Ian H. Rowlands, Paul Parker and Daniel Scott
This study examines the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of the environmental impact of different energy resources and consumers’ stated willingness‐to‐pay a premium…
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of the environmental impact of different energy resources and consumers’ stated willingness‐to‐pay a premium for “green power” (electricity generated by more environmentally‐friendly means). Those developing green power products can choose to include any number of energy resources in their offerings. Given this, information about potential purchasers’ preferences is extremely valuable. To investigate this further, a total of 480 residents of Waterloo Region, a community in southern Ontario (Canada), were surveyed. The aforementioned relationship was investigated using chi‐square tests and analysis of variance procedures. Significant differences between those who stated a willingness to pay a large premium for green power and those who stated a willingness to pay only a small (or no) premium for green power were found for three of 11 energy resources investigated – namely, nuclear power, large‐scale hydropower and natural gas. Therefore, these energy resources are not as popular among the most environmentally‐mobilized section of the consumer market as general surveys would suggest. A variety of managerial implications are drawn from the results. Future directions for research are also offered.
Details
Keywords
This paper shows that the measure of diffusion introduced by Ian Rowlands called the journal diffusion factor (JDF) is highly negatively correlated with the number of citations…
Abstract
This paper shows that the measure of diffusion introduced by Ian Rowlands called the journal diffusion factor (JDF) is highly negatively correlated with the number of citations, leading highly cited journals to get a low JDF, whereas less cited journals get a high JDF. This property reduces the utility of the JDF as a tool for evaluation of research influence. The paper presents a new definition of the JDF in order to attempt to improve it. This new JDF corrects the strong correlation with the number cited, but has a strongly statistically positive correlation with journal impact factors (JIF). However, the new JDF may still be used as an evaluation tool since, for journals with similar JIF values, the new JDF can be used to differentiate between them. Thereby, journal evaluation will be based on more than one aspect of journal influence when assessing journal influence with similar journal impact factor values.
Details
Keywords
Commentators in the library and information profession habitually voice concern about the perceived lack of a coherent and integrated set of ‘national information policies’ in the…
Abstract
Commentators in the library and information profession habitually voice concern about the perceived lack of a coherent and integrated set of ‘national information policies’ in the UK. These concerns are worthy but ultimately misplaced. The real problem is not our inability to come up with a nice neat package of the ‘right policies’, but our failure to think critically about the value systems that shape our perception of information policy problems in the first place. This article contributes to this new agenda by developing a concept mapping of the Field of information policy, based on term co‐occurrence data. This leads to a broader discussion about the values — rather than the specific laws and regulations — that underpin our conceptions of information policy.
Farhan Rahman, Ian Rowlands and Olaf Weber
It is becoming increasingly clear that as the pressures of climate change increase around the world, all nations must strive to lower their carbon footprint through conservation…
Abstract
Purpose
It is becoming increasingly clear that as the pressures of climate change increase around the world, all nations must strive to lower their carbon footprint through conservation. If the growth trend of green building and infrastructure construction is to be continued and improved upon, then evidence must be collected as to the benefits they bring about, and the level of support they enjoy in the market. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the economic performance of green buildings by evaluating whether LEED for Homes and BOMA-BEST properties capture higher market valuations and lower vacancy rates. These types of research questions have not been investigated to a great deal in the Canadian context. The primary analysis concerning municipal market valuation of green buildings was conducted using robust ordinary least squares and logistic regression models. Commercial vacancy rates were compared through the use of χ2 tests. Our analysis did not lead to conclusive evidence that there exists a “green” premium in the real estate market with respect to municipal market valuations. The authors argue that this may largely be due to municipal appraisal methods that currently do not incorporate sustainability factors. As such, they may not adequately reflect market tastes and trends. Furthermore, while the vacancy rates of green commercial buildings were, on the whole, lower than their non-green counterparts, the differences were not statistically significant. Given these results, the authors propose a set of research activities that the academic community should pursue.
Design/methodology/approach
Statistical techniques are utilized test whether green certification (LEED/BOMA-BEST) leads to higher municipal valuation for both commercial and residential green properties, using regression analysis. Furthermore, χ2 tests are conducted to evaluate whether certification leads to lower vacancy rates for commercial properties.
Findings
In terms of valuation, certification does not exert (on average) a positive role in terms of higher valuations for both commercial and residential properties. However, with respect to vacancy rates, there is a tendency towards lower vacancy rates for green properties, but the relationship is not statistically significant.
Research limitations/implications
The next set of research needs to gather greater amount of data with respect to how municipal evaluations are performed since the results are counter-intuitive. Greater tracking of the financial performance of green buildings should be conducted and made available for both public and private bodies. Particularly, rental and sale prices of green buildings need to be tracked in an organized manner.
Practical implications
The valuation techniques utilized by the municipal authorities need revision as green properties are being assessed without appropriate guidance from educational institutions. Furthermore, the limited amount of “green” valuation techniques in existence may not be applied.
Originality/value
This is the first Canadian-based research looking into the valuation of green certification using rigorous quantitative statistical techniques and original and publicly available data. Furthermore, it holds important lessons for municipal authorities with respect to green building valuation beyond Canada as the limitations of current practice go mostly likely beyond the North American context.
Details
Keywords
Anna Saiti, Ian Abbott and David Middlewood
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and assess the role played by university governance in the effectiveness and efficiency of the higher education system through…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and assess the role played by university governance in the effectiveness and efficiency of the higher education system through literature analysis and the management evaluation method of Organization and Methods (the O and M technique) and argue for a more radical change in, and greater scrutiny of, university governance so as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of university operations and thus yield a more optimal satisfaction of social needs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs the O and M technique in order to investigate and assess the role played by university governance in the effectiveness and efficiency of the higher education system.
Findings
The “objective” is education and knowledge and there is no room for experimentation in the system. The higher education sector does not need experiments to develop further. Rather, it deserves cautious, creative and innovative consideration and needs a very distinctive treatment of national problems. No matter the policy orientation of the system, higher education policy makers should not forget that higher education has a tremendous influence on peoples’ attitudes and beliefs so the focus should be on the actual knowledge on social responsibility and on the commitment of higher education to serve social interests and needs.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis developed in this study would benefit from a deeper exploration by investigating more numerous and diverse examples from the international arena of higher education.
Originality/value
This study acts as a complement to previous research on higher education governance since it develops further the analysis and the understanding of university governance. By using as examples two countries with different orientation in their higher education system (mainly due to differences in cultural and ideological perceptions) and keeping in mind that there is no ideal model for university governance, this study could enlighten decision makers in any country to develop a more effective and constructive model of university governance that would serve societal interests more effectively.
Details
Keywords
Peter Williams, Iain Stevenson, David Nicholas, Anthony Watkinson and Ian Rowlands
The purpose of this paper is to report on a project undertaken at University College London (UCL) examining the role and value of the academic monograph – considering continuing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a project undertaken at University College London (UCL) examining the role and value of the academic monograph – considering continuing decline in sales and usage – and its possible survival in the digital age.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was adopted, in which 17 arts and humanities academics were interviewed in‐depth on their experiences and views.
Findings
The monograph continues to be of great value in the arts and humanities field, and is seen as essential for career progression. Much concern was expressed about the decline in quality of this and other forms of writing, with pressures of the university Research Assessment Exercise foremost in contributing to this decline. Reservations were expressed about moving towards digital versions of the monograph, although print‐on‐demand was considered to be a viable option to enable the continuing publication of specialist works.
Originality/value
This is the first in‐depth study of the role, value and future of the monograph from the viewpoint of the scholar, and so gives a unique insight into the scholarly communication behaviour of arts and humanities researchers.
Details
Keywords
SEPTEMBER is the month when, Summer being irrevocably over, our minds turn to library activities for the winter. At the time of writing the international situation is however so…
Abstract
SEPTEMBER is the month when, Summer being irrevocably over, our minds turn to library activities for the winter. At the time of writing the international situation is however so uncertain that few have the power to concentrate on schemes or on any work other than that of the moment. There is an immediate placidity which may be deceptive, and this is superficial even so far as libraries are concerned. In almost every town members of library staffs are pledged to the hilt to various forms of national service—A.R.P. being the main occupation of senior men and Territorial and other military services occupying the younger. We know of librarians who have been ear‐marked as food‐controllers, fuel controllers, zone controllers of communication centres and one, grimly enough, is to be registrar of civilian deaths. Then every town is doing something to preserve its library treasures, we hope. In this connexion the valuable little ninepenny pamphlet issued by the British Museum on libraries and museums in war should be studied. In most libraries the destruction of the stock would not be disastrous in any extreme way. We do not deny that it would be rather costly in labour and time to build it up again. There would, however, be great loss if all the Local Collections were to disappear and if the accession books and catalogues were destroyed.
In a recent issue of the Municipal Journal there appeared a short but apparently inspired article on the subject of London Government, in which is foreshadowed another drastic and…
Abstract
In a recent issue of the Municipal Journal there appeared a short but apparently inspired article on the subject of London Government, in which is foreshadowed another drastic and apparently imminent alteration of the system of local administration at present in operation in the Metropolis.
This paper introduces a new bibliometric tool, the journal diffusion factor. An argument is presented that the bibliometric indicators commonly used to measure the quality of…
Abstract
This paper introduces a new bibliometric tool, the journal diffusion factor. An argument is presented that the bibliometric indicators commonly used to measure the quality of research (journal impact factor, immediacy index and cited half‐life) offer little insight into the transdisciplinary reception (thus the wider influence) of journals. The journal diffusion factor describes a neglected dynamic of citation reception and is intended as a complementary partial indicator for research evaluation purposes, to be read alongside existing well‐established indicators.
Details
Keywords
Adrienne Muir and Charles Oppenheim
The purpose of this paper is to examine Nick Moore’s information policy matrix and how it has been used by Moore and others.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Nick Moore’s information policy matrix and how it has been used by Moore and others.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involved secondary search and a bibliographic study of the impact Moore’s work has had on other authors.
Findings
It is clear that there have been two quite separate trains of research in information policy, one in the USA and one in Europe, and that it appears from the literature that there is limited awareness of each other’s work. Focusing on the UK and European research, the papers the authors inspected that report information policy analyses make no mention of Moore’s work. It could be argued that Moore’s matrix is too simplistic for such a complex topic as information policy, but it may also be the case that there is a lack of awareness of how the matrix can be used in policy analysis as Moore’s published papers were general descriptions of the matrix, reported the findings of his analyses or suggested policy goals. Moore did not publish theoretical or methodological papers to explain how to go about policy analysis using his matrix.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on secondary research and bibliographic analysis. Furthermore, primary research could have revealed deeper insights into use and impact of Moore’s framework by analysts and policy makers.
Originality/value
The paper highlights potential opportunities for international collaboration on information policy research, to explore more deeply theoretical models that could be used to underpin policy analysis as well as the potential value of Moore’s matrix.