The political implications of Beethoven's music in China, 1949–1959: an examination of the publication and performance of Beethoven's music

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmond Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Classical Music ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
Ninth Symphony ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Standard Practices

PurposeOne of the standard practices of Communist Parties around the world is to employ art, including music, as a channel to spread political ideologies. This study aims to scrutinize the reception of Beethoven's music, particularly from a political viewpoint, by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the People's Republic of China (PRC) during the early years of its rule, i.e. from 1949–1959. The ambiguity of Beethoven's own political outlook may have provided an opportunity for the CCP to choose the composer and his music in support of its aims.Design/methodology/approachTo understand why and how the CCP could exploit Beethoven and his music to support its political ideologies, a series of Chinese writings on Beethoven between 1949 and 1959 have been studied. Those literatures not only helped the composer gain reputation and popularity in the PRC, but also provided a platform for the CCP to manipulate such candidate and his music. Finally, the reception of the performances of the Ninth Symphony in 1959 in the PRC is singled out for close examination.FindingsDuring the first ten years of the establishment of the PRC, the quantity and quality of the articles on Beethoven expanded considerably. These writings continued to reflect the reception of Beethoven and his music with the addition of political nuances that could be interpreted in the CCP's favour.Originality/valueThis paper seeks to examine the PRC's artistic policies, with a particular emphasis on the reception of Beethoven and western classical music.

Guest editorialHappy endings and successful stories in public sector financial management: a lesson drawing perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Sandra Cohen ◽  
Francesca Manes-Rossi ◽  
Isabel Brusca ◽  
Eugenio Caperchione
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Financial Management ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
And Performance

PurposePublic financial management has been characterized by the implementation of several innovations and reforms that embrace different areas and scope. These reforms aim at expenditure rationalization and efficiency enhancement, as well as the improvement of accountability and performance. Despite research having already paid attention to these innovations and reforms, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats empirically faced by public sector organizations still need to be investigated. This editorial introduces the special issue by emphasizing on the lessons that can be learned from past reform experiences.Design/methodology/approachThe editorial synthesizes some of the findings of the previous literature and evidences the necessity of both successful and unsuccessful stories, presenting a future agenda of research which emphasizes the use of case studies as a suitable method to get insights out of multiple experiences.FindingsThe four articles presented in this special issue, covering the topics of accrual accounting adoption, the use of financial statements by councilors, the use of performance information by politicians and the outsourcing of auditing in local governments, provide an overview of the efforts and challenges faced by public administrations by analyzing the influence of the institutional context, the relevance of political implications and their practical footprint.OriginalityIn this special issue, four successful stories that touch upon multiple facets of public financial management in different country contexts are discussed, and they signal important takeaway messages for further reforms.

Workplace innovation for better jobs and performance

2011 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Pot
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Quality Of Working Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Change Projects ◽  
Workplace Innovation ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the need for workplace innovation policies and practices in Europe and evaluate programs that already have been developed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the concept of workplace innovation and trends in society explaining its emergence. The paper then presents and discusses the results of evaluation research as far as this is available.FindingsA growing number of countries is conducting or developing some kind of programme on workplace innovation. These programmes differ in size and governance. Evaluation research shows that simultaneous improvement of performance and quality of working life is possible under certain conditions such as the participation of employees in change projects.Research limitations/implicationsConcepts and designs of evaluation research projects differ considerably. This gives new challenges for companies, trade unions, governments and researchers. In EU2020, little attention is paid to workplace innovation but there is a ray of hope in the draft integrated guidelines for employment policies and in the Flagship Initiative Innovation Union.Originality/valueSocial innovation in the workplace, or workplace innovation, is a new concept, covering to some extent new practices that appear to be relevant for organisations and governments.

A teaching note on the controllability “Principle” and performance measurement

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-311
Author(s):  
Steven T. Schwartz ◽  
Eric E. Spires ◽  
Richard A. Young
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Accounting Students ◽  
Finished Good ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Final Assembly ◽  
Intermediate Measure ◽  
And Performance

Purpose The purpose of this note is to expose accounting students and others to recent findings in management control, specifically to the relationship between the informativeness of a performance measure and its usefulness in performance evaluation. Design/methodology/approach Numerical examples illuminate key ideas and are easy to follow and replicate by students. Findings Seemingly in contradiction to the controllability principle, performance measures that are informative about actions taken by employees are not necessarily useful for performance evaluation. This occurs when the performance being measured is related to an intermediate task, such as prepping items prior to final assembly. If prepping is an important factor in the quality of not only the intermediate good but also the finished good, and the quality of the finished good can be reasonably measured, it may not be useful to measure the prepping performance. This result holds even if obtaining the intermediate measure is costless and the intermediate measure provides unique information on the effort given to the intermediate task. Originality/value Opportunities to measure employees’ intermediate outputs are ubiquitous; therefore, judicious decisions should be made regarding the use of limited monitoring resources. This note contains intuitive, easy-to-follow illustrations (based on recent findings) that will help students and others identify situations where such evaluations are more and less useful.

scholarly journals Political ties and corporate performance: why efficiency matters?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabia Najaf ◽  
Khakan Najaf
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Corporate Performance ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Stewardship Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Ties ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine and explain the complex interrelationships which influence the performance of politically connected firms to create value for their providers of finance and other stakeholders. In doing so, it examines the interrelationships between efficiency and delivering on corporate performance of a firm with political ties.Design/methodology/approachThe authors gathered the literature from the Scopus website. They reviewed the literature of 58 manuscripts about the efficiency and performance of politically connected firms.FindingsThe research finds that the better quality of efficiency of politically connected firms is positively related to the corporate performance of politically connected firms. The authors’ theoretical findings corroborate the political theory, agency theory, stakeholder theory, resource dependency theory and stewardship theory. These theories prove that political connections have an impact on firm performance as a politician reinforces the efficacy. To better understand the effect of political connections on solid performance due to efficiency, this study classifies various efficiencies and links them with political ties.Research limitations/implicationsSeveral avenues of research are suggested to examine further the interrelationships identified.Practical implicationsThe authors’ conceptual findings are valuable for institutional investors, policymakers and stakeholders. To sum up, all theoretical shreds of evidence prove that politically connected firms can enhance performance via efficiency.Originality/valueThe paper conceptualizes the efficiency and performance interrelationships of politically connected firms. The extant literature comparison allows an assessment of the extent to which different efficiency contexts lead to differences in performance.

scholarly journals A study of the self-perceived competencies regarding the knowledge and skills of healthcare providers in the Expanded Program on Immunization in Thailand

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-218
Author(s):  
Pregamol Rutchanagul ◽  
Wipada Sangnimitchaikul
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Expanded Program On Immunization ◽  
High Level

Purpose The Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) has still been found to offer services that do not comply with standards. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain competency in terms of the knowledge and skills of the EPI staff. Design/methodology/approach The research design was a mixed-methods approach. The quantitative method employed a questionnaire survey on the perceived competency of 382 EPI staffs from six regions in Thailand. This was paired alongside of the qualitative method, where four staffs were in-depth interviewed, and the performance of the EPI staffs was observed. Findings The overall perceived competency in the work of immunization was at a high level. A comparative analysis between the quantitative and qualitative data showed findings in three categories. First, the perception of competency was high, and performance conformed to standards in the preparation of the setting and equipment for providing the service; second, the perception of competency was high, but in the performance of their work the participants did not comply completely with standards for scheduling the immunization appointments or for vaccine storage; and third, the perception of competency was either moderate or low, and the performance of work was inadequate for vaccine estimations, registering reports, and dealing with adverse events following immunization. Originality/value The findings showed a gap between perception of knowledge-and-skill competency and actual practice in EPI service. Effective cooperation among involved organizations in order to improve the standard of performance in expanding the quality of EPI service provision in Thailand is suggested.

An empirical investigation of the relationship between workload and performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 2377-2389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bruggen
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capacity Decisions ◽  
Quantitative Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of workload on quantitative and qualitative job performance. Different levels of workload can affect performance of employees, and it is important for firms to assess the effect of this in order to improve capacity decisions. The literature is not entirely clear on the relationship and calls for further empirical evidence on that matter. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses field data from a mid-sized grocery supplier. In total, 9,210 observations of 27 employees over three years and eight months are analyzed with different statistical models. Employees all work in the same department so that it is a very homogenous data set. Findings – Results show that there is an inverted U-shape relationship between workload and performance. Output of employees increases up to a certain point after which it decreases. Similarly, the quality of performance is highest under moderate levels of workload, which provides evidence against a tradeoff between quantity and quality. Research limitations/implications – The study uses a unique set of data from one firm, which limits generalizability, but adds to an important stream of literature. Practical implications – Results show how workload has a direct effect on performance. Consequently, firms need to balance the workload in order to be able to maximize the performance of their employees. Originality/value – Despite the relevance of the topic, there is hardly any empirical evidence on the relationship between workload and performance. This study thus contributes to the management literature and provides significant evidence on an inverted U-shape between workload and quantitative performance.

Successful authors’ views on the editorial review processes of accounting journals

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph W. Adler ◽  
Gregory Liyanarachchi
Keyword(s):  
Review Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Editorial Review ◽  
Editorial Decisions ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Geographical Locations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report successful authors’ views about the editorial review processes of a set of 42 accounting journals. The two main objectives are: to enlighten editors and journal publishers in their quest to improve their journals’ editorial review processes and to inform prospective authors about the past experiences successful authors have had with the 42 accounting journals. Design/methodology/approach – A Webmail survey was used to collect data about authors’ experiences with publishing in one of the 42 accounting journals. A total of 856 responses (40 per cent response rate) was received. Various statistical analyses were used to explore a range of editorial review process features, including the timeliness of editorial feedback, timeliness of publishing accepted manuscripts, quality of the feedback provided and performance of the editor. Findings – Authors were found to be generally quite satisfied with the editorial review processes of the journals in which they published. There were, however, notable leaders and laggards observed among the 42 journal titles. The survey findings also revealed that many journals use the practice of basing their editorial decisions on the comments of a single reviewer. In fact, this practice is most prevalent among the journals that are commonly perceived as the field’s “top” journals. These and other editorial review results – for example, comparisons between journal-tiers, geographical locations of editorial review offices and journal specialties – are discussed. Originality/value – This paper extends and moves well beyond Adler and Liyanarachchi (2011), by exploring such additional author perceptions of the editorial review process as the performance of journal editors, the use of multiple reviewers and reviewers’ reporting of the typical faults/weaknesses in the papers they read. Exposing to public scrutiny an academic discipline’s editorial review processes is quite common in some fields of research, most notably medicine. Doing so in the accounting discipline addresses a need that many of the respondents felt was highly necessary and long overdue. While authors will benefit from the paper’s insights, editors and publishers are expected to as well.

scholarly journals The influences of Shariah governance mechanisms on Islamic banks performance and Shariah compliance quality

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Kausar Alam ◽  
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Mahfuza Kamal Runy ◽  
Babatunji Samuel Adedeji ◽  
Md. Farjin Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Resource Dependence ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Supervisory Board ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Quality Image ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Shariah Governance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of Shariah governance (SG) mechanisms on Islamic banks' performance and Shariah compliance quality in the context of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachA semi-structured personal interview tactic was applied to accomplish the research objectives. The data were collected from the regulators, Shariah supervisory boards, Shariah department executives and Shariah experts from the Central Bank (Bangladesh Bank) and Islamic banks in Bangladesh.FindingsThe study discovers that the quality of the Board of Directors (BODs), Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB), management and Shariah executives have both positive and negative influences on the Shariah compliance quality, image, goodwill and performance of Islamic banks' in Bangladesh. The compositions, formations and quality of SSB and Shariah officers positively influence the Islamic banks' fatwas, Shariah decisions, compliance quality and firm performance. The study also finds that prevailing banking pressure, current political situation, the willingness of BOD and management and social limitations impact Islamic banks' performance, Shariah compliance quality, image and goodwill.Research limitations/implicationsBased on our findings, if the regulators, BODs and Islamic banks can manage effective and efficient executives, it will create a positive impact on Islamic banks' performance, image, goodwill and quality compliance. As the prevailing banking pressure, current political situation and social limitations hinder the functions and employment system of the Islamic banks as well as result the Islamic banks' image, performance, Shariah implementations and compliance. Thus, the theorist needs to consider these mechanisms in extending the agency, stakeholder and resource dependence theories.Originality/valueThis research extends the literature concerning the influences of Islamic banks' SG mechanisms in Bangladesh. The study also argued not only the efficient and effective mechanisms but also the prevailing banking pressure, current political situation and social limitations impact on Islamic banks' performance and Shariah compliance quality.

Training characteristics and employees' performance among the nurses in Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitho Khan Bhatti ◽  
Bahadur Ali Soomro ◽  
Naimatullah Shah
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Performance Goal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the training characteristics and employees' performance among the nurses in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed cross-sectional data through random sampling of trained health nurses from the Government sector hospitals of Pakistan. The survey questionnaire is applied as the primary tool to acquire data. In total, the authors utilized 306 valid cases to infer the final results.FindingsThe structural equation modeling (SEM) underlines a positive and significant impact of cognitive ability and performance goal on employees' performance. On the other hand, there is an insignificant impact of motivation to learn on performance among the nurses of Pakistan.Practical implicationsBroadly, the findings of the study would provide some new insights to understand the performance of nurses in the health care sector through the outcomes of the training characteristics. Further, the results would be a way out to make a better quality of health care enhanced with the support of training. It may contribute to the growth in quality of work and improve work productivity by boosting up and uplifting training characteristics. The research arena would enrich the inclusive theoretical framework of performance and contribute to the domain literature and methodological validation.Originality/valueThe study confirms the role of training characteristics towards performance among the nurses of the public health sector of Pakistan. The investigation would further validate the impact of cognitive ability and the motivation to learn and performance goals on performance globally.

A survey on clustering routing protocols in wireless sensor networks

Sensor Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirihane Gherbi ◽  
Zibouda Aliouat ◽  
Mohamed Benmohammed
Keyword(s):  
Sensor Networks ◽  
Routing Protocols ◽  
Wireless Sensor ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Routing ◽  
Duty Cycles ◽  
Placement And Routing ◽  
And Performance

Purpose In particular, this paper aims to systematically analyze a few prominent wireless sensor network (WSN) clustering routing protocols and compare these different approaches according to the taxonomy and several significant metrics. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors have summarized recent research results on data routing in sensor networks and classified the approaches into four main categories, namely, data-centric, hierarchical, location-based and quality of service (QoS)-aware, and the authors have discussed the effect of node placement strategies on the operation and performance of WSNs. Originality/value Performance-controlled planned networks, where placement and routing must be intertwined and everything from delays to throughput to energy requirements is well-defined and relevant, is an interesting subject of current and future research. Real-time, deadline guarantees and their relationship with routing, mac-layer, duty-cycles and other protocol stack issues are interesting issues that would benefit from further research.

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