to discuss the implications of the findings.FindingsRetailer concentration upon customer theft is difficult to explain given the significance of perceived staff theft on losses from crime. Only a small percentage of staff offenders were caught by retailers, but estimation problems were caused by the fact it was difficult to value the exact amount stolen over time by serial offenders. The majority of people apprehended were young and were believed to have stolen comparatively small amounts of cash or goods. In contrast, a small number of large‐scale offenders were responsible for 47 per cent of total known staff theft. Only a relatively small proportion of known staff crime involved collusion, the major losses were caused by theft of cash, major fraud losses, merchandise and refund fraud.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study are significant for retailers. They suggest that retailers may concentrate on smaller‐scale wrongdoers rather than major frauds and that retailers may benefit from switching part of their loss‐prevention resources from shoplifting and minor staff offending to more considerable in‐house frauds.Originality/valueThe paper presents original data based on the characteristics of actual apprehended thieves rather than a discussion based primarily on shrinkage estimates). It presents new information for the academic community concerning the impact of different types of theft and fraud and challenges part at least of retailing conventional wisdom about “Who steals?” and “How?” It is valuable both to the academic community and to retail practitioners.
Guest Editors: May Hinds and Ernest BogerAssisted by Editor: Richard TeareAchieving service excellence in Barbados – the service leadership factor
Authors: Hinds May 
Published: October 2006

PurposeBarbados has been driven by agricultural pursuits for most of its existence and successive decision makers have failed to create a tradition or culture with a focus on service. In a move to change this focus in support of a service culture, the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE) was launched on November 30, 2004. A highlight of the event was the tripartite commitment made by the leaders of the social partnership (government, labour and the private sector). The purpose of this article is to examine the topic of service leadership – and the role the three leaders must play in achieving service excellence.Design/methodology/approachThis article is as a result of observations and experiences while the author served as Lead Champion for NISE. It is also informed by research on the subject. “Achieving service excellence – customer service strategies for the hospitality/tourism industry in Barbados”.FindingsBarbadians must determine the factors for a foundation that the country needs if it is to have a service excellence culture. The foundation for Barbados might be found in the people of Barbados and in the church which is an influential institution in Barbados.Originality/valueBehavioural change must start with three leaders of the social partnership. This message is valuable to these service leaders in the journey towards achieving service excellence in Barbados.
Ameliorating the negative impacts of tourism: a Caribbean perspective
Authors: Jackson Leonard A. 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to assist tourism planners to assess and respond to the negative consequences of tourism development.Design/methodology/approachProposes a collaborative, community‐based approach for tourism development.FindingsProvides a series of recommendations in the form of key points linked to the practical application of the framework. The paper also provides an example of a code for responsible conduct for destination managers and policy makers.Originality/valueThe proposed framework is designed to guide tourism planners and policy‐makers as they develop policies that balance economic and ecological sustainability.
Understanding the workforce: the key to success in a youth hostel in Scotland
Authors: Papis Jeff 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide an insight into the importance of understanding the workforce as it affects and is affected by the internal and external environment; an essential element of effective business performance accomplishment.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted in a 148‐bed, four‐star hostel over a four‐week period using multiple data collection methods comprising written questionnaires, documentation collection and observation of assistants in the hostel. By using Herzberg's motivation/hygiene factors as the theoretical foundation, this piece of research investigated the factors involved in the motivation of hostel assistants. The findings were then used to interpret the results, enable comparison with previous studies in the field and provide insights into suggested courses of action.FindingsThe findings suggest that the favourable environment, which enabled tasks to be carried out and made it possible for the accomplishment of business objectives, was due a balance between motivation and hygiene factors supported by understanding of the workforce.Practical implicationsIt is hoped that the findings provide the reader (managers, students and academics) awareness of the importance of a balanced work environment and help to improve practice in the context of budget accommodation where multi‐tasking is an essential requirement.Originality/valueThis paper provides the reader with an overall view of modern hostelling while discussing, from a human resources perspective, the requirements for a more favourable working environment.
Which service quality dimensions are important in inbound tourism?
Authors: Jonsson Kvist Anna‐Karin , Klefsjö Bengt 
Published: October 2006

PurposeBased on a conceptual framework drawn from the original SERVQUAL model, the purpose of the paper is to explore the question of which service‐quality dimensions are deemed to be important by inbound tourists visiting a peripheral tourist location in Sweden.Design/methodology/approachUsing questionnaires and interviews, Italian and British tourists visiting a peripheral tourist location in northern Sweden are studied in three phases: before the tourist experience, during the experience, and after return home.FindingsDifference in the tourists' perceptions of the importance of various quality dimensions are identified before and after the tourism experience. Many similarities are identified between the needs and expectations of Italian and British tourists, although some differences also emerge.Practical implicationsTourism managers should recognise that the needs of their customers can be influenced by: the time at which these needs are assessed; and cultural differences between nationalities.
Growth, customer service and profitability Southwest style
Authors: Rhoades Dawna L. 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the success of Southwest Airlines in the USADesign/methodology/approachThe paper outlines the history of Southwest since 1967 and how the airline set new standards in customer service and employee satisfaction while recording records of unbroken profitability.FindingsSouthwest understands its market and has consistently implemented a strategy that has proven successful in capturing that market in the face of stiff competition.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights into how anyone can emulate the success of Southwest – if one is willing to invest the time, effort, and energy necessary to ensure that mission, goals, processes, policies and people are all aligned.
Outsourcing digital signatures: a solution to key management burden
Authors: Lekkas Dimitrios , Lambrinoudakis Costas 
Published: October 2006

PurposeDigital signatures are only enjoying a gradual and reluctant acceptance, despite the long existence of the relevant legal and technical frameworks. One of the major drawbacks of client‐generated digital signatures is the requirement for effective and secure management of the signing keys and the complexity of the cryptographic operations that must be performed by the signer. Outsourcing digital signatures to a trusted third party would be an elegant solution to the key management burden. Aims to investigate whether this is legally and technically feasible.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper's approach a relying party trusts a Signature Authority (SA) for the tokens it issues, rather than a Certification Authority for the certificates it creates in a traditional public key infrastructure scheme.FindingsThe paper argues that passing the control of signature creation to a SA rather than the signer herself, is not a stronger concession than the dependence on an identity certificate issued by a Certification Authority.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a framework for outsourced digital signatures.
Leveraging profitability in low‐margin markets
Authors: Smith Gerald E. 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThe article seeks to assist managers in low‐margin markets to grow profitability by applying principles of profit leverage.Design/methodology/approachThe paper identifies a series of principles for targeting market segments and growing profits.FindingsGross margins are usually taken for granted by managers, but are actually key indicators of the types of marketing strategies – what the author calls “gross profit strategies” – that managers should use to leverage the growth of gross profit. Two general classes of gross profit strategies are identified – volume‐driven, and price/bundling gross profit strategies. The latter is particularly applicable to managers in low‐margin markets. The paper also discusses four subsidiary gross profit strategies and illustrates with examples of real‐world firms and situations.Originality/valueThe paper defines market‐driven costing and stresses the importance of measuring “true” gross margins, by measuring costs based on the cost to serve the customer, including opportunity costs. Finally, the paper explicates the relationship between true gross margins and managers' perceptions of their competitive ability to compete in the marketplace.
Calculating top event probability of a fault tree with many repeated events
Authors: Yuge T. , Tagami K. , Yanagi S. 
Published: October 2006

PurposeCalculating the exact top event probability of fault trees is an important analysis in quantitative risk assessments. However, it is a difficult problem for the trees with complex structure. Therefore, the paper aims to provide an efficient calculation method to obtain an exact top event probability of a fault tree with many repeated events when the minimal cut sets of the tree model are given.Design/methodology/approachThe method is based on the inclusion‐exclusion method. Generally, the inclusion‐exclusion method tends to get into computational difficulties for a large‐scale fault tree. The computation time has been reduced by enumerating only non‐canceling terms.FindingsThe method enables the calculation of the probability more quickly than the conventional method. The effect increases as the number of repeated events increases, namely the tree structure becomes complex. This method also can be applied to obtain the lower and upper bounds of the top event probability easily.Originality/valueThe paper expresses the top event probability by using only non‐canceling terms. This is the first application in fault tree analysis.
Software reliability modeling in distributed development environment
Authors: Tamura Y. , Yamada S. , Kimura M. 
Published: October 2006

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to propose a software reliability growth model based on stochastic differential equations for the integration testing phase of distributed development environment.Design/methodology/approachA client/server system (CSS), which is a new development method, has come into existence as a result of the progress of networking technology by UNIX systems. On the other hand, the effective testing method for distributed development environment has only a few presented. The method of software reliability assessment considering the interaction among software components in a distributed one is discussed.FindingsConventional software reliability growth models for system testing phase in distributed development environment have included many unknown parameters. Especially, the effective estimation method in terms of these unknown parameters, which means the proportion of the total testing‐load for the software component, has never been presented. This software reliability growth model can be easily applied in distributed software development, because the model has a simple structure.Practical implicationsThis model is very useful for software developers in terms of practical reliability assessment in the actual distributed development environment.Originality/valueThe method of software reliability assessment considering the interaction among software components in distributed development environment is proposed. Additionally, several numerical examples for the actual data are presented.
Marketing paradigms and the Indian firm
Authors: Muthiah Krishnaveni 
Published: October 2006

PurposeOver the years, nearly eight marketing paradigms have been recognised. Yet, what really is the extent of the changes/paradigms adopted by firms in India? What changes have the forces of challenges brought in, in the marketing management of Indian firms? The purpose of the present study is to find answers to these questions.Design/methodology/approachExpert opinion method has been adopted, wherein CEOs/Heads of marketing department have been personally interviewed.FindingsContent analysis of the responses gathered shows that, Indian firms are now coming forward to accepting professional management. Conflict paradigm, where primary emphasis is on competition has been greatly acknowledged. Social constructionism, with its strong emphasis on consumers’ view, is also reflected in the responses. From being inward‐looking, the respondent firms are becoming outward‐looking due to the pressures of the market. It is “quality” which is the paradigm that has gained a new momentum, in the form of customer‐specific quality to gain market, quality to withstand competition and quality pressure from world market.Research limitations/implicationsCoverage of many more industrial cities like Mumbai and Delhi has not been included due to insufficient response to the mailed questionnaires. Hence the study has been to the extent of personal interviews in selective cities.Originality/valueFor academicians and marketing professionals, the study provides a practical insight into the changes in business practices among Indian firms. Policy makers and trade associations should on the basis of the changes identified, take steps to provide the necessary structural adjustments and supportive framework. If need be, they can carry out the relevant studies mentioned in the future scope of research and base their decisions.