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The purpose of this paper is to focus on the question of what accounts for appropriate performance reports in the context of the new public management (NPM), and how they can deliver the information they need to politicians.

The study is based on a survey of members of cantonal and federal members of governments and parliaments, where performance contracting has been introduced; 454 questionnaires answered.

The results of the study reflect the distinct roles of the parliament in the performance contracting process. On the content side of the reports, they are expected to contain general as well as detailed information. Outcome rather than output indicators are demanded, especially by parliamentarians. There is, also, a need for “early warning indicators” of long‐term threats, and extra‐ordinary incidents. Formally, a homogeneous reporting format across government should be realized. Reports are expected to be well visualized and to contain the most relevant indicators. Changes and deviations should be commented on. Reports should be printed, additional electronic publication would be accepted; external revision is considered to be necessary. Regarding time‐related aspects, the assumption is confirmed that political decision makers have very little time to deal with the reports. Reporting has to be as up to date as possible. Parliaments demand a one‐ or two‐year rhythm; governments require annual or even semi‐annual reports.

Up to now, public management research has addressed the issue of appropriate performance reporting insufficiently, despite the fact that the central concept of outcomes is a political concept. The research question answered in this paper – what the essential components of appropriate performance reports under NPM conditions, and how should they be characterized in order to give politicians the performance information they need, provides some public management research in a Swiss context.

Judgments and decision are central to entrepreneurship, but capturing them empirically is challenging. Shepherd and Zacharakis (1997) addressed this challenge by identifying metric conjoint analysis as an experimental method capable of capturing the decision policies of actors engaged in entrepreneurial task, creating a “window of opportunity” for entrepreneurship research. On the twentieth anniversary of this chapter, the authors reflect on the impact the ideas had on their own work and careers, while, at the same time, address the possibility that the “typical” conjoint study may have reached the end. From this platform, the authors identify unknown attributes, interactive effects, rich media, mixed methods, and sophisticated data analysis as potential pathways by which conjoint analysis can continue to advance understanding of entrepreneurship. Their conclusion is that when coupled with impactful research questions, innovative uses of conjoint analysis have an important role to play in the future of entrepreneurship research. Hence, the authors believe that Dean A. Shepherd’s and Zach Zacharakis’s bold effort will continue as a quintessential resource for those researchers who wish to tap the mind of entrepreneurs, investors, and other key actors as they traverse the journey of business venturing.

Scientific literature reports scarce evidence of whether Internetbased procurement systems improve the efficiency of State purchases. We propose a methodology to estimate savings in: (i) the centralization of administrative tasks, and (ii) price differentials due to a larger number of contractors and suppliers bidding on contracts. We test our methods with ChileCompra, the Chilean e-procurement agency. During 2007, 885 Chilean State agencies used this system to purchase US$4.5 billion in products and services. Our preliminary results show price reductions of 2.65% and administrative cost savings of 0.28%-0.38% between 2006 and 2007.

This longitudinal case study affords opportunistic infra-cross-cultural and gendered comparisons of foodways within the fourth-world Saami societies across four north-European nation-states and through two generations. The study centers on 44 years of ethnographic research in arctic Norway, among both nomadic reindeer-herding and sedentary Saami together with their nearest neighbors within and without northernmost Norway.

General ethnographic immersion, from five years in duration down to single months or weeks, since early 1972, provides qualitative and quantitative data relevant to gender and food, collected in the two local languages, and supplemented by archeological and historical records as well as literatures from contiguous areas.

Two generations ago, most families, nomadic, or settled, could remember being self-sufficient with respect to food, and to lesser extents to clothing and shelter. Women’s roles in food acquisition and preparation have expanded in recent times. Some families, given choices largely made by wives and mothers, may today have a diet comparable with that in other parts of the West.

This holistic ethnographic research continues indefinitely. Any ethnography is both enabled and limited by its investigator and by local social relations, in this case synergistic and positive.

By the close of the 20th century, Saami researchers joined others in social science, often focusing on their indigenous culture and language. These provide usually corroborating and always fascinating data for outsiders, and many anecdotal narratives illustrating these data.

Recent developments in the EU’s anti-corruption strategy have brought the EU closer to meeting the UNCAC’s objectives, i.e. the Proposal for a Directive on combating corruption (2023) and the Proposal for a Directive on Asset Recovery and Confiscation (2022). This paper aims to discuss these developments from the perspective of the UNCAC, to identify missing elements in the EU’s asset recovery mechanisms.

Critical approach towards EU anti-corruption policy (discussing the problems and solutions). Review of EU developments in asset recovery law.

There is a political will on the part of the EU to fight corruption through the rules enshrined in the UNCAC. However, improving EU law by introducing a new type of confiscation of unexplained wealth and criminalising illicit enrichment, without establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to the countries of origin, cannot be seen as sufficient action to achieve the UNCAC’s objectives. In modelling mechanisms of the return of assets, the EU should search for solutions to overcome the difficulties resulting from the ordre public clause remaining a significant factor conditioning mutual legal assistance.

This paper discusses the possible input of the EU, as a non-State Party to the UNCAC, to advance implementing the UNCAC solutions on asset recovery by establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to countries of origin.

Successful corporate turnarounds occur, thus avoiding liquidation, but historical examples are few. In late nineteenth century France Henri Fayol became managing director (CEO) of a vertically integrated iron and steel firm and made various decisions that retrieved the firm from the brink of liquidation. In examining his career, the competitive nature of the industry, and his decisions, it is suggested that he employed a deliberate and comprehensive corporate strategy to guide the firm toward its objectives. While he developed his theory of management from these experiences and claimed that its application was the primary cause of the turnaround, this paper suggests that there were several other factors at work.

This study aims to explore the possibility that rewards and recognition may be instrumental in improving both in-role and extra-role performances of retail sales associates, with an underlying mediating role of employee engagement in this relationship.

A survey was conducted across 35 retail stores in five cities located in North India on 247 sales associates. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the mediation hypotheses. Analysis was done in lines with the conditions of mediation laid down by Baron and Kenny (1986).

Employee engagement is found to fully mediate the impact of rewards and recognition on in-role and extra-role performances.

Organizations should be committed to recognizing employees’ efforts and providing them with financial and non-financial rewards based on organizational policies. Such measures would improve in-role and extra-role performances through enhancing engagement level of employees.

This study makes significant contributions to literature on employee engagement and that on retail sector, especially in Indian context, through highlighting the mediating role of engagement. Given shortage and retention of skilled manpower as major challenges for Indian retailers, engaging sales associates through rewards and recognition to improve their performance at both in-role and extra-role levels can have significant implications for retailers.

The purpose of this paper is to paint a general picture of the asset confiscation regimes used in Europe and to outline potential challenges, practical and related to issues of principle, associated with the current development with regard to the confiscation of the proceeds of crime and criminals’ proceeds.

The paper endeavours to analyse the various steps of the confiscation process, and the various approaches to the confiscation of proceeds of crime and criminals’ proceeds from a holistic perspective. The findings of the paper are based on a literature review along with a legal analysis of the existent legal frameworks.

It is suggested that the efficiency of asset confiscation should be looked at from a holistic perspective involving the entire confiscation process, and not only focus on the confiscation powers awarded to the courts. Challenges relating to efficiency exist along the entire process, from the stage of financial investigations to the enforcement stage. Some of the methods used for confiscating criminal proceeds are becoming very far-reaching and raise concerns related to basic principles of criminal law and criminal procedural law.

This paper is not based on empirical research relating to, for example, the efficiency of confiscation. More empirical research would, however, be welcome in this field.

The paper suggests that the efficiency of asset confiscation is contingent on the entire confiscation chain functioning efficiently. Before new and more repressive measures are introduced, the existing legal framework should be fully deployed and the concrete needs for new tools clearly delineated.

The paper analyses confiscation with a view to the entire chain rather than merely looking at a particular confiscation scheme.

The purpose of this paper is to use Amazon River shrimp meal and cassava flour as the raw materials for the production of an extruded product. Both these raw materials are highly consumed foods in the northern region of Brazil, but are not processed industrially, only being used for local consumption and there is little in the literature concerning their use.

The study was carried out using a full 23 factorial central composite rotational experimental design with three independent variables, which were shrimp meal; feed moisture content and temperature, with four replicates at the central point and six axial points. The dependent variables were: expansion index (EI), bulk density (BD) and specific length (SL). The principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for the sensory analysis.

Almost all the parameters studied had a significant influence (p<0.10) on the responses analysed. The product was well accepted by 78.11 per cent of the volunteers. Increases in the shrimp meal and feed moisture contents strongly influenced the physical analyses (EI, BD and SL) of the extruded product. In the application of the PCA for the sensory analysis, the influence of the variables aroma, appearance and purchase intention corresponded to PC1, and that of the variables flavour, texture, global acceptance and colour to PC2.

The development of a product based on animal protein which is more available than common snacks, as a way of reducing the negative environmental impact caused by the disposal of Macrobrachium amazonicum, which is considered as accompanying fauna to artisan fishery.

The originality of this paper lies in the quest for the development and/or application of technologies that allow for the use of raw materials from the Amazon as a way of aggregating value to the existing wealth of this region.