Elisa Rose Birch and Paul W. Miller
This paper aims to investigate the determinants of taking out government‐funded student loans for university study in Australia.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the determinants of taking out government‐funded student loans for university study in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses an ordered probit model to quantify the influence of the various factors which affect students' decisions on funding their tertiary study using student loans or through other means.
Findings
The study finds that the probability of taking out student loans for the full cost of university is largely influenced by students' socioeconomic status. Other major influences on this decision include students' demographic and university enrolment characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the work is that only a neighbourhood (rather than an individual‐level) measure of socioeconomic status was available, and future research should seek to address this.
Practical implications
The research shows that the parameters of loan schemes do not seem to be able to over‐ride the influence that family background has on loan taking behaviour. That is, poor students use loans regardless of the parameters of the loans scheme in order to overcome short‐term credit constraints. In other words, these student loan schemes channel funds to those without other means of funding their higher education.
Originality/value
By showing the impact that income contingent provisions have on loan taking behaviour, the paper informs policy makers of potential impacts from modifying loans schemes to reflect this characteristic.
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Alison Preston, Elisa Birch and Andrew R. Timming
The purpose of this paper is to document the wage effects associated with sexual orientation and to examine whether the wage gap has improved following recent institutional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to document the wage effects associated with sexual orientation and to examine whether the wage gap has improved following recent institutional changes which favour sexual minorities.
Design/methodology/approach
Ordinary least squares and quantile regressions are estimated using Australian data for 2010–2012 and 2015–2017, with the analysis disaggregated by sector of employment. Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions are used to quantify unexplained wage gaps.
Findings
Relative to heterosexual men, in 2015–2017 gay men in the public and private sectors had wages which were equivalent to heterosexual men at all points in the wage distribution. In the private sector: highly skilled lesbians experienced a wage penalty of 13 per cent; low-skilled bisexual women faced a penalty of 11 per cent, as did bisexual men at the median (8 per cent penalty). In the public sector low-skilled lesbians and low-skilled bisexual women significant experienced wage premiums. Between 2010–2012 and 2015–2017 the pay position of highly skilled gay men has significantly improved with the convergence driven by favourable wage (rather than composition) effects.
Practical implications
The results provide important benchmarks against which the treatment of sexual minorities may be monitored.
Originality/value
The analysis of the sexual minority wage gaps by sector and position on the wage distribution and insight into the effect of institutions on the wages of sexual minorities.
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Patricia A. Greenfield, Ronald J. Karren and Lawrence S. Zacharias
Every employer, unless he or she has no pool of applicants orpotential applicants to choose from, engages in hiring choices. Whilethe hiring process may vary, both from one…
Abstract
Every employer, unless he or she has no pool of applicants or potential applicants to choose from, engages in hiring choices. While the hiring process may vary, both from one employer to another and from one job to another, some form of screening occurs. In recent years, students of management have noted the proliferation of screening practices in the hiring process, especially in bringing new technologies such as medical and drug testing procedures. Testing and other screening practices, while wide‐ranging both with respect to their ends and means, have raised consistent patterns of concern among job‐seekers, public policy makers and managers themselves. In this monograph a variety of methods of screening and issues of public policy raised by screening procedures are discussed. An overview of United States law regulating the screening process is provided, together with future directions in the area of screening in the US.
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Federico D’Onofrio and Gerardo Serra
This symposium analyses the mutually constitutive relationship between economic knowledge and political order. Through a wide range of case studies from Europe, Africa, and Latin…
Abstract
This symposium analyses the mutually constitutive relationship between economic knowledge and political order. Through a wide range of case studies from Europe, Africa, and Latin America, the essays collected shed new light on the choices and constraints faced by economists under authoritarian rule in the twentieth century. The contribution of the symposium is twofold. Firstly, it expands the geographical and chronological scope of the conversation on the politics of economics. Secondly, it encourages a more nuanced understanding of economists’ agency in their different guises as educators, party propagandists, policy-makers, model-builders, and dissidents.
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Jessica Ayensu, Reginald Adjetey Annan, Anthony Edusei and Herman Lutterodt
Edible insects have emerged as a promising inexpensive option to address malnutrition among vulnerable groups in the world. However, it is not clear whether including insects in…
Abstract
Purpose
Edible insects have emerged as a promising inexpensive option to address malnutrition among vulnerable groups in the world. However, it is not clear whether including insects in diets can improve health outcomes. This paper aimed to investigate the impact of edible insect consumption on human health.
Design/methodology/approach
A search was conducted in PubMed Central, BioMed Central, Plosone, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Google Search and bibliographies for all human studies on the impact of edible insect consumption on human health published from January 1990 to April 2018.
Findings
Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Consumption of cereals fortified with edible insects improved iron status and growth in infants and led to the development of life threatening anaphylactic reactions in sensitive people.
Practical implications
Edible insects are nutritious. More rigorous studies are needed to confirm nutrient bioavailability, acceptability and nutritional benefits in humans.
Originality/value
This review shows that the utilization of edible insects as food promotes desirable health outcomes, but caution must be taken to prevent allergic reactions in some cases.
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Francisco José Torres-Ruiz, Elisa Garrido-Castro and María Gutiérrez-Salcedo
Consumer knowledge has been one of the most studied variables in marketing due to its strong influence on consumer behaviour. Knowledge level has traditionally been measured…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer knowledge has been one of the most studied variables in marketing due to its strong influence on consumer behaviour. Knowledge level has traditionally been measured through objective knowledge and the number of correct answers in a battery of items about product characteristics. The authors argue that this analysis could be complemented with other information, that is, the structure of non-knowledge. The main objective of this work is to explore the nature and explanatory potential of this new dimension on consumer behaviour in the agrifood context. The principal hypothesis is that, while they may have similar levels of objective knowledge, there are significant differences between the behaviour of consumers who have a predominant pattern of ignorance (tendency to answer “I don't know”) and those who are in error (tendency to give wrong answers).
Design/methodology/approach
The present study draws on data derived from five case studies examining consumer knowledge about agrifood products (olive oils, Iberian ham and orange juice) and certain aspects of consumer behaviour. A sample of 4,112 participants was classified into two non-knowledge profiles: wrong, if most items answered incorrectly in a questionnaire were wrong; or ignorant, if most items answered incorrectly were “don't know”.
Findings
The results obtained supported the argument that complementing the study of consumer knowledge with an analysis of the structure of non-knowledge is worthwhile, as differences within the structure are associated with different patterns of consumer behaviour.
Originality/value
In the present study, it is proposed that the measurement of knowledge be complemented with an analysis of the consumer's non-knowledge structure (items not answered correctly), given its effects on behaviour, an aspect hitherto unconsidered in the literature. To do so, a new index is proposed.
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Yu-Ming Chung, Shao-Yu Lee, Yung-Kai Lin, Yung-Hao Lin, Mohamed El-Shazly, Yung-Hsiang Lin and Chi-Fu Chiang
Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), a ubiquitous fruit in Southeastern Asia, was rich in vitamins and phytochemicals, which were beneficial for improving of skin conditions. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), a ubiquitous fruit in Southeastern Asia, was rich in vitamins and phytochemicals, which were beneficial for improving of skin conditions. The fermentation process increased phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether phytochemicals can be increased through the fermentation process of rambutan extracts to improve skin aging.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors used the three stages of fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum TCI028 and Acetobacter aceti under red light to develop a fermented rambutan extract.
Findings
The level of polyphenols of red-light-based fermented rambutan extract (RLFRE) were significantly increased 108.9% (p < 0.01) and 97% (p <0.01) compared with fermented rambutan extract (FRE) and pure rambutan extract (RE), respectively. The human skin fibroblasts treated with 0.03 or 0.06% of RLFRE can significantly decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels by 0.74- (p <0.001) and 0.84-fold (p <0.001) compared with H2O2 group, respectively. And 0.03% of RLFRE can significantly increase in elastin content by 1.13-fold (p <0.05). Also, ten compounds were identified including one new phenolic compound and nine known compounds from RLFRE. Moreover, red light could enhance the levels of compounds 4, 9 and 3 by 5, 2.5 and 2.5-fold, respectively, relative to the results of FRE. The last, RLFRE isolated compounds significantly facilitated the elastin content on fibroblast (compound 1, 7, 9, 10 compared with control: p <0.001, compound 2 compared with control: p <0.001).
Originality/value
In short, this was the first study to unveil that the red-light-based fermentation can enrich the antioxidant content in a rambutan extract and its product had the potential to be developed a functional product for health-promoting effects such as skin aging.