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1 – 10 of 31Chung‐Shing Lee, J. Thad Barnowe and David E. McNabb
Presents the findings of a cross‐cultural analysis of perceived risks of environmental, technological, and societal problems. An international sample of 295 undergraduate and…
Abstract
Presents the findings of a cross‐cultural analysis of perceived risks of environmental, technological, and societal problems. An international sample of 295 undergraduate and graduate students at three US universities and the National Taiwan University was surveyed. The study was designed to test two hypotheses: first, that today’s university students have grown numb to threat warnings and second, that differences in cultural and political contexts result in variation in the way societies perceive environmental issues and social concerns. Analysis of variance tests identified a number of significant differences in the way US and Asian university students perceive environmental risks, despite the many similarities in the university‐student cultures of both regions.
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Bruce W. Finnie, Linda K. Gibson and David E. McNabb
This paper seeks to use a multi‐disciplinary approach to analyze past and present economic and social explanations for development phenomena. A number of key factors may be…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to use a multi‐disciplinary approach to analyze past and present economic and social explanations for development phenomena. A number of key factors may be missing from the current paradigm.
Design/methodology/approach
Comparative country surveys of corruption, ownership, freedom, and individualism are analyzed and discussed. Measurements on nine separate indices are evaluated for 97 nations. These interact to form a model labeled the Triad of Strains with three composite axes: ownership‐responsibility, freedom‐actualization, and control‐corruption.
Findings
Three theses are suggested from the comparative analyses: without ownership there can be no responsibility, freedom and responsibility go hand‐in‐hand, and unwise use of political control severely undermines economic development.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include unavailable data for key areas such as North Korea.
Practical implications
Implications are that development policies should promote meaningful private ownership and personal freedom.
Originality/value
This research explores how ownership and freedom critically impact prosperity and provides a more complete, multi‐disciplinary framework for economic development.
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All of the above proposals are realities in Western Europe, and it is suggested that the adoption of such “reforms” would substantially reduce the transaction costs of providing…
Abstract
All of the above proposals are realities in Western Europe, and it is suggested that the adoption of such “reforms” would substantially reduce the transaction costs of providing compensation to deserving plaintiffs, improve the efficiency of the tort system, and provide manufacturers and service providers with greater predictability and “fairness” in potential tort damages in the United States.
To provide an analysis of the notion of “information poverty” in library and information science (LIS) by investigating concepts, interests and strategies leading to its…
Abstract
Purpose
To provide an analysis of the notion of “information poverty” in library and information science (LIS) by investigating concepts, interests and strategies leading to its construction and thus to examine its role as a constitutive element of the professional discourse.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting from a Foucauldian notion of discourse, “information poverty” is examined as a statement in its relation to other statements in order to highlight assumptions and factors contributing to its construction. The analysis is based on repeated and close reading of 35 English language articles published in LIS journals between 1995 and 2005.
Findings
Four especially productive discursive procedures are identified: economic determinism, technological determinism and the “information society”, historicising the “information poor”, and the library profession's moral obligation and responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
The material selection is linguistically and geographically biased. Most of the included articles originate in English‐speaking countries. Therefore, results and findings are fully applicable only in an English language context.
Originality/value
The focus on overlapping and at times conflicting discursive procedures, i.e. the results of alliances and connections between statements, highlights how the “information poor” emerge as a category in LIS as the product of institutionally contingent, professional discourse. By challenging often unquestioned underlying assumptions, this article is intended to contribute to a critical examination of LIS discourse, as well as to the analysis of the discourses of information, which dominate contemporary society. It is furthermore seen to add to the development of discourse analytical approaches in LIS research.
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Wendy L. Kraglund-Gauthier and David C. Young
In an educational era focused on expectations related to program accreditation, academic integrity is paramount to program success and credibility. Because Internet-based learning…
Abstract
In an educational era focused on expectations related to program accreditation, academic integrity is paramount to program success and credibility. Because Internet-based learning is not limited to geographical or political lines drawn on a map, there is a certain amount of ambiguity regarding the application of regulations and laws governing online learning and how they are enforced. Managing the financial and accreditation needs of institutions with authentic and appropriate methods of teaching, learning, and assessment is a precarious balance – one in which the potential for misbehaving online can quickly tip the scales to the side of questioning the credibility of online learning and misusing power in terms of data privacy. Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier and David Young explore the issue of how online students misbehave when being tested at a distance, what technological challenges emerge when verifying the identity of online students, and issues of privacy. They also include a comparison of methods used to confirm the identity of online students. In light of the inherent challenges that emerge alongside the demand for more technology-based screening tools and devices, Kraglund-Gauthier and Young question whether solutions lie in competence-based assessment for learning, rather than a reliance on surveillance. They argue that in spite of stakeholders' best efforts and best intentions, legislation directed at ensuring online privacy is fraught with potential challenges.
Meinhard Schwaiger and David Wills
This paper aims to provide the international aeronautical community with details of the development of a new disruptive technology for aircraft propulsion.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide the international aeronautical community with details of the development of a new disruptive technology for aircraft propulsion.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the results achieved by a small Austrian aeronautical innovations company in developing a cyclogyro propulsion system capable of vertical launch and efficient forward flight. The research team progressed from concept definition and simulation (2004-2006), through experimental validation and concept demonstration (2006), component optimization (2006-2012), full system demonstration (2012-2014) and examination of ability to scale (both larger and smaller) (2015 onwards). This paper provides details of the results of each of these stages.
Findings
The research team proved that cyclogyro propulsion can be used for the vertical launch, and that, in forward flight, it has the potential to achieve efficiency beyond the range of conventional fixed wing and rotorcraft.
Research limitations/implications
This research indicates that the efficiency increases with forward speed within the range achieved in standard wind tunnels (up to 35 m/s). This efficiency appears to be caused by a unique chamber effect within the cyclogyro rotor assembly. Future research should be conducted to analyse this chamber effect in greater detail and to test the cyclogyro rotor for speeds beyond 35 m/s.
Practical implications
This work indicates that cyclogyro propulsion could have the potential to provide vertical launch, high speed and highly efficient aircraft that have reduced wing span, no external rotors and exceptional agility. This technology could therefore be feasible for vertical take-off and landing aircraft that can safely form densely packed swarms.
Social implications
It could be researched as an efficiency increase in forward flight completely different to existing propulsion systems. This could open a way for a more efficient air traffic in future and faster reduction of CO2 and NOX emission an allow an environment-friendlier air travelling.
Originality/value
This paper provides the details of the first cyclogyro aircraft to have flown and will serve the aeronautical community by stimulating the debate on this new disruptive technology.
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Jan Kees Looise, Nicole Torka and Jan Ekke Wigboldus
Last decades scholars in the field of human resource management (HRM) have intensely examined the contribution of HRM to organizational performance. Despite their efforts, at…
Abstract
Last decades scholars in the field of human resource management (HRM) have intensely examined the contribution of HRM to organizational performance. Despite their efforts, at least one major research shortcoming can be identified. In general, they have devoted far too little attention to an aspect of HRM potentially beneficial for organizational performance: worker participation, and especially its indirect or representative forms. In contrast, for academics embedded in the industrial relations tradition, worker participation is a prominent theme, even though less emphasized in its relationship with company objectives. One might defend traditional scholars' reservations by arguing that participations main goal concerns workplace democratization and not organizational prosperity. However, several writers state that industrial democracy involving worker participation can channel conflicts of interest between employees and employers and stimulate desired employee attitudes and behavior, consequently enhancing organizational performance (e.g., Gollan, 2006; Ramsay, 1991; Taras & Kaufman, 1999). And, indeed, several studies have shown positive effects of both direct participation (e.g., European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 1997) and indirect participation (e.g., Addison et al., 2000, 2003; Frick & Möller, 2003) on organizational performance.
Nevertheless, to date, the absence of an integrated model explaining the connection between worker participation and organizational performance leads to the following question that still is in need of an answer: how do direct and indirect forms of participation – separate as well as in combination – affect organizational performance? This chapter aims to contribute to the filling of the aforementioned knowledge gaps. In so doing, we focus on direct and indirect, nonunion participation on the firm level, using a Western European and especially Dutch frame of reference.
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Muhammad Kashif Imran, Ahmad Raza Bilal, Usman Aslam and Ubaid-Ur- Rahman
The most critical phase of a change process is change implementation and it is evident that the masterfully originated change process fails due to its poor implementation…
Abstract
Purpose
The most critical phase of a change process is change implementation and it is evident that the masterfully originated change process fails due to its poor implementation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to profile how knowledge management (KM) strategies, personalization and codification, are helpful in successful change implementation by reducing employee cynicism and increasing the level of readiness for change.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 196 executives of National Bank of Pakistan at Time 1 (pre-implementation) and Time 2 (post-implementation) with the temporal research design. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the direct effect; Preacher and Hayes (2004) test is applied to measure the mediating effect and guidelines of Aguinis (2004) are followed for analyzing the moderating effect.
Findings
The result of the direct effect shows that both KM strategies have significant positive effect on successful change implementation. Further, mediation analysis proves that readiness for change partially mediates between KM strategies and successful change implementation. In addition, partial interactive effects of employee cynicism is observed between readiness for change and successful change implementation.
Research limitations/implications
The management should initiate steps to boost personalization and codification strategies at their optimal levels. This would ultimately be helpful to implement a successful change through developing readiness for change and reducing the employee cynicism regarding change.
Originality/value
The area of successful change implementation in the context of KM strategies was untapped, and is examined in this study.
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Immanuel Azaad Moonesar, Melodena Stephens, Mark Batey and David J. Hughes