Iain Cameron, Gary Gillan and A. Roy Duff
The research objectives are to investigate current methods of fall protection, identify issues in their selection and use, and produce guidance on best practice for designers and…
Abstract
Purpose
The research objectives are to investigate current methods of fall protection, identify issues in their selection and use, and produce guidance on best practice for designers and constructors.
Design/methodology/approach
A steering group with both health and safety and production experience directed a variety of data collection methods: interviews with industry specialists to assist in identifying the significant issues in fall protection and selecting fall protection systems; study of published research, legislation, codes of practice, and system technical data; focus groups to investigate both generic and system‐specific issues; and visits to manufacturers, suppliers, contractors' offices and sites, to observe and discuss systems in development, planning, erection and operation.
Findings
This paper deals with all the general issues in equipment selection: a hierarchy of selection; legislative guidance; interaction with the structure; impact on site operations; rescue of fallers; issues specific to maintenance and refurbishment; and costs arising from equipment selection.
Originality/value
The paper provides a summary of the most important issues contained in the full Health & Safety Executive report of the research, the only comprehensive source of such practical guidance.
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Matheus Mazzilli Pereira and Marcelo Kunrath Silva
Social movements are not monolithic entities. Activists and organizations disagree about the goals of the movement and the tactics to achieve these goals, including their framing…
Abstract
Social movements are not monolithic entities. Activists and organizations disagree about the goals of the movement and the tactics to achieve these goals, including their framing tactics. Cultural sociologists have questioned the idea that tactical choice is rationally and strategically oriented, arguing that tactics are morally and emotionally grounded in the activists' lives. We follow this insight, though suggesting that activists make constant efforts to experience their action as rational, claiming a strategic status and a sense of efficacy for their lines of action. By studying framing resonance disputes in interactions between animal rights activists and mass media in south Brazil, we found that, to make their tactics accountable and justifiable, activists mobilize different folk theories on social transformation which allow their actions to be experienced as the best means to achieve the movement's ends.
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Catherine Coy, Marni Ludwig and Kasey Jueds
In the words of Stanley Kunitz, poetry is not a single nation but a teeming nation of nations. With more than 1,300 new poetry titles to choose from each year, how can librarians…
Abstract
In the words of Stanley Kunitz, poetry is not a single nation but a teeming nation of nations. With more than 1,300 new poetry titles to choose from each year, how can librarians make the best acquisitions for their communities? The following resource materials from Poets House – a 35,000‐volume poetry library and literary center – offer a starting point. Highlights a wide variety of selections from Poets House’s annual exhibit of all the year’s new poetry books. The Directory of American Poetry Books provides complete bibliographic information and capsule reviews for more than 7,000 books published since 1991. These materials were originally distributed at the 1999 American Library Association Conference, where Poets House exhibited the entire 1999 Showcase and presented poetry readings and a panel discussion entitled “Making poetry come alive in community libraries”.
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Purpose – This study aims at presenting an overview, development, and process of current corporate governance practices in Bangladesh.Design/Methodology/Approach – Based on New…
Abstract
Purpose – This study aims at presenting an overview, development, and process of current corporate governance practices in Bangladesh.
Design/Methodology/Approach – Based on New Institutional Sociology (NIS) as a theoretical framework and by using archival data, this study highlights the roles of key institutional forces in reinforcing the existing corporate governance practices in Bangladesh.
Findings – This study notes that corporate governance practices in Bangladesh are still at infancy. While Bangladesh is trying to adopt many international corporate governance best practices for institutional legitimacy, the weak institutional enforcement regime, along with the absence of an effective check and balance, poses serious challenges to the firm-level good corporate governance practices in Bangladesh. The absence of isomorphic pressures to regulate the firms leads to many incidences of noncompliance.
Practical implications – This study takes part in the following global debate: whether corporate governance in an emerging economy is a reality or an illusion.
Originality/Value – This study seeks to contribute to the increasing literature by recognizing the interest of readers, academics, practitioners, and regulators to gain more insight and understanding of corporate governance practices in an emerging economy, such as Bangladesh.
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Taniya Jayani Koswatta, Gary Wingenbach and Holli R. Leggette
When scientific information is unclear about the health benefits of foods, people choose to react in different ways. Using a posttest-only control group design, the authors tested…
Abstract
Purpose
When scientific information is unclear about the health benefits of foods, people choose to react in different ways. Using a posttest-only control group design, the authors tested how balanced and nonfactual information available on YouTube influences public perception of organic foods.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors randomly assigned participants (N = 640) from a southern US land grant university to watch one video: balanced news, nonfactual news, or control. All participants indicated changes in perception about organic foods immediately after the video. The authors analyzed the data using one-way and two-way ANOVA.
Findings
The nonfactual news video had the most influence on public perception of organic foods. Results confirmed that the effect of nonfactual information was more for individuals with preexisting beliefs consistent with the message communicated and individuals exposed to average to high levels of health and diet news.
Practical implications
The authors recommend regulatory changes in marketing strategies related to organic foods in the US that encourage balanced information about organic foods rather than promoting credence attributes of organic foods using persuasive information.
Originality/value
The authors findings suggest that, when scientific information about the health benefits of foods is unclear, communication activities should aim to increase healthy skepticism considering the audience's preexisting beliefs and frequency of health and diet news exposure.
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Nava Subramaniam, Jenny Stewart, Chew Ng and Art Shulman
– The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that affect corporate governance in Australian state government departments.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that affect corporate governance in Australian state government departments.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 65 executives and middle managers from 25 departments across Australia is used. The interviews identified managers ' perceptions of the structures and practices of governance in four nominated areas: strategic planning, auditing, risk management and capacity building. A social capital model is utilised to analyse the data along structural, relational and cognitive dimensions.
Findings
Aligned with the structural dimension, frequent departmental and leadership changes and the size and complexity of departments are reported as major barriers to good governance, while well-structured committees are perceived to strengthen governance. Aligned with the relational dimension, a culture of good working relationships between staff and strong leadership are recognised as critical for strong governance while, aligned with the cognitive dimension, a lack of shared understanding of risk, a short-term focus, and unclear individual roles and organisational goals are seen as barriers to effective governance.
Research limitations/implications
The evidence is based on perceptions of participants and may not reflect actual practices nor the perceptions of others.
Originality/value
A contribution of this study is the application of social capital theory to advance understanding of public sector governance. The study adds insights into the behavioural and organisational factors that encourage or impede effective governance based on the experiences of managers from key governance functions.
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Dorota Leszczynska and Jean-Louis Chandon
Do female CEOs face a compensation gap? The purpose of this paper is to examine whether gender affects the total compensation of today’s CEOs, and whether it moderates ten factors…
Abstract
Purpose
Do female CEOs face a compensation gap? The purpose of this paper is to examine whether gender affects the total compensation of today’s CEOs, and whether it moderates ten factors influencing their total compensation.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking the 54 female CEOs cited in the US 2014 Fortune’s 1000 report, a matched sample of male CEOs was selected, matched according to the crosstab of age by education and by the sizes of the companies directed by these female CEOs.
Findings
Using four years’ worth of Fortune reports, between 2013 and 2016, this matched sample indicates that female CEOs are not discriminated against in terms of total compensation. However, eight factors do show a significant effect on total compensation. Using moderation analysis, the present study reveals how gender interacts with company size, sector, membership of outside boards and nature of previous experience.
Research limitations/implications
This paper addresses an important and under-researched gap, with contradictory findings in the existing literature, by compiling and testing the characteristics of male and female CEOs which are not cited in Fortune 1000 reports.
Originality/value
Arguably, this is therefore one of the first papers to study gender differences in total compensation among Fortune 1000 CEOs using a matched sample technique, based on a larger number of female CEOs and a larger number of years than any previous research.
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This study aims to explore the role of corporate governance (CG) characteristics on the financial performance of large agricultural companies in New Zealand. External auditor…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the role of corporate governance (CG) characteristics on the financial performance of large agricultural companies in New Zealand. External auditor remuneration and board characteristics, such as board ownership, board compensation, board independence and board gender diversity, are addressed in the context of New Zealand’s agricultural companies by applying agency theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a balanced panel data generalised least square regression analysis on 80 firm-years of observations over the period from 2012 to 2015.
Findings
Empirical analysis revealed that external auditors’ remuneration and board characteristics, such as board compensation and board independence, except for board ownership and board gender diversity, held no association with the agricultural companies’ performance. While board ownership and board gender diversity were negatively, but significantly, associated with firm performance, these results were pronounced in the listed agricultural companies rather than in the non-listed companies.
Research limitations/implications
This study encountered limitations commonly associated with the majority of industry-specific studies, i.e. small sample size and lack of published financial information from databases. Therefore, for generalisation, these limitations were considered relevant.
Practical implications
The results of this research project are beneficial for authorities and agricultural company directors in implementing CG principles and guidelines to empower such companies in international competition. Encouraging agricultural companies to maintain a high level of transparency in financial reporting is of central interest for the government’s economic development, and stock market investors achieve a high level of transparency in non-financial disclosures, the chief objective of this study. Finally, the results of this paper may encourage auditors to scrutinise CG disclosures by agricultural companies in more detail, looking for undisclosed information.
Social implications
The results of this paper may encourage managerial transparency by providing appropriate disclosures for the public benefit. Investors may benefit from the disclosure provided in their economic decision-making and the public may expand on the information disclosed in facilitating development through exports, expansion of foreign investments and the indigenous economy.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the literature by providing novel and original insights into using a sample of listed and non-listed agricultural companies to extend the current understanding of the governance-performance nexus.