Search results for ""emerald publishing limited""

Sponsored by the Communication and Information Technologies Section of the American Sociological Association, this volume brings together nine studies of the digital public sphere. The contributions illuminate three key areas of digital citizenship, namely political engagement, participation networks, and content production. In the first section, authors address relationships including: new media and efficacy, YouTube and young voters, political interest and online news. In the following section, the contributions speak to the importance of participation in social, scholarly, familial, and support networks. Subsequently, in section three on production, two contributions offers insight into unequal production, more specifically, gendered digital production inequalities and the varied responsiveness of microbloggers to different kinds of media events and issues. As a whole, the contributions revisit old questions and answer important new queries about netizenship and the digital public sphere.

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This research volume in honour of the late Daniel Van Den Bulcke, one of the founding fathers of the European Business Academy (EIBA) and a core institution builder of the Academy of International Business (AIB), focuses on conceptual innovations in assessing the impact of institutions on multinational enterprise (MNE) strategies.

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The theme of this volume is an outgrowth of one of the Section sponsored sessions at the 2006 ASA meetings in Montreal; 'Children and Youth Speak for Themselves'. The volume is a collection of articles from scholars who pay particular attention to children and/or adolescents' voices, interpretations, perspectives, and experiences within specific social and cultural contexts. Contributions include research stemming from a broad spectrum of methodological and theoretical orientations. This is a cutting-edge compilation of the most current child-centred scholarship on the sociology of children and childhood.

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Volume 17 of Advances in Financial Economics, entitled "Corporate Governance in the US and Global Settings" will provide further insights into corporate governance in the US & global economic and financial environment by publishing international, within-country and cross-country comparative studies. The volume will be edited by the series editors, Kose John, New York University, Anil Makhija, Ohio State University, and Stephen P. Ferris, University of Missouri.

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The objective of this research annual is to present state-of-the-art studies in the application of forecasting methodologies to such areas as sales, marketing and strategic decision making. It is the hope and direction of this research annual to become an applications and practitioner oriented publication. Topics will include sales and marketing, forecasting, new product forecasting, judgementally based forecasting, the application of surveys to forecasting, forecasting for strategic business decisions, improvements in forecasting accuracy, and sales response models.

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The volume contains articles that should appeal to readers with computational, modeling, theoretical, and applied interests. Methodological issues include parallel computation, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, dynamic model selection, small sample comparison of structural models, Bayesian thresholding methods in hierarchical graphical models, adaptive reversible jump MCMC, LASSO estimators, parameter expansion algorithms, the implementation of parameter and non-parameter-based approaches to variable selection, a survey of key results in objective Bayesian model selection methodology, and a careful look at the modeling of endogeneity in discrete data settings. Important contemporary questions are examined in applications in macroeconomics, finance, banking, labor economics, industrial organization, and transportation, among others, in which model uncertainty is a central consideration.

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These essays honor Professor Peter C.B. Phillips of Yale University and his many contributions to the field of econometrics. Professor Phillips's research spans many topics in econometrics including: non-stationary time series and panel models partial identification and weak instruments Bayesian model evaluation and prediction financial econometrics and finite-sample statistical methods and results. The papers in this volume reflect additions to and amplifications of many of Professor Phillips' research contributions. Some of the topics discussed in the volume include panel macro-econometric modeling, efficient estimation and inference in difference-in-difference models, limiting and empirical distributions of IV estimates when some of the instruments are endogenous, the use of stochastic dominance techniques to examine conditional wage distributions of incumbents and newly hired employees, long-horizon predictive tests in financial markets, new developments in information matrix testing, testing for co-integration in Markov switching error correction models, and deviation information criteria for comparing vector autoregressive models.

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This volume acknowledges the need for better understanding in leadership, management and administration of new knowledge which is crucial for effective leadership in a period of massive policy reform and deepening austerity in education. The doctorate is key to meeting this global challenge as it offers new and valid ways of enabling innovation and utility in an approach to knowledge creation and management that embodies meaningful methods for assuring improvement, effectiveness, efficiency and equity in education. The chapters in this edited collection emerge from a British Educational Leadership Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) funded Seminar Series. The international leading academics and researching practitioners contributing chapters to the book focus upon purposes, pedagogies and the impact of the doctorate on educational leaders and leadership development. Further, the chapters reveal how doctoral study helps equip leaders to implement policy and develop strategies to steer their organizations towards improving policy provision, and practice.

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This unique volume has been written collaboratively by children, families, teachers, school leaders, scholars, and community organization representatives. With each author having a platform to express his or her individual voice, chapters centre on the authors' lived experiences (ranging in skills, knowledge, and activism) in promoting social justice and equity in schools. With a focus on long-standing trends in schools regarding ability (both mental and physical), race, ethnicity, class, religion/beliefs/faith, native language, immigration status, gender, sexuality, family structure, and geographical location, the authors demonstrate how they live their work by facilitating courageous dialogue, promoting inclusive practices, and building authentic relationships with those in power as well as those from marginalised populations. Authors reflect on their personal and professional lives and help the reader understand the call that lies within each of them: to live what is just and right for all children.

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This volume explores the issues of convergence and divergence in alternative agrifood movements through a theoretical and empirical engagement of the topic by notable agrifood researchers from Europe, North America and South America. It probes the degree to which the numerous alternative agrifood movements that have emerged in recent years in response to the legitimation crisis of conventional agriculture have converged around a central alternative thesis or pursued divergent paths of development. Some alternative agrifood movements represent radical critiques of conventional agriculture that challenge the existing system while other movements engage in reformist and accommodative approaches that are viewed as complimentary. The book begins with chapters that enhance the theoretical discussions on the pathways and obstacles to convergence followed by empirical case studies on organics, food sovereignty, landless workers, alternative food systems, and food policy councils.

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Gender inequality/inequity in the academy has been evidenced globally as women outnumber men seeking degrees in institutions of higher education, but remain concentrated in the lower faculty ranks and absent from administrative positions, particularly in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines The chapters in this volume document the gender inequality in higher education in the United States as well as in Australia, Austria, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden. They explore the reasons for it and test or suggest remedies. Several are based on projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which seeks to address the issue as it is evidenced in STEM disciplines through ADVANCE, a program developed to increase the participation and advancement of women in these disciplines. The authors consider women's situation in the context of a variety of types of educational settings including community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and research-intensive universities.

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Volume 4 extends the examination of "Organizing for Sustainable Healthcare" (Volume 2 of the same series, 2012). It presents case studies and theoretical analyses that illustrate practical approaches to, and further the theoretical understanding of, the creation of a more sustainable healthcare. Given economic, ecological, and population trends, the sustainability of healthcare delivery as it is organized today cannot be taken for granted. Politicians, healthcare regulators and professionals worldwide are debating how to redesign today's delivery paradigms to deliver greater value to our societies while consuming fewer resources. Even in countries with national health systems, healthcare organization has been fragmented, diminishing outcome effectiveness and wasting society's resources. With complex value chains and dynamic interactions among various players, the reconfiguration of the healthcare system will require the reconciliation of different - often conflicting - goals, values, conceptions of social justice, work processes, knowledge bases, and business models. The chapters in this volume build on multiple disciplines and varied approaches to address this complexity.

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Volume 96 of Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis provides further insights to postcrisis developments in the global economic and financial environment. Risk Management Post Financial Crisis: A Period of Monetary Easing includes papers from leading authors from central banks, worldrenowned universities and international organisations. Topics and issues addressed by this volume include: an overview of advances in risk management in the post financial crisis environment, the impact that complexity present in financial returns now plays in measuring reporting and risk, the role that sentiment and herding plays in distorting prices in financial markets, the procyclical impact of Basel III including effects on capital requirements and bank balance sheets, central bank monetary policies and bank liquidity in a world without quantitative easing, credit risk assessment and bank lending, and changes in the structure of international financial markets, including the rise and impact of financial markets in China and those financial products denominated in RMB.

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This volume aims to shed light on how public service value is identified, managed, measured and reported. The concept of public value has been increasingly associated with the process of modernisation and in recent years the debate has shifted away from 'what' to 'how' public value is conceptualised and practiced. How the public sector can meet the communities' expectations is particularly relevant in light of the Global Financial Crisis. At present, many governments are involved in reform aimed at improving the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operations, and improving the quality of public services. Examining the effectiveness of these reforms and understanding the gap between the expectations of society and the resources available for public services is an important but under-explored topic. The chapters are the result of a series of conferences and workshops on public value held in 2012 and 2013. There are 20 papers, covering a range of topics, including theoretical reflections, practical case studies and empirical observations aimed at understanding the concept of public value.

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Typically New Generation Learning Spaces (NGLS) across the international higher education sector are being designed to support a more student-centred approach to teaching, through more active and collaborative learning opportunities, often using new technology (Keppell et al. 2012). However, the promise of NGLS appear to remain unfulfilled. This book takes a futuristic perspective on these unfulfilled promises, bringing to the fore the key elements of learning, teaching, professional development and design. The book addresses the compelling questions of the decade in an effort to help senior university managers think beyond the pedagogies of yesterday in order to maximize the use and design of physical learning spaces for the future. The book is written in four sections: 1) The future of learning spaces in Universities; 2) The future for learning and teaching in NGLS; 3) The future of professional development for teaching in NGLS; and 4) The future for design in learning environments and spaces.

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Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth provides an annual examination of the major current research in the field of entrepreneurship, including firm emergence and growth research. The Advances series also publishes papers from fields such as strategy or sociology that use entrepreneurial examples. It is a key source of articles of record for major concepts in the discipline of entrepreneurship. Volume 16 considers the central issue of academic entrepreneurship: the factors and concepts that underpin the fostering of university based entrepreneurial ventures. Specifically, it contains research on the consequences of university technology transfer, with a strong emphasis on the entrepreneurial dimension of this activity. The theoretical and empirical manuscripts in this volume consider all aspects of how university stakeholders create, incubate, and accelerate ventures.

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This volume is the second part of a two volume examination of the sociological and cultural impact derivative of Barack Hussein Obama's initial election and re-election as President of the United States. For some scholars and political pundits, the election of the first African-American president was thought to be the start of a post-racial era in the United States. His election/re-election has created a new racial dynamic within the nation. The Obama administration has faced unprecedented political challenges that have led to the deepening of racial divisions and a crystallization of multiple inequities within the country. The editors envision a volume highlighting a number of sociological themes within the following five primary foci: 1) an examination of the 2012 election; 2) the intersection of racial politics with new conservative and voting rights issues; 3) the intersection of race and class with sociocultural issues; 4) an examination of the international perspective of the Obama Administration in relationship to the African Diaspora; and 5) an exploration of the potential for multiracial coalitions and social movements to bring about positive structural change.

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This volume explores serious challenging behavior in schools, with an emphasis on promising and research-based approaches to dealing with such behavior. Topics include what we know about (a) the nature and extent of the problem (e.g., rates of aggression, violence, and noncompliance in schools); (b) addressing extreme forms of noncompliance; (c) dealing with serious disruptive behavior; (d) violence prevention programs; (e) schoolwide response to aggression and violence; (f) issues of covert antisocial behavior (e.g., vandalism, truancy, theft); (g) functional behavioral assessment and function-based interventions; (h) legal and policy considerations in disciplining students with disabilities; and (i) promising and needed avenues for further research.

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This volume is designed to present a conceptual and practical illustration for the contemporary developing role of Islamic Banking and Finance components including Islamic Banking, Non Islamic Banking (Takaful and Financial Markets Tools and Products.) with stronger focus directed to the regulatory aspects, country, regional case studies and International Financial Crisis impacts. Consequently this Volume aimed at a fruitful contribution while defining how public policies, governance, legal framework and field studies' lessons can help decision makers to identify the major factors that may shape the attitude of both Islamic Financial Institutions and customers towards safe and sound services and through defining main determinants for successful, strategic inclusion of the Islamic Financial System into the real sustained development nationally, regionally and internationally.

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This book offers a groundbreaking collection of chapters in the emerging field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Communication. After outlining a theoretical framework, the themed sections cover: (1) Communication in CSR: The Communicative Role, Strategy and Evaluation; (2) CSR Discourses and Corporate Reporting; (3) CSR Online Communication and Social Media; (4) The Role of Stakeholders in CSR Communication: Managers, Employees and Consumers. The 18 chapters explore the theory, practice and issues involved in communicating CSR and make for fascinating reading. An international approach is taken with leading academics and consultants from Australia, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, USA, Sweden, Switzerland and France. The anonymously peerreviewed chapters are theoretically informed and supported with practicebased realworld insights. Rich and detailed they describe, explain and analyse the "why", "what", "when" and "how" of communicating about CSR. As well as furthering theory and academic debate the book will help inform policy and practice. Leading edge, topical and current this book will be essential reading for corporate communicators, business practitioners, academics, students and all those interested in the subjects of CSR and Communication.

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Social network analysis has transformed the study of organizations over the past 30 years. Rather than focus on individuals or teams, network scholars view the organization as a nexus of relationships. As its popularity increases, the scholarship is evolving in many directions including new theory on network dynamics, multilevel thinking, multiplex networks, digital networks, instrumental and affective ties, and cross-cultural considerations, in addition to advances in methods and measures, and new organizational applications. This compendium of essays points the way to contemporary issues in organizational social networks. Research in the Sociology of Organizations is an established international, peer-reviewed series that examines cutting edge theoretical, methodological and research issues in organizational studies. The series is especially concerned with specifying the unique contributions of sociological theories and research techniques to the analysis of organizations. In addition to publishing high quality original research, each volume aims to foster debate about the value of new theories and research to the growing international community of organizational studies scholars. Each volume is designed around carefully selected and interesting themes that aim to facilitate the development of new research communities and perspectives within the organizational studies field. All contributions are peer reviewed to ensure high quality, and are individually downloadable through your library website, enabling wide distribution and easy access.

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There is a growing acknowledgment amongst professionals and academics that we need to develop new responses to crime. This book provides an insight into the first introduction of restorative justice to the criminal justice system in the Republic of Ireland. By analysing six case studies of restorative conferencing events, the authors aim to address the salient question of how restorative conferencing for young offenders can facilitate an exchange process whereby forms of reparation and social regulation may be achieved. The restorative justice process has much to offer, and the authors argue that this concept, particularly as it centres on the greater use of non custodial sentences, will not only bring about changes in the law but also have significant implications for social regulation.

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This volume focuses on the past, current and future success of Maori and Pasifika peoples in tertiary education within Aotearoa New Zealand. Diverse issues are canvassed, from the countries colonial history, to Maori and Pasifika identity, student support initiatives, special populations, pedagogy and mentoring, the experiences of mature students, to student engagement with new technologies. The book represents the struggle of Maori people to claim space within the academy and how successful claims are now reaping rewards. The volume will inform an international audience about local initiatives, including the responsiveness of 'mainstream' tertiary provider organisations (e.g. universities) to Maori and Pasifika higher education aspirations, responses to higher education provision, and, the reclaiming of traditional higher education spaces by Maori.

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This peer-reviewed series promotes theory and research in the expanding area of occupational stress, health and well-being. Each volume of this series focuses on a particular topic, allowing authors and readers in that area to critically explore the cutting edge work from their discipline. Interest in organizational demography spans several decades (e.g., Pfeffer, 1983). However, in much of the contemporary research on occupational stress and well-being, demographic factors such as gender, age, and race/ethnicity are evident in the background and controlled in statistical analysis. In this volume, we ask whether that should be the case and the extent to which those demographics impact our experience of stress and well-being. Topics for this volume include age, occupational strain, and well-being using a person-environment fit perspective; race, stress, and well being in organizations; gender facades, biological sex, and gender role stereotypes in the workplace; age, resilience, wellbeing, and positive work outcomes; conceptual/theoretical issues related to religion and stress/well-being; and sex and sexual orientation on occupational stress and well being.

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The volume advances theory on hospitality meanings from both conscious and unconscious processing of stimuli (sights, actions, consequences). It explains how seemingly trivial experiences can have big repercussions in hospitality. Expanding on John Urry's grandmaster thesis, The Tourist Gaze, the volume proposes that assessments occur automatically with perceptions even when perceptions occur unconsciously. As well as a global review of the literature by Woodside and Metin, it includes highly-focused reports on the following topics: user-generated reviews in the hospitality industry; evaluation of the service performances; luxury tourists: celebrities' perspectives; nontrivial behavioral implications of trivial design choices in travel websites; the role of social psychology in the tourism experience model (TEM); destination brand performance measurement over time; perceptions of hotel disintermediation: the French generation Y case; constructing and shaping tourist experiences via travel blog engagement and more. The volume provides "reading assignments" for learning the nuances of perception and assessment processes by tourists.

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This volume focuses on critical issues surrounding the intersection of genetics, health, and society. It provides a critical examination of sociological and biomedical approaches to genomics, including strengths and limitations of each perspective.

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Organizations increasingly establish Shared Service Centers, either for transactional (administrative) or transformational (organizational change) purposes. Their popularity originates from a combination of efficiency gains and an increase in service quality, without giving up control of the organizational and technical arrangements. The belief is that shared services should maximize the advantages of centralized and decentralized delivery of business functions. The volume deals with sample questions, including: What do shared service models involve? What are the structural arrangements between shared services and the organizations? Which business processes can and/or should be shared? What are the structural differences between shared services in different business processes? This ASM volume intends to move towards more systematic research action. Five main theoretical priorities shape the content of the volume: conceptualizing shared services for different types of business processes, business strategy and shared services, shared services and performance, pluralism in organizing shared services, and governance of shared services in different types of organizations.

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Strategy and finance are closely interrelated in the practice of management. With the increased informational demands resulting from regulatory changes such as Sarbanes Oxley and Regulation Fair Disclosure, the boundary between the roles of CEO and CFO has become blurred. Moreover, the global financial crisis has made the interdependence between corporate financial policies and firms' strategies painfully salient. In academic research however, the two fields have by and large developed independently of each other. Advances in Strategic Management 31 (Finance and Strategy) fills this gap with rigorous research papers that bridge the strategy and finance fields by building on them. It encompasses a range of combinations among the two main subdivisions of strategy research - corporate strategy and business (competitive) strategy - and the two main subdivisions of finance research - corporate finance and capital markets. It includes theoretical and empirical contributions, and spans different underlying disciplines and research methodologies, consistent with the variety that exists amongst these two fields.

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Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research publishes high quality research encompassing all areas of accounting including financial, auditing, taxation, managerial and information systems, addressing a broad range of issues that affect the users, preparers and assurers of accounting information. Further, this research incorporates theory from, and contributes knowledge and understanding to, applied psychology, sociology, management science, and behavioral economics. Volume 17 of Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research exemplifies this focus by including papers investigating group versus individual decision making, decision making under rules versus principal based standards, and white collar crime, among others.

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This new volume contains selected papers that were presented at the 2013 conference on performance measurement and management control focusing on behavioral implications and human actions associated with the use of performance measurement and management control systems. These systems do not work in a vacuum, rather they guide and motivate how people in organizations and markets behave. The intersection between management tools and human action is a central aspect in these research fields. Yet, multiple variables impact the result of certain designs on the behavior of people. The volume presents issues such as national culture, organizational culture, strategy, technology, partnerships and joint ventures, and the presence of other management systems. The editors hope this book will continue the search for additional understanding and development in performance measurement and management control, and provide guidance for both academic researchers and managers as they work toward improving organizations.

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The latest volume of Research in Managing Groups and Teams focuses on multiteam systems (MTSs), or systems of interdependent teams working toward a shared goal. MTSs have become a growing area of interest in organizational research, primarily due to their growing prominence in organizational settings. However, while MTS implementation is rampant in the field, the majority of research to date has been conducted in laboratory settings, which may not always effectively address the rapidly changing needs of field MTSs. This book brings current, real world MTS issues and problems to the forefront while highlighting existing research across disciplines which may help to address these issues. The volume takes a unique approach in addressing the practical and research needs of understanding multiteam systems by highlighting real world issues via case studies presented by practitioners. Themes highlighted in terms of both practical issues and future research needs include the development and composition of MTSs, critical processes such as leadership and communication, and outcomes of both successful and unsuccessful MTSs.

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In different ways, social theory and social history represent discourses that implicitly or explicitly highlight the need to apply perspectives on modern social realities that are conducive to discerning and scrutinizing the centrality of large-scale processes that have been influencing and shaping the relationships between individuals, social groups and forms of organization, and society as a whole. Social theories with history stress form at the expense of substance (and social, political or cultural relevance); histories without social theory tend to amount to little more than the enumeration of isolated facts, at the expense of cohesive narratives that may be socially compelling and meaningful. Representing a range of approaches and emphases, the chapters in this volume address and illustrate linkages between social theory and history; social theory and historical analysis as mutually supportive frames of analysis, and affinities between the history of social thought and the history of modern societies. Both classical and more recent theorists feature prominently, especially Durkheim and Weber, but also such central figures in the field as Bourdieu and Luhmann.

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Populism comes in many guises. Both Berlusconi's personalization of politics and the Northern League's antiimmigrant regionalist movement are viewed as examples of the phenomenon of populism. A type of leftwing populism embodied by Hugo Chavez swept across Latin America. Insurgent and antisystem movements and parties in places as different as the Netherlands, India, Norway, Thailand, Russia and the United States have experienced what have been labeled populists movements. Such varied manifestations beg the question: what is populism? The objective of this edited volume is to provide an answer by examining "the many faces of populism." The unifying element across the different explorations of the phenomenon of populism is that there is a shared genus that allows for a typology of the different faces of populism and a demarcation of what is not a form of populism.

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Research in Experimental Economics focuses on laboratory experimental economics, but welcomes work from authors of theoretical, empirical, or field economic research if it would be of interest to the broader experimental economics community. The goal of Research in Experimental Economics is to be complementary with, and not in competition with, traditional journals as outlets for experimental work. Research in Experimental Economics has the freedom to consider papers that may not be appropriate for traditional journals for a variety of reasons. Some examples of these strengths include: theme volumes, replication studies, research which requires longer manuscripts for presentation of data or analysis, and papers on methodological topics. The volumes of Research in Experimental Economics are not tied to specific, recurring conferences. Typically, a volume theme is established with scholars who are willing to serve as volume-specific editors. The only constraint the senior editor places on the volume editors is that the papers should undergo a formal referee process using the same quality standards as traditional journals. Recent topics have included market power, charitable contributions, and field experiments.

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The chapters in this two-part volume deal with a range of gender-based violence issues that are making news headlines daily. In Part A the contributors address the ways in which wartime rape is treated in international courts, why and how the gender language used at the United Nations matters, how asylum-seekers fleeing gendered violence are treated, how the press and the courts frame rape and other acts of violence, perceptions and responses of and to disabled and LGBTQ people who are victims of gendered violence, the ways we respond to the perpetrators of violence, and the relationship of military service to nationalism. The focus of the volume is global in the sense that international law and tribunals are discussed and norms and attitudes from global samples are compared. A variety of qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews, textual analysis, autoethnography, and secondary analysis of large sample surveys are employed. Each of the chapters has theoretical as well as policy or social implications.

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This volume contains new important research on worker well-being in a changing economy. Topics include employee compensation, human capital investment, women's wages, unemployment, and the effects of government policies. Among the questions answered are: Does free-trade (particularly regarding NAFTA) affect women's wages relative to men's? Can guaranteeing college scholarships raise high school students' grade-point averages? Does increasing wage dispersion within a plant induce workers to put out more effort; or does it decrease comradery among employees, thereby lowering productivity? Does deferring worker pay really affect productivity on the job? Do firms manipulate fringe benefits (job characteristics) to adequately compensate workers for dangerous jobs? Do business cycles influence the terms of effort-enhancing labor contracts? How can workers signal their potential quality when displaced by plant closings? How severe are the detrimental effects of long-term joblessness? And finally, how do changes in welfare laws affect recipients' time allocation at home?

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This volume questions the validity issues surrounding educational assessment programs and their appropriate uses in applied contexts. The authors break new ground in terms of validity theory and practice, offering recommendations, frameworks and assessment solutions that are broadly applicable in different regions. Chapters discuss the social consequences of validity oversights in high stakes testing, evaluation and accountability contexts. Questions addressed include: Do validity issues arise due to the technical complexities in assessment programs today, or a lack of awareness and inattention to technical limitations of assessment instruments by users? Is there a communication divide between educational policy-makers and measurement professionals that is obstructing more valid use of educational assessments and other forms of data? The prominent authors, representing voices of educational policy-makers, leaders, and recognized experts in educational measurement and evaluation from around the world, describe assessment programs in their regions, and appraise the conditions and factors that could enhance valid, equitable or fair assessment practices.

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Social protection systems are intended to support households in financial difficulties, a role that has been underlined during the recent Great Recession in many countries around the world. This volume presents new results on the dynamics of social assistance, minimum-income and related out-of-work benefits in a range of different country contexts. It contains eight original articles, which shed light on benefit spell durations, the movements into and out of receipt of safety net benefits, the individual or family characteristics associated with these movements, the extent of state dependence or 'scarring', and the interaction of various welfare programs. The results establish an evidence base for an informed policy debate in a range of OECD countries. They also provide methodological background for future work on benefit receipt patterns.

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Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness highlights research and practice aimed at understanding how organizations and more inclusive systems of actors develop a continuous, unfaltering focus on sustainability. It will examine how they organize to achieve expanded purposes, the associated changes in purpose and governance, relationships among various stakeholders, boundaries between organizations and other elements of the environment in which they operate, organizational systems and processes, leadership, competencies and capabilities. Thus 'sustainability' is seen as entailing a continuous dynamic adaptive process in people, organizations and systems, striving to be as proactive as possible, moving 'upstream' in improving and developing organizational processes and issues.

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This volume presents new developments in nontariff measure (NTM) policy analysis by leading authors in the field; from conceptual developments and methodology improvements, to a series of innovative cases studies. A novel policy research agenda underlies the book recognizing that some NTMs are required to sustain market exchange. The investigations address the welfare and trade impacts of standard-like NTMs in presence of market imperfections, their measurements, potential protectionism, and implications for North-South trade and income prospects in developing countries, including for small holders. Several analyses address the potential trade-cost effects of these NTMs through their lack of transparency, their heterogeneity across countries, and constraints to harmonize them and gains from harmonization. Several analyses investigate trade within OECD countries, including looking at export decisions by heterogeneous firms and the effect of harmonization of standards on firm productivity, and exploring the export-enhancing effect of a country's own stringency in standards. Practical policy implications are drawn.

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This special issue asks what role society can play in the regulation of transnational risks, as an alternative to or at least significant addition to reliance on state regulatory activity and the myth of the self-regulatory capacity of markets (Stiglitz, 2001, p. xiii). How can a social sphere contribute to the prevention and management of risks, often transnational in nature, posed by economic activity? Leading socio-legal scholars explore whether and how the idea of harnessing the regulatory capacity of a social sphere provides a new analytical lens that can provide fresh insights into transnational risk regulation, and whether this idea helps to identify innovative approaches to regulating transnational risks.

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This volume advances the debate on the past, present and future of international business and management research. A truly international group of experts present their perspectives, and ask the question 'What is it that we know?' when discussing major issues and concepts in the field. This annual collection includes a regular special feature on a leading scholar; exploring in this volume the work of Jean-Francois Hennart and his theories on multinational enterprise and strategic management. Part two addresses international business and international management issues from a philosophical perspective, examining key topics such as post-merger integration, dominant design theory, internalizing firms and the strategy-performance relationship.

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The global education revolution of the 20th century resulted in massive developments in education worldwide, but the higher education sector throughout Africa remains surprisingly underdeveloped. Although impressive expansion and reform of higher education in Africa have occurred since 1990, the higher education sector across Africa has been particularly challenged to keep pace with the development of higher education worldwide. This is reflected in comparatively limited research output by African university scholars and researchers and the limited representation of African universities on world institutional rankings. Given both the perceived and real gap in research productivity and scholarly reputation between African higher education and higher education systems in other parts of the world, the question persists whether or not the African higher education sector can produce "world-class" universities.

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The volume highlights best practices of literacy instruction for students who have difficulties in reading. From components of effective pedagogy to instruction for specific populations, this text offers an array of expert perspectives on how to engage, scaffold, and prepare students to meet the multimodal demands of schools today. Renowned authors promote the notion that with thoughtful literacy and purposeful approaches to reading instruction, all children have the ability to improve their reading proficiencies. Core literacy instruction targeting comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and writing development among others is of particular focus while supplementary discussions of factors such as native language, diversity, inclusion, and learning disabilities fully characterize issues related to struggling readers for which evidence-based approaches are presented to foster lasting success. It conveys a current portrayal of issues and trends of school-based literacy practices appropriate for novice and experienced educators and researchers alike.

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This volume examines key considerations for effective online course redesign. Using a 4-phase approach, Redesigning Courses for Online Delivery informs thinking, inspires creativity, and structures decisions to drive the development of high quality online learning experiences. Both scholarly and practical, it provides a comprehensive approach to redesign useful to novices and veterans alike.

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The first volume of the series aims to give an outline of the state of the art and the most recent research being done on public and non profit governance at the international level (with particular emphasis in Europe). The focus of the volume is mainly on the "organizational" governance that still remains "a neglected area of governance" both in the public and in the non-profit sector. The volume includes two groups of chapters aimed at examining the recent trends and the future directions of the public and non-profit governance research. One group of chapters addresses broad issues of how to conceptualize and research 'governance' in public and non-profit organizations. The second group of chapters deals with recent trends of research on governance mechanisms through empirical studies, including contingency and behavioural studies on public and non-profit boards, studies on participative governance mechanisms such as stakeholder involvement and citizens' participation and studies on governance codification.

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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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