Meat and fish consumption patterns in Saudi Arabia

This study analyses the demand for meat (beef, chicken and lamb) and fish in Saudi Arabia in a system-wide framework using data for the period 1985–2010. A preliminary data analysis reveals that, in Saudi Arabia, the relative consumption of beef, chicken and fish has a positive growth, while lamb has a negative growth. The average relative price growth rates of beef, chicken and fish are negative, while that of lamb is positive. The expenditure shares of beef, chicken and fish have increased while that of lamb has fallen. The estimation results of the demand system reveal that there is an autonomous trend out of lamb into beef, chicken and fish. The implied income elasticities indicate that beef, lamb and fish are considered to be luxuries, while chicken is a necessity. The demand for all meat products and fish are price inelastic. These elasticities are key inputs for policy analysts in terms of devising policies in relation to meat production, meat imports, taxation and food security issues in Saudi Arabia. The usefulness of the implied elasticities is demonstrated by simulating the consumption of beef, chicken, lamb and fish under various policy scenarios.     

Over-investment in corporate R&D,risk, and stock returns

Large-size firms which significantly increase their R&D expenditures experience subsequently three-year-long negative abnormal stock returns on the magnitude of 56 basis-points per month. We find no robust evidence of significant event-induced abnormal returns for small-size sample firms or any systematic risk changes for the small- and large- size firms. We also find that the large-size sample firms generate relatively much larger cash flows (i.e., have significantly greater over-investment discretion) and have significantly larger (over-) valuation multiples than the small-size firms. Moreover, some of their operating performance measures show signs of deterioration instead of improvement following these R&D programs. These findings are consistent with the view that investors initially underestimate the over-investment in R&D by some large-size firms that appear to be overvalued and have high cash flows at the time of the investment, only to be disappointed later.     

Accreditation and standards-driven program evaluation: implications for program quality assurance and stakeholder professional development

This study evaluates a language education program and assesses the influence of this program evaluation on program performance and stakeholder professional development. The research design makes use of mixed paradigms and methods. Positivism is followed to verify the extent to which the program meets predetermined quality standards through quantitative evaluation research, questionnaires and document and record analysis. In contrast, the qualitative paradigm is followed to uncover program evaluation impact on program components and stakeholders through qualitative evaluation and interviews. The study concludes the program maintains satisfactory overall performance with some components performing better than others. Likewise, evaluation of program evaluation improves program elements and faculty and program administration professional skills. The study therefore recommends program evaluation as an effective program improvement strategy. Program evaluation is also an effective professional development strategy that provides program administration, staff and faculty members with onsite opportunities to develop their professional skills. Moreover, evaluation of program evaluation should be an integral part of program evaluation to help program stakeholders not only do but also use evaluation alongside decreasing resistance to imposed review and reform.     

Applying Darwinian principles in designing effective intervention strategies: The case of sun tanning

Public‐service announcements typically seek to educate consumers regarding a given unhealthy practice, the assumption being that individuals will cease the harmful behavior once they are fully informed. Many intervention strategies have failed in curbing the targeted behaviors because these are not due to incomplete information but instead may also have a Darwinian‐based etiology. Using sunbathing as a case analysis, it is shown how Darwinian theorizing (evolutionary psychology, life‐history theory, gene‐culture co‐evolution, and memetic theory) can augment social marketers' ability to develop efficacious intervention strategies. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Family embeddedness and entrepreneurship experience: a study of Indian migrant women entrepreneurs in Australia

India has emerged as a major source of migrants for developed countries including Australia; yet, there is a dearth of research on Indian migrant entrepreneurs, particularly women. Using qualitative methods of enquiry, we explore the perceptions of Indian migrant women entrepreneurs (MWEs) and their partners in Melbourne, Australia, about their entrepreneurship experiences from a family embeddedness perspective. More specifically, we explore how family embeddedness of Indian MWEs is influenced by certain factors which in turn influence their entrepreneurship experience. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurship among Indian MWEs is a complex phenomenon influenced by their being an Indian, a woman and a new Australian, all of which interact and influence their family dynamics and entrepreneurial experience. Our findings shed light on the duality of Indian culture which exerts both an enabling and a constraining influence on the family dynamics of MWEs, the constraining role of gender and the positive impact of their integration into the host country’s sociocultural context which all influence their family embeddedness and entrepreneurship. Contributing to the discussion on ‘ethnic’ and ‘women entrepreneurship’ from a family embeddedness perspective, we offer policy implications for facilitating entrepreneurship in the growing but under-researched cohort of Indian MWEs.     

Applications of evolutionary psychology in marketing

Evolutionary psychology is an emerging paradigm in psychological science. The current article introduces this framework to marketing scholars and presents evidence for its increasing acceptance within the social science community. As a result, a case is made for the application of evolutionary psychology to marketing, and especially consumer behavior. Application of the evolutionary framework in studying gender‐related consumption behavior is illustrated by comparing the evolutionary predictions with results obtained from previous studies, by supporting these predictions with market‐level consumption data, and by proposing new hypotheses based on this framework. Also discussed are the potential applications of evolutionary psychology to other consumption‐related phenomena like evaluation of endorser attractiveness in advertising, biologically driven consumption choices among women, consumer‐experienced emotions in service encounters, and consumption choices as inclusive fitness maximization rather than utility maximization. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Responsible Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: Understanding the Realities and Complexities

Developing countries have recently experienced a burgeoning of small-scale individual entrepreneurs (SIEs) – who range from petty traders to personal service workers like small street vendors, barbers and owners of small shops – as a result of market-based reforms, rapid urbanisation, unemployment, landlessness and poverty. While SIEs form a major part of the informal workforce in developing countries and contribute significantly to economic growth, their potential is being undermined when they engage in irresponsible and deceptive business practices such as overpricing, sale of underweight or substandard products, or attempts to hoard goods, to name a few. Despite the growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of small businesses in developing countries, the SIEs have received almost no attention. To address this void in the literature, we explore the reasons for the less than optimal level of social responsibility demonstrated by some SIEs in developing countries. We do so by drawing upon the existing literature to develop a comprehensive framework of social responsibility of SIEs highlighting their unique characteristics and the different contextual factors that they encounter in developing countries. Based on this framework, we then present a set of propositions specifying the influence of these contextual factors such as business environment, cultural traditions, socio-economic conditions, and both international and domestic pressures on the business practices of SIEs. The framework offers an explanation for the lack of responsible entrepreneurship of SIEs and has important implications for promoting sustainable business practices in developing countries where businesses are striving hard to survive and compete.     

Hazard analysis and safety considerations in refrigerated ammonia storage tanks

A systematic approach to find out the probability of Ammonia tank failure was adopted and a consequence analysis in case of accidental Ammonia release from refrigerated ammonia storage tanks was made. The study revealed that construction of a concrete bund wall around the tanks is not justified. Instead, it would be adequate to upgrade the safety in the common dyke around the tanks by adopting additional conventional methods.     

Measuring intraregional trade

This article develops a novel measure of intraregional trade. The new measure is easy to implement and robust to different gravity models. I use the new measure to study the economic integration of the major trade blocs and discuss how the measure can be extended to analyse the roles of trade policies and institutions in regional integration.