The drive to eliminate losses leads to greater emphasis on risk‐control measures. Argues that risk management can be transformed through the use of behaviour‐based risk management…
Abstract
The drive to eliminate losses leads to greater emphasis on risk‐control measures. Argues that risk management can be transformed through the use of behaviour‐based risk management techniques.
Details
Keywords
THE AFTERMATH OF INDUSTRIAL RECESSION and a rapidly expanding university population are not the only reasons for the disturbingly high number of graduates joining Britain's dole…
Abstract
THE AFTERMATH OF INDUSTRIAL RECESSION and a rapidly expanding university population are not the only reasons for the disturbingly high number of graduates joining Britain's dole queues or taking menial jobs.
Outlines various criticisms of the corporate practice of having the same individual as chief executive officer and chairman of the board but recognizes that it may also have some…
Abstract
Outlines various criticisms of the corporate practice of having the same individual as chief executive officer and chairman of the board but recognizes that it may also have some benefits. Uses data from a sample of US firms bidding in takeovers from 1985‐1990 to explore the relationship between takeover gains and the existence of dual office holding, insider ownership and the proportion of independent directors. Finds that dual office holding does not reduce the bidders’ wealth, possibly because it is often associated with a high proportion of independent directors who are likely to control the dual office holder in the interests of shareholders.
Details
Keywords
John Overby, Mike Rayburn, Kevin Hammond and David C. Wyld
The war in Iraq, the threat of terrorism and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic have made international business activities increasingly difficult and risky…
Abstract
The war in Iraq, the threat of terrorism and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic have made international business activities increasingly difficult and risky. The worldwide economic downturn and slow growth in domestic markets are forcing companies to depend more than ever on overseas trade. SARS emerged in China in November 2002 and has spread to 26 countries. The SARS epidemic has caused the most severe economic crisis in Southeast Asia since the wave of bank failures and currency devaluations that swept the region five years ago. The SARS epidemic has prompted health officials to implement travel advisories and restrictions, in order to defer nonessential travel to regions of Asia with large numbers of SARS cases. They are enforcing quarantine and isolation measures in major cities to try and limit the spread of SARS. The President of the United States has signed an executive order adding SARS to the list of communicable diseases that can be quarantined. A major disruption in China could paralyze just‐in‐time supply chains and cause an economic crisis for retailers and other businesses worldwide. The SARS epidemic has caused many economists to drastically reduce their economic‐growth forecasts for Asia. New infectious diseases, such as SARS, can emerge and easily travel around the globe, infecting less‐resilient hosts and mutating because of the influence of viruses and bacteria in their new environment. Health officials are even more concerned about the pandemic disaster that hasn’t happened, but may still. However, the SARS epidemic has created positive economic benefits for some companies.
Details
Keywords
John E. Cresson, R. Mike Cudd and Tom J. Lipscomb
Notes the popularity of index funds with US investors, refers to research on fund performance compared with indexes and presents a study comparing daily returns of S&P 500 index…
Abstract
Notes the popularity of index funds with US investors, refers to research on fund performance compared with indexes and presents a study comparing daily returns of S&P 500 index funds with the index itself. Explains the methodology and presents the results, which show that the funds “fall well short” of tracking the index efficiently; although larger funds and/or those with longer term managers have a better tracking performance. Considers consistency with other research and the implications of the findings.
Details
Keywords
John Overby, Mike Rayburn, David C. Wyld and Kevin Hammond
Epidemiologists are concerned the next deadly global cognition will be a new kind of deadly flu which humans have no resistance. Since the 1960s, their alarm has been focused on a…
Abstract
Epidemiologists are concerned the next deadly global cognition will be a new kind of deadly flu which humans have no resistance. Since the 1960s, their alarm has been focused on a bird (avian) virus (H5N1). This virus is generally harmless in its host species, but it is extremely deadly when contracted by humans. H5N1 mutates quickly and tends to pick up genes from flu viruses that affect other species. The flu is far more contagious and harder to contain than the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus. It is projected that 30‐40 per cent of the population would be infected in a H5N1 flu pandemic, and as many as one‐third would die. The 1918 Spanish flu caused 20 to 50 million deaths world wide. One scientist observed that the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic could have caused civilisation to disappear within a few weeks. Currently, more than 50 million chickens have been slaughtered in eight Asian countries in efforts to curb the spread of avian influenza. This article examines the roots and dangers of the potential avian influenza pandemic, examining the business and social ramifications that could ensue if the worst case scenario occurs.
Details
Keywords
Hans W. Klar, Kristin Shawn Huggins, Frederick C. Buskey, Julie K. Desmangles and Robin J. Phelps-Ward
The ever-increasing pressure for school improvement has led to a related increase in research-practice partnerships (RPPs) that address problems of practice. Yet, little research…
Abstract
Purpose
The ever-increasing pressure for school improvement has led to a related increase in research-practice partnerships (RPPs) that address problems of practice. Yet, little research has centered on how the myriad challenges to such partnerships can be overcome, such as bridging the cultural divide between universities and their school-based partners. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine how social capital was developed among the members of a steering committee in a RPP between a university and a 12-district consortium of predominantly rural, high-poverty school districts to develop and implement a professional development initiative for rural school leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this phenomenological single case study were collected over a one-year period through participant observations, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with ten steering committee members. Data were inductively and deductively coded through multiple rounds of analysis, which drew on the structural and cognitive elements of social capital (Uphoff, 2000). Findings were triangulated and member checked for trustworthiness.
Findings
The analysis of the data revealed three key ways in which social capital was developed among members of the steering committee to overcome the cultural challenges of RPPs to develop and implement a professional development initiative for rural school leaders: providing an open but focused structure, ensuring inclusive and respectful discussion and negotiating roles and ideas.
Originality/value
The findings provide a fine-grained illustration of how intentional efforts to develop social capital among members in a co-design team can assist in bridging the cultural boundaries often encountered in RPPs.
Details
Keywords
What strides have been made to increase the participation of women in the work force? Should we be concerned particularly about women's place in our industries and organisations…
Abstract
What strides have been made to increase the participation of women in the work force? Should we be concerned particularly about women's place in our industries and organisations, and if so, what can be done to improve it? This article outlines the aims, approaches, achievements and future plans of a group which has been involved for the past seven years in promoting the development of women through training as a means of improving the position of women in employment.
This article analyzes a classroom project that integrated desktop documentary making with an educational foundations course in order to foster empathetic development in…
Abstract
This article analyzes a classroom project that integrated desktop documentary making with an educational foundations course in order to foster empathetic development in pre-service teachers toward unfamiliar cultural groups. The project required each tertiary student in the course to create a desktop documentary about the school experience of a cultural group with which they did not immediately identify with. The findings indicate that half of the students in this project displayed empathetic development with regard to their chosen topics, using their encounters with imagery and stories to link their world with that which was unfamiliar. Additionally, as a result of the compositional process, several students became advocates for their assigned cultural group, carrying this sentiment with them as they progressed to become teachers. Implications of this study, including possible approaches toward improving this project’s effectiveness in achieving its aims, are discussed.