Hazards, Risk and the Press: A Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Sites

The authors present a comparative analysis of newspaper coverage for four hazardous substance containment facilities located in different parts of the country

The print and packaging forum: a report on the print industry’s review of its own performance

This report is presented to the Print and Packaging Forum in fulfilment of the activities envisaged under Research Agreement signed between the Leadership, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre DCU and the Irish Printing and Packaging Forum dated 15 July 2010. The remainder of this report sets out our research findings and response to the requirements set out in the Research Agreement. Section 3 sets out our approach and research methodology including limitations on this study and subsequent findings. Section 4 details the research findings. A survey was conducted of the industry to provide information on various aspects of its performance. Unfortunately no firms operating in the newspaper or paper sectors responded thus impacting on the representativeness of the survey. The main findings are summarised below. The vast majority of companies surveyed continue to be private Irish-owned firms. Sales performance of surveyed companies is in decline. The Industry faces competition internationally; the overwhelming majority of companies surveyed do not export. The respondents considered themselves relatively capable against Irish competitors however less competitive across nearly all areas against International competition. Particular factors in their lack of competitiveness are seen as raw material costs and access and overall relative cost position. Average employment is 20 persons, inferring a significant decline when compared to the 2005 Report. This confirmed supporting data from Forfas. On average over 55% of employees of respondent companies are operatives or crafts people. Less than 20% of respondent companies had vacancies compared to over half reported in 2005. Both overcapacity and low capacity usage remain features of the industry however expected lead times and time lost due to breakdowns has improved when compared to the 2005 Report. Average capacity utilisation for companies in the survey was 69% with over a third operating at below 60%. Over 80% of companies surveyed indicated that they undertake benchmarking; this is a significant increase on the level reported in the 2005 Report

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGERIAL HEURISTICS AND ECONOMICS IN PRICING RETAIL MEATS

This study develops a theoretical model of the multiproduct firm which allows for imperfect competition in the output market. Hypotheses are tested for retail meat prices concerning the degree and speed of price transmission, the effects of interfirm competition, and the interrelationship between prices within the store. Empirical results indicated that meat prices within a store were highly interrelated. Further, the firm was found to be very responsive to prices of competitors in the short run, but more responsive to wholesale price changes in the long run.Demand and Price Analysis,

Experiments and Quasi-experiments: Methods for Evaluating Marketing Options

[Excerpt] Hospitality executives have available a number of different research methodologies and tools to aid them in decision making. Each methodology is valuable in its own way, but no single technique can provide all the answers to decision makers\u27 questions. This article advocates the increased use of experiments and quasi-experiments in hospitality-marketing research. To be as effective as possible, marketers should develop and test several potential courses of action before embarking on any of them. The best way to develop a variety of courses of action is to conduct exploratory or descriptive research. The best way to evaluate those options is to conduct a causal-research study that compares consumers\u27 behavior when faced with various options. Experiments and quasi-experiments are under-used, but are nevertheless powerful research tools that allow hospitality marketers to draw strong causal conclusions about the effects of pricing, design, and other changes on the amount of money customers spend, or the number of visits they make to an establishment

Personality Effects on Tipping Attitudes, Self-Reported Behaviors and Customs: A Multi-Level Inquiry

Two studies replicate and extend Lynn’s (2000) research on national personality and tipping customs. Study 1 finds that national extraversion and psychoticism, but not neuroticism, are related to customary tip sizes. Study 2 finds effects on attitudes and self-reported behavior of personality at the individual level of analysis that only partially support Lynn’s explanations for the national level effects. Discussion centers on alternative explanations for the national personality effects on tipping norms

CQ Authors’ Reactions to My Editorial Policies and Practices

[Excerpt] Academic journals can only publish what is submitted to them, so their editors need numerous high quality submissions to consistently publish high quality articles. To encourage more high quality submissions to Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ), I implemented a number of what I considered to be author-friendly editorial policies and practices when I became editor

Tipping in Restaurants and Around the Globe: An Interdisciplinary Review

[Excerpt] Tipping is an interesting economic behavior because it is an expense that consumers are free to avoid. Although called for by social norms, tips are not legally required. Furthermore, since tips are not given until after services have been rendered, they are not necessary to get good service in establishments that are infrequently patronized. For this reason, many economists regard tipping as mysterious or seemingly irrational behavior. The present chapter explores this behavior and its implications for economic theory and public policy. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first two sections provide more detail about the phenomenon of tipping by summarizing and discussing the results of empirical research on the determinants and predictors of restaurant tipping and of national differences in tipping customs respectively. Then, economic theories about tipping are reviewed in light of the previously summarized empirical literature. Finally, the public welfare and policy issues raised by tipping are discussed

The Contribution of Norm Familiarity to Race Differences in Tipping Behavior: A Replication and Extension

A large web-based survey found that (a) awareness of the 15% to 20% tipping norm partially mediates Black–White and Hispanic–White differences in restaurant tip size and (b) norm awareness predicts restaurant tip size for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites alike. These findings replicate and extend previous research results reported by Lynn and suggest that race differences in tipping can be reduced by reducing race differences in awareness of the 15% to 20% restaurant tipping norm

A Comparison of Asians’, Hispanics’, and Whites’ Restaurant Tipping

Asians and Hispanics are perceived by many restaurant servers as poor tippers. This study tests the validity of those perceptions using data from a large restaurant chain’s online customer satisfaction survey. Findings partially support servers’ perceptions – Hispanics but not Asians tipped less on average than Whites after controlling for bill size, the customer’s own ratings of service quality and other variables. Discussion centers around the differences between these findings and those of a previous study and on the practical implications of the findings for restaurant managers