Timothy Stapleton and Helen Sumin Koo
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of biomotion visibility aids for nighttime bicyclists compared to other configurations via 3D eye-tracking technology…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of biomotion visibility aids for nighttime bicyclists compared to other configurations via 3D eye-tracking technology in a blind between-subjects experiment.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 40 participants were randomly assigned one of four visibility aid conditions in the form of videos: biomotion (retroreflective knee and ankle bands), non-biomotion (retroreflective vest configuration), pseudo-biomotion (vertical retroreflective stripes on the back of the legs), and control (all-black clothing). Gaze fixations on a screen were measured with a 3D eye-tracking system; coordinate data for each condition were analyzed via one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc analyses with supplementary heatmaps. Post-experimental questionnaires addressed participants’ qualitative assessments.
Findings
Significant differences in eye gaze location were found between the four reflective clothing design conditions in X-coordinate values (p<0.01) and Y-coordinate values (p<0.05).
Practical implications
This research has the potential to further inform clothing designers and manufacturers on how to incorporate biomotion to increase bicyclist visibility and safety.
Social implications
This research has the potential to benefit both drivers and nighttime bicyclists through a better understanding of how biomotion can increase visibility and safety.
Originality/value
There is lack of literature addressing the issue of the commonly administered experimental task of recognizing bicyclists and its potential bias on participants’ attention and natural driving state. Eye-tracking has the potential to implicitly determine attention and visibility, devoid of biases to attention. A new retroreflective visibility aid design, pseudo-biomotion, was also introduced in this experiment.
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The paper provides a snapshot analysis on the state of service charge management at the point in which its regulatory framework by RICS changed from a voluntary code of practice…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides a snapshot analysis on the state of service charge management at the point in which its regulatory framework by RICS changed from a voluntary code of practice to a mandatory professional statement.
Design/methodology/approach
The data consist of a unique eight-year longitudinal study of service charge statements and practice (2010–2017). Because of the confidential nature of such business-sensitive information, this is a priceless study of real-world practice over such a long period and is able to illustrate both annual compliance and the year-on-year changes. Given this, it is recognised that data are skewed in favour of compliance because they are derived from an actively managed portfolio.
Findings
The results continue to illustrate long-running problems of non-compliance with “required” metrics. Given the inherent bias in the data, this is especially difficult to excuse. The paper also analyses the results in the light of the new RICS professional statement, which requires mandatory compliance. Whilst some of the metrics are advisory, there remain questions over how RICS might realistically enforce so many practitioners to change their existing performance and how willing the institution might be to actually prosecute failure. It also revisits the issue of institutionalised benchmarking of standards. Intriguingly, there are islands of almost perfect compliance, which offers an interesting contrast and raises further research questions on why some practitioners provide such exemplary work.
Research limitations/implications
The data are derived from the clients of a UK property management consultancy. This does preclude any randomness to the sampling. However, the richness of the data and the methodology adopted provide valid data.
Originality/value
This work offers both unique data and an eight-year longitudinal analysis, but also a timely comparison with the requirements within a new RICS professional statement. This shift in regulatory regime reinforces the value of the work.
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Timothy Eccles and Andrew Holt
The paper seeks to measure compliance by owners and their managing agents with the RICS Code of Practice Service Charges in Commercial Property, emphasising the financial…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to measure compliance by owners and their managing agents with the RICS Code of Practice Service Charges in Commercial Property, emphasising the financial reporting to tenants in multi‐let financial services buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were hand collected by examining original source documents provided to commercial leaseholders as part of the service charge management process. This removes bias from relying on secondary respondents to provide data.
Findings
The paper finds that requirements of the Code of Practice are not onerous, and whilst service charge management has improved, the majority of landlords still fail to achieve its requirements.
Research limitations/implications
The sample represents approximately 6.2 per cent of multi‐let office space in England and Wales 1998‐2009. The content analysis method used requires some subjective interpretation by the researchers.
Originality/value
Data are original to this research and the paper offers an analysis on the current standards of accounting practice by service charge managers.
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Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang
Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the utility of social identity and social climate theories in explaining individual and group behaviour within organizations, little research has been conducted on how these approaches interconnect to explain the way high-performance work systems (HPWSs) may increase job performance. This study extends one’s understanding of the human resource management (HRM)–performance relationship by examining the interconnections between these disparate social approaches within the Chinese banking context.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a sample of 561 employees working across 62 bank branches in China, the authors test four hypotheses: (1) HPWS is positively related to social climate; (2) social climate mediates the relationship between HPWS and social identification; (3) psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between social identification and job performance; and (4) social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance. Data were collected over two waves and job (in-role) performance was rated by managers.
Findings
The authors confirm the four hypotheses. Social climate, social identification and psychological empowerment sequentially mediate the relationship between HPWS and job performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study contains some limitations. First, the authors’ research sites were focussed on one main region in state-owned banks in China. Second, this study examined only one industry with a relatively homogeneous workforce (i.e. relatively young and highly educated employees).
Practical implications
HPWS may translate into individual performance through a supportive social climate in which staff identify themselves with their work team. This suggests that organizations should pay close attention to understanding how their HPWS system can foster a strong social climate to enhance employee identification at the work group level. Second, as the nature of work is becoming increasingly more complex and interdependent, enabling not just individuals but also work groups to function effectively, it is critical for departments and work groups to promote a collective understanding of HRM messages with shared values and goals.
Originality/value
This research contributes towards a more comprehensive understanding of the HRM–performance chain as a complex social process underpinned by social identity theory. The authors demonstrate that social identification and social climate both play an important role in explaining how HPWS positively affects psychological empowerment and subsequent job performance.
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Timothy Bartram, Brian Cooper, Fang Lee Cooke and Jue Wang
The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which wellbeing-oriented HRM practices can transform workers’ feelings of burnout to enable thriving, and subsequently enhance in-role employee performance in high workload contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on data gathered from 561 employees in bank branches operating in China across two time periods. The authors test the following hypotheses: (1) wellbeing-oriented HRM is positively related to employee thriving; (2) perceived workload is positively related to employee burnout; (3) thriving will mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance; (4) burnout will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; (5) thriving will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; and (6) burnout and thriving will sequentially mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance.
Findings
This study confirmed hypotheses 1–5. Hypothesis 6 was not confirmed. The authors find that thriving mediates the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance, and burnout mediates the relationship between workload and employee performance. The authors also find workload was positively related to thriving (after controlling for burnout), consistent with the challenge–hindrance model of occupational stress.
Originality/value
The study builds on growing evidence that employees can thrive at work even when in stressful situations by using conservation of resources theory to examine how wellbeing-oriented HRM practices act as protective resources against demanding work situations. Findings demonstrate alternative pathways through which wellbeing-oriented HRM can enhance employee performance via reducing burnout and enhancing thriving.
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The paper utilises formality-informality modelling to examine occupational change, using commercial service charge management as its case study.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper utilises formality-informality modelling to examine occupational change, using commercial service charge management as its case study.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper that develops a typology for applying formalisation to occupational change and then utilises historiography to generate a narrative on the evolution of service charge management.
Findings
Formality is seen as a method of improving transparency and performance as a “modern” response to a range complaints about professional performance. Whilst real improvement failed to develop, a “snowball” of continued formalisation remained the perceived solution, leading to centralisation of measures of professional performance.
Research limitations/implications
The work is a conceptual paper that develops a historiography on the development of service charge administrative practice. Whilst it relies on objective data and secondary literature, the narrative that is developed is subjective and interpretive.
Originality/value
The conceptual nature of the work offers potential insights into occupational organisation. It suggests that formalising procedures in itself does not improve performance.
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Pamela E. Davis-Kean, Celeste M. Mendoza and Maria Ines Susperreguy
It is predicted that by the year 2050, Latinos will make up approximately 30% of the U.S. population. Although the high school completion rate for Latinos has increased over the…
Abstract
It is predicted that by the year 2050, Latinos will make up approximately 30% of the U.S. population. Although the high school completion rate for Latinos has increased over the years, only 44% of these students transition into college. Latinos are faced with numerous obstacles as they try to navigate the college pipeline such as being more likely to attend high poverty secondary schools and have parents with little experience with college education. Despite these challenges, many Latino students continue to be academically successful. From 2009 to 2010, there was a 24% growth in Hispanic enrollment, a higher increase than any other ethnic group. It is important to note that much of this enrollment growth has been at community colleges with 46% of Latino students matriculating to two-year institutions. Latinos are still the least likely to complete a bachelor’s degree. While nearly 39% of white 25- to 29-year-olds completed a four-year degree in 2010, only 13% of Latinos did the same. Thus, it is important to identify factors that may influence the high school to college transition for Latino youth, as well as factors that impact college completion. This chapter explores these issues as a function of the academic and family culture that support the development of achievement in Latino youth. We highlight the important differences in those that matriculate to community college and those to four-year colleges.
Nagihan Çomez and Timothy Kiessling
The purpose of this paper is to study joint inventory and pricing strategy for a continuous inventory review system. While dynamic pricing decisions are often studied in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study joint inventory and pricing strategy for a continuous inventory review system. While dynamic pricing decisions are often studied in the literature along with inventory management, the authors' aim in this study is to obtain a single long‐run optimal price; also to gain insight about how to obtain the optimal price and inventory control variables simultaneously and then the benefits of joint optimization of the inventory and pricing decisions over the sequential optimization policy often followed in practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A general (R;Q) policy system with fixed cost of ordering is modelled and then the case where unsatisfied demand is lost is studied. General forms of both the additive and multiplicative demand models are used to obtain structural results.
Findings
By showing optimality conditions on the price and inventory decision variables, two algorithms on how to obtain optimal decision variables, one for additive and another for multiplicative demand‐price model are provided. Through extensive numerical analyses, the potential profit increases are reported if the price and inventory problem are solved simultaneously instead of sequentially. In addition, the sensitivities of optimal decision variables to system parameters are revealed.
Practical implications
Although there are several studies in the literature investigating emergency price change models, they use arbitrary exogenous prices menus. However, the value of a price change can be better appreciated if the long‐run price is optimal for the system.
Originality/value
Very few researchers have investigated constant price and inventory optimization, and while there are several past studies demonstrating the benefits of dynamic pricing over a static one, there still are not many findings on the benefit of joint price and inventory optimization.
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The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains…
Abstract
The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.
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In the future, library applications related to traditional functions may increasingly assume some of the roles and characteristics of archives and museums. In this article, the…
Abstract
In the future, library applications related to traditional functions may increasingly assume some of the roles and characteristics of archives and museums. In this article, the author describes fundamental archival concepts and theories and their evolution in recent times. Basic archival functions—appraisal, arrangement, description, reference, preservation, and publication—are also introduced. Finally, early applications of automation to archives (including SPINDEX, NARS‐5, NARS‐A‐1, MARC AMC, presNET, CTRACK, PHOTO, and DIARY) and automation trends for the future are discussed. The article presents a cogent introduction to archival operations, thereby providing 1) a basis for understanding distinctions between current archival and library practices and 2) insight concerning the possible convergence of selected roles and functions.