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1 – 10 of 16
Article
Publication date: 18 April 2017

Timothy Stapleton and Helen Sumin Koo

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of biomotion visibility aids for nighttime bicyclists compared to other configurations via 3D eye-tracking technology…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of biomotion visibility aids for nighttime bicyclists compared to other configurations via 3D eye-tracking technology in a blind between-subjects experiment.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 40 participants were randomly assigned one of four visibility aid conditions in the form of videos: biomotion (retroreflective knee and ankle bands), non-biomotion (retroreflective vest configuration), pseudo-biomotion (vertical retroreflective stripes on the back of the legs), and control (all-black clothing). Gaze fixations on a screen were measured with a 3D eye-tracking system; coordinate data for each condition were analyzed via one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc analyses with supplementary heatmaps. Post-experimental questionnaires addressed participants’ qualitative assessments.

Findings

Significant differences in eye gaze location were found between the four reflective clothing design conditions in X-coordinate values (p<0.01) and Y-coordinate values (p<0.05).

Practical implications

This research has the potential to further inform clothing designers and manufacturers on how to incorporate biomotion to increase bicyclist visibility and safety.

Social implications

This research has the potential to benefit both drivers and nighttime bicyclists through a better understanding of how biomotion can increase visibility and safety.

Originality/value

There is lack of literature addressing the issue of the commonly administered experimental task of recognizing bicyclists and its potential bias on participants’ attention and natural driving state. Eye-tracking has the potential to implicitly determine attention and visibility, devoid of biases to attention. A new retroreflective visibility aid design, pseudo-biomotion, was also introduced in this experiment.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 October 2020

Timothy Stephen Eccles

The paper provides a snapshot analysis on the state of service charge management at the point in which its regulatory framework by RICS changed from a voluntary code of practice…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper provides a snapshot analysis on the state of service charge management at the point in which its regulatory framework by RICS changed from a voluntary code of practice to a mandatory professional statement.

Design/methodology/approach

The data consist of a unique eight-year longitudinal study of service charge statements and practice (2010–2017). Because of the confidential nature of such business-sensitive information, this is a priceless study of real-world practice over such a long period and is able to illustrate both annual compliance and the year-on-year changes. Given this, it is recognised that data are skewed in favour of compliance because they are derived from an actively managed portfolio.

Findings

The results continue to illustrate long-running problems of non-compliance with “required” metrics. Given the inherent bias in the data, this is especially difficult to excuse. The paper also analyses the results in the light of the new RICS professional statement, which requires mandatory compliance. Whilst some of the metrics are advisory, there remain questions over how RICS might realistically enforce so many practitioners to change their existing performance and how willing the institution might be to actually prosecute failure. It also revisits the issue of institutionalised benchmarking of standards. Intriguingly, there are islands of almost perfect compliance, which offers an interesting contrast and raises further research questions on why some practitioners provide such exemplary work.

Research limitations/implications

The data are derived from the clients of a UK property management consultancy. This does preclude any randomness to the sampling. However, the richness of the data and the methodology adopted provide valid data.

Originality/value

This work offers both unique data and an eight-year longitudinal analysis, but also a timely comparison with the requirements within a new RICS professional statement. This shift in regulatory regime reinforces the value of the work.

Details

Property Management, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 August 2012

Timothy Eccles and Andrew Holt

The paper seeks to measure compliance by owners and their managing agents with the RICS Code of Practice Service Charges in Commercial Property, emphasising the financial…

831

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to measure compliance by owners and their managing agents with the RICS Code of Practice Service Charges in Commercial Property, emphasising the financial reporting to tenants in multi‐let financial services buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were hand collected by examining original source documents provided to commercial leaseholders as part of the service charge management process. This removes bias from relying on secondary respondents to provide data.

Findings

The paper finds that requirements of the Code of Practice are not onerous, and whilst service charge management has improved, the majority of landlords still fail to achieve its requirements.

Research limitations/implications

The sample represents approximately 6.2 per cent of multi‐let office space in England and Wales 1998‐2009. The content analysis method used requires some subjective interpretation by the researchers.

Originality/value

Data are original to this research and the paper offers an analysis on the current standards of accounting practice by service charge managers.

Details

Facilities, vol. 30 no. 11/12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 July 2020

Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang

Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how…

1100

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how these approaches interconnect to explain the way high-performance work systems (HPWSs) may increase job performance. This study extends one’s understanding of the human resource management (HRM)–performance relationship by examining the interconnections between these disparate social approaches within the Chinese banking context.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a sample of 561 employees working across 62 bank branches in China, the authors test four hypotheses: (1) HPWS is positively related to social climate; (2) social climate mediates the relationship between HPWS and social identification; (3) psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between social identification and job performance; and (4) social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance. Data were collected over two waves and job (in-role) performance was rated by managers.

Findings

The authors confirm the four hypotheses. Social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study contains some limitations. First, the authors’ research sites were focussed on one main region in state-owned banks in China. Second, this study examined only one industry with a relatively homogeneous workforce (i.e. relatively young and highly educated employees).

Practical implications

HPWS may translate into individual performance through a supportive social climate in which staff identify themselves with their work team. This suggests that organizations should pay close attention to understanding how their HPWS system can foster a strong social climate to enhance employee identification at the work group level. Second, as the nature of work is becoming increasingly more complex and interdependent, enabling not just individuals but also work groups to function effectively, it is critical for departments and work groups to promote a collective understanding of HRM messages with shared values and goals.

Originality/value

This research contributes towards a more comprehensive understanding of the HRM–performance chain as a complex social process underpinned by social identity theory. The authors demonstrate that social identification and social climate both play an important role in explaining how HPWS positively affects psychological empowerment and subsequent job performance.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 50 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 June 2023

Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang

The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which…

1480

Abstract

Purpose

The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which wellbeing-oriented HRM practices can transform workers’ feelings of burnout to enable thriving, and subsequently enhance in-role employee performance in high workload contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on data gathered from 561 employees in bank branches operating in China across two time periods. The authors test the following hypotheses: (1) wellbeing-oriented HRM is positively related to employee thriving; (2) perceived workload is positively related to employee burnout; (3) thriving will mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance; (4) burnout will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; (5) thriving will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; and (6) burnout and thriving will sequentially mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance.

Findings

This study confirmed hypotheses 1–5. Hypothesis 6 was not confirmed. The authors find that thriving mediates the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance, and burnout mediates the relationship between workload and employee performance. The authors also find workload was positively related to thriving (after controlling for burnout), consistent with the challenge–hindrance model of occupational stress.

Originality/value

The study builds on growing evidence that employees can thrive at work even when in stressful situations by using conservation of resources theory to examine how wellbeing-oriented HRM practices act as protective resources against demanding work situations. Findings demonstrate alternative pathways through which wellbeing-oriented HRM can enhance employee performance via reducing burnout and enhancing thriving.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 45 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2022

Timothy Stephen Eccles

The paper utilises formality-informality modelling to examine occupational change, using commercial service charge management as its case study.

Abstract

Purpose

The paper utilises formality-informality modelling to examine occupational change, using commercial service charge management as its case study.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that develops a typology for applying formalisation to occupational change and then utilises historiography to generate a narrative on the evolution of service charge management.

Findings

Formality is seen as a method of improving transparency and performance as a “modern” response to a range complaints about professional performance. Whilst real improvement failed to develop, a “snowball” of continued formalisation remained the perceived solution, leading to centralisation of measures of professional performance.

Research limitations/implications

The work is a conceptual paper that develops a historiography on the development of service charge administrative practice. Whilst it relies on objective data and secondary literature, the narrative that is developed is subjective and interpretive.

Originality/value

The conceptual nature of the work offers potential insights into occupational organisation. It suggests that formalising procedures in itself does not improve performance.

Details

Property Management, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2012

Nagihan Çomez and Timothy Kiessling

The purpose of this paper is to study joint inventory and pricing strategy for a continuous inventory review system. While dynamic pricing decisions are often studied in the…

1544

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study joint inventory and pricing strategy for a continuous inventory review system. While dynamic pricing decisions are often studied in the literature along with inventory management, the authors' aim in this study is to obtain a single long‐run optimal price; also to gain insight about how to obtain the optimal price and inventory control variables simultaneously and then the benefits of joint optimization of the inventory and pricing decisions over the sequential optimization policy often followed in practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A general (R;Q) policy system with fixed cost of ordering is modelled and then the case where unsatisfied demand is lost is studied. General forms of both the additive and multiplicative demand models are used to obtain structural results.

Findings

By showing optimality conditions on the price and inventory decision variables, two algorithms on how to obtain optimal decision variables, one for additive and another for multiplicative demand‐price model are provided. Through extensive numerical analyses, the potential profit increases are reported if the price and inventory problem are solved simultaneously instead of sequentially. In addition, the sensitivities of optimal decision variables to system parameters are revealed.

Practical implications

Although there are several studies in the literature investigating emergency price change models, they use arbitrary exogenous prices menus. However, the value of a price change can be better appreciated if the long‐run price is optimal for the system.

Originality/value

Very few researchers have investigated constant price and inventory optimization, and while there are several past studies demonstrating the benefits of dynamic pricing over a static one, there still are not many findings on the benefit of joint price and inventory optimization.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1985

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…

12675

Abstract

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1991

Stephen E. Hannestad

In the future, library applications related to traditional functions may increasingly assume some of the roles and characteristics of archives and museums. In this article, the…

Abstract

In the future, library applications related to traditional functions may increasingly assume some of the roles and characteristics of archives and museums. In this article, the author describes fundamental archival concepts and theories and their evolution in recent times. Basic archival functions—appraisal, arrangement, description, reference, preservation, and publication—are also introduced. Finally, early applications of automation to archives (including SPINDEX, NARS‐5, NARS‐A‐1, MARC AMC, presNET, CTRACK, PHOTO, and DIARY) and automation trends for the future are discussed. The article presents a cogent introduction to archival operations, thereby providing 1) a basis for understanding distinctions between current archival and library practices and 2) insight concerning the possible convergence of selected roles and functions.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2020

Laura Corazza, Elisa Truant, Simone Domenico Scagnelli and Chiara Mio

Can sustainability disclosures be a tool for executing image restoration strategies after corporate manslaughter? This is the question explored in this study of Costa Crociere's…

3377

Abstract

Purpose

Can sustainability disclosures be a tool for executing image restoration strategies after corporate manslaughter? This is the question explored in this study of Costa Crociere's sustainability reports after the Concordia disaster.

Design/methodology/approach

Merging traditional textual content analysis with visual analysis and supported by machine learning tools, this is a predominantly qualitative study framed by legitimacy theory, image restoration theory and impression management.

Findings

Costa Crociere's voluntary sustainability reporting is strongly influenced by a mix of text and visual signals that distract readers' attention from the disaster. A “nothing really happened” communication strategy pervades the disclosures, with the only rational motivation being to change perceptions and erase memories of this tragic and avoidable event.

Research limitations/implications

Although the analysis covered multiple sources of corporate information, media coverage was not one of them. A more in-depth exploration of sustainability reporting in the cruise industry, including evidence of similar cases, to test impression management theory would be a worthwhile avenue for future research.

Social implications

While Costa Crociere technically followed the customary guidelines of disclosing human resource impacts, there was almost no acknowledgement of the people involved in the accident. Costa Concierevastly understated their responsibility for the accident, did not apologize, and conveyed very little remorse. The majority of disclosures centred on disaster recovery management.

Originality/value

The authors discuss why and how a company can overcome a legitimacy threat by completely freezing its voluntary sustainability reporting, and the authors show how a company can restore its image by minimizing specific aspects of an accident and shifting attention from the human victims to corporate operations. Incorporating image recognition driven by AI models and combining the results with narrative disclosures contributes an innovative and original analysis technique to the field of impression management. In addition, this research also contributes to our knowledge on the cruise industry – a sector currently under scrutiny for its ethical, social and environmental practices.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 33 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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