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A new nonparametric procedure is developed to evaluate the significance of violations of weak separability. The procedure correctly detects weak separability with high probability using simulated data that have violations of weak separability caused by adding measurement error. Results are not very sensitive when the amount of measurement error is miss-specified by the researcher. The methodology also correctly rejects weak separability for nonseparable simulated data. We fail to reject weak separability for a monetary and consumption data set that has violations of revealed preference, which suggests that measurement error may be the source of the observed violations.

To be able to achieve the uptake and usage of green buildings requires various actors within the construction value chain to be engaged. Despite its global uptake, green building construction is still at its nascent stage in Ghana. Most studies in sub-Saharan Africa point to the lack of knowledge as one of the mitigating factors against its development. However, there is a dearth of studies assessing the level of knowledge of stakeholders. The terms “knowledge” and “awareness” of green building construction are often used interchangeably in the Ghanaian Construction Industry (GCI). This study seeks to unearth the level of knowledge of stakeholders on green building construction through a comparative analysis of construction professionals and demand-side operators.

A structured questionnaire was issued to professionals in the various recognised bodies in the construction industry and public and private institutions in Ghana. Frequency, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, median statistics and Mann–Whitney U-Test were used to rank and analyse the level of knowledge of stakeholders.

Construction professionals were more aware of green building construction than the demand-side operators. It was further identified that only a few of these stakeholders had hands-on experience as the majority of them have gained their awareness through research studies. Based on the findings of the study, it was revealed that the concept of green building construction is more abstract to stakeholders than practical despite their positive attitude towards its adoption.

Contextually, the study has aided in showing the level of knowledge of stakeholders on green building construction. The findings of the study aside from it aiding policymakers have also helped in identifying the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders, their strengths and weakness in green building construction. It is recommended that due to the differences in socio-political structures and construction methods, a clear definition of green building based on the availability of resources in the GCI will encourage its adoption.

The study used two stakeholder groupings in the GCI as the unit of analysis. This enabled insightful discoveries into the knowledge-attitude gap of Ghanaian stakeholders that are driving the adoption of green building.

Many authors have predicted that the shorter product life cycles, advanced manufacturing technologies, decreasing emphasis on labour in the production process, and global competition may lead to the demise of standard costing. This exploratory study aims to provide empirical evidence on the extent to which companies in Malaysia use standard costing. It also examines the differences in the use of such techniques between local Malaysian firms and Japanese affiliates.

From the industrial and consumer products sectors listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and 21 Japanese affiliates in Malaysia, 66 companies were surveyed.

Despite its various criticisms, the empirical findings suggest that standard costing is still being used by a large majority of firms in Malaysia. Thus, Malaysian companies (both Japanese and local) perceive that the basic principles of standard costing remain sound.

While the empirical results may be interesting, the findings represent an exploratory area of research which ultimately needs to be grounded in theory. To do this, future studies should undertake detailed case studies on management accounting in practice.

Provides empirical evidence of the extent of use of standard costing in Malaysia.

This chapter investigates whether signing more hospital contracts with Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), hospital affiliation in a system, having more system hospital members located in the same area, and increased competition from area hospitals, contributes to improvements in the cost efficiency of U.S. Midwestern hospitals. Hospitals may offer HMOs and PPOs discounts on contracts to provide health care services to firm employees enrolled in HMOs and PPOs (discounts would lead to smaller price mark-ups over costs for hospital services). Enacting policies to enhance cost efficiency may help hospitals maintain a specified level of profits.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

Higher education (HE) in the UK has recently suffered financial pressure due to reduced central funding, and the requirement to widen student access. The estate is typically the second highest revenue expense and is an obvious target for efficiency gains. Sector‐wide statistics show there are opportunities for improving efficiency and many influential bodies have advocated space charging as a way of achieving them. This paper aims to investigate space performance indicators for evidence that space charging improves space use efficiency.

The approach used is a statistical analysis of space performance indicators for space charging and other higher education institution (HEIs).

Approximately one‐quarter of HEIs in the UK operated space charging in 2000‐2001 but only ten out of 31 space‐related performance indicators for the period 1998‐2001 suggest that increased efficiency results. Scrutiny of the background data shows they predominantly reflect differences in institutional wealth and activities, rather than space use management. Efficiency measures relating space to use provide no evidence of efficiency gains, suggesting that the application of charging as a space management tool is ineffective.

The methodology does not reveal the reasons for the disparity between theory and results of space charging. Qualitative research into the application of charging systems is required to provide an explanation.

The conclusions are important for HE managers who are considering implementing expensive systems to improve space efficiency. The results also shed light on the usefulness of space performance indicators for HE estates.

Although there have been many assertions that space charging will improve space use efficiency in the HE sector, this research provides evidence to the contrary.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new public health leadership graduate program, and the incorporation of a practical global perspective to health leadership education using contemporary organization development inquiry methods to develop a case‐based learning strategy using graduate student‐authored cases.

Case‐based curricula have been designed for the leadership and organizational change courses in the Public Health Leadership MPH Program that promote a global orientation and relevancy by having graduate students individually develop cases based on their experiences and observations in their own health care and social systems. They develop these cases using an extensive series of Appreciative Inquiry questions that focus on successful leadership practices, and the key stages involved in leading successful sustainable change. This method gives the students a framework to analyze leadership and leading change cases from the perspective of what the leaders they have observed did well and what they could have changed to have been more effective.

The student‐authored leadership and leading change case‐studies, based on an Appreciative Inquiry question strategy, indicate that this approach is indeed helpful in meeting the adopted mandate of making the leadership training curriculum relevant not only to Canadians, but also to those international graduate students who come from widely differing health and social systems.

The design of this leadership program appears to have real potential in facilitating graduate students to understand how leadership practices and leading change processes are applicable both within the context of their own health care and social systems, and through encouraging a class‐wide global perspective by learning from each other's unique case studies.

This paper illustrates how principles from organization development inquiry methods can be used to customize case‐study learning to bring global perspective to health leadership education.