Research Directions, Challenges and Issues in Opinion Mining

Rapid growth of Internet and availability of user reviews on the web for any product has provided a need for an effective system to analyze the web reviews. Such reviews are useful to some extent, promising both the customers and product manufacturers. For any popular product, the number of reviews can be in hundreds or even thousands. This creates difficulty for a customer to analyze them and make important decisions on whether to purchase the product or to not. Mining such product reviews or opinions is termed as opinion mining which is broadly classified into two main categories namely facts and opinions. Though there are several approaches for opinion mining, there remains a challenge to decide on the recommendation provided by the system. In this paper, we analyze the basics of opinion mining, challenges, pros & cons of past opinion mining systems and provide some directions for the future research work, focusing on the challenges and issues

Structural Isomorphism in Australian Nonprofit Organisations

This paper assesses the extent of structural similarity or isomorphism among non-profit organizations in Australia. Based on neo-institutional theory, the paper explains such isomorphism in terms of these organizations’ subordination and dependency, the uncertainties they face, and the networks of experts of which they are a part. The analysis uses the non-profit component of a 2001-2002 random sample of Australian employment organizations. It finds surprisingly little isomorphism in this subsample and few differences in isomorphism according to the level of the factors thought to produce similarity. The discussion of the findings focuses on the suitability of the non-profit sector as the appropriate organizational field within which isomorphism involving these organizations is likely to be produced. Industries, which include all organizations that produce the same product or service, be they non-profit, for-profit, or government, may be more appropriate interactional fields for the development of isomorphis

Beyond Cost-per-Hire and Time to Fill: Supply-Chain Measurement for Staffing

Identifying and acquiring talent is one of the most important processes in human resource management. It is a key element in being competitive in a knowledge driven, talent constrained economy. In addition, it is often the first contact that potential employees have with the organization, so it can be the basis for the entire employment relationship. Increasingly, organizations recognize that a professionally excellent staffing process can be a source of competitive advantage. Moreover, the emergence of fundamentally new information technologies and communication processes – such as the Internet, virtual job fairs, online testing, and global job boards – increase the opportunities and the risks associated with staffing process management. Unfortunately, existing staffing process measurement systems typically fail to provide the information necessary to understand, evaluate and make rational decisions about investments in the staffing system, and fail to support decisions about staffing by HR professionals, line managers, applicants and employees. As a result, organizations often base decisions about their staffing systems solely on information about the volume of applicants or new hires, or the costs and time involved in staffing activities. This leads to potentially disastrous decisions, and opens the door for competitors. In this article, we propose a framework for a staffing measurement system that truly supports professional excellence, partnership and optimal investment decisions

An Introduction to U.S. Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations

[Excerpt] This comprehensive textbook provides an introduction to collective bargaining and labor relations with a focus on developments in the United States. It is appropriate for students, policy analysts, and labor relations professionals including unionists, managers, and neutrals. A three-tiered strategic choice framework unifies the text, and the authors’ thorough grounding in labor history and labor law assists students in learning the basics. In addition to traditional labor relations, the authors address emerging forms of collective representation and movements that address income inequality in novel ways. Harry C. Katz, Thomas A. Kochan, and Alexander J. S. Colvin provide numerous contemporary illustrations of business and union strategies. They consider the processes of contract negotiation and contract administration with frequent comparisons to nonunion practices and developments, and a full chapter is devoted to special aspects of the public sector. An Introduction to U.S. Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations has an international scope, covering labor rights issues associated with the global supply chain as well as the growing influence of NGOs and cross-national unionism. The authors also compare how labor relations systems in Germany, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa compare to practices in the United States

Government Policy in Support of Domestic Agriculture: Costs and Benefits - Canada

Agricultural and Food Policy,

ADOPTION OF E-COMMERCE STRATEGIES FOR AGRIBUSINESS FIRMS

This paper analyzes the factors guiding Internet and e-commerce implementation by agribusiness firms. The relationship between Internet/e-commerce strategies and manager perceptions on the barriers and factors to e-commerce adoption are analyzed in a supply-chain management framework. Using factor analysis and an ordered Probit model, results indicate that the implementation of Internet/e-commerce strategies is more likely to be adopted in larger firms with a global scope. Also, manager perceptions regarding supply-chain functions influencing transaction costs are more strongly associated with Internet/e-commerce adoption than other functions influencing production costs.e-commerce, supply-chain, transaction costs, factor analysis, order Probit, Agribusiness, Marketing,

The Relationship between the Ownership Structure and the Role of the Board

This paper develops a theoretical model to better understand how the priorities of the board of directors are influenced by the ownership structure and how that affects firm performance. Most corporate governance research focuses on a universal link between corporate governance practices (e.g., board structure, shareholder activism) and performance outcomes, but neglects how the specific context of each company and diverse environments lead to variations in the effectiveness of different governance practices. This study suggests that the ownership structure has an important influence on the priorities set by the board, and that these priorities will determine the optimal composition of the board of directors. In contrast to a board prioritizing monitoring, where directors with financial experience and a duality are important, a board prioritizing the provision of resources could benefit from directors with different characteristics, the presence of the CEO on the board of directors and a larger board size. Understanding the influence of the board of directors on firm performance requires greater sensitivity to how corporate governance affects different aspects of effectiveness for different stakeholders and in different contexts. The insights on the interaction between the ownership structure and board composition can shed new light onto the contradictory empirical results of past research that has tried to link board composition or structure to firm performance directly. In an effort to increase the relevance of future research on boards and firm performance, we provide a framework on the interaction between ownership, corporate boards and firm performance. In light of scandals and perceived advantages in reforming governance systems, debates have emerged over the appropriateness of implementing corporate governance recommendations mainly based on an Anglo-Saxon context characterized by dispersed ownership where markets for corporate control, legal regulation, and contractual incentives are key governance mechanisms. This paper adds to the literature that argues in favor of the need to adapt corporate governance policies to the local contexts of firms.

Board of Directors’ Involvement in Strategic Decision Making Process: Definition and Literature Review.

Over the past few years, research in corporate governance has devoted increased attention to board of directors’ involvement in the strategic decision making process. But in spite of its growing interest, the literature provides theoretical pluralism and mixed empirical results. Indeed, the concept has not been well defined by past studies and there is no consensus about its operationalization. In this paper, we review the literature on board’s involvement in the strategic decision making process and question the definitions of this phenomenon and if an operational measure can be proposed for future research.Board of Directors; Strategic Decision Making Process; Board involvement; Corporate Governance.

Crop price indemnified loans for farmers

Farmers face a particular set of risks that complicate the decision to borrow. We use a randomized experiment to investigate (1) the role of crop-price risk in reducing demand for credit among famers and (2) how risk mitigation changes farmers’ investment decisions. In rural Ghana, we offer farmers loans with an indemnity component that forgives 50 percent of the loan if crop prices drop below a threshold price. A control group is offered a standard loan product at the same interest rate. We find similar rates of loan uptake among all farmers and little significant impact of the indemnity component on uptake or other outcomes of interest, with the exception of higher likelihoods of garden egg cultivation and sales to market traders rather than at farmgate among recipients of indemnified loans.agricultural credit, clustered randomized control trial, crop price insurance, crop prices, Impact evaluation, underinvestment,