Management of universities in a period of rapid change: comparative case studies

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Measuring accounting disclosure in a period of complex changes : the case of Egypt

Significant changes in accounting disclosure are observed in periods of economic change such as those relating to emerging capital markets and programs of privatization. Measurement of the level of accounting disclosure should ideally be designed to capture the complexity of change in order to give insight and explanation to match the causes and consequences of change. This paper shows the added interpretive value in subdividing the disclosure checklist to reflect the requirements of national accounting regulations, the location of disclosure items in the annual report, and limitations on the availability of regulations in official translation to the local language. Defining targeted disclosure categories leads to significance testing of specific aspects of changes in accounting disclosure in the Egyptian capital market in the 1990s. Strong correlation of disclosure with the presence of majority government ownership of the company and the relative activity of share trading supports the applicability of political costs and capital need theories, respectively. The relation between International Accounting Standards (IASs) disclosure and the type of audit firm points to additional theoretical explanations, including relative familiarity with the legislation and compliance features identifiable with the emerging capital market. The approach described in this paper has the potential for enhancing understanding of the complexity of accounting change in other emerging capital markets and developing economies.

White football in South Africa: empire, apartheid and change, 1892-1977

This essay traces the development, domination and decline of white football in South Africa. It suggests that white football was more significant and popular than generally acknowledged and was at the forefront of globalizing football in the early twentieth century. In order to better understand the broader history of twentieth-century South African football, a more detailed examination of the organized white game at the national and international levels is necessary. This historical analysis of elite white football draws from the archives of the Football Association of South Africa. The analysis underscores the important role of white football authorities in the contestation of power and identity in the game in South Africa and abroad. In the first period under consideration (1892-1940s), local football authorities challenged the dominant sports within South Africa. This period was followed in the 1950s by the challenges of professionalism and anti-apartheid organizations. In the final phase (1967-77), officials experimented with football on 'multi-national' and multi-racial lines - a failed reform that led to the demise of white football.

Determining the contribution of technical change, efficiency change and scale change to productivity growth in the privatized English and Welsh water and sewerage industry:1985-2000

The water and sewerage industry of England and Wales was privatized in 1989 and subjected to a new regime of environmental, water quality and RPI+K price cap regulation. This paper estimates a quality-adjusted input distance function, with stochastic frontier techniques in order to estimate productivity growth rates for the period 1985-2000. Productivity is decomposed so as to account for the impact of technical change, efficiency change, and scale change. Compared with earlier studies by Saal and Parker [(2000) Managerial Decision Econ 21(6):253-268, (2001) J Regul Econ 20(1): 61-90], these estimates allow a more careful consideration of how and whether privatization and the new regulatory regime affected productivity growth in the industry. Strikingly, they suggest that while technical change improved after privatization, productivity growth did not improve, and this was attributable to efficiency losses as firms appear to have struggled to keep up with technical advances after privatization. Moreover, the results also suggest that the excessive scale of the WaSCs contributed negatively to productivity growth. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Structural change in apartheid era South Africa:1975-93

This paper examines the sources of structural changes in output growth of South Africa's economy over 1975-93 using a decomposition method within the inputoutput (IO) framework for analysing output changes from a demand side perspective. It decomposes output growth into private consumption, government consumption, investment and export components and also measures the impact of import substitution and changes in intermediate input use (as indicated by changes in IO coefficients). It is found that, before 1981, overall output growth was multi-components driven with all the above components contributing positively to economic growth. However, the collapse of investment demand is by far the single largest factor contributing to the economic stagnation that categorizes the post-1981 period.

A high sensitivity refractometer based upon a long period grating Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A low cost interrogation scheme is demonstrated for a refractometer based on an in-line fiber long period grating (LPG) Mach–Zehnder interferometer. Using this interrogation scheme the minimum detectable change in refractive index of ?n ~ 1.8×10-6 is obtained, which is the highest resolution achieved using a fiber LPG device, and is comparable to precision techniques used in the industry including high performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet spectroscopy.

Macro-level change and micro-level effects:a twenty year perspective on changing grocery shopping behaviour in Britain

In this paper we summarise key elements of retail change in Britain over a twenty-year period. The time period is that covered by a funded study into long-term change in grocery shopping habits in Portsmouth, England. The major empirical findings—to which we briefly allude—are reported elsewhere: the present task is to assess the wider context underlying that change. For example, it has frequently been stated that retailing in the UK is not as competitive as in other leading economies. As a result, the issue of consumer choice has become increasingly important politically. Concerns over concentration in the industry, new format development and market definition have been expressed by local planners, competition regulators and consumer groups. Macro level changes over time have also created market inequality in consumer opportunities at a local level—hence our decision to attempt a local-level study. Situational factors affecting consumer experiences over time at the local level involve the changing store choice sets available to particular consumers. Using actual consumer experiences thus becomes a yardstick for assessing the practical effectiveness of policy making. The paper demonstrates that choice at local level is driven by store use and that different levels of provision reflect real choice at the local level. Macro-level policy and ‘one size fits all’ approaches to regulation, it is argued, do not reflect the changing reality of grocery shopping. Accordingly, arguments for a more local and regional approach to regulation are made.

Productivity change in the water industry in England and Wales:application of the meta-Malmquist Index

This paper uses a meta-Malmquist index for measuring productivity change of the water industry in England and Wales and compares this to the traditional Malmquist index. The meta-Malmquist index computes productivity change with reference to a meta-frontier, it is computationally simpler and it is circular. The analysis covers all 22 UK water companies in existence in 2007, using data over the period 1993–2007. We focus on operating expenditure in line with assessments in this field, which treat operating and capital expenditure as lacking substitutability. We find important improvements in productivity between 1993 and 2005, most of which were due to frontier shifts rather than catch up to the frontier by companies. After 2005, the productivity shows a declining trend. We further use the meta-Malmquist index to compare the productivities of companies at the same and at different points in time. This shows some interesting results relating to the productivity of each company relative to that of other companies over time, and also how the performance of each company relative to itself over 1993–2007 has evolved. The paper is grounded in the broad theory of methods for measuring productivity change, and more specifically on the use of circular Malmquist indices for that purpose. In this context, the contribution of the paper is methodological and applied. From the methodology perspective, the paper demonstrates the use of circular meta-Malmquist indices in a comparative context not only across companies but also within company across time. This type of within-company assessment using Malmquist indices has not been applied extensively and to the authors’ knowledge not to the UK water industry. From the application perspective, the paper throws light on the performance of UK water companies and assesses the potential impact of regulation on their performance. In this context, it updates the relevant literature using more recent data.

The Generalized Malmquist index and capacity utilization change: an application to the Italian manufacturing, 1989-1994

Several indices of plant capacity utilization based on the concept of best practice frontier have been proposed in the literature (Fare et al. 1992; De Borger and Kerstens, 1998). This paper suggests an alternative measure of capacity utilization change based on Generalized Malmquist index, proposed by Grifell-Tatje' and Lovell in 1998. The advantage of this specification is that it allows the measurement of productivity growth ignoring the nature of scale economies. Afterwards, this index is used to measure capacity change of a panel of Italian firms over the period 1989-94 using Data Envelopment Analysis and then its abilities of explaining the short-run movements of output are assessed.

Nondestructive index profiling of long period gratings in photonic crystal fibres

A numerical model of a long period grating in photonic crystal fibre fabricated by an electric arc is proposed that allows for the spectral characterisation of the grating. In the combination with the suggested model of the photonic crystal and the experimentally recorded grating growth it is used to find the index change induced by the electric arc.

Long period grating directional bend sensor based on asymmetric index modification of cladding

A long period grating (LPG) written in a standard optical fibre was modified by using a femtosecond laser to induce an asymmetric change in the cladding's refractive index. This device produced blue and red wavelength shifts depending on the orientation of applied curvature, with maximum sensitivities of -1.6 nm m and +3.8 nm m, suggesting that this type of LPG may be useful as a shape sensor.

Understanding change in the public sector:a local authority case study

Increasingly managers in the public sector are being required to manage change, but many of the models of change which are available to them have been developed from private sector experience. There is a need to understand more about how the change process unfolds in the public sector. A case study of change in one local authority over the period 1974-87 is provided. The events surrounding housing decentralisation and the introduction of community development are considered in detail. To understand these events a twofold model of change is proposed: a short wave model which explains a change project or event; and a long wave model which considers how these projects or events might be linked together to provide a picture of an organisation over a longer period. The short wave model identifies multiple triggers of change and signals the importance of mediators in recognising these triggers. The extent to which new ideas are implemented and the pace of their adoption is influenced by the balance of power within the organisation and the political tactics which are used. Broad phases in the change process can be identified, but there is not a simple linear passage through these. The long wave model considers the way in which continuity and change feed off one another. It suggests that periods of relative stability may be interspersed with more radical transformations as the dominant paradigm guiding the organisation shifts. However, such paradigmatic shifts in local government may be less obvious than in the private sector due to the diverse nature of the former.

Safety culture during major organisational change

This research examines the effect of major changes, in the external context, on the safety culture of a UK generating company. It was focused on an organisation which was originally part of the state owned Central Electricity Generating Board and which, by the end of the research period, was a self-contained generating company, operating in a competitive market and a wholly owned subsidiary of a US utility. The research represents an attempt to identify the nature and culture of the original organisation and to identify, analyse and explain the effects of the forces of change in moulding the final organisation. The research framework employed a qualitative methodology to investigate the effects of change, supported by a safety culture questionnaire, based on factors identified in the third report of the ACSNI Human Factors Study Group; Organising for Safety, as being indicators of safety culture. An additional research objective was to assess the usefulness of the ACSNI factors as indicators of safety culture. Findings were that the original organisation was an engineering dominated technocracy with a technocentric safety culture. Values and beliefs were very strongly held and resistant to change and much of the original safety culture survived unchanged into the new organisation. The effects of very long periods of uncertainty about the future were damaging to management/worker relationships but several factors were identified which effectively insulated the organisation from any of the effects of change. The forces of change had introduced a beneficial appreciation of the crucial relationship between safety risk assessment and commercial risk assessment.Although the technical strength of the original safety culture survived, so did the essential weakness of a low level of appreciation of the human behavioural aspects of safety. This led to a limited, functionalist world view of safety culture, which assumed that cultural change was simpler to achieve than was the case and an inability to make progress in certain areas which were essentially behavioural problems.The factors identified by ACSNI provided a useful basis for the site research methodology and for identifying areas of relative strength and weakness in the site safety arrangements.