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The purpose of this paper is to examine how the term “overkill” is used in the homicide literature to identify definitional issues that may interfere with reliable data coding across studies. This preliminary examination of the concept can guide future studies seeking to develop a standard definition.

To identify issues inherent in the term “overkill,” three definitions – ranging from broad and unclear to more specific and objective – were extracted or adapted from the existing literature. Using closed, homicide case files, nine coders were tasked with coding for the presence of overkill according to one of the definitions across two rounds of coding. Definitional components that made the coding of overkill difficult were identified using a qualitative sorting task to separate items into themes that represented similar issues; basic inter-rater agreement patterns were examined using pairwise percent agreement.

Based on coder feedback, two problems were identified: conceptual issues with the definitions and logistical issues with coding. However, feedback also suggested that increasing the objectivity of the overkill definition led coders to feel the intended meaning of the term was lost. Two out of three groups showed an increase in coder agreement between the two phases of data collection, illustrating how increased training is useful in certain situations.

This study is the first in-depth methodological and empirical examination of how the term “overkill” has been operationalized in the literature, raises key questions that may help with more clearly coding this variable, and outlines issues that may add difficulty to the development of a standard definition.

This paper aims to explore the presence of overkill in sexual homicide. More specifically, the study examines whether overkill is a valid indicator of an organized or disorganized sexual homicide. Moreover, the study tests the presence of various patterns of sexual homicide involving overkill.

The sample used in this study consists of 662 cases of extrafamilial SHs with (n = 145) and without (n = 517) evidence of overkill, respectively. A binomial regression was used to compare at the multivariate level the two groups of crimes, while a latent class analysis was used to determine whether overkill could be associated with different patterns of sexual homicide.

Findings from bivariate and logistic regression analyses show that the presence of overkill may be associated with both organized and disorganized sexual homicides. Moreover, latent class analysis suggests that there are three distinct patterns of overkill in sexual homicide: impulsive, sadistic and personal.

This study is the first to empirically analyze overkill in sexual homicides and to propose a classification using crime-commission process characteristics.

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the perceptions of local tourists concerning the importance and performance of their dining experience and restaurant selection factors at tourist destinations. Five hundred forty-one questionnaires collected from a series of on-site surveys at popular tourist destinations were analyzed. The results of importance–performance analysis (IPA) illustrate that no attribute fell in the Concentrate Here quadrant; staff service, service speed, food quality, interior design, comfort, cleanliness, restaurant scent, food scent attributes, and the “food service” factor fell under the Keep up the Good Work quadrants; noise, music, new experience, price attributes, and the “servicescape” factor fell in the Low Priority quadrant; servicescape lighting fell in the Possible Overkill quadrant. In conclusion, restaurants at popular tourist destinations have done very well in most service items and seem to have reached the professional standards expected by mass tourists.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether sexual homicide offenders (SHO) who dispose of the victim’s body naked present with particular crime scene characteristics.

This study aims to answer this question through the use of a sequential logistic regression to test the individual effects of each set of crime scene variables against the manner of disposal using a sample of 662 solved cases of extrafamilial sexual homicide from an international database.

Results demonstrated that the modus operandi behaviors of sexual penetration, asphyxiation, dismemberment and overkill were significantly associated with the body being disposed of naked. In addition, removing or destroying evidence from the scene was also significantly associated with a naked victim. In contrast, the body was more likely to be dumped clothed if the contact scene was deserted and the victim was a stranger. These results suggest that SHOs who dispose of the body naked are more in line with the sadistic sexual murderer, while clothed victims are often disposed of by angry offenders.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the particular manner of disposing the victim’s body naked in cases of sexual homicide.

The purpose of this paper is to provide strategic recommendations to Indian hospital administrators for improving service quality by analysing performance dimensions and the importance attached to them by patients and attendants.

Patient and attendant perceptions were collected using a questionnaire.

Patients and attendants have different perceptions. Different customers have different needs of which providers need to be aware to better serve their consumers.

The study captured only 408 patient and attendants’ perceptions – a 32 per cent response rate.

Results enable hospital administrators to develop appropriate strategies to improve their structure and function by analysing their strengths and weaknesses regarding their tangible and intangible assets.

The study included attendants, specifically in an Indian healthcare context.

Based on attribute research in marketing, importance-performance analysis (IPA) provides a useful analogy to examine employer branding concepts. The purpose of this paper is to use IPA to evaluate employees’ perceptions of important employer value proposition (EVP) attributes and their corresponding psychological contract fulfillment scores. IPA is applied to 40 EVP attributes and their corresponding EVP dimensions – “Economic Value”, “Development Value”, “Social Value”, “Work Value” and “Employer Reputation.” Further, the paper examines the difference between highly engaged and less engaged employees in their relationship to importance and fulfillment of the five EVP dimensions.

Data were drawn from information technology-business process management employees (n=520) in India through a questionnaire survey. The IPA matrix was used to plot the importance and fulfillment scores. Independent samples t-test was used to assess the difference between high and low engagement scores.

The results indicate that several EVP attributes fall within the “Concentrate Here” quadrant that requires more focus. With respect to EVP dimensions, social value needs focus; economic value received “Low Priority”; and work value and employer reputation are identified as “Potential Overkill.” The findings also suggest that, organizations should engage employees across all dimensions, by both prioritizing and fulfilling their obligations promptly.

The study highlights the need for HR practitioners and academicians to draw insights from attribute research in marketing to effectively devise the employer branding strategy of individual organizations.

This paper is the first of its kind to apply IPA to EVP attributes, which contributes to the growing literature on employer branding.

The purpose of this paper is to examine spectator perceptions of service quality at the Formula One (F-1) event in Shanghai by means of Martilla and James’ Importance and Performance Analysis (IPA).

The items were plotted on the four IPA dimensions, including: Concentrate Here; Keep Up the Good Work; Lower Priority; and Possible Overkill.

The results indicated that staff courtesy seems to be the strength of the event. However, concession quality, food prices, and arena accessibility, including restrooms at the Shanghai F-1 event, did not meet spectators’ expectations. In addition, the results suggested that in any spectator sporting event, food consumption helps to create a positive experience. Therefore, IPA revealed that service quality related to concessions, food pricing, and arena accessibility at the Shanghai F-1 are in need of immediate improvement, whereas staff courtesy and race visuals were satisfactory.

The findings will help marketers prioritize certain services and offer strategic direction in effective service provision by highlighting management problems.

The purpose of this paper is to: determine which criteria of the car insurance brokers' web sites are important or unimportant; establish how well those criteria are presented on the car insurance brokers’ web sites; and find out whether the consumer’s final decision to purchase the product is influenced by the web sites' characteristics, the price, etc.

The evaluation method employed in this study is the extended web assessment method (EWAM), which is an evaluation tool specifically created for the assessment of electronic commerce applications. A double questionnaire survey has been undertaken to collect data from 28 finance advisers in an independent financial advisory firm in the UK.

The preliminary findings suggest that the majority of the assessed web site criteria fall in the categories of “maintain strategy” and “no immediate improvement necessary” with certain web site features considered as “strategic overkill” or “improvement necessary”. It is also found that the web sites are utilised as a tool for shopping around for quotes but the final purchase would be made by most consumers via the telephone.

It is important to mention that an empirical study with a sample of 28 insurance advisers in one financial advisory company can only reflect a limited picture of current practice in the UK car insurance brokers market. Therefore, the findings reported in this paper are tentative and preliminary. To test or confirm relevant findings reported here, further evaluation work with a larger number of assessors having different backgrounds may be necessary.

While the majority of the assessed web site criteria fall in the “maintain strategy” and “no immediate improvement necessary” fields, efforts should be made by practitioners to improve site maps, site search, and insurers’ details for quotes.

This paper provides useful information for UK car insurance brokers and web sites developers.

Two articles in this issue concern the thorny question of legal controls over industry — namely those involving employee welfare and protection. First, David Harvey reports that management disgruntlement over the rising tide of legislation is by no means confined to Britain.

This study seeks to investigate the potential gap between important dimensions of business graduates' attributes and the actual performance of these graduates in their post‐graduate employment. These graduates have completed a business‐related degree from the business management faculty of a higher education institution (HEI) located in Peninsular Malaysia. The dimensions of attributes and the performance of these graduates are considered in four broad areas, namely, knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality.

A questionnaire seeking responses from managers reflecting their importance ratings of essential attributes for business graduates, and the corresponding performance ratings of the graduates in these attributes, was distributed to managers of all companies employing the graduates from the business school. Importance‐performance analysis was used to evaluate the managers' perceptions of these graduates and to determine their actual performance. The graduates' information was obtained from the records of the HEI's alumni.

The results of this study reveal that managers attach different weights to different aspects of graduates' performance. Therefore, curriculum development should be directed towards attributes that are expected of these graduates and are relevant to the needs of the market and industry. This will allow for corrective action to take place to improve perceived problem areas.

Since this research is a case study of business management faculty graduates, future nationwide research could be carried out on graduates from all HEIs employed in different industries and involving different levels of management and employment to determine whether a consistent pattern is discernable.

There are only a few studies that have included employer research surveys with the intention of evaluating factors contributing to graduate performance and improving the business management curriculum of HEIs in Malaysia.