Statistical Inference,Learning and Models in Big Data

The need for new methods to deal with big data is a common theme in most scientific fields, although its definition tends to vary with the context. Statistical ideas are an essential part of this, and as a partial response, a thematic program on statistical inference, learning and models in big data was held in 2015 in Canada, under the general direction of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute, with major funding from, and most activities located at, the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. This paper gives an overview of the topics covered, describing challenges and strategies that seem common to many different areas of application and including some examples of applications to make these challenges and strategies more concrete.     

An investigation into apprenticeship completion and retention in Northern Ireland: a social exchange perspective

This paper investigates effective strategies for enhancing completion rates of apprentices and their retention after completing their training. The study was cross sectional and qualitative, involving semi‐structured interviews with managers and four focus groups involving current and completed apprentices from within the engineering sector. The findings revealed that the factors that can enhance intentions of completing an apprenticeship were perceived organisation support (POS) factors such as apprentice pay, recognition and employer support. Leader Member Exchange (LMX) factors such as support from trainers and supervisors, would increase their intentions to complete an apprenticeship and stay on with an organisation after training. The key Percieved Organisational Support factors that would enhance intentions to stay with the organisation after completion were post apprenticeship pay, career progression and challenging and interesting work. Participants with high Perceived Organisational Support and Leader‐Member Exchange, had higher intentions of completing an apprenticeship and staying with the employer after completion and vice versa. This research added to the literature on apprenticeships as it analysed the factors influencing current and completed apprentices’ intentions to discontinue or complete an apprenticeship and stay with or leave their employer after completion through the lens of social exchange theory (SET) (Blau, 1964). This is unlike previous studies that emphasised motivation theory. Social Exchange Theory was supported as both employers and apprentices weighed the costs and benefits of their relationship which impacted on their completion and retention choices. The implication of this study is that employers should develop effective strategies for enhancing completion and retention rates to reap the full benefits from apprenticeships.     

Public accountability: reforms and resistance in social housing

The paper illustrates and discusses the changing nature of public accountability relations in public services that are transferred to a mutual organization. The paper contributes to the literature that studies resistance to the neo-liberal restructuring process, highlighting civil society campaigns as important actors. A social housing case study in Britain is developed, combining a critical realist and dialogical influenced analysis. The case study identifies the role of private finance, illustrating tensions between democratic-styled and NGO-styled public accountability relations. A conclusion that housing mutuals are in danger of being apologia for private capitalism is established.     

A cross-cultural study of the perceived benefits of a retailer loyalty scheme in Asia

The aim of this paper is to explore loyalty, loyalty schemes, and loyalty cards, as well as the internationalisation of loyalty schemes. We focus on loyalty schemes in Asia to define the primary objective of our study: to assess the impact of perceived benefits on the feelings of participants of a specific retailer's loyalty scheme, as well as customer loyalty towards the retailer. A literature review of loyalty schemes and loyalty cards is undertaken as well as the internationalisation of these cards. A survey was conducted in five Asian countries in which Toys’R’Us operates, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. Data was collected among members of the Toys’R’Us Star Card loyalty programme. Structural equation modelling was used to build a model that can be used to explain the simultaneous structural relations between perceived benefits, emotional feelings, and loyalty behaviours. Invariance testing was applied in order to test whether the model holds across the five countries. Our findings suggest that perceived benefits have a weak direct effect on loyalty behaviours. However, perceived benefits have a much stronger effect on feelings, which in turn have a strong effect on loyalty behaviours. We also found subtle differences between the countries in the study, which could either be attributed to cultural differences, to marketing practices, or to both, which can only be ascertained through further research.     

The Development and Management of Beach Resorts: Boracay Island,The Philippines

This paper deals with questions of beach resort development processes and their management. Issues are discussed within the context of Boracay Island in the Philippines, which is a popular destination, but one that is at risk from uncontrolled growth. The framework for the analysis is an existing model, and comparisons between it and the case reveal similarities and divergences. Findings suggest the unique qualities of individual resorts arising from local and national circumstances, but indicate more general patterns and attendant challenges that have a wider applicability. Development models are also seen to be useful, despite their limitations.     

Editorial

Abstract

Even though operating within a different electoral system, Great Britain is rapidly following in the footsteps of the United States in the area of political communications. Electoral communications, including advertising, have found a place in the British political process.

This study seeks to find what place and is based largely on personal interviews with politicians, party officials, broadcast and print journalists, academicians and advertising agency executives.

Emphasis is on the marketing and communications efforts of the Conservative Party as the leader in the trend toward American-style campaigning. However, both the Labour Party and SDP/Liberal Alliance are also examined.     

The Evaluation of Sports Sponsorships

This article considers how sports sponsorships are evaluated by sponsors. The important question is to determine whether a systematic approach is used in the light of the huge expenditures involved in sponsorships. The role of sports sponsorships in the promotional mix is discussed, as well as the evaluation of sports sponsorships. This study involved a sample of 28 sponsors in South Africa during 1988. A framework for the evaluation of sponsorships is presented for use by companies wishing to enter the world of sponsorship.     

A framework for developing word fragment completion tasks

To broaden our understanding of the person-based phenomena that impact organizational behavior, researchers are increasingly making use of implicit measures. Explicit measures tap affect, attitudes, and self-concepts that are accessible to introspective awareness, which are sometimes unreliable or distorted by response biases. In contrast, implicit measures assess mental content and processes that operate outside awareness. Unfortunately, the ad hoc manner in which implicit measures are sometimes developed is problematic. As a way of improving research on implicit content and processes, we present a detailed and practical framework for developing one type of implicit measure: word fragment completion tasks. Such tasks have been successfully used to measure a variety of individual difference variables in previous organizational research. Our framework draws on previous research and well understood psychometric principles to describe a process for creating reliable and valid word fragment completion tasks.     

Valuing remnant vegetation in Central Queensland using choice modelling

In the Desert Uplands region of Central Queensland, many pastoralists are clearing vegetation in order to improve cattle grazing production. A choice modelling study was undertaken to provide estimates of the benefits of retaining remnant vegetation that are appropriate for inclusion in a cost benefit analysis of tighter clearing restrictions. Attributes included in the choice model were reductions in the population size of non-threatened species, the number of endangered species lost to the region, and changes in regional income and employment. A nested logit model was used to model the data in order to avoid violations of the independence of irrelevant alternatives condition. The estimated benefits are reported for several tree clearing policy regimes that are more stringent than those currently applied.