Ageism,early exit,and British trade unions

Union responses to ageism and the early exit phenomenon are here examined, based on documentation received from some 40 British unions. Our results show that though age discrimination is now accorded some prominence in union agendas, policies towards exit are only partially informed by current conceptions of ageism.     

The Importance of Board Quality in the Event of a CEO Death

We examine board quality and executive replacement decisions around deaths of senior executives. Stock price reactions to executive deaths are positively related to board independence. Controlling for such factors as the deceased's stockholdings, outside blockholdings, board size, and whether the deceased was a founder, board independence is the most significant factor explaining abnormal returns. Board independence is particularly important when there is no apparent successor and firm performance is poor. The results are consistent with independent boards being reluctant to discipline poorly performing incumbent managers, but nevertheless using the opportunity of an executive death to improve the quality of management.     

THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS IN LOGISTICS RESEARCH

This paper introduces and provides an overview of social network theory and social network analysis (SNA) and its potential applications to logistics and supply chain management research. It then provides an example of the use of SNA via the introduction of hypotheses related to informal and formal structure and influence within a social network. These hypotheses are tested within the context of the development and implementation of a complex reporting system that evolved as the result of warehousing safety and environmental concerns within an organization.     

The Place of Authenticity in Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum

In 1999 Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum became mandatory. It was developed over a period of approximately four years from conception to publication, with wide consultation. It was first published in October 1995. During the three years between publication and gazetting many teachers were involved in professional development. During this time it became obvious that there was confusion amongst teachers about the meaning of `authenticity' in relation to technology programmes. Do technological problems need to be authentic to the students themselves or to the nature of technological practice? Many learning theories have informed the development of this document. Those selected here indicate quite clearly the meaning and context of authenticity with regard to technology education. By involving our students in activity that is authentic to technological practice or real world technology, teachers are able to provide stimulating and relevant learning for students. This was also the indication in recent communication from the Ministry of Education in New Zealand during the 1999 Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ) conference. By giving academic value to technology and developing our teachers in the fields of technological practice we hope our students will influence the economic status of our country in the future.     

Are the Bailouts of Wall Street Complements or Substitutes?

The Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) lent $2.3 trillion worth of general collateral to 18 investment houses in exchange for riskier securities. Treasury collateral was in high demand in 2008 and 2009 as repo markets shunned lower quality collateral. This paper finds a negative and significant relationship between participating in the TSLF and having funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and other Federal Reserve lending programs. Thus, it appears that the TSLF was a substitute for other bailouts. In addition, dealers with higher paid CEOs were more likely to borrow in the next TSLF auction cycle.     

Investigating Question Meaning and Context Through In-Depth Interviews

Quality &; Quantity -     

Restructuring outcomes and the evolution of ownership patterns in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper begins from the proposition that ‘deep restructuring’ requires both finance and managerial expertise. It addresses the question of how this second stage of enterprise restructuring will come about in the majority of state-owned or former state-owned firms that are not owned by foreigners. In particular, it seeks to identify how the initial post-privatization ownership and control structure impinges on the likelihood that deep restructuring takes place. Conclusions for the design of privatization policy are drawn. The initial post-privatization ownership structures in the Visegrad countries and Russia are surveyed along with evidence of the transfer of ownership from insiders to outsiders.     

Barycentric algorithm for computing D-optimal size- and cost-constrained designs of experiments

In this paper, we study the problem of D-optimal experimental design under two linear constraints, which can be interpreted as simultaneous restrictions on the size and on the cost of the experiment. For computing a size- and cost-constrained approximate D-optimal design, we propose a specification of the “barycentric” multiplicative algorithm with sequential removal of redundant design points. We analytically prove convergence results for the proposed algorithm and numerically demonstrate its favorable properties compared to competing methods.     

Short reports

The aim of the study was to evaluate a hospital-based injury recording system on hip fracture registration in elderly persons aged + 65 years from 1994 through 2008, and to examine the agreement between the number of validated fractures and the number of fractures reported to the Norwegian Patient Registry using three different sources: (1) Medical records, (2) Patient administrative system and (3) The hospital's hip fracture record to the Norwegian Patient Registry from 2002 through 2008. The injury recording system included 582 hip fracture events and 535 (92%) were confirmed through the medical records. Reasons for non-verification were different coding failures. Searching the patient administrative system using ICD codes identified 16 hip fractures not included in the fracture registry between 2002 through 2008. The total number was the same as the number of hip fractures reported to the Norwegian Patient Registry using ICD codes alone for identification. The conclusion is that on well-defined diagnosis like hip fractures, local fracture registries may obtain a high degree of reliability if different sources are available for quality control. Well-functioning patient administrative systems may be used to study numbers of hip fractures.