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Using data from the British National Childhood Development Study, this paper examines the quality–quantity trade-off in fertility in multiple measures of child achievement. The results exhibit three characteristics: (1) Family-size effects appear very early in child development – as early as age two; (2) the effects are found in a broad array of achievement measures: labor market, cognitive, physical, and social; and (3) by age 16, the effects of family size stop growing (and what little evidence there is of change after that is not consistently in one direction). The paper argues that these results are inconsistent with preference-based explanations of the trade-off and point to some family-resource constraint. However, the relevant constraint appears more likely to be temporal than financial.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an original satisfaction survey in the context of a new public private partnership (PPP) in the Lebanese postal sector, highlighting traditionally overlooked linkages between PPPs, quality management and customer satisfaction. The ascendancy of PPPs in recent years has been attributed to key drivers including greater value for money, and enhanced service quality. However, very few studies to date have investigated the success of service performance improvement in the PPP context, by gauging customer satisfaction.

The paper is a literature review and customer satisfaction survey.

The findings in this paper suggest a good level of satisfaction with the quality of services received through the PPP in question but mixed results concerning the impact of consumer characteristics on satisfaction ratings.

In the paper the relationship between customer satisfaction and quality is reviewed. Customer satisfaction is measured in the PPP context and a neglected dimension in customer satisfaction measurement addressed namely, whether ratings of satisfaction vary systematically on the basis of customer characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to test a model of service quality of public land transport services, especially paratransit services.

This study used quantitative approach. Data were collected through a survey method using questionnaire. The respondents of the study are 880 passengers of paratransit services in Indonesia. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed in order to identify the dimensions of service quality and test the convergent and discriminant validity of the dimensions. Cronbach’s α analysis was carried out to test the reliability of the dimensions. In addition, criterion-based validity and the stability of the service quality model were also tested.

A model of service quality of public land transport, namely P-TRANSQUAL, was tested. P-TRANSQUAL consists of four dimensions, which are comfort, tangible, personnel, and reliability. The model has been proven to have good validity, reliability, and stability for measuring service quality of paratransit services in Indonesia.

This research was carried out in a single developing country, namely Indonesia. Hence, the stability of the model needs to be tested in different cultures.

Public transport managers can use P-TRANSQUAL to monitor, measure, and improve the service quality of the public transport they manage.

This paper has tested a new model of service quality for public transport services, especially paratransit services.

Notes that to be effectively implemented, quality management has to be aligned with strategy and properly co‐ordinated. Develops a systems framework entitled congruence management business architecture. Notes that under this architecture an activity is the core entity for change and that every quality or related initiative will change, eliminate or create activities. Considers various quality management mechanisms under this architecture and considers various barriers. Suggests that the congruence management framework can help make quality management more effective.

The purposes of this study are to examine the relationship between the distribution of quality costs and the level of maturity of an organization's quality system, to assess the extent to which effective COQ systems and maturing quality systems affect organization performance, and to determine why some organizations do not utilize COQ systems.

A survey instrument was developed to determine the distribution of total quality cost among the four ASQ categories. The instrument also assesses the maturity of the organization's quality system using the ANSI/ISO/ASQ Q9004‐2000 performance maturity level classification system. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between quality costs and quality system maturity.

External failure costs were found to decline as a percentage of total cost of quality (COQ) as an organization's quality system matures. Total COQ was found to increase as an organization moved from a very low level of quality system maturity to a higher level. Sales and profit growth were not significantly correlated with the presence of a quality cost system or with the level of maturity of the quality system. Lack of management support was found to be the most common reason why organizations do not systematically track quality costs.

Additional research is needed to determine the relationship between the presence of a COQ system and its effective integration with the quality system and organizational outcomes. Future research is needed to expand the study beyond the boundaries of the USA. Future research involving longitudinal studies would be beneficial in more accurately assessing the nature of the changes in COQ distribution over time.

The findings of this study suggest that organizations planning to implement a COQ system should ensure that management supports the program and is prepared for a short‐term increase in total COQ. These findings also support the often‐suggested expectation that in the long run the COQ system will lead to a significant reduction in external failure costs.

Systematic measurement of COQ is underutilized in practice. This study systematically examines why this is the case. In addition the study provides information that can be useful in justifying implementation of COQ measurement systems.

DO work study practitioners get adequate training to do their job properly? No, says a report just published by a joint committee of Industrial Training Boards. Such committees are set up by the Central Training Council to make training recommendations for jobs found in more than one industry. This committee has taken two years to reach its conclusions.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the comply-or-explain principle in the Italian context. In particular, the analysis will evaluate, which factor impact on firms' voluntary adoption of this tool to adequate their non-financial reports to the legal requirements of Directive 95/2014/EU.

The methodology consists of two different levels of analysis. The first part is statistical descriptive, and it consists of a rhetorical analysis on the justifications provided by the firms about their omissions to comply with Directive 95/2014/EU. The second part is inferential and its aim is to evaluate, which factors impact on comply-or-explains adoption.

The findings reveal how the comply-or-explain application in Italy has been characterized by several criticisms. The result highlight how the justifications adopted by the firms is influenced by their sector of activity and omission's type. Moreover, the analysis suggests how the sector of activity and the level of adherence to global reporting initiative influenced the average number of omissions.

The limitations of the research are represented by the focuses on a single country and by the short period of analysis. In this sense, future research could be addressed to the analysis of countries different from Italy. Moreover, accounting scholars could provide further contributions to the political debate through the evolution of the “comply-or-explain” principle’s strategies over the years.

The practical implications connected to the present research are twofold. The first one is represented by the possibility for policymakers to increase the degree of attention about the use of comply-or-explain as legitimization's tool. The second one is represented by the possibility for practitioners to identify a new reporting framework.

The social implications are represented by the possibility for stakeholders to evaluate the reliability's degree of the disclosure produced by Italian public interest entities after the implementation of Directive 95/2014/EU.

Despite the growing attention paid by academics regard Directive 95/2014/EU, this is the first attempt to analyze the comply-or-explain from a rhetorical perspective.

This chapter aims to verify predictors of marital quality in Croatia. As a theoretical starting point, the Huston Socio-ecological model was used. Huston’s so-called “wide-angle and close range” variables were included in to study as predictors of marital quality. A two-level hypothetical model was created consisting of Six groups of predictor variables: Level 1 predictors included Partners’ demographic variables, Partners’ personality, Partners’ value system, Marital processes or dynamics, and Partners’ wellbeing. Level 2 predictors included four Marriage characteristics. Altogether at both levels, 42 variables represented predictors. Marital quality in the marriage was a dependent variable. Eight hundred and eighty-four marital couples from 14 counties in various parts of Croatia and from Zagreb, the country’s capital, were included in the study. Factor analysis, Maximum likelihood with Promax rotation was used to extract factors. Eight factors were extracted: Marital harmony, Distress, Partners’ personality, Negative spillover from work, Traditionalism, Engagement in child care, Participation in decision-making, and Economic hardship. Multilevel analysis using the Mix model in Statistical Package for Social scientist, version 20 was used in data analysis. Predictive on Marital quality in a marriage turned out variables: Marital harmony, Distress, Partners’ personality, Traditionalism, Engagement in child care, and Participation in decision-making as level 1 and Marriage duration (Marriage stages) as a level 2 variable. Huston’s Ecological model proved to be adequate and useful in explaining marital quality.

This study aims to explore the impact of supply chain quality event (SCQE) announcements on enterprises’ stock market value.

This study adopts the event study approach and analyzes the changes in shareholder value of companies listed in China based on data from 118 SCQE announcements. In the event study, the market, market-adjusted and Carhart four-factor models are used to estimate abnormal stock market returns, and a cross-sectional regression model is performed to examine the effects of SCQE announcements on enterprises’ stock market value.

SCQE announcements have a negative impact on shareholder value. From the perspective of the supply chain network structure, the market reacts more negatively to SCQE announcements issued by the enterprises with higher supply chain concentration. From the perspective of companies’ characteristics, announcements that do not reflect the establishment of supply chain quality cooperation have a more negative effect on stock market value, which indicates that the supply chain network structure and firm-level characteristic can moderate the market reaction.

The findings demonstrate a quantitative evaluation of how SCQE announcements affect the stock market value of listed companies and provide guidance for managers to enhance the value of SCQE announcements.

This study fills the research gap on the impact of SCQE announcements on stock market value by using secondary data and first explores the relationship between SCQE announcements and stock market value from the perspective of supply chain network. Furthermore, this study contributes to the literature on SCQE using an empirical study in China.