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This paper tests the theory that local option sales taxes (LOST) work to the disadvantage of poorer localities, particularly rural areas, where many residents commute to shop and work. We also hypothesize that LOST systems hurt struggling communities more than they help prospering ones. The LOST system is examined using multiple years of data from North Carolina, a state whose tax structure favors such an analysis. The results indicate that LOST systems exacerbate inequality between local communities by actively moving revenue from poorer communities to more wealthy ones. We find evidence that LOST systems cost poorer counties a greater percentage of their total budgets than is gained by the wealthy counties that attract retail activity.

This case was developed through secondary sources in response to the environmental concerns being raised in legal actions, company documents, online forums, trade press articles and academic research relative to Li mining practices, a key material in Li-ion batteries. The case focuses on Tesla’s actual and potential response to the environmental and humanitarian concerns being raised with its battery supply chain

Tesla was one of the world’s leading producers of Li-ion batteries which were critical to its EV and battery offerings. Unfortunately, sourcing rare earth metals, such as Co and Li, which are key components in these batteries, raise several environmental and social concerns. This case highlights senior leadership considerations critical to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, including environmental tradeoffs and issue management. The case highlights the complexity of strategic decision-making in innovative and ESG contexts and challenges the students to contextualize the trade-offs behind each decision and the potential impact to associated stakeholders.

Level: Upper undergraduate and masters. Majors: Management; technology & innovation management; environmental science; science, technology & society; supply chain management; business ethics. Courses: Strategic management (social issues in management, strategic management, technological innovation); technology & society; ethics, supply chain management. Time: 60- or 90-minute class session. Supporting texts (depending on course context): Strategic Management of Technological Innovation. Schilling, M. McGraw Hill, 2017. Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Grant, R. Wiley, 2017. Society, Ethics & Technology. Winston, M., Edelbach, R. Cengage, 2014. Principles of Supply Chain Management. Wisner, J., Tan, K., Leong, G. Cengage, 2019.

The purpose of this paper is to examine both the Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ social media adoption (SMA) for business purposes and the influence of culture on personal versus business social network platform (SNP) selection.

The Technology Acceptance Model’s (TAM) factors of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) as drivers of Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ social network platform selection are examined as well as the effect of SMA on revenue. Data was collected from 633 small business owners across the United States via an online survey administered in English and Spanish.

Results indicate that Latino/Hispanic business owners use personal SNP more than business SNP for business purposes. PU and PEU were not found to predict personal SNP for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs. However, for Non-Latino/Hispanics, PU was significant while PEU was marginally significant. Findings for PU and PEU as predictors of business SNP indicate similar results for both Latino/Hispanic and non-Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs, where only PEU was significant. Finally, there was no relationship between either business or personal SNP and revenue for either Latino/Hispanic or non-Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs.

This research provides more insight into Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ self-directed engagement in personal SNP (Facebook) and business SNP (LinkedIn) for business purposes and invites future research in this population to further examine cultural influence and business performance. The findings support the need for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ strengthening their competency in social media usage to remain competitive, as doing so will enhance their capability for building customer relationships, brand development, and equity financing.

This investigation 1) examines SMA’s role in Latino/Hispanic small and medium enterprises (SMEs); 2) distinguishes between personal and business social network platforms; 3) investigates TAM’s relevance for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ use of social media for business; and 4) explores SME social media usage as a predictor of revenue. We seek to provide practitioners with a greater understanding of how they may influence business success and sustainability through better competency development and usage of social media platforms.

The purpose of this paper is to profile the research activity, research skills and enablers of research of clinical psychologists in the Republic of Ireland.

All clinical psychologists working in the Health Service Executive (HSE) or HSE-funded organisations were requested to complete an online survey examining their research capacity. A total of 170 clinical psychologists completed the survey, with an estimated response rate of 20-25 per cent.

Within the preceding two years, 60 per cent (n=102) of the clinical psychologists sampled had engaged in research. These research active participants were involved with a median of three projects and the majority spent 10 per cent or less of their work time engaged in research. The weakest research skills of research active and research inactive participants were applying for research funding and publishing research. Research active participants indicated a reliance on their own personal motivation to maintain their research activity and indicated a need for more protected time for research.

Managers within the health service need to be incentivised to allocate protected work time for research that directly contributes to service provision. Greater collaboration with academic institutions is needed with regard to targeting the research skills development of clinical psychologists, as well as identifying opportunities for collaborative research.

This is the first survey to profile the research activity and skills of clinical psychologists in the Republic of Ireland and provides an evidence base for future research capacity development.

The problems of One‐Man‐Bands (OMBs) began to be taken seriously in the early 1980s when the Aslib OMB group was formed. The group received considerable attention in the professional press, and became the object of a study by Judith Collins and Janet Shuter who identified them as “information professionals working in isolation”. Many of the problems identified in the Collins/Shuter study remain — not least of these being the further education and training needs of OMBs. These needs are studied in this report. The author has firstly done an extensive survey of the literature to find what has been written about this branch of the profession. Then by means of a questionnaire sent to the Aslib OMB group and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (INVOG), training and education needs have been pinpointed. Some of these needs have then been explored in greater detail by means of case studies. The author found that the most common deterrents to continuing education and training were time, cost, location, finding suitable courses to cover the large variety of skills needed and lastly, lack of encouragement from employers. The author has concluded by recommending areas where further research is needed, and suggesting some solutions to the problems discussed.

The purpose of this research is to examine a downstream social marketing program that slows the typical decline in functional fitness and independence of adults over 55 with particular attention to the ROI and the efficiency of the program.

Within subjects quasi-experimental design.

The ExerStart program is cost-efficient and effective delivering an ROI of 33 per cent. The participants of the ExerStart social marketing program significantly improved functional fitness. Further, this program demonstrates that this result may be achieved with just four exercises rather than six.

A successful, cost-effective, high-retention social marketing program is outlined for social marketers who aim to increase the functional fitness and independence of adults over 55 years.

Two societal benefits, the first is that it provides direction about how to efficiently prolong the independence of adults over 55 years, and the second is that it decreases pressure and costs on the healthcare system. This may be useful for policy makers and social marketers alike.

The authors contribute to the literature in two important ways. First, this paper details a cost-effective intervention that improves the physical fitness of a significant and growing portion of the community and suggests additional considerations for future ROI calculations. Second, this paper contributes methodologically by introducing the senior fitness test (a new criterion-referenced clinically relevant physical fitness standard specifically developed for seniors).

Outlines the anticipated effects of the Channel Tunnel on the transportation of goods from a peripheral region. Argues that the combined effects of the Single European Market and the opening of the Channel Tunnel are likely to disadvantage industries within peripherally‐located regions such as Scotland, the North of England, Wales and Ireland. Presents some findings from a study which was carried out within Northern Ireland to assess the vulnerability of peripherally‐located firms to the effects of forthcoming events. The findings, based on 89 firms within five industrial sectors, highlight a need for regional firms to enhance their awareness of the effects which the Channel Tunnel is likely to have on performance and hence a need to prepare for this forthcoming infrastructure development.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a brief CBT intervention within a primary care adult mental health service.

In total, 92 participants with mild to moderate mental health difficulties were provided with five sessions of brief CBT. Clinical improvement was measured using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) at pre-treatment, mid-treatment and post-treatment, and on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at pre-treatment and post-treatment.

The planned five sessions of CBT were completed by 48.9 percent (n=45) of participants. Treatment completers with full clinical data (n=31) showed large statistically significant improvements on the CORE-OM and BDI-II from pre-therapy to post-therapy. Of treatment completers and non-completers with post-therapy and mid-therapy CORE-OM data, respectively (n=34), 61.8 percent showed reliable and clinically significant change. No statistically significant differences were found between treatment completers (n=45) and non-completers (n=47) in their pre-therapy clinical scores or socio-demographic characteristics.

Brief CBT can be a clinically effective primary care intervention but needs to be implemented in a way that ensures high treatment engagement across a range of service users.

This paper contributes to the evidence base of a primary care psychological intervention and demonstrates the importance of assessing treatment completion when evaluating clinical effectiveness.

To examine the role of three employee‐owner attributes (i.e. the level of employee influence in decision making, the amount of Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) information given to employee‐owners, and the extent to which the ESOP design provides employee‐owners with equity possession) in predicting variance in managerial perceptions of ESOP firm performance.

Survey responses from management at 61 ESOP firms in the United States are analyzed. Based upon the ESOP literature, “ownership” is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of rights to influence, information, and equity. This framework is the foundation for several hypotheses linking ownership attributes and firm performance.

Utilizing hierarchical regression analysis, we found that employee influence in operational decisions and information sharing with employee‐owners has a positive impact on managerial perceptions of firm performance. Equity possession appears to be only significant when ESOP information sharing with is low.

This is a cross‐sectional study of management respondents. Future researchers should include employees and managers, gather objective firm performance data, and refine the measures of employee influence, information sharing, and equity possession.

Managers interested in improving the economic performance of ESOP firms should increase opportunities for employee operational influence, as well as developing extensive ESOP communication programs. Policy makers may need to provide stronger guidance to employers regarding employee‐owner equity possession.

This paper furthers our understanding of the role that employee ownership attributes play in ESOP firm effectiveness.