The own versus lease decision is a surprisingly controversial topic. Although the issues driving the decision appear straightforward, they are interpreted differently, leading…
Abstract
The own versus lease decision is a surprisingly controversial topic. Although the issues driving the decision appear straightforward, they are interpreted differently, leading corporations to make opposite decisions in similar circumstances. Overall, however, the author’s experience is that the current trend is away from ownership. In the slower‐moving decades of the past, corporations chose to own their real estate to keep control of their place of work. These buildings were often constructed specifically for their use and were as much image statements as places of work. Today, the pendulum of popular opinion has swung to the other extreme. In an era where asset metrics such as EVA (Economic Value Add) and ROA (Return on Assets) are in vogue, it is no longer acceptable for corporations to invest funds in capital‐intensive assets that are not central to the company’s business. Under the banner of flexibility and better asset utilisation, many companies have adopted a ‘lease only’ policy and refuse to own any building, even their corporate headquarters. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Although easy to follow and implement, simple rules such as ‘own everything’ or ‘lease everything’ don’t work. Each decision needs to be assessed against a number of criteria which determine the relative advantages of leasing or owning in a given situation. It is an environment in which many myths have emerged. The following paper outlines many of the issues involved in own v lease decisions and reviews some of these myths. By providing a framework for making the decision, it asserts that, as with most major business decisions, there is no getting away from the need for an intelligent analyst.
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Stephen D. Unwin, Barbara A. Fecht and Theresa M. Bergsman
The purpose of this paper is to establish novel business metrics of laboratory space utilization for a large, multi‐client R&D organization and to describe their use in space…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish novel business metrics of laboratory space utilization for a large, multi‐client R&D organization and to describe their use in space planning to meet strategic objectives. The paper aims to show that traditional methods for measuring and managing laboratory space utilization are impractical in a dynamic environment where there are frequent and significant changes in the use of the space.
Design/methodology/approach
The integration of disparate databases – financial, facilities management, and project R&D – enables financial performance data to be explicitly resolved to individual laboratory resources. In turn, this allows determination of the efficiency with which laboratory space is being utilized in meeting the organization's financial and strategic objectives.
Findings
Unique and actionable insights were generated in applying the methodology. It provided bases for the identification of both over‐ and under‐utilized laboratory spaces, as well as the means of assessing the efficacy with which space assets are being used in achieving the organization's strategic missions.
Practical implications
This departure from more conventional concepts of occupancy‐based metrics of space utilization treats R&D laboratory space explicitly as a business resource.
Originality/value
The emerging business‐based metrics of lab space utilization are proving to be increasingly valuable tools in both short‐term and strategic space planning.
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Michal Golan and Rivka Reichenberg
The MOFET Institution, which began under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, is Israel’s national center for research and professional development on teacher education. It…
Abstract
The MOFET Institution, which began under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, is Israel’s national center for research and professional development on teacher education. It consists of three communities: (1) the Writing Channel; (2) the Study Channel; and (3) the Research Channel. MOFET additionally has an Academic Committee that assists the aforementioned communities in their deliberations if needed. Although the MOFET Institute deals with multiple and sometimes conflicting agendas (i.e., Ministry of Education, participating teacher education colleges, the institute’s own goals), it remains one of the most unique and powerful ways to nationally address teacher education research and dissemination and the development of teacher educators in the world.
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This paper argues that the revolution in intellectual property rights is not forward-looking, but backward looking, and that it is not consonant with the purposes of the patent…
Abstract
This paper argues that the revolution in intellectual property rights is not forward-looking, but backward looking, and that it is not consonant with the purposes of the patent and copyright clause. It is animated by the theory of common law copyright, which deliberately reconceptualizes social relations in order to recast them as property, and which has been with us for centuries. This paper investigates the “mythology of common law copyright,” showing how this reconceptualization has worked both historically and in the present day to push the law in a direction that is ostensibly author-centered, but is actually focused on the rights of intermediaries.
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The aim of this paper is to present conclusions from a series of studies on the introduction of new learning technologies at the College of Judea and Samaria, Israel, including…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present conclusions from a series of studies on the introduction of new learning technologies at the College of Judea and Samaria, Israel, including course websites and a computerized marking system.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper summarizes four distinct empirical studies based on annual student surveys, questionnaires developed specifically for the study and the College exam database. The first series of three studies was designed to examine usage rates and students' evaluations of effectiveness of website courses, in three concentric circles in the College: on the institutional, faculty and departmental level. The fourth study tracked an institutional initiative towards enhanced quality of instruction, by comparing College‐wide data on students' ratings and grades for courses whose instructors implemented and used a computerized grading system for multiple‐choice on‐line exams.
Findings
Studies show that academic e‐learning in Israel has focused on quantity rather than quality; and on superficial technological adoption rather than conceptual pedagogical change process.
Practical implications
Institutions wishing to encourage the introduction of innovative learning aids and technologies must develop the necessary conditions that ensure that technology adoption serves rather than dominates pedagogy.
Originality/value
This paper discusses the reasons for a focus on quantity rather than quality, and on superficial technological adoption rather than the introduction of a conceptual pedagogical change process, in Israeli higher education's approach to online learning. Empirical findings highlight the need to introduce technological innovations that are grounded in and develop from a sound pedagogical base.
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Cecilia Díaz-Méndez and Cristobal Gómez-Benito
In this chapter the aim is to analyse the way the relationship between health and food has been changing at the same time as Spanish society itself. From the beginnings of the…
Abstract
In this chapter the aim is to analyse the way the relationship between health and food has been changing at the same time as Spanish society itself. From the beginnings of the consumer society until the present day the modernization process has made its imprint on the guidelines public bodies have issued to the public on caring for their health and diet. Beginning in the 1960s with a welfare idea of a healthy diet, very typical of the decade, and meant for a population with nutritional problems, today we have guidelines for an overfed population. The social trends dominant in each historical moment are shown throughout this transformation process and the dietary recommendations have been part of the social change. However, the perceptions of the administration itself on what constitutes a healthy diet have also made their mark on the criteria. The modernizing nature of the paternalistic administration of the 1960s can be easily seen in contrast with the public bodies of the 1980s competing with the messages from the food and agricultural businesses. As the 20th century drew to a close, dietary advice was in keeping with a background dominated by considerations on the nature of social change and in which both public bodies and citizens trusted in the truths of science as a reference point for correct action. At the beginning of the 21st century, reflexivity and questioning of scientific power appear and also an increase in public preoccupation with food risks. Each stage is analysed relating historical background and dietary recommendations.
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This article presents the results of a 15-year longitudinal study of the major educational peacebuilding initiatives in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, during…
Abstract
This article presents the results of a 15-year longitudinal study of the major educational peacebuilding initiatives in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, during times of relative peace and of acute violence (1993–2008). Using longitudinal field research data and surveys, it examines how peace initiatives, that work across conflict lines, adapt to hostile and unfavorable environments. Additionally, it investigates the criteria that allows some peacebuilding initiatives to survive and persist, when the large majority do not. Building on the organizational and social movement studies literature, I contend that organizations need to successfully attend to a variety of challenges such as maintaining resources, maintaining legitimacy, managing internal conflict, and maintaining commitment to have a significant chance for survival. Moreover, I argue that for organizations committed to working across difference and inequality in unfavorable and hostile conflict environments, it is critical for organizational effectiveness and survival to pay heed to the quality of the cross-conflict relationships, as well as, to matters of equality.
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This paper aims to examine the regional dynamics that further consolidated Israel’s national security in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, reflecting upon the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the regional dynamics that further consolidated Israel’s national security in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, reflecting upon the nuclear challenge between Iran and Israel and Iran's expanding activities in the region.
Design/methodology/approach
To prove the central argument, the study uses a conceptual framework that centers on deterrence as the main approach used by states to consolidate their influence in the Middle East region.
Findings
Iran's nuclear progress and influence in the region has strengthened Israel’s security and fostered an unprecedented open rapprochement led by USA efforts with the Gulf regimes.
Originality/value
The paper draws particular attention to the Iran–Israel nuclear competency, and the Israeli preferred policy options regarding Iranian activities in the region amid turbulent Middle East. In addition, the paper offers insight to the regional dynamics that further consolidated Israel’s national security in the region while maintaining a status of Arab vulnerability and backwardness.
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Michael Prelip, Chan Le Thai, Jennifer Toller Erausquin and Wendy Slusser
The purpose of this research is to test a comprehensive nutrition program developed specifically to target low‐income parents of young school‐aged children and determine whether…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to test a comprehensive nutrition program developed specifically to target low‐income parents of young school‐aged children and determine whether the programme‐resulted in changes in parents' knowledge, attitude, self‐confidence, and behaviours related to both their and their child's nutrition in relation to fruit and vegetable intake.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a quasi‐experimental pre‐test/post‐test design in which parent centers were selected to participate as either intervention or control sites. The primary method of data collection was self‐administered questionnaires.
Findings
The results show significant positive changes in parent knowledge, food behaviors, and home environment. No changes were observed in parents' attitudes; however, parent attitudes were high at baseline.
Practical implications
This work reinforces the importance of developing well designed interventions that specifically target the intended audience and intended outcomes.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies that have examined the potential and value of nutrition‐focused intervention targeting low‐income and predominantly Hispanic populations with the potential goal of impacting children.
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Andrea Insch and Magdalena Florek
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and types of country associations on product labels and packages across a range of grocery product categories.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and types of country associations on product labels and packages across a range of grocery product categories.
Design/methodology/approach
An audit of New Zealand and Australian country associations as they appeared on products in 26 categories was conducted in a major New Zealand supermarket outlet.
Findings
The results of the content analysis of 788 brands revealed that the majority featured at least one country of origin (COO) association and indicated that they were either “made in” New Zealand or Australia.
Research limitations/implications
Even though the findings are potentially restricted to the New Zealand context, this paper provides evidence of the prevalence of common and distinctive country associations across a diverse range of product categories. This suggests that these associations are still relevant to grocery manufacturers and supermarket retailers as a way of positioning their branded products.
Practical implications
The findings offer supermarket retailer buyers and regulatory agencies insight into the use of COO associations from the perspective of FMCG manufacturers. In addition, the findings provide FMCG manufacturers with an indication of the prevalence of different country associations in the categories that they compete.
Originality/value
In spite of debate about the costs and benefits of COO labelling and place references on grocery product packaging, little is known about how these associations are actually used by FMCG manufacturers. This paper addresses this question by auditing brands on the supermarket shelf.