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Research Note (research + note)
Selected AbstractsPERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND BEST VALUE AUDIT IN SCOTLAND: A RESEARCH NOTE ON THEORY AND PRACTICEFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2008Arthur Midwinter This paper appraises the theory and practice of Best Value Audit in Scotland, and in particular the central assumption that a robust performance management system is essential for continuous improvement in service delivery, within a rational planning model of governance. The reviews of Best Value Audit in practice reveal important gaps between theory and practice, with an overemphasis on monitoring process rather than performance. There is, therefore, considerable scope to reduce the demands of the audit process on local government, and Best Value Audit, needs to move from a theoretical model to an evidence-based model of good practice if real progress is to be made. [source] Religious Attendance and Happiness: Examining Gaps in the Current Literature,A Research NoteJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 3 2010Ellen Childs Two major gaps exist in research examining the positive association between religious attendance and happiness. First, scholars have argued that this association may be because of people's perceived relationship with God or the social cohesion one experiences with other parishioners, but scholars have not studied both pathways simultaneously. Using nationally representative cross-sectional data (General Social Survey), I first examine the influence of one's perceived relationship with God and one's perceived social cohesion within the religious community on happiness. One's perceived relationship with God is more strongly associated with happiness than is social cohesion. Second, scholars overwhelmingly use religious attendance as the independent variable, with happiness as the dependent variable. Using two waves of data from a nationally representative panel study (National Survey of Families and Households), I then examine the relationship between religious attendance and happiness over time, finding that religious attendance has a greater effect on happiness than happiness has on religious attendance. [source] Religiosity, Self-Control, and Virginity Status in College Students from the "Bible Belt": A Research NoteJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 3 2010Alexander T. Vazsonyi Using a sample of college students (N,= 904) from the "Bible Belt," this study examines the effect of religiosity and self-control on late adolescents' delay in initiating sexual intercourse or oral sex. Findings from logistic regressions provide evidence that for each one unit increase in self-control, the odds of a male remaining a virgin or of delaying oral sex increased by a factor of 1.82 and 2.84, respectively, while for females, the odds of not engaging in oral sex increased by a factor of 1.67. In addition to the effect of self-control, a one unit increase in religiosity results in the odds of a male remaining a virgin by a factor of 3.86 and 3.30, respectively. For females the odds are increased by a factor of 4.13 and 2.60, respectively. Mediation tests also provided evidence that self-control mediated the effects by religiosity on both dependent measures. Thus, both religiosity and self-control independently and additively function as key social control mechanisms that promote late adolescent health. [source] Period and Cohort Effects on Religious Nonaffiliation and Religious Disaffiliation: A Research NoteJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2010Philip Schwadel Period and cohort effects on reports of no religious preference and religious disaffiliation are estimated. Results show that by 2006, the probability of reporting no religious preference had risen to almost .16. Additionally, the growing proportion of Americans raised with no religious preference substantially influences the increase in reporting no religious preference. Two recently developed analysis techniques for disentangling period and cohort effects are used: intrinsic estimator models and cross-classified, random-effects models. Results show (1) period-based increases in the probability of reporting no religious preference from 1990 to 2006, (2) across-cohort increases in no religious preference beginning with those born in the 1940s, and (3) a decline in the likelihood of religious disaffiliation (being raised with a religious preference but currently reporting no religious preference) for those born in the 1960s and 1970s compared to those born between 1945 and 1959. [source] Confidence in Religious Leaders in Korea: A Research NoteJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2010Jibum Kim Korea may provide an important testing ground for assessing religious growth as a correlate of religious authority. In Korea from 1985 to 1995, all religious groups experienced growth, but from 1995 to 2005 only the Catholic population did so. Favorable images of Korean Catholicism compared to other Korean religions point to one factor that may account for this trend, namely, confidence in religious leaders. Up to now there has been no empirical test measuring confidence in religious leaders among different religious groups in Korea. Using the 2003,2007 Korean General Social Surveys cumulative data, we found a hierarchy of confidence in religious leaders ranging from highest to lowest as follows: Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, no religion. Our finding may suggest the continued vitality of Catholicism in Korea. [source] Social and Environmental Disclosure and Corporate Characteristics: A Research Note and ExtensionJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3-4 2001Rob Gray This paper is concerned with the attempts to explain the disclosure of social and environmental information in the annual reports of large companies by reference to observable characteristics of those companies. An extensive literature has sought to establish whether variables such as corporate size, profit and industry segments can explain corporations' disclosure practices. The results from that predominantly North American and Australasian literature are largely inconclusive. This paper provides an extension of that literature by considering a more disaggregated specification of social and environmental disclosure and by employing a detailed time-series data set. By so doing, the paper tests two possible explanations for the inconclusiveness of prior research: namely that any relationships between corporate characteristics and disclosure are dependent upon the type of disclosure and that any such relationships are not stable through time. The results provide support for these explanations as sufficient, if not necessary, conditions for explaining the inconsistency in prior results. [source] Research Note: The Influence of the Press in Shaping Public Opinion towards the European Union in BritainPOLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2004Sean Carey Existing research finds that European citizens evaluate the EU according to the perceived costs and benefits of integration. Instead of assuming that cue-givers provide an informational role in this process, we investigate the direct effects of positive and negative EU messages from prominent cue-givers, including political parties and the media. Using the 2001 British Election Study, we examine the impact of the main political parties and newspapers on public attitudes towards membership of the EU and the prospect of joining the single European currency. During the 2001 British General Election campaign, the media and the main political parties had small independent effects on attitudes towards EU membership and the potential adoption of the single European currency. When voters receive the same messages from both their party and their newspaper, these effects are considerable. [source] Cumulative Voting Comes to the Amarillo Independent School District: A Research NotePOLITICS & POLICY, Issue 4 2001John David Rausch Jr. This paper examines the use of cumulative voting in the 2000 Amarillo Independent School District Board of Trustees election. As in many jurisdictions, cumulative voting was adopted to settle a lawsuit brought by minority residents of Amarillo and two minority membership organizations. Using data collected from the ballots cast, this paper illustrates the use of cumulative voting by Amarillo voters and identifies which candidates benefited from the new election system. The paper also adds to our limited knowledge of the dynamics of campaigns for local school boards. [source] Research Note: The silenced assistant.ASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 2 2010Reflections of invisible interpreters, research assistants Abstract Given the increased attention in anthropology and human geography to the positionality and reflexivity of researchers completing fieldwork in foreign countries, it is surprising that we still know relatively little about how research assistants and interpreters are positioned in the field and their own concerns, constraints and coping mechanisms. This article, based on in-depth interviews with local interpreters/research assistants in Vietnam and China, working alongside Western doctoral students researching upland ethnic minority populations, provides space for the assistants' voices. While reflecting upon their own time in the field, we see how the positionalities of these individuals can have rather unexpected consequences. Furthermore, the assistants' analyses of particular events, as well as their take on the best way to proceed in specific circumstances can be at odds with that of their employers, and negotiated coping strategies have to be found. The article concludes with advice from these assistants regarding how future assistants can make the best of their position, and what foreign researchers need to consider in fostering constructive working relationships. [source] Research Note: Fieldwork, supervision and trustASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 2 2010Jean Michaud Abstract In this research note I reflect upon my different experiences as a researcher with ethnic minorities in Southeast Asia, from my years as a postgraduate student to my current work as a professor. From being a graduate student, to supervising them, I have learned many lessons about graduate fieldwork. Nowadays, I pass these on to supervisees as best I can. I consider it my professional and personal duty to actively warn, inform and prepare young anthropologists about to leave for their masters' and doctoral field research in China, Vietnam and Laos about the field locations to which they are travelling, the political negotiations that they will need to undertake, and the cultural, economic and political differences they will encounter. I also stress that the anthropology that is played out in the field in socialist settings is not necessarily that which we read about in textbooks. [source] Research Note: Comparing indigenous language revitalisation: Te reo M,ori in Aotearoa New Zealand and Mapudungun in ChileASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 1 2010Carina Gallegos Abstract This article provides a comparative investigation of education programmes intended to revitalise te reo (the language of the M,ori, indigenous to Aotearoa New Zealand) and Mapudungun (the language of the Mapuche, indigenous to Chile), respectively. The historical processes of colonisation and globalisation in Chile and Aotearoa New Zealand that have threatened indigenous language are outlined, and revitalisation efforts subsequently described and assessed. Finally, the disparities in success that the two countries have experienced in their revitalisation efforts are examined, and some recommendations made. [source] Research Note: Industry outsourcing and regional development in Northeast ThailandASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 1 2010Thongphon Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn Abstract Industry outsourcing has become a significant feature of industrialisation in Southeast Asia. This study presents the findings of a study of smaller industrial enterprises in Northeast Thailand that outsource some of their operations to workers in rural villages. It was found that social relationships rather than formal contracts are critical in the management and spread of such outsourcing and that industries use outsourcing primarily as a flexible strategy to lower costs of production. [source] Rapid Research Notes: the express letter journal of pss at rapid.physica-status-solidi.comPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 3 2003Stefan Hildebrandt No abstract is available for this article. [source] Martin Stutzmann: Editor, Teacher, Scientist and FriendPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 2 2005Manuel Cardona On 2 January 1995 Martin Stutzmann became Editor-in-Chief of physica status solidi, replacing Professor E. Gutsche, who had led the journal through the stormy period involving the fall of the Iron Curtain, the unification of Germany and the change in its Eastern part, where physica status solidi was based, from "socialism as found in the real world" (a German concept) to real world capitalism. In 1995 it was thought that the process had been completed (we should have known better!) and after the retirement of Prof. Gutsche the new owners of physica status solidi (Wiley-VCH) decided that a change in scientific management was desirable to adapt to the new socio-political facts and to insure the scientific continuity of the journal. Martin had moved in 1993 from my department at the Max-Planck-Institute to Munich where he soon displayed a tremendous amount of science man- agement ability during the build-up of the Walter Schottky Institute. The search for a successor as Edi- tor-in-Chief was not easy: the job was not very glamorous after the upheavals which had taken place in the editorial world following the political changes. Somebody in the Editorial Boards must have suggested Martin Stutzmann. I am sure that there was opposition: one usually looks for a well-established person ready to leave his direct involvement in science and take up a new endeavor of a more administrative nature. Nevertheless, the powers that be soon realized that Martin was an excellent, if somewhat unconventional candidate who had enough energy to remain a topnotch scientist and to lead the journal in the difficult times ahead: he was offered the job. In the negotiations that followed, he insisted in getting the administrative structures that would allow him to improve the battered quality of the journal and to continue his scientific productivity. Today we are happy to see that he succeeded in both endeavors. The journal has since grown in size and considerably improved its quality. Martin Stutzmann's scientific output has continued and today he can be found listed among the 400 most cited physicists worldwide. According to the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) he has published nearly 400 articles in source journals; they have been cited over 4600 times. His scientific visibility has been partly responsible for the success of the journal under his leadership. When he took over in 1995 the Impact Factors of physica status solidi (a) and (b) were about 0.5. Now they oscillate around 1.0. The journals occupy places 30 (a) and 29 (b) among the 57 condensed matter publications listed in the ISI. Six years ago these places were 34 (a) and 30 (b). The journal is even better placed with respect to the so-called cited half-life which is 8.2 years for pss (a) (place 16 among 57) and 6.7 years for pss (b) (place 20 among 57). Martin, of course, has contributed with his original publications to the success of the journal, having published 36 articles in pss(a) and 32 in pss(b). I would like to some of the editorial decisions implemented under Martin's leadership. They have been largely responsible for the quantitative improvements just described. Martin introduced international standards of peer review, usually involving two anonymous referees: The increase of the rejection rate from ca. 20% to 60% followed. He discontinued the Short Notes, which had become nearly irrelevant, and replaced them, in 1997 by Rapid Research Notes (today Rapid Research Letters) with especially strict reviewing rules and a rather attractive layout. Martin's participation in many international conferences and their organization gave him a handle to acquire the publication of conference proceedings. Organizing committees usually prefer publication in international journals rather than special books because of their guaranteed future availability in libraries and the partaking in the reviewing procedure. The journal became increasingly popular along these lines, a fact which moved Martin to launch in 2002 part (c) of the journal, devoted mainly, but not exclusively, to conference articles. Martin also introduced the publication of Feature Articles, topical issues, and the instrument of the Editor's Choice to highlight articles deemed to be especially interesting. He appointed Regional Editors (6 at this point) which represent the journal in important geographic regions. He also brought the journal online, a must these days. The upheavals that followed the collapse of most of the communist world, the rapid development of science in many emerging nations and the enhanced competitiveness, even in the developed countries, have not ebbed out. Some of them are particular damaging to the reputation of science in a world increasingly skeptical of its values. I am thinking of scientific misconduct and outright fraud, in the form of plagiarism and data fabrication. physica status solidi was also afflicted by this plague: after all, it happened in the best of families. Two of the most notorious offenders of the past decade, J. H. Schön and Y. Park, also visited physica status solidi. In two courageous editorials Martin Stutzmann and Stefan Hildebrandt (Managing Editor of the journal) rapidly exposed these cases of misconduct together with other cases in which there was also good reason to suspect misconduct. Some of the articles involved were rapidly retracted by the authors, others were not. It is reassuring to say that none of them had any impact worth mentioning (1,3 citations, mostly by the authors themselves or in the editorials just mentioned). Only few journal editors dared to convey to the readers a warning that some work of those authors may be faulty even if no air-tight proof was available. However, Martin and Stefan did. We wish that Martin will remain at the helm at least another decade, before he switches to research on the liquid state as practiced in Southern France. [source] Stellar baby boom in the young universeASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 6 2009Article first published online: 23 NOV 200 Research Notes Gravitational lensing has allowed researchers to examine in detail one of the most distant known galaxies. They found a surprisingly high rate of star formation, with up to 50 stars like the Sun forming per year at the peak of the boom in starbirth. [source] Parallax measurements on cosmological scalesASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 3 2009Article first published online: 29 MAY 200 Research Notes The prospect of advanced astrometric satellites raises the tantalizing possibility that we will be able to make astrometric measurements at such a precision as to place constraints on dark energy parameters. That is the premise outlined by Fiona Ding and Rupert Croft of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA, in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, [source] Research note: profiles of union workplace representatives: evidence from three unions in south-west EnglandINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2002Martin Upchurch First page of article [source] Research note: Renaming Verrucophora farcimen Eikrem, Edvardsen et ThrondsenPHYCOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2009Wenche Eikrem SUMMARY Verrucophora farcimen is renamed Pseudochattonella farcimen, and V. farcimen should be regarded as a synonym of P. farcimen for reasons of priority. [source] Research note: Salinity tolerance of Arctic kelps from SpitsbergenPHYCOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2007Ulf Karsten SUMMARY The effect of hypo- and hypersaline treatments on the effective quantum yield of photosystem II was comparatively studied with a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer (PAM) in the brown algal species Alaria esculenta, Fucus distichus, Laminaria digitata, Laminaria solidungula, Saccharina latissima (formerly Laminaria saccharina) and Saccorhiza dermatodea collected in the Arctic Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen). While the euryhaline F. distichus was not affected at all by salinities ranging from 5 to 60 psu, A. esculenta, S. latissima and L. solidungula exhibited under hyposaline conditions strong loss of pigments (bleaching) or even high mortality reflecting stenohaline features. In contrast to the latter species, L. digitata and S. dermatodea survived all salinities, but showed reduced photosynthetic activities at the lowest and highest salt treatments and hence, can be characterized as stenohaline-euryhaline organisms. The data are discussed in terms of vertical zonation (eulittoral versus sublittoral habitat), in terms of interactive effects with other abiotic factors such as temperature and in terms of the species-specific acclimation potential. [source] Research note: Characterization of a cDNA encoding glutamine synthetase II from Gelidium crinale (Rhodophyta)PHYCOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002D. Wilson Freshwater SUMMARY A cDNA encoding glutamine synthetase (GS) was characterized from the red alga, Gelidium crinale (Turner) Gaillon, using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and the 5,- and 3,-rapid amplification of cDNA ends. Sequence analysis of a 1231-bp GS cDNA transcript included both 5, and 3, untranslated regions and a 1056-bp open reading frame encoding a 352 amino acid polypeptide. Comparison with GS sequences from other organisms revealed that the G. crinale cDNA encodes a type-II GS, and the absence of a N-terminal plastid signal sequence suggests that it is a cytosolic isoenzyme. Phylogenetic analyses of GSII amino acid sequences supports the multiple origin of cytosolic and plastid isoenzymes during eukaryotic evolution. [source] Note on audit fee premiums to client size and industry specializationACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 3 2007Elizabeth Carson M42 Abstract This research note examines the impact of client size on the estimation of audit fee premiums in the Australian market for audit services. Previous research suggests that higher audit fees are expected for both larger clients and for industry specialization. We find that in the Australian market for audit services, the fee premium attributed to industry specialist audit firms is concentrated in the audit fees paid by the largest clients in each industry. One reason for higher fees paid by larger clients is the demand for additional audit services. We find higher fees for companies cross-listed on US exchanges. We also find that fee premiums to auditors that are city-industry leaders are strongly related to client size. [source] ,Reliability' Reconsidered: A Critique of the HRO-NAT DebateJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001Alan Jarman The concept of reliability is beginning to take on new meaning as Information Technology becomes pervasive in both the private and public sectors. This topic deserves further attention as new mobile Internet systems proliferate. This research note is concerned with developing a more operational understanding of the concept of ,reliability'. The HRO-NAT Debate is raising many related issues in this regard. However, the article goes further and seeks to provide a multi-level contingent schema for this purpose. [source] A historical perspective on nonverbal communication in debates: Implications for elections and leadershipJOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, Issue 4 2009William A. Gentry Nonverbal communication has been a focus in both the realms of politics and leadership. Since 1960 commentaries about political debates have led to the conclusion that inept nonverbal communication may have been a telling sign as to who lost the eventual election. This article will give a brief recount of the nonverbal ineptitude associated with several televised debates throughout history, a short research note about how nonverbal communication in a debate may predict the loser of an election, and a set of recommendations that may help leaders. In essence, as nonverbal communication may not necessarily help candidates in a debate and subsequent election, but rather hurt them, the same can be said for leaders in general: nonverbal communication may not necessarily help leaders become their very best, but it can definitely hurt them and their effectiveness as leaders. [source] Life Course Transitions, the Generational Stake, and Grandparent-Grandchild RelationshipsJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 4 2002Robert Crosnoe Drawing on past research and prominent theoretical orientations, this research note suggests new approaches to intergenerational dynamics. For 316 grandparent-grandchild pairs, we found that the transition of grandchildren to higher education, controlling for other transitions, improves the quality of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. For grandparent mentoring, however, we see evidence of a generational stake, with grandparents overestimating their mentoring role, compared to grandchildren, during this transition. This generational stake reflects the importance of grandparent education, with increased mentoring for the college-going grandchildren of college-educated grandparents. These findings indicate that the intergenerational literature can be significantly advanced by taking a long-term perspective, incorporating multiple points of view, and examining contextual variation. Moreover, greater understanding of these intergenerational ties will benefit research on families and individual development. [source] How welfare reform affects young children: Experimental findings from Connecticut,A research noteJOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2003Susanna Loeb As welfare-to-work reforms increase women's labor market attachment, the lives of their young children are likely to change. This note draws on a random-assignment experiment in Connecticut to ask whether mothers' rising employment levels and program participation are associated with changes in young children's early learning and cognitive growth. Children of mothers who entered Connecticut's Jobs First program, an initiative with strict 21-month time limits and work incentives, displayed moderate advantages in their early learning, compared with those in a control group. A number of potential mechanisms for this effect are explored, including maternal employment and income, home environment, and child care. Mothers in the new welfare program are more likely to be employed, have higher income, are less likely to be married, have more children's books in their home, and take their children to libraries and museums more frequently. However, these effects explain little of the observed gain in child outcomes. Other parenting practices and the home's social environment do explain early learning, but these remained unaffected by welfare reform. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management [source] Converting principal meridional representation of power to the coordinates of the power matrix using the matrix similarity transformOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 4 2006H. Abelman Abstract General or local variations of the refractive elements in the eye, called irregular astigmatism, may manifest as non-orthogonal meridians when each principal meridian on the front surface of a cornea is independently aligned with the focussed mires of a keratometer. These are examples of astigmatic systems that are thick. The representation of power along the principal meridians is not suitable for quantitative work. The purpose of this research note is to convert power along principal meridians that can be non-orthogonal, to the coordinates of the power matrix that are suitable for quantitative analysis. [source] A Portrait of Australian Trade Union OfficialsBRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 4 2001Tom Bramble Details are given of the chief characteristics of Australia's trade union officials, using data drawn from the 1986 and 1996 Australian Censuses of Population and Housing. This research note provides an update on research published by a number of authors. Unlike previous work, however, use of Census data allows for direct comparisons of the characteristics of union officials with those of union members or, where such data are not available, with the employed work-force. [source] Marketing visitor attractions: a segmentation studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007Stephen W. Litvin Abstract This research revisits issues related to the travel behaviours of first-time versus repeat visitors to a destination, with a special focus on the impact that the repeat visitor segment has upon the paid-attraction sector. Healthy attractions are critically important to the success of a destination, but as this research notes, attractions have difficulty drawing guests in a repeat visitors-dominated market. Implications that should be of value to marketers and attraction management in any maturing tourism destination are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||||||||