Ghanaian school-going adolescents’ self-perceived barriers of access to quality education: A qualitative study

Social equality has emerged as one of the important ideals of human society, especially for development. Moreover, education has featured prominently among the many key drivers of equality. However, in developing nations like Ghana, education represents one of the areas in which gross inequality has eroded the country’s potential for attaining equality and development. The aim of the current study was to explore adolescents’ self-perceived barriers regarding access to quality education in the Northern Region of Ghana and provide suggestions on the way forward. A sample of 18 school-going adolescents from six secondary schools within the Northern Region of Ghana was purposively selected to participate in face-to-face interviews. The barriers identified included limited resources, gender disparities and a multi-dimension nature of poverty. Implications for policy and research are discussed.     

The commercialisation of subsistence farms: Evidence from the new member states of the EU

For selected regions of five EU Member States (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), this paper examines the determinants of the commercialisation of (semi)subsistence farms. While subsistence farming has become an important feature of the EU, there is a lack of evidence on its spatial distribution, importance and reasons for persistence. The analysis utilises cross-regional survey data and qualitative interviews. Results suggest the absence of a subsistence poverty trap driven by either farmer perceptions or transactions costs although capital endowment appears to play a significant part. On the other hand the degree of market engagement depends on access costs, which vary with location, households’ productive assets, specialisation, and risk propensity. Implications for land use policy are discussed.     

Using ISO 14001 to promote a sustainable supply chain strategy

Formally adopted in 1996 by the International Organization of Standardization, ISO 14001 represents a voluntary international environmental standard, which will likely be adopted by a vast majority of corporations. Its major focus is on the structure, implementation and maintenance of a formal environmental management system. Despite its international acceptance, ISO 14001 is surrounded by controversy and criticism. The literature is clearly divided in its assessment of ISO 14001, which is viewed as a variant of total quality environmental management or a paper‐driven process of limited value. In this study, case‐based research is used to address the competing views of the standard to show that ISO 14001 registration can be leveraged across the supply chain into a competitive advantage. By looking at ISO 14001 registered firms, we compare different amounts of integration and sustainability in the supply chain. We then posit several research propositions to provide an empirical framework for the impacts of ISO 14001 on supply chain design and how it will evolve in the future. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Further participatory adaptation is required for community leaders to champion conservation agriculture in Africa

There is a recognized need for the participation of local communities in designing and implementing agricultural interventions for the sustainable intensification in smallholder systems. This study examines the perspectives of local community leaders towards the widely promoted, but not widely adopted, practice of Conservation Agriculture (CA) in African smallholder systems. Perceptions from 47 community leaders (both from traditional local authorities and farmer organizations) across six African countries are documented regarding how CA matches the wants, needs and capabilities of farmers in their communities. While community leaders generally perceived CA as potentially beneficial, they also indicated that CA is not currently perceived as feasible within their communities and hence has limited relevance. Three key themes were identified that limit both CA use and sustainable intensification more generally: [1] a perceived reluctance of farmers to engage with the community platform as part of a higher input, market-oriented production system; [2] informational constraints due to non-functional exchange mechanisms; and [3] a lack of local adaptation of CA underscored by the persistence of top-down, linear research and extension approaches. Through greater understanding of local perspectives, a clearer picture emerges of the need for greater participatory engagement and local adaptation if sustainable intensification of African smallholder agricultural systems is to be achieved.     

Entrepreneurial orientation in family firms: the case of the hospitality industry

Research increasingly shows interest in the motives and characteristics of entrepreneurs in the tourism and hospitality industry. Small and medium-sized family firms dominate this industry. Learning from the concept of entrepreneurial orientation and family business research, this explorative study aims at analysing entrepreneurial behaviours and their effect on performance as perceived by owner-managers of hospitality family businesses. The authors conduct narrative in-depth interviews to understand the managers' meaning of entrepreneurship and performance, and discuss the results in the light of existing entrepreneurship literature. Results indicate that family firms in hospitality and tourism are peculiar, and their embeddedness in the destinations and regions outlines their entrepreneurial behaviour against Schumpeter's definition of growth-oriented entrepreneurship.     

Framing the usefulness of eHRM in talent management: A case study of talent identification in a professional services firm

As talent management evolves from intuitive to evidence‐based decision‐making, the role of electronic Human Resource Management (eHRM) to gather, distribute, and analyze data becomes more critical. However, surprisingly few academic studies investigate the role of technology in talent management. Drawing on a qualitative case study of talent management in a large professional services firm, this paper critically examines how eHRM information technologies are framed as useful within talent identification discourses. The findings reveal two distinct but interrelated sets of processes employed to identify talent and suggest that the perceived usefulness and centrality of eHRM are influenced by how stakeholders shape their understanding of effective talent management. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

伊斯兰金融机构财务报告概念框架的会计信息质量特征

近期发布的伊斯兰金融机构财务会计概念框架内含的会计信息质量特征,既与欧美最新的财务会计框架中有用财务信息的质量特征存在诸多相似,又具有鲜明的自身特色,其结构清晰,可操作性强,对改进我国基本会计准则中的会计信息质量特征具有重要的借鉴价值。     

东北某探区油页岩资源开发项目经济评价

油页岩资源经济评价的主要任务是评价油页岩开发建设项目的经济可行性,常用的评价方法有静态法和动态法两种,关键指标有财务内部收益率、投资回收期、净现值和现值指数等。文章以东北某探区油页岩开发项目为例,采用动态评价方法对该项目的经济可行性进行了研究,并具体介绍了相关指标的选取方法,对于提高油页岩开发项目经济评价的准确性和决策效率有一定的参考作用。     

布局谋篇在赛讲中的质性分析

从课程授课的回顾、引入、讲授、总结所用时间和讲授方法各方面,对宝鸡文理学院青年教师授课竞赛案例进行质化研究,确定各环节授课时间和讲授方法在课程教学中的作用。     

时段基因模式的财务指标分析与应用

本文结合时间序列的概念和遗传算法中的模式原理,提出了时段基因模式概念,将财务指标随时间变化的增减趋势转化为时段基因模式。用统计方法对大规模财务指标进行时间序列分析,得到具有一定特征性的指标时段基因子模式,对我国上市公司的财务危机预警问题预测准确度最高可达95%。