Search results

This article is based on a small‐scale study into a tai chi class for older people at risk of falling. The aims of the research were first, to explore what benefits the class members felt they derived from practising tai chi and second, and more specifically, whether or not the class members actually practised tai chi at home. The study was based on two broad assumptions. The first being that the practice of tai chi has benefits for older people at risk of falling. The second assumption being that, such benefits that might result from tai chi, increase with more frequent practice. The latter assumption prompted the desire to investigate whether the class members practised tai chi at home. It was hoped that if it was discovered that class members derived benefits from tai chi, and were, for whatever reason, prevented from practising at home, that some solutions could be found in order to facilitate further practice.The research revealed, somewhat surprisingly, that the members did not believe that tai chi had necessarily reduced their risk of falling. However, notwithstanding this, their commitment to tai chi was very strong. The findings suggest that tai chi had a symbolic value for this predominantly middle‐class group. It allowed them to ‘buy into’ a third age lifestyle, despite increasing intimations of entering the fourth age. The members used tai chi, not only to improve balance and fitness, but also as a means of achieving a positive self‐image. It was therefore an age‐resisting strategy that operated on both a physical and symbolic level.

Uses experiences in Bulgaria to exemplify market entry and control strategies employed by franchisors in a business environment that is geographically and culturally remote from the West. Carries out interviews in 1996 with Bulgarian franchisors and franchisees to test a number of hypotheses relating to issues including the type of franchisor, system densities, market entry strategies and monitoring tactics. Identifies 17 environmental factors ‐ cultural, organisational, political and legal ‐ which represent possible areas of conflict between the franchisor and franchisee. Establishes that franchisors adapt to a remote business environment in a variety of ways in respect of both market entry and monitoring strategies ; establishes some significant correlations between different types of franchisors and their strategies. Finds that western franchisors and Bulgarian owned firms often place different emphasis on the relative importance of environmental factors. Observes a broad variation in market entry tactics. Recommends that franchisors need to establish criteria to establish risks in remote business environments and devise appropriate strategies prior to entry.

Compared with the fierce price competition in 1998, the well‐order price competition is witnessed in Chinese iron and steel industry now and the pricing behaviors of steel firms also follow the certain rules. Based on the methods of collecting the secondary data and interviewing, this paper examines the pricing behaviors of firms to explain the how Chinese steel firms make their pricing decisions and maintain the well‐order competitive relationship among them. The authors found out that (1) most Chinese steel companies adopt a kind of strategic perspective in their pricing decision making, in which understanding of the market trend and the close attention to their competitors are both important; (2) there obviously exists price leader and followers in Chinese iron and steel industry, and the relationship between price leader and followers is relatively stable and the factor behind this phenomenon is the existence of a kind of informal platform of communication among competitors, government and trade associations.

Talks about the cultural aspects of negotiating in China and compares this with Western approaches. Focuses on cultural factors (and the dominant role of Confucianism), followed by steps in the negotiating process. Explains Confucian ethics and how that translates into everyday behaviour of how to treat and address other people. Points out that the Chinese will only do business with people they know and trust, so the importance of first building good personal relationships cannot be overstated. Suggests ways to make a good first impression, including attending banquets and other social occasions, although that opens up a further behavioural minefield. Recommends viewing doing business with the Chinese as a marriage contract based on old‐fashioned courting, rather than in the West, where entering a business relationship could be deemed the equivalent of a marriage of convenience.

The first aim of this review article is to systematically summarise, synthesise, and critically evaluate the research base concerning the use of two art forms, namely, dance‐based exercises and Tai Chi, as applied to people with arthritis (a chronic condition that results in considerable disability and, particularly in later life, severely impacts the life quality of the individual with this condition). A second is to provide directives for health educators who work or are likely to work with this population in the future.

The material specifically focuses on examining the efficacy of dance therapy and Tai Chi as intervention strategies for minimising arthritis disability and dependence and improving life quality. The paper includes a review of all relevant articles published in the English language on the topic.

Collectively, these data reveal that dance‐based exercises and Tai Chi – practiced widely in China for many centuries as an art form, as well as a religious ritual, relaxation technique, exercise, and self‐defence method – may be very useful rehabilitation strategies for people with different forms of arthritis.

While more research is indicated, health educators working with people who have chronic arthritis can safely recommend these two forms of exercise to most people with arthritis with the expectation that both will heighten the life quality of the individual with this condition.

The purpose of this paper is to show how Tai Chi (or T’ai Chi ch’uan) philosophy might be used in global project development. Collected case studies support a Tai Chi-based framework for global project teams to reduce stress and improve decision making through exercises, storytelling, and martial arts practices. The authors first proposed a model or procedural framework based on experiential knowledge from practicing Tai Chi while managing projects.

Analyzing case studies from knowledge managers, project managers, and executive leaders, the researchers collected data on applying the framework from a retrospective case study and from two observational case studies during project development. Tai Chi-based communications and exercises were shown to support critical thinking, knowledge sharing, and problem solving. The proposed framework and four-step procedure build on a global perspective to cultural awareness, creativity, and motivation as well as specific Tai Chi-based tactics, techniques, and operations for knowledge management. This preliminary study looks at improving collaboration in a competitive environment while supporting health, wellness, and work-life enjoyment.

Early research results suggest that teams and individuals working on projects and practicing Tai Chi might develop more cohesive strategies and improve soft skills during their integration of Eastern and Western philosophies.

Used case studies methodology, which provided examples of using Tai Chi during projects. Qualitative data used to develop the proposed framework. Also, interviews and discussion reviews conducted for additional validation collected on framework.

It is a pioneering, preliminary study. Future research with outcomes-based data from project managers using Tai Chi recommended.

The integration of Eastern and Western philosophies into a framework for team project and knowledge management was shown to support cohesive strategies, improve soft skills, and strengthen decision making.

The purpose of this paper is to study price discovery and price convergence in securities trading within a fragmented market environment where stocks are traded on multiple venues. The results provide novel empirical insights questioning the generalizability of the current literature and aim to expand the understanding of price determination in a fragmented market microstructure.

This paper provides an empirical data analysis based on an event study methodology. The authors applied Thomson Reuters Tick History data covering German blue chip stocks listed on multiple venues in 2009 and 2013. Different time aggregations up to one second are applied to provide an in-depth analysis.

The paper empirically discovers a persistent price leader-follower relationship not only during intraday auctions but also in subsequent continuous trading. The authors found that trading on alternative venues instantly dries out in case the dominant market switches to a call auction. In these situations, alternative markets await and adopt the official price signal of the dominant market although prices on alternative venues still indicate a certain extent of price discovery. This phenomenon remains persistent at different levels of market fragmentation, indicating that alternative trading venues fully accept the price leadership role of the dominant market, no matter their own market share.

This paper provides an innovative empirical setup to analyze price co-movement and convergence based on high-frequent data. Further, the results provide novel and robust insights into the price determination process in fragmented markets that clarify the role of price follower and price leader.

This paper aims to present the findings from research commissioned by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), which set out to examine the impact of CHI's clinical governance reviews on NHS trusts in England.

This paper, giving a stratified random sample of 30 NHS trusts, was taken from a set of 75 trusts reviewed by CHI during a period from 2001 to 2003. Documents from these trusts' reviews were analysed. A postal questionnaire was sent to key stakeholders with an involvement or direct interest in each trust's review. Semi‐ structured telephone interviews were held with five to six people from each of four trusts selected as case studies.

In this paper the clinical governance review process was characterized by wide variability in methods, application and effects, in the initial CHI visit and report, and the subsequent NHS trust action plan and SHA progress review. The recommendations made by reviews for change in an NHS trust were often of a nature or expressed in terms, which made measuring their subsequent implementation and impact problematic. CHI recommendations concentrated on management and support processes rather than on direct patient care and outcomes. Trusts were generally willing to accept and then enact CHI review recommendations.

The paper concluded that a more focused and controlled review process would support greater change and improvement. There was evidence to suggest that this kind of regulatory intervention can have largely positive impacts on the organisational performance of NHS trusts, although these positive effects were mainly indirectly related to the delivery of patient care and health improvement. Any future review or inspection processes should place a greater focus upon patient outcomes if such reviews are to demonstrate their value in making a contribution to improving health.

The paper shows that, internationally, there have been few empirical studies analysing the work of health care regulators and their impact on the organisations they regulate. While the work of CHI has been examined by others, this study is the first empirical and largely quantitative analysis of CHI's regulatory regime and its impact within the English NHS. The article is also published at a time when there is much debate about regulatory functions and forms for health and social care.

This article discusses the reasons and discourses adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (Hong Kong SAR Government), with Mr Tung Chee Hwa as the Chief Executive, in preparing young people to become more mature and responsible. In the Hong Kong context this means they should be willing to fulfil community obligations and opt for consultation rather than confrontation should individual or community rights be sought. Confucianism, named after Confucius (551‐479 BCE), has been and still is a vast and complicated system of philosophies, morals, rituals, and ideas, which for well over 2,000 years has informed and inspired the thinking and practice of countless people in Chinese societies and Asian countries in all important areas, including the economy and the polity (Tu, 1998a; Berthrong & Berthrong, 2000; Yao, 2002). Put simply, the goal of Confucian life is to create a peaceful world, with its ethical emphasis placed on the cultivation of the self and the promotion of harmonious and respectful relations with other people in different spheres of human activities.

Structural factors during Chinese and Japanese immigration and settlement processes required families to adapt in ways that altered traditional gender behaviors. This study examines how two factors – spousal immigration order and family economic structure – affected the gendered division of labor and how gender roles consequently were reconstructed for first and second generation Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans. These issues are investigated through secondary data analysis of 21 in‐depth interviews with daughters of Chinese and Japanese immigrants on the West Coast.