Content aggregation by platforms: The case of the news media

The digitization of content has led to the emergence of platforms that draw information from multiple sources. This paper investigates whether aggregation of content by a single platform encourages users to “skim” content or to investigate it in depth. We study a contract dispute that led a major aggregator to remove information from a major content provider. After the removal, users were less likely to investigate additional, related content in depth, particularly sources that were horizontally or vertically differentiated.     

Caught in the Middle: Organizational Impediments to Middle Managers’ Work-life Balance

As increased work demands and longer working hours become the reality for many employees, the concept of work-life balance has received increasing attention. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of Australian middle managers, which investigated the impact of middle managers’ daily organizational experiences on their lives both in and beyond the workplace. We focus on respondents’ reports of the difficulty in achieving work-life balance, specifically, the organizational impediments to creating balance. Three particular areas where these impediments were apparent are: the impact of new technologies; limits to autonomy and control in the middle management role; and difficulties in taking advantage of flexibility initiatives in the workplace. As middle managers are caught in the middle between work and personal life, there is a need for organizations to support middle managers’ efforts to achieve work-life balance if the organization’s long-term goals are to be achieved.     

Achieving Customer Satisfaction through Integrated Products and Services: An Exploratory Study

Complex products such as manufacturing equipment have always needed maintenance and repair services. Increasingly, leading manufacturers are integrating products and services to generate increased revenues and achieve customer satisfaction. Designing integrated products and services requires a different approach to new product development and a clear understanding of how customers perceive the value they obtain from actual usage of products and services—so‐called value‐in‐use. However, there is a lack of research on integrated products and services and how they impact customer satisfaction. An exploratory study was undertaken to understand customers' views on integrated products and services and the value‐in‐use derived from such offerings. As value‐in‐use and its impacts are complicated concepts, a technique from psychology—Repertory Grid Technique—was used to gather data in 33 interviews. The interviews allowed a deep understanding of customer views on integrated products and services to be obtained, and a systematic analysis identified the key attributes of value‐in‐use. In order to probe further, the data were then analyzed using Honey's procedure, which identified the impact of the attributes of value‐in‐use on customer satisfaction. Two key attributes—relational dynamic and access—were found to have the most influence on customer satisfaction. This paper contributes to the innovation field by identifying customer needs for integrated products and services and how these impact customer satisfaction. These are key points and need to be fully considered by managers during new product and service development. Similarly, the paper identifies a number of important areas for further research.     

Talking Your Way into Entrepreneurial Support: An Analysis of Satisfaction Drivers in Entrepreneur Mutual Aid Groups

The role of organized peer networks in entrepreneurial support systems has been surprisingly neglected in the literature, despite their undisputed effectiveness in numerous areas outside the entrepreneurship realm. This study explores the efficacy of mutual aid groups for entrepreneurial support, as theoretically distinct from other group‐based mechanisms (such as peer group mentoring and many to one group mentoring). Drawing from respondent data of small, local mutual aid groups within the global entrepreneurship support organization (2,869 responses from members of 540 groups worldwide), we investigate the factors determining the entrepreneurs' satisfaction with the entrepreneur mutual aid groups. Understanding the antecedents of members' subjective satisfaction with the group serves an essential first step toward developing the models explaining the objective effectiveness of these organizations (e.g., performance, survival, and growth), in that the former is an essential, necessary condition for continuing participation in the voluntary mutual aid groups. Our analysis reveals that group climate and leadership are important drivers of group satisfaction.     

The Idea of Together——An exclusive interview with Edward Nixon and Devon Nixon

From 21 to 28,1972,U.S.president Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China,ending 25 years of separation between the two countries and marking an important step in formally normalizing the relations between the two sides.President Nixon called the visit "the week that changed the world."     

‘These are the voyages …’: interaction in real and virtual space environments in leisure

This paper examines the impact of new technologies, computer‐mediated communication and information and communication technologies, on traditional, ‘face‐to‐face’ live social interaction within leisure environments. Initially recounting the factors involved in the closure of two science fiction/Star Trek fan clubs, the paper considers impacts in other leisure settings. The nature of the impact of new technologies is examined through drawing upon the cyber‐optimist versus cyber‐pessimist debate, prominent in the somewhat complex cyber zone literature. Much of the cyberspace literature is, however, both theoretical and speculative, with an acknowledgement of uncertainty over the nature of the impacts of new technologies. The paper thus concludes by proposing an agenda for research in this subject field. This is informed by earlier work by Kelly (1983) who advocated that, in addition to examining its form and environment, research on interactions should also investigate the quality of such interactions.     

Guyuan Prairie:the Nearest Natural Wet Grassland from Beijing

About 300 km Northwest of Beijing,Guyuan County of Hebei Province has 900 square km of prairie,the nearest natural wet grassland from the capital of China.Connecting the Inner Mongolia Prairie on the north,the Guyuan Prairie has an elevation of about 1800 meters.The special climate and geographical position at the junction of     

US imperialism in action: An audit-based appraisal of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq

This paper drawing from audit reports reflects upon the post-Iraq war administration the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). It argues that the CPA's compliance with basic levels of decent public administration were akin to Guantanamo's compliance with basic levels of natural justice. The audit reports demonstrate that the CPA was a chaotic administration which spent billions without proper controls or procedures and left precious Iraqi oil revenues open to fraudulent acts. The CPA failed to comply with its obligations under UN resolutions. It identifies the geopolitical/economic implications of the US government which was partly motivated by economic concerns but it was also motivated by political concerns—the imposition of US hegemony. It then turns to the broader economic imperatives of the falling rate of profit and the imposition of neoliberalism (market fundamentalism).