The self-catering accommodation market: A review of electronic and other sources

This paper contributes to a better understanding the self-catering accommodation sector by considering its nature and scope within Scotland, the UK and the international context. It reviews the available literature search and also presents an exhaustive search of the Internet. The term “self catering accommodation” typically refers to cottages and holiday flats, but also may include larger premises as well as mobile units such as boats. Student accommodation comes into this category, as do serviced apartments for business use. Self-catered accommodation is widely used for activity holidays, and courses for outward-bound or country pursuits. The sector is considered in terms of economic impact, ownership, and mode of use, and an analysis of the market shows that it has grown and changed rapidly since the 1980s driven by changes in the economy and advances in technology. During the same period demand has increased due to demographic, economic and lifestyle changes, the predominant segments being older and middle-aged customers and young couples without children. The growth of short break holidays and a growing interest in country pursuits and activity holidays favour the self-catering sector.     

Reducing laundering frequency to prolong the life of denim jeans

The use and disposal phase in a garment's life cycle is highly dependent on the choices made by the consumer. Maintenance procedures such as laundering and drying require energy and water use. Garment disposal increases waste in landfill sites, unless incinerated, which can take a toll on the environment through greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, encouraging consumers to launder less frequently and finding ways to extend the useful life of clothing are two ways of increasing sustainability within the clothing industry. Denim jeans are one of the most popular items of clothing worldwide. Changing habits such as reducing the frequency with which a person washes their denim jeans could have a positive impact on the environment through less water and energy use. However, environmental knowledge about what is detrimental to the environment may not necessarily lead to pro‐environmental behaviour. In denim jeans fibre loss results in thinning and loss in colour due to use. Laundering in particular can degrade clothing due to the abrasive forces applied to the surface of wet fibres. Therefore, this study highlights the effect that frequent laundering can have on the degradation of jeans with the aim to provide additional motivation to encourage change in consumers’ laundering habits. Consumers wore jeans for the equivalent of 60 days and either washed their jeans after approximately 2 days of wear or after approximately every 20 days of wear. The findings confirmed that frequent laundering reduced mass, increased colour loss, and reduced tensile strength in the warp direction of the fabric. Although washing is a major contributor to the degradation of jeans, the process of wearing denim jeans also naturally degrades the denim as the thigh region of the jeans showed greater colour loss and reduction in tensile strength than the shin region, which is typically less prone to abrasion through wear. The findings from this study provide compelling evidence to encourage consumers to reconsider their laundering habits in terms of wash frequency as both a means to behave in a more environmentally sustainable way, and to preserve their favourite garments.     

Firm size, web site content, and financial performance in the transportation industry

The transportation industry has been revolutionized by the World Wide Web with the Internet rapidly emerging as the optimal medium for the exchange of information between shippers and carriers throughout the supply chain. Despite this, many motor carrier firms may still not be placing enough emphasis on the Internet. Recent empirical research studies suggest that Internet utilization in the supply chain is significantly influenced by firm size. This study analyzes the informational and interactive content of the Top 100 U.S. motor carrier firms' web sites to examine the relationship between firm size and Internet utilization. In addition, as there is little research that assesses the payoff in terms of benefits for firms that place more emphasis on the Internet for commercial activity, secondary financial data are used to evaluate the association between Internet utilization and firm financial performance in the transportation industry.     

Volume and skewness in international equity markets

We examine the relation between trading volume and skewness in 11 international stock markets using daily and monthly data from January 1980 to August 2004. We construct single equation and VAR models of the relation between the first three moments of market returns and trading volumes. Our results show hitherto unrecognised channels of influence, and support the investor heterogeneity approach to explaining return asymmetries.     

An Empirical Validation of Perceived Importance and Behavior Intention in IT Ethics

Robin et al. (1996) suggested a new construct when studying ethical behavioral intention which they entitled PIE (perceived importance). They empirically tested the PIE construct and found it to significantly impact both ethical judgment and behavioral intention. The present study extends and validates Robin et al.s work on PIE using a different context, different scenarios and a different sample. The findings indicate strong support for the validity of Robin et al.s PIE instrument and show PIE to significantly influence ethical judgment (attitude) and behavioral intention. This study also indicates the sex of the individual affects the individuals perception of importance and is a significant influence of ethical judgment and behavioral intention. Future ethical models and studies should include PIE as a possible influence on behavioral intention.Timothy Paul Cronan is Professor of Information Systems and M.D. Matthews Lecturer in Business at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Dr. Cronan received his D.B.A. from Louisiana Tech University and is an active member of the Decision Sciences Institute and The Association for Computing Machinery. He has served as Regional Vice President and on the Board of Directors of the Decision Sciences Institute and as President of the Southwest Region of the Institute. In addition, he has served as Associate Editor MIS Quarterly. His research interests include ethics in computing, local area networks, downsizing, expert systems, performance analysis and effectiveness, and end-user computing. His publications have appeared in Decision Sciences, MIS Quarterly, OMEGA The International Journal of Management Science, The Journal of Management Information Systems, Communications of the ACM, Journal of End User Computing, Database, Journal of Research on Computing in Education, Journal of Financial Research, as well as in other journals, and Proceedings of various Conferences. Lori N. K. Leonard is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the University of Tulsa. Dr. Leonard received her Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas and is an active member of the Decision Sciences Institute. Her research interests include electronic commerce, electronic data interchange, ethics in computing, simulation, and data warehousing. Her publications have appeared in Journal of Computer Information Systems, Information & Management, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Journal of End User Computing, as well as in other journals, and Proceedings of various Conferences. Jennifer Kreie is Associate Professor in Business Computer Systems at New Mexico State University. Dr. Kreie received the Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. Her research interests include ethics in computing, end-user computing, systems development, and computer-aided instruction. She is an active member of the Decision Sciences Institute, the Association of Computing Machinery and the Association of Information Technology Professionals. Her publications have appeared in Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems, Journal of End User Computing, Journal of Accountancy, and the National Accountant as well as Proceedings of several Conferences.     

CHILD POVERTY IN CANADA

The evolution of measured poverty may reflect socio-economic developments, particular measurement choices or the effect (or lack of effect) of policy initiatives. We report a "case study" of child poverty in Canada between 1986 and 2000, a period when the elimination of child poverty was a stated policy goal, but reported child poverty rates did not change significantly. We find that the apparent persistence of child poverty in Canada is remarkably robust to measurement choices, and cannot easily be explained by socioeconomic developments.     

Over the Line: Managers' experience of a labour strike

The experiences of managers who continue to work through a labour stoppage is a largely overlooked question in industrial relations research and practice. Qualitative long interviews were conducted with managers who worked through a strike. A shared narrative for managers' strike experiences emerged. Managers perceived that their prestrike workplace was cooperative and characterized by positive labour‐management relationships. The strike was experienced as contentious and personalized with managers reporting that they and their families were targets of aggression from strikers. The managers envisioned a more formal poststrike workplace characterized by less collegial labour‐management interactions. We discuss the implications of these findings and call for further research on managers' experiences of industrial relations events. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.