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1 – 10 of 27Christina Victor, Ian Hastie, Georgina Christodoulou and Peter Millard
Despite the new ‘needs driven’ criteria for public funded admission to nursing homes, there remains concern that older people are entering such care inappropriately. However…
Abstract
Despite the new ‘needs driven’ criteria for public funded admission to nursing homes, there remains concern that older people are entering such care inappropriately. However, neither previous research or policy makers have sub‐divided such inappropriate entries into their constituent groups: those who are inappropriate because they are too independent and those who are inappropriate because they are too dependent. The aims of this study were to determine the extent of inappropriate nursing home admission amongst older people in nursing homes in six areas of England and Wales between 1995‐96. This was done through a retrospective case‐note review using a structured data‐collection pro forma. Although the study found no evidence of extensive inappropriate placement, extrapolation of these data suggests that 6,750 of those admitted to nursing care could have coped in a more independent environment. The inappropriately admitted group were more likely to have lived alone, be female, elderly and not to have seen a geriatrician. It is concluded that the most effective way to prevent such admissions would be to ensure the involvement of specialist geriatricians in the multidisciplinary team involved in admission decisions.
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Stella Korobili, Aphrodite Malliari and George Christodoulou
The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of Greek librarians regarding information literacy programs and their preparedness for such programs.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of Greek librarians regarding information literacy programs and their preparedness for such programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was targeted at all professional and paraprofessional staff of the academic libraries in Greece and Cyprus. The instrument was a specially designed structured questionnaire which included 20 questions, in sum 67 variables.
Findings
Most libraries do not deliver information literacy programs, but some kind of library instruction. Many respondents consider that more money, more librarians and an appropriately equipped space are the best ways to improve information literacy programs. Concerning the information literacy trainers, there are those who emphasize teaching abilities and/or pedagogical experience, and those who emphasize infrastructure and funding.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the existing knowledge of information literacy skills by revealing certain issues regarding the academic libraries in Greece and Cyprus.
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Stella Korobili, Aphrodite Malliari and George N. Christodoulou
The purpose of this paper is to investigate student information literacy skills in the Technological Education Institute (TEI) of Thessaloniki, Greece, and examine whether courses…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate student information literacy skills in the Technological Education Institute (TEI) of Thessaloniki, Greece, and examine whether courses and/or library seminars make any difference and contribute to the development of information literacy skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey is conduct with students from all the departments of TEI that are enrolled at the sixth or seventh semester of their studies. The instrument of the survey is a structured questionnaire that included 12 questions, and measured a total of 73 variables.
Findings
A significant percentage of the students have not completed an assignment in the previous semester, are not acquainted with the scientific sources available in the library, and have not attended an information literacy course and/or a library seminar. However, there is a slight difference between those respondents who have “attended an IL course integrated in the curriculum” and those who have not.
Originality/value
The approaches described here may be helpful to librarians when they prepare guidelines for a program that assesses the level of students with regard to information literacy skills.
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This article focuses on the consequences of having FraX‐E, the rare but well recognised variant of fragile X syndrome. The authors provide some background on the condition and…
Abstract
This article focuses on the consequences of having FraX‐E, the rare but well recognised variant of fragile X syndrome. The authors provide some background on the condition and report on recent research and evidence. Three case reports are outlined and the specific behavioural aspects of the syndrome are considered. The authors argue that it is important that the behavioural phenotype for FraX‐E is clearly identified and defined in order to give those with the condition relevant psychological and educational support in the future.
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Moustafa Salman Haj Youssef, Hiba Maher Hussein and Ioannis Christodoulou
The purpose of this paper is to examine the national-level predictors of country competitiveness using the concept of managerial discretion. The objective is to empirically link…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the national-level predictors of country competitiveness using the concept of managerial discretion. The objective is to empirically link the strategic management discipline particularly the upper echelon theory to the concept of country performance measured by competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper tests the proposed relationship between managerial discretion and country competitiveness using a sample of 18 countries from 6 different regional clusters. Discretion scores are generated from survey responses of prominent senior management consultants, while country competitiveness is measured via the Global Competitiveness Index developed by the World Economic Forum. A multi-level regression analysis on the panel data set spanning 10 years of national competitiveness levels is used to empirically demonstrate the association between managerial discretion and country competitiveness.
Findings
The authors show that managerial discretion is a direct predictor of national competitiveness through its ability to provide CEOs with a wider array of actions to innovate and enhance firm performance which will ultimately contribute to country competitiveness.
Practical implications
The positive influence of managerial discretion on country competitiveness provide an interesting framework to examine the influence of firms over public policy-making. Additionally, with businesses becoming increasingly globalized, the profile of countries becomes of a great importance and can become a tool for corporate strategic decisions, such as: market entry strategies.
Originality/value
By linking the well-known term of competitiveness to the concept of managerial discretion, the authors provide a totally new approach to assess country performance. Additionally, this paper contributes to the growing literature of managerial discretion by discovering new national-level consequences.
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The area of behavioural phenotype research and related clinical practice is now recognised as one of high relevance to all practitioners who help people with learning…
Abstract
The area of behavioural phenotype research and related clinical practice is now recognised as one of high relevance to all practitioners who help people with learning disabilities, whatever their age. Knowledge continues to accumulate rapidly regarding aspects pertaining to aetiology, likely developmental, emotional and behavioural challenges, useful multidisciplinary interventions and supports and long‐term prognosis. This paper reviews the concept, its history and recent developments, focusing on those aspects which are of particular importance to clinical and other care and support professionals and their clients. There is a continuing need for widespread dissemination of the large body of relevant information, and its application to practice in order to maximise benefits for people with learning disabilities and their families.
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Stavros Degiannakis, George Giannopoulos, Salma Ibrahim and Bjørn N. Jørgensen
The authors propose an alternative robust technique to test for discontinuities in distributions and provide consistent evidence of discontinuities around zero for both scaled and…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors propose an alternative robust technique to test for discontinuities in distributions and provide consistent evidence of discontinuities around zero for both scaled and unscaled earnings levels and changes. The advantage of the proposed test is that it does not rely on arbitrary choice of bin width choices.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate the power of the test, the authors examine the density function of non-discretionary earnings and detect no evidence of discontinuities around zero in levels and changes of these non-discretionary earnings. As robustness, the authors use pre-managed earnings excluding accrual and real manipulation and find similar evidence.
Findings
The finding using our technique support the Burgstahler and Dichev (1997) interpretation on earnings management, even for smaller sample sizes and reject the theory that discontinuities arise from scaling and sampling methods.
Originality/value
The study provides an overview of those studies that support and those that oppose using “testing for discontinuities” as a way to examine earnings management. The authors advance the literature by providing an alternative methodology supporting the view that the kink in the distribution represents earnings management.
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Thi Thu Ha Nguyen, Salma Ibrahim and George Giannopoulos
The use of models for detecting earnings management in the academic literature, using accrual and real manipulation, is commonplace. The purpose of the current study is to compare…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of models for detecting earnings management in the academic literature, using accrual and real manipulation, is commonplace. The purpose of the current study is to compare the power of these models in a United Kingdom (UK) sample of 19,424 firm-year observations during the period 1991–2018. The authors include artificially-induced manipulation of revenues and expenses between zero and ten percent of total assets to random samples of 500 firm-year observations within the full sample. The authors use two alternative samples, one with no reversal of manipulation (sample 1) and one with reversal in the following year (sample 2).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors include artificially induced manipulation of revenues and expenses between zero and ten percent of total assets to random samples of 500 firm-year observations within the full sample.
Findings
The authors find that real earnings manipulation models have lower power than accrual earnings manipulation models, when manipulating discretionary expenses and revenues. Furthermore, the real earnings manipulation model to detect overproduction has high misspecification, resulting in artificially inflating the power of the model. The authors examine an alternative model to detect discretionary expense manipulation that generates higher power than the Roychowdhury (2006) model. Modified real manipulation models (Srivastava, 2019) are used as robustness and the authors find these to be more misspecified in some cases but less in others. The authors extend the analysis to a setting in which earnings management is known to occur, i.e. around benchmark-beating and find consistent evidence of accrual and some forms of real manipulation in this sample using all models examined.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of misspecification of currently used models to detect real accounts manipulation.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, the authors recommend caution in interpreting any findings when using these models in future research.
Originality/value
The findings address the earnings management literature, guided by the agency theory.
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Despite numerous studies on the separate health consequences of economic crises and post-migration difficulties, very little is known about the processes through which the…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite numerous studies on the separate health consequences of economic crises and post-migration difficulties, very little is known about the processes through which the intersection of economic crisis and post-migration adversity contribute to migrants’ health vulnerabilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine existing literature about how newly arrived and long-term migrants’ health and well-being are affected by the economic crisis in Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
The ongoing economic recession in Greece, combined with the recent migration crisis, provided an adequate context for investigating migrants’ health and well-being. A narrative literature review was performed on whether and how migrants’ health and well-being are affected by the economic and the migration crises in the particular case of Greece. Papers published between January 2010 and December 2017 were selected based on review of titles and abstracts, followed by a full text review.
Findings
The review identified a surprisingly limited number of relevant studies. Ultimately five studies were selected and their findings summarised. There was only one study attempting to unravel the specific processes through which the crisis and the post-migration problems impact cumulatively on migrants’ health and well-being and to suggest healthcare improvements. Further research on this topic is urgently needed.
Originality/value
This paper explores existing research looking at how migrants’ health and well-being are affected by the economic and the migration crises in Greece. The emerging dearth of research evidence on the above topic is also critically discussed from a socio-political point of view and recommendations are made related to healthcare practice and services set up for migrants’ health and care.
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