Gaining Competitive Advantages in Higher Education: Analyzing the Gap between Expectations and Perceptions of Service Quality

The research findings have provided several implications for higher educational institutions, managers, and leaders of decision-making processes throughout the world. Service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions are global issues that affect all organizations, large or small, profit or non-profit, global or local. We are all influenced or discouraged, satisfied or dissatisfied with positive loyalty behavioral intentions or negative complaining reactions, propelled by the level of service quality received. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Relationship Between Socio-Economic Values and Wellbeing: An Overview Research in Asia

This paper investigates ten Asian nations to consider how socio-economic values affect happiness and satisfaction. Moreover, it considers whether economic factors can strongly affect wellbeing under certain conditions. Males in Asia are said they have more opportunities to obtain higher happiness and satisfaction but it does not happen in the current study. Unemployment has negative and significant impact with regard to happiness and satisfaction in developing countries yet it does not have the same effect in developed nations. It is believed cultural value positively affects happiness and satisfaction in East Asia but the result in the models is different with no clear relationship between this variable and wellbeing. Furthermore, some people declare that a relative increase of income compared to the lowest group will lead them to lower life satisfaction.     

Urge to Gamble in Problem Gamblers Exposed to a Casino Environment

Cue-reactivity has received increased attention in addiction research, though not for gambling in particular. We examined cue reactivity in 18 problem gamblers by accompanying them to a gaming casino and measuring their subjective urge to gamble over a 1-h period. Half of the sample was additionally exposed to a gambling-specific negative mood induction (NMI) manipulation via guided imagery. Overall, about two-thirds of the sample reported moderate to high-gambling urges during the casino exposure. Additionally, the NMI reduced cue-reactivity. Finally, gambling urges in both groups decreased over the course of the exposure sessions. These findings suggest that a majority of problem gamblers experience the urge to gamble when exposed to gambling cues and that the intensity of these urges decrease with time, especially in the presence of a gambling-relevant NMI. Cue exposure should be studied further as a potential tool in the treatment of problem gambling.     

An empirical assessment of writing and research proficiency in HBCU social work students

ABSTRACT

Lack of proficiency in writing and research among social work students has increasingly concerned social work educators and practitioners. Given the significance of written communication with clients and emphasis on evidence-based practice in the field of social work, it is critical to assess students’ competence in both writing and research. However, deficit-based approaches to assessing writing and research competence have disadvantaged students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This pilot study aims to assess writing and research proficiency of HBCU master’s of social work (MSW) students through empirical analysis of their capstone papers and surveys from educators to provide implications for developing a writing and research manual for social work programs at HBCUs. Ten capstone papers were randomly selected and qualitatively analyzed; nine faculty and one field supervisor completed the survey, and their respondents were analyzed using cross-case analysis. Analyses of the capstone papers identified two themes for writing and research domains, respectively: (1) weakness in developing statements and lack of knowledge of writing style and (2) plagiarism and lack of understanding of research structure. Moreover, analyses of the surveys revealed four themes regarding assessment of writing and research skills among students struggling with basic writing mechanics, indicating that HBCU MSW students may have potential and capacity for learning, as evidenced by their ideas and critical thinking skills. These findings suggest both teaching- and research-oriented programs could employ the proposed writing and research assessment manual, as well as a writing and research lab/center for improving writing and research skills among their students.     

An efficient curve in stochastic capacity expansion

An optimum expansion of a single capacity is considered when the installation cost is very large and future demand is given by an evolving process of Wiener. Risk of expansion is evaluated and included in the decision criteria which links the capacity expansion problem with financial investment theory, Numerical results show the existence of an optimum expansion capacity and an efficient curve which represent the optimum choices with respect to the possible combinations of expansion cost and risk.     

Testing lack of symmetry in spatial–temporal processes

Symmetry and separability of a covariance function are common assumptions to simplify the modeling effort of spatial–temporal processes. However, many studies in environmental sciences show that real data have complex spatial–temporal dependency structures resulting from lack of symmetry or violation of other standard assumptions of the covariance function. In this study, we propose new formal tests for lack of symmetry by using spectral representations of the spatial–temporal covariance functions of regularly spaced spatial–temporal data. The advantage of the proposed tests is that classical analysis of variance (ANOVA) models can be used for detecting lack of symmetry inherent in spatial–temporal processes. We evaluate the performance of the tests with simulation studies and we apply them to air pollution data.     

A Confucian War over Childcare? Practice and Policy in Childcare and Their Implications for Understanding the Korean Gender Regime

We ask about the development of childcare policies in Korea and what these mean for our understanding of the gender assumptions of Korean governments. Women's labour market participation has been increasing rapidly, with married women now much more likely to be in the labour market. The provision and regulation around support for women's employment, and especially for mothers’ employment, is a key issue and problem for Korean women and for governments. A number of policies give the impression that the Korean government is moving rapidly towards a policy for reconciling work and family based on a dual‐earner model of the family. But we argue that a close inspection of these policies suggests that the state is still playing a residual role, legislation is not effectively implemented, and government is giving way to the private sector and to the family in responsibility for childcare. Mothers’ accounts of their lives centre on a childcare war played out beneath the apparently harmonious Confucian surface, with resisting husbands supported by powerful mothers‐in‐law, and daily struggles over the management of services. The Korean government and its policy‐makers, far from moving rapidly towards a dual‐earner model of the family, are still rooted in Confucian ideals.     

Intergroup Behaviour and Ethnicity: A Social Psychological Perspective

Humans exist not only as unique individuals, but also as members of social groups that are formed on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age and so forth. Reflecting this duality are interpersonal and intergroup modes of behaviour, respectively. Thus, humans can act in terms of their personal self and treat others as individuals (interpersonal behaviour); they can also act in terms of group membership and relate to others as members of this or that group (intergroup behaviour). In a mixed marriage, for example, the couple's behaviour toward each other is ‘normally’ interpersonal, but can become intergroup when war breaks out between their respective ethnic groups. Contrary to common sense, factors more minimal than a war are often sufficient to trigger intergroup behaviour. Indeed, seemingly interpersonal encounters are in fact intergroup. How does behaviour shift from interpersonal to intergroup, and with what consequences? To address these questions, I outline a social psychological perspective based on social identity theory and conclude with a discussion on the enigmas of ethnicity.     

L1 for the simple linear regression model

By modifying the direct method to solve the overdetermined linear system we are able to present an algorithm for L₁ estimation which appears to be superior computationally to any other known algorithm for the simple linear regression problem.