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Fah Choy Chia, Martin Skitmore, Jason Gray and Adrian Bridge
A comparison of international construction labour productivity (CLP) is carried out by the conventional use of exchange rates to convert national construction output to a common…
Abstract
Purpose
A comparison of international construction labour productivity (CLP) is carried out by the conventional use of exchange rates to convert national construction output to a common base currency. Such measurement is always distorted by price-level differences between countries and therefore the purpose of this paper is to adopt a purchasing power parities (PPPs) approach, which eliminates price-level differences, as an alternative means of comparing CLP.
Design/methodology/approach
PPP construction expenditure data from the World Bank’s International Comparison Programme 2011 and employment statistics maintained by the International Labour Organization are used to generate the CLP of 93 matching economies. A one-way analysis of variance is conducted to evaluate the relationship between the development status and the CLPs.
Findings
The CLPs of developed economies are higher than developing economies in both PPPs (real) and exchange rate (nominal) measurements. The real CLPs are always higher than nominal CLP in high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income and low-income economies. Both real and nominal CLPs converge along with the economic growth.
Research limitations/implications
The average figures used in the study may not always be the most representative statistics. The CLPs determined provide an initial approximation for comparison between different economies to gain further insights into the best practices and policies for the more successful economies. Future research is recommended to uncover the underlying factors of CLPs congruence.
Originality/value
The convergence of real and nominal CLPs when economies transit from a developing to developed status indicates that the construction product has transformed from a commonly understood non-internationally traded product to an internationally traded product.
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Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium and can be thought of as a guaranteed small loss to…
Abstract
Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium and can be thought of as a guaranteed small loss to prevent a large, possibly a devastating, loss. Insurance is often challenging to quantify and count its values. A study on international insurance comparison will be more justified and result driven only when it is based on the comparable economic-adjusted insurance growth level. This motivates the study to introduce a model, Benchmark Ratio of Insurance Penetration (BRIP), for insurance growth comparison across the selected countries. This model makes an attempt to compare the relative stance between a country's Insurance Penetration (IP) and the selected countries’ average IP at an economic level which is at par with the country's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The study is done by selecting the G7 countries and the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) nations to have a proper representation of the world. These two groups of countries can give a picture of developed, emerging as well as underdeveloped countries. The paper uses the data of 12 countries for the past years (2007–2020) as the sample to study the objective of insurance comparison. The implications of such an analysis will be able to serve the purpose of insurance companies for their strategic expansion planning on an international basis. The insurance companies can depend on this more economically adjusted data when the policymakers want to lay foot in newer countries or expand in the existing ones.
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Hamadi Fakhfakh, Mondher Fakhfakh and María Consuelo Pucheta‐Martínez
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the new, revised International Standard on Auditing (Revised ISA700) in terms of the wording characteristics of Tunisian…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the new, revised International Standard on Auditing (Revised ISA700) in terms of the wording characteristics of Tunisian auditors' reports.
Design/methodology/approach
Measurement of the compliance of auditors' reports issued by Tunisian auditors with the new revised International Standard on Auditing (Revised ISA700).
Findings
It was found that the audit reports examined are not fully compliant with all the elements enumerated by the new standard issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
Originality/value
This paper provides new empirical evidence about the level of compliance with the revised ISA700. It discusses the limits on standardisation efforts for national auditors' reports, and the implications for accounting firms and their audit clients.
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This chapter discusses the influence of international educational studies on knowledge in a general sense. In a theoretical framework, a split between realistic and constructivist…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the influence of international educational studies on knowledge in a general sense. In a theoretical framework, a split between realistic and constructivist theories of knowledge with special regards to global and local knowledge is discussed.
Since Slovenia is a country that is included in a number of different international comparative educational studies and assessments, even more so, it has been participating in these studies continually for the last two decades, the focus is on Slovenian educational policymaking (PM). The chapter for the first time analyzes the impacts on national PM of different international studies and predicts the future Slovenian participation in these studies; therefore, the chapter could be interesting for national and international audiences involved in comparative education research. For the estimation of existing impacts on national PM, semi-structured interviews were used. The findings suggest that international results represent an argumentation for some directly and indirectly curricular and syllabus changes over the years. Furthermore, some of the argumentations for changing the national educational system regarding the international findings are still more declarative; irrespective of experts and policymakers estimations of how great impacts these studies have in Slovenia. Future research on the topic for Slovenian PM in education will need more secondary analysis of collected data from both national and international assessments.
The quality of an education system or a comparative international assessment refers more and more to quantitative parameters, i.e. “educational indicators”. The paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The quality of an education system or a comparative international assessment refers more and more to quantitative parameters, i.e. “educational indicators”. The paper aims to analyse the structure of several educational indicators and indicator systems and answer the question “What can educational indicators achieve?”
Design/methodology/approach
Starting with a general consideration of the term “indicator” the findings are applied to the educational area and the development of educational indicators is analysed critically.
Findings
Indicators allow for the illustration of outcomes and of system processes. Beginning in the 1950s, following the empirical turn in research methods, and the growing significance of approaches from economics of education, indicators are now applied in national and international settings. The findings show that the combination of the quantitative and qualitative approach is more successful as the isolated research.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on secondary analysis. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodology should be undertaken in following the progress of educational systems.
Originality/value
The findings of quantitative research based on educational indicators determine the general public and political discussion and often the discourse in the scientific community. The analysis shows that a critical distance especially when preparing political decisions is a necessary attitude.
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D.G. PROVERBS and O.O. FANIRAN
International research concerning the comparative performance and practices of construction contractors from three European countries (UK, France and Germany) has been previously…
Abstract
International research concerning the comparative performance and practices of construction contractors from three European countries (UK, France and Germany) has been previously reported. The research has recently been extended to include Australian construction companies, thereby providing the potential for further exploring international contractor performance, the results of which are herein presented. The research methodology involves a questionnaire survey of contractors whereby a hypothetical high rise in situ concrete building is presented to respondents. Participants of the survey are asked to provide various performance data and preferred construction practices for this building. Results suggest that French contractors acquire the fastest construction speeds closely followed by those from Australia. Construction practices are similar in the UK and Australia, which contrast with French and German practice whose preferences were also found to be different. Findings suggest Australian contractors achieve higher levels of performance than those from the UK whilst implementing similar practices. Further research is needed to investigate the cause of the performance disparity found to exist in these two countries.
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The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total…
Abstract
The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.
Mark Pagell, Jeffrey P. Katz and Chwen Sheu
The purpose of this study is to test the validity of national culture as an explanatory construct for international operations management decision‐making.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to test the validity of national culture as an explanatory construct for international operations management decision‐making.
Design/methodology/approach
National culture is multi‐dimensional thereby allowing for much finer grained comparisons than are possible when examining differences based purely on geography or the level of industrialization. This proposition is examined from the theoretical standpoint then empirically investigated using an existing database.
Findings
This article finds that national culture significantly explains international operations management behaviors among similar manufacturing plants in the same industry located in different cultures.
Originality/value
This study represents a first attempt at using national culture to explain differences of operations decision‐making.
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