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1 – 10 of over 12000James U. McNeal and F.J. Mindy
In 1995 China instituted a 40‐hour work week resulting in what is now called “long weekends.”The purposes of this research was to determine what Chinese children prefer to do…
Abstract
In 1995 China instituted a 40‐hour work week resulting in what is now called “long weekends.”The purposes of this research was to determine what Chinese children prefer to do during the new long weekend, and the extent of their influence on what the family does. The study was conducted among 618 third and fourth grade children who were asked to “Draw what comes to your mind when you think about the long weekend.” The children were also asked to take home a questionnaire to their parents. The drawings were assessed using content analysis. The drawings mainly show that children want to play, preferably away from home. The results of the questionnaire to the parents reveal that the children pretty much determine what the entire family does on the weekends, and that in general they will go places and do things that provide fun for the children. Some indicators of spending for family weekend leisure were obtained that have significant marketing implications.
Alexandra Khoury, Mark Jones, Christopher Buckle, Mark Williamson and Guy Slater
Weekend surgery carries higher mortality than weekday surgery, with complications most commonly arising within the first 48 hours. There is a reduced ability to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
Weekend surgery carries higher mortality than weekday surgery, with complications most commonly arising within the first 48 hours. There is a reduced ability to identify complications at the weekend, with early signs going undetected in the absence of thorough early patient review, particularly in the elderly with multiple co-morbidities. Weekend working practices vary amongst UK hospitals and specialties. The weekend effect has been a prominent feature in the literature over the past decade. The purpose of this paper is to identify the number of patients undergoing weekend surgery who receive a Day 1 post-operative review and improve this outcome by implementing an effective change.
Design/methodology/approach
It was observed that not all patients undergoing surgery on a Friday or Saturday at the authors’ District General Hospital were receiving Day 1 post-operative review by a clinician. A retrospective audit was carried out to identify percentage of patients reviewed on post-operative Day 1 at the weekend. A change in handover practice was implemented before re-audit.
Findings
In Phase 1, 54 per cent of patients received Day 1 post-operative reviews at the weekend against a set standard of 100 per cent. A simple change to handover practice was implemented to improve patient safety in the immediate post-operative period resulting in 96 per cent of patients reviewed on Day 1 post-operatively at re-audit.
Originality/value
This study confirms that simple changes in handover practices can produce effective and translatable improvements to weekend working. This further contributes to the body of literature that acknowledges the existence of a weekend effect, but aims to evolve weekend working practices to accommodate improvement within current staffing and resource availability by maximising efficiency and communication.
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Anthony S. Humphrey, G. Don Taylor, John S. Usher and Gary L. Whicker
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not driver life, carrier performance, and customer service can be improved as a result of the use of a technique called…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not driver life, carrier performance, and customer service can be improved as a result of the use of a technique called yard‐stacking in the truckload trucking industry. The technique seeks to find ways to provide level freight availability during normal weekly cycles in an effort to seek improvement relative to all constituencies.
Design/methodology/approach
Simulation is used to examine the use of yard‐stacking on Fridays to provide additional freight on weekends, which is generally much less available than on weekdays. In this technique, before being dispatched on Friday for a long‐haul, a driver initially picks up a load to make a short “dray” move from the customer site to the carrier's closest terminal yard. During the weekend, another driver picks up the drayed load. In this research, we evaluate the potential of weekend yard‐stacking under a variety of scenarios.
Findings
The paper shows that a carrier's adaptation of weekend freight leveling can be beneficial to both trucking companies and their customers, while remaining relatively neutral to drivers.
Research limitations/implications
Carriers may be able to utilize Friday yard‐stacking to improve their cost efficiency, driver satisfaction and customer performance.
Originality/value
This research extends the knowledge base of truckload freight imbalance problems. It was industrially motivated by J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., one of the world's largest truckload carriers, who provided freight data and conceptual guidance.
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This study aims to investigate the motivation of financial analysts issuing forecasts on weekends and the impact of such behavior on forecast accuracy and analysts’ careers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the motivation of financial analysts issuing forecasts on weekends and the impact of such behavior on forecast accuracy and analysts’ careers.
Design/methodology/approach
Logistic regression and ordinary least squares models with Huber–White standard errors were used in this study.
Findings
This paper first documented the emerging trends of the weekend forecasts after 2000. Longitudinal data from 2002 to 2011 validated that analysts’ conscientious timing of information release in line with their workload and confidence level gives more accurate forecasts. Further, given the same accuracy, analysts exhibiting diffident behaviors (analysts who are predicted to work on weekdays but in fact work on weekends) are not fired or demoted by brokerage houses, but those exhibiting inactive behaviors (analysts who are predicted to work on weekends but did not do so) are more likely to be dismissed or demoted by brokerage houses, indicating that brokerage houses are aware of the negative effect of both behaviors, but treat them differently.
Research limitations/implications
Weekend versus weekday proxies for an analyst’s timing of information release consider only one of many timing options. Other timing proxies, the nature and the composition of the information release of analysts are not examined in this study.
Practical implications
For practitioners, the results indicate that depending on the alignment, capital market can predict analysts’ future forecast accuracy, and hence, respond accordingly. For example, in addition to analyst forecast level or change, investors could pay attention to when the information is released to the market and possible reasons behind the choice of timing. Investors can thus better assess the forecast accuracy of one specific forecast and respond with the right action. Furthermore, analysts can better project their own forecast accuracy and career potential by assessing to what extent their forecasts are released conscientiously.
Social implications
This study examines analysts’ forecast behavior, but generate some insights on linking the analysts and investors in the capital market.
Originality/value
This study is the author’s original work.
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Srinivas Nippani and John G. Greenhut
The purpose of the paper is to check for reverse weekend effect in the Canadian stock market.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to check for reverse weekend effect in the Canadian stock market.
Design/methodology/approach
T‐tests, non‐parametric tests and regressions were employed.
Findings
There is reverse weekend effect in the Canadian stock market. Canadian stocks are shown to exhibit the traditional weekend effect prior to 1988, dissipating after that year until 1998 and then reversing to become the first non‐US market for which a reverse weekend effect is found.
Originality/value
This is the first paper on the Canadian stock market looking at reversal.
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Debadyuti Das and Chirag Yadav
The present work attempts to determine an appropriate number of different categories of Delivery Persons for a Hyper-local Food Delivery Organization for different intervals…
Abstract
Purpose
The present work attempts to determine an appropriate number of different categories of Delivery Persons for a Hyper-local Food Delivery Organization for different intervals within a day and across days within a week which would provide a satisfactory level of service to the target customers and at the same time would become cost-efficient.
Design/methodology/approach
Currently the firm estimates the required number of Delivery Persons for “lunch peak” and “dinner peak” of the next week's weekdays and weekend based on the maximum number of orders occurring during the same period of both weekdays and weekend in the current week. The proposed approach involves determining the projected demand in every four-hourly interval of both week-days and weekend in the next week. Subsequently, the study has developed a simple integer programming model for determining the optimum number of Delivery Persons based on the projected demand data.
Findings
The existing approach followed by the firm indicates that the Delivery Persons remain unutilized during periods of low demand. The proposed model demonstrated savings to the tune of 21.4% in manpower cost without any erosion in the service level.
Originality/value
The study has made three tangible contributions. First, the development of a simple methodology for estimating the demand of next period allows the Managers to utilize dynamic demand data. Second, the development of a simple integer programming model helps managers determine an appropriate number of Delivery Persons in different intervals in both weekdays and weekend. Third, the development of a framework of hiring strategy aids managers in adopting a particular hiring strategy under a particular context keeping in mind the magnitude of demand for food, demand for delivery service and the cost of providing the service.
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James Philpot and Craig A. Peterson
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of pre‐2003 work on the weekend effect and then discuss how recent selected work has extended our knowledge of the subject.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of pre‐2003 work on the weekend effect and then discuss how recent selected work has extended our knowledge of the subject.
Design/methodology/approach
Results of recently published studies are organized and summarized by research question and outcomes.
Findings
While early literature found a fairly consistent weekend effect, with positive returns on Fridays and negative returns on Mondays, more recent research shows the effect moving to other days, reversing or vanishing.
Research limitations/implications
While it is difficult to compare studies made across different time periods, the direction of present research gives insight into how markets are adjusting to the weekend effect anomaly.
Practical implications
Investors may find it very hard to adequately identify a trading strategy based on current research.
Originality/value
This work conveniently synthesizes and presents current research findings from a variety of published sources.
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Jenell L.S. Wittmer, Agnieszka K Shepard and James E. Martin
Employees working nonstandard schedules outside the daytime hours of the Monday-Friday work week are increasing. Using Social Exchange Theory (SET), the purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Employees working nonstandard schedules outside the daytime hours of the Monday-Friday work week are increasing. Using Social Exchange Theory (SET), the purpose of this paper is to hypothesize relationships between scheduling preferences, attitudes, and retention indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 343 US Postal Service mail processors (day, evening, or night shift; all shifts working weekends) from three cities. Multivariate analysis of covariance and multiple linear regression were used to test hypotheses related to participants’ perceptions of scheduling preferences and attitudes.
Findings
The authors found that preferences and attitudes toward shift worked had stronger relationships with each other and employee retention indicators for the night and evening shifts than the day shift, and these same relationships were stronger for the day shift when focussing on days of the week worked.
Research limitations/implications
Although limited by generalizability concerns, this study provides a distinctive application of SET to work schedules and offers a unique perspective on how working nonstandard days and nonstandard times, individually, impact the employment relationship.
Practical implications
Better work schedule management, with increased flexibility and control, may be one way of reducing negative employee reactions to nonstandard schedules.
Originality/value
This study goes beyond the typical examinations of standard vs nonstandard shifts, to study multiple nonstandard shifts and examines the relationships of these schedules on employee retention variables, focussing on both shift and weekend work.
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A large number of food advertisements are broadcast during children ' s programs which influence their food consumption habits. Globally, consumption of these foods is…
Abstract
Purpose
A large number of food advertisements are broadcast during children ' s programs which influence their food consumption habits. Globally, consumption of these foods is linked to increased incidence of obesity and other health-related disorders in children. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and extent of food advertising directed at Indian children.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by recording programs and advertisements aired on five popular children ' s networks from 9:00 am until 9:00 pm for ten weekdays and weekends each. On an average, total recording of 242 hours for both weekdays and weekends was done. All data were screened and both program and non-program content (advertisements) were identified and analyzed. Data were further analyzed through descriptive statistics.
Findings
Out of 4,219 and 4,750 television advertisements broadcast on children ' s networks during weekdays and weekends, 43.33 and 47.62 percent are food advertisements, respectively. “Confectionery” and “sugared and salty snacks” comprise half of total foods advertised during weekdays. Whereas, advertisements for “health drinks and supplements” are most frequently aired during children ' s programs on weekends. A classification of all food advertisements into healthy and unhealthy categories according to “Food Pyramid” given by National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), India in 2010 shows that almost all the advertised foods are unhealthy.
Practical implications
This study will benefit the parents by helping them understand the media content (food advertisements) offered to their children. They may then control television viewing by children, monitor food purchase behavior and take some mealtime actions to control eating habits of their children. Such awareness is critical to force the food marketers to recognize the need to self-regulate food advertising directed at children. Government may also feel the need to formulate a suitable policy for placing time and content restrictions for advertising foods to children.
Originality/value
As no such study has already been conducted in India (to the best of researcher ' s knowledge), this study potentially helps in abridging gaps in literature.
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