The relationship between perceived value and information source use during KM strategic decision-making: A study of 17 Chinese business managers

The study explores the relationship between value attribution and information source use of 17 Chinese business managers during their knowledge management (KM) strategic decision-making. During semi-structured interviews, the Chinese business managers, half in the telecommunications sector and half in the manufacturing sector, were asked to rate 16 information sources on five-point Likert Scales. The 16 information sources were grouped into internal–external and personal–impersonal types. The participants rated the information sources according to five value criteria: relevancy, comprehensiveness, reliability, time/effort, and accessibility. Open-ended questions were also asked to get at how and why value attribution affected the participants’ use of one information source over another during decision-making. Findings show that the participants preferred internal–personal type of information sources over external–impersonal information sources. The differences in value ratings per information source were striking: Telecommunications managers rated customers, newspapers/magazines, and conferences/trips much lower than the manufacturing managers but they rated corporate library/intranet and databases much higher than manufacturing managers. The type of industrial sector therefore highly influenced information source use for decision-making by the study’s Chinese business managers. Based on this conclusion, we added organizational and environmental categories to revise the De Alwis, Majid, and Chaudhry’s (2006) typology of factors affecting Chinese managers’ information source preferences during decision-making.     

The auction market for artworks and their physical dimensions: Australia—1986 to 2009

Within a hedonic pricing model, the preferences of Australian art purchasers are investigated. Emphasis is placed on the impact of an artwork’s dimensions upon its auction price. A salient aspect of this is the first test of the ‘golden ratio’ hypothesis in a market situation. It is concluded that purchasers prefer paintings that deviate from the golden rule. The ‘orientation’ of works (portrait, landscape or square) as well as size also helps determine price. The impact of winning the Archibald portraiture prize (Australia’s foremost art prize) is found to have significant and positive impacts on winning artists’ prices. This suggests that purchasers are not fully informed. In addition, a previously unsuspected relationship between artwork dimensions and Archibald prize winners was found. As well as purchasers’ preferences, the artists’ choices of the dimensions of their artworks are considered.     

Taekwondo training and fitness in female adolescents

In this study, we determined the specificity of a low frequency taekwondo training programme on physical fitness levels in adolescent females who receive limited physical education instruction (i.e. 2 days per week). Major components of physical fitness assessed were: skeletal muscle fitness (hand grip strength, bent arm hang, standing long jump, and isokinetic strength), flexibility (sit-and-reach test), speed and agility (10 × 5-m shuttle run), and cardiovascular fitness (VO(2max) and 20-m shuttle run). Changes in body composition were also assessed (dual X-ray absorptiometry, DXA). Participants were divided into two groups, a taekwondo training group (n = 21), which trained 50 min a day, 2 days per week for 12 weeks, and a control group (n = 10). Taekwondo training improved isokinetic strength, standing long jump, and sit-and-reach performance. Body fat mass and percent body fat were reduced. No changes in grip strength, bent arm hang time, speed and agility, or cardiorespiratory fitness were observed. Results indicate that low frequency taekwondo training in adolescent females produces beneficial changes in skeletal muscle fitness, flexibility, and body composition in a relatively short period of time. Consequently, this specific type of training can be useful to female adolescents in structured school environments where physical education classes are limited and there is little free time for physical activity.     

The Evolution of the UK’s Research Assessment Exercise: Publications,Performance and Perceptions

This article examines how the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), along with the development of performance indicators, fits into the production of research within a changing policy context. The historical evolution of the RAE from 1985–2001 is considered, before looking specifically at how research output (in the form of journal publications) was, and is, assessed. Changes in process and output measurements necessitated a move from quantitative to quality evaluation, which affected both academic publishing and the role of journals within the RAE. The issue of quality – in terms of perceptions and performance – as applied to both is explored.     

Ideology and the humanities: Questions whispered to dissenters

This essay was originally presented as part of the panel “Historicism, Feminism, Relativism, Nihilism... How Do We Restore the Humanities in an Age of Ideology?” at “Restoring American Education,” a Madison Center conference, held October 27–29, 1989.