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1 – 10 of 255Joseph Chow, Ada Tse and Christine Armatas
The purpose of this paper is to report undergraduate students’ learning gains in six areas of generic skills. The paper reports on students’ responses to the First Year Experience…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report undergraduate students’ learning gains in six areas of generic skills. The paper reports on students’ responses to the First Year Experience (FYE) Survey completed at the end of their first year and Graduating Student Survey (GSS) in the final semester of their final year.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a longitudinal design was applied in data collection, analysis and reporting of assessment if student learning gains. The undergraduate students who were the first cohort of four-year curriculum students in a Hong Kong university were selected as the sample. Repeated measures of reported learning gains of a longitudinal sample based on stacking of both FYE and GSS data were analysed using the Rasch model.
Findings
The results showed that the scale for measuring the six areas of generic skills had high reliability and good person separation. Comparison of repeated measures from the same group of students at the two time points were examined to explore whether there is growth in the generic skills during their university studies.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of the study was the relatively small sample size of 359 students in one higher education institution.
Practical implications
The findings of the study provide insight into conceptual understanding and measurement of university student learning gains.
Originality/value
Whilst several studies have investigated university student learning gains, there is limited research which explores the use Rasch modelling in assessment of student learning gains in multiple areas towards completion of their undergraduate studies.
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Tzu‐Ju Ann Peng, Nan‐Juh Lin, Veronica Martinez and Chow‐Ming Joseph Yu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different types of triad structures, and the management mechanisms adopted by the focal company, affect cooperative performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different types of triad structures, and the management mechanisms adopted by the focal company, affect cooperative performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a social network perspective to examine the triad management phenomenon in the military avionics maintenance context, which is closely associated with the field of operations management.
Findings
This paper demonstrates that different triad structures and management mechanisms influence perceived cooperative performance. Four main findings emerged: in a triad, a firm playing a bridging role perceives higher cooperative performance than when playing a peripheral role in the triad or being located in a fully connected triad. When a firm plays the bridging role in a triad, and has a high level of trust, this leads to higher perceived cooperative performance. When a firm plays a peripheral role in a triad, high levels of coordination mechanism combined with high levels of trust result in higher levels of perceived cooperative performance. In a fully linked triad, when the coordination mechanism is well developed, the level of trust is high, so that the resulting level of perceived cooperation is high.
Originality/value
This paper extends the knowledge of triad management by providing an in‐depth study of a well‐defined network setting with exceptionally high‐level access to the most senior executives. In practice, this paper shows how to manage different triads.
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Yu‐Ching Chiao, Chow‐Ming Joseph Yu, Peng‐Yu Li and Yi‐Chuan Chen
This study aims to explore subsidiaries' diversification strategies, both internationally and with regard to their product offerings. The study seeks to examine, at the subsidiary…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore subsidiaries' diversification strategies, both internationally and with regard to their product offerings. The study seeks to examine, at the subsidiary level, the relationships between subsidiary size, internationalization, production diversification, and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the archival data of an officially conducted survey, the study used ordered logit regression analysis to test its hypotheses using data from 920 Taiwanese subsidiaries in China.
Findings
The study's results revealed: larger subsidiaries tend to engage in internationalization and product diversification activities to a greater degree, and, as a result, tend to exhibit superior performance; and subsidiaries that pursue outward internationalization and that reinvest in related businesses enjoy enhanced performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study examines Taiwanese firms that have one foreign subsidiary in China. Future research should examine larger firms with numerous foreign subsidiaries in developed countries, and should employ more fine‐grained measurements of subsidiary size to provide a clearer picture of subsidiary‐specific advantages.
Originality/value
Unlike the existing literature, which has tended to take the perspective of the multinational corporation, this study examines internationalization and product diversification at the subsidiary level. By extending the resource‐based view to the subsidiary level, larger subsidiaries might be able to exploit their advantages so as to more successfully implement international and product diversification strategies and improve their performance in a host country.
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Suzan Abed, Basil Al-Najjar and Clare Roberts
This paper aims to investigate empirically the common alternative methods of measuring annual report narratives. Five alternative methods are employed, a weighted and un-weighted…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate empirically the common alternative methods of measuring annual report narratives. Five alternative methods are employed, a weighted and un-weighted disclosure index and three textual coding systems, measuring the amount of space devoted to relevant disclosures.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors investigate the forward-looking voluntary disclosures of 30 UK non-financial companies. They employ descriptive analysis, correlation matrix, mean comparison t-test, rankings and multiple regression analysis of disclosure measures against determinants of corporate voluntary reporting.
Findings
The results reveal that while the alternative methods of forward-looking voluntary disclosure are highly correlated, important significant differences do nevertheless emerge. In particular, it appears important to measure volume rather than simply the existence or non-existence of each type of disclosure. Overall, we detect that the optimal method is content analysis by text-unit rather than by sentence.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the extant literature in forward-looking disclosure by reporting important differences among alternative content analyses. However, the decision regarding whether this should be a computerised or a manual content analysis appears not to be driven by differences in the resulting measures. Rather, the choice is the outcome of a trade-off between the time involved in setting up coding rules for computerised analysis versus the time saved undertaking the analysis itself.
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Financial theory predicts that a change in an exchange rate should affect the value of a firm or an industry. To a large extent, past research has not supported this theory, which…
Abstract
Purpose
Financial theory predicts that a change in an exchange rate should affect the value of a firm or an industry. To a large extent, past research has not supported this theory, which is surprising especially after considering the substantial exchange rate fluctuations over the three decades. This study seeks to extend previous research on the foreign exchange rate exposure of UK nonfinancial companies at the industry level over the period 1981‐2001.
Design/approach/methodology
In this study, exchange rate exposure is defined as the change in the value of the firm or industry due to the changes in exchange rates. This study differs from previous studies in that it considers the impact of the changes (actual and unexpected) in exchange rates on firms’ or industries’ stock returns. The approach employs OLS model to estimate foreign exchange rate exposure of 364 UK nonfinancial companies over the period 1981‐2001. All data are collected from the Datastream database.
Findings
The findings indicate that a higher percentage of UK industries are exposed to contemporaneous exchange rate changes than those reported in previous studies. There is also evidence of significant lagged exchange rate exposure. This lagged exchange rate exposure is consistent with findings in previous studies that may exist some market inefficiencies in incorporating exchange rate changes into the returns of firms and industries.
Research limitations/implications
Future research in the area should consider additional factors that might affect a firm's and an industry's exposure to exchange rate changes.
Practical implications
The findings of the study have interesting implications for public policy makers who wish to understand links between policies that affect exchange rates and relative wealth affects. These findings should also be of particular importance to investors who under or overweight large multinational corporations.
Originality/value
The study extends previous research on foreign exchange rate exposure of UK companies.
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Donald V. Fischer, Maribeth Overland and Laura Adams
Due to limited resources available for leadership development programming at colleges and universities, there is a need to better understand the leadership attitudes and beliefs…
Abstract
Due to limited resources available for leadership development programming at colleges and universities, there is a need to better understand the leadership attitudes and beliefs of incoming first-year students in order to most efficiently develop effective leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership attitudes and beliefs of incoming first-year college students within the context of ecological leadership in order to determine if gender or ethnic differences in the leadership attitudes and beliefs exist. Implications for leadership development programs are discussed.
Hin Wah Chris Cheung, Man Yum Larry So, Chi U. Francis Choi and Chin Fung Philip Chow
The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Special Administrative Region (SAR) performance on the “trust” of Hong Kong and Macau people, who “live” under similar…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Special Administrative Region (SAR) performance on the “trust” of Hong Kong and Macau people, who “live” under similar context of “one country, two systems,” toward Beijing Central Government. The different perceptions, relating to the abovementioned issue, of the young peoples’ are also investigated. Implication for civic education in these two societies will be brought to light.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts secondary data analysis on the captioned topic. To further illustrate the said issue, this study reviews and analyzes data from protest campaigns in both societies.
Findings
This paper finds that the performance of Hong Kong and Macau SAR Governments has different impacts on the peoples’ “trust” toward Central Government. It may attribute to the different perceptions about the role of Central Government and levels of democratization in these societies. Civic education emphasizing the “core spirit” of “One country, two systems,” roles of SAR and Central Governments could enable young people better comprehend their relationship with Mainland China and their role as SAR–Chinese citizens.
Originality/value
This paper is an exploratory study for providing implications for further research on this topic.
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Ahmed El‐Masry, Omneya Abdel‐Salam and Amr Alatraby
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the exchange rate exposure of UK non‐financial companies from January 1981 to December 2001.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the exchange rate exposure of UK non‐financial companies from January 1981 to December 2001.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs different exchange rate measures and adopts an equally weighted exchange rate. The analyses are conducted at the firm level. All analyses are conducted by regressing the firm's exchange rate exposure coefficients on its size, foreign activity variables and financial hedging proxies over the whole sample period.
Findings
The findings show that a higher percentage of UK non‐financial companies are exposed to exchange rate changes than those reported in previous studies. Generally, the results provide a stronger support for the suggested equally weighted rate as an economic variable, which affects firms’ stock returns. The results also show a high proportion of positive exposure coefficients among firms with significant exchange rate exposure, indicating a higher proportion of firms benefiting from an appreciation of the pound. Finally, the results also indicate evidence that firms’ foreign operations and hedging variables affect their sensitivity to exchange rate exposure.
Practical implications
This study provides important implications for public policymakers who wish to understand links between policies that affect exchange rates and relative wealth effects.
Originality/value
The empirical results of this study should help investors to examine how common stock returns react to exchange rate fluctuations when making financial decisions, and prove useful for financial managers when measuring exposure to foreign exchange rate changes.
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Ricardo Codinhoto, Patricia Tzortzopoulos, Mike Kagioglou, Ghassan Aouad and Rachel Cooper
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that categorises the features and characteristics of the built environment that impact on health outcomes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that categorises the features and characteristics of the built environment that impact on health outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review was carried out. A total of 1,163 abstracts were assessed, leading to 92 papers being reviewed.
Findings
There is a considerable amount of evidence linking healthcare environments to patients' health outcomes, despite the lack of clarity in relation to cause‐effect relationships.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a theoretical framework linking different built environment characteristics to health outcomes. This framework provides a structure to group causal effects according to their relation with design features, materials and ambient properties, art and aesthetic aspects and use of the built environment.
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The goal of this article is to examine the current trends of political cinema in postcolonial Hong Kong. Many leaders of the Hong Kong mainstream cinema have accepted the Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this article is to examine the current trends of political cinema in postcolonial Hong Kong. Many leaders of the Hong Kong mainstream cinema have accepted the Chinese authoritarian rule as a precondition for expanding into the ever-expanding Mainland film market, but a handful of conscientious filmmakers choose to make political cinema under the shadow of a wealthy and descendant industry, expressing their desire for democracy and justice and critiquing the unequal power relations between Hong Kong and China.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper consults relevant documentary materials and cinematic texts to contextualize the latest development of political cinema in Hong Kong. It presents an in-depth analysis of the works of two local independent filmmakers Herman Yau and Vincent Chui.
Findings
This study reveals a glimpse of hope in the current films of Herman Yau and Vincent Chui, which suggests that a reconfiguration of local identity and communal relationship may turn around the collective despair caused by the oppressive measures of the Chinese authoritarian state and the end of the Umbrella Movement in late 2014.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the small sample size, this paper highlights the rise of cinematic localism through a closer look at the works of Hong Kong independent filmmakers.
Practical implications
This study reveals an ambivalent mentality in the Hong Kong film industry where critical filmmakers strive to assert their creativity and agency against the externally imposed Chinese hegemonic power.
Originality/value
This investigation is an original scholarly study of film and politics in postcolonial Hong Kong.
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