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Increasingly, XML applications are appearing on the World Wide Web, from e‐commerce to information management. In the case of libraries and archives, XML enables more flexible information management and retrieval than using MARC or a relational database management system. Describes a project to explore the use of XML and the EAD, and the development of a prototype electronic finding aid. It focuses on the technical aspects, and reviews the options available and the choices made. This is done within the setting of a small‐ to medium‐sized archive with minimal tools and resources.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the author’s experiences as a school teacher and a lesbian. It considers the culture and discourses of power in the school and the ethical implications of telling the author’s story. Utilizing autoethnography as a method of inquiry, it draws on a critical incident to explore the incompatibility of the author’s private and professional identities, and reflect on the impact of homophobic and heteronormative discursive practices in the workplace, on health, well-being and identity.

This research is grounded in an interpretivist philosophy. It utilizes writing about the self as a method of inquiry.

This research examines the incompatibility of the author’s private and professional identities and offers insight into the steps that those in positions of power will take to protect and perpetuate the heteronormative discourse of rural life.

This research presents the perspective of only one lesbian teacher in a rural context. Consequently, generalizations are inappropriate and recommendations are difficult. Whilst the absence of clear ethical regulation presents an infinite number of possibilities for autoethnographers, the silence that surrounds the prescription of the ethics of autoethnography leaves those of us at the beginnings of our research careers without clear guidance.

This research specifically addresses a dearth of research examining the experiences of the rural lesbian (or gay) teacher in the UK. Headteachers of rural schools must ensure that their schools are inclusive and welcoming environments for teachers, and their equalities policies are living documents that are not simply cast aside in the face of rural parent power. Young people in the countryside deserve access to the full pool of teaching talent and should have access to the diverse role models that their urban and suburban counterparts are beginning to enjoy.

After decades of declining strike rates in the industrialized world, recent years have seen a surge of militant walkouts in the global South, political strikes in Europe, and unconventional strikes in nonunion sectors in the United States. This new diversity of strike action calls for a new theoretical framework. In this paper, we review the historical strengths and limits of traditions of strike theory in the United States. Building on the emerging power resources approach, we propose a model based on a multidimensional view of associational power, power resources, and arenas of conflict in the economy, state, and civil society. We demonstrate the utility of our approach via a case analysis of strikes in the “Fight for $15” campaign in the United States.

International business

Undergraduate/graduate/executive education.

China has become the world's largest producer of automobiles, surpassing the USA and Japan. The Chinese auto industry differs quite significantly from those countries though. While the industry exhibits a substantial degree of concentration in the USA and Japan in early 2011, it remained highly fragmented in China. The Chinese Central Government had announced a desire for consolidation, yet it remained unclear whether a significant shakeout would occur in the near term.

Like many Chinese automakers, Chang'an partnered with well-known global auto makers to develop, produce, and distribute its products. In the coming years, Chang'an hoped to develop more independence from its foreign partners, including the production and distribution of self-branded cars. However, the company grappled with how it could strive for independence while managing its existing joint ventures. Executives worried too about how to compete with foreign automakers who had achieved global economies of scale.

The case provides a rich description of the evolution of the Chinese auto industry, and it documents how the Chinese industry differs from other global markets. Readers can analyze the extent to which they believe scale economies provide foreign firms an advantage over smaller Chinese rivals, and they can evaluate the conventional wisdom regarding the industry's minimum efficient scale. The case also provides a detailed account of Chang'an's rise to prominence. The case concludes by offering an in-depth description of the firm's key rivals, and it presents the key questions being considered by Chang'an executives in 2011.

Enables students to examine how and why an industry's structure can differ substantially across geographic markets.

Enables students to examine whether the need to achieve economies of scale may cause substantial consolidation in the Chinese auto industry.

Provides an opportunity to evaluate the pros and cons of the joint venture strategies employed in China.

Provides an opportunity to examine how a relatively small firm can position itself against large multinationals in a high-growth emerging market.

Teaching notes.

Ben Chang, the CEO of a small credit union, Neighbourhood Credit Union (Neighbourhood), located in Atlantic Canada was evaluating a possible merger with another larger credit union, Pleasantview Credit Union (Pleasantview). Chang and Neighbourhood’s Board of Directors (Board) were interested in a merger that would enhance member benefits via improved technology, innovative delivery channels and a more robust financial planning and wealth management capability. Chang, along with a team of experts, was methodical in seeking out interested credit unions. Pleasantview emerged as a strong candidate from the expression of interest stage. The initial due diligence review was complete, the memorandum of understanding signed and a working group comprised of members from both credit unions formed. Chang, however, was becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of strategic fit between Neighbourhood and Pleasantview. In conversation with the consultant hired to assist with the merger process, Chang was considering recommending to the Board that the merger process with Pleasantview be halted. It was January 2015 and Chang was set to retire in May. Before he retired he wanted a plan in place that ensured increased member benefits, as well one that balanced growth and sustainability for Neighbourhood. Chang was scheduled to meet with the Board in four days. He needed a recommendation that would address the current merger situation, as well as provide other options for Neighbourhood.

This case is based upon primary and secondary data collection. Formal and follow-up informal interviews were conducted in 2015 with the CEO and “merger” consultant at Neighbourhood Credit Union. Organisational documents and publicly available documents were also consulted. To ensure the confidentiality terms of the merger discussions, the case is disguised with respect to the name and location of the credit unions, the names of the CEO and consultant, as well as the financials. The timeline, process followed, key decision and opinions of the CEO and merger consultant as presented in the case are real.

This case is formulated for university undergraduate students in their third or fourth years of study and graduate students. It is appropriate for strategic management and co-operative/not-for-profit management classes intended for a 60–75 min class session.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of suicide, a violent act against one’s self, as it relates to white- and red-collar crimes. White-collar crime can be described as nonviolent crime committed for financial gain. Red-collar crime describes a situation where a white-collar criminal commits an act of violence, often murder, to silence someone who is in a position to report a fraud they have perpetrated. Previous research has not addressed the issue of suicide, as it relates to white- and red-collar crime.

The analysis is conceptual, focusing on the historical underpinnings of white- and red-collar crime and reviewing the evolution of white-collar criminals. Sources of information consisted of published news media, scholarly articles and articles retrieved from the web.

A suicide may be linked, directly or indirectly, to a financial crime. Law enforcement must be careful not to jump to conclusions, as there is a possibility that a staged suicide has occurred.

Law enforcement individuals may want to consider an additional motive when investigating a suicide, especially when the victim has some type of connection to a known fraud. This type of connection may not be readily apparent and may require a new approach on the part of a law enforcement investigation.

This paper aims to measure the financial sustainability and vulnerability of state-managed waqf institutions in Malaysia.

The study mainly applied the commonly used Tuckman and Chang’s (1991) model to measure the financial health of non-profits. Content and ratio analysis of the 2014 audited reports of seven institutions were used to determine their equity balance, revenue concentration, administrative costs and operating margin ratios.

The results indicate that only one waqf institution was financially sustainable in all the four components.

Because the data used are not the latest and focussed only on a single year, the findings may not be necessarily true, currently. Second, the study focussed only on Malaysia. Thus, the results may not be generalisable to other waqfs in other countries or to privately managed waqf institutions. Accordingly, future research should address these limitations.

The findings provide useful insights into the financial sustainability of waqf institutions and highlight the need for policymakers in Malaysia and other Muslim countries to give due attention to the holistic accountability of waqf institutions to ensure waqf’s systematic revival.

The paper, being the first to investigate the financial sustainability and vulnerability of state waqf institutions in Malaysia, serves as a reference for future researchers.

The international market entry strategy by acquisition is one of the critical options for success in international business. The decision to acquire a local firm is expected to impact the post-entry financial performance of the local firm as the acquirers come with proprietary advantages to improve the overall performance of the acquired company. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the post-acquisition financial performance of acquired foreign subsidiaries and comparable unacquired local firms in Ghana to determine the effect of foreign acquisition on the financial performance of the local subsidiaries.

A quantitative approach was adopted in this study. A sample of 100 locally acquired and non-acquired firms were studied using purposive and convenience sampling method. The research adopted the propensity score matching and the differences in difference methodologies to determine the returns on assets (ROA) of non-acquired local firms and acquired foreign subsidiaries are compared one year pre-acquisition t₁ to two years post-acquisition t₂.

The results demonstrate a higher post-acquisition financial performance of locally acquired foreign subsidiaries in relation to their local counterparts in Ghana. Firms with pre-acquisition modernized ownership structures performed better than state-owned firms and firms with high pre-acquisition absorptive capacity outperformed firms with lower pre-acquisition absorptive capacity. The results also indicate that ROA for acquired local firms in the year of acquisition drops in relation to the year prior to acquisition

A major limitation of this research is that the relative capability of the parent companies and experience in the transfer of knowledge to the acquired local subsidiaries was not considered. The real impact of the various multinationals would have revealed how the capability and competencies of the different parent companies whose subsidiaries this study considered in the paper make a difference in their performance. The study did not also consider the value of parent company participation in the local management of the acquired subsidiaries. Whereas some acquired firms had parent company staff participating in the local management, others did not have same, thus challenging the performance results without any control of this variable. The other limitation of this research is the fact that it did not also consider the experience of the parent company as a factor that can influence the performance of the subsidiary. The more experienced the parent company is in engaging foreign markets, the more likely the support for the subsidiary will result in higher performance as parent company brings previous learnings. Another limitation of this study is that it measures the financials only (ROA) and hence does not provide a 360° assessment of the subsidiary performance, which includes the operational and overall subsidiary effectiveness. This research has not empirically examined all aspects of foreign acquisitions in Ghana and thus has many aspects for future exploration that other researchers may focus on. The paper has not considered the experience and capability of the parent company to transfer technology, innovation and all the advantages of multinationals to the post-acquisition performance of subsidiaries. More experienced multinationals are most likely to transfer knowledge faster to subsidiaries than less experienced ones, thus likely to show better performance post-acquisition than the less experienced ones. The effect of this phenomenon has not been considered in this study. Parent company participation in the local management of the subsidiary can also make a difference in the post-acquisition performance equation but this has not been considered in this research. Some parent companies actively participate in the local subsidiary management as management support for the subsidiary. This might have some effect on the subsidiary post-acquisition performance but this study does consider this. Other researchers may want to look into this factor. Future researchers may also assess the differences in performance of subsidiaries that are wholly owned and partial owned in Ghana. The performance of Greenfield joint ventures and local firm acquisitions can also be studied.

Findings of this research has implications for firms using acquisition as foreign market entry strategy to inform the choice of local partners to select for acquisitions as pre-acquisition ownership structure and absorptive capacity of local Ghanaian firms impact post-acquisitions performance. Ghanaian firms also seeking to attract foreign investments into their businesses will also find the results useful as they organize to meet prospective acquirers’ expectations, for example, building their human capacity and ownership structures, developing export and ensuring debt rations to attract potential acquirers.

Acquisitions as an international market entry strategy continue to gain grounds with lots of research in the area. However, there is scanty research on post-acquisition financial performance, especially in the developing country context, and this paper fills that yawning knowledge gap by comparing acquired and non-acquired local firms in Ghana to determine if foreign acquisitions lead to better ROA.