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This paper aims to provide new evidence that the US phytosanitary regime is associated with a restrictive market access environment for fruit and vegetable products. One chief reason seems to be that the US regime uses a positive list approach, under which only authorized countries can export.

The methodology of the paper is primarily qualitative. This paper reviews the US sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) system and its scope for use to protect markets, in addition to protecting life and health. The approach is institutional and political economic.

For most products, only a portion of global production is authorized for export to the USA. Even among authorized countries, only a small proportion is actually exported. As a result, the number of countries exporting fresh fruit and vegetables to the USA is far lower than those exporting to countries like the EU and Canada, but it is on a par with markets known to be restrictive in this area, such as Australia and Japan. Using a data set of fruit and vegetable market access and political contributions, this paper also provides evidence showing that domestic political economy considerations may influence the decision to grant market access to foreign producers.

The US SPS system has not previously been analyzed in this way, and the distinction between negative and positive list approaches is highlighted in terms of its implications for third-party exporters. Similarly, the analysis of political contributions is novel and suggestive of an important dynamic at work in the determination of the US policy.

The inaugural meeting of the newly established National Party was held in the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, on Thursday, October 25th, under the presidency of Admiral Lord Beresford. There was a large and distinguished audience numbering about 3,000 persons, among those on the platform being Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Brigadier‐General Page Croft, M.P., Mr. Havelock Wilson, Miss Constance Williams, the Hon. G. J. Jenkins (all of whom addressed the meeting), Earl Bathurst, Sir C. Allom, Major Alan Burgoyne, M.P., Colonel Cassal, Mr. G. K. Chesterton, Sir R. Cooper, M.P., Capt. Viscount Duncannon, M.P., Sir W. Earnshaw Cooper, Mr. H. A. Gwynne, Mr. Rowland Hunt, M.P., Lieut.‐Col. Lord Leconfield, Lord Leith of Fyvie, Admiral Sir H. Markham, The Earl of Northesk, Colonel R. H. Rawson, M.P., Lord Edward St. Maur, Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, Lord Stafford and others.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the rights of shareholders, particularly those of minority shareholders in the management of firms in Ghana.

As a result of the largely unexplored nature of this issue in Ghana, a qualitative analysis was conducted to offer a painstaking understanding needed. The case study design is in particular relevant for exploring such phenomenon, as it evolves through the experiences of several key players.

Data indicate that minority shareholders’ influence is, in most cases, nil in every aspect of their firms. Whilst majority shareholders have an absolute right to appoint or influence the appointment of top officials of the firms, minority shareholders’ role in the selection is limited. In addition, in regards to control of corporate decision-making processes, unlike the majority shareholders, the minority shareholders do not have any influence on them. Further, in terms of relevant information, whilst the majority shareholders have absolute access to them anytime they desire, the minority shareholders only rely on annual general meetings to get hold of them, thus limiting their access to corporate information. The revelations unambiguously grant the majority shareholders of the firms absolute control rights whilst undermining the rights of the minority shareholders. This paper was concluded by itemizing the implications of our findings for management, regulators and governments.

It is believed that this is among the handful of studies that have been conducted using developing or emergent economy data to empirically analyse how minority shareholders wield their rights in emergent economies and to add to the mounting pool of scattered cross-country evidence.

The purpose of this paper is to map out the soft and hard infrastructures that may have contribute to the SRI indices development in China. As part of the research, the author particularly focuses on the governance, reporting and transparency of corporate sustainability issues in China.

The author reviewed literature, new articles, research reports and documents of the two stock exchanges, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, in China, to understand the current SRI development and the challenges and opportunities for SRI indices in the market.

The major findings from this paper are four‐fold. First, as the government's influence in the market is still substantial, government leadership in promoting corporate sustainability and SRI is essential in China. Second, with the stock exchanges already taking a proactive role in corporate sustainability with the stringent listing regulations, they are the natural facilitators in having SRI indices and promoting corporate sustainability in the market. Third, the lack of transparency in China is a barrier for SRI development. While there are positive developments on corporate disclosure, “how much information the corporations are willing to disclose” or “whether they disclose the information you ask for” are the two key questions. And fourth, there are lots of interests from globalised SRI investors in China. Currently, majority of SRI investment in emerging markets (including China) is from globalised SRI investors. This trend will continue as the size of local SRI investors in emerging markets is still relatively small.

The paper highlights the current development of SRI in China and identifies the issues that contribute or hinder the development of SRI and SRI indices in the market. The analysis of the SRI development in China can shed some lights to the current research on SRI and SRI indices, which have largely focused on developed markets. With the rapid economic growth in emerging markets (especially China), the development in these markets could not be neglected. Furthermore, this paper will enhance global SRI investors' understandings on SRI in China.

From the theoretical perspectives of both multi-agent systems and smart business networks, empirical studies analyzing agent-based inter-organizational systems (ABIOS) in a real-life business setting are rare. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ABIOS on the performance of business networks.

This study presents a theoretical conceptual model portraying the influence of ABIOS on clients’ coordination structure and information architecture; and the impact of those structural alterations on business network performance in terms of the coordination, agility, and informational performances. To validate the model, a cross-case analysis was conducted in three logistics cases, namely, warehousing, freight forwarding, and intermodal transportation.

The application of ABIOS requires adjustments to the information architecture or the coordination structure, or both. Subsequently, those structural adjustments will stimulate improvements in the coordination, agility, and informational performances.

The assessment of the clients’ performance improvement is done at the company level not at an aggregate network level. Moreover, the study only covers cases from the logistics sector.

This study explains the structural consequences of ABIOS applications. The adoption of an inter-organizational system is a strategic decision that requires support from multi-stakeholders. While the applications of ABIOS can offer performance improvement opportunities, adjustments must be made to the existing coordination structure or the information architecture, or both.

This study contributes to the smart business network literature and the ABIOS literature by presenting a validated conceptual model explaining the interplay among ABIOS, the coordination structure, informational structure, and business network performance, namely, the coordination, agility, and informational performances.

This paper aims to test the relationship between team role diversity and team performance, as one of the main assumptions behind the highly cited and used Belbin model and test.

Data were collected among 24 teams of 144 students that participated in different rounds of a management game. All students performed a Belbin role self‐test prior to the management game. Performance of the teams was measured by the grade they received for the year‐end report written, and the financial results they achieved at the end of the management game.

No relationship was found between team role diversity and team performance. Also, it was found that the Belbin role of the team leader was not related to team performance as well. The only significant relationship found was between the individual study results of the team members and the grade they received for the year‐end report.

Results might change if team performance is measured by other indicators, such as the level of in‐team collaboration or collective motivation.

It should not be expected that creating diversity of roles within teams automatically leads to better performance. Continuous improvement, recognizing the phase team development is in, should also be in place to balance team members and support their performance.

This paper contributes to the empirical testing of assumptions and ideas behind Belbin's model and test. Given its limitations, it provides new triggers to conduct more, similar empirical research.

Introduction. This study examined the association between self-rated physical and oral health, cigarette smoking, and history of criminal justice contact (i.e., never arrested; arrested, but never incarcerated; or incarcerated in reform school, detention, jail, or prison) among African American men and women. Methods. We conducted descriptive statistical, linear regression, and multinomial regression analyses of the African American subsample (n = 3,570) from the National Survey of American Life (2001–2003). Results. Overall, African American women reported lower arrest rates and histories of incarceration than African American men. Additionally, we found that criminal justice contact was associated with lower self-rated physical health and oral health and higher levels of smoking for both men and women. African American women who had been arrested and detained in facilities other than jail had more chronic health problems than their male counterparts. Furthermore, having been arrested or spent time in a reform school, detention center, jail, or prison significantly increased the odds of African American men being a current smoker. Lastly, among African American women, those who had any level of criminal justice contact were likely to be current smokers and former smokers compared to those without a history of criminal justice contact. Conclusion. Addressing the health of African Americans with criminal justice contact is a critical step in reducing health disparities and improving the overall health and well-being of African American men and women. Furthermore, attention to differences by gender and specific types of criminal justice contact are important for a more precise understanding of these relationships.

The methodological discourse of mixed-methods research offers general procedures to combine quantitative and qualitative methods for investigating complex fields of research such as higher education. However, integrating different methods still poses considerable challenges. To move beyond general recommendations for mixed-methods research, this chapter proposes to discuss methodological issues with respect to a particular research domain. Taking current studies on the transition to higher education as an example, the authors first provide an overview of the potentials and limitations of quantitative and qualitative methods in the research domain. Second, they show the need for a conceptual framework grounded in the theory of the research object to guide the integration of different methods and findings. Finally, an example study that investigates transition with regard to the interplay of the individual student and the institutional context serves to illustrate the guiding role of theory. The framework integrates different theoretical perspectives on transition, informs the selection of the research methods, and defines the nexus of the two strands that constitute the mixed-methods design. As the interplay of individual and context is of concern for teaching and learning in general, the example presented may be fruitful for the wider field of higher education research.