Food service research: An integrated approach

Food production demands competencies in both natural science and management principles. The suggested framework includes the following areas of research: technological innovation, process design (including Industrial Cuisine), product development (including Molecular Gastronomy, Industrial Gastronomy and Functional Meal) and risk management (including quantitative risk assessment and predictive microbiology). Developments stemming from food science and engineering could be combined with studies in operations management, consumer psychology, cognitive psychology, sociology and economics. The paper concludes that in order to meet societal demands for health, sustainability and efficiency a radical shift is needed—from ‘low tech’ recipe development and proliferation of marketing concepts to ‘cutting edge’ technological innovation supported by advanced research in management and consumer studies.     

Forecasting the textile scene: an aid to the planning of a research programme

Abstract . A Delphi study over the whole of the U.K. textile industry is at present being carried out by the Technical Economy Department of the Shirley Institute. This paper describes the methodology used and discusses some of the problems which have arisen and the results obtained.     

Revisiting all-terrain vehicle injury risks: Response to critique

This article responds to a recent critique published in this journal of the statistical basis for actions taken by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to address all-terrain vehicle injury risks. It shows that the critique omitted important information in order to make its case, and that the CPSC findings were much more firmly supported by the data than indicated by the critique.The views are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Consumer Product Safety Commission or other members of its staff. Since the article was written in the author's official capacity, it is in the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted.     

Further Evidence on the Impact of SFAS 52 on Analysts' Earnings Forecasts

This study examines the impact of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Number 52 (SFAS 52) on analysts' earnings forecasts. Value-Line forecasts of multinational firms' earnings were examined for the years 1979-1984. Forecast errors did not exhibit a significant linear trend. However, the results show a decline in signed forecast errors from the pre-SFAS 52 to the post-SFAS 52 period reflecting a change from an overstatement bias to relatively unbiased forecasts.
Overall, the results suggest that (1) overstatement errors were greater in the pre-SFAS 52 period than in the post SFAS 52 period, and (2) overstatement errors in the year that SFAS 52 was adopted were greater than surrounding years. In addition, a strong negative relation was found between 1981 signed forecast errors and both revisions in forecasts and the income effect of the accounting change.     

A component process theorem of job satisfaction

Total quality management (TQM) and management by objectives (MBO) are underpinned by the same three processes – participation in decision making, goal setting and objective feedback. Research on the effectiveness of management by objectives is used as a foundation for evaluating the influence of each component process on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction gains are predicted from the theories that underpin each process. Evidence on each component process supports these predictions. When all three processes in combination are used with top management commitment to programme implementation, the gain in job satisfaction should be greater than the gain when any one process is used by itself, but less than the sum of the independent effects of all three processes.     

China's macroeconomic volatility — How important is the business cycle?

The existing literature that discusses China's macroeconomic volatility during the reform period does so with overwhelming reference to the business cycle. However, the business cycle is only a subset of macroeconomic volatility that occurs within a particular frequency band. In this paper we decompose various macroeconomic series by frequency and find that much volatility occurs at lower than business cycle frequencies. This suggests that it is necessary to look beyond the construct of the business cycle in order to understand the nature of China's macroeconomic volatility, and beyond the usual demand side explanations in the discussion of causes.     

‘The price is different depending on whether you want a receipt or not’: examining the purchasing of goods and services from the informal economy in South-East Europe

ABSTRACT

Research on the informal economy has largely focussed on supply-side issues, addressing questions like what motivates individuals to work in the informal economy and how can governments tackle this phenomenon. To date, much less attention has been given to demand-side aspects, examining issues around who purchases goods and services from the informal economy, why, and to what extent there are variations according to demographic, socio-economic and geographic dimensions. This paper addresses this imbalance by examining the purchasing of goods and services from the informal economy in South-East Europe. Firstly, this paper identifies the prevalence of such informal purchasing in South-East Europe as well as who undertakes such purchasing. Next, it examines the relative significance of cost factors, social factors and failures in the formal economy, in motivating such purchasing. Finally, it explores variability in the significance of these motivators based on individual-level factors, within and across three South-East European countries.     

International Trade and Gender Wage Discrimination: Evidence from East Asia

The paper explores how competition from international trade affects gender wage discrimination in two open economies. According to neoclassical theory, if discrimination is costly, then increased industry competitiveness from international trade lessens the incentive for employers to discriminate against women. This effect should be stronger in concentrated sectors, where employers can use excess profits to cover the costs of discrimination. Alternatively, increased international trade may reduce women's bargaining power to achieve wage gains. Results for Taiwan and Korea indicate that, in contrast to neoclassical theory, competition from foreign trade in concentrated industries is positively associated with wage discrimination against women.