This paper is concerned with the problem of estimating the uncertainty associated with a variable in a finite population. The study of this problem leads to the following…
Abstract
This paper is concerned with the problem of estimating the uncertainty associated with a variable in a finite population. The study of this problem leads to the following conclusion: The classical measure of uncertainty, Shannon's entropy, is not suitable for sampling from finite populations; nevertheless, by using the entropy of order ? = 2, proposed by Havrda and Charvat, one can define an unbiased estimator of the uncertainty associated with the variable in both, the sampling with replacement and the sampling without replacement. This conclusion will be illustrated by an example.
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In most European countries there is a range of quality control system mechanisms, however, poor quality and institutional violence can be found in the residential sector. Taking…
Abstract
Purpose
In most European countries there is a range of quality control system mechanisms, however, poor quality and institutional violence can be found in the residential sector. Taking Portugal as an example of a country that uses an inspection-only approach, this paper focuses on the monitoring system for controlling the quality of care in nursing homes. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how mistreatment of older people is identified and dealt with by the national social security services. In particular it looks at what the indicators are with which to assess poor quality care and mistreatment (how it is perceived and defined), which factors affect mistreatment of older people and intervention outputs (i.e. what are the sanctions to prevent and combat this).
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory approach was based on a mixed method, using a database of 3,685 complaints reported to the social security inspection services. To understand the context of the complaints and the assessment of institutional violence, focus groups were carried out with inspectors from the National Inspection Service.
Findings
The focus groups identified severe situations of poor care, mistreatment of older people and loss of human rights and dignity. Some indicators were found in key areas of care and the factors associated with this were based on Kamavarapu’s typology (2017): physical conditions of facilities; closed organisational models; difficult working conditions; and perceived concerns of residents. Monitoring and inspection systems are still based on minimum standards focusing on structural and process quality, devoting little attention to the human rights situation of older persons and clinical issues.
Research limitations/implications
The number of participants in the focus groups was limited in size but the uniqueness of this exploratory method draws a dark picture of non-licensed nursing homes in Portugal.
Originality/value
An exploratory analysis was useful to identify institutional violence and discuss potential implications, in terms of effectiveness of quality care control, which calls for special attention by policy makers and researchers when monitoring the human rights of older persons.
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In a previous paper the minimum inaccuracy principle was suggested as an operative method for estimating population parameters when the available experimental information could…
Abstract
In a previous paper the minimum inaccuracy principle was suggested as an operative method for estimating population parameters when the available experimental information could not be perceived as an exact outcome, but rather as fuzzy information. This principle is an extension of the maximum likelihood principle of estimating from exact experimental data. In this paper, the particularization of the first method to the case in which each fuzzy information reduces to a class of extact observations is developed. We then analyze certain correspondence between the maximum likelihood and minimum inaccuracy principles in estimating parameters after grouping data. In addition, we prove that the second method approximates to the first one when a certain natural grouping, or choice of classes, is accomplished. Finally, in order to illustrate the preceding results, some relevant particular cases are examined.
Seobgyu Song, Seunghyun “Brian” Park and Kwangsoo Park
This study assessed the effect of photo themes to facilitate social media user engagement in Facebook brand pages and emphasized the important role of designing images for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study assessed the effect of photo themes to facilitate social media user engagement in Facebook brand pages and emphasized the important role of designing images for developing destination marketing strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzed 8,900 posts that were published by official tourism destination marketers for each destination (Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea). Text mining analysis, image thematic coding analysis and two-way ANOVA were applied to examine the significant differences across proposed determinants for the following engagements: the numbers of likes, comments and shares.
Findings
The results indicated that photographs on social media of three tourism destinations can be explored based on 11 categories of image themes. The themes' significant and distinct effects on three indicators of social media engagement were verified.
Originality/value
This research presented methodological insights by integrating thematic and statistical analyses with social media analytics. The findings of this study provided theoretical evidence of the importance of image themes in the context of social media engagement marketing. Based on the implications of this study, practitioners would enhance the effectiveness of social media marketing.
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P.L. Joshi and Jawaher Al‐Modhahki
In this paper, we examine the factors that are likely to explain the use of the internet as a vehicle for voluntary financial reporting by companies in Bahrain and Kuwait. A total…
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the factors that are likely to explain the use of the internet as a vehicle for voluntary financial reporting by companies in Bahrain and Kuwait. A total of 75 companies (Kuwait 42 and Bahrain 33) were investigated to find out if they had websites and presented their financial statements on the internet. For Kuwait, 47.6% and for Bahrain 48.5% of sample companies had their own websites. Six variables were tested to examine their influence on the financial reporting by companies on the internet. A discriminant analysis was performed on the data and the results indicated that size (log of total assets) and industry were the main factors which influenced the financial reporting practices of companies on the internet. These results are in line with prior evidence. There is some indication that risk may also contribute to some extent in such decision. Perceptions of advantages and problems in using this new technology for financial reporting were also examined. It appears that the usage of this technology is still limited and slow in this part of the world, perhaps because of cultural dimensions and constraints.
Deepti Bhatt, Apurvakumar Pandya, Vibha Salaliya, Ajay Chauhan, Rutu Trivedi, Siddharth Chowdhury, Amar Shah, Prachi Shukla, Pankaj Nimavat, Chandra Shekhar Joshi and Vivekanand Pandey
Depression and anxiety are the most common comorbidities in TB patients, adversely impacting TB treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of lay…
Abstract
Purpose
Depression and anxiety are the most common comorbidities in TB patients, adversely impacting TB treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of lay counselling in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and TB treatment completion.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a pre-post interventional research design. Patients were screened for depression and anxiety. All symptomatic TB patients were followed up and offered four to six or more lay counselling sessions whenever necessary. The authors assessed changes in depression and anxiety symptoms before lay counselling intervention and after fourth lay counselling session or the completion of TB treatment, whichever occurred the last.
Findings
Approximately 6,974 TB patients were screened for symptoms of depression and anxiety. The mean age was 36.7 ± 14.7 years. Total 25.9% patients were symptomatic. About 99.8% were provided lay counselling and received at least one to two follow-up sessions, while two patients who screened with severe depression were referred to a mental health specialist. Nearly 96.9% TB patients did not report symptoms of depression or anxiety after four lay counselling sessions, and TB treatment completion rate was higher among symptomatic TB patients who completed at least four counselling sessions (92.5%).
Practical implications
Lay counselling services delivered by field coordinators offer a promising approach to address mental health comorbidities among TB patients in resource-limited settings.
Originality/value
It explores a novel approach – lay counselling delivered by field coordinators – in tackling depression and anxiety among TB patients, which is a potentially scalable solution in resource-limited settings.
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Martina G. Gallarza, Francisco Arteaga-Moreno, Giacomo Del Chiappa and Irene Gil-Saura
Within the abundant and not always unanimous body or research on conceptual and methodological approaches to consumer value in services, there are two areas of relative consensus…
Abstract
Purpose
Within the abundant and not always unanimous body or research on conceptual and methodological approaches to consumer value in services, there are two areas of relative consensus: the multidimensional nature of value (intra-variable approach) and the existence of causal relations with other constructs (inter-variable approach). This work aims to contribute additional knowledge in both areas, with a joint approach in a structural model tested for hospitality services.
Design/methodology/approach
The study proposes four scales of intrinsic values (entertainment, aesthetics, ethics and spirituality as relaxation), based on Holbrook’s (1999) value typology, and a casual model to be used to measure the relationships between these four values and overall perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty. The model is tested with PLS on a sample of 585 hotel guests on the island of Sardinia (Italy).
Findings
The psychometric properties of all four value scales, created ad hoc, are tested and approved. Results on the causal model show contrasted links on the intra-variable approach, entertainment, aesthetics and spirituality (measured as relaxation), are positive antecedents of perceived value, while the path ethics-overall value is not confirmed. The value–satisfaction–loyalty chain is fully confirmed, with strong linkages.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledge the use of a convenience sample, of mainly leisure tourists.
Practical implications
The implications for managers are derived on the need of considering extra drivers (intrinsic and therefore fully experiential) of satisfaction and loyalty.
Originality/value
Research on value has been qualified as not univocal and controversial. This study adds knowledge on the use of four less common value types (intrinsic ones) and sheds light on their nature as antecedents of the well-known value–satisfaction–loyalty chain.
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Martina G. Gallarza, Francisco Arteaga, Giacomo Del Chiappa, Irene Gil-Saura and Morris B. Holbrook
In the fertile line of research on consumer value from the services literature, a gap exists between theoretical and empirical knowledge, in particular regarding Holbrook’s…
Abstract
Purpose
In the fertile line of research on consumer value from the services literature, a gap exists between theoretical and empirical knowledge, in particular regarding Holbrook’s conceptual value framework. The purpose of this paper is to find construct validity for a multidimensional value scale based on Holbrook’s proposal.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a literature review, a qualitative phase, and consultation with an expert, eight value scales (efficiency, service quality, play, aesthetics, status, esteem, ethics, and escapism as an adaptation of spirituality) are tested on a sample of 585 hotel customers and are further analyzed with simple and partial correlations, multiple regressions, and structural modeling.
Findings
Following the literature on the merits of Holbrook’s value typology, results are presented in three concatenated phases: validation of Holbrook’s eight value scales corresponding to his eight value types; interrelationships between these value types showing a predominance of the extrinsic-intrinsic and self-other dimensions; and construction of six indices based on the 2×2×2 matrix (self, other, extrinsic, intrinsic, active, and reactive) and a value index as a higher-order representation. The results support Holbrook’s typology, thereby supporting construct validity for the multidimensional scales.
Research limitations/implications
Implications for further conceptual research on value are presented. Meanwhile, the empirical study is context-specific, i.e. related to a hospitality experience.
Originality/value
Although Holbrook’s typology has gained widespread attention, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous research has tested all eight value types simultaneously in the same empirical work.
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J. Ignacio Criado, Francisco Rojas-Martín and J. Ramon Gil-Garcia
The diffusion of social media among public administrations has significantly grown in the last years. This phenomenon has created a field of research that seeks to understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
The diffusion of social media among public administrations has significantly grown in the last years. This phenomenon has created a field of research that seeks to understand the adoption and impact of social media in the public sector. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that make social media successful in Spanish local governments.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an adapted version of a neo-institutional model: Enacting Electronic Government Success (EEGS). The data have been collected through three main sources: primary data from a questionnaire designed and conducted by the authors, secondary data of statistical sources, and tertiary data collected through Klout Score.
Findings
The results from a survey and statistical analysis provide preliminary validation of the model and show a direct relationship between organizational, institutional, and environmental factors with the successful use of social media in local public administrations. The data analysis shows that ten variables jointly explain 54.6 percent (adjusted R2=0.546) of the variability observed in the dependent variable.
Research limitations/implications
First, the analysis model used represents a limited sample size to carry out a complex quantitative analysis. Second, the use of Klout Scores can offer some bias. Finally, certain variables complicate the comparative potential of the study.
Originality/value
This study provides original primary data and contributes to the growing field of study related to social technologies in public administrations. This research also confirms in an exploratory way the validity of the EEGS model.
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L. PARDO, M.L. MENENDEZ and J.A. PARDO
In this paper on the basis of the f*‐Divergence, a comparison criterion between fuzzy Information Systems is presented. This criterion is called “f*‐Divergence Criterion”.