William Baumol is best-known as an academic. He was a prodigious researcher and publisher of texts on microeconomic theory, and a highly regarded educator with roles as head of…
Abstract
William Baumol is best-known as an academic. He was a prodigious researcher and publisher of texts on microeconomic theory, and a highly regarded educator with roles as head of the Department of Economics at Princeton University, director of the C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics and director of the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at New York University. Less well-known were his engagements as a corporate consultant, notably for the telecommunications monopoly AT&T. Baumol’s work as an advisor, expert witness and theorist for AT&T spanned three decades from 1966. His relationship with AT&T arguably forms the context within which we can better understand his work on contestability theory, which he developed with a team of economists working for AT&T’s Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1970s. Contestability theory was later deployed as a policy tool to justify industry deregulation and even advocate for monopolies and oligopolies on the ground that they were optimally efficient industry structures if potential competitors faced low barriers of entry. Baumol’s intellectual contribution to contestability theory was arguably influenced by the Chicago school and by AT&T’s drive toward the technological integration of telecommunications. Contestability was a rebellion against economic orthodoxies concerning competition and government regulation, and the status quo within AT&T which opposed market competition on the ground that it threatened the technological integration of the Bell system. The outcome was a revolution in industrial organization that would pave the way for the emergence of platform business models incorporating multi-sided and two-sided markets as exemplified by Amazon and Uber.
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Briefly reviews some results of a survey on training requirements, the most important of which appeared to be customer care. States that organizations need long‐term strategy, not…
Abstract
Briefly reviews some results of a survey on training requirements, the most important of which appeared to be customer care. States that organizations need long‐term strategy, not two‐day courses in customer care. Describes the process and lists objectives of creating a customer‐care strategy. Concludes with a list of recommendations.
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Miklos A. Vasarhelyi and Fern B. Halper
The evolution of MIS technology has affected traditional auditing and created a new set of audit issues. This paper describes the Continuous Process Auditing System (CPAS…
Abstract
The evolution of MIS technology has affected traditional auditing and created a new set of audit issues. This paper describes the Continuous Process Auditing System (CPAS) developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories for the internal audit organization that is designed to deal with the problems of auditing large paperless real-time systems. The paper discusses why the methodology is important and contrasts it with the traditional audit approach. CPAS is designed to measure and monitor large systems, drawing key metrics and analytics into a workstation environment. The data are displayed in an interactive mode, providing auditors with a work platform to examine extracted data and prepare auditing reports. CPAS monitors key operational analytics, compares these with standards, and calls the auditor’s attention to any problems that may exist. Ultimately, this technology will utilize system probes that will monitor the auditee system and intervene when needed.
Kevin E. Henrickson and Wesley W. Wilson
Following deregulation, the airline industry has dramatically changed. In addition to numerous mergers and bankruptcies, the industry has also seen an influx of small, “low-cost”…
Abstract
Following deregulation, the airline industry has dramatically changed. In addition to numerous mergers and bankruptcies, the industry has also seen an influx of small, “low-cost” carriers who offer differentiated competition to the traditional legacy carriers. These low-cost carriers traditionally avoided the hub-and-spoke networks of legacy carriers, offering point-to-point service often on adjacent routes. However, events of the past 10–15 years, including the terrorist attacks of 9/11, rising fuel prices, and economic recessions, have led to a shift in the operations of these airlines. The legacy carriers have unbundled many of their services, most notably through baggage fees, seeking to improve efficiency. Low-cost carriers have expanded services into major airports and have shifted to more direct route level competition with the legacy carriers as they use their cost efficiency advantages to their advantage. In this chapter, we examine airport and route choice decision to serve by legacy and low-cost carriers over time. Our descriptive and econometric models point to convergence of operations in terms of the airports and routes that low-cost and legacy carriers serve, with the implication that the current competitive atmosphere improves efficiency as the distinctions between legacy and low-cost carriers have become less obvious.
This chapter reviews published studies of the use of pictorial information. Examining image user studies surfaces several research questions often addressed by this body of work…
Abstract
This chapter reviews published studies of the use of pictorial information. Examining image user studies surfaces several research questions often addressed by this body of work, as well as some frequently encountered problems. These questions and problems organize this survey of the literature. Image user studies were included in two valuable reviews of digital image research and development, published by Christie Stephenson and Corinne Jörgensen in 1999 (Jörgensen, 1999; Stephenson, 1999). This overview considers research since that time, focusing on assessment that was not targeted at a single system or service. While attempting to incorporate some interesting research from the information and educational technology communities, this discussion of image delivery as an aspect of digital library development limits coverage of those important literatures.
Hyerim Cho, Minh T.N. Pham, Katherine N. Leonard and Alex C. Urban
With ready access to search engines and social media platforms, the way people find image information has evolved and diversified in the past two decades. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
With ready access to search engines and social media platforms, the way people find image information has evolved and diversified in the past two decades. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on image information needs and behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an eight-step procedure for conducting systematic literature reviews, the paper presents an analysis of peer-reviewed work on image information needs and behaviors, with publications ranging from the years 1997 to 2019.
Findings
Application of the inclusion criteria led to 69 peer-reviewed works. These works were synthesized according to the following categories: research methods, users targeted, image types, identified needs, search behaviors and search obstacles. The reviewed studies show that people seek and use images for multiple reasons, including entertainment, illustration, aesthetic appreciation, knowledge construction, engagement, inspiration and social interactions. The reviewed studies also report that common strategies for image searches include keyword searches with short queries, browsing, specialization and reformulation. Observed trends suggest common deployment of query analysis, survey questionnaires and undergraduate participant pools to research image information needs and behavior.
Originality/value
At this point, after more than two decades of image information needs research, a holistic systematic review of the literature was long overdue. The way users find image information has evolved and diversified due to technological developments in image retrieval. By synthesizing this burgeoning field into specific foci, this systematic literature review provides a foundation for future empirical investigation. With this foundation set, the paper then pinpoints key research gaps to investigate, particularly the influence of user expertise, a need for more diverse population samples, a dearth of qualitative data, new search features and information and visual literacies instruction.
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Kathleen L. Lane, E. Jemma Robertson and Marona Amandla Leaura Graham-Bailey
The issue of school violence and antisocial behavior in public schools is, in fact, one of the most pressing concerns in education today. Schools have responded by designing…
Abstract
The issue of school violence and antisocial behavior in public schools is, in fact, one of the most pressing concerns in education today. Schools have responded by designing, implementing, and evaluating multi-level models with progressively more intensive levels of support. The foundation of these models is the primary, or universal, prevention program. To date, most investigations have occurred in elementary schools thereby providing limited insight into intervening in secondary schools. This chapter reviews the literature base of school-wide interventions with primary level efforts conducted in secondary schools with an emphasis on methodological considerations. Content includes the findings of a systematic literature review, a discussion of quality indicators in relationship to primary prevention efforts, and recommendations for future inquiry.
This chapter provides a survey of alternative methodologies for measuring and comparing productivity and efficiency of airlines, and reviews representative empirical studies. The…
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This chapter provides a survey of alternative methodologies for measuring and comparing productivity and efficiency of airlines, and reviews representative empirical studies. The survey shows the apparent shift from index procedures and traditional OLS estimation of production and cost functions to stochastic frontier methods and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods over the past three decades. Most of the airline productivity and efficiency studies over the last decade adopt some variant of DEA methods. Researchers in the 1980s and 1990s were mostly interested in the effects of deregulation and liberalization on airline productivity and efficiency as well as the effects of ownership and governance structure. Since the 2000s, however, studies tend to focus on how business models and management strategies affect the performance of airlines. Environmental efficiency now becomes an important area of airline productivity and efficiency studies, focusing on CO2 emission as a negative or undesirable output. Despite the fact that quality of service is an important aspect of airline business, limited attempts have been made to incorporate quality of service in productivity and efficiency analysis.
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In recent years, the concept of generic strategies for achieving competitive advantage has gained prominence in the field of strategic management (BCG, 1976; Buzzell, Gale &…
Abstract
In recent years, the concept of generic strategies for achieving competitive advantage has gained prominence in the field of strategic management (BCG, 1976; Buzzell, Gale & Sultan, 1976; Porter, 1980; Hambrick, 1983; Karnani, 1984; Wright, 1987). Two generic strategies often mentioned in the literature are low‐ cost position and high differentiation position. Porter also mentions a third generic strategy called ‘focus’. However, this strategy is merely a specialised application of the two main generic strategies in a narrow market segment.
The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and young people is increasing, leading to recommendations that medical schools re-consider their curriculum content and…
Abstract
Purpose
The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and young people is increasing, leading to recommendations that medical schools re-consider their curriculum content and teaching practices for child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP). The purpose of this paper is to seek guidance for undergraduate curriculum development from the wider literature on CAP curriculum content and teaching practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted, focussing on studies that examined undergraduate teaching of CAP. In an attempt to establish whether there is an agreed level of curriculum content and teaching practices, literature from all over the world was included.
Findings
Findings suggest that curriculum content and teaching practices are varied, therefore it was difficult to identify best practice upon which recommendations can be made. In addition, despite previous calls for curriculum improvements and expansion of learning objectives, recent studies suggest that there has been little change.
Research limitations/implications
A common theme emerging was the importance of making the CAP curriculum relevant to all future doctors rather than only those who plan to specialise in CAP. Further research to determine what CAP knowledge, skills and attitudes non-psychiatrists think that medical students need to be taught is warranted.
Originality/value
This paper reviewed the literature on undergraduate CAP teaching, highlighting common themes from the wider literature on medical curriculum development to inform how CAP curricula content can be developed to equip future doctors.