The impact of (more) enlargement on the European Employment Strategy

The European Union (EU) aspires to be the most competitive, full employment economy in the world and has set a number of ambitious targets to be met by 2010 in order that it can achieve this goal. At the same time, it is pursuing an enlargement policy that will witness the accession of an increasing number of less developed nations. This article explores some of the tensions that exist between these two goals as these are manifest in labour market indicators and finds the likelihood of meeting the deadline set for success remote.     

Examining the role of leadership,trust for school culture and policy

Quality of life relies on also the quality of working context and the group dynamic. Culture of schools, trust and leadership facilitate quality in fostering strategic policies in establishing policy and development. The aim of the research study is to examine the role of leadership, trust for school culture in regard to the perceptions of inspectors. As this research stands on qualitative nature, experiences, perceptions of research participants shape the current understanding to give insights on the role of leadership, trust. In addition, establishing school culture is a part of quality to set policy in terms of development, inspection is a moderation of encapsulating the nature of school culture. Interview was employed to gain understanding and experiences of inspectors in relation to leadership, trust for the school culture. Mission, vision of schools, principles of schools, loyalty to schools, policies, objectives of practices in schools, social interaction in schools. Thematic analysis through laddering was done that five themes were established in examining leadership, trust in the school culture. It is important that employees in the training organization act in a joint view on implementing educational objectives. This is achieved by developing positive attitudes in people and by being able to act constructively with each other. The research results revealed that the inspectors who are currently working at the Ministry of National Education have their views on the mission, vision and leadership of schools and what they think about school culture trust in schools.

     

Franchisees' trust in and satisfaction with franchise partnerships

This paper aims to establish the relationship between the antecedents of trust, trust itself, and franchisee satisfaction. Taking its cue from power-dependence, international business, and social exchange theories, the paper contributes to the franchise literature by offering a more comprehensive theoretical perspective to aid understanding of trust development in and satisfaction with franchise partnerships. Drawing on a multi-sector survey of Turkish franchisees, the study provides empirical evidence of the impact of the franchisors' role performance and cultural sensitivity on franchisees' trust in and satisfaction with franchise partnerships. Furthermore, this research demonstrates the central role of communication in the development of franchisees' trust.     

To Trust or Not to Trust? Consumer Responses to Cause-Related Marketing

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand if company trustworthiness and the type of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns (strategic vs. tactical) affect purchase intention and company image of a yogurt producer, under the control of socially responsible consumer behavior, general trust, income, attitude toward the CRM campaign, and initial company image. The study applies a quantitative (experimentation) research to test the proposed model. MANCOVA was applied with data obtained from 600 respondents who were selected by a two-stage cluster sampling method. The research model is partially supported. Company trustworthiness and CRM type are found to affect only company image and without any interaction effect. Being a highly trustworthy company applying a CRM campaign has more positive influence on company image than a less trustworthy one. Additionally, a strategic CRM campaign creates more positive influence on company image than a tactical one. The findings are further deliberated with the managers of the two selected companies with focus group discussions.     

Marketing strategies of ethnic minority businesses in the UK

This paper seeks to evaluate the influence of the entrepreneurs' educational backgrounds, the firm's target market, and the sector of operations on the marketing practices of Turkish ethnic minority businesses. The paper reports and analyses the findings of 227 face-to-face structured interviews with Turkish small business owners. The findings of the study indicate that Turkish ethnic minority businesses operating in different sectors use both transactional and relational approaches to marketing. Their choices of pursuing different marketing strategies are influenced by the entrepreneurs' educational backgrounds, the firm's target market, and the sector of operations.     

Interactions between tourism and financial sector development: evidence from Turkey

This article aims to examine the interactions between tourism growth and financial development in Turkey, which is a top tourist destination and has developed a well-functioning financial system over the last decade. The results confirm a long-term association between tourism development and financial development; foreign direct investments and foreign trade also impact this interaction. According to the results, tourism expansion in Turkey is mainly influenced by financial markets. The results also reveal that in Turkey, changes in tourism volume precede changes in financial volume. Thus, the major finding of this study is that tourism development and financial development in Turkey have a long-term and reinforcing interaction.     

Evaluation of administrative and supervisory performance of the directors of Special Education Institutions according to the teachers

In this research, the criticism of the performance of the managers of the Institutions of Special Education by the teachers was investigated. In this context, the school principals in the teaching process; planning, organizing, decision making, coordination, evaluation and supervision were questioned about the behaviors of the school in the eyes of the teachers and the suggestions of the teachers. The research was conducted in the Special Education Institutions in Nicosia. In the sample, interview questions were asked regarding the productivity and application levels to 13 teachers in 8 schools. In the findings of the research, the level of implementation of the administrators who work in the Special Education Schools in their behaviors related to the management processes is quite good. Feedback has been received at such a level that managers can appreciate both bilateral relations and each stage of the management process. As a result of the research carried out, change and development are necessary, even though the Director of the Special Education Institutions is considered sufficient in terms of planning, decision making and coordination in bilateral relations and increasing in-service training for teachers and principals nowadays, and training for the awareness of teachers’ communication and democratic attitudes is necessary.

     

Politics and sustainable tourism development – Can they co-exist? Voices from North Cyprus

This paper investigates ways in which political obstacles inhibit the formulation and implementation of sustainable tourism development in small-island developing states through the example of North Cyprus. The methodology draws on in-depth interviews and participant observation of significant actors in the tourism sector. The research findings suggest that understanding the intricate political system and power structure in a society is the key to understanding sustainable tourism policy development, planning and implementation. In the case of North Cyprus, policy development was found to be a product of political influence (referred to as ego-driven politics in the text), specifically the use of public resources as an instrument for political power, retention and that the politicisation of the public sector is the underlying cause of the weakened progress in sustainable tourism development. It is therefore essential to have a clear understanding of political issues, key political actors’ interests and how to mitigate personal interests to facilitate and maintain sustainable tourism development in such small states.     

Is volatility risk priced in the securities market? Evidence from S&P 500 index options

The authors examine whether volatility risk is a priced risk factor in securities returns. Zero‐beta at‐the‐money straddle returns of the S&P 500 index are used to measure volatility risk. It is demonstrated that volatility risk captures time variation in the stochastic discount factor. The results suggest that straddle returns are important conditioning variables in asset pricing, and investors use straddle returns when forming their expectations about securities returns. One interesting finding is that different classes of firms react differently to volatility risk. For example, small firms and value firms have negative and significant volatility coefficients, whereas big firms and growth firms have positive and significant volatility coefficients during high‐volatility periods, indicating that investors see these latter firms as hedges against volatile states of the economy. Overall, these findings have important implications for portfolio formation, risk management, and hedging strategies. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 27:617–642, 2007     

A practice of e-learning platform in fostering professional development

As a result of this study, provided considerable contributions to examine the e-learning practices from the point of views and experiences of academicians who enrolled academic writing course with the support of Adobe Connect Programme during 10 weeks and also research findings revealed that authentic learning environment enriches critical friendship, dialogue however they have faced with barriers during the process. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the impact of e-learning application by using adobe program on fostering academic writing skills of adult learners as regards to their evaluation. During 10 weeks academic writing course with the support of e-learning practice, participants were asked to indicate their experiences about each of the ten barriers (1) administrative structure, (2) organizational change, (3) technical expertise, (4) social interaction and quality, (5) faculty compensation and time, (6) threat of technology, (7) legal issues, (8) evaluation/effectiveness, (9) access, and (10) student support services. Qualitative research design was employed and action research approach was implemented in this inductive process. (developed by Muilenburg and Berge). In this research, one of the qualitative research approach, the “action research” carried out within the scope of the pattern, a five-phase collaborative coaching model (FCCM) was developed to awareness regarding teaching and learning processes during the course. The process employed authentic learning criteria as critical reflection, preparation, presentation, chat, video, dialogue and facilitation tools. Self-reflection report was used as data collection technique and analysed through thematic analysis.