Hierarchical structures: conducive or barrier to knowledge management?

This study examines managers‟ perceptions of Knowledge Management (KM) prior to implementation of KM-systems in a global insurance company and investigates whether Hierarchical structures are conducive to KM. Mixed methods are used, combining large scale surveying and case study using content analysis to organize the data into themes that provide the basis for arguments. Evidence suggests that managers strongly align their perception of KM with communication. Despite a multi-layered, hierarchical structure and strong middle management presence, organizational structure was not viewed as an issue. These factors are usually barriers to communication and organizational flexibility, yet managers believe that they may not inhibit KM becoming fully embedded. This evidence is contradicted by the results of a global KM study where silos, stovepipe and hierarchical structures were commonly cited as barriers. This contributes to the understanding of managerial mis-conceptions of knowledge as opposed to communication, and how organizations effectively share knowledge.

Compact tunable bandstop filters using defected microstrip structure for multi-standard wireless systems

A novel compact tunable bandstop filter using Defected Microstrip Structure (DMS) is presented in this paper. The structure utilizes a modified T shaped DMS which helps in miniaturization of the filter. To verify the concept, one such filter was simulated, designed, fabricated and tested. Measurements on a fabricated tunable filter confirm the accuracy of the design procedure. The tuning range of 20% is achieved, ranging from 2.26 GHz to 2.747 GHz. Tuning is achieved by using NXP BB179 varactor diode. A nonlinear distortion evaluation in a tunable filter was experimentally verified. Experimental verification shows the filter is highly linear.

Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1924–9) and the return to the gold standard

The general election of 29 October 1924 saw Winston Churchill return to Parliament as Constitutionalist MP for Epping after two years in the political wilderness. It also saw Stanley Baldwin swept back to Number 10 on a Conservative landslide. Speculation about whether Baldwin would cement Churchill’s drift from the Liberal fold by offering him office surfaced during the election campaign. Churchill nevertheless thought ‘it very unlikely that I shall be invited to join the Government, as owing to the size of the majority it will probably be composed only of impeccable Conservatives’. [ 1 ] Because of his anti-socialist credentials, his ability to reassure wavering Liberals through his opposition to protectionism – dropped by Baldwin after its rejection in the 1923 general election – and concern he could prove a rallying point for backbench malcontents, there was however much to commend giving Churchill a post. To his surprise, Baldwin offered Churchill the long-coveted office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, briefly held by his father before his ill-conceived resignation in 1887. Having arranged a meeting with his Labour predecessor, Philip Snowden, about outstanding business the new Chancellor set to work. Marking his political transition, a few days later Churchill resigned from the National Liberal Club.

Cross-Industry Product Diversification and Contagion in Risk and Return: The Case of Bank-Insurance and Insurance-Bank Takeovers

We investigate the impact of domestic/international bancassurance deals on the risk-return profiles of announcing and non-announcing banks and insurers within a GARCH model. Bank-insurance deals produce intra- and inter-industry contagion in both risk and return, with larger deals producing greater contagion. Bidder banks and peers experience positive abnormal returns, with the effects on insurer peers being stronger than those on bank peers. Insurance-bank deals produce insignificant excess returns for bidder and peer insurers and positive valuations for peer banks. Following the deal, the bank bidders’ idiosyncratic (systematic) risk falls (increases), while insurance bidders exhibit a lower systematic risk and maintain their idiosyncratic risk.

Winston Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1924-9) and the Return to the Gold Standard

This revisits Churchill's decision, as Chancellor of the Exchequer 1924-29, to restore the Gold Standard in 1925. This is considered within the wider context of the overall aims of Churchill's policies, including his efforts to: tackle Anglo-American economic and financial relations in the aftermath of the Great War; address budgetary pressures; widen the tax base through innovations such as the Betting Duty; spread the social burden of taxes; and revive the economy, not least through his de-rating scheme.

Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of a Standard Chinese Version of the Body Appreciation Scale-2

The present study examined the factorial and construct validity of a Standard Chinese translation of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015b). Participants were 191 women and 154 men from mainland China who were resident in Hong Kong at the time of recruitment. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the one-dimensional model of the BAS-2, in which all 10 items loaded onto the same factor, had adequate fit and was invariant across sex. Body appreciation scores had good internal consistency and were significantly correlated with self-esteem and life satisfaction, and, in women, with weight discrepancy and body mass index. There were no significant differences in body appreciation scores between women and men. The present findings suggest that the Standard Chinese translation of the BAS-2 has the same one-dimensional factor structure as its parent scale and may facilitate cross-cultural studies of positive body image.