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Bradford formula (index) or factor (BF) was originally designed for use as part of the overall investigation and management of absenteeism. Work ability index (WAI) is an instrument that has been used to evaluate work ability. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate retrospectively, the properties of the WAI, the BF and their combination – the sickness absence probability factor – in predicting future sickness absence.

Data on sickness absences of shipyard employees for the period 2002-2006 were utilized for the calculation of the relevant BFs. The Greek version of the WAI questionnaire was also used. The sickness absence probability factor was calculated by summing up the scores of the two other tools, after transforming them into categorical variables.

Increased BF values are positively and strongly correlated to increased sickness absenteeism levels in the following years (p<0.001), especially for the immediate following years. WAI score is also strongly negatively correlated to absence. The combination of BF and WAI acted even better.

The use of tools, like the BF and the suggested sickness probability factor, should be considered by occupational health personnel in order to act proactively on sickness absenteeism, since they were found to be related to future absenteeism. Actions should follow health and safety rules and ethics and should be undertaken by competent health personnel.

In this paper the authors aim to investigate the importance of factors for the adoption of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) in the public sector. They seek to evaluate how different factors impact during the initiation and implementation phases of the adoption process.

The authors base the methodological approach on two exploratory case studies with a contrasting result logic. They build a multi‐level framework grounded both on literature review, and feedback from stakeholders. They then apply the framework to two case studies to better frame the findings. They consider phases of adoption (initiation, implementation) and the levels of adoption (technological, organizational, environmental, individual).

In the case studies, the authors found the importance of a strong and decision‐centric management board to give the impulse for the initiation phase of the process. As perceived by the stakeholders, a strong governmental support is of paramount importance to increase the adoption at the public level, although in the case studies examined the initiation stage started from the impulse of a championing management. Both case studies passed the initiation phase successfully. Continuous employees' training, organizational objectives consensus, and business process reengineering have been found important for the implementation phase. In the case study in which these factors were not in place, the implementation phase of adoption failed. Environmental factors – although relevant for the initiation of the adoption process – are less significant during the actual implementation of the adoption process, as the contrasting result logic from the case studies shows.

The study refers to two public organizations in a specific environmental setting. No causality among factors has been inferred. Quantitative objective data have been used to determine the success of adoption, for qualitative data multiple sources have been used when possible to limit threats to validity.

The framework can be used by stakeholders in public organizations to better frame their adoption strategies and to compare results across institutions. Lessons learnt from the case studies can be useful to drive future adoptions of FLOSS.

The framework combines phases of adoption and levels making it possible to frame the analysis of the case studies. It has been operationalized with a set of metrics, and with a protocol for the case studies to increase replicability value.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a standard procedure for Bradford analysis: export citations from research databases to a bibliographic management tool, separate the desired citation fields with bibliographic output styles, and then manipulate the empirical data, formulate graph and analyze linearity with Microsoft Excel.

The methodology mainly employed by the paper is to test the theory of Bradford's law of scattering. Based on research work and experiments, a standard procedure for Bradford analysis is to be developed.

A standard procedure for Bradford analysis is developed. The study also shows that the literature in systems librarianship follows Bradford distribution.

Many fields or disciplines of literature have been found to follow Bradford's law, which seems to offer a great potential promise for solving library problems. However, empirical Bradford analysis demands tedious computation, and sophisticated graphical formulation. This paper develops an easy operational procedure for Bradford analysis, which will shed light on problem solving in a similar bibliometric analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to test the dual frames of reference theory. For the test, the reference point hypothesis examines whether the difference in the quality of social conditions between the home and host countries determines the variations of immigrants’ trust in the institutions of their host country.

By using hierarchical linear modeling analysis, the current study examines whether “difference of homicide rate from South Korea” or “difference of level of democracy from South Korea” influences immigrants’ confidence in the police. Using data collected from nine different immigrant groups in South Korea, the current study examined both country-level factors as well as individual-level factors.

According to the analysis results, the difference of level of democracy from South Korea significantly influenced immigrants’ confidence in the South Korean police. Specifically, when immigrants came from democratically under-developed countries, they showed a relatively high level of confidence in the South Korean police.

Confidence in the police among the first generation of immigrants has recently attracted increasing attention. However, no previous studies have examined immigrants’ confidence in the police within an Asian country. Thus, the current study might contribute to generating better police performances toward first-generation immigrants who tend to be discriminated against and are also vulnerable to various forms of victimization because of their new status in a new society.

This paper reviews the human behaviour and risk communications which occurred during a number of major fires (Beverly Hills Supper Club, Summerland, Woolworth’s, Bradford, King’s Cross) and a crowd crush (Hillsborough). The paper draws on official Inquiry reports and related research, including a series of five underground station evacuation studies modelled on the King’s Cross fire scenario. The pattern of delay in warning the public is considered in terms of misconceptions about “panic” and the performance of public facilities as a communication system consisting of design, technology, management and occupancy (setting in use). The paper advocates performance‐based design, warning system technology and facilities management (organisational and occupant response) criteria, allied to minimally sufficient early warning of the public on a risk communication timeline. The latter needs to address and accommodate the timing and duration of occupant response, shelter and escape behaviour from different locations as an emergency unfolds.

This paper examines whether dissimilarities in societal cultures impact the path by which a key component of organizational culture—supervisory procedural justice (SPJ)—influences police officer compliance with police agency rules.

The study utilized structural equation modeling across a data set of 1,189 Croatian and Taiwan police officers to test whether a societal value (individualism/collectivism) impacts the role of three intermediary variables (trust in the public, job satisfaction and pro-organization initiative) in a procedural justice model of officer compliance with the rules.

The study found that, despite a strong statistical similarity in the individual attitudes of Croatian and Taiwan police officers, the intermediary variables in the model significantly differed between the two countries. Most notably, the role of trust in the public and pro-organization initiative supported past research suggesting that collectivist versus individualistic societal cultures lead to divergent organizational attitudes and policing outcomes.

This is the first empirical study to compare the impact of societal values on a model of SPJ on officer compliance with agency rules.

While there has been increasing interest in the impact of courtmandated education finance reform on school district efficiency, research on the subject is scant. Taking advantage of New Jersey Supreme Court cases that have altered the way in which state school aid is distributed, this paper examines the effect of changes in the education finance system on school district efficiency. Building on existing literature on public sector efficiency, a longitudinal data analysis based on two-stage DEA models reveals that courtmandated increases in state aid to a limited number of poor school districts decreased the districts' efficiency. Though these results should be interpreted with some caution, in particular, the limitation of DEA as an efficiency measure, they imply that, as with any policy, policy makers and courts should be aware of how policy changes affect local government behavior and that it is necessary to evaluate policy outcome taking into account both resources and performance.

Susan Stevens, head of HR at Toshiba Information Systems UK, describes how the company developed a strategy to measure and improve absence rates and overall employee well‐being.

To introduce strategies for managing absence and building a positive attendance culture.

Devises a strategy to build an attendance culture.

An attendance policy, procedure and trained managers will improve attendance.

Managers should actively manage employee attendance.

Savings to employee costs and improved morale.