Gordon J. Alexander, Jonathan D. Jones and Peter J. Nigro
The flow of cash funds from employer‐sponsored pension plans into mutual funds has been an important driving force behind the mutual fund industry's unprecedented recent growth…
Abstract
The flow of cash funds from employer‐sponsored pension plans into mutual funds has been an important driving force behind the mutual fund industry's unprecedented recent growth. The increased attractiveness of mutual funds to pension investors is due to a shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans, to changes in the tax laws, and to the growing recognition of certain types of mutual funds as suitable long‐term investment vehicles. Accompanying the tremendous growth in defined contribution plans, however, has been a shift in investment risk from employers to employees. Using the responses from a nationwide telephone survey of 2,000 mutual fund shareholders, this paper analyzes various characteristics and investment knowledge of purchasers of mutual funds through employer‐sponsored pension plans. The results show that overall, pension investors are as knowledgeable about the costs, risks, and returns associated with mutual funds as investors who purchase mutual funds through other distribution channels. However, when dividing the sample of pension‐plan investors into two subsamples consisting of those who purchase mutual funds solely through the pension channel and those also employing other distribution channels, pension‐channel‐only investors are found to be significantly less knowledgeable. These results suggest that there is much room for improvement in investor education for a large segment of pension‐channel investors.
This issue of Managerial Finance brings together five papers that explore the manifold dimensions of pension issues. The papers document and explain the dynamic changes occurring…
Abstract
This issue of Managerial Finance brings together five papers that explore the manifold dimensions of pension issues. The papers document and explain the dynamic changes occurring in the management and functioning of private pension plans within an evolving institutional and regulatory framework. Although the papers predominantly focus on the U.S. pension system, the issues addressed and the attendant implications are relevant to economies in the throes of developing or reforming pension security arrangements for market participants.
Creating a Bibliographic Workstation for Scientists and Engineers. A library workstation, in its simplest form, is a computer that provides access to bibliographic information…
Abstract
Creating a Bibliographic Workstation for Scientists and Engineers. A library workstation, in its simplest form, is a computer that provides access to bibliographic information transparently in spite of its myriad forms. The conceptual kernel of this workstation is, more or less, a machine designed by, and for the use of, librarians and their staff, obstensibly to care and feed a bibliographic database. Suppose we expand our ideas on this particular kind of computer in order to invent a special species that will meet the demands of a critical clientele, for specialized literature.
Jonathan Jones, Céline Souchay, Chris Moulin, Shirley Reynolds and Anna-Lynne Adlam
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for common mental health problems that affect children, young people and adults. The suitability of CBT for…
Abstract
Purpose
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for common mental health problems that affect children, young people and adults. The suitability of CBT for children has been questioned because it requires children to think about their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to investigate which cognitive and affective capacities predict children’s ability to relate thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 59 typically developing children aged between 8 and 11 years took part in the study. CBT skills were assessed on a story task that required children to relate the character’s thoughts to their feelings and behaviours. Children also completed an assessment of IQ, a feeling-of-knowing metamemory task that assessed metacognition, and a higher-order theory of mind task. Furthermore, parents rated their child’s empathy on the children’s empathy quotient.
Findings
The findings suggest that CBT is developmentally appropriate for 8–11 year old children; however, young children and children with mental health problems may have impaired metacognition and CBT skills. Metacognition and empathy may moderate the efficacy of child CBT and warrant further investigation in clinical trials.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence for the cognitive and affective skills that might predict the outcome of CBT in children. Metacognition and empathy predict children’s ability to relate thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and therefore may moderate the efficacy of CBT.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and…
Abstract
Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.
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Martin Barrett, Gareth J. Jones, Kyle S. Bunds, Jonathan M. Casper and Michael B. Edwards
Athletic departments play an important role in sustainability-based collaborative processes due to their boundary spanning connections with both internal and external university…
Abstract
Purpose
Athletic departments play an important role in sustainability-based collaborative processes due to their boundary spanning connections with both internal and external university stakeholders. As a result, athletic department representatives have become prominent members of university participant-governed network structures. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of dedicated “athletics green teams” as a unique form of control and coordination by considering how green team interactions support and augment the collaborative network of actors who are responsible for executing athletics sustainability practices on university campuses.
Design/methodology/approach
A sociocentric analysis is used to explore the network of a green team at a large American university. The analysis focuses on examining the size, composition and structure of relations involving green team members that facilitated various forms of information transmission and strategic action(s).
Findings
The results highlight how the presence of the athletic department in the green team provides heterophilous and multiplex relations across the collaborative network and how the green team itself provides a unique forum for planning and coordination, which is critical for providing more sophisticated, advanced structures for sustainability.
Practical implications
The findings of this study should reassure practitioners involved in convening green teams that such shared governance structures add value to athletics sustainability collaborative processes. In addition, subtle changes to the network governance structures has the potential to streamline the contribution of athletic departments to university sustainability initiatives and help project a more cohesive “Athletics” sustainability message that transmits across the collaborative network.
Originality/value
The outcomes of dedicated athletics green teams have been explored from a largely qualitative perspective. However, this study applies a novel relational approach to understand the shared governance value-added within a largely intra-organizational collaborative network.
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Stephanie von Hinke, Jonathan James, Emil Sorensen, Hans H. Sievertsen and Nicolai Vitt
This chapter shows the prevalence, trends and heterogeneity in maternal smoking around birth in the United Kingdom (UK), focussing on the war and post-war reconstruction period in…
Abstract
This chapter shows the prevalence, trends and heterogeneity in maternal smoking around birth in the United Kingdom (UK), focussing on the war and post-war reconstruction period in which there exists surprisingly little systematic data on (maternal) smoking behaviours. Within this context, the authors highlight relevant events, the release of new information about the harms of smoking and changes in (government) policy aimed at reducing smoking prevalence. The authors show stark changes in smoking prevalence over a 30-year period, highlight the onset of the social gradient in smoking as well as genetic heterogeneities in smoking trends.