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The purpose of this paper is to comparatively analyse the best human resource management (HRM) practices in the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga.

This study examined best HRM practices used by the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga by using self-administered questionnaires. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 73 hotels in Samoa and 66 hotels in Tonga. Out of the 73 self-administered questionnaires that were distributed in Samoa, 58 usable questionnaires were returned resulting in a response rate of 79 per cent. In the case of Tonga, out of the 66 self-administered questionnaires were distributed, 51 usable questionnaires were returned resulting in a response rate of 77 per cent.

The findings of this study show that there are 28 best HRM practices in Samoa and 15 best HRM practices in Tonga. This study also found that best HRM practices differ based on differences in internal and external environmental factors present in different geographical areas. The findings of this paper support the assumptions of the Contextual Paradigm of HRM and strategic human resource management.

This study is based on a single sector of Samoa and Tonga. A single sector study limits the generalisations that can be made across different sectors in Samoa and Tonga.

Human resource managers should incorporate cultural, political, legal, economic and social factors in HRM practices.

None of the existing studies have examined best HRM practices used by the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga. This study is a pioneering study that comparatively analyses the best HRM practices used by the hotel sector of Samoa and Tonga.

This study aimed at assessing the current interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among healthcare professionals at the public hospitals in the Gaza Strip in 2016 through measuring the average level, and also examind the influence of professionals' characteristics on their collaboration.

A quantitative, cross-sectional study using a valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale was conducted. A total of 323 participants from six health professions completed the questionnaire which was analyzed using SPSS version 20 by applying descriptive tests, t-test, ANOVA and inferential analysis (Scheffe test); the statistical significance was considered at p = 0.05.

The interprofessional collaboration was moderate (71.66%). “General relationships” elicited the highest mean score (3.943) due to participants' belief in its importance, whereas “community linkages and coordination of care” was the lowest (3.181) as a result of the restricted policy in this regard. Gender, age, profession and position have shown statistically significant variables on the overall collaboration. In short, there are differences in the performance of IPC domains and even within items of the same domain.

This study was conducted at only public hospitals; in addition, it was a cross-sectional study, so the causation relationships are difficult to assess. Moreover, the questionnaire was on self-administered basis which might result in misread or misunderstood bias.

This was the first study in the Palestinian context on collaboration between multiple professions using a comprehensive and reliable assessment tool.

Refugees resettle in the USA every year to escape genocide, famine, civil wars and crises in their countries. The diverse cultural identities of the refugee population in south-central Kentucky make it essential to research into their health-care usage patterns. The purpose of this study is to examine the health-seeking patterns of refugees in relation to their culture and the usage of available health services.

This is a descriptive correlational study that culled 110 refugees who completed self-administered or interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaires. Questionnaires were translated into four different languages. T-tests and ANOVA assessed differences between variables.

Findings indicate that a demographic factor such as refugees’ nationality plays a role in both the access and use of health services [F (5, 98) = 4.29, p < 0.001]. Refugees’ beliefs and social factors such as acculturation (t = −2.03, p < 0.04) and having health insurance (t = −3.35, p <0.001) also affect the use of health services. The level of cultural competency of the health-care facility or provider as depicted by the presence of interpreters (t = 1.92, p < 0.05) was associated with increased use of the health services provided.

The sample of refugees is only representative of the general refugee population in south-central Kentucky; hence, there is inadequate generalization.

Cultural diversity should be included in the health and policymaking debates that surround the refugee population of south-central Kentucky to ensure their well-being.

Sleep quality has been associated with health and safety issues influencing construction labour productivity in developing countries. Despite its significantly adverse contribution to these facets if left unattended to, limited studies have sought to establish its prevalence and causal factors in labour-intensive contexts. This study aims to bridge the gap between the prevalence and casual factors of poor sleep quality among construction workers.

Adopting a case study research design, data were collected from a randomly selected sample of construction workers (n = 475) recruited from four construction-based corporations in Southern India. Self-administered questionnaires comprising a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale was used to measure sleep quality among respondents alongside demographic characteristics, lifestyle preferences and work-habits data. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analysis and descriptive statistical techniques.

Slightly more than a third of the construction workers (n = 33.9%) surveyed experienced poor sleep quality based on a PSQI method score of = 5. Also, the nexus between demographic characteristics, lifestyle preferences and work habits on the incidence of poor sleep quality among construction workers was confirmed.

The study contributes to the contemporary discourse on improving sleep health of construction workers to enhance their well-being thereby enabling their contribution towards achieving improved construction labour productivity.

This study makes an original contribution to the extent that it seeks to not only determine the prevalence of sleep quality within the construction industry and associated causal factors but to explore its implications on construction labour productivity.

This paper aims to reframe the whistleblowing process by examining the individual and situational factors that have been overlooked by prior studies. Ethical climate, public service motivation (PSM), organisation identification and psychological safety are inquired.

The present study sample was drawn from a population of Indonesian local governments located in east Java, Indonesia. Particularly, self-administered questionnaires were hand-distributed to the employees in the four local governments. Of 2,169 questionnaires distributed to the employees, 1,687 questionnaires were returned to the researcher. However, the researcher removed 33 returned questionnaires because of poor data quality, such as incomplete answers. Thus, only 1,654 questionnaires were analysed in this study.

The findings support the idea of an ethical climate that can encourage the individual to blow the whistle. However, its effect is indirect. The predictive power of ethical climate on the individual’s whistleblowing intentions depends on the meditating roles of PSM, psychological safety and organisation identification. Interestingly, the mediating effects of PSM, psychological safety and organisation identification are extremely acknowledged when individuals have an opportunity to choose internal or external disclosures.

This study produces a different approach to understanding people’s intentions to report any wrongdoings. This study is dissimilar from prior studies in terms of the theoretical paradigm and research design. Previous studies mostly used students as their experiments. In contrast, the current study recruited employees who work in local governments. This situation fundamentally affects the understanding of the impact of an ethical climate on the individual intention to blow the whistle.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of the direct and indirect effects (through country and firm’s specific advantages) of government policies for export promotion (GPEP) on the export performance of small and medium-size enterprise (SME) Cocoa exporters in Cameroon.

To test the proposed model, data were obtained through self-administered questionnaires using snowball sampling technique to 101 SME Cocoa exporters. This was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques to examine both the direct and indirect effects of GPEP on the export performance of SME Cocoa exporters in the South and Centre Regions of Cameroon.

The findings suggest that GPEP had both direct and indirect effects on the export performance of SME Cocoa exporters. Direct effect was on the usage of GPEP which reduces operating cost and increase performance. The indirect effects were through the provision of country and firms specific advantages. However, the only significant path was through the provision of export marketing information.

The research is limited to one country, one sector, and two regions and does not take into consideration other factors that may influence the effect of GPEP, country, and firms specific advantages on export performance. Moreover, the non-significant paths should be interpreted with caution and further testing required in a different context.

Empirical findings are relevant for the government and SME Cocoa exporters. It informs the government about the effectiveness of GPEP and the need to disseminate marketing information using every possible medium best understood by the SMEs. It suggests an opportunity for engagement of both SMEs and government authorities in accessing the outcome of GPEP which will increase transparency, awareness, usage, and export performance.

The research has successfully developed and tested a model for analyzing the direct and indirect effects of GPEP on export performance based on the resource-based view and SEM in a context where there is a call for more empirical and theoretical work on export performance due to limited studies. The framework reveals positive effects of GPEP, country, and firms’ specific advantages as determinants of export performance.

With global climate change, it is increasingly necessary to develop the built environment in an environmentally sustainable way. The aim of this study is to investigate the strategies that are needed to enable potential owners to own environmentally sustainable homes. The specific objectives are to: determine the extent to which potential homeowners are willing to pay for homes that are environmentally sustainable; uncover the green features that potential homeowners are willing to pay for; and provide recommendations on how more green features can be incorporated in homes.

The survey research method was adopted and data were collected using a specially designed structured questionnaire. Self‐administered questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected potential homeowners in Singapore.

Based on the data received, the findings show that the majority of the respondents are willing to pay more to own an environmentally green building. However, they are very price sensitive and only willing to pay 1 percent more in upfront costs.

The study found that the green features that potential homeowners are willing to pay relates to siting for natural ventilation, provision of greenery, and water conservation. It is concluded that the extent to which homeowners are willing to pay higher upfront costs is limited.

The research provides several recommendations on how to enable more green features to be incorporated to homes owned by price sensitive individuals.

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of the internal audit function in the public sector entities in Ghana and the factors limiting the effectiveness of internal audit in the sector.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The study collected the data from 120 internal auditors in 40 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) through a self-administered questionnaire. A semi-structured interview with a senior manager of the Internal Audit Agency, the oversight body was also carried out as a follow up.

Findings – The scope of internal audit services in the sector is limited to regular audit activities, mainly pre-audit of payment vouchers which take estimated 74% of the average productive audit time. The effectiveness of internal audit in the Ghanaian public sector is hampered by several factors: low professional proficiency of internal auditors; lack of management ownership and support for internal audit activities, lack of budget authority of the internal audit units and weak functioning of audit committees, among others. Some remedial programmes are ongoing.

Research limitations – Inherent in the study result is the limitation associated with non-probability sampling methods because of the use of purposive sampling technique to select the internal auditors and the organisations.

Practical implication – The result of the study may have policy implication for government in the design of programmes for improving the effectiveness of internal audit as an element of public financial management reforms.

Originality/Value – Despite several studies on internal audit effectiveness in the public sector organisations, none relates to Ghana. This study fills the gap.

This study aims to examine gender differences in consumption frequency, perception of health value and enjoyment associated with two categories of convenience foods – snacks, and ready meals and side dishes – among university students in French and English Canada, the United States and France.

In total, 376 women and 324 men replied to a self‐administered questionnaire that included general questions on attitude toward health and specific questions on consumption frequency, perception of health value and enjoyment attributed to products in both categories.

Variance analysis brought to light differences in gender within each regional group. Overall, perceived health value of ready meals and side dishes, while slightly negative, is less negative than for snacks, whereas greater enjoyment is attributed to snacks. For all regions combined, men attribute a less negative health value to snacks and ready meals and side dishes than women do, and derive more enjoyment than women from ready meals and side dishes, whereas women enjoy snacks more than men do.

This study clarifies the specific food habits of young people aged 18 to 25 regarding convenience foods, a rapidly growing category that could aggravate the trend toward obesity.