The silver linings of lottery play: motivation and subjective well-being of British lottery participants

Although certain researchers have attributed widespread lottery play to irrational beliefs that people hold regarding the chances of winning the lottery, another explanation for the popularity of lottery gambling is that lottery players may experience positive emotions before the draw. Therefore, in this study, we examine the relationship between lottery participation and happiness. Using data from the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010 and utilizing propensity score matching methods, we find a small positive effect of lottery participation on happiness for individuals who engage in lottery play for recreational purposes.     

Expenditure patterns and elasticities of rural households sampled in two communal areas of KwaZulu-Natal

Expenditure patterns among a sample of 99 rural households in two communal districts in KwaZulu-Natal were investigated to determine the potential impact of a widespread income shock on household expenditure. The results showed expenditure elasticities of close to unity for food. Low elasticities were found for staple foods. Elasticities for meat, meat products and poultry were close to unity, while horticultural products showed the greatest potential for demand growth within the food category. Of the statistically significant commodity categories, expenditure elasticities for durables, housing and transport were more than double those estimated for the aggregate food category. For consumer items, the district expenditure elasticities were estimated to be 0,76 and 0,71, while expenditure on social obligations would not increase with rural incomes. Wealthier households (the top expenditure decile) have a greater propensity for increased expenditure on transport, while poorer households show a greater propensity for increased expenditure on housing and durables. Although agriculture has the potential to generate widespread growth in rural incomes, the preference for manufactured goods casts some doubt on the strength of consumption multipliers for locally produced farm and non-farm goods in rural KwaZulu-Natal.     

Top Management Team Functional Diversity and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of CEO Characteristics

Past research indicates that the effect of TMT functional diversity on firm performance is equivocal. We address this issue by focusing on the integrative role of the CEO, postulating that the CEO's expertise and background characteristics affect the TMT functional diversity–firm performance relationship, because of their impact on the exchange and integration of distributed knowledge within the TMT. Using a dataset of 33 Dutch and Belgian Information Technology firms we investigate the moderating role of three sets of CEO characteristics (functional background, status as founder, and shared experience with the other TMT members) on the relationship between TMT functional diversity and firm performance. Our results reveal that CEO and TMT characteristics do interact in realizing the potential advantages of distributed TMT functional expertise.     

Socio‐Emotional Wealth Separation and Decision‐Making Quality in Family Firm TMTs: The Moderating Role of Psychological Safety

Socio‐emotional wealth (SEW), defined as the firm's non‐financial aspects meeting the family's affective needs, has become the dominant paradigm in family firm research. Recent debate acknowledges potential SEW heterogeneity within family firms. This study considers the effect of polarizing opinions on SEW preservation among TMT members as a source of separation in the TMT. More concretely, we study the effect of SEW separation on TMT decision‐making quality, while taking into consideration behavioural integration as a team process and psychological safety as a team context. Based on a unique multiple respondent sample of 300 managers from 55 Belgian private family firms, we find that behavioural integration mediates the negative effect of SEW separation on TMT decision‐making quality. In addition, we find that the negative effect of SEW separation on behavioural integration is mitigated by psychological safety and even turns into a positive effect at high levels of psychological safety.     

THE ECONOMIC OPTIMISATION OF SOW REPLACEMENT DECISIONS BY STOCHASTIC DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING

A stochastic dynamic programming model is designed to determine the economic optimal replacement policy in swine breeding herds. This optimal policy maximises the present value of net revenues from sows present in the herd and from subsequent replacement gilts over a given planning horizon. The model also calculates the total extra profit to be expected from trying to retain an individual sow until her optimal lifespan and not replacing her immediately. This total extra profit is an economic index which makes it possible to rank sows within the herd on future profitability and, therefore, can be used as a management guide in culling decisions. For typical Dutch values the optimal replacement decisions result in an average herd life of 3.43 parities. The maximum economic life of sows of average productivity turns out to be 10 parities. All data can easily be adjusted to represent a specific herd or a different region of the world.     

Review of the South African Agricultural Legislative Framework: Food security implications

Although South Africa has reported national food security for decades, current production patterns, land uncertainty and consumer preferences put future national household food insecurity in question. Household food insecurity in South Africa is at unacceptable levels. This paper reviews the country's agricultural legislative framework in terms of food security and the right to food. The review found that South African agricultural policies do not actively promote food security and the lack of enforceable food security policy makes it difficult to coordinate existing policies. The lack of food security legislation means that the right to food has no enforceable framework. A comprehensive food security policy, legislative framework and implementation strategy are urgently needed to address hunger poverty to progressively achieve the targets set out for national growth and development and realise the right to food enshrined in the Constitution.     

Personas in action: linking event participation motivation to charitable giving and sports

• Charitable organizations continue to use sport events to raise money for the cause and provide meaningful experiences for participants. This study analyzes the motivation for participating in a charity sport event. Four segments of participants have been distinguished based upon a cluster analysis; for each of them, personas have been constructed on the basis of qualitative research. How to approach these personas with different propositions has been formulated on the basis of their motivation regarding the cause and/or the actual sport activities. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a common understanding and method of creation of personas, a new and largely untested tool. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the value of detecting the most valuable participant segments in order to influence and leverage future and repeat participation as a basis for success of a fundraising event for a charity's cause.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Agricultural growth multipliers for two communal areas of KwaZulu-Natal

Expenditure data were collected from 99 households in two rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. District and wealth group expenditure analyses suggest a less-than-proportional increase in the demand for tradable farm commodities, and a more-than-proportional increase in the demand for non-tradable farm commodities following a 1 per cent increase in household expenditure. Expenditure on non-farm tradables (imported consumer durables) showed the greatest potential for demand growth, with expenditure elasticities ranging from 1,75 to 2,59. An increase of R1,00 in household income is predicted to add an additional 28 cents (multiplier of 1,28) to the local economy. The study estimates relatively weak growth linkages. However, even relatively weak growth linkages could lead to much needed new income and employment opportunities in the local farm and non-farm sectors if the constraints limiting agriculture, and hence broad-based growth in rural incomes, are alleviated. Agriculture-led growth in South Africa requires public investment in both physical and institutional infrastructure to reduce transaction costs and risks in all markets, thus encouraging greater participation by local entrepreneurs and private sector investors. In addition, the roles, functions and services offered by extension agents should be extended to promote collective marketing, facilitate land rental contracts and provide training, technical and business support for farm and non-farm entrepreneurs.     

The influence of family management on attendance and successful completion of skills training courses in KwaZulu-Natal

This study surveyed women engaged in skills training courses to determine whether selected family management variables influenced their attendance of such courses and their successful completion of training. A sample of 161 women engaged in skills training courses for income generation offered by four NGOs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were surveyed by means of a questionnaire. The dependent variables were course attendance and rate of successful completion of training. The independent variables were selected as indicators of women's family management practices (such as participation in household production and child care, income, task and time orientation). It was concluded that the significant family management variables may be appropriate predictors of attendance and successful completion of skills training. Reassessment of the design of skills training courses is suggested to accommodate women's needs and restraints associated with the demands of their home environments. Further refinement of the significant variables is recommended.