Positioning codes of ethics on international corporations' websites: A six-year longitudinal study

This research examines the level of international website disclosures of corporate codes of ethics during the period of July 2002 and July 2003, which surrounds the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in United States. We also gathered similar data from these corporations' websites in April of 2006 through April of 2008 (i.e., three through five years after the effective date of SOX). In April of 2006 (2007 and 2008), 30 (34 and 36) of the 43 corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had readily available codes. While not required to have their codes on their corporate websites, 14 (18 and 23) of the 49 corporations that were not listed on the NYSE also had readily available codes. Our research also indicates that corporations headquartered in Europe were more likely to have readily available codes of ethics than corporations headquartered in the Pacific region in 2006 and 2007 but not in 2008.     

Insights from images posted on social media: Examining the motivations of volunteer tourists

Extensive research has been conducted on the motivations of volunteer tourists; however, the scope has not included how motivation is expressed through the posting of images on social media. This study examines the relationship between volunteer tourists’ motivations and social media use through the identification of picture publishing behavior based on motivations. An online survey yielding 260 complete responses is used and statistical tests investigate the relationship between demographic factors, motivations and social sharing of photos. The results show that demographics have little impact; however, there is a relationship between motivation and photo sharing and between motivation and volume of photos.     

Are There Racial Gaps in High School Leadership Opportunities? Do Academics Matter More?

Participation in high school sports and leadership activities is typically associated with later adult earnings premia. In stark contrast to the large but diminishing racial disadvantage found in other measures of educational opportunity, this analysis of high school leadership development finds few examples of racial disadvantage in historical 1960 data, but an emerging disadvantage to black female students between 1972 and 2004. Earnings regressions reveal positive earnings premia to black women who engaged in sports and leadership activities as adolescents, but not to black men. Particularly large premia to higher math scores (or penalties to lower math scores) among black workers are also observed. These findings call into question any world-view in which U.S. wages are a simple function of observable worker qualifications, and highlight the continued need to monitor equitable access to educational opportunities in U.S. schools.     

The shift from sterling to the dollar, 1965–76: evidence from Australia and New Zealand

The management of foreign exchange reserves has recently attracted attention from both policy‐makers and historians. Historical research has focussed on the nineteenth century and the interwar period, with less attention to the strategies of smaller countries in the final transition from sterling to the dollar in the post‐1945 period. This article examines the evolution of reserve currency policy from the perspective of Australia and New Zealand in the 1960s and early 1970s. As in the 1930s, economic uncertainty and a shift in global economic power prompted changes in reserves strategy. Patterns of trade and debt and falling confidence in British economic policy prompted a move away from sterling, but the timing and extent of this transition were affected by the fragility of the sterling exchange rate, lack of alternative assets, and continued dependence on the London capital market. The choices for Australia and New Zealand were thus constrained, but they were able to leverage their position as holders of sterling to engage in agreements that provided an exchange rate guarantee for their sterling holdings and continued access to the London capital market. This mitigated the effect of the final global transition from sterling to the dollar while protecting their interests.     

Can health care information technology save babies?

Electronic medical records (EMRs) facilitate fast and accurate access to patient records, which could improve diagnosis and patient monitoring. Using a 12-year county-level panel, we find that a 10 percent increase in births that occur in hospitals with EMRs reduces neonatal mortality by 16 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is driven by a reduction of deaths from conditions requiring careful monitoring. We also find a strong decrease in mortality when we instrument for EMR adoption using variation in state medical privacy laws. Rough cost-effectiveness calculations suggest that EMRs are associated with a cost of $531,000 per baby’s life saved.     

De-industrialization and the ‘disappeared workers’

Hong Kong has undergone a remarkable process of a complete cycle of industrialization and de-industrialization within the lifetime of one generation of workers. This paper explores the impact of this swift economic progress and examines the adjustment problems and difficulties experienced by workers displaced from their jobs in a rapidly de-industrializing society. It addresses the issue of what has become of these displaced workers. It was found that, while a proportion of the displaced workers were able to find alternative employment in the expanding services industries, many became discouraged workers who joined the ranks of the hidden unemployed, partly as a result of discrimination which compounded their problem and further hindered their search for work and employment. The data show that many of these people eventually (in)voluntarily withdrew completely from the labour market. Suggestions have been made regarding the role which can be played by the government in particular to ease the transition of displaced workers into other employment positions.