The life satisfaction of teachers at work place,research of structural equation modelling regarding general and organized cynicism

This research aims to determine both the predictive role and level of teachers’ life satisfaction, as well as general and organizational cynic perceptions in their workplace. The study sample was composed of 457 teachers who worked in the middle schools in the center and districts of Konya in 2016, who were randomly selected by group sampling. Analysis of the research data was conducted using the statistical program AMOS 18.0, according to structural equation modeling. In the research, loneliness in teachers’ professional lives was considered in two dimensions: as “emotional deprivation” and “social friendship.” According to the research findings, it is evident that organizational cynicism is the most important variable affecting teachers’ emotional deprivation and social companionship levels. The second most important variable affecting teachers' levels of emotional deprivation is general cynicism, while social companionship levels are more affected by life satisfaction. It is also seen that there is a negative relationship between the emotional deprivation and social friendship and life satisfaction variables. The results also demonstrate a slight but statistically significant relationship between the general cynicism and the social friendship levels of teachers.     

A joint test of risk premia in exchange rates and rational expectations

This note presents a simple joint test of existence of a risk premium in exchange rates and the rationality of expectations. It is shown that major currency prices studied in this note are subject to a risk premium.     

Efficacy of the theory of communication competence and personality traits in predicting tour guides’ income

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explain the extent to which communication competencies and personality types influence tour guides’ performances, as measured by two livelihood indicators: earned tips and overall income. Data were collected from a sample of 387 professional tour guides via self-report survey. The study results suggest that some verbal and non-verbal communication competencies play a role in predicting tips earned. Moreover, the study has found that three of the Big Five personality traits are useful predictors of tips and general income. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed within the realm of Theory of Communication Competence and Big Five Personality Traits.     

Sustainability indicators for managing community tourism

The purpose of this study is to develop indicators to measure community tourism development (CTD) within a sustainable framework. In order to develop such objective indicators, this study employed a modified Delphi technique. A panel of 38 academic researchers in tourism provided input into developing the indicators. After three rounds of discussion, the panel members reached consensus on the following set of 125 indicators: political (32), social (28), ecological (25), economic (24), technological (3), and cultural dimensions (13) for CTD. This set of sustainable tourism indicators can serve as a starting-point for devising a set of indicators at the local and regional level. Further study shall develop a set of sustainable indicators relying on communities’ distinctive characteristics and employing indicator experts from the social and physical sciences and from all stakeholder groups, including residents of the host community, industry experts, government planners, policy-makers and non-governmental organizations [United Nations (2001). Managing sustainable tourism development: ESCAP tourism review, No. 22. New York, NY: UN].     

Forecasting stock market volatility: Further international evidence

Abstract

This paper evaluates the out-of-sample forecasting accuracy of eleven models for monthly volatility in fifteen stock markets. Volatility is defined as within-month standard deviation of continuously compounded daily returns on the stock market index of each country for the ten-year period 1988 to 1997. The first half of the sample is retained for the estimation of parameters while the second half is for the forecast period. The following models are employed: a random walk model, a historical mean model, moving average models, weighted moving average models, exponentially weighted moving average models, an exponential smoothing model, a regression model, an ARCH model, a GARCH model, a GJR-GARCH model, and an EGARCH model. First, standard (symmetric) loss functions are used to evaluate the performance of the competing models: mean absolute error, root mean squared error, and mean absolute percentage error. According to all of these standard loss functions, the exponential smoothing model provides superior forecasts of volatility. On the other hand, ARCH-based models generally prove to be the worst forecasting models. Asymmetric loss functions are employed to penalize under-/over-prediction. When under-predictions are penalized more heavily, ARCH-type models provide the best forecasts while the random walk is worst. However, when over-predictions of volatility are penalized more heavily, the exponential smoothing model performs best while the ARCH-type models are now universally found to be inferior forecasters.     

Why Is It (Un-)ethical? Comparing Potential European Partners: A Western Christian and An Eastern Islamic Country – On Arguments Used in Explaining Ethical Judgments

Located at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western world, Turkey today is characterized by a demographically versatile and modernizing society as well as a rapidly developing economy. Currently, the country is negotiating its accession to the European Union. This article yields some factual grounding into the ongoing value-related debate concerning Turkey’s potential EU-membership. It describes a mixed-methodology study on moral reasoning in Austria and Turkey. In this study, the arguments given by individuals when evaluating ethically problematic situations in business were compared. Although there were major consistencies, a number of differences were found. These differences, however, were not in the substance (categories) of arguments used but in their relative frequency. Overall, our findings suggest that young, well-educated urban individuals from Western Christian and Eastern Islamic countries are highly consistent in their moral reasoning. Katharina J. Srnka is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Vienna, Austria, and has been teaching at different European universities and institutions. Dr. Srnka received her Ph.D. from University of Vienna for her work on cultural influences on ethical decision making in marketing. Her research interests concern qualitative and mixed research methods, consumer behavior, and cross-cultural marketing ethics. A. Ercan Gegez is Associate Professor of Marketing at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Gegez holds a Ph.D. from Marmara University in the field of International Marketing. He is one of the founding members of The Turkish Marketing Association and he has served as a member of the supervisory board. His research interests include international marketing, marketing research and marketing ethics. S. Burak Arzova is Associate Professor of Accounting at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Arzova holds a Ph.D. from Marmara University in the field of Accounting for his work on Activity Based Cost Management. His research interests comprise accounting ethics, cost management and international financial standards.     

Trade,Growth, and Environmental Quality*

This paper examines linkages between international trade, environmental degradation, and economic growth in a dynamic North–South trade game. Using a neoclassical production function subject to an endogenously improving technology, North produces manufactured goods by employing labor, capital, and a natural resource that it imports from South. South extracts the resource using raw labor, in the process generating local pollution. We study optimal regional policies in the presence of local pollution and technology spillovers from North to South under both non‐cooperative and cooperative modes of trade. Non‐cooperative trade is inefficient due to stock externalities. Cooperative trade policies are efficient and yet do not benefit North. Both regions gain from improved productivity in North and faster knowledge diffusion to South regardless of the trading regime.     

Attitudes towards Business Ethics: A Five Nation Comparative Study

Increasingly the business environment is tending toward a global economy. The current study compares the results of the Attitudes Towards Business Ethics Questionnaire (ATBEQ) reported in the literature for samples from the United States of America, Israel, Western Australia, and South Africa to a new sample (n = 125) from Turkey. The results indicate that while there are some shared views towards business ethics across countries, significant differences do exist between Turkey and each of the other countries in the study. Similarities and differences are discussed in terms of the countries' ratings on the Corruption Perceptions Index (as reported by the Internet Center for Corruption Research) and Hofstede's Theory of International Cultures. Recommendations for managers interacting with employees from differing countries are provided.