Antoine Martin and Bryan Mercurio
This paper aims to reflect on the outcomes of the Nairobi Ministerial Conference of 2015, which, for all intents and purposes, put the Doha Round to rest and analyses the policy…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to reflect on the outcomes of the Nairobi Ministerial Conference of 2015, which, for all intents and purposes, put the Doha Round to rest and analyses the policy implications and lessons for policymaking at the World Trade Organization (WTO), most importantly the abandonment of the “single undertaking” and return to plurilateral agreements.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper approaches the issue of WTO policymaking by analysing the various outputs produced both before and because of the Ministerial Conference.
Findings
The paper suggests that the Nairobi Ministerial has finally put an end to the Doha Round and comes to the conclusion that policymaking at the multilateral level (i.e. through the single undertaking) will change significantly in the future because the WTO Members are incapable of reaching a comprehensive agreement at this time. Instead, the current trend towards trade policymaking via FTA is likely to continue while the WTO focuses on plurilateral negotiations on narrow and discreet issues.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature on the analysis of global regulatory fragmentation and on trade policymaking. It draws attention, in particular, to the consequences of the last Ministerial Conference and highlights prospects for the future of global trade regulation.
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Antoine Vernet, Martin Kilduff and Ammon Salter
Bipartite networks (e.g., software developers linked to open-source projects) are common in settings studied by organization scholars. But the structure underlying bipartite…
Abstract
Bipartite networks (e.g., software developers linked to open-source projects) are common in settings studied by organization scholars. But the structure underlying bipartite networks tends to be overlooked. Commonly, two modes are reduced to one mode for analysis, causing loss of information. We review techniques for projecting 2-modes onto 1-mode and discuss 2-mode measures of clustering. We also address the potential for 2-mode theory development concerning (a) how change in one mode influences change in the other, (b) the question of two types of agency, and (c) how diversity in one mode is a substitute for diversity in the other mode.
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Antoine Zalatan and Alfredo Ramirez Gaston
This article examines the emergence of the “soft‐ecotourism” market and measures the extend of familiarity with ecotourism and the willingness of resort travellers to substitute…
Abstract
This article examines the emergence of the “soft‐ecotourism” market and measures the extend of familiarity with ecotourism and the willingness of resort travellers to substitute, partially or totally, their vacation with an ecotourism experience. education, income and age are positively associated with ecotourism, while women and singles are a more in favour towards a substitution to ecotourism. The study indicates that there is confusion as to what constitutes ecotourism and the authors suggest that tourism agencies should be more actively engaged in explaining ecotourism to their potential clients.
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Lorne Seidman and Robert J. Aalberts
The doctrine of employment‐at‐will has been the rule of law for over 100 years in the United States. Under it an employee can be terminated for a good reason, a bad reason, or for…
Abstract
The doctrine of employment‐at‐will has been the rule of law for over 100 years in the United States. Under it an employee can be terminated for a good reason, a bad reason, or for no reason at all. Because of real abuses when firing employees, generally called wrongful termination, all but five U.S. states have now carved out at least one of three exceptions to the rule. They are implied contract, public policy tort, and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Although created with good intentions, all three exceptions have spawned a legal environment of judicial inconsistency and unpredictability and a climate of expensive litigation and monetary judgments. The Model Employment Termination Act, if adopted by all the states, would establish a uniform legal system for managing employee terminations. The Act's major provisions require that an employee can be terminated only for “good cause,” and, in the “preferred version” that arbitration be used in settling disputes. However, an employee's remedies are limited and can include reinstatement, back pay, lump‐sum severance payments, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, but no compensatory or punitive damages.
Ramiro Martins, Cristiano Locatelli and Jorge Seabra
The purpose of this paper is to get a better understanding of roughness evolution and micropitting initiation on the tooth flank, as well as the evolution of surface topography…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to get a better understanding of roughness evolution and micropitting initiation on the tooth flank, as well as the evolution of surface topography during the test load stages in a modified DGMK short micropitting test procedure.
Design/methodology/approach
A modified DGMK short micropitting test procedure was performed, using an increased number of surface observations (three times more) in order to understand the evolution of the surface during each load stage performed. Each of these surface observations consists in the evaluation of surface roughness, surface topography, visual inspection and also weigh measurements as well as lubricant analysis.
Findings
This work showed that the larger modifications on surface took place in the beginning of tests, especially during load stage K3 (lowest load, considered as running‐in) and on the first period of load stage K6, that is, during the first 200,000 cycles of the test. The 3D roughness parameters (St and Sv), obtained from the surface topographies, gave a more precise indication about surface roughness evolution and micropitting generation than the 2D parameters, especially in what concerns to inferring the depth of micropits and the reduction of roughness. Tooth flank topography allows to identify local changes on the surface and the appearance of first micropits.
Research limitations/implications
This work was performed with gears holding a high surface roughness and with a ester‐based lubricant. It was interesting to see the differences observed for surface evolution, for other base oils and also for gears with lower roughness.
Practical implications
The main implication of this work is the understanding that major changes in the surface took place in the first cycles, indicating that the running‐in procedure could be very important for the surface fatigue life. This work also showed that micropitting depends on local contact conditions. Depending on the roughness of the counter surface, micropitting can appear on the bottom of the deep valleys and/or do not appear on the tip of the roughness peaks. The surface topography, and implicitly 3D roughness parameters, is very useful for the observation of surface evolution.
Originality/value
This paper shows in detail the evolution of the tooth surface during a micropitting test. The micropits generation and evolution and also surface wear evolution are presented.
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Gracia Rubio Martín, Conrado M. Miguel García, Francisco José González Sánchez and Álvaro Féliz Navarrete
The aim of this work is to explain the final negotiated prices for some of the most famous transfers of football players over the last twelve years (2007–2018).
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this work is to explain the final negotiated prices for some of the most famous transfers of football players over the last twelve years (2007–2018).
Design/methodology/approach
The article analyses different values for forwards taken from the sports website Transfermarkt, developing a statistical model based on personal, performance, risk, environmental and popularity variables. From those values, the article finds an explanation for the final prices paid for 20 superstar players based on a combination of real option valuations, incorporating the players' life cycles and game theory.
Findings
The authors find that in a large percentage (70%) of the analysed cases, the price paid was higher than the intrinsic market value resulting from Transfermarkt, implying the existence of monopolistic rents, paid as “growth options” on prices from different negotiating conditions. On occasions, the final prices also exceed the value of the growth option, calculated under neutral bargaining conditions, highlighting the lack of economic viability of important transfers, leading to financial difficulties for the clubs involved.
Originality/value
The algorithm provides more flexibility and realism than previous proposals, based on the life cycle of football players, introducing the uncertainty and volatility of projections through Monte Carlo simulation, the capacity of clubs to bargain a price at any point of the contract and finally, the buyer's ability to transfer the player if his subsequent performance is not as expected.
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Karolina Doulougeri, Antoine van den Beemt, Jan D. Vermunt, Michael Bots and Gunter Bombaerts
Challenge-based learning (CBL) is a trending educational concept in engineering education. The literature suggests that there is a growing variety in CBL implementations, stemming…
Abstract
Challenge-based learning (CBL) is a trending educational concept in engineering education. The literature suggests that there is a growing variety in CBL implementations, stemming from the flexible and abstract definition of CBL that is shaped by teachers' perceptions. The chapter discusses how the CBL concept has been developed at Eindhoven University of Technology and describes the development and use of two educational resources aimed to facilitate conceptualization, design, and research of CBL for curriculum designers and teachers. The first resource is a set of CBL design principles for framing the variety of CBL and providing teachers with advice about how to develop CBL courses within an overall CBL curriculum. The second resource is a curriculum-mapping instrument called the CBL compass, which aims at mapping CBL initiatives and identifying gaps, overlaps, and misalignments in CBL implementation at a curriculum level. Both CBL design principles and the CBL compass have been developed by combining insights from theory and practical examples of CBL at TU/e into a higher order model of vision, teaching and learning, and support. We discuss the two educational instruments and showcase their application in the Eindhoven Engineering Education (E3) program, and we discuss preliminary findings and insights. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future practice and research.
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Spyros Schismenos, Antoine A. Smith, Garry J. Stevens and Dimitrios Emmanouloudis
The purpose of this paper is to review the federal decisions to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response in the United States and consider the different approaches employed by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the federal decisions to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response in the United States and consider the different approaches employed by the California state government.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper focuses on COVID-19-related issues, responses and implications in federal countries, and largely draws comparisons between the Trump Administration and California state.
Findings
The slow response of the federal government could have been avoided, had there been a current and tested national plan. The defunding of the Office of Pandemics and Emerging Threats, and the lack of coordination between the Trump Administration and the states have contributed to its ranking as the country with the highest COVID-19 infection and fatality rates worldwide. California state oversaw an effective initial pandemic response, which was ultimately undermined by a lack of national support and the refusal of some citizens to comply with the restrictions.
Research limitations/implications
The paper draws upon open-source information published on government websites and news media.
Originality/value
As the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is currently ongoing, information about the federal governance and state response is still evolving. The authors examine California as a state exemplar, since it is the largest such jurisdiction by populace and the first state to issue statewide mandatory lockdown measures. This comparison offers insights as to the decisive initiatives that could have occurred at the federal level. The “lessons learned” highlight the critical role of crisis leadership in societal and public health preparedness for future pandemic events.