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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of employee wellness programs on employee engagement and the reduction of employee health care costs. The intent of the analysis is to explain the typical costs associated with these programs and the potential benefits to the employer and employee.

Due to the paucity of academic literature on the operational impact of employee wellness programs, a case study utilizing an internal company's resources and employee survey were also used to examine business questions related to the efficacy of such programs in businesses.

The results of the employee survey showed that there is a correlation between eating a balanced diet and being more productive at work. Also, there is a link between being in good physical health, potentially because employees participate in the wellness program, and being productive at work. On the other hand, it was also found that employees who do not eat a very balanced diet, do not like the company's wellness plan and are not convinced that it would make employees more productive.

For a company designing its wellness program, it should tap information through an employee survey on how many employees have each of the significant risk factors for using medical services and determine which risk factors to target in its wellness program.

An operational framework is presented to determine when employer‐sponsored wellness programs are appropriate for employers to offer. Detailed discussion and analysis given on employee wellness programs from both the employer and employee perspective to determine if these programs can be justified and recommended to organizations who do not currently participate will help protect many vulnerable employees and improve organization productivity.

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to measuring container port competitiveness, a key but neglected element of channel management in a complex and dynamic logistics environment underpinned by commercial confidence and trust in European supply chains fed with goods from container ports in Northeast Asia.

This study applies a fuzzy methodology to measure port competitiveness based on the expert judgements of logisticians. It applies a trapezoidal fuzzy number to measure their perceptions. The method accepts a linguistic expression of their judgements of five of the world's top six container ports in terms of container through‐puts, including Hong Kong, Busan, Shanghai, Kaohsuing, Shenzhen. Qindao ranked 16th and Tokyo ranked 20th were also analyzed.

Hong Kong achieved the highest score on port service but on hinterland conditions Shanghai scored highest and Busan the lowest. Hong Kong topped the ratings on the availability factor and the convenience factor, but scored the lowest on logistics cost.

This research reports the factors which influence container port competitiveness in Northeast Asia and provides a structure for measuring them. The approach offers a unique insight for stakeholders and logisticians seeking to develop more effective channel management strategies.

This research chapter argues lawyers, not just bankers, for good and bad have been involved in all aspects of the current financial crisis. Indeed after examining and assessing various civil causes of action related to the “Mortgage Meltdown” and its aftermath, it appears if lawyers had been less involved or had raised warnings about legal risks as well as economic ones, whether the financial impact would have been so disastrous and widespread. Indeed by raising cautionary flags earlier, lawyers might have better served both the clients’ and the public's long-term interests. This view thus complements issues related to criminally prosecuting mortgage fraud that has also seen explosive growth and where lawyers have again played central roles. Lawyers have been involved at the back end too in terms of legislation or resolving issues such as bankruptcies and foreclosures.

The chapter examines several causes of action the media have reported being raised by various parties and how they illustrate the role lawyers, regulations, and legislation have played in the origins and evolution of the current crisis. The cases explored involve individual parties and class actions. The chapter also analyzes in detail a case representing opposite ends of the origination and foreclosure closure spectrum by describing a derivative shareholder suit against corporate officers and directors actively involved in creating the subprime mess, who were then sued for covering up the inevitable results from failed loans in the reports to shareholders. It thus illustrates the legal complexities emerging from the abuse of complex financial and organizational structures impacting many investors. Finally the chapter concludes by arguing there is a public policy need not only for financial regulatory reform but also for a tightening in the professional standards and regulatory penalties imposed on lawyers involved in such transactions.

Explores the roles of sexuality and intimacy in cross‐gender mentoring relationships. Today’s leaders are concerned about controlling sexuality and intimacy in cross‐gender work relationships and there is an increased awareness of the sexual harassment aspect of sexuality in today’s society. Describes sexuality and intimacy in cross‐gender mentoring relationships and explores the sex role spillover model’s explanation for sexuality in these relationships. Views sexuality and intimacy in cross‐gender mentoring relationships along a continuum ranging from non‐sexual, psychologically intimate relationships to the extreme of sexual harassment. Includes mentors’, protégés’ and co‐workers’ perceptions of sexuality and intimacy in cross‐gender mentoring relationships in this discussion along with the impact of these perceptions on cross‐gender mentoring relationships. Finally, considers ways to manage sexuality and intimacy in cross‐gender mentoring relationships.

Black and Latino males face challenges to college-going that may alter their decision to attend college. However, many Black and Latino males have successfully enrolled and matriculated through college. This study aims to explore the precollege factors that influenced the college enrollment and persistence for first generation Black and Latino male collegians (N = 5) at a predominantly white institution located in the Northeastern area of the USA. Two major themes (i.e., pre-college barriers and pre-college facilitators) along with several subthemes emerged from the data. The authors discuss recommendations for teachers, school counselors, and administrators in assisting Black and Latino males prepare for enrollment and persistence in college.

A qualitative approached was used for this research study. A focus group was incorporated because it enabled participants to discuss their experiences in a single setting with other participants with similar backgrounds and thus through contrast and group dialogue vital insights related the phenomena of interest can be identified (Kitzinger, 1995). Individual interviews were conducted to engage in a more in-depth data collection process with the participants in a one-one-setting.

Pre-college barriers and pre-college facilitators were the major themes of this research study. The subthemes originated from the frameworks of Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) and Constellation Mentoring (Kelly and Dixon, 2014).

The paper will contribute to the research literature, as the authors are exploring the experiences of Black male collegians from a Northeastern PWI. There is a dearth of literature in this area of research.

Classification is an important process in making sense of the world, and has a pronounced social dimension. This paper aims to compare folksonomy, a new social classification system currently being developed on the web, with conventional taxonomy in the light of theoretical sociological and anthropological approaches. The co‐existence of these two types of classification system raises the questions: Will and should taxonomies be hybridized with folksonomies? What can each of these systems contribute to information‐searching processes, and how can the sociology of knowledge provide an answer to these questions? This paper aims also to address these issues.

This paper is situated at the meeting point of the sociology of knowledge, epistemology and information science and aims at examining systems of classification in the light of both classical theory and current late‐modern sociological and anthropological approaches.

Using theoretical approaches current in the sociology of science and knowledge, the paper envisages two divergent possible outcomes.

While concentrating on classifications systems, this paper addresses the more general social issue of what we know and how it is known. The concept of hybrid knowledge is suggested in order to illuminate the epistemological basis of late‐modern knowledge being constructed by hybridizing contradictory modern knowledge categories, such as the subjective with the objective and the social with the natural. Integrating tree‐like taxonomies with folksonomies or, in other words, generating a naturalized structural order of objective relations with social, subjective classification systems, can create a vast range of hybrid knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence demographic factors have on the way lesbians and gay men manage their sexual orientation at work.

Based on data taken from a cross-sectional survey of 1,308 gay and lesbian employees working in Germany, four regression models are proposed. The means of handling one’s homosexuality at work was measured by the 31 items containing Workplace Sexual Identity Management Measure from Anderson et al. (2001).

Results indicate that being in a relationship is related to increased openness about one’s homosexuality at work. Furthermore, it appears that the older and the more religious lesbian and gay employees are, the more open (and therefore less hidden) about their sexuality they are. Having a migratory background is related to being more guarded about one’s sexual orientation, whereas personal mobility within the country is not related to the way one manages one’s sexual orientation at work. Lesbians tend to be a little more open and less guarded about their homosexuality compared to gay men.

The focus of this research (and the related limitations) offers several starting and connecting points for more intersectional research on workforce diversity and diversity management.

The study’s findings indicate the need for an intersectional approach to organizational diversity management strategies. Exemplified by the dimension “sexual orientation”, it can be shown that the impact each dimension has for an employee’s everyday workplace experiences and behavior in terms of a certain manifestation of one dimension of diversity can only be understood in terms of its interplay with other dimensions of diversity.

It is shown that manifestations of demographic factors that tend to broaden the individual’s coping resources for stigma-relevant stressors lead to more openness about one’s homosexuality in the workplace.

The debate to find a solution for domestic price support under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) has been a long one. The stance of India is critical to determine due to its large population. This paper aims to analyse the benefits or demerits of minimum price support and what approach could be adopted by India.

The paper is a mix of both analytical and theoretical research. The paper first provides a background on the issues related to public stockholding and further analyses some data at which India procures wheat and rice from the farmers and then compares it with retail market prices in India.

The paper finds that the difference in price between minimum price support and retail market prices in India for wheat and rice is minimal. Therefore, the concern that India might be taking advantage of the minimum price is uncalled for. India also needs to balance its own interests as well as abide by its WTO obligations. The paper finds that cooperation among countries or regional blocks might help to address the problem of food insecurity.

The paper portrays India’s stance with regard to WTO AOA as well as studies the Indian market for wheat and rice.