Restructuring outcomes and the evolution of ownership patterns in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper begins from the proposition that ‘deep restructuring’ requires both finance and managerial expertise. It addresses the question of how this second stage of enterprise restructuring will come about in the majority of state-owned or former state-owned firms that are not owned by foreigners. In particular, it seeks to identify how the initial post-privatization ownership and control structure impinges on the likelihood that deep restructuring takes place. Conclusions for the design of privatization policy are drawn. The initial post-privatization ownership structures in the Visegrad countries and Russia are surveyed along with evidence of the transfer of ownership from insiders to outsiders.     

THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS IN LOGISTICS RESEARCH

This paper introduces and provides an overview of social network theory and social network analysis (SNA) and its potential applications to logistics and supply chain management research. It then provides an example of the use of SNA via the introduction of hypotheses related to informal and formal structure and influence within a social network. These hypotheses are tested within the context of the development and implementation of a complex reporting system that evolved as the result of warehousing safety and environmental concerns within an organization.     

Supporting conceptual understandings of and pedagogical practice in technology through a website in New Zealand

This article reports on the up-date and development of an on-line resource to support of teachers’ conceptual understandings and pedagogical practice in New Zealand. Techlink is a website dedicated to supporting technology teachers, students and those with an interest in technology education. This research documents part of a Ministry of Education initiative to develop materials to support teaching and learning in technology education. The research was conducted by educational researchers contracted through Technology Education New Zealand the professional subject association. This research was a component of a larger contract with an overall aim of improving student achievement particularly at Years 12 and 13, the final 2 years of schooling in New Zealand. The aims of the initiative reported in this article were to provide ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the materials developed by the writing team, to support teacher shifts in understanding and pedagogical practice. This article gives an overview of the 3 year research study, focussing on teachers and teacher educators perceptions of Techlink as a professional development resource. An iterative process was used to critique and give feedback on existing and developed materials. The article also discusses enhancements made to ensure that the resource reflected the needs of technology teachers and The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education 2007).     

An International Examination of Assurance Practices on Carbon Emissions Disclosures

This paper provides a detailed examination of the assurance practices for carbon emissions disclosures for an international sample of 3008 companies across 43 countries between 2006 and 2008. The demand for such assurance services was found to be mainly from companies in Europe and companies from carbon intensive industries, with a majority of these engaging specialist assurers. The results reported reflect the growth and evolving nature of this emerging market. Through providing an understanding of current practice in this dichotomous market our study provides important information for standard setters and regulators as they work towards establishing guidelines and standards to regulate this market.     

Identity development in school makerspaces: intentional design

Makerspaces are increasingly popular in K-12 schools, particularly when associated with STEM learning. Many schools are successfully entering the makerspace arena. Others face significant barriers in ideating their design, often resorting to tinkering, or the purchase of commercial kits as resources. At the heart of a makerspace is its intent, as well as anticipated learning outcomes. This paper proposes design as being the process-base of a makerspace, and the transformation of learner identity as being its core learning outcome. The literature is drawn together to present an overview of identity as it relates to learning. It draws on the Funds of Knowledge and Funds of Identity approaches to outline how makerspaces are able to operate as third spaces, drawing together experiences in both formal and informal education. The paper then presents a makerspace design approach that draws together three identity resources, namely material, relational and ideational. Literature on equity-oriented makerspace design and facilitation is drawn upon to describe makerspace design features organised by each type of identity resource. This design can initiate the conversation of educational makerspace designers that supports focused questions about the potential purpose, resourcing, structure and facilitation of school makerspaces.     

Print media portrayals of giving: exploring national ‘cultures of philanthropy’

In their 2010 study drawing on 500 empirical philanthropy studies, Bekkers and Wiepking identified eight consistently significant giving mechanisms. The pilot study reported here extends what is known about one mechanism, values, as a giving driver, in particular considering how national cultural values apply to giving. Personal values are not formed in a vacuum. They are influenced by the wider culture and society: thus values have a socio-cultural dimension. Accordingly, this pilot research draws on media theory and cultural studies work on national ethos to explore how these national cultural values interact with giving. A directed qualitative content analysis has been undertaken to compare US and Australian print media coverage about philanthropy. The two nations share an Anglo–Saxon orientation but differ significantly in national character and philanthropic activity. This study posits that a nation's media coverage about giving will reflect its national cultural ethos. This coverage can also shape personal values, thus implications exist for theory about the antecedents of personal giving values. Wider national values may drive or stifle giving, so this wider view of values as a driver has implications also for philanthropy promotion and fundraising. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal executive compensation: Stock options or restricted stocks

This paper develops an agency model to analyze the optimality of executive stock option compensation in the presence of information manipulation. The analyses show that although information manipulation is positively related to the size of option compensation, the relative size of manipulation-to-effort does not depend on the size of option compensation. Furthermore, an optimal executive compensation package includes stock options instead of restricted stocks under most circumstances. Testable predictions on the relationship between optimal option exercise price and exogenous model parameters are derived.     

The Distribution of Income Shocks during Crises: An Application of Quantile Analysis to Mexico, 1992-95

Moving beyond the simple comparisons of averages typical ofmost analyses of household income shocks, this article employsquantile analysis to generate a complete distribution of suchshocks by type of household during the 1995 crisis in Mexico.It compares the distributions across normal and crisis periodsto see whether observed differences were due to the crisis orare intrinsic to the household types. Alternatively, it askswhether the distribution of shocks during normal periods wasa reasonable predictor of vulnerability to income shocks duringcrises. It finds large differences in the distribution of shocksby household types both before and during the crisis but littlechange in their relative positions during the crisis. The impactappears to have been spread fairly evenly. Households headedby people with less education (poor), single mothers, or peopleworking in the informal sector do not appear to experience disproportionateincome drops either in normal times or during crises.