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1 – 10 of over 10000Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.
Stig Lande, Mats Westin and Marc H. Schneider
This paper aims to show the potential decay resistance of furfurylated wood and investigate possible eco‐toxicity of such materials produced. This paper deals with the…
Abstract
This paper aims to show the potential decay resistance of furfurylated wood and investigate possible eco‐toxicity of such materials produced. This paper deals with the environmental aspects and durability of furfurylated wood, both laboratory and field tests are included in the investigations. Results from several decay tests, emission analysis studies and ecotox tests are presented. The results show that furfurylated wood is highly decay resistant. Furthermore, no significant increase in eco‐toxicity of leaching water was found and degradation through combustion does not release any volatile organic compounds or poly‐aromatic hydrocarbons above normal levels for wood combustion. Durability enhancement by furfurylation of wood is not believed to be harmful to the environment. Wood modified with furfuryl alcohol, “furfurylated wood”, is currently being marketed as a non‐toxic alternative to traditional preservative treated wood (wood impregnated with biocides). This paper summarises much of the long term exposure of furfurylated wood ever caried out, and present the first eco‐tox tests on such material ever done.
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Currently, our understandings of the dynamics behind the effects of politicization on values and on administrative decision-making remain largely muddled and far from complete…
Abstract
Currently, our understandings of the dynamics behind the effects of politicization on values and on administrative decision-making remain largely muddled and far from complete. The richness of theoretical accounts, amassed over the past eight decades, has yielded only a limited number of empirical examinations. This failure to develop a coherent collection of empirical works can be for the most part attributed to the complexity associated with studying values, particularly to the lack of clear and testable theories and models. This article attempts to address this deficit and to add to our understandings of the association between values and administrative decision-making at the individual level by explicitly testing the Broker-Purist (BP) model (within a sample of public procurement specialists). It is found that the BP model fits the data well, which suggest the framework as a valid and useful perspective for conceptualizing the effects of environmental politicization on administrative decision-making in public procurement specifically, and in public administration in general.
Peter Kenning, Vivian Hartleb and Helmut Schneider
This paper aims to add insights on consumers' price knowledge in food retailing using a theory‐based multi‐method approach.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to add insights on consumers' price knowledge in food retailing using a theory‐based multi‐method approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides data from one questionnaire and two experimental studies. The aim of the first study was to address price recall. To do so, data were collected on the accuracy of grocery‐shopper price knowledge for 20 carefully selected products. Using the mall intercept method, three trained interviewers queried 300 randomly selected people in the store, but prior to shopping. After a period of four weeks the subjects were contacted by phone and asked whether they would like to participate in a second two‐step experiment. A total of 105 of the original 300 shoppers agreed to take part in the second study, in which a recognition task in terms of a computer experiment was accomplished with and without financial incentives.
Findings
The results of these studies confirmed the authors' expectations, based on theoretical considerations that: the level of price recall is lower than the level of price recognition; incentives have no influence on price‐knowledge in the recognition task; and price‐knowledge for private labels is significantly higher in the recall, as well as in the recognition task. Moreover, in regression analyses it was found that there was no significant influence of age, gender, price‐consciousness, duration of customership, and shopping transactions per week on price recall and/or price recognition.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited with respect to branch, time period, and culture.
Originality/value
This paper is the first using a multi‐method approach to measure price‐recall and price‐recognition in food retailing. Moreover, it adds evidence concerning the differences of price‐knowledge due to the nature of the brand. Finally, it is shown that incentives and certain demographics have no influence on price‐knowledge.
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Emily R. Rosario, Melissa R. Bustos and Colleen Moore
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a significant public health problem that affect an estimated 1.7 million US residents yearly. TBI patients experience a variety of symptoms…
Abstract
Purpose
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a significant public health problem that affect an estimated 1.7 million US residents yearly. TBI patients experience a variety of symptoms related to physical functioning, sensory processing, cognition, communication, behavior, and mental health, all of which differ in severity by individual. Recent evidence suggests that hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction may be impacting recovery. The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness about the frequency of hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction following a TBI and its effect on functional recovery.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the literature regarding hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction following TBI and discusses the potential benefits of hormone replacement therapy for individuals with hormone deficiencies.
Findings
The rate of hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction following TBI has been reported as anywhere between 25 and 80 percent. Specifically, abnormal hormone levels, both chronic and acute, are generally estimated to be approximately 5-22 percent for thyroid hormones, 15-33 percent for growth hormone (GH), and 25-80 percent for testosterone. The effect of hypopituitarism has been reported on several aspects cognitive and physical function as well as overall quality of life. In these studies, GH and testosterone deficiencies appear to underlie the observed impairments.
Originality/value
The paper suggests the importance of understanding and screening for hypothalamic pituitary dysfunction as hormone replacement therapy may be a beneficial intervention to promote physical and cognitive rehabilitation.
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Simon Albrecht, Emil Breidahl and Andrew Marty
The majority of job demands-resources (JD-R) research has focused on identifying the job demands, job resources, and personal resources that influence engagement. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The majority of job demands-resources (JD-R) research has focused on identifying the job demands, job resources, and personal resources that influence engagement. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance of proposed associations between organizationally focused resources, organizational engagement climate, and engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested a model proposing that six specific organizational resources would have positive associations with organizational engagement climate, and positive direct and indirect associations with job resources and employee engagement. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted on cross-sectional survey data provided by 1,578 employees working in a range of different organizations.
Findings
The CFA and SEM analyses yielded good fit to the data. As proposed, all six organizational resources were positively associated with organizational engagement climate. Four were positively associated with job resources, and two were positively associated with engagement. Organizational engagement climate was positively associated with job resources and employee engagement. Significant indirect relationships were also observed.
Research limitations/implications
Despite self-reported data and a cross-sectional design, tests of common method variance did not suggest substantive method effects. Overall, the results contribute new insights about what may influence engagement, and highlight the importance of organizational engagement climate as a motivational construct.
Practical implications
The research offers up potentially useful measures of six organizational resources and a measure of organizational engagement climate that can complement and broaden the current focus on job-level diagnostics. As such, targeted management action and survey feedback processes can be used to identify processes to build sustainable organizational engagement capability.
Originality/value
No previous research has identified a comprehensive set of organizational resources, operationalized organizational engagement climate, or examined their relationships within a JD-R context. The results suggest that the JD-R can perhaps usefully be extended to include more organizationally focused constructs.
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Presents an annotated bibliography of journals and magazines useful to students and professors of German studies. The publications listed are suitable for academic and large…
Abstract
Presents an annotated bibliography of journals and magazines useful to students and professors of German studies. The publications listed are suitable for academic and large public libraries.
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Tanyu Zhang, Gayle C. Avery, Harald Bergsteiner and Elizabeth More
This study aims to, given that most research focusses on leaders and ignores the influence of follower characteristics on either leadership or engagement, investigate whether…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to, given that most research focusses on leaders and ignores the influence of follower characteristics on either leadership or engagement, investigate whether employee characteristics moderate the relationship between perceived leadership styles and employee engagement. Recent research has shown that visionary and organic leadership paradigms positively influence employee engagement, compared with classical and transactional leadership environments (Zhang et al., 2014).
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaire data from 432 sales assistants, collected from retail shopping malls in Sydney, Australia, were analyzed.
Findings
Structured regression analysis confirmed that the employee characteristics of need for achievement, equity sensitivity and need for clarity moderate the relationship between four leadership paradigms and employee engagement. The nature of the moderation varies in complex ways.
Research limitations/implications
There is scope to confirm this study in different contexts, to include additional employee characteristics and reconfirm some scales and to remove common method variance.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that to improve employee engagement: employers should recruit staff exhibiting characteristics predicted to generate high employee engagement; organizations should develop supervisors to ensure that they adopt leadership styles found to drive employee engagement; and recruiters should consider matching the characteristics of employees to the prevailing leadership paradigm(s) in the organization.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a major gap in the literature by examining the moderating effects of follower characteristics on different leadership paradigms and employee engagement.
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Paints are dynamic systems which are in an almost constant state of change throughout their whole life. These changes are evident from the time of manufacture and througout…
Abstract
Paints are dynamic systems which are in an almost constant state of change throughout their whole life. These changes are evident from the time of manufacture and througout storage when the liquid paint can undergo major rheological changes due to binder adsorption, crosslinking or, with waterborne systems, biological attack, as well as associated problems such as pigment instability. When in service the dried film also exhibits progressive changes. These occur in both surface properties by erosion, loss of gloss colour change, and also in bulk properties by, for example, embrittlement. Both are often due to structural changes within the cured film and can be due to a variety of external causes such as solar radiation, oxidation or chemical attack.
Keith Herndon and Richard McCline
Hesselbein developed the concept: “leadership is a matter of how to be and not how to do.” Joseph later provided instructional content based on the concept and helped…
Abstract
Hesselbein developed the concept: “leadership is a matter of how to be and not how to do.” Joseph later provided instructional content based on the concept and helped operationalize it for consumption by practicing leaders. This paper leverages their work in illustrating how leadership-as-a-way-of-being (LWB) can be a teaching model for emerging millennial leaders in a dynamic news media undergoing a chaotic transition. It provides a way to rethink newsroom organizational structures that no longer accommodate the needs of this generation. We focus on the “being” element of leadership as it speaks directly to a new introspective view of leadership that values transparency and is necessary for innovation over mere efficiency.