Mike Fletcher, Paul Gallimore and Jean Mangan
This paper is concerned as to whether it is more appropriate to use aggregate or disaggregate models in forecasting house prices using hedonic modelling. It is accepted that the…
Abstract
This paper is concerned as to whether it is more appropriate to use aggregate or disaggregate models in forecasting house prices using hedonic modelling. It is accepted that the implicit pricing of some of the attributes is not stable between locations, property types and ages but it is argued that this can be effectively modelled with an aggregate method. The models are developed using a dataset of nearly 18,000 transactions in the UK Midlands region in 1994. The comparative performance of these models is then considered using two approaches. Chow tests of the error differences between actual price and the price predicted by the models suggest that the submarket models lead to statistically significant, though small, improvements. A second approach, using comparison of the root mean square errors, is conducted on the models’ forecasts for a 10 per cent sample of nearly 2,000 transactions excluded from the modelling process. This shows little practical difference in the forecasting ability between the two approaches. Great care needs to be taken over sample size if a disaggregate model is used.
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Mike Fletcher, Jean Mangan and Emily Raeburn
In published work on hedonic house price estimation it is not uncommon to examine some of the conditions required for the estimators to have desirable properties such as minimum…
Abstract
In published work on hedonic house price estimation it is not uncommon to examine some of the conditions required for the estimators to have desirable properties such as minimum variance and unbiasedness, in particular spatial autocorrelation. However, other conditions that can give rise to similar difficulties with the estimates are often ignored. If these technical conditions are not met, it is sometimes because the model is misspecified in some way. This paper argues that a wider range of diagnostic statistics should be used in the specification search for a good model, in particular, but not exclusively, those concerned with predictive stability. The paper illustrates this approach by examining both in‐sample and out‐of‐sample diagnostic tests of various specifications of a hedonic house price model using data taken from the sale of over 1,600 properties in the Midlands of the UK in 1999/2000. The models investigated include various specifications of the dependent and independent variables, including models that are non‐linear in the parameters. The paper concludes that such statistics can often help in model selection and should be more widely employed.
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Danuta A. Nitecki and Eileen G. Abels
What influence do funders have on advances in librarianship? The idea to devote this 31st volume of Advances in Librarianship to this question arose from a conversation between…
Abstract
What influence do funders have on advances in librarianship? The idea to devote this 31st volume of Advances in Librarianship to this question arose from a conversation between the co-editors during which they wondered if the library and information science (LIS) professions were influenced in similar ways as other disciplines reportedly are by the agencies and foundations that fund research in their fields. The notion of the influence of funding is not new. Mangan (1999) notes that the focus of the American Association of University Professors’ meeting held in May 1999 was on the influence of corporate funding on medical academic research. The increase in corporate funding is due at least in part to a decline in government funding, the author notes that often with this type of funding, “the sponsors decide what will be studied, how the research will be conducted, and how and whether the findings will be published” (p. 14). Approaching the same notion from a different perspective, Goldfarb (2008) tracked the academic output of 221 academic researchers who had received funding from the NASA aerospace engineering program in 1981 in order to explore whether research with specific usable outcomes has a negative impact on scholarly publication. Overall the findings of this study support previous studies that concluded that academic research efforts in the United States are responsive to social and technological needs. Further, Goldfarb notes that commercial outputs of research, such as those that result in NASA type studies, complement academic output.
Edward J. Fuller and Lindsey Schrott
Policymakers have focused on improving STEM outcomes for US high school students for over 50 years. Much of this focus has centered on improving the quality of STEM teachers…
Abstract
Policymakers have focused on improving STEM outcomes for US high school students for over 50 years. Much of this focus has centered on improving the quality of STEM teachers, particularly in poor and minority schools. Few, if any, of these efforts have considered the importance of the content knowledge of those providing instructional leadership in schools – namely, principals and assistant principals. This chapter examines the percentage of school leaders with teacher certification in mathematics or science and the degree to which teacher and school leader turnover interrupts the leadership–teacher relationships. The study concludes relatively few school leaders have the content knowledge to provide deep instructional leadership. Moreover, the study finds combined teacher and school leader turnover greatly diminishes the sustained relationships between instructional leaders and teachers, particularly in lower-performing schools.
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This paper has the objective of making the case for the development of sports education as a critical element in the growth of sports tourism in the Caribbean.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper has the objective of making the case for the development of sports education as a critical element in the growth of sports tourism in the Caribbean.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews some of the key definitions offered in the literature for sports, tourism, sports tourism and sports education. It then discusses the status of sports tourism in the Caribbean, using the CWC 2007 event as the main focus. The paper then proposes a template of a sports education curriculum for adoption in the Caribbean region.
Findings
Both the strengths and weaknesses of the sports tourism infrastructure in the Caribbean are reported in this paper. While the Caribbean possesses viable resources for tourism, as well as a strong foundation in sport, the institutional arrangements and formulae for developing sports tourism are either lacking or weak.
Research limitations/implications
A substantial body of writing and research has focused upon the tourism product of the Caribbean. However, there has been comparatively little attention directed towards the theoretical, policy and operational issues related to Caribbean sports tourism. This research lacuna creates a vacuum of intellectual support and guidance for tourism scholars, tourism and sport administrators.
Practical implications
The author sees a direct route from this paper to the offices of tourism, sport and tertiary education administrators in the Caribbean. The paper proposes a workable model aimed at creating a greater synergy between sport and tourism in the Caribbean.
Originality/value
Tourism departments, directorates of sport, and institutions of tertiary education should derive benefit from the proposal and introduction of this novel construct in sports education and training.
Makiba J. Foster and Meredith R. Evans
Throughout history various social movements have galvanized the masses to actualize a more inclusive and humane world. It is through libraries and archives that the authors can…
Abstract
Purpose
Throughout history various social movements have galvanized the masses to actualize a more inclusive and humane world. It is through libraries and archives that the authors can revisit those moments in time to better understand the past and hopefully build a better future. Issues of sustainability within libraries and archives collecting traditional materials from important historical events still create somewhat of a challenge, but with advancements of technologies and workflows, the authors are now better equipped to manage and preserve those items. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
However, in terms of the historical importance of the content from recent protests against police violence, the question arises of how does one create sustainable processes on materials that are captured on temporal technologies or how does an institution create trust where protesters and activists will freely place their content in a digital archive?
Findings
Washington University in St Louis Libraries’ project Documenting Ferguson, is attempting to tackle some of those challenging questions and working through the implications of a non-traditional social movement’s impact on archival collection building and future research, teaching, and learning. Both authors served on the steering committee as employees of Washington University Libraries upon project inception.
Originality/value
Rapid response collecting with the intent to preserve and make accessible relevant born digital content for future generations and to develop unlikely relationships with neighboring community to ensure history is documented from multiple view points.
Lars-Göran Aidemark, Stefano Baraldi, Elin K. Funck and Andreas Jansson
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of balanced scorecard (BSC) in Swedish emergency hospitals, that is, to describe its prevalence and its use in…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of balanced scorecard (BSC) in Swedish emergency hospitals, that is, to describe its prevalence and its use in these hospitals.
Methodology/approach – The study is based on a questionnaire administered to financial managers in all of Sweden's emergency hospitals. The questionnaire investigates the prevalence of the BSC, the reasons for its implementation, and how BSC is used.
Findings – The study shows that 65% of Swedish emergency hospitals use the BSC. The use of the BSC was motivated by a need to make strategy clear and to obtain a more comprehensive view of organizational performance. BSC is used mainly for measurements connected to the organizations' strategy and to create goal congruence. Performance monitoring is only of secondary importance, even though emergency hospitals with more than five years' experience with the BSC tend to use it for that purpose. The BSC is almost never used in the hospitals' reward systems.
Research implications – The findings suggest that BSC in hospitals is mainly important for implementing strategy and stimulating strategy discussions that create goal congruence. Performance monitoring is only of secondary importance, but becomes increasingly important for seasoned BSC users.
Originality/value of paper – Few studies have surveyed the importance of BSC in healthcare organizations. By pointing out the importance of BSC in Swedish healthcare, this paper calls for similar studies in other healthcare contexts.