Experiences of women professionals abroad: comparisons across Japan,China and Turkey

The article reports on a series of studies that examined women professionals' experiences working outside their home countries, specifically Japan, China and Turkey. The studies investigated several dimensions: (1) areas where, regardless of setting, women reported similar experiences, (2) areas where their experiences seemed to differ, in part because of setting, and (3) areas in which the women disagreed on their experiences or insights, regardless of setting. Examples of findings were that, regardless of setting, women faced challenges of gaining credibility, faced high visibility and responsibility, needed keen interpersonal skills, were frustrated with social life outside of the workplace, and used networks extensively. The womens' experiences and perceptions differed most for their reasons for working abroad, their views on performance, and their experiences with sexual harassment. The article closes with ideas for future research.     

Why firms adopt empowerment practices and how such practices affect firm performance? A transaction cost-exchange perspective

Complementing the current management literature's focus on the value-creation side of empowerment practices, this paper offers a transaction cost-exchange perspective to explain why firms adopt empowerment practices and how such practices affect firm performance. Specifically, we theorize how performance ambiguity and human asset specificity, two major characteristics of employee-employer exchange, shape firms' decisions to adopt empowerment practices, both independently and interactively. Our model also develops a contingency perspective of how empowerment practices affect firm performance by delineating the moderating role of empowerment practices in the relationship between employee-employer exchange characteristics and firm performance.     

Healthcare-related characteristics of low vs normal folate levels among women of child-bearing age

Abstract

Objective:

Despite the institution of mandatory folic acid fortification in the US, folate deficiencies still occur and are associated with an increased risk of several conditions. Since little is known regarding the relationship between folate status and other clinical, demographic, and healthcare-related characteristics, the objective of the study was to compare healthcare-related characteristics among US child-bearing age women with low vs normal red blood cell (RBC) folate levels.

Research design and methods:

Data from the 2003–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used to conduct a retrospective cohort study. Women (aged 18–45 when surveyed) were categorized in two cohorts for comparison: normal RBC folate level (≥140?ng/ml, NFL) and low RBC folate level (<140?ng/ml, LFL).

Results:

Of the 2816 subjects, 5.9% were assigned to the LFL cohort and were significantly younger (28 vs 30 years, p?=?0.01); a greater proportion were 18–25 years old (55.7% vs 39.9%, p?<?0.001) or African-American (55.1% vs 22.3%, p?<?0.01). A lower proportion of LFL women were insured (67.3% vs 75.5%, p?=?0.01) with low rates of private insurance (39.5% vs 53.1%, p?<?0.01), while Medicaid/SCHIP coverage was similar (16.8% vs 15.1%, p?=?0.56). Predictors of low folate levels included aged 36–45 years (OR: 2.14 [95% CI: 1.04, 4.39]) and never being married (2.65 [1.34, 5.24]), while a household income ≥ $75,000 reduced the likelihood of having low folate levels (0.20 [0.06, 0.73]).

Limitations:

The proportion of women with low folate levels was small, with the sample size limiting the ability to adjust for other factors during analysis. Medical histories were based on patient interviews and are subject to recall bias.

Conclusion:

LFL women are younger and have low rates of private insurance coverage compared to women with normal folate levels. Differences in age, marital status, and household income are associated with folate status.     

A South African Variety of Capitalism?

This paper explores the South African political economy through the lens of a variety of capitalism (VoC) approach. It argues that attempts were made in the early post-apartheid period to forge a more social-democratic and co-ordinated variety of capitalism, but that this floundered as the government adopted neoliberal macroeconomic policies against the wishes of organised labour, and as black economic empowerment policies further undermined an already racially-fraught business sector. Organised labour was able to push for, and maintain, protective labour market policies – but this came at the cost of growing policy inconsistency notably with regard to trade liberalisation which, in the presence of growing labour-market protection, has exacerbated South Africa's unemployment crisis. Unemployment remains intractable (and with it inequality) and corruption/patrimonialism appears to be a growing problem.     

从“形同神异”的婚姻看作家的不同女性意识——小说《简·爱》与《恋爱中的女人》对比评析

小说《简·爱》与《恋爱中的女人》中两桩婚事有"形同":简·爱与罗切斯特以及厄秀拉与伯金都收获了圆满婚姻;两桩婚姻更有"神异":两对恋人爱情历程存在着质的差异,这一差异折射出作家夏洛蒂·勃朗特和D·H·劳伦斯在女性问题上的不同立场和取向。     

Dischord and Dissonance in the Leisure Studies Polyphony: A Response to Fox and Klaiber

This study examines females' participation in the male-dominated sport of motorcycling. Group interviews with female motorcyclists explore the meaning of this leisure activity in their lives and various factors that facilitate their participation. A grounded-theory approach reveals five sources of empowerment that women gain by participating in motorcycling. This study demonstrates the role facilitators play in creating and cultivating sources of empowerment. It also exposes how feelings of guilt, vulnerability, and concern about societal images can undermine women's feelings of empowerment. “Girl power” represents women's attempts to redefine femininity in a way that embraces the positive aspects of both femininity and masculinity and resists negative stereotypes that restrict women's choices of leisure pursuits.     

Trialogue on Facebook pages of grocery stores: Customer engagement or customer enragement?

Abstract

The pervasiveness of social media is compelling businesses to review their way of managing customer experiences. Businesses use social media to interact and engage with customers. Several studies have studied why businesses have adopted social media. However, there is a dearth of research as to why customers interact with businesses on social media in the grocery sector. This paper aims to explore how and why customers react to corporate messages on Facebook pages of Tesco and Walmart. Netnography approach was adopted to gain an insight into the various ways customers engage with the grocery stores on its Facebook pages. This study reveals that social media empower customers, influence the relationships customers have with grocery stores and generate customer engagement. Findings also show that the social customer is both a curse and a blessing to Tesco and Walmart when they create or destroy value for the business. This paper contributes to knowledge by (1) uncovering how customers react to corporate and customer posts on corporate Facebook pages; (2) showing how value can be created and destroyed; and (3) proposing a model illustrating how the main constructs of the study are interconnected: social media, relationship marketing, customer empowerment and customer engagement.     

Women in Management in the New Economic Environment: The Case of India

Liberalization of the Indian economy has created considerable employment opportunities for those, including women, who possess marketable skills and talent. Historically, women in India have not enjoyed a good status in workplace settings whether in managerial or operative roles. This traditional positioning of women has restricted the intensity of their efforts towards realizing the benefits of the globalisation process. An attempt has been made in this contribution to highlight the important issues relating to women in management in the Indian context. The messages from a review of the literature are analysed. Research evidence from various sources is presented to highlight the dynamics of developments in the status of Indian women managers. The contribution discusses the main aspects of the historical, socio-cultural and economic factors influencing women managers: issues concerning gender-based stereotypes; the main barriers to women's movement to top managerial positions; the impact of developments in information technology (IT) on women managers; and the way forward. Results from two research projects are also presented. The analysis has important messages for practitioners and contributes to women's studies and management in the Indian context.     

Technology Advancements for Service Marketing and Quality Improvement

Abstract

Many organizations are investing their resources to stake their claim that Web and automatic data capture (ADC) systems as an extension of their current business operations in order to improve existing quality assurance programs. Specific technology advancements and continuous quality improvement initiatives of four service industry departments in Pittsburgh, PA, USA were inspected and documented for this paper. The four companies and their associated departments analyzed were Mellon Global Securities' Services Advisor Services Group, Eckert, Seamans, Cherin, & Mellott, LLC's Records Management Department, Mellon Financial Corporation's Global Cash Management Check Collections and Disbursements Department, and Circuit City and their electronic service departments.