Improving schedule reliability based on copulas: An application to five of the most congested US airports

This study, based Newark Liberty International, New York John F. Kennedy, New York LaGuardia, Chicago O’Hare International and San Francisco International in the US, provides a perspective on the predictability of on-time performance evaluation by applying an actuarial and financial method called copula. It is common for the percentage of on-time gate arrivals to be portrayed in daily news as an indicator of schedule reliability. However, the degree of interdependency between gate arrival delays and block delays may provide some indication of schedule reliability.     

UK Accountants' Perceptions of Research Journal Quality

The process of research quality assessment is now firmly established in UK universities. The quality of the journals in which academic papers are published is an important input to the assessment process. The relative quality of these journals is clearly difficult to establish in an objective manner. This paper contributes to the debate about relative quality by conducting a peer review. Eighty-eight UK accounting academics reported their degree of familiarity with, and perceptions of quality of, a total of 44 journals in the accounting and finance discipline. Accounting and Business Research and theBritish Accounting Review were the two most familiar academic journals. The most highly ranked journals were generally from the US.     

A Comparative Study of the Benefits of Applying Target Cost Contracts Between South Australia and Hong Kong

This article aims to identify and analyze the key benefits of adopting Guaranteed Maximum Price and Target Cost Contracts (GMP/TCC) over and above the traditional lump‐sum contractual arrangement through an empirical questionnaire survey conducted in South Australia and compared with the findings in Hong Kong. The Mann‐Whitney U Test indicated differences in perception between the two groups of respondents on the majority of the identified benefits. The study has provided an in‐depth understanding of the perceived benefits of the GMP/TCC scheme, hence leading to a wider application of those alternative integrated procurement strategies in both regions for reference by the construction community at large.     

From Experience: Applying Performance Support Technology in the Fuzzy Front End

A new product originates from an idea, or in many cases, integration of multiple ideas. The process of transforming an idea into a robust concept requires definition of the underlying technologies, identification of expected customer benefits, and assessment of the market opportunity. The idea-development and subsequent idea-selection stages of new product development are often referred to as the "fuzzy front end" because they typically involve ad hoc decisions and ill-defined processes. To address this shortcoming, Nortel developed an idea-to-opportunity front-end process that provides a consistent and structured approach for idea development and evaluation. This article describes the process and how it was implemented using electronic performance support technology.     

Trade union education: its past and future

In this article the author examines how the TUC Education Service was established and assesses the achievements of its regional scheme in meeting the educational needs of trade unionists. The focus is on the problems of conflict and compromise over provision, together with the relationship between educational institutions, the state and trade unions.     

The influence of demand and supply side pressures on the quantity and quality of inventive activity

This article arguments the literature on the demand for professional team sports by estimating a demand function for attendance at home matches in the Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League (MSPFL) between 1989 and 1991. A single-equation demand (attendance) function based on a pooled cross-section and time-series panel data set of 399 games is estimated by ordinary least squares, a fixed effects dummy variable covariance model and an error components model. Our findings confirm the importance of market size and championship prospects for the home team (but not the visiting team), as well as divisional status and ‘star’ players. The first match of the season and derby matches also increased attendance.     

How the Ageing Population Contributes to UK Economic Activity: A Microsimulation Analysis

In the United Kingdom, as in several other countries, increasing life expectancy is leading to a shift in the age distribution of the population. Meanwhile, at the level of individuals, spending patterns change as people age. This paper investigates the extent to which demographic change is likely to affect household spending patterns by combining the techniques of dynamic microsimulation with an imputation method known as random assignment. While there has been significant concern about the economic cost of the ageing population, this paper finds a potentially beneficial effect in the form of an increase in total spending for most expenditure categories.     

Globalization: A Critical Introduction

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were endorsed unanimously by all 189 UN member states and emerged as one of the central pillars of the global fight against poverty. However, the changes the MDGs brought about have been mixed at best. Though there are some notable successes, the MDGs have failed to bring about a substantial shift towards tackling global poverty and have had only a weak impact on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Several reasons are put forward for this failure: the continuing lack of political concern with poverty; the lack of a social movement behind the MDGs; and the lack of a well formed epistemic community for the MDGs to tie into. However, this paper argues that it would be wrong to dismiss the MDGs as a complete failure. The MDG project should instead be seen in a long term context as having played a role in changing international values and contributed to the emergence of an international norm that sees poverty in an affluent world as being morally unacceptable.     

Do accountabilities change when public organisations transform to service systems: A new conceptual approach

In this conceptual paper, we discuss from the service systems perspective how accountabilities differ from a hierarchic and organisational perspective within the domain of New Public Management, looking to shed new light upon accountability as a research topic. The concept of service systems and their accountabilities are scrutinised and the role of integrated social and health care services is discussed in particular. The main argument in the text is the changing nature of accountabilities as the public organisations are being transformed into service systems. To date, the understanding of accountability has remained structural by nature – such is the case also for productivity measurement – but the shift from organisations towards services systems means that accountability ought to be considered as processual by nature. By processual it is meant that accountability should be considered as flows within systems – that is: flows between agents the content of which we argue includes not only knowledge on the outputs of public services, but also values, empathy and thus multi‐layered understanding of accountability. The paper concludes with practical insights for managerial purposes on the basis for this accountability shift.