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Article
Publication date: 1 December 1997

Noreen Clifford, Michael Morley and Patrick Gunnigle

Seeks to contribute to the flexibility debate by addressing the following research questions: What are the European trends pertaining to the use of part‐time workers? How has the…

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Abstract

Seeks to contribute to the flexibility debate by addressing the following research questions: What are the European trends pertaining to the use of part‐time workers? How has the situation changed over the past three years? To what extent do organizational characteristics, such as size, unionization and sector, impact on the nature and extent of part‐time employment? Despite recent attempts by the European Union to bring to the fore the issue of working time, it has a rather long pedigree in labour management literature. The main arguments dictating the direction of change in working time arrangements are associated with discretion/choice debates, labour force changes, equality issues, technology and organiza‐tional efficiency and the unemployment/work‐sharing argument. Focuses specifically on one workforce variable, namely part‐time work. Believes that the classification of the labour market into the core (typical) and periphery (atypical), in the context of labour flexibility, is far too simplistic. Refers to how it has been argued in the literature that the components of the peripheral workforce possess different characteristics and cannot be lumped together.

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Employee Relations, vol. 19 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 8 August 2018

Sarah Dawn Lee, Mahitab Hanbazaza, Geoff D.C. Ball, Anna Farmer, Katerina Maximova and Noreen D. Willows

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a narrative review of the food insecurity literature pertaining to university and college students studying in Very High Human Development…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a narrative review of the food insecurity literature pertaining to university and college students studying in Very High Human Development Index countries. It aims to document food insecurity prevalence, risk factors for and consequences of food insecurity and food insecurity coping strategies among students.

Design/methodology/approach

English articles published between January 2000 and November 2017 were identified using electronic databases. Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies assessed the study quality of quantitative research.

Findings

A total of 37 quantitative, three mixed-methods and three qualitative studies were included from 80,914 students from the USA (n=30 studies), Australia (n=4), Canada (n=8) and Poland (n=1). Prevalence estimates of food insecurity were 9–89 percent. All quantitative studies were rated weak based on the quality assessment. Risk factors for food insecurity included being low income, living away from home or being an ethnic minority. Negative consequences of food insecurity were reported, including reduced academic performance and poor diet quality. Strategies to mitigate food insecurity were numerous, including accessing food charities, buying cheaper food and borrowing resources from friends or relatives.

Research limitations/implications

Given the heterogeneity across studies, a precise estimate of the prevalence of food insecurity in postsecondary students is unknown.

Practical implications

For many students studying in wealthy countries, obtaining a postsecondary education might mean enduring years of food insecurity and consequently, suffering a range of negative academic, nutritional and health outcomes. There is a need to quantify the magnitude of food insecurity in postsecondary students, to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies to reduce the impact of food insecurity on campus.

Originality/value

This review brings together the existing literature on food insecurity among postsecondary students studying in wealthy countries to allow a better understanding of the condition in this understudied group.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 120 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1994

RayBall

The nature and extent of our knowledge of stock market efficiency are examined. The development of “efficiency”, as a way of thinking about stock markets, is traced from Roberts…

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Abstract

The nature and extent of our knowledge of stock market efficiency are examined. The development of “efficiency”, as a way of thinking about stock markets, is traced from Roberts (1959) and Fama (1965) onward. The early work successfully introduced competitive economic theory to the study of stock markets and paved the way for a flood of empirical research on the relation between information and stock prices. This literature irreversibly altered our views on stock market behavior. The theory and evidence of seemingly‐rational use of information lay in sharp contrast to prior beliefs. It was associated with a widespread increase in respect for stock markets, financial markets, and markets in general, at the time. Researchers began developing and using a variety of formal models of security prices. Nevertheless, “efficiency” has its limitations, both theoretically (as a way of characterizing markets) and empirically (by stretching the quality of the data, the estimation techniques used, and our knowledge of price behavior in competitive markets). Extensive evidence of anomalies suggests either that the market systematically misprices securities or that the theoretical or empirical limitations are binding, or both. The less interesting research question now is whether markets are efficient, and the more interesting question is how we can learn more about price and transactions behavior in competitive stock markets. The concept of an “efficient stock market” has stimulated both insight and controversy since Fama (1965) introduced it to the financial economics literature. As a construct, “efficiency” models the stock market in terms of the reaction of prices to the flow of information. Like all theory choices, modelling the market in this fashion involved tradeoffs. The benefits included opening the literature to an abundance of high‐quality researchable data, covering a variety of information, and the resulting insights obtained on the role of information in setting prices. The opportunity costs included temporarily closing the literature to alternative ways of viewing stock markets, for example by modelling public information as a homogenous good and thus ignoring factors such as differences in beliefs among investors, differences in information processing costs, and the “animal spirits” that might drive group behavior. The costs also included reliance on particular asset‐pricing models of how an “efficient” market would set prices. Not surprisingly, the ensuing deluge of research has produced some startling evidence, for and against the proposition that financial markets are “efficient”. Strongly‐conflicting views and puzzling anomalies remain. The early evidence seemed unexpectedly consistent with the theory. The theory, and its implications, also seemed clear at the time. After a period that seems short in retrospect, the growing body of evidence in favor of the efficient market hypothesis emerged as one of the most influential empirical areas of economics. Fama's (1970) review described a flourishing, coherent and confident literature. This research had an irreversible effect on our knowledge of and attitude toward stock markets, and financial markets generally. It coincided with an emergence of interest in, and respect for, all markets among economists and politicians, and influenced the worldwide trend toward “liberalizing” financial and other markets. The research consistently appeared to show an unbiased reaction of stock prices to public information. The property of “unbiased reaction” to public information, which formed the basis of the early definitions of “efficiency”, was seen to be an implication of rational, maximizing investor behavior in competitive securities markets (Fama 1965, p.4). Reduced to a basic level, the reasoning was that any systematicallybiased reaction to public information is costlessly publicly observable, and thus provides pure profit opportunities to be competed away. Characterizing the market in terms of its reaction to information is only one of many feasible ways of modelling stock price behavior, but it introduced economic theoryto the empirical studyof stock prices, which had received little serious attention from economists prior to that point. Despite the subsequent spate of anomalies, the early efficiency literature not only adapted standard economic theoryto provide the first formal economic insights into how stock prices behave, but it helped pave the way for an outporing of theoretical and empirical work on stock markets and capital markets in general. Subsequent empirical research was not as consistent with the theory. Evidence of “anomalous” return behavior now is widespread and well‐known. It generallytakes the form of variables (for example, size, day‐of‐the‐week, P/E ratio, market/book value ratio, rank of scaled earnings change, dividend yield) that are significantly but inexplicablyrelated to subsequent abnormal stock returns. Much of this evidence has defied rational economic explanation to date and appears to have caused many researchers to strongly qualify their views on market efficiency. Disagreement has not been not confined to the evidence. The literature has produced a variety of research designs, ranging from the “market model” of Fama, Fisher, Jensen and Roll (FFJR, 1969) to Shiller's (1981a,b) variance‐bounds tests. The very term “efficiency” has engendered controversy: there is a modest literature on precisely what efficiency means, on the role of transaction costs, and on whether efficient markets are logically feasible. Making sense of this literature requires careful definition of “efficiency” in this context and careful analysis of the type of evidence that has been offered in relation to it. This involves an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of both the theory of efficient markets, as a way of characterizing stock markets, and of the data and research designs used in testing it. Not surprisingly, a mixed conclusion emerges. While the concept of efficient markets was an audacious departure from the comparative ignorance and suspicion among economists of stock markets that preceded it, and provides valuable insights into their behavior, the concept has its limitations, in terms of both its internal logical coherence and its fit with the data. Section 1 ofthis survey sketches the development of the efficient market theory, reviewing the principal contributions in terms of their usefulness in guiding and evaluating empirical research. Section 2 addresses the limitations inherent in what is knowable about stock market efficiency, given the present state of theory about how security prices might behave in an “efficient” market. It argues that there are binding limitations in the theoryof asset pricing, some of which are known and others of which are unknown or even unknowable. These limitations must be borne in mind when choosing whether to interpret the data as evidence of: (1) market efficiency, under the maintained hypothesis that a specific research design, including a specific model of asset pricing used to benchmark price behavior, correctly describes pricing in an efficient market; or (2) the ability of our models and research designs to encapsulate how prices behave in an efficient market, under the maintained hypothesis of efficiency. Against this background, section 3 then provides an assessment of the accomplishments of the theory of stock market efficiency, including an interpretation of the evidence. It focuses on the nature and influence of the evidence and does not attempt to provide a comprehensive literature taxonomy. The final section offers conclusions. The principal conclusion is that the theory of efficient markets has irreversibly enhanced our knowledge of and respect for stock markets (and perhaps for all financial market or even for markets in general) but that, like all theories, it is fundamentally flawed.

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Managerial Finance, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2000

Alison Scammell

A synthesis of some of the themes and ideas developed in a recently published book about the future of information: i in the sky: visions of the information future. Common themes…

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Abstract

A synthesis of some of the themes and ideas developed in a recently published book about the future of information: i in the sky: visions of the information future. Common themes included: problems in defining information and defining future time‐scales, theubiquity of information, accessibility, privacy censorship and control, customisation ofinformation products, the development of the World Wide Web, artificial intelligence and cybernetics, changes in working roles and structures of organisations, information literacy, information overload and the organisation and retrieval of information.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 52 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

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Abstract

Details

Popular Music, Popular Myth and Cultural Heritage in Cleveland: The Moondog, The Buzzard, and the Battle for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-156-8

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1998

Noreen Heraty and Michael Morley

Reviews contemporary thinking on recruitment and selection in organisations. Draws upon data from a 1992 and a 1995 survey to explore the nature of current recruitment and…

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Abstract

Reviews contemporary thinking on recruitment and selection in organisations. Draws upon data from a 1992 and a 1995 survey to explore the nature of current recruitment and selection practices in Ireland with particular reference to managerial jobs. Policy decisions on recruitment are examined, recruitment methods are reviewed, and the influence of ownership, size, unionisation and sector on the methods chosen is presented. Selection techniques employed are identified and the situations in which they are most likely to be utilised are highlighted.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 17 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 1958

Food administrators engrossed in their own problems of protecting the consumer under the various Acts, Orders, Regulations and other Statutory Instruments tend to forget that…

Abstract

Food administrators engrossed in their own problems of protecting the consumer under the various Acts, Orders, Regulations and other Statutory Instruments tend to forget that there is another side to the law relating to the sale of food (and of goods generally). Our branch of the law is all statute‐made; the other branch is certainly expressed in statute, chiefly the Sale of Goods Act, 1893, but it merely gives expression to selling and buying principles that reach far back into the recesses of legal history and not a few of them have come down to us, practically unaltered, from the Roman jurists. The Food and Drugs Act, 1955, is a measure by which the State seeks to protect the consumer by imposing penalties on the wrongdoer—a branch of Criminal Law. The Sale of Goods Act, 1893, represents a code of conduct as between buyer and seller—a branch of Civil Law, giving to the buyer a right of private action for damages in certain circumstances. In the first, the State looks after the consumer; in the latter, he must take care of himself.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 60 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2003

Noreen Heraty and Michael J. Morley

Drawing upon survey data, we assess the current state of management development in Ireland and we identify policy, practice and structural contingencies that help to explain…

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Abstract

Drawing upon survey data, we assess the current state of management development in Ireland and we identify policy, practice and structural contingencies that help to explain variations in the volume of management development activity undertaken at organizational level. The data show that the level of management development, as measured by the number of days per annum, has increased in recent years with 70 percent of managers in our sample now receiving between one and five days training per year. The mean number of days per annum in Ireland now stands at 4.5. With respect to those factors that appear to affect the level of management development activity, preliminary analysis points to the importance of policy and practice variables over structural ones. Materially, in the human resource domain, our data suggest that organizations with actual policies on personnel/human resource strategy and on management development have higher levels of management development activity and, given the recent tightening in the labor market, many were promulgating their use of developmental interventions as an aid to recruitment/retention. The existence of formal career plans and succession plans, the relative emphasis on the analysis of human resource development needs and the filling of senior and middle management posts via the internal labor market all emerged as predictors of higher levels of management development. Organizations using international experience schemes also ran a significantly higher number of days of management development interventions. In the structural characteristics domain, the data indicate that management development in indigenous companies is at similar levels to internationally owned enterprises in our sample. Here structural explanations such as total employment, sector and unionization did not emerge as being statistically significant.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

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Article
Publication date: 18 June 2024

Adrian A. Mabalay

This study investigates how consumers perceive the packaging of Philippine coffee social enterprise products and how this impression affects their willingness to purchase based on…

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates how consumers perceive the packaging of Philippine coffee social enterprise products and how this impression affects their willingness to purchase based on sensory expectations, brand attitude, product quality perception, and price perception.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a positivist research philosophy, this study used empirical methods, surveying 263 coffee consumers. The coffee packaging prototypes varied across material and graphic designs. The data was analyzed statistically using the Friedman test and Spearman correlation.

Findings

It was found that packaging elements elicit an equal share of emotional responses. Graphics have a greater impact than materials. Females are more affected by visuals, while materials influence males more. Further, packaging design correlates positively and significantly with consumer impressions and willingness to buy.

Research limitations/implications

The sampling methodology limits generalizability. Future studies can use integrated models to analyze the effects of additional packaging variables like color and shape.

Practical implications

Coffee enterprises should focus on graphic rather than material elements. Paper packs with patterned graphics are most attractive to consumers. Targeted gender-sensitive packaging designs are needed. Standardized packaging can help build the Philippine coffee social enterprise industry and support small-scale farmer livelihoods. Environmentally sustainable materials should be prioritized.

Social implications

The findings contribute to the success and growth of small-scale farmers and social enterprises in the Philippines. These businesses can attract more consumers, increase their market share, and ultimately generate more significant social impact by implementing packaging design strategies that effectively communicate product quality, sustainability, and social value.

Originality/value

The study uniquely integrates diverse methods to provide holistic insights into jointly analyzing the effects of packaging materials and graphics. It proposes an expanded conceptual role of packaging in shaping product perceptions using the affective response framework and Kansei approach.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

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