The strategic use of contingent workers in Hong Kong's economic upheaval

This research examines strategy in the use and purposes of contingent employment in four retail firms under different economic conditions in Hong Kong. Data from in‐depth qualitative case studies found that the four firms – three Japanese and one British – had different organisational responses to the economic conditions caused by the increase of sales before the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the shrinkage of sales afterwards. One such response concerned the companies' employment policies, especially in their use of contingent workers. Some tended to have an ad hoc opportunistic approach to the use of contingent workers, while others were more strategic and incorporate long‐term planning in their labour utilisation strategy. Implications are drawn relating to companies' use of contingent employment to changes in the contextual environment regarding their long‐term development.     

Inequities in under-five child nutritional status in South Africa: What progress has been made?

Despite the emphasis given to poverty reduction in policy statements and a substantial increase in social spending, money-metric poverty has shown little improvement since South Africa's transition to democracy in 1994. Alternative approaches to measuring well-being and inequality may show a more positive trend. This article uses the 2008 National Income Dynamics Study to assess the magnitude of inequalities in under-five child malnutrition ascribable to economic status. The article compares these results with those of Zere and McIntyre, who analysed similar data collected in 1993. In both cases, household income, proxied by per-capita household expenditure, was used as the indicator of socio-economic status. Children's heights and weights have increased since 1993 and being stunted or underweight has become less common. Furthermore, pro-rich inequalities in stunting and being underweight have significantly declined since the end of apartheid. This suggests that pro-poor improvements in child welfare have taken place. Policies that may have contributed to this include the Child Support Grant, introduced in 1998, and improvements in healthcare and the education of women.     

Healthcare costs associated with skeletal-related events in breast cancer patients with bone metastases

Background:

Patients with bone metastases secondary to breast cancer are pre-disposed to skeletal-related events (SREs), including spinal cord compression (SCC), pathologic fracture (PF), surgery to bone (SB), and radiotherapy to bone (RT).

Objective:

To document current patterns of healthcare utilization and costs of SREs in patients with breast cancer and bone metastases.

Methods:

This was a retrospective, observational study using the Thomson MedStat MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database from 9/2002 to 6/2011. Study subjects included all persons with claims for breast cancer and for bone metastases, and ≥1 claims for an SRE. Unique SRE episodes were identified based on a gap of at least 90 days without an SRE claim, and classified by treatment setting (inpatient or outpatient) and SRE type (SCC, PF, SB, or RT).

Results:

Of 17,266 patients with breast cancer and bone metastases, 9142 (53%) had one or more SRE episodes. Among 5809 patients who met all other criteria, there were 7617 SRE episodes over mean (SD) follow-up of 17.2 (15.2) months. The percentage of episodes that required inpatient treatment ranged from 11% (RT) to 76% (SB). On average, inpatient SCC episodes (n?=?83 episodes) were most costly; while outpatient PF episodes (n?=?552 episodes) were least costly. Of the total SRE costs (mean [SE] $21,072 [$36,462]/episode), 36% were attributable to outpatient RT (n?=?5265 episodes) and 31% to inpatient PF (n?=?838 episodes).

Limitations:

The administrative claims data used in this study may lack sensitivity and specificity for identification of clinical events and may not be generalizable to other populations. Also, for some SRE episode categories, the number of events was small and cost estimates may lack precision.

Conclusion:

In patients with breast cancer and bone metastases, SREs are associated with high costs and hospitalizations.     

Corporate social responsibility and dividend policy

This study outlines and tests two corporate social responsibility (CSR) views of dividends. The first view argues that firms are likely to pay fewer dividends because CSR activities lower the cost of equity, encouraging firms to invest or hoard cash rather than to pay dividends. The second view suggests that CSR activities are positive NPV projects that increases earnings and hence dividend payouts. The first (second) view predicts that firms with a stronger involvement in CSR activities should be associated with a lower (higher) dividend payouts. The finding supports the second view and is robust.     

Understanding nature-based tourist experiences: an ontological analysis

The purpose of this article is to discuss and elaborate on contemporary research on nature-based tourism experiences. Recent studies on nature-based tourism and experiences are analysed within an ontological framework, with a focus on the view of tourists and their experiences, the nature phenomena, role of the presenter, and consequences of tourist presentations. We argue that four main perspectives can be derived based on the interpretation of recent tourism literature. In these texts, nature-based tourist experiences can be described in terms of the following categories: (1) the genuine, (2) entertainment, (3) state of being, and (4) socio-cultural community. We discuss the features of each view and possible implications for understanding and managing nature-based tourism products and presentations.     

Counter‐Credit‐Risk Yield Spreads: A Puzzle in China's Corporate Bond Market

In this paper, using China's risk‐free and corporate zero yields together with aggregate credit risk measures and various control variables from 2006 to 2013, we document a puzzle of counter‐credit‐risk corporate yield spreads. We interpret this puzzle as a symptom of the immaturity of China's credit bond market, which reveals a distorted pricing mechanism latent in the fundamental of this market. We also find interesting results about relationships between corporate yield spreads and interest rates and risk premia and the stock index, and these results are somewhat attributed to this puzzle.     

Leisure Constraints Affecting Experienced Martial Arts Participants

The experienced constraints of participants in leisure and recreation programs have not been thoroughly investigated; nevertheless, these constraints can influence levels of satisfaction and commitment and the decision to drop out or continue participating. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the extent to which constraints predict member satisfaction and commitment and (b) to examine the relationship between socio-demographic variables and the influence of constraints among martial arts participants. The target population evaluated for this study consisted of individuals aged at least 18 years or older who had attended a martial arts school. A total of 595 participants were recruited through on-site and online test administrations. The findings of this study revealed that martial arts consumers of various socio-demographic backgrounds had different perceptions of constraining factors that affected their attendance at martial arts schools.