Search results for ""emerald publishing limited""

During the past decade, many countries have implemented a large-scale reform to improve teacher quality. These reforms have targeted a range of teacher policies including those on recruitment into teaching, pre-service teacher education, certification, hiring and placement, induction and professional development, teacher evaluation, career structure, and compensation. The current global focus on improving teacher quality provides a unique opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of teacher reforms around the world. Previous books on teacher reforms and policies tended to focus on descriptions of teacher policies and their backgrounds, and we have limited knowledge about how these policies were implemented and how they impacted teachers. This edited book fills this knowledge gap by focusing on implementations and outcomes of teacher reforms. The chapters are based on empirical studies that evaluated the implementations and outcomes of major teacher reforms in the countries from various parts of the world: North and South America, Asia and Oceania, Europe, Middle East and Africa. The concluding chapter discusses the lessons learned from these empirical studies and provides recommendations for policymakers around the world who are attempting to improve teacher quality and student learning through teacher reforms.

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Health care organizations around the world are judged in terms of a health care triple bottom line: ensuring employee and patient safety, maximizing employee and patient satisfaction, and meeting financial goals. Given the increasing burden of chronic diseases, the increasing complexity of medical interventions, and the increasing costs of care, innovative leadership is required to achieve this triple bottom line. The 14th volume of the Advances in Health Care Management research series addresses the links between leadership and safety, satisfaction or financial performance in health care management by exploring questions such as the following: (1) How does leadership impact employee safety? (2) How does leadership affect patient safety? (3) How does leadership impact employee satisfaction? (4) How does leadership affect patient satisfaction? (5) How does leadership affect financial performance? (6) How do health care organizations deploy multi-level leadership to achieve safety goals? Satisfaction goals? Financial goals? Multiple goals? (7) How do health care organization leaders establish and maintain a safety culture? A patient-centered culture? A high performance culture? Combined cultures?"

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This volume addresses issues of political and economic globalization and worldwide connectedness of countries posing a question whether it symbolizes progress or regress for world's societies. Starting with the notion of modernization resulting from globalized development, and supported by the notion of "the end of civilization and the last men" envisioned as outcomes of worldwide democratization, the collection of papers focuses on economic and political issues experiences by countries at the time of rapid diffusions of democracy and of global market economy. The case studies of pertinent political issues such as international migration, human rights and international conflict, political interventions, tolerance and equality, environmental protection and green energy, and economic justice are discussed by authors focusing on modern societies of developed and developing world. The concluding chapter provides a summary of presented topics in form of a discussion forum on outcomes of globalization.

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Economists are increasingly turning their attention to the measurement and causes of health inequality. This is in response to widespread concern that health disparities reflect social injustices but is also part of the trend away from the narrow focus on inequality in income to the more encompassing analysis of inequality in wellbeing. Researchers interested in the extent and causes of variation in wellbeing cannot but turn their analytical gaze on health inequalities. This volume contains methodological and empirical contributions from leading experts in health economics and economic inequality that add further momentum to a thriving field of research. The focus is on methods for the measurement of health inequalities (income related, multidimensional and inequalities of opportunity) as well as the analysis of their causes. The collection is essential reading for researchers already working on health inequality and provides an immediate reconnaissance of the frontiers for those entering this exciting field.

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For several decades people have been grappling with how to retain the material safety and cultural richness of indigenous non-capitalist societies and economies, but also gain the health, wealth, education and life opportunities the modern capitalist world offers. This book brings together examples of attempts to forge locally appropriate versions of modernity; development that suits the aspirations and circumstances of particular groups of people. Authors question how the market economy has been variously negotiated by groups who also have other systems through which they organize their social and economic life. What has worked for these people, what has not, and why? The volume addresses how, as a social and economic system, capitalism has been very effective in generating wealth and technological innovation, but has also been associated with great social inequity and environmental damage. Its inherent flaws have been highlighted by the escalation of ecological problems arising from growth-oriented capitalism and various economic crises, the latest being the Global Financial Crisis and its ongoing fallout.

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This volume addresses the most current perspectives and issues related to learning disabilities and is written by leaders in the field of learning disabilities. The layout of the book and ordering of chapters will allow readers to follow learning disabilities in a very logical and thoughtful process from legal issues, identification, and assessment, to effective practices and response to intervention finally ending with practical issues of inclusion, working with families, and teacher preparation. Chapters can be read in order or independently which will allow readers considerable versatility. Chapters in the book include: Inclusion and Students with Learning Disabilities; Reading Instruction and Students with Learning Disabilities; Written Instruction and Students with Learning Disabilities; Mathematics Instruction and Students with Learning Disabilities; Social Skills Training and Students with Learning Disabilities; Response to Intervention Techniques and Students with Learning Disabilities; Transition and Students with Learning Disabilities; Technology and Students with Learning Disabilities; Families and Students with Learning Disabilities; Teacher Preparation and Students with Learning Disabilities.

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In recent years, the globalization of financial asset markets has become increasingly important and has led to closer linkages among these markets. New global investment instruments such as sovereign credit default swaps, exchange traded funds, and bond markets have been created, enabling investors to fine tune their investment portfolios to their likings. Financial investments have been further expanded to include real asset investments such as real estate investments. It is important for global investors to make proper decisions in assessing these investments in their asset allocations and for policymakers who can provide sound policy guidance to cope with the globalization of the financial markets. This volume contributes to a fresh perspective on the economic and finance research on international financial markets and also the commodity markets. It enables scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to better understand the changes and dynamics of commodity and financial asset trading following the recent global financial crisis. This volume contains a comprehensive analysis of international financial markets through a series of essays from leading researchers in the field.

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Since the global financial crisis began in 2008-2009, there has been a strong decline in financial markets and investment, and significant economic recession for most developed and emerging economies. Accordingly, new forms of alternative finance, management, control, accounting, trading and investment are being sought. Alternative finance presents challenges intended to stimulate investment and promote economic growth and development, as well as provide a return on investment during turbulent times. This volume aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of alternative finance in its various forms. It addresses the impact of the financial crisis and the failure of monetary and financial institutions to manage financial markets and handle the recent downturn. It also presents and discusses new research findings associated with alternative forms of investment and finance, and their economic and political implications.

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The 30th Volume of Advances in Econometrics is in honor of the two individuals whose hard work has helped ensure thirty successful years of the series, Thomas Fomby and R. Carter Hill. This volume began with a history of the Advances series by Asli Ogunc and Randall Campbell summarizing the prior volumes. Tom Fomby and Carter Hill both provide discussions of the role of Advances over the years. The remaining articles include contributions by a number of authors who have played key roles in the series over the years and in the careers of Fomby and Hill. Overall, this leads to a more diverse mix of papers than a typical volume of Advances in Econometrics.

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Advances in Environmental Accounting and Management has three main objectives. First, it enhances understanding of global environmental issues, especially valuation and disclosure of environmental impacts of firms' activities. Second, it makes management, investors and other stakeholders aware of the financial and economic consequences of our failure to address the environmental issues. Third, it encourages management to improve the firm's environmental performance and disclosures.

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Every three years, researchers with interest and expertise in transport survey methods meet to improve and influence the conduct of surveys that support transportation planning, policy making, modelling, and monitoring related issues for urban, regional, intercity, and international person, vehicle, and commodity movements. This book compiles the critical thinking on priority topics in contemporary transport policy and planning contexts. The contributed papers cover two key themes related to types of decision-making of importance to the development of data collection on both passenger travel and freight movements: the first theme, Selecting the Right Survey Method, acknowledges the fact that transport survey methods are evolving to meet both changing uses of transport survey data and the challenges of conducting surveys within contemporary society. The second theme, Supporting Transport Planning and Policy, recognizes that the demands on transportation data programs to support decision-making for transport planning and policy making clearly have evolved.The chapters have been selected with particular emphasis on the challenges of the near and medium term future to the design of transport surveys. Rapidly evolving problems and policy contexts are compelling transport researchers to advance the state-of-the-art of methods, tools, strategies and protocols, while assuring the stability and coherence of the very data from which trends can be tracked and understood and on which important decisions can be made.

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This book documents a radical shift in thinking from focusing on the school as the place where curriculum is made to realizing the ways children and families are engaged as curriculum makers in homes, in communities, and in the spaces in-between, outside of school. The narrative inquiry framing this book investigates the tensions experienced by teachers, children and families as they make curriculum attentive to lives. It draws on a research project involving multiperspectival narrative inquiries spanning four research sites and traces the tensions experienced by children, families and teachers in multiple curriculum making sites and some of the profound identity making and assessment making implications that become visible. Its attention to the relational in narrative inquiry is focused on tensions that shape lives and, as well, the unfolding of narrative inquiries. This informative book has a wide reaching audience of educational researchers, teacher educators, research methodologists, particularly those interested in narrative inquiry, curriculum scholars, graduate students, university faculty, teachers, administrators and parents alike.

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This volume of the "International Perspectives on Education and Society" series comparatively examines various two-year and community college institutions worldwide. While these institutions are called by different names and may not all be structured the same around the world, their core mission remains consistently: to respond to the needs of their local community. Inspired by the German Volkshochschule, founded in 1844, this model is now throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, Thailand and other nations. While the community college "label" is debatable and possibly controversial in and of itself, these institutions all serve the needs of their local communities by bridging the gap between academic and technical training with open and accessible learning. Students served by these institutions come from various socioeconomic backgrounds including age, race, culture, gender, and income levels. Two-year and community colleges adapt and institutionalize differently to meet various community needs, whether they provide students with technical training, the ability to transfer to four-year higher education institutions, remedial education or lifelong learning opportunities. This volume analyzes the ways this model has served and continues to serve communities in different international contexts for similar purposes.

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In much of the world's economy, production, exchange and consumption are regulated by the Market, which is widely believed to be based on economic rationality and driven by a desire to consume. But there are different views of how the Market operates, or ought to operate. This collection of essays discusses a series of alternative perspectives - manifested in ethical movements, alternative consumer behaviour, and social corporate responsibility initiatives - that seek to reveal the 'hidden hands' of power, inequality and morality that shape Market exchange. Against the impersonality of the Market, we find initiatives, such as local food movements, that seek to re-embed commodity exchange in social relationships. Against the idea of the open economy, we find initiatives that seek to counter the ever-widening gap between producers and consumers. Against increased extraction from less powerful economic actors, we find ethical movements, such as Fair Trade, that work to return a fair share of the price to producers and workers. And, against the unfettered Market, we encounter a move to re-regulate trade and protect those located in the most vulnerable market positions. The volume engages with a range of alternative ethical perspectives and the initiatives to which they give rise. Twelve essays - all based on first-hand ethnographic studies of alternative trade movements, corporate social initiatives and consumer behaviour - provide the groundwork for wide-ranging theoretical engagement and comparative analysis. The case studies cover a range of places, commodities and initiatives, including Fair Trade and organic production activism in Hungary, CSR discourses in South Africa and Europe, Fair Trade coffee in Costa Rica and handicrafts made in Indonesia. The essays contribute to a series of current debates within the social sciences about what drives alternative Market engagements, how they are understood and represented by different actors, and what makes their outcomes often ambivalent or contradictory. They address disjunctions between discourses and practices, and internal inconsistencies within ethical movements and corporate initiatives. The volume as a whole engages with questions about morality and the economy, the creation and circulation of value, and, ultimately, the possibility of making alternatives work. In doing so, the contributors reveal the many fields of power at work within the Market as well as within the movements advocating more ethical economic relationships. The volume will be of particular interest to social scientists, business and management studies scholars, and a range of practitioners.

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Demographic and societal changes are strongly affecting the contexts of childhood and the experience of being children. At the same time, across social groups and across societies, diversities and inequalities in childhood are taking new forms. In the developed world, in particular, children their number, their welfare, their education, the division of power and responsibilities over them among the different social actors have entered the public agenda, at the national and supranational level. Public concern over issues such as fertility rates, mothers working, early childhood education and care as well as solemn international declarations of children's rights are examples of the ongoing politicization of childhood. Drawing both on micro and macro, national and comparative studies, this volume of "Comparative Social Research" traces some of the trends and analyzes in comparative perspective how they affect images and practices of childhood and transforms responsibilities for children. The volume's focus is mainly on children in the developed countries, but attention is also paid to transnational diversities and to the impact of globalisation through the experiences of migrant children and of children living through the processes of modernization in the developing world.

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Since the linguistic turn in Frankfurt School critical theory during the 1970s, philosophical concerns have become increasingly important to its overall agenda, at the expense of concrete social-scientific inquiries. At the same time, each of the individual social sciences especially economics and psychology, but also political science and sociology have been moving further and further away from the challenge key representatives of the so-called first generation of Frankfurt School critical theorists (Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse) identified as central to the promise and responsibility of social science: to illuminate those dimensions of modern societies that prevent the reconciliation of facts and norms. As professional disciplines, each individual social science, and even philosophy, is prone to ignoring both the actuality and the relevance for research of alienation and reification as the mediating processes that constitute the reference frames for critical theory. Consequently, mainstream social-scientific research tends to progress in the hypothetical: we study the social world as if alienation, reification, and more recent incarnations of those mediating processes had lost their shaping forcewhile, in the context of globalization, their manifestations are ever more apparent, and tangible. The chapters included in this volume of "Current Perspectives in Social Theory" highlight the problematic nature of mainstream perspectives, and the growing need to reaffirm how the specific kind of critique the early Frankfurt School theorists advocated is not less, but far more important today. Contributions examine the links between political geographies and globalization; Marxism and public sociology; anti-Semitic workers and Jewish stereotypes; governmental rationality and state power; restricted eros and contemporary politics; Marcuse and the psycho-politics of transformation; contemporary theory and consumer society; and the theory of C. Wright Mills. This book includes nine chapters from some of the most respected personalities in the field and a broad and diverse look at social science and critical theory.

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With the influence and pressures of the globalized economy, education systems are at a crossroads and need to find a place and/or identity that reflect new or transformed realities for learning environments. Questions such as to what extent, in what way, and how are we doing will need to be raised and answered before learning environments can begin the work necessary to create people who are ready to enter the globalized workforce. This book will present chapters written from a variety of perspectives to address the question "what is needed within systems of education to prepare the next generation of leaders for a competitive global environment?" The authors focus on such topics as online learning, technology, leadership, and English Language Learners to show the challenges to traditional educational practices and the ways in which learning environments are responding to the new reality of globalization.

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This volume looks at interaction between business firms and socio-political actors in emerging markets - and how this relationship can be managed - and deals with the interconnection between the socio-political organizations in emerging markets and MNCs. Inferring to different business perspectives, the volume includes papers studying firms' strategic actions towards socio-political organizations, i.e. the interplay with socio-political actors and how this affects firms' competitive advantage in a particular market. The book discusses this in relation to a number of critical strategic areas such as brand building, market orientation and CSR. It also offers a number of practical illustrations from empirical studies from different markets. In this volume different authors contribute chapters focusing on diverse empirical and theoretical aspects covering the impact of socio-political environments on the success of international firms.

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This volume deals with important social-science issues of law and legal control pertaining to disasters and hazards in a variety of contexts. The orientation of this volume is driven by relevant recent occurrences, such as hurricanes Katrina and Irene in the United States; the 2010 BP oil spill, and the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Thematically diverse within the province of the social and behavioral sciences related to law and law-related problems, the chapters in this volume are not restricted in terms of theoretical approach and methodological orientation. Topics addressed include: legal controls pertaining to disaster prevention, response, and mitigation; regulations and policies concerning hazardous conditions; and crime and the control thereof in post-disaster situations.

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Volume 14 addresses the central issue of entrepreneurial action: while many factors are important to the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship does not happen until someone takes action! Leading scholars address this through cutting edge thinking on entrepreneurial action via concepts such as 'world-making' and entrepreneurial agency. Two empirical chapters examine how conditions of uncertainty shape the action that underlies opportunity creation and how specific venture creation actions effect nascent entrepreneurial efforts. An integrative model of the cognitive processes provides new insights regarding the importance of inflection points. The role of institutions in entrepreneurial action is examined in the case of state-sponsored social protection and university-based technology transfer systems. Applying effectual and linear models of entrepreneurial action in college classrooms is also explored. The final chapter examines the conceptual foundations and research challenges that lie ahead for scholars investigating entrepreneurial action.

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This volume of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change explores the relationships between mass media, social movements, and political change. Media plays an important role in social and political change and this volume advances scholarly understanding of how activists and elites alike use books, newspapers, and Internet-enabled technologies to affect change. Chapters include analyses of the role of media in the (Anti-)Abortion, Globalization, Labor, Townsend, and White Power movements as well as Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. Section one is focused on the role of books in movements and on explaining differences in movement media coverage across diverse print outlets. The second and third sections engage contemporary debates involving print media by outlining how scholars might explain and/or expand the overall quality of media coverage that movements receive. Also exploring social movements' use of Internet-enabled technologies, and how the Internet expands the horizons of activism by facilitating activism outside of organizations and creating culture milieus that support movement participation. The final chapter then explores influences on the growth of the ex-gay movement across US states. Altogether, this volume suggests new avenues for research, provides new insights into the strategic use and influence of media, and challenges existing assumptions of media-movement relationships.

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This volume supports the ethical negotiations of empirical researchers and enhances understanding of the complex imbrication of ethics and knowledge in contemporary social research. It deals jointly with the role of ethics in, and the effect of ethics on, social research.

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As economic stagnation freezes the globe; capitalism is increasingly questioned; war, revolution and political instability unsettles the Middle East; and President Obama's campaign for the Presidency looms, Volume 23 of Political Power and Social Theory reflects on these and related issues. Chapters in this volume discuss the meaning of revolution, the origins of neoliberalism in India, identity formation in a Chicago social movement, the Palestinian National Question, and the Black middle-class in the US. Additionally, in the Scholarly Controversy section, Fred Block questions whether the concept of "capitalism" should be problematized entirely.

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This volume focuses on management issues in the international context of health information technology (HIT). Nations around the globe have established policies designed to improve the computerization of their health care systems. It is believed that the adoption of HIT including clinical information systems, decision support systems, and networks or systems that facilitate the exchange of clinical and other health data will yield various desirable outcomes. These outcomes may include improvements in the quality of care, a reduction in medical errors, boosts in efficiencies, and improved provider and patient satisfaction. The purpose of this volume on HIT in the international context is to facilitate the exchange of management theory, best practice, implementation challenges, and the impact of adoption as it pertains to HIT adoption in one or more international settings. It offers a holistic viewpoint on health information technology use in health care organizations and systems, providing a managerial perspective from authors around the world that will prove useful for health care practitioners across a variety of settings.

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This volume contains eight empirical papers that examine corporate governance from a number of different perspectives. Howe et al investigate how governance can influence short- and long-term performance in the case of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies; Javakhadze et al analyze limits to convergence in international corporate governance practices; Barak and Lauterbach focus on the private benefits of control; and Dong examines the relation between the discipline of options and corporate debt and the design of executive compensation. Jiang et al measure the effect of R&D expenditures on bondholders; Gondhalekar et al examine the capital market response to financial restatements; Al-Khouri reports robust evidence that privately owned banks are more risky than government-owned banks; and Luo and Jackson conclude that the positive relationship between tunneling and executive compensation implies personal benefits for controlling shareholders at the expense of minority shareholders.

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The professional responsibilities of accountants are broad-based; they must serve clients and user groups whose needs, incentives, and goals may be in conflict. Further, accountants must interpret and apply codes of conduct, accounting and auditing principles, and securities regulations. Compliance with professional guidelines is judgment-based, and characteristics of the individual, the culture, and situation affect how these guidelines are interpreted and applied, as well as when they might be violated. Interactions between accountants, regulators, standard setters, and industries also have ethical components. Research into the nature of these interactions, resulting dilemmas, and how and why accountants resolve them is the focus of this journal.

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"Volume 38 of Studies in Symbolic Interaction" is devoted exclusively to the "Blue Ribbon Papers Series", which is under the intellectual leadership of Lonnie Athens. In this issue, Athens presents the autobiographies of scholars who have made significant contributions to symbolic interactionist approach over the 20th and 21st centuries, including David Altheide, Paul Atkinson, Kathy Chamaraz, Adele Clarke, Gary Cook, Carolyn Ellis, Martyn Hammersley, John Johnson, Joseph Kotarba, and Laurel Richardson. The contributors were all asked to address the question of how they got into their particular fields of study and later became interactionist? They were also prodded to reveal "who is the person behind the professional mask" by describing why and how they changed over the intellectual journeys that they took in becoming some of the best known and well-respected advocates of the symbolic-interactionist's approach in America and Great Britain. These autobiographic reflections and revelations not only shatter the popular stereotype of academics, but also the stereotype of scholars who subscribe to viewpoint of symbolic interactionism.

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This volume contains a further selection of the best papers presented at the Seventh Emonet conference (Montreal, Canada, August 2010), following on from Volume 7 and augmented once again with invited chapters authored by leading scholars in the field. "Experiencing and managing emotions in the workplace" comprises fourteen chapters arranged in four sections: The experience of emotion; The dynamics of emotion; Regulating emotion; and The emotionally intelligent organization. These encompass a variety of methodological approaches, including qualitative and quantitative research, sourced from research conducted in organizations in the USA, Europe, and Australasia. The volume's secondary theme is "care and compassion", the theme of the Academy of Management meetings that followed the Emonet conference in Montreal. In effect, organizations that understand their members' emotions and utilize this information in their management practices become "emotionally intelligent" and capable of showing care and compassion to all stakeholders. The chapters in this book provide a rich and varied coverage of the latest developments in the study of the role of emotions in organizational settings.

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"Web Search Engine Research", edited by Dirk Lewandowski, provides an understanding of Web search engines from the unique perspective of Library and Information Science. The book explores a range of topics including retrieval effectiveness, user satisfaction, the evaluation of search interfaces, the impact of search on society, reliability of search results, query log analysis, user guidance in the search process, and the influence of search engine optimization (SEO) on results quality. While research in computer science has mainly focused on technical aspects of search engines, LIS research is centred on users' behaviour when using search engines and how this interaction can be evaluated. LIS research provides a unique perspective in intermediating between the technical aspects, user aspects and their impact on their role in knowledge acquisition. This book is directly relevant to researchers and practitioners in library and information science, computer science, including Web researchers.

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This volume addresses the need for sociological insight through empirically rich, theoretically innovative chapters that range across methods, traditions and foci in order to cast new light on the place, role and impact of neuroscience.

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The ISKO UK Biennial Conference, 4th - 5th July, 2011, London honoured the life and achievements of Brian C. Vickery. His influence on the development of the information profession is celebrated in this book, with contributions from over 50 authors to address research and developments in knowledge organization, ranging from the theoretical basis of information retrieval to the practical application of ontologies in driving news and sport presentation on the BBC website. ISKO UK is a not-for-profit scientific/professional association with the objective of promoting research and communication in the domain of knowledge organization, within the broad field of information science and related disciplines.

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This book presents and celebrates over 20 years of Action Learning and Action Research (ALAR) through stories, experiences, reflections and specific works of key proponents and participants in Action Learning and Action Research World Congresses. Authors discuss wide-ranging possibilities and argue for the benefits of action research for sustainable development and problem solving in a turbulent world in the 21st century. They practise what they preach: collaborative, participatory action research based on learning outcomes from projects, discussion and debate. All chapters argue for, justify and explain the need for a shift in approaches to learning and development - from technical, managerial and controlling, to emancipatory, critical, ethical and humanist approaches - to achieve sustainable and robust outcomes in a turbulent world. The book is the first to present action research as a solution to and integration of economic, social, philosophical and ecological systems for problem solving and sustainable development in this troubled world of the 21st century.

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This book provides knowledge and skill-building training exercises in managing marketing decisions in business-to-business (B2B) contexts. The topic coverage is broad and deep. The intent is for the book to help answer four questions: (1) what questions should executives ask when crafting and implementing effective strategies in B2B contexts; (2) what tentative answers may be useful for executives to consider to these questions; (3) what skills in crafting strategies and decisions are necessary for executives to excel in for achieving effective outcomes consistently; and how should the B2B go about acquiring these skills?

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Volume 27 of "Advances in Econometrics", entitled "Missing Data Methods", contains 16 chapters authored by specialists in the field, covering topics such as: Missing-Data Imputation in Nonstationary Panel Data Models; Markov Switching Models in Empirical Finance; Bayesian Analysis of Multivariate Sample Selection Models Using Gaussian Copulas; Consistent Estimation and Orthogonality; and Likelihood-Based Estimators for Endogenous or Truncated Samples in Standard Stratified Sampling.

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Stepped-up competition in the airline industry over the past 40 years profoundly changed how carriers set fares. Chapters in this volume contribute to our understanding of fare determination in this industry by examining carrier pricing behavior, such as non-linear pricing, pricing decisions associated with strategic alliances, competition from low cost carriers, and the challenges faced by carriers experiencing financial distress. These contributions present nuanced analyses of fare determination that include new ways of examining whether the prices charged by carriers are consumer welfare-enhancing. Examination of airline carrier pricing only tells part of the story of firm behavior, as analysis of carriers' ability to provide quality services is also significant in understanding the economics of this industry. This volume includes chapters examining non-price characteristics of business operations, such as frequency of service, passenger safety, availability of aircraft types for different transportation services, and the geographic distribution of air transportation-related noise by aircraft departures and arrivals at airports.

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Transport accounts for 23% of global carbon dioxide emissions and is one of the few industrial sectors where emissions are still growing. There is a pressing need for transport to begin reducing emissions to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The world is already committed to some degree of climate change and there is an additional need to adapt transport networks to cope with the future climate. This book examines the relationship between transport and climate change at a range of scales and from a series of different perspectives. The complex post-Kyoto international situation is covered before the discussion at national and then regional levels. It is clear that every country needs strong national policy to deliver the required greenhouse gas emission reductions. The UK has been the first country to implement a legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This book uses a range of UK examples to provide a timely record of progress to date in meeting the demands of the agreement in terms of the mitigation of climate change. The importance of climate and socio-economic scenarios forms the basis of a series of additional discussions on climate change adaptation, underlining the need for a holistic framework to tackle climate change in the transport sector.

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In recent years' research on business and sustainability, particular attention is being given to the motivations driving business managers to incorporate social and environmental strategies into their day-to-day business activities. Such research is critical to the evaluation of green management whether viewed from the perspective of academics, managers, policy makers or business students. This volume aims to assist readers to navigate the conceptual maze surrounding discussions of business and sustainability by offering critical reflection on the state of business action for environmental sustainability and providing evidence about what is actually taking place in real localities and businesses. The chapters in the volume are focusing on sustainability issues that are critical, topical, and needed at this stage of the discussion. The volume makes three main contributions. First, it offers a critical review of business engagement with sustainability from four perspectives: sustainability as a political project; sustainability as a response to environmental crisis, sustainability as business opportunity and sustainability as stakeholder management. Second, the volume examines actual experience in terms of the steps being taken by business and how these have affected business performance. Third, the volume provides case studies of individual organizations or institutions that reveal tensions and challenges to progressing sustainable business strategies and that offer insight into the prospects for changing the relationship of business to the environment.

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The progression of information and communication technology (ICT) eGovernment systems has substantial implications for the future of government as we know it. eGov presents major challenges and advantages for policy makers as fundamentally different nations are adopting ICT in public administration reforms in order to capitalize on the benefits of transformational government or electronic government technology. This book investigates the modern political, technological, economic, social, and cultural issues of transformational government. It discusses in detail how interaction through advancing technology such as e-participation, mobile government, social media, web 2.0, and cloud computing has been successfully incorporated into eGov practice. International in scope this book gives practical examples and case studies of eGov implementation in countries across the globe and is the essential reference text for this important topic.

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This volume takes a fresh approach to qualitative research on sport and physical culture by presenting "student friendly" engaging chapters that clearly articulate the significance and practice of qualitative and/or critical methods in plain and convincing language. It outlines contemporary, cutting-edge approaches in qualitative research methods that students in undergraduate programs in sociology and sociology of sport, as well as, for instance, sport, exercise, kinesiology, or health, can understand clearly. Chapters revolve around one principal method in qualitative methodology, and look at why certain methodological choices were made, what problems were faced, and how these were overcome. Classic issues in methodology, contemporary issues in research methods and innovative trends in qualitative research are addressed through case study examples from emerging and exciting areas of research in sport studies. Topics covered include: historical methods; ethnography; auto-ethnography; embodied methods; interviewing; narratives; participatory action methods; interpretative phenomenological analysis; media analysis; and visual methods.

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"The Economics of Religion" explores the new paradigms of "religious economics" and "economies of religion" under the scope of transdisciplinary and international perspectives. It examines and appraises some of the recent theoretical developments and methodological innovations in religious and social sciences. This volume offers the chance to extend the analysis of religious behaviours by means of conceptual and methodological models of economics. It goes far beyond the classical "economy and religion" debate, and suggests not only theoretical but also epistemological changes in the study of religion: individual rationality and rational choice, market theory, demand and supply theory, branding and commodification of religion, believers' "consumer" habits, churches' competitive strategies, for example. Of course, these are not exempt from criticism, which this volume also addresses. These detailed and localized case-studies range from experimental to ethnographic methods, psychological to cultural aspects of believing and practising cults in the scope of economics of religion. Geographical areas covered include Nigeria, Bolivia, Italy, Mexico, France, Korea, Nepal and Tonga.

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The recent global financial crisis has indicated that the conventional dominant paradigm in finance is unable to cope with the problems of financial systems, markets, and behaviour of financial institutions, and failed to understand the proper role of finance in society and the economic system as a whole. Drawing on the recent movements of corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing and sustainable development, this volume goes further to examine the ongoing making of financial reality towards social responsibility and sustainability, and aims at a better understanding of finance as a collective construct and endeavour embedded in societal context. Bringing together leading scholarly thinking, this collection opens new avenues of comprehending corporate social responsibility, reveals mechanisms and strategies in shaping the reality of responsible finance, searches alternative approaches towards financial sustainability, and explores new thinking of coping with complex financial choice and financial risks. Moving away from the conventional financial paradigm, this volume demonstrates paradigm shifting in the financial world and provides fresh insights on how we may reshape the financial reality to enable societal betterment and prevent any future financial crisis.

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Tourism services all over the world currently face rapid changes due to market globalization, intensified competition and the dynamic evolution of new technologies. Moreover, it is expected that tourism will be one of the industries that will be most affected by the current recession. The long-term success of tourism services in such a fierce competitive and financially difficult environment depends not only on being able to satisfy customers' needs and desires, but to strategically respond to current global challenges. Therefore, strategic marketing becomes a necessary practice in contemporary tourism services firms. "Strategic Marketing in Tourism Services" focuses on marketing strategies implemented in tourism services firms and includes a collection of papers related to specific marketing strategies. The book presents the application of specific marketing strategies such as experiential marketing, branding, target marketing, relationship marketing and e-marketing in tourism. Furthermore, it presents the strategic responses of each tourism subsector - hospitality, air transport, tour operation, travel agencies and the tourism destinations - from various countries around the world.

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Recent failures in the corporate sector are to a large extent a failure of accountability. Unfortunately, accountability tends to be characterised by atomistic research; confusing language; models of limited scope; poor conceptualisation of key constructs; context insensitivity; and, a lack of methodological integration. This book not only integrates but substantially adds to the extant accountability literature, providing a holistic view of accountability, showcasing a newly-generated Holistic Accountability Model (HAM). This book clarifies the purposes of accountability; identifies what triggers accountability exchanges; generates a set of well-defined responsibility and accountability constructs; and, via a grounded graphic model, links these constructs to the accountability process and to the influences that impact on this process. Several working models are proposed to help practitioners achieve a better understanding of the extent and nature of their accountability obligations, develop and implement more effective accountability policies and practices, and make better accountability decisions.

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This collection includes both refereed articles and review essays of recent books in the history of economic thought and methodology. The articles highlight research the historiography and methodology of the English Poor Laws, behavioural economics, and the socialist calculation debate; as well as A.D. Roy and portfolio theory and correspondence regarding John Maurice Clark's "Economics of Planning".

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This series focuses on topics such as international financial markets, pricing options on foreign assets and the ECU as the financing currency. This volume includes a section on European acquisitions by French banks, strategies and the European financial structure. Other areas covered include: regulatory taxes; investment and financing decisions for insured banks; free trade and the European financial structure; and a critical reexamination of the return geneship process of the arbitrage pricing theory.

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This is the first volume of an interdisciplinary publication, drawing on contemporary scholarship in such fields as speech communication, education, anthropology, sociology, history and English. Manuscripts focus on the intersection of interpretive critical theory, qualitative inquiry, culture, media, history, biography and social structure.

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This sixth volume is part of a series which serves as a research annual for the publication of academic tax research. Topics covered in this title include an empirical study of the objectivity of CPAS's tax work and the impact of education on perceptions of tax fairness.

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The chapters in this volume illustrate the ways in which U.S. sociologists of education continue to plumb the depths of fundamental questions about how schools are organized and consequences of school organization for students and teachers. These studies present new ideas and/or findings in an engaging way, and they attempt to enlarge the audience for sociological research on education. Perhaps even more importantly, however, they generate a host of questions that warrant sustained inquiry by our community. If these authors lead us to think in new ways or to ask new questions, their efforts will have been well-rewarded.

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