Productivity and Proximity

Abstract: Papers examining a developed nation’s labour productivity frequently ignore spatial effects. We present empirical results indicating that geographical proximity matters for plant-level productivity.distance; labour productivity

Governance and information governance: some ethical considerations within an expanding information society

Governance and information governance ought to be an integral part of any government or organisations information and business strategy. More than ever before information and knowledge can be produced, exchanged, shared and communicated through many different mediums. Whilst sharing information and knowledge provides many benefits it also provides many challenges and risks to governments, global organisations and the individual citizen. Information governance is one element of a governance and compliance programme, but an increasingly important one, because many regulations apply to how information is managed and protected from theft and abuse, much of which resides with external agencies usually outside the control of the individual citizen. This paper explores some of the compliance and quality issues within governance and information governance including those ethical concerns as related to individual citizens and multiple stakeholders engaged directly or indirectly in the governance process

Usefulness and reliability of online assessments: a Business Faculty's experience

The usefulness and reliability of online assessment results relate to the clarity, specificity and articulation of assessment purposes, goals and criteria. Cheating and plagiarism are two frequent and controversial issues that arise and there is a view that the online assessments mode inherently lends itself to both these practices. However, reconceptualising practice and redeveloping techniques can pave the way for an authentic assessment approach which minimizes student academic dishonesty. This article describes research which investigated online assessments practice in a business faculty at an Australian university and proposes what might constitute good, sustainable practice and design in university online assessment practices

Concordant Convergence Empirics

We present a new model to test the convergence hypothesis based on the ideas of concordance and then employ the model to test empirically for GDP per capita convergence across 97 countries. Our results suggest the presence of switching, while there is more ‘strong divergence’ than ‘strong convergence’.Convergence; Concordance; Income per capita.

Convergence towards a Steady State Distribution

The convergence literature frequently presupposes some unidentified steady state distribution. This paper presents a new method to identify the presence and rate of convergence to a steady state distribution. The method is illustrated with application to UK regional male wages.Convergence; Steady state; Average UK regional male wages

A statistical development of fixed odds betting rules in soccer

Two simple but seemingly profitable betting rules for betting on the away win in association football are developed. One rule is consistent with avoiding those games in which there is a clear favourite. The second rule is based directly on modelling bookmaker odds and assessing the residuals under the fitted model. Contrary to previous research the betting rule using the residuals suggests avoiding betting on those games where there are large discrepancies between bookmaker odds and predicted-model odds.Fixed odds betting rules; away win; bookmakers’ probabilities

Understanding take-up of broadband by small and micro-enterprises: a case study

The paper examines patterns of broadband take-up, implementation and effects within small and micro-sized enterprises. The research focuses on the ‘onlincolnshire’ initiative, a local government-led programme which aims to encourage broadband take-up through provision of connection subsidies to SMEs in rural areas of Lincolnshire

A governance perspective

Governance refers to the processes and structure used to direct and manage an organisation’s operations and activities. It defines the division of power and establishes the mechanisms to achieve accountability between owners, managers and stakeholders, and the entity that is the organisation. Governance helps the organisation focus on the activities which contribute most to its overall objectives and to utilise its resources effectively and ensure they are managed in the best interests of its principal stakeholders. This paper examines the evolution of governance, together with some of the issues associated with the practice of governance and stakeholder management. The paper also explores some of the key themes associated with ethics within the governance model

Convergence across Spanish Provinces:Cross-section and Pairwise Evidence

Distribution free statistics are employed to investigate biennial income per capita convergence across 52 Spanish provinces over the period 1955-1997. Based upon ideas of concordance and discordance that capture convergence and divergence properties, the paper presents results that suggest convergence is dominant for the full sample over the entire period, swings in this trend between convergence and divergence are present and switching in rank does take place. When provinces are analysed in pairs some show strong evidence of divergence.Convergence; Steady state; Average UK regional male wages

Impacts on Multi-pulse Pulse Position Modulation Visible Light Communication from Outdoor Daylight Conditions

The growing deployment of light-emitting diodes as energy-efficient, cost-effective lighting for vehicles opens opportunities for visible light vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Leveraging existing headlights and taillights on cars for inter-vehicle communication offers an opportunity to save on both hardware costs and the use of the congested radio frequency spectrum. However, most vehicle-to-vehicle visible light communication investigations in the literature have been limited in range. This paper presents an overview of the factors impacting outdoor visible light communications at increasing distances and presents findings from outdoor testing at ranges approaching 200 m. Using software spatial filtering and multi-pulse pulse position modulation, strong throughput is shown at 50 m in daylight conditions, with improving symbol error rates achieved in outdoor daylight conditions at 100 m by increasing intensity modulation