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1 – 10 of over 1000Kajal Patel and Ian Shaw
This paper explores issues surrounding the under‐representation of people from the Gujarati community in mental health statistics and services in the UK and asks why people from…
Abstract
This paper explores issues surrounding the under‐representation of people from the Gujarati community in mental health statistics and services in the UK and asks why people from the Gujarati communities are less likely to seek assistance for mental health problems. It is well known that members of the African‐Caribbean community are over‐represented in mental health statistics, and this is attributed to factors such as racial discrimination, social adversity and stress of migration. However, members of the Gujarati community have also been exposed to these hardships, but are not similarly represented in the mental health statistics. The paper explores a selection of the key literature. Two questions are considered: first, whether this group genuinely has very good mental health (and if so why); and second, whether there are any factors that hold members of this community back from seeking help.
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Ashima Gupta and Mini K. Sheth
Gujarati households are known for high consumption of edible oil and fried foods. However, there is lack of information on their knowledge about its use for various preparations…
Abstract
Purpose
Gujarati households are known for high consumption of edible oil and fried foods. However, there is lack of information on their knowledge about its use for various preparations and associated health risks. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Guajarati housewives in the age group of 30‐65 years were surveyed from five different zones of Vadodara. Information on their knowledge about the use of edible oils and associated health risks was collected using a pre‐tested structured questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire.
Findings
Only 5 percent subjects consumed deep fried foods daily. Odds ratio showed high association (OR=4.50) between daily consumption of deep fried food and obesity. Significant association (p<0.05) and high odds ratio (5.13) were seen between daily consumption of shallow fried foods and presence of diabetes. Obesity and hypertension were seen in 54.1 and 15.8 percent subjects, respectively. About 24 percent families used hydrogenated vegetable oil (vanaspati) for cooking purposes. Butter and ghee rich in saturated fats were regularly used by most families.
Practical implications
Poor knowledge amongst the Gujarati housewives on the correct use of fats and oils in their daily diets calls for an exhaustive education program to reduce high prevalence of obesity and other co‐morbidities prevalent in this part of the country.
Originality/value
This is an original research work completed in September 2011.
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Doreen L. Mazzye and Joan Gujarati
Research in this field is becoming increasingly clear that a teacher residency program (TRP) has a strong potential for developing effective teachers in a teacher preparation…
Abstract
Purpose
Research in this field is becoming increasingly clear that a teacher residency program (TRP) has a strong potential for developing effective teachers in a teacher preparation context. There are specific features of a TRP that yield results in the development of teachers. However, there are often barriers to full implementation of a TRP that schools and university partnerships must consider and resolve. The purpose of this article is to disseminate the lessons we have learned and processes we have developed in navigating the barriers and complexities of shifting toward a TRP.
Design/methodology/approach
The university faculty members with a dual role as Professional Development School (PDS) liaisons examine, reflect on, and present their multiyear process of moving from an undergraduate traditional teacher preparation model to a teacher residency model.
Findings
In response to the barriers of funding, defining roles and responsibilities, and changes in leadership, we developed an undergraduate residency blueprint to navigate these challenges productively. One of the goals of this document is to provide clarity for all stakeholders as well as be a transparent solution for leadership transitions. The blueprint serves as a guide for the details of residency program design.
Originality/value
In movement toward a TRP, there are often barriers to full implementation that schools and university partnerships must consider and resolve. This article provides a model for partnerships seeking to navigate teacher residency work.
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Kanupriya Misra Bakhru, Manas Behera and Alka Sharma
This paper aims to examine the traditional business communities and family businesses of India, their emergence and sustained growth.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the traditional business communities and family businesses of India, their emergence and sustained growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze the role of business communities in family businesses of India and identify business communities that have still sustained and marked a global presence.
Findings
Business communities such as Marwaris have the knack for business activities and are leaders of family businesses in India today, who have sustained their past success and continue to create new histories. Other traditional business communities such as Parsis, Sindhis, Chettiars and Gujarati banias have not been able to sustain much. Possible reasons were switching to white-collar jobs, taking up diplomacy and other professions, inter caste marriages, international migration in search of business and Indian government policies.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a useful source of information for academics, policy-makers and economists.
Practical implications
Traditional business communities populate the list of family businesses that have marked their global presence. This paper identifies various factors that are responsible for the growth and sustainability of these business communities.
Social implications
The study clarifies the role of business communities in domestic economic development.
Originality/value
The paper explored traditional business communities of India and assessed their role in family businesses of India that currently mark a global presence.
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Angela J.M. Donkin, Elizabeth A. Dowler, Simon J. Stevenson and Sheila A. Turner
Access to food is currently on the political agenda. This paper presents a quantitative method for local level use to help identify the geographic location of areas with…
Abstract
Access to food is currently on the political agenda. This paper presents a quantitative method for local level use to help identify the geographic location of areas with inadequate access to food. A census of retail outlets selling food of any kind was carried out in a deprived area within a 2km radius from a central point between two estates. Information on the price and availability of “healthy” food lists, acceptable to each of the four major ethnic groups in the area, was collected. The food lists were not mutually exclusive. Food shops were mapped in terms of food availability and price indices using Geographical Information System (GIS) software. Maps show, progressively: roads within/outside 500m of a postcode with any outlet selling food; any outlet selling more than 50 per cent of the food list, below the area mean price, acceptable to a Gujarati Hindu; the latter in relation to population density. Within the area analysed there appears to be reasonable walking access to the more reasonably priced shops within the area, however the cost of a healthy diet would still require more than 50 per cent of the income of someone in receipt of income support.
This paper aims to observe how the Catalyst Energy college of engineering for women has played a significant role in helping to train women in fields such as mechanical…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to observe how the Catalyst Energy college of engineering for women has played a significant role in helping to train women in fields such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and power production and so overcome a shortage of qualified women in these fields.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines what gave rise to the diversity initiative at Catalyst Energy’s Ahmedabad plant, India, and the success that it has achieved.
Findings
This paper reveals that, of the first batch of 30 students, in 1995, eight made it to Catalyst Energy. The number has grown every year since then.
Practical implications
It explains that Catalyst is working towards having women make up half its workforce, as it moves away from being dominated by Gujarati males.
Social implications
It touches on some of the reasons that women are under-represented in Indian companies.
Originality/value
It reveals that globalization is a key pressure in encouraging Catalyst to make its workforce more diverse.
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Harridutt Ramcharran and Doseong Kim
Recent studies of the impact of financial liberalization in emerging markets have not examined the dynamic impact of the liberalization process on equity returns despite the…
Abstract
Recent studies of the impact of financial liberalization in emerging markets have not examined the dynamic impact of the liberalization process on equity returns despite the important implications on ongoing reform policies. We analyze six Asian equity markets using a dynamic adjustment model with three independent variables: market capitalization value, pricebook value ratio, and price‐earnings ratio. We use panel data for the period 1991‐2000 and the LSDVR (least square dummy variable regression) approach to identify the timing effects of liberalization. The stability of the model is also tested. The results indicate, in most cases, the significance of all three variables and the timing effects. Evidence of significant structural changes is also supported.
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Sociologists are discussing whether or not economic growth enhances subjective well‐being. To complement their research from a housing perspective, the purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Sociologists are discussing whether or not economic growth enhances subjective well‐being. To complement their research from a housing perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether aggregate income enhances dwelling satisfaction over time. While cross‐sectional studies have only examined the direct influence of income on dwelling satisfaction, this paper suggests that there are additional influences mediated by other social indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on data from Germany, correlation and regression analyses examine the impacts of aggregate income and other social indicators on dwelling satisfaction. Path analysis is used to test for the existence of mediated relationships.
Findings
The paper finds that aggregate income positively influences dwelling satisfaction. Environmental satisfaction, customer satisfaction and satisfaction with family relations also positively impact dwelling satisfaction and mediate influences of aggregate income. The mediated effects are stronger than the direct effect of aggregate income on dwelling satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The longitudinal availability of aggregate customer satisfaction data is still limited. Future research on dwelling satisfaction is encouraged to account for customer satisfaction and to reexamine the analyses of this study with future data.
Practical implications
Stimulating economic growth is a good strategy to improve dwelling satisfaction. Policies improving the environment, family support and shopping opportunities are also effective.
Originality/value
This paper is original in that it examines the impacts of economic growth and customer satisfaction on dwelling satisfaction. While the extant literature has only analysed direct effects of income on dwelling satisfaction, this study also accounts for mediated effects.
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A. Bezuidenhout, C. Mlambo and W.D. Hamman
In financial analysis, forecasting often involves regressing one time series variable on another. However, to ensure that the models are correctly specified, one needs to first…
Abstract
In financial analysis, forecasting often involves regressing one time series variable on another. However, to ensure that the models are correctly specified, one needs to first test for stationarity, co‐integration and causality. In testing for causality, the variables should be stationary. If non‐stationary, one can estimate the model in difference form, unless the variables are co‐integrated. This article determines whether cash flow and earnings variables are stationary, and which variable causes the other, using econometric analysis. In most cases, cash flow variables are found to cause earnings variables. This is so when the models are estimated in levels. However, when estimated in first differences, the causal relationship tends to be reversed such that earnings cause cash flows. Further study is recommended, whereby panel data could be used to improve the power of the tests.
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Line Ettrich and Torben Juul Andersen
The world in which companies operate today is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, thus subjecting contemporary forms to an array of risks that challenge their viability…
Abstract
The world in which companies operate today is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, thus subjecting contemporary forms to an array of risks that challenge their viability in an increasingly competitive landscape. Organizations that cling to their traditional ways of operating impede their ability to survive while those able to embrace evolving changes and lever their strategic response capabilities (SRCs) will thrive against the odds. The possession of such capabilities has become a prominent explanation for effective adaptation to the impending changes but is rarely analyzed and tested empirically. Strategic adaptation typically assumes innovation as an important component, but we know little about how the innovative processes interact with the firm’s SRCs. Hence, this study investigates these implied relationships to discern their effects on organizational performance and risk outcomes. It explores the effects of SRCs and the role of innovation as intertwined adaptive mechanisms supporting strategic renewal that can attain superior performance and risk effects. The relationships are analyzed based on a large sample of US manufacturing firms over the decade 2010–2019. The study reveals that firms possessing effective SRCs have the ability to exploit opportunities and deflect risky situations to gain favorable performance and risk outcomes. While innovation indeed plays a role, the precise nature and dynamic effect thereof remain inconclusive.
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