Investigating the effects of job demands and job resources on cabin crew safety behaviors

Cabin crews are crucial to the cabin safety performance of airlines, and may enhance air travel safety and alleviate passenger concerns. Within the limited literature devoted to cabin crew related research, this study aims to examine the causal relationships among “job demands”, “job resources” and cabin crew safety behaviors. Data from a survey of 339 flight attendants working for Taiwanese international airlines were analyzed using structural equation modeling. A variety of fit indices confirmed the overall model fit, and all the paths in the model were statistically significant. Framed in the context of the job demands-resources model, the results reveal negative causality between “job demands” and “cabin crew safety behaviors”, whereas “job resources” are positively related to “upward safety communication”, “in-role” and “extra-role” safety behaviors. The implications of the results for practitioners and future research are discussed.     

Forecasting China's foreign exchange reserves using dynamic model averaging: The roles of macroeconomic fundamentals,financial stress and economic uncertainty

We develop models for examining possible predictors of growth of China's foreign exchange reserves that embrace Chinese and global trade, financial and risk (uncertainty) factors. Specifically, by comparing with other alternative models, we show that the dynamic model averaging (DMA) and dynamic model selection (DMS) models outperform not only linear models (such as random walk, recursive OLS-AR(1) models, recursive OLS with all predictive variables models) but also the Bayesian model averaging (BMA) model for examining possible predictors of growth of those reserves. The DMS is the best overall across all forecast horizons. While some predictors matter more than others over the forecast horizons, there are few that stand the test of time. The US–China interest rate differential has a superior predictive power among the 13 predictors considered, followed by the nominal effective exchange rate and the interest rate spread for most of the forecast horizons. The relative predictive prowess of the oil and copper prices alternates, depending on the commodity cycles. Policy implications are also provided.     

Behavioural Modification Techniques as Tools for Performance Enhancement in the Nigerian Banking Industry： A Survey of Selected Banks in Makurdi

This paper is a critical analysis of behavioral modification techniques as tools for performance enhancement in the Nigerian Banking Industry. The overriding objective of the study was to determine the impact of behavior modification techniques on performance enhancement in the Nigerian banking industry. The specific focus was on selected banks in the Makurdi metropolis, Benue State. The study employed a simple empirical survey method with a view to eliciting relevant data for analytical purpose so as to answer several questions and to obtain the objectives of the study. Both primary and secondary sources were explored in a bid to attain data which were considered to be highly germaine to the investigation under reference. Five-point Likert scale rating questionnaire was used in obtaining the views and opinions of respondents （i.e. strongly agree-5, agree-4, undecided-3, disagree-2, and strongly disagree--l）. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested. Non-parametric tools including simple percentages and Pearson Chi-square statistics were used due to their analytical simplicity and relevance. The study found that banks in Makurdi utilized behavior modification strategies translated to high organizational success or enhancement in a comparative sense. This was evident from the fact that the banks net profitability trends were observed to be upwards generically. In the light of the findings of the study, it is hereby recommended that proactive behavior modifications strategies rules guideline and the like be tailored along lines with greatest organizational profitability trends and performance enhancement profiles, both potential and actual. This will require rewarding productive behaviors that detect/report fraudulent acts with cash gifts, meritawards, prizes and discouraging unproductive behaviors such as fraudulent activities, absenteeism, drug abuse, alcoholic influences and lateness to work amongst others with punishment, extinction, and negative reinforcement.     

Information transmission between large shareholders and stock volatility

Does information transmission between large shareholders exacerbate stock volatility or reduce stock volatility? In this study, based on the common shareholding data in the Chinese stock market from 2007 to 2017, we establish the shareholder’s coshareholding network, and use the weighted network clustering coefficient to measure the information transmission speed. Moreover, we investigate the impact of information transmission speed on stock volatility. The empirical results show that a nonlinear U-shaped relationship exists between information transmission speed and stock volatility. The findings are robust to the inclusion of other determinants of stock volatility identified in the literature. Finally, we verify the existence of private information interaction in the coshareholding network.     

Smoking hot portfolios? Trading behavior,investment biases,and self-control failure

Self-control is a personality trait that explains undersaving and nonparticipation decisions. We show that self-control failure also affects trading behavior among individuals on capital markets. We use smoking as the most socially accepted example of self-control failure among 13,644 German brokerage clients and compare the trading behavior of 3,553 smokers and 10,091 nonsmokers. Smokers are associated with a higher portfolio turnover unexplained by financial sophistication or wealth effects. Self-control failure also exacerbates overconfidence, social contagion, sensation seeking, and attention grabbing. Overall, self-control failure is costly because it increases the gap between gross and net returns of smokers relative to nonsmokers.     

ZY5000/15/32掩护式液压支架的优化设计

当支架工作一定时间后出井维护时,需要将前梁与顶梁之间的销轴拿掉后改为运输销轴连接,由于井底空间、设备有限,操作极为不便;另外,由于前梁千斤顶是靠销轴受力,因为支架工作时间比较长且井下环境恶劣,导致销轴出现变形、生锈等现象,以致销轴不易拆卸。     

终身学习视角下公共图书馆的转型与发展思考

公共图书馆作为公共文化服务体系的重要组成部分,在构建学习型社会的大背景下,为促进终身学习的理念,借鉴国外图书馆的前沿探索,提升人文素质和知识内涵,实现公共图书馆在新的历史形势下自身的转型与发展。     

Fear of climate change consequences and predictors of intentions to alter meat consumption

Reducing or altering meat consumption has the potential to significantly lower the impact humans have on climate change. Consumers, however, are unlikely to break their food habits unless they are aware of the problem and motivated by the solutions. Fear appeals are often used to overcome this, however, their effectiveness in the context of meat reduction and climate change is unclear. Given the widespread use of fear appeals in information policy, it is important to understand more. The aim of this study was to explore fear—or more specifically—the danger control process in a climate change—food context in order to understand the factors which motivate consumers to reduce or alter their meat consumption. Using a stratified random sample of 222 respondents in Southern Sweden, we develop a model for predicting intentions to adopt specific and general actions to reduce or alter meat consumption. Our results suggest that the general key to motivating consumers is through increasing their self-efficacy towards adopting meat alternatives and educating them on the importance their actions have in reducing the threat. We also found that appraising the threat to self (or those close) was significant, but surprisingly the effect size was greater when the threat concerned others (e.g. others in impoverished nations, animals).     

Leveraging Intercollegiate Athletics to Support Academic Giving at NCAA Division I Institutions

On average, National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Division (top-level of U.S. Intercollegiate athletics) schools raise 15% of their athletic budget from private fundraising. Key questions remain as to how increased emphasis on athletic fundraising influences academic giving. Some authors claim symbiotic effects while others assert that athletic gifts “crowd out” academic giving. The current study analyzes the largest single-institution set of individual donor data available to date. First time donors were more than twice as likely to give to athletics as academics. Fifty-one percent of donors making gifts to both athletics and academics (SPLIT donors) made their initial gift to athletics. Problematically, the conversion rate of athletic-only to split donors has fallen to less than 1%. On three different retention measures split donors have higher retention rates than athletic-only donors, who have higher retention rates than academic-only donors. Among split donors, 41.67% give their largest gift to support an academic program. Rather than competing, development officers would be better advised to systematically cultivating donors to support both athletics and academics.     

Sunk costs and travel cancellation: Focusing on temporal cost

Tourism products differ from ordinary retail products in terms of the spatial and temporal separation between the purchase and experiencing the product. Despite its importance, temporal separation has not drawn much attention in tourism research. The main objective of this study is to understand the effects of temporal sunk costs on potential travelers' cancellation intentions, in addition to monetary sunk costs. The results of this study suggested the possibility that temporal costs can be converted into monetary costs, but the conversion relationship may not be linear. This study also indicated that travelers' intentions to cancel a travel product decreased as the temporal and monetary sunk costs increased. Further, prior experience moderated the relationship when temporal sunk costs were involved, suggesting that repeat visitors' intentions to cancel their reservations are more influenced by temporal sunk costs than first-time visitors. Further discussion and implications are provided in the main body of this paper.