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1 – 10 of 16Nancy Hudspeth and Gerard Wellman
Public transit is an essential service for people without access to an automobile, particularly those who are low income, elderly, or with disabilities. Previous research has…
Abstract
Purpose
Public transit is an essential service for people without access to an automobile, particularly those who are low income, elderly, or with disabilities. Previous research has found that large urban transit agencies receive less state funding per ride provided than suburban agencies. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the National Transit Database for 37 of the largest US transit agencies, the authors create a panel data set of services provided and sources of operating funds for the period 1991-2009. The authors develop an equity index that represents the difference between the share of state funding that an agency receives and the share of the total transit rides in the state that it provides. The authors use fixed-effects regression modeling to examine the determinants of fiscal balance and the equity index.
Findings
The authors find that the share of an agency’s operating funds that come from dedicated taxes is a significant predictor of fiscal health as measured by its fiscal balance; reliance on passenger fares and provision of bus service are significant predictors of operating deficits. The equity index finds that large agencies receive less than their fair share of state transit funding based on ridership.
Practical implications
Dedicated tax revenues are a key ingredient to transit agencies’ fiscal stability. Transit agencies’ fiscal condition in states and localities that do not have a dedicated tax could benefit from such a tax.
Social implications
Transit is an essential service for people who are unable to drive or own an automobile; funding inequities maintain old patterns of segregation and isolation for “transit dependents.”
Originality/value
This study supports earlier research finding that large agencies receive less than their fair share of state funding based on ridership. It contributes to the literature on transportation equity and transit finance.
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William Gerard Ryan, Alex Fenton, Wasim Ahmed and Phillip Scarf
The purpose of this research is to explore and define the digital maturity of events using the Industry 4.0 model (I4.0) to create a definition for Events 4.0 (E4.0) and to place…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore and define the digital maturity of events using the Industry 4.0 model (I4.0) to create a definition for Events 4.0 (E4.0) and to place various relevant technologies on a scale of digital maturity.
Design/methodology/approach
In a mixed methods approach, we carried out a qualitative social media analysis and a quantitative survey of tourism and events academics. These surveys and the thorough literature review that preceded them allowed us to map the digital technologies used in events to levels of a digital maturity model.
Findings
We found that engagement with technology at events and delegate knowledge satisfactorily coexists for and across a number of different experiential levels. However, relative to I4.0, event research and the events industry appear to be digitally immature. At the top of the digital maturity scale, E4.0 might be defined as an event that is digitally managed; frequently upgrades its digital technology; fully integrates its communication systems; and optimizes digital operations and communication for event delivery, marketing, and customer experience. We expect E4.0 to drive further engagement with digital technologies and develop further research.
Originality/value
This study has responded to calls from the academic literature to provide a greater understanding of the digital maturity of events and how events engage with digital technology. Furthermore, the research is the first to introduce the concept of E4.0 into the academic literature. This work also provides insights for events practitioners which include the better understanding of the digital maturity of events and the widespread use of digital technology in event delivery.
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Rong‐An Shang, Yu‐Chen Chen and Chun‐Ju Chen
The purpose of this paper is to explore the social value of information in virtual investment communities and compare its effects with objective information value. A model…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the social value of information in virtual investment communities and compare its effects with objective information value. A model including information quality, social comparison, and herding orientation, and their effects on decision usefulness and member satisfaction, is proposed and tested.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey with a sample of 215 members of investment communities was conducted to test the proposed model.
Findings
The opinion comparison orientation of members and information credibility are positively related to their perceived decision usefulness and satisfaction. Consistency is positively related to decision usefulness, but not to member satisfaction. Members' herding tendency moderates the effect of opinion comparison orientation on decision usefulness and the effect of ability comparison orientation on satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is small and not random. The proportion of students in the sample seems to be higher than it should be among virtual investment community members.
Practical implications
Investors should be careful regarding the social influences of their communities; the effects may not always be good for investment decisions.
Social implications
Virtual communities provide members with social comparison information, which may yield positive effects for members in inspiration, self‐improvement, and self‐enhancement.
Originality/value
The virtual community can be a forum where people gain information regarding others to satisfy their needs for social comparison. Virtual communities provide special social value for their members, even for those who do not interact with others by posting in the communities.
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Sarah Curtis and Anne‐Cecile Hoyez
This review arises from a series of multidisciplinary Franco‐British workshops which were supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Agence…
Abstract
This review arises from a series of multidisciplinary Franco‐British workshops which were supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). More than 30 participants from a range of institutions and agencies were involved in compiling the material in this review (Appendix I). The workshops offered an opportunity to exchange ideas from research on the relationships between migration, health and well‐being in Britain and France. In the following discussion we compare and contrast experiences in the two countries, with the aim of assessing the importance of international, national and local contexts, in their various cultural, social and political dimensions, for the relationships of interest. Drawing on these ideas, we suggest the definition of a future international research agenda.
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IT is evident from the numerous press cuttings which are reaching us, that we are once more afflicted with one of those periodical visitations of antagonism to Public Libraries…
Abstract
IT is evident from the numerous press cuttings which are reaching us, that we are once more afflicted with one of those periodical visitations of antagonism to Public Libraries, which occasionally assume epidemic form as the result of a succession of library opening ceremonies, or a rush of Carnegie gifts. Let a new library building be opened, or an old one celebrate its jubilee, or let Lord Avebury regale us with his statistics of crime‐diminution and Public Libraries, and immediately we have the same old, never‐ending flood of articles, papers and speeches to prove that Public Libraries are not what their original promoters intended, and that they simply exist for the purpose of circulating American “Penny Bloods.” We have had this same chorus, with variations, at regular intervals during the past twenty years, and it is amazing to find old‐established newspapers, and gentlemen of wide reading and knowledge, treating the theme as a novelty. One of the latest gladiators to enter the arena against Public Libraries, is Mr. J. Churton Collins, who contributes a forcible and able article, on “Free Libraries, their Functions and Opportunities,” to the Nineteenth Century for June, 1903. Were we not assured by its benevolent tone that Mr. Collins seeks only the betterment of Public Libraries, we should be very much disposed to resent some of the conclusions at which he has arrived, by accepting erroneous and misleading information. As a matter of fact, we heartily endorse most of Mr. Collins' ideas, though on very different grounds, and feel delighted to find in him an able exponent of what we have striven for five years to establish, namely, that Public Libraries will never be improved till they are better financed and better staffed.
Arthur Lefebvre, Milena M. Parent, Marijke Taks, Michael L. Naraine, Benoit Séguin and Russell Hoye
This paper aims to explore the potential configurations of governance, brand governance and social media strategies leading to effective organizational performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the potential configurations of governance, brand governance and social media strategies leading to effective organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis including 28 Canadian national sport organizations (NSOs) and six conditions highlighted two sufficient configurations for effective organizational performance, defined as either budget per capita or athlete numbers.
Findings
Although no single component of governance, brand governance, or social media strategy is necessary to succeed overall, brand reputation and the strategic use of social media to communicate NSO identity were common to both identified configurations. Accountability was important for effective organizational performance in terms of budget per capita, while transparency was more important for higher athlete numbers. Thus, condition specificity is paramount in non-profit organizations that often have multiple objectives.
Originality/value
This study provides substantial theoretical and managerial implications, including the need to integrate brand governance and social media in non-profit organizations' overall governance activities.
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One of the indirect ways in which the condition of the people may be improved lies in the hands of librarians in arrangements that may be made for the use of the buildings at…
Abstract
One of the indirect ways in which the condition of the people may be improved lies in the hands of librarians in arrangements that may be made for the use of the buildings at their disposal. If the sale of alcohol is to be prohibited or curtailed, large numbers of our working classes will lose their meeting‐place or club, and while the public libraries, as at present constituted, are not in a position to fill the gap, a good deal might be done by way of providing for the possibility of foregathering, for a “feast of reason and a flow of soul,” without the sense of a stern authority always calling attention to the rules and regulations for silence and strict decorum. Really practical suggestions to this end would be of really valuable service now and indeed for all time.
Seohee Chang and Paul Stansbie
A general point of commitment theory is that the more individuals behave in a certain way toward an entity, the more attractive they feel toward that entity. The main purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
A general point of commitment theory is that the more individuals behave in a certain way toward an entity, the more attractive they feel toward that entity. The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether an individual’s perceived attractiveness toward a tourist destination is enhanced by the number of actual visits to each different attraction within the destination, being controlled by satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
In doing so, data were collected from 613 individuals at major tourist attractions and traffic centers in Daejeon Metropolitan City, South Korea. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the findings, and the conclusions drawn indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between the number of visits to different attractions and the perceived attractiveness of the destination, as well as the interaction effect between the number of visits to different attractions and satisfaction.
Findings
The results are supported by literature in the area of commitment theory, in which various authors state that attitudes are evoked by behaviors. Further examination of the findings and conclusions drawn are described in this paper.
Practical implications
This mechanism should strategically be applied to practical implications to provide more accessible routes to a destination and a networking system. When visitors engage in a community in various ways, they are more likely to continue to engage in a community because they do not prefer to have intangible or tangible costs associated with disengagement.
Originality/value
This paper is the first application of the concept of commitment traced from its original psychological theory to the field of tourism. The effort justification paradigm of commitment theory postulates that if individuals work or study hard toward a specific goal, they gradually perceive the goal as attractive. This study found that the aforementioned paradigm shift is expanded to various types of behaviors, including that involving travel. This paper contributes to an in-depth understanding of the original commitment theory and its application to tourism.
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Gerard Beenen and Shaun Pichler
Managerial interpersonal skills (MIPS) are widely considered important for management development, yet the nature of MIPS has eluded researchers. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Managerial interpersonal skills (MIPS) are widely considered important for management development, yet the nature of MIPS has eluded researchers. The purpose of this paper is to propose five MIPS core skills, giving attention to the role of context, the relationship of MIPS to traits, and implications for training design, assessment and evaluation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interweave a discussion forum of domain experts (Hillary Anger-Elfenbein, Timothy Baldwin, Paulo Lopes, Bronston T. Mayes, Ronald Riggio, Robert Rubin and David Whetten) with research commentary and implications for management development. The discussion focussed on: first, how do we define MIPS? Second, how important is context for defining, assessing or developing MIPS? Third, are MIPS traits, or skills that can be developed?
Findings
The authors propose MIPS include five core skills that sequentially build upon one another: managing-self, communicating, supporting, motivating and managing conflict. Although context may impact the importance of each skill across cultures, situations and jobs, the authors offer these skills as a useful starting point for MIPS assessment, training design and evaluation.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed five core skill model for MIPS needs further research and psychometric validation.
Originality/value
By proposing MIPS include five specific trainable skills that are relevant across contexts, this paper advances MIPS research, assessment and development.
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