Probing behaviour of interviewers in the standardised semi-open research interview

Quality & Quantity - In the semi-open research interview questions are presented to the respondent without mentioning the answer categories to be used for coding. So the respondents are free to...     

BP: developing excellence in the global enterprise

World-class supply management organizations like Honda of America, John Deere, Chrysler, Hewlett Packard, and Motorola all understand the power of continuous improvement in the supply base. The best supplier management and development programs help suppliers--on a long-term basis--develop their own strength and expertise in suggestion systems, new product development, and high quality production results.     

Promoting research access and informant rapport in corporate settings: Notes from research on a crisis company

Obtaining evidence on managerial action is inevitably difficult. Although it has been suggested that critical events such as corporate crises provide opportunities for research, there has been a lack of discussion on what aspects of management such conditions help to illuminate and how they could be exploited in obtaining both formal access and rapport with individual informants. Based on fieldwork experience this paper suggests that corporations in crisis should be taken seriously in research on managerial action because they may both facilitate access and liberate and motivate individual managers to reflect on both their own acts and intentions and on those of other individuals.     

Cognitive interviewing as tool for enhancing the accuracy of the interpretation of quantitative findings

This paper contrasts findings from a quantitative survey with those from a cognitive interviewing follow-up investigation on a subset of the same respondents. The data were gathered as part of a larger study to explore measurement error across three modes of data collection, but this paper focuses on the question format experiments rather than the mode effects part of the larger study. Three examples are presented which demonstrate how cognitive interviewing can cast new light on quantitative results by increasing the accuracy of the inferences made. These include instances where: (1) quantitative indicators of poor respondent behaviour (e.g., acquiescence bias on agree/disagree questions) are over-estimates, (2) similar quantitative response distributions across satisfaction and behavioural questions (from a fully-labelled versus end-labelled experiment) imply similar respondent satisficing behaviour, but cognitive interviews show that different response processes are at work and (3) unlikely quantitative findings (from an experiment comparing 3 vs. 7 or 8 response options) could easily be dismissed as due to chance but were instead the result of unforeseen respondent difficulties. The paper concludes with a discussion of the value of using a cognitive interviewing follow-up study as a tool in the interpretation of ambiguous quantitative findings.     

The dynamics of indebtedness in developing countries: The case of the Philippines

The relationships between foreign capital inflows, the build-up of debt, and economic growth in a developing country are analyzed using a system dynamics model of the pertinent processes. The Philippines serves as an empirical case to apply the model. The model incorporates the macro-structure of economic growth, the micro-structure of market-clearing mechanisms, and an accounting of the money flows. The study shows that economic policies enhancing debt-servicing ability create better economic performance than those limiting acquisition of loans. Increasing capital-intensity is the most important part of such policies. They are further facilitated by encouraging investment through decreasing taxes and enhancing demand through increasing government spending and promoting exports. Thus, augmentation of domestic resources by foreign capital inflows appears to be a viable economic strategy.     

论内部审计的独立性

独立性是内部审计的灵魂,是审计工作质量的保证.现阶段我国企业在内部审计方面存在着制约内部审计独立性因素.解决诸种因素,加强内部审计的独立性必须加强内部审计的法律制度建设;建立独立、健全的内部审计机构;保证审计人员的独立性;提高内部审计人员的业务素质.     

论桥梁抗震的重要性

我国地震活动频繁且强度较大。桥是一种重要的社会基础设施,在国民经济和居民日常生活中起着非常重要的作用。但在各种自然灾害中,地震对桥梁工程的破坏最为严重,因此,开展桥梁抗震研究十分重要。     

Socio-economic constraints on Jamaica''s stabilization efforts: the importance of supply-side programs

Recently, there has been considerable interest in alternative stabilization programs in developing countries. This paper examines the possibility of implementing this type of program in a country that traditionally has had considerable difficulty in complying with International Monetary Fund programs. The macro-economic simulations of Jamaica's economy clearly show that successful supply-side policies could have mitigated the adverse income effects of stabilization associated with the standard IMF approach to stabilization.     

Slums in developing countries: New evidence for Indonesia

This paper uses Indonesian data to provide new evidence on the links between household and dwelling characteristics in a developing country. The results show that higher income and education lead to occupancy of dwellings with better structural characteristics, an effect that is reinforced if the household is large and contains few children. Religion also matters, with non-Buddhist households occupying dwellings with worse structural characteristics. The directions of these effects are mostly consistent with separate estimates of household bid-rent functions, which show that willingness-to-pay for better housing attributes rises with income and education.     

The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship: the developing country context

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal - This is among the few studies to test the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship (KSTE) at the city level in a developing country...     

Cognitive interviewing and factor-analytic techniques: a mixed method approach to validity of survey items measuring national identity

This paper explores the possibilities of method triangulation between two methodological approaches for assessing the validity performance of survey items: cognitive interviewing and factor analytic techniques. Although their means of approaching validity differ, both methods attempt to prove whether a measure corresponds to a theoretical (latent) concept (e.g. patriotism vs. nationalism), thus both are concerned with the question, whether an indicator measures what it is supposed to measure. Based on two representative samples for Austria [data gathered within the framework of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) on National Identity in 1995 and 2003] and 18 cognitive interviews conducted between 2003 and 2005, the paper shows the considerable advantages of using a multi-method approach for ensuring the quality of survey items. On the one hand, we apply exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in order to identify poorly performing indicators with regard to validity and reliability. On the other hand, the analysis of the cognitive interviews reveals the substantial sources of response error. Results show that to a large extent, respondents do not understand the items that have been defined to measure national identification and related concepts in Austria the way intended by the drafting group of this ISSP Module, a fact that has considerable implications on the scales’ predictive power.     

北起所：引领行业发展

伴随着北京奥运会的成功举办,在我国物料搬运机械行业具有特殊地位和独特影响的北京起重运输机械研究所迎来了建所五十周年华诞.     

The importance of efficient use in the adoption of technology: A micro panel data analysis

Even after the introduction of the new rice technology (Green revolution) about more than two decades ago, the food shortage problem has not decreased significantly in many developing countries. Obviously, there can be no dispute over the importance of the new rice technology in bringing about improvements in agricultural productivity. But, there are factors other than the choice of technology which are equally important, and a neglect of these factors may lead to a complete negation of any possible gains in productivity arising from the use of new technology. One such factor is the efficient use of the technology. This paper examines farm-specific application of the new rice technology by using a micro-level panel data from a South Indian district. The results show a wide variation in the efficient use of the technology by the sample farmers. Extension and education were identified as two major constraining factors.The refereeing process of this paper was handled through N.R. Adam.     

要重视HHT的应用——访深圳方正颐和科技有限公司营销总监曾辉军

随着快递行业的迅速发展,快递企业间的竞争日趋激烈.手持数据采集终端(HHT:Hand-Held Terminal,俗称工业PDA或移动手持式计算机)的使用逐渐成为快递企业提高服务水平和竞争力重要工具.快递企业应该把数据采集产品的应用摆在重要位置了.深圳方正颐和科技有限公司营销总监曾辉军这样认为.     

The importance of being at the margin

The fundamental defects of the European Union cannot be overcome unless the Intergovernmental Conference is replaced by an Interparliamentary Conference. Eastern enlargement does not justify a transition to widespread majority voting but it calls for a reform of the Court and the Commission. The marginal members of the European Council have the largest power. Britain's role is to be at the margin, not the heart, of Europe.