Working and Caring for a Child with Chronic Illness: Challenges in Maintaining Employment

This paper shares some pertinent findings from an initial, qualitative stage of a larger, national study currently being undertaken in Australia, exploring the support needs of parents who are working full time and caring for a child with chronic illness. The findings presented here depict the negative impact of these parents caring responsibilities on their work life and the increased stress they experience trying to maintain full time employment. In-depth interviews revealed how these parents had to rearrange their working hours, use up their leave entitlements, work unsatisfactory hours, sacrifice their careers and even change their jobs in order to balance their dual roles. In addition, the findings also highlight the negative and unsupportive attitude that employers had towards these parents. These employment conditions were extremely stressful and frustrating for parents affecting their physical and emotional well being.     

Labour market recruiting with intermediaries

We consider a Rothschild–Stiglitz–Spence labour market model and employ a centralised mechanism to coordinate the efficient matching of workers to firms. This mechanism can be thought of as operated by a recruitment agency, an employment office or head hunter. In a centralised descending-bid, multi-item procurement auction, workers submit wage-bids for each job and are assigned stable jobs as equilibrium outcome. We compare this outcome to independent, sequential hiring by firms and conclude that, in general, a stable assignment can only be implemented if firms coordinate to some extent.      

Causes of corruption: a survey of cross-country analyses and extended results

We survey and assess the empirical literature on the sources of corruption Thanks to the improved availability of data, we are able to produce an improved cross-country econometric model to test well-established and more recent hypotheses jointly. We do not find that the common law system, or a past as a British colony predicts corruption. Our results support cultural theories on the causes of corruption, and suggest that a medium-long exposure to uninterrupted democracy is associated with lower corruption levels, while political instability tends to raise corruption. Our results also suggest that the diffusion of newspapers helps to lower corruption levels.      

In search of efficient network structures: the needle in the haystack

Searching for efficient networks can prove a very difficult analytical and even computational task. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using the genetic algorithms (GA) technique to identify efficient network structures in the case of non-trivial payoff functions. The robustness of this method in predicting optimal networks is tested on the two simple stylized models introduced by Jackson and Wolinsky (1996), for which the efficient networks are known over the whole state space of the parameters’ values. This approach allows us to obtain new exploratory results in the case of the linear-spatialized connections model proposed by Johnson and Gilles (Rev Econ Des 5:273–299, 2000), for which the efficient allocation of bilateral connections is driven by contradictory forces that push either for a centralized structure around a coordinating agent, or for only locally and evenly distributed connections. Murat Yıldızoğlu gratefully acknowledges the support of the CCRDT program of Aquitaine Region.     

Influence analysis for Poisson inverse Gaussian regression models based on the EM algorithm

For Poisson inverse Gaussian regression models, it is very complicated to obtain the influence measures based on the traditional method, because the associated likelihood function involves intractable expressions, such as the modified Bessel function. In this paper, the EM algorithm is employed as a basis to derive diagnostic measures for the models by treating them as a mixed Poisson regression with the weights from the inverse Gaussian distributions. Several diagnostic measures are obtained in both case-deletion model and local influence analysis, based on the conditional expectation of the complete-data log-likelihood function in the EM algorithm. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the results.     

The contribution of Project-based-learning to high-achievers’ acquisition of technological knowledge and skills

The main goals of this study were to look after the technological knowledge construction process by high-school high-achievers, and their ability to design and implement solutions for technological problems. More specifically, we examine the contribution of Project-based-learning (PBL), as pedagogical means for supporting the students’ knowledge acquisition and problem-solving process. The findings show a significant increase in formal knowledge as measured by standardized matriculation exams; an expansion in the scope of technological knowledge acquired and implemented, and in the scope of knowledge resources utilized for the projects; a high level of overall performance as regards to the set of design skills studied; a positive change in attitude towards technology and technological studies; the emergence of consistent design styles by individuals and groups along their work in the projects.     

Researching cognition and technology: how we learn across the lifespan

This article addresses how we learn technology across the lifespan. After outlining findings of research into how children, adolescents, teens and adults learn technology, we address theoretical shifts from sociocultural to technocultural theories of cognition and reorientations from mediated to cyborgenic learning. The balance of the article describes effective methods for researching cognition and technology. In the process of outlining key findings from research, we emphasize the links among methods and theories employed, data produced and conclusions drawn. Our goal is to sketch a lifelong learning context for undertaking studies of cognition and technology, and to provide a methodological and theoretical analysis for researchers venturing into this dynamic and volatile field. In summary, we provide a far-ranging agenda for researching cognition and technology.

A strategic analysis of surging Chinese manufacturers: The case of Galanz

Recent years have witnessed the surging of Chinese manufacturers, as China has become the world’s factory floor. This paper presents a case study of one of the most successful manufacturers in China, the Galanz Group, now the world’s largest microwave manufacturer. Based on theories of multinational corporations from emerging economies, the paper examines the process of Galanz’s integration into the global market. The company has developed unique competitive strategies that have made it a great success within China and in overseas markets. The Galanz model suggests strong strategic implications for both Chinese firms and incumbent multinational corporations.

Real options and MNE strategies in Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific offers a lot of promising growth opportunities, but it also presents high levels of uncertainty for multinational enterprises (MNEs). In this paper, we introduce real options theory as a theory of investment under uncertainty, and we discuss its implications for MNEs and their strategies with a focus on the emerging economies in Asia Pacific. We suggest that MNEs must recognize the various sources of uncertainty, as well as the various options embedded in their investments, and real options theory can help them structure and design their investments to benefit from uncertainty. In particular, MNEs need to develop the dynamic capabilities of managing real options in their investments to respond to the evolving economic and institutional environment in the region. This paper also provides several implications for policy makers in Asia Pacific to stimulate investment activities in the region and to help their firms venture successfully in the international market place.

Collusive Communication and Pricing Coordination in a Retail Gasoline Market

This paper studies how communication is used by a retail gasoline cartel in Australia to coordinate price increases, a role of communication in collusion not highlighted by Genesove and Mullin (Am Econ Rev 91(3): 379–398, 2001). A unique data set from the trial record allows for quantifying not only the pricing dynamics, but also the communication patterns. Both empirical and narrative evidence suggests the collusive communication and pricing behavior is well captured by the price cycle equilibrium of the Maskin and Tirole (Econometrica 56(3): 571–599, 1988) model.