236 research outputs found
Towards a new employment relationship model
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this study is to examine and extend Noer’s theoretical model of the new\ud
employment relationship.\ud
Design/methodology/approach – Case study methodology is used to scrutinise the model. The\ud
results of a literature-based survey on the elements underpinning the five values in the model are\ud
analysed from dual perspectives of individual and organization using a multi-source assessment\ud
instrument. A schema is developed to guide and inform a series of focus group discussions from an\ud
analysis of the survey data. Using content analysis, the transcripts from the focus group discussions\ud
are evaluated using the model’s values and their elements. The transcripts are also reviewed for\ud
implicit themes. The case studied is Flight Centre Limited, an Australian-based international retail\ud
travel company.\ud
Findings – Using this approach, some elements of the five values in Noer’s model are identified as\ud
characteristic of the company’s psychological contract. Specifically, to some extent, the model’s values\ud
of flexible deployment, customer focus, performance focus, project-based work, and human spirit and\ud
work can be applied in this case. A further analysis of the transcripts validates three additional values\ud
in the psychological contract literature: commitment; learning and development; and open information.\ud
As a result of the findings, Noer’s model is extended to eight values.\ud
Research limitations/implications – The study offers a research-based model of the new\ud
employment relationship. Since generalisations from the case study findings cannot be applied directly\ud
to other settings, the opportunity to test this model in a variety of contexts is open to other researchers.\ud
Originality/value – In practice, the methodology used is a unique process for benchmarking the\ud
psychological contract. The process may be applied in other business settings. By doing so,\ud
organization development professionals have a consulting framework for comparing an organization’s\ud
dominant psychological contract with the extended model presented here
Grasping at straws: a ratings downgrade for the emerging international financial architecture
No full textFollowing the Asia crisis of 1997-98, policymakers invested a great deal of energy in designing a new international financial architecture. However many of the policy proposals which have emerged from think tanks and the multilateral agencies have proven unworkable or politically unpalatable. The debate focuses on state-led initiatives. But the assumption that public policy is by definition an output of public institutions is difficult to sustain in an era of global change. This paper considers specialized forms of intelligence-gathering and judgment-determination which seem increasingly important as sources of governance in this era of financial market volatility. These agents - embedded knowledge networks (EKNs) - include the major bond rating agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard and Poor’s, the focus of this paper. The Basel Committee has put forward a serious proposal to reform the existing capital adequacy framework which uses banks' own internal ratings and external bond ratings to calculate bank risk-weighted capital requirements. The paper shows that there are potentially unexpected consequences from using private rating agencies as a substitute for state-based regulation, due to the organizational incentives that shape the ratings industry. Cementing these organizational incentives into the emerging financial architecture will give rise to negative social and economic consequences
Detection and characterization of singly deuterated silylene, SiHD, via optical spectroscopy
No full textabstract: Singly deuterated silylene has been detected and characterized in the gas-phase using high-resolution, two-dimensional, optical spectroscopy. Rotationally resolved lines in the 0[0 over 0][˜ over X][superscript 1]A′ → [˜ over A][superscript 1]A′′000X˜1A′→A˜1A″ band are assigned to both c-type perpendicular transition and additional parallel, axis-switching induced bands. The extracted rotational constants were combined with those for SiH[subscript 2] and SiD[subscript 2] to determine an improved equilibrium bond length, r[subscript SiH], and bond angle, θ, of 1.5137 ± 0.0003 Å and 92.04° ± 0.05°, and 1.4853 ± 0.0005 Å and 122.48° ± 0.08° for the [˜ over X][superscript 1]A′(0, 0, 0) and [˜ over A][superscript 1]A″(0, 0, 0) state respectively. The dispersed fluorescence consists of a long progression in the [˜ over A][superscript 1]A″(0,0,0) → [˜ over X][superscript 1]A′(0, ν[subscript 2], 0) emission which was analyzed to produce vibrational parameters. A strong quantum level dependence of the rotationally resolved radiative decay curves is analyzed.This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. The following article appeared in The Journal of Chemical Physics and may be found at http://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4954702
Paper watermark imaging using electron and low energy x-ray radiography
No full textHistorians and librarians are interested in watermarks and mould surface patterns in historic papers, because they represent the “fingerprints” of antique papers. However, these features are usually covered or hidden by printing, writing or other media. Different techniques have been developed to extract the watermarks in the paper while avoiding interference from media on the paper. Beta radiography provides good results, but this method cannot be widely used because of radiation safety regulations and the long exposure times required due to weak isotope sources employed. In this work, two promising methods are compared which can be used to extract digital high-resolution images for paper watermarks and these are electron radiography and low energy X-ray radiography. For electron radiography a “sandwich” of a lead sheet, the paper object, and a film in a dark cassette, is formed and it is exposed at higher X-ray potentials (> 300 kV). The photoelectrons escaping from the lead sheet penetrate the paper and expose the film. After development, the film captures the watermark and mould surface pattern images for the paper being investigated. These images are then digitized using an X-ray film digitizer. The film employed could potentially be replaced by a special type of imaging plate with a very thin protection layer to directly generate digital images using computed radiography (CR). For the second method, a low energy X-ray source is used with the specimen paper placed on a digital detector array (DDA). This method directly generates a low energy digital radiography (DR) image. Both methods provide high quality images without interference from the printing media, and provide the potential to generate a “fingerprint” database for historical papers. There were nevertheless found to be differences in the images obtained using the two methods. The second method, using a low energy X-ray source, has the potential to be integrated in a portable device with a small footprint incorporating user safety requirements. Differences obtained using the two methods are shown and discussed.This proceeding may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This proceeding appeared in Zhang, Zhan, Uwe Ewert, Timothy D. Barrett, and Leonard J. Bond. "Paper watermark imaging using electron and low energy x-ray radiography." AIP Conference Proceedings 2102, no. 1 (2019): 030004, and may be found at DOI: 10.1063/1.5099750. Posted with permission.</p
2002, ‘Alternation-based lexicon reconstruction
No full textAuthor(s) hidden for anonymous review Institute also hidden Address also hidden (probably two lines) Email also hidden This research is aimed at developing a hierarchical alternation-based lexical architecture able to comprehensively list the full range of alternations associated with a given predicate sense, both efficiently and robustly. The lexicon being developed is built up automatically from an existing Japanese-English machine translation lexicon.
Managing Food Industry Business and Financial Risks with Commodity-Linked Credit Instruments
No full textThis paper reviews the use and structure of commodity-linked credit instruments. It is argued that in the absence of contingent markets food firms face increasing financial risk reduced investment, and limited access to debt markets. One strategy is to issue commodity-linked credit whose payment structure is linked to the price of an underlying commodity. In some cases, a commodity-linked bond (CLB) can be structured to provide an incentive to investors by sharing in profit gains. If the goal is to hedge financial risks, CLB's can also be constructed that reduce the loan principle or coupons depending on price movements.Agribusiness, Risk and Uncertainty,
International capital flows : do short-term investment and direct investment differ?
No full textThe authors examine the behavior of four major components of international capital flows in 15 developing and industrial countries. Striking differences in the behavior of the component flows arise in general specifications that allow the flows to interact. For example, the behavior of international short-term investment appears to be sensitive to changes in all the other types of international capital flows, including direct investment, but direct investment appears to be insensitive to such changes. In finding that short-term investment appears to respond more dramatically to disturbances in other capital flows and in other countries than does direct investment, the authors provide empirical support for the conventional notion that short-term investment is"hot money"and direct investment is not.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Capital Markets and Capital Flows,Financial Intermediation,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Capital Flows
Income Risk and Health
No full textWe investigate the impact of exogenous income shocks on health using twenty years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamic. To unravel the impact of income on health from unobserved heterogeneity and reverse causality, we employ techniques from the literature on the estimation of dynamic panel data models. Contrary to much of the previous literature on the gradient, we find that, on average, adverse income shocks lead to a deterioration of health. These effects are most pronounced for working-aged men and are dominated by transitions into the very bottom of the earnings distribution. We also provide suggestive evidence of an association between negative income shocks and higher mortality for working-aged men.Gradient, Recessions, Health, Dynamic Panel Data Models
Income Volatility and Health
No full textWe investigate the impact of exogenous income fluctuations on health using twenty years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. To unravel the impact of income on health from unobserved heterogeneity and reverse causality, we employ techniques from the literature on the estimation of dynamic panel data models. Contrary to much of the previous literature on health and socio-economic status, we find that, on average, adverse income shocks lead to a deterioration of health. These effects are most pronounced for working-aged men and are dominated by transitions into the very bottom of the earnings distribution. We also provide suggestive evidence of an association between negative income shocks and higher mortality for working-aged men.Gradient, Health, Dynamic Panel Data Models, Recessions
Patterns of behavior in biodiversity preservation
No full textConservation budgets are limited, so it is right to ask of biodiversity programs, What should be preserved? How much should be preserved? Where? Recent papers on optimal preservation policy have tried to integrate three considerations: the relative uniqueness of different species or habitats, the degree of risk to their continued survival, and the opportunity cost of the resources needed to enhance their prospects for survival. It is natural to ask, How are we doing? Have biodiversity conservation resources been optimally allocated? What determines government decisions about the preservation of endangered species? The authors submit the first report card, an empirical analysis of U.S. species preservation policy, the best-documented country experience currently available. The authors discuss the most common normative justifications for biodiversity preservation and identify measurable proxies for a subset of those justifications. Proxies include"scientific"species characteristics, such as"degree of endangerment"and"taxonomic uniqueness,"as well as"visceral"characteristics, such as physical size and to what extent a species is considered a"higher form of life."They find that both kindsof characteristics, but especially"visceral"characteristics, influence government decisions on whether to protect a species under the Endangered Species Act. The authors find that"visceral"characteristics- especially physical size and taxonomic class - are also important in explaining how much is spent on endangered species. Perhaps more surprising is their finding that more is spent on animals with lower risk of extinction than on animals with a higher risk of extinction. The author's results are sobering. Many millions have been spent on species preservation, but neither uniqueness nor risk has weighed heavily in resource allocation. Instead there has been a heavy bias toward"charismatic megafauna"- large, well-known birds and mammals ("higher forms of life,"in the human value system). Other classes of fauna - including, say, eels or wild toads - and all flora, have gotten extremely short shrift. Prominent examples of species with high charisma, high attention, and relatively low endangerment are the bald eagle, the Florida scrub jay, and the grizzly bear. Other species may have less charisma but could have more scientific value or species risk.Wildlife Resources,Wetlands,Environmental Economics&Policies,Information Technology,Biodiversity
- …
