Future UK land use policy and the risk of infectious disease in humans,livestock and wild animals

We explore the degree to which the consideration of infectious diseases may be of importance in the formulation of land use policy. We look at the diseases of humans, domestic livestock and wild vertebrates, and distinguish two types of human disease: those which form epidemics involving transmission from person to person, and those which are contracted from non-human sources and spread very little through the population. Land use affects the density and distribution of people, and urbanisation typically increases the risk of an epidemic and the speed with which it spreads. More subtle effects may occur through changes in the network of contacts between individuals. Land use policy that affects the distribution of breeding sites for disease vectors (e.g. mosquitoes) or the passage of potential pathogenic microorganisms through the environment from farm animals to humans can also influence non-epidemic disease risk.Livestock disease is critically affected by stocking density and the network of contacts between individuals and herds. Land use and agricultural policy can be very important in reducing the risks of disease outbreaks. We explore the complex relationship between intensification and disease risks. We suspect that land use policy may affect the viability of threatened species of vertebrates, though our relatively poor knowledge of disease epidemiology in wild animals makes policy formation difficult. Though climate change may act together with land use policy to determine disease risk, we consider this interaction to less important than that between land use and the socioeconomic drivers of global change. We conclude by assessing the importance of disease in the three types of host to land use policy. We suggest that the consideration of wildlife diseases is a low to medium priority for land use policy, though we attach high uncertainty to our conclusion; the consideration of human diseases we think a low priority (with medium uncertainty); while that of livestock diseases we argue is a high priority (with low uncertainty).     

Examining consumers' continuous usage of multichannel retailers' mobile applications

This paper examines the variables influencing a consumer's satisfaction and continuous use of a multichannel retailer's mobile application. Drawing upon the Expectation Confirmation Model for Information Technologies, post-adoption literature, and consumer behavior literature, we assess pertinent factors on the continuous usage of multichannel retailers' mobile apps. Through a sample of 1009 consumers who retained a retailer's mobile app for more than 6 months and conducting Structural Equation Modelling, the findings illustrate that utilitarian variables (perceived usefulness, ease of use, and personalization), hedonic variables (perceived enjoyment), and a brand-related variable (consumer loyalty intention toward the retailer's brand), play a significant role in influencing continuous usage of multichannel retailers' mobile apps. In contrast to e-commerce research, the study outlines that escapism plays a negative role in both consumer satisfaction and intention to continue to use a multichannel retailer's mobile app. Previous research points to the fact that consumers' retention of retailers' apps is low. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on consumers' continuous use of retailers' mobile apps through enhancing our understanding of technology and non-technology-related variables.     

THE PLACE OF SENSORY EVALUATION STUDIES IN THE HOME ECONOMICS SYLLABUS

The application of the theory and practice of sensory evaluation of foods to the home economics syllabus is considered, with particular stress on the practical problems that must be recognized and considered. The relevance of such a component of the teaching course is discussed in terms of its value in stimulation of critical judgment, appreciation of scientific method and the acquisition of special skills.     

Financial service elimination: Objectives and problem situations

Despite the importance of financial institutions' ability to rationalise their service ranges in today's competitive environment, the area of financial service elimination decision making is one of the least researched in the literature on services marketing. This paper reports preliminary empirical research into the objectives that British financial institutions pursue by eliminating financial services, as well as into the problem situations that make financial services candidates for elimination. The findings suggest that there is a wide array of service elimination objectives and problem situations. It is also suggested that there is a need for financial institutions to distinguish between what is their service elimination objective and what is the problem situation that makes them examine a financial service for possible elimination. The practical and theoretical implications that are discussed at the end of this paper point to the need for more empirical research, if the body of knowledge on service elimination is to grow.     

Budgeting and Strategy in Schools: The Elusive Link

This paper examines the effects upon management control in schools following the assumption of responsibility for delegated budgets required by the Education Reform Act (ERA) 1988. The paper examines the process of construction, approval and amendment of school budgets drawing on a neo-institutionalist framework. Our investigation has drawn upon extensive interviews in 17 schools in three North West local authorities, supplemented by a postal questionnaire and inspection of relevant documents. We develop two main arguments. First, in order to satisfy their statutory duties LEAs supervised the introduction of internal systems of budgetary control and school development planning in schools. Thus, control procedures were largely designed by internal auditors, who sought to provide an audit trail and to ensure financial probity mainly to satisfy external legitimacy, rather than to influence internal decision-making. Second, the specific nature of the relationship between budgeting and strategy varies between schools as the extent of formalised planning differs, but in general there is a very loose coupling between strategic objectives and budget expenditures.     

Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management

Practices of knowledge management are context-specific and they can influence organizational effectiveness. This study examines the possible mediating role of knowledge management in the relationship between organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness. A survey was conducted of 301 organizations. The results suggest that knowledge management fully mediates the impact of organizational culture on organizational effectiveness, and partially mediates the impact of organizational structure and strategy on organizational effectiveness. The findings carry theoretical implications for knowledge management literature as they extend the scope of research on knowledge management from examining a set of independent management practices to examining a system-wide mechanism that connects internal resources and competitive advantage.     

Dynamic capability: Impact of process alignment and organizational learning culture on performance

Although there is much emphasis on the importance of process alignment, organizational learning culture, and dynamic capability, little attention has been paid to their interactions and joint effects on performance. While the concept of dynamic capability has received increasing attention and numerous conceptual frameworks and propositions have been suggested, few empirical studies have been conducted to examine its antecedents and outcomes. Some maintain that dynamic capability is created via organizational learning. Others contend that dynamic capability is resident in organizational processes.This empirical study utilizes a survey data from a Taiwan high-tech industry to test an integrative model of dynamic capability. The results of this study demonstrated that although organizational learning culture significantly affected performance, its influence was mediated by dynamic capability. Furthermore, this study provides supporting evidence for the hypothesis that process alignment influences performance directly and indirectly through dynamic capabilities.     

AUSTRALASIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY: RESEARCH CHALLENGES AND BIG QUESTIONS

This paper reports a debate on the 'big questions' and 'research challenges' facing economic history in Australia and New Zealand. Noting the changes in research direction that occurred in the discipline over the past 50 years, and the resource challenges it currently faces, it identifies many areas of potentially fruitful research. These include the environment, market regulation and industry development, the interaction of peoples and culture, and the examination of units other than the national economy. While there is potential for exciting and diverse research, an immediate challenge is the training of the next generation of economic historians.     

We will not make a drama out of a health care crisis: an examination of UK retailers' HIV/AIDS policies

Abstract Described as the greatest health crisis to face mankind in the modern era, the threat of HIV and AIDS in the workforce provides important challenges for consumer businesses that seek to balance divergent public opinions with the need to provide adequately for the health care requirements of their workforce. This research, based upon a survey that included 42 of the UK's largest retailers, identifies the many issues surrounding the development of a credible business response to this health issue. The research findings suggest that many retailers have taken cognisance of customer feeling in their development of policies in this area and that in some instances the development of HIV/AIDS policies in respect of staff has had more to do with politically correct posturizing than a commitment to the welfare of staff.     

RECOVERY FROM DEPRESSION: AUSTRALIA IN AN ARGENTINE MIRROR 1895–1913

The recovery from the 1890s depression in Australia was prolonged, and economic growth from 1895 to 1913 was below that in the comparable settler economies of Argentina and Canada. Why? Australia’s hesitant initial recovery is typically attributed to the imbalances in the economy resulting from the preceding boom, and its further delay to severe drought. Drawing on Argentine experience, it is suggested that additional factors need to be considered. Unlike Argentina, the unwillingness or inability of Australian governments to reschedule foreign debt or devalue the exchange rate exacerbated the slump. And the era of low‐cost pioneer farming ended earlier than in Argentina (or Canada).