Development of a voice recognition based system to help physically disabled people use the facebook

Social network sites (SNSs) have become so popular that the number of people joining and actively participating on such sites is increasing on a daily basis. Although there are several SNSs, Facebook is currently the most popular and most commonly used. SNSs have primarily been developed with able-bodied people in mind and as a result of this, people with disabilities find it difficult to join and participate on these sites. Furthermore, this topic has received little attention by researchers around the world. Facebook pages usually consist of text, graphics, and sound where the users navigate through the pages using a mouse. As a step towards addressing this need and finding a possible elegant solution, the authors have developed a voice-activated PC-based system (called NEU-FACE) in the form of an interface to Facebook. With the aid of this system, a person with a physical disability can join and participate in Facebook by giving voice commands to manage the typical Facebook activities.

     

Productivity and Technical Change in Malaysian Banking: 1989–1998

This study examines the impact of deregulation and technological change on the productivity of Malaysian banks over the period 1989–1998. Malmquist indices constructed with nonparametric DEA techniques are decomposed into their pure efficiency, scale efficiency, and technological change components. Our findings indicate an erosion of banking productivity that masks divergent tendencies among its component elements. These are dominated by adverse effects of technological change, which are associated with a reduction in the labor intensity of banking activity. Consistent with the mixed findings reported in the literature, the present investigation suggests that regulatory reform and liberalization are not sufficient conditions for productivity improvement.JEL classification: D24, G21This paper was written while Dogan was a member of Monash University Malaysia. Financial support from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University is gratefully acknowledged, as are the constructive comments from two anonymous referees.     

Generational differences: An examination of work values and generational gaps in the hospitality workforce

The purpose of this study is to identify generational differences and similarities among hospitality employees and managers in order to develop leadership strategies and management styles that can be utilized to increase employee morale and productivity while enhancing recruitment and retention rates of highly qualified workers. Data for this study were collected through a series of in-depth focus group discussions. Findings indicated significant generational differences in world views, attitudes toward authority and perspectives on work. Findings suggested the Baby Boomers respect authority and hierarchy, while the Generation X-ers (Gen X-ers) rebel against authority. Findings also suggested while Baby Boomers live to work, Gen X-ers work to live. The Baby Boomers are willing to wait their turn for promotions and rewards, and are very loyal. On the other hand, Gen X-ers expect immediate recognition through title, praise, promotion, and pay. They also want a life outside of work—they are not likely to sacrifice theirs for the company. The Millennial Generation believes in collective action, with optimism of the future, and trust in centralized authority. They like teamwork, showing a strong will to get things done with a great spirit.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Average Plant Start-Up Size in Turkish Manufacturing Industries

Many studies have found start-up size of a firm to be an important determinant of its subsequent performance and probability of survival. The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of average plant start-up size in 51 four-digit Turkish manufacturing industries for the period 1993?C1999. The results of the study suggest that while industry characteristics such as industry growth rate and capital intensity have a positive impact on the average plant start-up size, industrial concentration, import penetration, and the change in research and development expenditures are negatively associated with the same variable. In addition, the macroeconomic environment is also an important determinant of the choice of plant start-up size. Finally, we find evidence that may indicate ??following?? (herd) behavior in Turkish manufacturing industries.     

Island residents' identities and their support for tourism: an integration of two theories

Most studies that examine tourism impacts and community attitudes have been carried out from the perspective of industrialized economies, making the findings less valid for small islands. This paper discusses some pertinent issues in relation to tourism development and community attitudes in small islands, and it develops and presents a conceptual framework based on social exchange theory and identity theory. The different facets of identity relevant to small-island communities that are likely to influence attitudes and support for tourism are incorporated in the framework and discussed. These include occupational identity, environmental identity and gender identity. Based on these, five propositions are developed. The study concludes that inclusion of identity variables in behavioral models could increase their predictive power in explaining attitudes to tourism and consequent support for the industry.     

Tariffs versus anti-dumping duties

Tariffs and anti-dumping duties are two important tools used to protect industries from foreign competition and to generate revenue. While the two tools have been studied extensively in separate contexts, little is known about their comparative effects. This paper compares their effects on prices, profits, government revenue, industry protection, and welfare in a two-country framework where a dominant firm in one country exports to the other inhabited by an oligopoly. Conditions under which one tool dominates the other for a given criterion are provided.     

Experience Matters? The Impact of Prior CEO Experience on Firm Performance

We sample CEOs of the 2005 S&P 500 corporations to look at the relationship between experience in the CEO position of a different firm and the post‐succession financial performance of the firm that they currently lead. We find that experience in the CEO position is negatively related to firm performance. CEOs who directly move to their current CEO position from the previous one and those with job‐specific experience in the same or related industry or at the helm of a previous company similar in size to the current one are associated with significantly lower post‐succession performance than those without prior CEO experience. The results contribute to the literatures on CEO succession, the performance effect of job‐specific experience, and the transferability of human capital. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Tracking the Evolution of Idiosyncratic Risk and Cross-Sectional Expected Returns for US REITs

This paper adopts the methodology in Bali and Cakici (Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, 43, 29–58, 2008) in tracking the evolution of the relation between equity REITs’ idiosyncratic risk and their cross-sectional expected returns between 1981 and 2010. In addition to the full sample period, we study this relation for (i) January 1981–December 1992, (ii) January 1993–September 2001, (iii) November 2001–August 2008 and (iv) November 2001–December 2010 and produce empirical results for (i) all sample REITs, (ii) REITs with a price greater than $10 or (iii) REITs with a price greater than $5. Each period represents different dynamics (including the Global Financial Crisis) in the life of the REIT industry and leads to a different hypothesis. Further, we present comparative results based on the Fama-French 3- and 4-factor models. Overall, we document a negative relation between idiosyncratic risk and cross-sectional expected returns and demonstrate that this negative relation changes over time. These findings amplify the “idiosyncratic volatility puzzle,” as reported in the recent finance literature. Interestingly, REITs with a price of $5-to-$10 do well in 2009 and 2010. Further, the momentum factor appears to be influential since the first-ever listing of a REIT in the S&P500 Index in early October 2001.     

External Scale Economies in Turkish Manufacturing Industries

In this study, the relationship between external scale economies (agglomeration economies) and productivity is measured by using Turkish data. The productivity increase can be due to economies from locating closer to other firms in either the same industry (localisation economies) or different industries (urbanisation economies). Localisation economies are proxied by own industry size and urbanisation economies by city population. Productivity (output per worker) is regressed on industry size, city population, and other related variables. A measure of concentration of state enterprises is included in the regressions to control for the possible inefficiencies in public sector firms. The functional form of the estimating equations is derived from the translog production function. As a check, a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) form is also experimented with. Data are cross-section data and come from industrial and production surveys conducted by the State Institute of Statistics of Turkey in 1985. The study finds that agglomeration economies that are robust across different specifications of the agglomeration economy function and production function exist in food products, textiles, and wood products. Urbanisation economies are detected in food products and textiles. In wood products there are localisation economies.