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The purpose of the paper is to investigate voluntary human resources disclosure (hereinafter referred to as “HR disclosure”) by the largest companies domiciled in Czechia. The key research questions are: What is the quantity of disclosure on various topics related to HR? Is there a significant difference in the quantity of HR disclosure between companies? Which factors influence the quantity of HR disclosure?

A quantitative content analysis (CA) of annual reports of the 50 largest companies domiciled in Czechia was used. An established coding scheme is used to code annual reports, and subsequently, various statistical methods (descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression) are used to answer the key research questions.

Primarily, social information is reported (what a company does for its employees) as information on the contribution of employees to the company’s value is rudimentary. Secondly, there is a significant difference in the quantity of HR disclosure between companies. Finally, the findings of the regression analysis confirm the impact of presence on the stock exchange and size and on the quantity of HR disclosure.

The annual reports of 50 companies from one country are analysed. The study provides a basis for further research.

The findings of this study may inspire companies to improve their HR disclosure, while policymakers should consider imposing more concrete demands on HR disclosure.

Quantitative CA research into the HR disclosure of companies domiciled in Czechia is nearly non-existent. This study fills this gap.

The purpose of this paper aims to make contributions to the debate on “performance measurement in practice” focussing on how organisational participants respond to the “new regime” of key performance indicators (KPIs) and whether KPIs materialise as intended in a transitional economy.

Inspired by the epistemological instruction of Schatzki's practice theory, this paper draws on qualitative data collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and documentary analysis of a single organisation.

KPIs were introduced at PK (a manufacturing concern in Czech Republic) but widely seen as contradictory, inconsequential, top-down and unrealistic. These lead organisational participants to adopt a pragmatic approach towards PM embracing KPIs' subjective assessment and manipulation, common sense or doing the job as given, and superficial compliance (symbolism).

The paper would be interesting to researchers because of its explanation of performance measurement practice in a distinct empirical setting, for its application of a practice theory inspired by Schatzki, and for inspiring new research agendas in transitional economies.

The paper recommends the mobilisation of artefacts, such as various forms of bottom-up discussions, to encourage interactions between organisational members and influence individual beliefs and practical understandings of the intended managerial projects.

The paper has focussed on “organisations of practice” to unravel the “doings” of organisational participants to explore the micro-processes of PM which otherwise would have been ignored. These “doings” and “sayings”, linked by pools of understanding, rules or instructions, and a teleoaffective structure, enabled the authors to unmask inherent tensions and contradictions in a new regime of performance measures such as KPIs.

This paper contributes to budgeting-related literature by investigating whether the participation of operational managers in budgeting, and budget-based evaluations and the rewarding of operational managers, significantly mediate the relationship between budget use for operational management and the perceived usefulness of the budget.

The paper is based on data gathered from a survey of Czech medium- and large-sized companies from the manufacturing sector. The hypothesised relationships are tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Overall usefulness of the budget, as perceived by principals (top managers), is positively influenced by the scope of budget use, but, more importantly, the positive mediating effects of participative budgeting and budget-based evaluation and rewarding on this relationship are significant and strong.

The subjective perceptions of respondents were investigated with the understanding that they may not represent actual situations in their organisations. Companies with well-functioning budgeting systems were more likely to take part in the research. Regarding satisfaction, the authors studied the perceived usefulness of the budget. Only medium- and large-sized manufacturing companies located in a post-communist country were analysed and generalisations should, therefore, be taken with caution.

The results in the studied sample indicate that satisfaction with budgeting is positively correlated with the rewarding and evaluation of operational managers, and with enabling the participation of operational managers in preparing and updating their budgets.

This research contributes to prior literature on budgeting by investigating the mediating effects of the participation of operational managers in budgeting, and the budget-based evaluation and rewarding of operational managers on the perceived usefulness of the budget by principals in an integrated model using the PLS-SEM approach.

Contact problems are among the most difficult ones in mechanics. Due to its practical importance, the problem has been receiving extensive research work over the years. The finite element method has been widely used to solve contact problems with various grades of complexity. Great progress has been made on both theoretical studies and engineering applications. This paper reviews some of the main developments in contact theories and finite element solution techniques for static contact problems. Classical and variational formulations of the problem are first given and then finite element solution techniques are reviewed. Available constraint methods, friction laws and contact searching algorithms are also briefly described. At the end of the paper, a bibliography is included, listing about seven hundred papers which are related to static contact problems and have been published in various journals and conference proceedings from 1976.

Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore aims to give the reader an encyclopaedic view on the subject. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 2,025 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1992‐1995.

This paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied to the analysis of ceramics and glass materials. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations on the subject that were published between 1977‐1998. The following topics are included: ceramics – material and mechanical properties in general, ceramic coatings and joining problems, ceramic composites, ferrites, piezoceramics, ceramic tools and machining, material processing simulations, fracture mechanics and damage, applications of ceramic/composites in engineering; glass – material and mechanical properties in general, glass fiber composites, material processing simulations, fracture mechanics and damage, and applications of glasses in engineering.

Presents a review on implementing finite element methods on supercomputers, workstations and PCs and gives main trends in hardware and software developments. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on the subjects retrospectively to 1985 and approximately 1,100 references are listed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that affect Palestinian customers’ use of online banking services.

An empirical study was conducted using a questionnaire in order to test the hypotheses. The questionnaire was distributed to 500 respondents selected by the participating banks. A total of 369 complete questionnaires were returned. The study’s independent variables include technology adoption propensity, customers’ value for online personalization, customers’ privacy concern, e-trust, technological leadership and loyalty. Palestinian customers’ usage of online banking services is the dependent variable.

The results of the model tested clearly suggest that the use of online banking services is influenced, respectively, by the technological leadership, e-trust, e-loyalty, customers’ value for online personalization, customers’ concern for privacy and propensity of technology adoption. Finally, this paper suggests that policy makers should develop a prioritized hierarchy of actions in developing the effective use of bank’s online services, based on the t- and p-values of the latter mentioned factors.

One limitation of the study is relying on self-reported cross-sectional data collection, rather than longitudinal surveying. Despite such limitation, the study provides the Palestinian banking sector with recommendations to promote online banking services based on the empirically identified factors affecting such service adoption.

Palestinian banks should promote the adoption of online banking services by supporting personalization of services, privacy and trust. Customers should always be informed that their bank is among the first banks to introduce the latest state-of-the-art online services. Technology innovative and diverse online services should be offered by banks to attract customers.

Although numerous research studies have studied the factors affecting customers in using electronic and online banking services, few studies have considered such usage in the developing countries, such as Arab countries in general and Palestine in particular. This is the first study to examine the factors affecting the adoption of online banking services in Palestine. This study provides empirical evidence to fill in the gap by providing a deeper understanding of the factors affecting the usage of online banking services in the country. The findings of this study can help decision makers in the Palestinian banks to develop practical plans that might accelerate and expand the adoption of online banking emphasizing personalized and trusted services offered with high level of security and privacy.

A bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view is given. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 1,726 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1996‐1999.

World War I is the pivot of twentieth century American history because it transformed the United States from a regional into a global power. As the fiftieth anniversary of World War II winds down, we remind ourselves of the first “Great War” and its continuing importance to American self‐conception and memory.