Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the aggregate demand for single- and multi-year crop insurance contracts and to discuss market potential for multi-year crop insurances.

In this paper the authors develop a dynamic discrete choice model of insurance alternatives, in which single- and multi-year insurance contracts are offered to heterogeneous risk averse farmers. The farmers determine their insurances choices based on inter-temporal utilities.

The results show that in a competitive insurance market with heterogeneous risk averse farmers, there is simultaneous demand for both insurance contracts. Moreover, the introduction of multi-year contracts enhances the market penetration of insurance products.

The effect of introducing multi-year crop insurance is moderate when applying the model to US corn production. In practice, however, the increase of insurance demand could be more pronounced because we did not consider marketing and administrative costs and thus ignore this cost reduction potential of multi-year insurance.

This study adds to the literature analyzing the feasibility of multi-year crop insurance and also shows that there is market potential for multi-year crop insurance.

This paper aims to strive to model virtual trade resulting from time zone differences in an otherwise Heckscher–Ohlin set up which is absent in the literature. So, the paper adds some value to the existing literature on time zones (TZ) and trade.

A competitive general equilibrium model is developed first to capture the effect of TZ differences on virtual trade. Then the authors examine, in brief, if distance can be accommodated in such framework. Finally, the authors extend the model to incorporate informality.

It is seen that exploitation of time zone difference benefits skilled labor and hurts capital under reasonable assumption. In what follows, time zone difference exploiting sector expands, whereas the other sector contracts. Then, the model has been extended to examine how distance may also lead to similar outcomes. In addition, the model is further modified to explore the effect of virtual trade in an informality and associated extortion ridden economy. Interestingly, virtual trade turns out to be beneficial to unskilled workers as well, and leads to a fall in the number of extortionists, though informal production is augmented.

This model is a competitive model that may not clearly reflect the realistic world. However, interestingly this may form the basis of looking into some other appealing dimensions of the real world.

TZ and related communication-cost-driven trade arguments are relatively less explored theoretically. Therefore, the work adds some value to the theoretical understanding of outsourcing in service trade that uses day-night differences across the globe.

Collective Investment Schemes in Securities (‘CISS’) and Collective Investment Schemes in Property (CISP’) are common business vehicles in the South African economy. Nevertheless, there is still some uncertainty with regard to the tax treatment of these business structures, as the application of the specific income tax and capital gains tax provisions applicable to CISS and CISP results in several anomalies. The purpose of this article is to identify and highlight these anomalies by discussing the specific income tax and capital gains tax provisions applicable to CISS and CISP, and to suggest how some of these anomalies should be treated for tax purposes. It is submitted that the legislator did not consider the legal nature and practical operation of a CISS when the tax provisions for CISS were drafted. The tax treatment of CISP is also not without difficulties, especially where the CISP is constituted as an open‐ended investment company (OEIC’).

The Psion organiser is a small hand‐sized computer about the size of a (thick) pocket diary. Despite its size, it is a complete computer by any reasonable definition, with processor, 16–32Kbyte memory, operating system, programming language, resident software, and the ability to communicate with peripherals such as printers and light pens, as well as with other microcomputers. The resident programs are an electronic diary, a personal database system, a calculator, a clock, an alarm facility and a programming facility. The programming facility allows programs to be created, edited, saved, compiled and inserted into the main menu in such a way that they may be run with a single keystroke.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the complexities involved in delivering seamless patient-centred care across organisational boundaries. There is particular focus on how working with an organisation outside the public sector challenges the ideology of those involved, thereby hindering progress. It will explore the challenges and solutions to delivering a service and discuss the key components of success. It will investigate the theory of partnership working and balance the importance of the emotional investment and understanding with leadership and project management.

It explores the current “crisis” in NHS, along with political statements, emphasising its importance, but failing to address the issues faced by workers and agencies in the “outside” world. It will examine the concept of the “other” to explain the struggle required to gain a place at the table in discussing integration/service improvement. It will use experience in negotiating between a reasonably large care and nursing home provider and public sector bodies in Wales and consider the factors leading to a successful collaboration.

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, 2014 makes it clear that integration is seen as a critical means to achieve better outcomes for people and whilst not contesting that principle, the paper shows that integration is often limited in thinking and action to “public sector” integration.

There have been few attempts to explore the role and function of care and nursing home providers in service improvement from the provider’s perspective. It will challenge the practice of commissioning, that gives all the power to the commissioner and explores the commissioners’ accountability for their role in partnership work. It also offers hope for a different kind of relationship, based on mature conversations and mutual respect, along with a system of governance offering guarantees for sustainability.

Nod y papur hwn yw herio’r diffiniad poblogaidd a dderbynnir o’r GIG tra’n trafod y posibiliadau a photensial cyflenwi gofal didrafferth sy’n canolbwyntio ar y claf rhwng darparwr cartref nyrsio trydydd sector, bwrdd iechyd Prifysgol ac awdurdod lleol, gan ddangos bod y cyfleoedd ar gyfer dewisiadau amgen i wasanaethau ysbyty yn enfawr. Bydd yn cyfeirio at y diffyg dealltwriaeth a’r diffyg ymddiriedaeth cynhenid rhwng y rheiny sy’n credu eu bod yn gweithio yn y GIG neu’n rhan ohono a’r rheiny sydd wedi eu diffinio neu y’u hystyrir fel pobl sydd “y tu allan”. Os byddwch yn lleoli’r beirniadaethau gwerth a’r rhagfarn cysylltiedig gan weithwyr proffesiynol, gwleidyddion a’r cyhoedd am y byd ‘y tu allan’, byddwch yn dod ar draws rhwystrau gwirioneddol i ddylunio, cyflenwi a gweithredu modelau gofal gwahanol. Bydd yr awdur yn herio’r diffiniad o’r GIG fel y defnyddir mewn ymarfer ac yn dangos sut, trwy ganolbwyntio ar y claf a diben y GIG, yn hytrach na’r adeilad ffisegol neu’r sefydliad, gall arweinwyr gael rhyddid i fod yn arloesol ac yn effeithiol wrth ddylunio a chyflenwi gwasanaethau.

bydd yr awdur yn archwilio’r “argyfwng” a welir yn y GIG ar hyn o bryd, ynghyd â datganiadau gwleidyddol i bwysleisio ei bwysigrwydd, sy’n methu mynd i’r afael â’r materion a wynebir gan weithwyr ac asiantaethau sy’n ffurfio’r byd “y tu allan”. Bydd y papur yn archwilio’r cysyniad o’r “ARALL” i esbonio’r frwydr sydd ei hangen i gael lle wrth y bwrdd i drafod integreiddio/gwella gwasanaethau. Bydd yn defnyddio profiad yn trafod rhwng darparwr cartref gofal a nyrsio cymharol fawr a chyrff y sector cyhoeddus yng Nghymru ac yn ystyried y ffactorau sy’n arwain at gydweithredu llwyddiannus.

Mae Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Lles (Cymru), 2014 yn egluro bod integreiddio’n cael ei weld fel dull hanfodol o gael canlyniadau gwell ar gyfer pobl ac er nad yw’n dadlau yn erbyn yr egwyddor hwnnw, mae’r papur yn dangos bod integreiddio yn aml yn gyfyngedig o ran meddwl a gweithredu i integreiddio’r ‘sector cyhoeddus’.

Mae’r papur yn ymgais prin iawn i archwilio rôl a swyddogaeth darparwyr cartrefi gofal a nyrsio yn gwella gwasanaethau, yn herio dealltwriaeth un dimensiwn o gomisiynu sy’n rhoi’r grym i gyd i’r comisiynydd. Mae hefyd yn rhoi gobaith ar gyfer math gwahanol o berthynas, yn seiliedig ar barch ar y ddwy ochr, ynghyd â system o lywodraethu sy’n gallu rhoi sicrwydd yn ymwneud â chynaliadwyedd.

This chapter focuses on the diversity management concept which emerged in the United States at the end of the 1980s. As a strategic tool for effective use of the diverse workforce, the concept started to diffuse globally in recent years. However, there are concerns about the transferability of diversity management as a readymade practice. From this point of view, this chapter questions the universality of diversity management by providing evidence from the Turkish context. Findings reveal that due to cross-national differences and the local sensitivities, diversity management is subject to customization in the different contexts. In a sense, the local context reconstructs the content of the practice. On this basis, the chapter demonstrates the need for a context-specific diversity management approach.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze gaps in effectiveness of Mexico’s labor legislation, in terms of equality in employment. Early adoption of progressive legislation should enable equal access for women, elder and disabled people to workplaces.

This chapter is based on an extensive review and examination of secondary data reports from reliable sources, as well as an analysis of primary data drawn from job boards operating in Mexico.

This study reveals a large gap between the legal framework and practice on diversity management in Mexico. Notwithstanding the existing legislation in Mexico to promote equity and equality in employment, age and gender are factors of discrimination in almost 60% of job offers. This study also shows that the intersection of different forms of diversity, such as gender, age, and disability, augment discrimination at work. Our analysis suggests that older women with disabilities suffer disproportionally from discrimination compared to older men and people with disabilities in general.

We outline practical implications for public policy and courses of action for managers interested in diversity management. Greater consideration should be given to those who face an intersection of factors related to discrimination.

This study contributes to the literature by exploring diversity management issues at workplaces in Mexico, which is an under-researched country. Furthermore, it attempts to combine macro-institutional and meso-organizational levels focusing on three characteristics traditionally related to increased marginalization: women, elders, and persons with disabilities. The results indicate that strong legal frameworks, though necessary, are not sufficient to ensure equality. Other crucial factors such as national and organizational cultural change, trust in government and enforcement mechanisms are necessary to improve diversity management practices.

In this study, the removal of a series of acid dyes by hybrid polymer adsorbent was investigated. Textile industry wastewater is mainly consisted of suspended solid particles and organic compounds with complex and nondecomposable structures. Treatment of such wastewaters has received much attention by researchers because of high water consumption and the presence of various chemical compounds, especially dyes. The use of polymers has recently attracted much attention for the treatment of textile wastewaters. According to the literature, hybrid polymers are highly capable of adsorbing dyes. In this research work, polyacrylamide/iron sulfate (PAM-FeSO₄) hybrid polymer was successfully synthesized through solution polymerization of acrylamide with ammonium persulfate and sodium thiosulfate and gradual addition of iron sulfate. The hybrid polymeric adsorbent was then used for removing acidic dyes with different chemical structures.

The effects of various experimental conditions and parameters, such as initial concentrations of dye and adsorbent, on the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent were investigated. The dye concentration was measured by an UV–vis spectrophotometer. The adsorption equilibrium was studied by plotting adsorption isotherms. The experimental data was fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms.

The adsorption experiments indicated that the PAM-FeSO₄ hybrid polymer has a high adsorption capacity (117.64 mg g⁻¹ for the Orange ІІ and 80.64 mg g⁻¹ for the Sunset Yellow [SY]) when 80 mg of adsorbent was immersed in the dye solution (1 g L⁻¹) with a pH of 11 at 25°C. The analysis of the equilibrium isotherms using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms indicated that the Langmuir model fit well to the experimental data.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is original. The removal of acid dyes such as Sunset Yellow and Methyl Orange using PAM-FeSO₄ hybrid polymer as flocculant was done for the first time.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an asymmetric structure of the magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) for analysis of the linear induction machine (LIM) with an internal short circuit fault.

By applying a proper MEC to the LIM, a generalized relation for the inductance matrix of the machine can be directly determined. To evaluate the proposed model, the stator currents and the air-gap flux with the proposed technique are given and compared to the simulation and experimental results in the healthy and fault conditions.

The LIM is an axial flux machine with a wide range of applications in high-performance drives. Due to a well-tried effect of the first tooth and the last one (the end effect), the performance level of the LIM decreases. Also, the analysis of the linear machines in fault conditions illustrates more complexity compared to the rotary induction machine. However, the MEC is very simple, describing the behavior of the asymmetric electromechanical devices using the magnetic reluctance or the permeance of flux paths.

Using the proposed model, there would be some decrease in the complications of the LIM analysis in the asymmetrical conditions. Moreover, analyzing some of the characteristics of the LIM, such as turn-fault condition, it can be calculated with high accuracy.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the configurations of short life cycle, low quality, design and price, influence customer purchase intention in fast fashion and high technology industries in China.

The traditional thinking is that products with high quality and low price will win more customers. However, the authors can notice that high quality products usually have high cost. Therefore, it is necessary to do more research on how customers can accept low quality products. The authors take fast fashion products and smart phones as empirical studies, collecting data from customer’s online survey. Based on the methodology of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, the authors analyse the relationship between the factors of short life cycle, low quality, design and price and influence customer purchase intention.

The authors find that price is the most important influencing factor. Low price is a strong competitive factor in the market. As to low quality products, low price can be achieved relatively more easily than with high quality products, resulting from relatively poorer raw material or configurations. Hence the connection between quality and price may give an idea to enterprises that customers will accept low quality products with low price. Moreover, according to the research, different generations are equally affected by the low price condition, regardless of customer gender and household income.

Because the study only focuses on fast fashion and smart phones industries, future work needs to replicate this study with individual data for different industries and with alternative methods to reinforce the confidence in the research. Meanwhile , this research studied mainly the customer perspective, it would be desirable to extend the study to the enterprise perspective and find out the difficulties that limit them in using low quality products to meet market needs. This may revel some cultural differences in purchase behavior among different countries and the discussed industries can be expanded to a larger area.

The study offers a number of managerial implications. With the rapid changes in people’s aesthetic sense and developing high-tech, it is more and more necessary for companies to think about how to win more customers and earn more profits. Low quality products have advantages as they will lower companies’ costs in many dimensions, improving the speed of supply. It helps firms to take low quality products into consideration and think whether they will influence different aspects of the company assistance firms to get a deeper understanding of customer psychology and make better decisions on their products.

The paper fills the gap in the research field by exploring how consumer behavior is affected by different conditions.