The Quandary of Serving Multiple Masters: An Institutional Exploratory Analysis of Publishing in Business Law

Notwithstanding published articles on the nature and quality of research and scholarship in practically every other business discipline, to date there has been little systematic evaluation of relevant journals in the business law discipline. This deficiency is due, in part, to the fact that business law may still be described as a developing discipline. Thus, the focus of this article is on delineating the nature of research and scholarship within the business law discipline. Specifically, the publishing practices of business law faculty from academic institutions that were members of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International), the premier international accrediting body for schools of business, were examined. The comparative perspective developed in this study provides a wide-ranging view of factors related to both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of research and scholarship among business law scholars

Evaluation of Functional Characteristics of Lactose by Inverse Gas Chromatography

AbstractThe work was focused on the analysis of different batches of the common pharmaceutical excipient lactose using inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Several batches of amorphous (spray dried) and crystalline form of lactose were studied. Surface properties represented by the surface energy and specific (acid-base) interactions between probes and analyzed samples shows batch variations and significant differences between manufacturers and technological processes. The second part of this work was focused on effect of relative humidity and temperature on stability of lactose. The variations of surface energy and specific interactions over time were studied. The changes in surface properties of two batches of lactose-amorphous and crystalline caused by higher relative humidity were measured by IGC. From measured values are obvious different chemical and physical properties of both lactose forms. Negative effect of higher temperature and air humidity lead to changes in surface energy and mainly rapid changes of electron–acceptor and electron-donor surface sites. Lactose monohydrate shows dramatic decrease in the surface energy and in the strength of electron-accepting sites on the contrary of spray dried where the acidity of surface increased

Using Contests to Provide Business Students Project-Based Learning in Humanitarian Logistics: PSAid Example

Business students appreciate working on classroom projects that are both enjoyable and useful in preparing them for future careers. Promoting competition among project teams is also used as a method to motivate students. The Humanitarian Logistics Project (HLP) teaches undergraduate students the logistical implications of unsolicited material donations in disaster relief. To encourage competition, students are organized into teams of three and tasked with designing humanitarian public service announcements (PSAs) that improve their understanding of humanitarian issues in the general public. These announcements are then submitted to the national PSAid (Public Service Announcements for International Disasters) contest for American college students. The exercise is rigorous because it requires students to collect logistical data and use it to communicate the principle of smart compassion to the public in a creative fashion. Moreover, not only do students learn about topics related to humanitarian logistics by competing with other college students nation-wide, but also do they make a socially responsible contribution to the public. Analysis of survey data shows that students’ learning outcomes from the HLP are significantly greater than those for other supply chain topics covered in class, and that student satisfaction with the HLP is high

Organization Culture as an Explanation for Employee Discipline Practices

Most supervisors dread employee discipline and often employ strategies not officially sanctioned by the organization. Poorly designed discipline systems cause this variation in discipline practices. Inconsistent discipline can cause losses in productivity and reduce employee morale. Extant literature offers little in the form of guidance for improving this important human resource activity. This article explore where normative literature on organizational culture may have explanatory value for understanding variation in discipline practices. The article suggests two groups of factors that have causal effects on discipline practices. The tangible factors are those describing the formal practices the organization wishes its employees to follow. The intangible factors provide cues for explaining why informal strategies emerge as successful practices for getting things done. Using this conception of organization culture, the article proposes hypotheses for future testing to validate the suspected influence of culture on decisions regarding employee discipline.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Design indicators for better accommodation environments in hospitals: inpatients’ perceptions

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Intelligent Buildings International, 2012, [© Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508975.2012.701186Several studies have found an association between the physical environment and human health and wellbeing that resulted in the postulation of the idea of evidence-based and patient-centred design of healthcare facilities. The key challenge is that most of the underpinning research for the evidence base is context specific, the use of which in building design is complex, mainly because of the difficulties associated with the disaggregation of findings from the context. On the other hand, integrating patients’ perspectives requires an understanding of the relative importance of design indicators, which the existing evidence base lacks to a large extent. This research was aimed at overcoming these limitations by investigating users’ perception of the importance of key design indicators in enhancing their accommodation environments in hospitals. A 19-item structured questionnaire was used to gather inpatients' views on a 5-point scale, in two Chinese hospitals. A principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in five constructed dimensions with appropriate reliability and validity (Cronbach’s alpha=0.888). The item, design for cleanliness, was ranked as most important, closely followed by environmental and safety design indicators. The item, entertainment facilities, was ranked lowest. The indicator, pleasant exterior view had the second lowest mean score, followed by the item, ability to customise the space. Age, accommodation type and previous experience of hospitalisation accounted for statistically significant differences in perceptions of importance of various constructed design dimensions