Labour Intensification, Work Injuries and the Measurement of Percentage Utilization of Labour (PUL)

Labour intensification has often been assumed to be related to industrial safety, but surprisingly different views of this relationship have been held and systematic enquiry is lacking. A measure called the percentage utilization of labour (PUL) claims to monitor the intensity of labour in British manufacturing and therefore potentially affords the opportunity for a much more systematic investigation into the effects of labour intensity on industrial safety than has ever been possible before. This paper introduces the PUL measure and indicates why it might be thought particularly likely to register an increase in the 1980s. It then examines variation in PUL and in industrial injury rates in British manufacturing, both in the early part of the 1980s and over a longer period, in order to assess whether changes in PUL have tended to be associated with changes in safety. No consistent relationship is found. The evidence presented is reviewed, and the relationship between industrial injury rates, intensification of labour and the adequacy of the PUL measure for safety research is reconsidered.     

Comparative North American and European gateway logistics: the regionalism of freight distribution

The global freight distribution system has been impacted by convergence in terms of technology, infrastructure, modes and terminals. Still, in spite of strong converging forces, it can be argued that logistical practices are far from being uniform. This paper analyses the regionalism in freight transport systems by providing a comparative analysis of gateway logistics practices in North America and Europe. It is demonstrated that Europe and North America are not walking the same paths when it comes to the configuration of transport and logistics networks, via operational decisions and the setting of a regulatory framework. The attributes of gateways, corridors, hinterlands, regulation, governance, value chains and labor provide an analytical framework to understand the regionalism of freight distribution in the North American and European contexts, as well as anywhere else.     

Estimating social travel demand of senior citizens in the Netherlands

Like many other countries, the Netherlands is experiencing a sharp rise in the ageing population. As age increases, people’s mobility may decrease. However, older people have more leisure time compared to their younger (working) counterparts, and potentially spend more time on social activities. Therefore, this group can possibly increase social travel demand. However, to date, the travel demand for social activities of senior citizens has received only little attention. This paper studies trip-making for social purposes, with a special focus on the demographic ageing factors. Using social activity diary data, models are estimated to predict the number of social trips, the travel distance and mode of transport for social trips. The results indicate that the elderly of today seem to be as mobile as their younger counterparts with respect to the number of social trips. High education and involvement in clubs on average result in more social trips and full time work is found to result in fewer social trips. With regard to trip distance the results show that the average travel distance does not decrease as people get older. Full time work is found to result in longer social trips. Shorter trips were found for people in urban as well as rural areas. Trips for the purpose of visiting or joint activities tend to be longer than average. With regard to transport mode choice the results indicate that older seniors (75+) are less likely to choose the bicycle, relative to driving. No other significant age effects were found. Significant effects were found for gender, household structure, education level, car ownership, having a disability, urban density, distance and the purpose of the social activity.     

Pyrrho's lemma,or have it your way

A simple lemma is derived to support the claim that regression models can be manipulated to a very large extent: by simply adding one regressor one can obtain essentially every set of desired regression coefficients and predictions as well ast-values and standard errors. Consequently, if the product of a specification search is not shown to be generalizable, a sceptical attitude towards its validity is well-founded.     

Equally Weighted Portfolios of Randomly Selected Stocks and the Individual Investor

The article contrasts 500 randomly formed equally weighted portfolios (1/N) to 221 actively managed stock funds, individual stocks, and the IBrX-50 index, representing indexed stock funds, considering transaction costs. The sample are the 50 stocks in IBrX-50 index in January 2007 throughout 60 months. Investors are likely to achieve greater returns and return-to-risk ratios with a randomly formed 1/N portfolio than with a stock fund, particularly those targeting retail investors, or one of the 50 stocks also randomly drawn. These portfolios would also outperform the IBrX-50. Robustness tests with variations in size and frequency of rebalancing do not change conclusions.     

The Effect of Brand Gender on Brand Equity

Brand personality has been suggested as an important source of consumer‐based brand equity, yet empirical research on the relation between brand personality perceptions and brand equity is scarce. This article examines the link between masculine and feminine brand personality and brand equity as well as the underlying process of this relationship. Study 1 reported herein involves 140 existing brands and demonstrates that high levels of brand masculinity and femininity relate positively to brand equity, and that this relation is not moderated by participants’ sex. Study 2 demonstrates that brand gender accounts for brand equity ratings above and beyond other brand personality dimensions. Study 3 identifies ease of categorization as the underlying mechanism for the relationship between brand gender and brand equity.     

Beyond “Pink It and Shrink It” Perceived Product Gender,Aesthetics, and Product Evaluation

Marketing research on product personality suggests that products possess gender; however, the process by which a product becomes masculine or feminine is unknown. This research identifies product aesthetics as a source of product masculinity and femininity and investigates the influence of product gender created by aesthetics on consumer behavior. Building on prior work on anthropomorphism and evolutionary psychology (EP), the authors broadly hypothesize that specific physical characteristics identified as representing masculinity and femininity—and thus considered attractive in the mate selection process—will have a similar effect on products. The first study identifies the impact of the aesthetic dimensions of form (proportion, shape, and lines), color (tones, contrast, and reflection), and material (texture, surface, and weight) on defining a product's gender. The second study shows that products that are strongly gendered, particularly those that are strong in both the masculine and feminine dimensions, result in positive affective and behavioral responses. Thus, this research identifies product aesthetics as a significant source of product gender while highlighting the theoretical contribution of EP to consumer behavior. Managerial implications for product design are then discussed, offering guidelines for creating strongly gendered products.     

Challenging Traditional Culture? How Personal and National Collectivism-Individualism Moderates the Effects of Content Characteristics and Social Relationships on Consumer Engagement with Brand-Related User-Generated Content

Consumers across the globe increasingly engage with user-generated content about brands on social networking sites (i.e., brand-related user-generated content [Br-UGC]). As online consumer behavior does not occur in a cultural void, the present study extends earlier research by explicitly examining how the collectivism-individualism dimension, both at the national and at the personal level, influences consumers’ engagement (“liking,” commenting on, and sharing) with different types of Br-UGC created by different sources. Results based on a diverse sample of participants from South Korea, Thailand, the Netherlands, and the United States (N?=?812) suggest that collectivism-individualism at the national level moderates the effects of content characteristics and social relationships on Br-UGC engagement. Moreover, consumers who hold the same values as others in their national culture are more comfortable sharing informative Br-UGC.     

Teachers' beliefs about using a professional development plan

Professional development plans (PDPs) have recently been introduced in Dutch schools to support teachers' professional development. However, teachers' beliefs regarding the use of PDPs have not been systematically researched, whereas research on the use of PDPs indicates that the implementation is not always successful and depends on how use is perceived by users. Some teachers may doubt the usefulness and purpose of a PDP, and this might influence their reactions to its introduction. Using Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, the current study explored teachers' characteristics (such as age and years of experience in education) and their beliefs about intention to use a PDP. Clusters of teachers with similar characteristics and beliefs were identified to permit the design of interventions specific to each cluster. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted to reveal these beliefs and characteristics for a sample of 41 teachers working in schools where using a PDP was mandatory. The results showed that most teachers had a positive attitude towards using a PDP. However, because using a PDP was mandatory, they felt pressured to produce one. Moreover, it was not a priority. This was because of their high workload. The present study contributes to the literature by adding knowledge of teachers' beliefs about the use of PDPs. This knowledge may help the PDP to become a more effective device in promoting teachers' professional development.     

Innovation Performance and Innovation Policy: the Case of the Netherlands

Recent productivity growth has been sluggish in the Netherlands. Baumol suggests that future productivity performance might be hampered by inadequate arrangements and institutions between the four sectors that drive innovation and growth: large firms, small firms, the universities and the government. In this paper we present the facts and figures of innovation and growth performance in the Netherlands. We also discuss Dutch innovation policies. While our findings show that the Netherlands still ranks highly in terms of actual levels of productivity and innovation, the developments in both areas are reason for concern. A structural reform of the industry-science interface in the Netherlands could lead to an improvement in the situation for the Netherlands in the medium term.JEL classification: E61, O10, O30