Evaluating eREVERSE auctions (EeRA): A research note

This eGISE network paper seeks to evaluate issues relating to the implementation of electronic reverse auctions (eRA) within local government procurement processes. The adoption of an eRA invites pre-qualified suppliers to compete with each other for a specified good or service. Consequently, there is a unique opportunity for the buyer to receive a reduced cost through the successful bidder. However, the literature identifies a number of adverse effects within these arrangements depending upon the nature of the buyer/supplier relationship. The objectives of the research involves identifying a set of business scenarios to demonstrate the impact of different eRA strategies in this respect. This will be achieved through a structured case analysis approach to enable qualitative data to be modelled through a visual toolset simulation. It is believed the outcome of the investigation will provide valuable insights into the complexities associated with the eProcurement process

Research Note: Same-Sex Marriage in California

We surveyed California counties in order estimate the number of same-sex couples who have married in the state in the first three months since these marriages were made legal in June, 2008. This estimate provides a context for the potential impact of the upcoming California voter initiative, Proposition 8, which would change California's Constitution to "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry." We estimate that more than 11,000 same-sex couples have married in California between June 17 and September 17, 2008

Research Note

Attitudes toward and Perceptions of Workplace Diversity: The Impact of Diversity Training on HR Professionals The purpose of this research note is to identify the impact of diversity training on attitudes and perceptions of HR professionals toward workplace diversity

A note on measuring political participation in comparative research

This article presents an application of Prezeworski and Teune's so-called “identity-equivalence method” to a large set of indicators of political participation. By relaxing commonly held assumptions about necessary distinctions among types of participation, it is found that the distinction between “conventional” and “unconventional” modes of participation is unnecessary, while the distinction between “government” and “nongovernment” has some merit. The findings also lend further support to the claims of Prezeworski and Teune that the identity-equivalence method is preferable to the identical indicator method

Juan Baños de Velasco y Acevedo - Emblems in Everyday Life

A research note on a new acquisition for the Stirling Maxwell Collection of Emblem Books, held at the Special Collections department of the University of Glasgow. This was part of a round table on various other items in this recent acquisition. This research note explores different perspectives that add value to this work, namely the close association of this Spanish work with D. Juan de Austria (its dedicatee) and Portugal

Production sharing in Latin American trade: a research note

The recent literature on industry globalisation and global production sharing has called attention to the changing nature of world trade with the predominance of trade in manufactures, the fragmentation of the production process and contractual relations between firms. Even when those changes do not question the most fundamental notion of trade and production specialisation according to factor services endowments, the literature points to a specialisation within a narrow set of activities and likely to be more fragmented. Enterprises may select labour intensive activities from a number of predominantly labour as well as from capital intensive industries initially located in industrial countries to relocate them in developing countries. Nevertheless, those activities can be reconverted to industrial countries if and when technological change makes their consolidation more profitable. Mexico has a history of integrating its economy with that of the United States and of full adoption of production sharing as a strategy of integrating its economy into the world economy. On the other extreme, Brazil has been oriented towards its domestic market and more recently towards the regional market. Even though imported inputs have increased after trade liberalisation, proportion to domestically produced inputs is still moderate. The contrasting experience of the two countries is an open field for research.Product sharing: International trade: vertical specialisation: trade patterns

Gaia 1 cannot be a Thick Disk Galactic cluster

In this note I show how the recently suggested membership of the open cluster Gaia 1 to the Galactic thick disk is based on incorrect assumptions about the structure of the disk itself, and neglect well-known observational evidences on the disk warp and flare.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, in press as a Research Note of the American Astronomical Societ