Allison S. Gabriel, David F. Arena, Charles Calderwood, Joanna Tochman Campbell, Nitya Chawla, Emily S. Corwin, Maira E. Ezerins, Kristen P. Jones, Anthony C. Klotz, Jeffrey D. Larson, Angelica Leigh, Rebecca L. MacGowan, Christina M. Moran, Devalina Nag, Kristie M. Rogers, Christopher C. Rosen, Katina B. Sawyer, Kristen M. Shockley, Lauren S. Simon and Kate P. Zipay
Organizational researchers studying well-being – as well as organizations themselves – often place much of the burden on employees to manage and preserve their own well-being…
Abstract
Organizational researchers studying well-being – as well as organizations themselves – often place much of the burden on employees to manage and preserve their own well-being. Missing from this discussion is how – from a human resources management (HRM) perspective – organizations and managers can directly and positively shape the well-being of their employees. The authors use this review to paint a picture of what organizations could be like if they valued people holistically and embraced the full experience of employees’ lives to promote well-being at work. In so doing, the authors tackle five challenges that managers may have to help their employees navigate, but to date have received more limited empirical and theoretical attention from an HRM perspective: (1) recovery at work; (2) women’s health; (3) concealable stigmas; (4) caregiving; and (5) coping with socio-environmental jolts. In each section, the authors highlight how past research has treated managerial or organizational support on these topics, and pave the way for where research needs to advance from an HRM perspective. The authors conclude with ideas for tackling these issues methodologically and analytically, highlighting ways to recruit and support more vulnerable samples that are encapsulated within these topics, as well as analytic approaches to study employee experiences more holistically. In sum, this review represents a call for organizations to now – more than ever – build thriving organizations.
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Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas, Patricio Arévalo-Chávez and Jorge Guadalupe
The purpose of this paper is to establish the predictors of consumers’ annual monetary expenditures on clothing and footwear in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, a developing Latin…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the predictors of consumers’ annual monetary expenditures on clothing and footwear in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, a developing Latin American country.
Design/methodology/approach
The research followed an exploratory, sequential, mixed methods design. The first phase consisted of in-depth interviews with adult individuals. The second phase involved surveying a similar segment of the population.
Findings
The present study supports the importance of demographic and psychological factors as predictors. The study also identifies two new groups of predictors: consumers’ reception of used clothing and physical space at home and its management.
Practical implications
In addition to demographic variables, consumer panels that measure expenditures on clothing and footwear should include psychological measures of participants, particularly clothing involvement. Clothing manufacturers and retailers in developing countries should consider the impact of receiving used clothes by consumers. Because clothing buying and disposal behaviors are positively associated, companies should become more involved in their customers’ disposal behavior.
Originality/value
The contribution of the present study is twofold. First, it contributes to the understanding of clothing and footwear expenditures by considering the individual consumer as a unit of analysis. Furthermore, it provides insights into this behavior from a little-studied context.
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Aluminium nitride (AlN) is currently under investigation as a substrate material for use in microcircuit applications in particular where high thermal conductivity is required…
Abstract
Aluminium nitride (AlN) is currently under investigation as a substrate material for use in microcircuit applications in particular where high thermal conductivity is required. Three commercially available substrate materials have been characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The differences in thermal conductivity between the materials and also the difference from the theoretical thermal conductivity have been correlated to the presence of low thermal conductivity second phase regions between grains, defects within the crystal structure, the presence of oxygen impurities and poor sintering behaviour. The highest thermal conductivity substrate obtainable during this study was 140 W7m K. The substrates were identified as comprising hexagonal AIM having a wurtzite type structure. In addition, oxide and oxynitride phases were detected. The surface morphology of the substrates was also investigated, as it is the nature of the surface that will be of importance in determining the adhesion of applied films.
The accessories, footwear and hosiery industries have always been important complements to the apparel industry. While the demand for apparel has been studied fairly extensively…
Abstract
The accessories, footwear and hosiery industries have always been important complements to the apparel industry. While the demand for apparel has been studied fairly extensively, the demand for accessory items has been overlooked. To gain a better understanding of the demand for accessories, footwear, and hosiery, it is the purpose of this research to estimate expenditure equations for accessories, footwear and hosiery; and to profile the consumer characteristics of the purchasers and non‐purchasers of these items. An economic model of demand provides the theoretical framework. Expenditure equations are estimated using data from the 1990–91 Consumer Expenditure Survey. The results indicate that income, family size and education positively affect expenditures on accessories, footwear and hosiery while the results for age, occupation and region vary among the categories. The results have implications for producers and marketers of accessories, footwear and hosiery.
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This paper describes the fabrication of integral screen printed platinum resistance elements. A detailed description is given of the techniques of element manufacture and…
Abstract
This paper describes the fabrication of integral screen printed platinum resistance elements. A detailed description is given of the techniques of element manufacture and performance. The paper is finally illustrated by an example of sensor integration into a temperature critical subsystem. This example serves to demonstrate the potential manufacturing economies achieved by this approach.
Leif Erec Heimfarth and Oliver Musshoff
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which weather index‐based insurances can contribute to reducing shortfall risks of revenues of a representative average farm…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which weather index‐based insurances can contribute to reducing shortfall risks of revenues of a representative average farm that produces corn or wheat in the North China Plain (NCP). The geographical basis risk is quantified to analyze the spatial dependency of weather patterns between established weather stations in the area and locations where the local weather patterns are unknown.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are based on the Statistical Yearbook of China and the Chinese Meteorological Administration. Methods of insurance valuation are burn analysis and index value simulation. Risk reduction is measured non‐parametrically and parametrically by the change of the standard deviation and the value at risk of revenues. The geographical basis risk is quantified by setting up a decorrelation function.
Findings
Results suggest significant differences in the potential risk reduction between corn and wheat when using insurance based on a precipitation index. The spatial analysis suggests a potential to expand the insurance around a reference weather station up to community level.
Research limitations/implications
Findings are limited by a weak database in China and, in particular, by the unavailability of individual farm data. Moreover, the low density of weather stations currently limits the examination of the approach in a broader context.
Practical implications
The risk reduction potential of the proposed insurance is encouraging. From a policy point of view, the approach used here can support the adjustment of insurers towards different crops.
Originality/value
This paper is believed to be the first that investigates a weather index‐based insurance designed for an average farm in the NCP and the quantification of geographical basis risk.
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Shikha Agnihotri, Rekha Mewafarosh and Shivani Malhan
Purpose: The prominence of quality education for building sustainable development is undeniable and is distinctly pointed out in 1 of the 14 sustainable development goals (SDGs)…
Abstract
Purpose: The prominence of quality education for building sustainable development is undeniable and is distinctly pointed out in 1 of the 14 sustainable development goals (SDGs). In the same context, this study intends to investigate the role of university commitment, perceived organisational prestige, student satisfaction, and perceived employability in enhancing sustainability in higher education.
Need of the Study: To evaluate how student satisfaction mediates the relationship between university commitment, perceived organisational prestige, and perceived employability with sustainable university institutes.
Methodology: An adapted questionnaire was used in this study to capture the perception of 458 management graduates selected through the purposive sampling method. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyse the data with the help of Smart PLS software.
Findings: The results of this study show that student satisfaction is the strongest predictor of sustainable university institutes. University commitment was found to lead to student satisfaction significantly. Furthermore, student satisfaction wasn’t found to play the role of mediator in the proposed model.
Practical Implications: This study aims to fulfil theoretical, research, and management implications for students, higher education institutes (HEIs), and policymakers. HEIs are recommended to instil university commitment, perceived organisational prestige and student satisfaction via various practices and amendments in their curriculum. Students are recommended to enhance their perceived employability to achieve career sustainability.
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This chapter will explore how assessment might look in next generation learning spaces where we have the potential to merge physical and virtual activities. Students now have…
Abstract
This chapter will explore how assessment might look in next generation learning spaces where we have the potential to merge physical and virtual activities. Students now have ready access to a world of resources within their classroom and this fundamentally changes the nature of learning and assessment. The trend toward gamification of learning and assessment will be examined and the issue of assessment in new educational environments such as MOOCs will be explored. The impact of the semantic web (Web 3.0), where web objects and their context are all linked and objects have memory of how an individual student used them on previous occasions, will be discussed.
Next generation learning spaces encapsulate the affordances of both physical and virtual spaces and yet many assessment tasks are still designed as if students occupied only one of these spaces. Teachers will need to design more authentic, meaningful tasks that will engage students in using the full range of their capabilities and available resources, both physical and virtual. Students come together physically to engage in the social construction of their knowledge and can use the virtual spaces to broaden the social dimension of their learning environment.
Gamification of learning and assessment will require new approaches to defining tasks as teachers will need to decide how to incorporate diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment components within a more holistic educational environment. Game theory will be blended with learning theory in curriculum design and will result in the redesign of learning and assessment activities that are based on engagement (flow), user needs, and an evidence-centered design approach.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate weather risks facing Chinese farmers, and to determine whether farmers would have a preference for weather insurance over other types…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate weather risks facing Chinese farmers, and to determine whether farmers would have a preference for weather insurance over other types of agricultural insurance.
Design/methodology/approach
The data are based on 1,564 farm households surveyed in Shaanxi, Henan, and Gansu provinces in Central China between October 2007 and 2008.
Findings
Results suggest that the greater risk for farmers is drought followed by excessive rain. Heat is less critical as a risk but more significant than cool weather. Results suggest a strong interest in precipitation insurance with 50 and 44 percent of respondents indicating strong interest in the product. Supplementary results indicate that interest is equal between planting, cultivating, and harvesting. Furthermore, results suggest that farmers are willing to adopt new ideas, and where possible action has already been taken to self‐insure through diversification and other means.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on primary data gathered in China. However, the authors are limited in the access to Chinese weather station data to illustrate how weather insurance operates. Instead, the authors use weather data from the weather station in Ashland, Kansas which has similarities to the wheat growing regions of China. While the example is for illustrative purposes only, the authors cannot claim that it actually represents premiums that might actually be found in China.
Practical implications
The Chinese Government has within the past year authorized an investigation into agricultural insurance. The burst of research and applications of weather insurance in both developed and developing countries suggest that a wide array of applications could be feasible in China. The results are encouraging because they suggest that farmers in China would have an interest in purchasing weather insurance.
Originality/value
The authors believe that this is the first study conducted on weather insurance in China. The survey instrument is designed to specifically determine what weather risks are important to Chinese farmers and the interest that farmers would have in using such a product.
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Dan Li and Lucy Atkinson
This paper aims to examine the effect of psychological ownership on consumer happiness, which is mediated through basic psychological needs satisfaction.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effect of psychological ownership on consumer happiness, which is mediated through basic psychological needs satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by means of two online experiments. Study 1 tested and validated the hypotheses by examining post-consumption on a sample of 252 college students. Study 2 investigated the impact of psychological ownership in a pre-consumption scenario.
Findings
The results show that consumers feel happier when they have a higher psychological ownership over an item after consumption. Furthermore, consumers anticipate greater happiness from a product before consumption due to increased psychological ownership through customization. This effect is mediated by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.
Practical implications
The study will help marketers make their products or services as a better candidate for the target of psychological ownership through user experience design. Furthermore, the study encourages new business and marketing models, such as the sharing economy, that exploit the effect of psychological ownership.
Originality/value
The core contribution of this study is that it extends self-determination theory by distinguishing the effect of legal and psychological ownership on consumer happiness. It provides a better understanding of the psychological mechanism behind happiness.