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Empirical Research (empirical + research)
Kinds of Empirical Research Selected AbstractsUNITED STATES V. BOOKER AS A NATURAL EXPERIMENT: USING EMPIRICAL RESEARCH TO INFORM THE FEDERAL SENTENCING POLICY DEBATE,CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 3 2007PAUL J. HOFER Research Summary: In United States v. Booker, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal sentencing guidelines must be considered advisory, rather than mandatory, if they are to remain constitutional under the Sixth Amendment. Since the decision, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has provided policy makers with accurate and current data on changes and continuity in federal sentencing practices. Unlike previous changes in legal doctrine, Booker immediately increased the rates of upward and downward departures from the guideline range. Government-sponsored downward departures remain the leading category of outside,the-range sentences. The rate of within-range sentences, although lower than in the period immediately preceding Booker, remains near rates observed earlier in the guidelines era. Despite the increase in departures, average sentence lengths for the overall caseload remain stable, because of offsetting increases in the seriousness of the crimes being sentenced and in the severity of penalties for those crimes. Analyses of the reasons that judges reported for downward departures suggest that treatment of criminal history and offender characteristics are the two leading areas of dissatisfaction with the guidelines. Policy Implications: Assessment of changes in sentencing practices following Booker by different observers depends partly on competing institutional perspectives and on different degrees of trust in the judgment of judges, prosecutors, the Sentencing Commission, and Congress. No agreement on whether Booker has bettered or worsened the system can be achieved until agreement exists on priorities among the purposes of sentencing and the goals of sentencing reform. Both this lack of agreement and an absence of needed data make consensus on Booker's effects on important sentencing goals, such as reduction of unwarranted disparity, unlikely in the near future. Similarly, lack of baseline data before Booker on the effectiveness of federal sentencing at crime control makes before-after comparisons impossible. Despite these limitations, research provides a sounder framework for policy making than do anecdotes or speculation and sets valuable empirical parameters for the federal sentencing policy debate. [source] Striker Replacements in the United States, Canada, and Mexico: A Review of the Law and Empirical Research A Review of the Law andEmpirical ResearchINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2001Parbudyal Singh The debate on striker replacements is marked by considerable passion and controversy, with many unions and workers' rights advocates proposing legal prohibitions and employers and "free market" advocates generally opposing such prohibitions. In this article we go beyond the rhetoric and examine the nature and extent of striker replacement laws across North America. We also examine the research evidence on this issue and make suggestions for future research. [source] Empirical Research on Performance ImprovementPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2006Anthony Marker In 2002, James Klein published a study based on a content analysis of research articles in PIQ from 1997 through 2000. That study was aimed at determining how much empirical research was being reported in HPT and what the focus of that research was. Klein found that only about one third of the articles published in PIQ represented empirical research. The current study replicates Klein's research for the years of 2001 through 2005. Results indicate that there has been a significant increase in empirical research published in PIQ in the last five years with empirical research now accounting for more than one half of all PIQ articles. Further clarification of the levels of evaluation for non-instructional interventions and the refinement of research questions in the field are suggested as ongoing needs. An analysis detailing the comparison of the two studies is provided. [source] A Critical Assessment of the Theoretical and Empirical Research on German Works CouncilsBRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2002Carola M. Frege The article reviews the existing English- and German-speaking literature on the German works council. Three major research topics are discussed: the ontology and typologies of works councils; their current practice and transformation; and their economic outcomes. Although much research has been conducted on the internal functioning of the works council,management relationship, it is clear that we still know little about the determinants of different workplace relations and their outcomes. The article concludes by advocating a reviving research interest in the link between codetermination and political democracy. [source] Learning from New Product Development Projects: An Exploratory StudyCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2005Ursula Koners Knowledge generation is a cornerstone of new product development, and post-project reviews (PPRs) are widely recognized as a facilitator of project-to-project learning. Empirical research on PPRs is sparse, so this paper describes four in-depth exploratory case studies that look at how PPRs are conducted and the learning that can result. The results indicate that appropriately managed PPRs can make a significant contribution to knowledge generation and exchange. In addition, the study indicates the urgent need for more research into this important area. [source] The Impact of Technological Opportunities and Innovative Capabilities on Firms' Output InnovationCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003María J. Oltra In this study, we analyse the effect that external sources of knowledge and absorptive capacity exert on a firm's output innovation. In addition, we examine the moderating influence of absorptive capacity on the effect that technological opportunities have on output innovation. Empirical research was carried out on a sample of 91 Spanish firms from the ceramic tile industry. Absorptive capacity is operationalized by ,systematic or continuous R&D' and output innovation by ,percentage of sales from new products'. Technological opportunities are divided into several industry and non-industry related variables. Our results show the positive effect that both the industry's technological opportunities and a systematic approach to R&D exert on output innovation. Moreover, firms with a systematic approach to R&D usually achieve higher innovation output than firms which do not follow this approach. The innovation results of this second group decrease as a result of embedded technology acquisition. [source] The Brøset violence checklist (BVC)ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2002Phil Woods Objective:, The Brøset violence checklist (BVC) is a short-term violence prediction instrument assessing confusion, irritability, boisterousness, verbal threats, physical threats and attacks on objects as either present or absent. The aim of this paper is to describe the evolution and usefulness of the BVC. Method:, This paper reviews studies on the BVC and discusses implications for further research. Results:, Empirical research has shown that it has moderate sensitivity and high specificity with an adequate inter-rater reliability. Conclusion:, The BVC is a useful instrument for predicting inpatient violence within the next 24-h period. The psychometric properties of the instrument are satisfactory. Results from ongoing studies will give important information on cultural differences, the validity of the BVC in less well staffed wards, the clinical use of the checklist and its ability to predict violence throughout all the hospital stay. [source] Research Trends in Textiles and Clothing: An Analysis of Three Journals, 1980,1999FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2001Sharron J. Lennon The purpose of this research was to assess trends in research, research strategies, data analysis techniques, funding sources, affiliations, and the use of theoretical frameworks in textiles and clothing research. Empirical research focused on textiles and clothing and published in three home economics,related journals,Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, Family and Consumer Science Research Journal, and Clothing and Textiles Research Journal,from 1980 to 1999 was content analyzed (N = 586). Although survey methodology and experimentation were the first and second most-used research strategies in all but one 5-year period from 1980 to 1999, fieldwork has increased. Data analysis techniques were primarily quantitative, with increases in the use of some advanced statistical techniques. However, the qualitative treatment of data also increased. Suggestions for graduate education and faculty development are offered. [source] Tax Sensitivity in Electronic Commerce,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2007Mark A. Scanlan Empirical research into the impact of taxation on e-commerce has concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between local sales tax rates and the likelihood that a person will shop online. This paper finds that the tax sensitivity for online purchases at the local level is much lower than previously estimated and is not significant under previous general models. However, by using a splined tax-rate function, this paper finds that consumers living in counties with high sales tax rates are still sensitive to tax rates when deciding whether to shop online, while those in counties with low tax rates exhibit no significant sensitivity. [source] Planning to Reduce Risk: The Wildfire Management Overlay in Victoria, AustraliaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2009RACHEL HUGHES Abstract In a world where climate change is a ,given', the concepts of vulnerability, resilience and risk are now pivotal in public policy debates in many countries. Within this context, planning controls are designed to facilitate safe, sustainable and prosperous communities. In line with March's (2007, 11) observation that ,one important "reason to plan" is the reduction of risk', Victoria's Wildfire Management Overlay (WMO) was developed with the aim of mitigating wildfire risk through the identification of high risk areas and ensuring that minimum fire protection measures are implemented. The need for such an Overlay is becoming increasingly apparent as climate change contributes to the growing frequency and intensity of bushfires in Australia. Empirical research has found that, by following WMO prescriptions, the risk of a dwelling igniting from direct flame or radiant heat generated in a one in 50-year fire event can be greatly minimised. Yet not all local Councils in Victoria have built the WMO into their land use planning processes and schemes. Barriers to adoption include: lack of political will, a distrust of ,over-regulation', lack of training and mentoring of planning staff, and potential conflicts with vegetation conservation objectives. [source] The conjunction fallacy: explanations of the linda problem by the theory of hintsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 1 2003Hans Wolfgang Brachinger Empirical research has shown that in some situations, subjects tend to assign a probability to a conjunction of two events that is larger than the probability they assign to each of these two events. This empirical phenomenon is traditionally called the conjunction fallacy. One of the best-known experiments used to demonstrate the conjunction fallacy is the Linda problem introduced by Tversky and Kahneman in 1982. They explain the "fallacious behavior" by their so-called judgemental heuristics. These heuristics have been criticized heavily as being far "too vague to count as explanations". In this article, it is shown that the "fallacious behavior" in the Linda problem can be explained by the so-called theory of hints. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Predicting avian patch occupancy in a fragmented landscape: do we know more than we think?JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Danielle F. Shanahan Summary 1.,A recent and controversial topic in landscape ecology is whether populations of species respond to habitat fragmentation in a general fashion. Empirical research has provided mixed support, resulting in controversy about the use of general rules in landscape management. Rather than simply assessing post hoc whether individual species follow such rules, a priori testing could shed light on their accuracy and utility for predicting species response to landscape change. 2.,We aim to create an a priori model that predicts the presence or absence of multiple species in habitat patches. Our goal is to balance general theory with relevant species life-history traits to obtain high prediction accuracy. To increase the utility of this work, we aim to use accessible methods that can be applied using readily available inexpensive resources. 3.,The classification tree patch-occupancy model we create for birds is based on habitat suitability, minimum area requirements, dispersal potential of each species and overall landscape connectivity. 4.,To test our model we apply it to the South East Queensland region, Australia, for 17 bird species with varying dispersal potential and habitat specialization. We test the accuracy of our predictions using presence,absence information for 55 vegetation patches. 5.,Overall we achieve Cohen's kappa of 0·33, or ,fair' agreement between the model predictions and test data sets, and generally a very high level of absence prediction accuracy. Habitat specialization appeared to influence the accuracy of the model for different species. 6.,We also compare the a priori model to the statistically derived model for each species. Although this ,optimal model' generally differed from our original predictive model, the process revealed ways in which it could be improved for future attempts. 7.,Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates that ecological generalizations alongside basic resources (a vegetation map and some species-specific information) can provide conservative accuracy for predicting species occupancy in remnant vegetation patches. We show that the process of testing and developing models based on general rules could provide basic tools for conservation managers to understand the impact of current or planned landscape change on wildlife populations. [source] Nurse practitioner,client interaction as resource exchange in a women's health clinic: an exploratory studyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 5 2003Rebecca K. Donohue PhD Summary ,,Empirical research has thoroughly documented the success of nurse practitioners (NPs) in terms of patient satisfaction and cost-effectiveness. What is missing is the in-depth knowledge of the interactive process through which this is accomplished during a clinic visit. ,,The aim of this study was to understand the special nature and processes of NP and client encounters in the ambulatory primary care context using a resource exchange perspective. ,,An exploratory descriptive design was used to address the following research questions: (i) What do midlife female clients expect in terms of resources to be exchanged prior to a visit with a NP in an ambulatory clinic visit? (ii) What resources are actually exchanged during the clinic visit? (iii) To what extent is there congruence between a woman's expectations and what she is actually receiving from the clinic visit in terms of resources exchanged? ,,The participants included two women health NPs and eight midlife female clients. ,,Data for the study were comprised of audiotaped pre- and postencounter interviews with the clients, audiotapes of the entire clinic visits with the NP and field notes recorded by the researcher of the client visits. Content analysis was conducted using ETHNOGRAPH software. ,,Findings indicated that clients of both NPs had surprisingly similar expectations of receipt of services as well as actual receipt of services. Resources expected and received from the visits included some combination of services, health information, trust, self-disclosure, support, affirmation, time, acceptance and respect. ,,Results of this study suggest that resource exchange theoretical formulations can be applied to NP,client interactions to understand and explain the specific nature of resources the clients expect and receive from a NP during a woman's health clinic visit. [source] Alternatives to Public Provision: The Role of Legal Expenses Insurance in Broadening Access to Justice: The German ExperienceJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 1 2003Matthias Kilian The literature suggests that the main barriers to justice range from a general lack of knowledge about legal rights, and the related prevalent use of technical language within justice systems (which has led to commentators describing law as a ,leviathan'), to a vague ,fear of the unknown'. In Germany the principal barrier is thought to be the problem of funding legal services. Empirical research indicates that the question of whether or not to consult a lawyer is primarily one of cost, although over one,third of potential clients have little idea about lawyers' fees. To find ways to surmount this barrier is therefore of paramount importance for a modern society. In broad terms, there are three potential attitudes to legal costs: reliance on one's own resources; hope for third party assistance (such as legal aid or pro bono); and insurance. This article concentrates on the last of these three options, comparing, in particular, the systems in Germany and England and Wales. [source] Racing to Theory or Retheorizing Race?JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 1 2009Understanding the Struggle to Build a Multiracial Identity Theory Empirical research on the growing multiracial population in the United States has focused largely on the documentation of racial identification, analysis of psychological adjustment, and understanding the broader political consequences of mixed-race identification. Efforts toward theory construction on multiracial identity development, however, have been largely disconnected from empirical data, mired in disciplinary debates, and bound by historically specific assumptions about race and racial group membership. This study provides a critical overview of multiracial identity development theories, examines the links between theory and research, explores the challenges to multiracial identity theory construction, and proposes considerations for future directions in theorizing racial identity development among the mixed-race population. [source] CEO compensation and the seasoned equity offering decisionMANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 5 2006Joseph F. Brazel Empirical research on seasoned equity offerings indicates that the decision to make an SEO typically engenders a decline in firm value, as investors interpret this decision as a signal of poor financial health or that the stock is overpriced. Here, we add to the literature by analyzing the short-term market reaction to SEO announcements and the chief executive officer's link to firm performance (i.e. the proportion of CEO equity-based compensation). Results support the hypothesis that investors are more likely to view the announcement of an SEO as a last resort source of capital when the proportion of CEO equity-based compensation is high. In such cases of high equity-based compensation, our findings indicate that the SEO announcement provides an incremental signal of financial distress above that provided by financial statements. We also find this relationship (last resort signal) to be stronger when large information asymmetries exist between management and investors. Thus, managers should consider the ramifications of executive compensation structure when considering whether to make an SEO. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Managing functional diversity, risk taking and incentives for teams to achieve radical innovationsR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008Álvaro López Cabrales In this study we analyse the effect of team diversity, encouragement to take risks and team incentives on the degree of radicalness of innovation. Empirical research has been conducted with a sample of 95 companies from four innovative industries according to their high number of patents. The results indicate that team diversity and the combined use of long- and short-term incentives are associated with incremental innovation, whereas the development of risk-taking attitudes within the team is associated with radical innovation. [source] Working Under Monarchy: Political Leadership and Democracy in NepalASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2009Ina Acharya The purpose of this study was to discover the prospects and challenges of democracy in Nepal. Mired with corruption and escalating conflict, Nepal is in its 16th year of democratic transition, with little hope for a fully functional, consolidated, liberal democracy. In trying to study the causes, the author hypothesizes that political leaders have made decisions that have had an adverse effect on democracy in Nepal. Empirical research has been conducted on landmark decisions made by political leaders to test the hypothesis. The author concludes that charismatic leaders, depending on their vision, statesmanship, and liberalism, choose to decide differently, and these decisions determine their mode of governance and its impact on democracy. [source] Gender and role-based perceptions of domestic abuse: does sexual orientation matter?,BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 2 2003Eric P. Seelau Ph.D. Although it is estimated that domestic abuse is as common in gay male and lesbian intimate relationships as in heterosexual relationships, the legal system often fails to recognize or respond to same-gender cases. Empirical research examining the impact of sexual orientation on perceptions of abuse is virtually nonexistent. Undergraduates (N,=,252) read a summary of a domestic abuse incident in which victims and perpetrators varied by gender and, by implication, sexual orientation. Victim and respondent gender, rather than the couple's sexual orientation, primarily affected responses to domestic abuse. Domestic abuse perpetrated against women was perceived to be more serious and in need of intervention than abuse against men. Women were more likely than men to believe the victim and to recommend criminal justice system interventions. Because they are inconsistent with gender role stereotypes, domestic abuse cases involving male victims or female perpetrators may not receive equitable treatment within the criminal justice system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Strategic Alliance Outcomes: a Transaction-Cost Economics PerspectiveBRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2006William Q. Judge Empirical research on strategic alliances has been limited because previous studies examined alliance outcomes, and the factors associated with them, from a single partner in a manufacturing alliance. Furthermore, many of these studies have been done from a transaction cost perspective and researchers have inferred opportunistic behavior, rather than directly measuring it and observing its actual relationship with alliance performance. Building on previous transaction cost theory and research, this study seeks to address these gaps by analyzing factors associated with both opportunistic behavior and alliance performance within a major service sector, namely the US healthcare industry. After controlling for asset specificity and alliance age, we found that partner trustworthiness and contractual safeguards were negatively related to opportunistic behavior. Furthermore, opportunistic behavior was negatively related to alliance performance, as hypothesized. Interestingly, mutual equity investments were found to be unrelated to opportunistic behavior, counter to transaction-cost logic. These findings refine and extend the transaction-cost economics perspective regarding our understanding of strategic alliance behavior and outcomes, and offer executives in service-based industries some practical ideas for assuring favorable strategic alliance outcomes. [source] Does explicit contracting effectively link CEO compensation to environmental performance?,BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 5 2008James J. Cordeiro Abstract Empirical research in the area of corporate sustainability highlights potential conflicts between corporate financial performance and environmental performance. In such a situation, agency theory arguments applied to the corporate environmental context predict that top management compensation should be explicitly linked to environmental performance in order to bring about proper alignment of organizational environmental goals and management incentives. We test this proposition for a sample of 207 Standard & Poor 500 firms in the US in 1996 who explicitly report in Investor Responsibility Research Council (IRRC) surveys the presence or absence of a contractual link between environmental performance and executive compensation. We find that only in firms with an explicit linkage between environmental performance and executive contracts is there is any evidence of a significant impact of firm-level environmental performance on CEO compensation levels. However, even this impact is not very impressive since (a) it holds only for IRRC compliance and spill indices and does not hold for IRRC toxic emission indices, and (b) even the effects for compliance and spill indices do not hold relative to industry levels of these indices. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Do psychotherapies produce neurobiological effects?ACTA NEUROPSYCHIATRICA, Issue 2 2006Veena Kumari Background:, An area of recent interest in psychiatric research is the application of neuroimaging techniques to investigate neural events associated with the development and the treatment of symptoms in a number of psychiatric disorders. Objective:, To examine whether psychological therapies modulate brain activity and, if so, to examine whether these changes similar to those found with relevant pharmacotherapy in various mental disorders. Methods:, Relevant data were identified from Pubmed and PsycInfo searches up to July 2005 using combinations of keywords including ,psychological therapy', ,behaviour therapy', ,depression', ,panic disorder', ,phobia', ,obsessive compulsive disorder', ,schizophrenia', ,psychosis', ,brain activity', ,brain metabolism', ,PET', ,SPECT' and ,fMRI'. Results:, There was ample evidence to demonstrate that psychological therapies produce changes at the neural level. The data, for example in depression, panic disorder, phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), clearly suggested that a change in patients' symptoms and maladaptive behaviour at the mind level with psychological techniques is accompanied with functional brain changes in relevant brain circuits. In many studies, cognitive therapies and drug therapies achieved therapeutic gains through the same neural pathways although the two forms of treatment may still have different mechanisms of action. Conclusions:, Empirical research indicates a close association between the ,mind' and the ,brain' in showing that changes made at the mind level in a psychotherapeutic context produce changes at the brain level. The investigation of changes in neural activity with psychological therapies is a novel area which is likely to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms for therapeutic changes across a range of disorders. [source] History, memory, and conflict resolution: Research and applicationCONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2010Barbara Tint This article is the second of a two-part series and presents empirical research into the study of history, memory, and long-term intractable conflict. Interviews with members of the Israeli and Palestinian communities serve as the basis for this research. A variety of constructs emerged that inform conflict resolution practice, including a strong orientation to the past and its link to identity, emotion, and how past beliefs inform present perceptions. Recommendations are offered for how to integrate historical matter more fully into practice. [source] The North American Industry Classification System and Its Implications for Accounting Research,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 4 2003Jayanthi Krishnan Abstract Industry classification is an important component of the methodological infrastructure of accounting research. Researchers have generally used the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system for assigning firms to industries. In 1999, the major statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico, and the United States began implementing the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The new scheme changes industry classification by introducing production as the basis for grouping firms, creating 358 new industries, extensively rearranging SIC categories, and establishing uniformity across all NAFTA nations. We examine the implications of the change for accounting research. We first assess NAICS's effectiveness in forming industry groups. Following Guenther and Rosman 1994, we use financial ratio variances to measure intra-industry homogeneity and find that NAICS offers some improvement over the SIC system in defining manufacturing, transportation, and service industries. We also evaluate whether NAICS might have an impact on empirical research by reproducing part of Lang and Lundholm's 1996 study of information-transfer and industry effects. Using SIC delineations, they focus on whether industry conditions or the level of competition is the main source of uncertainty resolved by earnings announcements. Across all levels of aggregation, we find inferences are similar using either SIC or NAICS. How-ever, we also observe that the regression coefficients in Lang and Lundholm's model show smaller intra-industry dispersion for NAICS, relative to SIC, definitions. Overall, the results suggest that NAICS definitions lead to more cohesive industries. Because of this, researchers may encounter some differences in using NAICS-industry definitions, rather than SIC, but these will depend on research design and industry composition of the sample. [source] Corporate Boards and Company Performance: review of research in light of recent reformsCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2007David Finegold Recent US corporate governance reforms introduced extensive regulations and guidelines for public corporations, particularly corporate boards. This article evaluates the extent to which empirical research on corporate boards and firm performance supports these reforms. Building on the meta-analysis conducted by Zahra and Pearce (1989), we review 105 studies published between 1989 and 2005. We find most of the practices mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the regulations issued by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ, had not been subject to prior study. Where board characteristics have been studied, we find limited guidance for policymakers on identifying governance practices that result in more effective firm performance. In an effort to increase the relevance of future research on boards and firm performance, we provide a framework on corporate boards. [source] Adoption of voluntary environmental tools for sustainable tourism: analysing the experience of Spanish hotelsCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2006Silvia Ayuso Abstract Since the early 1990s, tourism companies, mostly hotel facilities, have undertaken different voluntary initiatives to show their commitment to sustainable tourism. Among the voluntary tools applied by the hotel industry, the most common are codes of conduct, best environmental practices, eco-labels, environmental management systems (EMSs) and environmental performance indicators. This article presents the findings of empirical research conducted with Spanish hotels that have adopted one or more of the existing environmental tools. Based on a qualitative exploration of perceptions and experiences of hotel managers applying these instruments, the general understanding of the concept of sustainable tourism is examined, and the practical application of different voluntary environmental instruments is analysed. In an attempt to interpret the facilitators and barriers reported by hotel companies, three interpretative approaches are combined to explain the selective adoption of environmental tools: the perspective of competitive advantages, the perspective of stakeholders' influence and the perspective of the human cognitive process. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The impact of after-school programs on the routine activities of middle-school students: Results from a randomized, controlled trial,CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 2 2009Amanda Brown Cross Research Summary Unsupervised after-school time for adolescents is a concern for parents and policymakers alike. Evidence linking unsupervised adolescent socializing to problem behavior outcomes heightens this concern among criminologists. Routine activities theory suggests that, when youth peer groups congregate away from adult authority, both opportunity for and motivation to engage in deviant acts increase. After-school programs are a possible solution to unsupervised teen socializing during afternoon hours and are much in demand. However, empirical research has yet to test the relationship between the availability of after-school programs and youth routine activities. This study presents evidence from a multisite, randomized, controlled trial of an after-school program for middle-school students in an urban school district. Policy Implications Youth in the treatment group engaged in less unsupervised socializing after school than youth in the control group but not as much less as would be expected if the after-school program was providing consistent supervision to youth who would otherwise be unsupervised. Additional analyses examined why the influence of the after-school program was not more pronounced. We found that, although program attendance was related to decreases in unsupervised socializing, the program did not attract many delinquency-prone youths who were unsupervised, which suggests that the students most in need of the program did not benefit. Furthermore, data obtained from a mid-year activity survey revealed that youth in the study were highly engaged in a variety of after-school activities. The addition of the after-school program into the mixture of available activities had little effect on the frequency with which students participated in organized activities after school. [source] Measurement Equivalence Using Generalizability Theory: An Examination of Manufacturing Flexibility DimensionsDECISION SCIENCES, Issue 4 2008Manoj K. Malhotra ABSTRACT As the field of decision sciences in general and operations management in particular has matured from theory building to theory testing over the past two decades, it has witnessed an explosion in empirical research. Much of this work is anchored in survey-based methodologies in which data are collected from the field in the form of scale items that are then analyzed to measure latent unobservable constructs. It is important to assess the invariance of scales across groups in order to reach valid, scientifically sound conclusions. Because studies have often been conducted in the field of decision sciences with small sample sizes, it further exacerbates the problem of reaching incorrect conclusions. Generalizability theory can more effectively test for measurement equivalence in the presence of small sample sizes than the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tests that have been conventionally used for assessing measurement equivalency across groups. Consequently, we introduce and explain the generalizability theory (G-theory) in this article to examine measurement equivalence of 24 manufacturing flexibility dimension scales that have been published in prior literature and also compare and contrast G-theory with CFA. We show that all the manufacturing flexibility scales tested in this study were invariant across the three industry SIC groups from which data were collected. We strongly recommend that G-theory should always be used for determining measurement equivalence in empirical survey-based studies. In addition, because using G-theory alone does not always reveal the complete picture, CFA techniques for establishing measurement equivalence should also be invoked when sample sizes are large enough to do so. Implications of G-theory for practice and its future use in operations management and decision sciences research are also presented. [source] Modeling the Effects of a Service Guarantee on Perceived Service Quality Using Alternating Conditional Expectations (ACE),DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2002Chee-Chuong Sum ABSTRACT This paper addresses the dearth of empirical research on the relationship between service guarantee and perceived service quality (PSQ). In particular, we examine the moderating effects of a service guarantee on PSQ. While a recent study provided empirical evidence that service quality is affected by service guarantee and employee variables such as employee motivation/vision and learning through service failure, the nature and form of the relationships between these variables remain unclear. Knowledge of these relationships can assist service managers to allocate resources more judiciously, avoid pitfalls, and establish more realistic expectations. Data was obtained from employees and customers of a multinational hotel chain that has implemented a service guarantee program in 89 of its hotels in America and Canada. As the employee variables could affect performance in a non-linear fashion, we relaxed the assumption of model linearity by using the Alternating Conditional Expectations (ACE) algorithm to arrive at a better-fitting, non-linear regression model for PSQ. Our findings indicate the existence of significant non-linear relationships between PSQ and its determinant variables. The ACE model also revealed that service guarantee interacts with the employee variables to affect PSQ in a non-linear fashion. The non-linear relationships present new insights into the management of service guarantees and PSQ. Explanations and managerial implications of our results are presented and discussed. [source] Panic disorder phenomenology in urban self-identified caucasian,non-hispanics and caucasian,hispanicsDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 1 2003Michael Hollifield M.D. Abstract The epidemiology of panic disorder is well known, but data about some phenomenological aspects are sparse. The symptom criteria for panic disorder were developed largely from rational expert consensus methods and not from empirical research. This fact calls attention to the construct validity of the panic disorder diagnosis, which may affect accuracy of epidemiological findings. Seventy self-identified Non-Hispanic,Caucasian (Anglo) and Hispanic,Caucasian (Hispanic) people who were diagnosed with DSM-III-R panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were invited to complete a Panic Phenomenological Questionnaire (PPQ), which was constructed for this study from the Hamilton Anxiety Scale Items and The DSM-III-R panic symptoms. Fifty (71%) subjects agreed to participate, and there was no response bias detected. Seven symptoms on the PPQ that are not in the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were reported to occur with a high prevalence in this study. Furthermore, many symptoms that occurred with a high frequency and were reported to be experienced as severe are also not included in current nosology. A few of the DSM-IV criterion symptoms occurred with low prevalence, frequency, and severity. Cognitive symptoms were reported to occur with higher frequency and severity during attacks than autonomic or other symptoms. There were modest differences between ethnic groups with regard to panic attack phenomena. Further research using multiple empirical methods aimed at improving the content validity of the panic disorder diagnosis is warranted. This includes utilizing consistent methods to collect data that will allow for rational decisions about how to construct valid panic disorder criteria across cultures. Depression and Anxiety 18:7,17, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||