Upstream Competition with Complex and Unobservable Contracts

Review of Industrial Organization - This paper examines situations where two vertically integrated firms consider supplying an input to an independent downstream competitor via privately observed...     

Comprehensive Community Initiative: Evaluation of a transformation system in Mhakwe community in Zimbabwe

This article explores community perceptions on implementation and impacts of the Mhakwe Comprehensive Community Initiative (CCI) in Mhakwe Ward, Zimbabwe. A mixed-methods research methodology was adopted. Qualitative data were collected from action research, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire from a random cluster sample, and were analysed using SPSS and Stata with binomial logistic regression to determine factors significantly affecting selected variables and the chi-square test for independence to determine association between variables. Thematic reviews were utilised to analyse qualitative data. Community perceptions on issues affecting multi-stakeholder collaborations, ownership, and control, internal and external enabling factors were explored. The article concludes that leadership development, strengthening family institutions, enhancing ownership and building capacity of local institutions to coordinate such initiatives are fundamental building blocks for CCIs. This article recommends CCIs as a practical framework for empowering marginalised communities.     

A framework for communication support in group work with special reference to negotiation systems

Communication is central to all group interactions, including negotiations. Group interfaces can limit or enhance communication flows among participants. Hence, group interface design requires the identification of the communication flows among participants, which in turn requires an identification of the various dimensions of intragroup communication. This article outlines a framework to guide researchers in examining the communication needs of group members in computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), highlighting its application to the context of negotiation. An analysis of communication flows is provided along four dimensions:concurrency, message, channel andparticipant characteristics. The framework is intended to encourage a detailed focus on key aspects of the group interface, to provide a scheme for categorizing the contributions of empirical work, and to identify factors worthy of empirical scrutiny.An earlier version of this article, A Communication-Based Framework for Group Interfaces in Computer-Supported Collaboration by F. Lim and I. Benbasat, appeared in theProceedings of the 24th Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences, pp. 610–620.     

Measuring the growth potential of towns in the Western Cape,South Africa

Urban settlements in the Western Cape sustain regional development and are vital to the national spatial economy, but because not all contribute or participate equally they do not grow at the same rate – some flourish while others decline. The Provincial Administration of the Western Cape therefore commissioned a study to evaluate and monitor their functions and performance. This paper assesses the study's methodology and procedures. It describes the variables used and explains how the raw data were transformed into comparative indices and combined into a single composite development potential index. It evaluates the sub-indices and the composite index by mapping the results and uses multivariate statistical techniques to explore the logic and validity of the results. It confirms that the indices created for measuring urban growth potential were well chosen and constructed, laying a sound theoretical and methodological base for future decisions about public investment in rural towns.     

The representation of voluntourism in search engines: The case of South Africa

This paper responds to the paucity of research on the linkages between voluntourism and digital technology and seeks to understand the online representation of the phenomenon in a developing context. In particular, the researchers investigate the so-called ‘online domain’ of voluntourism in South Africa. The researchers collected a series of web results from search engines and analysed the presence of traditional and social media websites, the most relevant presented topics, and the type of argumentation found. Results identify the context and representation of voluntourism as it transpires virtually. This will contribute to the understanding of the interplay between voluntourism and digital technology, with specific emphasis on web presence. Ultimately, results will shed light on how digitally accessible voluntourism is in South Africa and will set the basis for future investigations.