House price indices

The new FT House Price Index aims to end the confusion that arises from the current plethora of indices. Simon Briscoe examines these various indices and explains the methodology behind the FT Index.     

Panic now! Or later?

Simon Briscoe , author of a new book, Panicology , examines the role that data plays in media scare stories. Scary newspaper stories are scattered throughout this piece. Just how much ought we to be panicked by headlines?     

National policy approaches to social care for elderly people in the United Kingdom and Singapore 1945-2002

The authors compare policy approaches in the United Kingdom and Singapore on social care for older persons. The context of these approaches is discussed showing the development of policies, in each country from the aftermath of the Second World War to the present. Given that Singapore is a former British colony, it is of interest to scholars of social policy to examine its welfare approach as compared to the welfare state approach espoused by the United Kingdom. Both nations are faced with the challenges of an aging population, which necessitates handling similar problems with strategies that are in harmony with their respective economic, social, and cultural contexts. This paper considers their divergence of philosophies and policies, concluding with the recognition that the major difference lies in national and governmental expectations regarding the extent of the financial and regulatory responsibility for care for older people carried by the individual, the family, and the state.     

A further appreciation of demand forecasting models: Some methods based on survey information

This paper deals with the data available from survey sources which primarily provides cross-sectional statistics that can be applied in forecasting models. It is intended as a complement to an earlier paper by the authors which appeared in the September 1973 edition of Long Range Planning.     

Irish Credit Unions: Exploring the Gender Mix

Credit unions are voluntary cooperative financial institutions. At present there are 621 credit unions in Ireland serving two million members. Credit unions espouse the principle of gender inclusiveness, which is viewed as a fundamental cooperative concept. Based on a survey of 500 Irish credit unions, this study explores the role of women in credit unions. Judged against participation rates for women in the labor market and in specific organizations such as trade unions, the study suggests that gender balance in credit unions is superior to that elsewhere in Irish society. There is, however, some evidence of gender imbalance in the composition of credit union boards with this being most visible for key decision-making positions such as Chair and Vice-Chair. It also emerges that gender imbalance becomes more pronounced for larger credit unions supporting the contention that women are found in greater numbers on small and less well-connected not-for-profit boards.     

Do “protean” employees make better leaders? The answer is in the eye of the beholder

While the protean career (Hall, 1976, 2002) has been lauded for its advantages in helping individuals adapt to changing career contexts, it is not clear how this career orientation may impact how others perceive a person's leadership ability. In this study, we hypothesized that those with a protean career orientation would receive higher leadership ratings from subordinates and superiors, but lower leadership ratings from peers, in part based upon social comparison theory. Using structural equation modeling, our hypotheses regarding subordinates and peers were supported, but not with respect to superiors, who, along with peers, rated those with a protean career orientation lower in terms of transformational leadership as measured by the MLQ. We discuss potential reasons for these findings and the consequences for research and theory. Also, we examine the implications of this research for leadership development, workforce recruitment and retention, and possible generational significance.