Search results

A simulation method was developed to display images of nano-particles and their dynamic 2D growth on surfaces, due to mechanisms such as adsorption, diffusion and coalescence. In this method a mathematical Fourier frequency tranforms (FT) of a 2D image density functions representing the nanostructure and image processing are combined to obtain a continuos visualization of thin film depositon process. These images are then convoluted using FT of spatiotemporal integrodifferential equations involving the physical driving forces models in the frequency domain. Using an appropriate prediction models we were able to solve the spatiotemporal evolutional equations. Thus the surface growth and restructuring effects taking place during the photo-deposition processes were investigated. In particular, the dynamic changes of the photo-deposited nanoparticles morphology during sub-monolayer growth were simulated. The simulation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of a-Se photo deposited thin films during monolayer formation were discuussed and were found to be good accordance and complementary.

TiO₂ thin films were deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on glass substrates at 27°C and 100°C. The extraction efficiency of evanescent light from the deposited nanolayers and their thickness profiles in the range of (1-100) nm was evaluated using the Differential Evanescent Light Intensity (DELI) imaging method. This optical microscopy technique is based on capturing the evanescent light emitted by the material layer deposited on the substrate. The results were analyzed and discussed in terms of the effective penetration depth parameter. The effective scattering cross-section of the TiO₂ nanometer particles was estimated.

This paper provides a political analysis of legal pluralism from a “new institutionalist” perspective. In response to question of why states recognize and incorporate non-state normative orderings into their legal systems, it is hypothesized that the decision of incorporation is made to enhance the capacities of postcolonial states with “rational” calculations. In this respect, two new categories of legal pluralism are introduced: capacity-enhancing recognition and capacity-diminishing recognition. The paper lastly assesses the implications of legal pluralism upon the state-society relations and individual rights and liberties of citizens in the case of Israel.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) lecturers' perception of the decision regarding adopting e‐learning as a teaching tool.

Data were collected from 244 lecturers in Universiti Utara Malaysia. Internal consistency using Cronbach alpha and exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation was conducted to confirm the measurement used. Logistic regression was run to examine factors influencing the adoption of e‐learning as a teaching tool among lecturers in UUM.

After performing reliability and validity tests of the instrument, only six factors were included in the framework out of nine factors affecting adoption. The research model showed a reasonably good fit with the data and empirical results confirm that only relative advantages, trialability and academic specialisation positively influence the adoption decision. Thus, the findings have provided evidence of the importance of relative advantages, trialability and academic specialisation in understanding the adoption decision before introducing new online technology and instructional delivery in education.

The measurement of perception was accessed after the adoption process might contribute to post‐adoption experience, and the findings are limited to a specific sample that somewhat minimises the generalisability of the result. Future research should aim at examining the proposed framework in a broader range of public higher learning institutions that use e‐learning application in delivering knowledge.

The research provides a new perspective on lecturers' adoption of new technology and focuses on the substance of the instrumentation.

What are the consequences of urban life in an ethno-nationally contested city? How do everyday practices confront municipal strategies that attempt to control such urban situations? Focusing on urban life in which daily negotiation of ethno-national differences occurs, this chapter considers the nuances of urban politics and the use and meaning of the urban space, i.e., the micro-politics and the social dynamic of place-making, and their role in the struggle for urban citizenship in an ethno-nationally mixed city. Discourse analysis and ethnographic encounters define the annual Holiday of Holidays festival in the Israeli–Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas as integral to Haifa's strategy for promoting itself as a site of coexistence. The neighborhood serves the entire city in that its “Arab” urban space has become the emblem of that coexistence. This manipulation by the municipality is, however, not reinforced by urban regeneration and heritage management of the local Palestinian community. Nonetheless coexistence discourse is also employed by the residents themselves, suggesting a more nuanced understanding of the role of urban space in promoting the city, as well as of concepts of local identity and citizenship.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of event-related sports sponsorship and ambushing activity using social media video advertising that aim to affect spectators’ implicit and explicit brand information processing.

A dual model of brand knowledge is used that considers the implicit and explicit information processing of marketing-induced brand messages. A web study was conducted prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Each participant implicitly and explicitly evaluated either one sponsor brand or one ambush brand before and after watching the video advertisement (within-subject design). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to evaluate each change of the pre-post testing scores.

Implicit and explicit brand associations as well as brand behavior were partially affected by the short contact with the advertisements of sponsor brands and ambush brands. In this regard, the implicit association measurements were more sensitive to reveal changes in the brand knowledge structure than their explicit counterparts. Furthermore, sponsorship advertising was slightly more effective than ambush advertising.

The current exploratory study evaluated for the first time the performance of event-related video advertisements that were originally released on social media of sponsor brands and ambush brands. The findings emphasize the necessary requirement of evaluating the implicit processing in addition to the explicit processing of sponsorship information to ensure a holistic evaluation of consumers’ memory with regard to the effectiveness of a sponsorship activity.

Management theory and practice have been developed mostly based on Western capitalist principles and imported into other nations. Some of these nations have their own indigenous principles though these are less well known. This chapter presents the values and concepts of Ubuntu and Batho Pele, both prominent business doctrines originally applied in the South African context.

Many scholars have pointed out the notion of Ubuntu as a philosophy that encompasses the beliefs, values, and behaviours of most South African people. It is a spirit of humaneness, caring and community, harmony, hospitality, and mutual respect among individuals and groups. It shows in the thinking and behaviour of African people towards others. Batho Pele, literally meaning ‘people first’ is a concept emanating from the Ubuntu principle that means putting other people ahead of one’s needs. It started with the drive to put others first, propagated from the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994. This idea of prioritising others’ needs then gave rise to various service delivery policies, for example, the 1997 Batho Pele White Paper. Batho Pele, as adopted from Sotho–Tswana languages, was an initiative introduced by the Mandela administration to change the public service at all levels to be more focussed on continuously delivering and improving on excellent service.

The new South Africa came into being in 1994. The new government inherited the national public service and those of a variety of former provinces and homelands that had to be amalgamated to form a national unified public service. Although this task was accomplished rapidly, the resulting public service was very large, and exhibited many features of traditional bureaucracy, including hierarchical structures, limited automation and IT applications, low levels of training, a poor work culture, language and cultural barriers, and an overall orientation towards inputs and processes rather than service delivery and results. Within the first three years of the new order, substantial effort was devoted to reforming the bureaucracy. New public service legislation and regulations were introduced, new and powerful central personnel agencies were created, English became the language of administration, and substantial authority was devolved to departments and provinces. Despite these reforms, progress in improving results in terms of service delivery, especially to previously disadvantaged communities, was mixed. Towards the end of the 1990s increased attention was paid to means of improving service delivery. Three important initiatives in this regard were Batho Pele (1997), the adoption of eight nationwide principles for better service delivery; a public private partnerships initiative (2000) and the promotion of alternative service delivery. While alternative service delivery initiatives are largely at pilot stage, they offer a promising alternative both to traditional bureaucracy (with its cost and poor service delivery focus) and to a narrow version of privatisation (which could involve heavy social costs, job losses, and regressive redistribution of wealth). This paper reviews these developments and outlines some promising alternative service delivery pilot projects.

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the key perspectives that emerge in this Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (AAAJ) Special Issue as a basis for determining the existence or otherwise of a Soccer Society, as well as reflecting on the challenges that evidence of corruption in soccer (the beautiful game) has had on the game to date. Reflections on these matters are then utilised to offer a prospective analysis of issues for further research.

The paper is a reflective analysis that draws on existing societal work to provide key dimensions of accounting and accountability for significant organisations in the world of sport in general and soccer in particular.

Much prior research on soccer has largely focussed on the internal workings of soccer organisations, with little discussion of the importance of context. This paper explores the influence of the game more broadly. Moreover, a number of the papers included illustrate an overwhelming sense of joy and pleasure from experiences of the beautiful game, as well as providing evidence of the general societal good that can flow from it. However, the study also highlights concerns emanating from weak, and seemingly pliable, governance, regulatory and accountability regimes that provide a fertile field for corruption and sportswashing.

This paper highlights a research agenda as an encouragement to interdisciplinary accounting researchers to investigate accountability and governance issues as a basis for evidence-based discussions of the impact of soccer and its regulation.

This paper specifically, and the Special Issue more broadly, offers a set of original empirical and theoretical contributions with respect to an activity that has faced limited scrutiny and consideration by academic accountants. Together, they offer a substantive body of work to enable future research in this area.

This study has a twofold goal. First, we examined perceptions of organizational politics as viewed by the academic staff in a public university. Second, we tested the potential mediating effect of perceptions of politics on the relationship between social capital and work outcomes. We surveyed 142 junior and senior faculty members of a large public Israeli university and tested several competing models. Major results, based on Structural Equations Model (SEM) analysis, indicate that the mediating model has several advantages over the direct effect model. In addition, a revised, mixed model provided additional advantages. The models are compared and discussed. Finally, implications of the findings and recommendations for future studies on internal politics and social capital in academia and beyond are suggested.