Examining the expertise,experience, and expedience of crisis consultants in Singapore

By most accounts, crisis preparedness in organizations globally has been appalling (0035 and 0250). The situation is no different in Singapore (Wu & Dai, 2001). With crisis expertise often lacking from within organizations, many resort to engaging public relations (PR) agencies to help. This study, which is inspired by Frandsen and Johansen's (2008) study in Denmark, aims to evaluate the contributions of consultants from PR agencies. Adapting indicators to assess professionalism proposed by Lages and Simkin (2003) and Sallot, Cameron and Lariscy (1997) and integrating them with variables from the contingency theory (Pang, Jin, & Cameron, 2010), this study seeks to examine: (1) the level of expertise of consultants in offering crisis management consultancy; (2) the level of experience of consultants offering crisis management consultancy; and (3) the value and expedience of the consultancy services offered. Findings showed that agencies in Singapore hired consultants based on skills such as writing, speaking and ability to manage the media. For some, lack of direct experience was compensated by in-house training. International agencies appeared to have an advantage over the local agencies by virtue of their access to expertise and knowledge from their international network. However, as the majority of agencies had only managed few crises, it was difficult to assess the value these consultants added. Studies examining consultants in PR agencies are rare. It is hoped this study would trigger research around the world.     

Valuation of Consumers’ Personal Information: A South Korean Example

The purpose of this study was to identify the appropriate monetary value of personal information from a consumer’s perspective. To this end, Korean nationals above the age of 16 living in Seoul and the greater metropolitan region responded to an online survey. Quota sampling was used with regard to gender, and the data pool consisted of 985 samples. Using the contingent valuation method (CVM), the authors elicited the amount of money respondents were willing to accept as being equivalent to the value of their personal information, with the resulting mean and median being US1,500 and US1,500 and US500, respectively. Via a nested probit model analysis, the existence of a relative minority, which placed a significantly lower value on their personal information, was found.     

Organizational responsiveness of Russian and American growth-oriented small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

The paper discusses problem-based learning (PBL) as a mediating factor in generating a variety of learning networks in workplace contexts. It is argued that informal learning in experiential circumstances can be systematized to encourage deep learning at the individual and collective level. Given the distinct problem-solving opportunities in PBL, learners can increase their capacity to acquire new knowledge through self-inquiry, reflection and dialogue. The repositioning of learning attitudes also leads to an enlargement of communities of practice wherein double and triple-loop learning cycles intersect to create rigorous learning. An integrated model is proposed to explain the dynamics of PBL operating within the constraints of workplace contexts.     

The historicization of nostalgia,locality and quotidianity: on the changes in Lim Kim Chern’s gastronomic writing

This article seeks to shed light on Lim Kim Chern’s gastronomic writing, by ensconcing this individual case in the context of Modern Chinese Prose as an enduring literary tradition, in order to elicit the attribute of locality with diasporic discourse in quotidian life, that distinguishes it as part of a work in Malaysian Chinese Literature than the others. We will further this quest, by comparing the gastronomic writing of Lim before and after the changes in his literary pursuit in gastronomic writing, namely, by the comparison of the literary hierarchy of high-brow literature and the sub-genre of literature that post-positions the literariness, in order to examine whether or not it is a revelation, or even a harbinger of the fate of Malaysian Chinese Literature being minor literature.     

She Was Born in a Small Town: The Advantages and Disadvantages in Political Knowledge and Efficacy for Rural Girls

Recent work suggests that girls learn more about politics and are more efficacious in places with less conflict and greater homogeneity. Given that rural communities are often more homogeneous than metropolitan areas across several dimensions, this article asks whether young girls growing up in rural communities have higher levels of political knowledge and efficacy than those in more urban, diverse communities. It argues that the average girl benefits from the stronger social bonds between residents in smaller places, but young women who hold minority views about the importance of equality are likely to suffer in their levels of knowledge and efficacy. Being in the minority seems to be particularly difficult for girls in smaller places. This article raises questions about the ways in which gender gaps vary across different places and the varying effects of minority status.     

Millennium Development Goal Achievements and Policies in Education and Health: What Has Been Learnt?

This article reviews the effectiveness and efficiency of key policy instruments for MDG (Millennium Development Goals) achievement, focusing on the role of demand‐ and supply‐side factors in education and health‐service utilisation. It comes to the following conclusions. First, specific policy interventions can have a considerable impact on social‐service utilisation. Second, demand‐side policies have proved extremely effective in the education sector, but may need more consideration in the health sector. Third, policy effectiveness and efficiency are highly dependent on initial conditions and the specificities of the respective policy. Fourth, complementarities between MDG targets are likely to be very important.     

Coping with Negative Emotions from Buying Mobile Phones: A Study of Korean Consumers

Consumers can suffer negative emotions, such as anger or fear, if they experience difficulties when buying mobile phones, but then they employ coping strategies to manage those emotions. In addition, cognitive appraisals about the purchase situation affect the negative emotions and coping process. This study constructed a structural model and conducted a mail survey involving 1,000 Korean adults. It was discovered that consumers who felt angry chose expressive support-seeking strategies or avoidance, and those who felt fearful chose only expressive support-seeking strategies. Expressive support-seeking and active coping led to positive emotional change. Self-efficacy appraisal was the key predictor of active coping and negatively affected fear; thus, we suggest that consumer education and training in the purchase of new mobile phones is needed to enhance self-efficacy.     

Bonding and attachment of Australian Aboriginal children

In New South Wales, Australia, there is an increasing emphasis in the children's court on bonding and attachment assessments to determine whether or not a child remains with their carers. Aboriginal children and young people are over nine times more likely than other children and young people to be in out‐of‐home care. There is a paucity of information on culturally appropriate assessments of Aboriginal children in relation to bonding and attachment. Most assessments on the Australian indigenous families are based on the dominant Australian community's perception of what constitutes competent parenting. The question arises as to whether we are making psychologically and ethically sound decisions about whether or not a child remains with their Aboriginal carers based on evidence that is culturally appropriate for Western families but culturally inappropriate for the indigenous families. It is argued that the core hypotheses of attachment theory such as caregiver sensitivity, competence and secure base have to be based on the Australian Aboriginal people's cultural values. The aims of this paper are to explore the current practice on the bonding and attachment assessment of Aboriginal children using a dynamic eco‐systemic approach in the assessment of bonding and attachment of the indigenous people, with an emphasis on the historical, cultural and spiritual contexts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.