Suchergebnisse

Purpose
Power is an important construct in retailing and channel literature. Power is studied in improving the performance of the firm, but less emphasis is given on the behavioral changes that lead to an improvement in performance. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the relationship between sources of power and channel members' trust, affective commitment, agent dependence and environmental munificence individually. Also, the paper examines the interrelationship among coercive, expert, referent, legitimate and reward sources of power.


Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a structured questionnaire to collect data from 214 channel members from an Indian oil company. The study uses a covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) approach for establishing the interrelationship among sources of power. Also, the study uses partial least squares SEM approach for determining the relationship between power sources and channel members' behavior.


Findings
The study establishes that the dichotomous nature of power, i.e. coercive and non-coercive power source exists independently in an emerging country context. Further, coercive power sources are negatively and non-coercive power sources are positively associated with trust. Also, coercive and reward power sources are positively associated with agent dependence, whereas expert, referent and legitimate power sources are positively related to affective commitment. Finally, referent power is found to be positively associated with environmental munificence.


Practical implications
The paper offers several managerial implications. For practitioners, the paper highlights that application of coercive and non-coercive power sources can bring the desired change in channel members' behavior. Also, acknowledging the power position between channel leader and channel member can foster more efficient association.


Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature on channel management by enhancing the understanding of sources of power and their influence on the behavior of channel members. First, the study examines the relationship between channel members' behavior of trust, affective commitment, agent dependence and environmental munificence and five sources of power. Second, the study establishes the interrelationship among sources of power. Finally, the paper outlines the implications for managers for effective use of sources of power in channel management.

BACKGROUND: An estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sinovuyo Teen compared to an attention-control group of a water hygiene programme. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with stratified randomisation of 37 settlements (rural and peri-urban) with 40 study clusters in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Settlements receive either a 14-session parenting support programme or a 1-day water hygiene programme. The primary outcomes are child abuse and parenting practices, and secondary outcomes include adolescent behavioural problems, mental health and social support. Concurrent process evaluation and qualitative research are conducted. Outcomes are reported by both primary caregivers and adolescents. Brief follow-up measures are collected immediately after the intervention, and full follow-up measures collected at 3-8 months post-intervention. A 15-24-month follow-up is planned, but this will depend on the financial and practical feasibility given delays related to high levels of ongoing civil and political violence in the research sites. DISCUSSION: This is the first known trial of a parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in a low- or middle-income country. The study will also examine potential mediating pathways and moderating factors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201507001119966. Registered on 27 April 2015. It can be found by searching for the key word 'Sinovuyo' on their website or via the following link: http://www.pactr.org/ATMWeb/appmanager/atm/atmregistry?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=BasicSearchUpdateController_1&BasicSearchUpdateController_1_actionOverride=%2Fpageflows%2Ftrial%2FbasicSearchUpdate%2FviewTrail&BasicSearchUpdateController_1id=1119.

Formal politics is defined as political participation under 'rules and institutions' while informal politics is a kind of 'conventions and codes behavior' in the political sphere, such as cronyism and guanxi networks. Both kinds of politics are interacting and functionally inseparable in a political system. This article explores the interactive dynamics between formal and informal politics in the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), with the August 2004 Chief Executive election and the September 2005 Legislative elections as illuminating case studies. It highlights the ways and means with which the Beijing and the MSAR authorities shaped the electoral institutions to undermine political opposition. It argues that formal politics possesses more than window-dressing functions to reveal the 'normal and orthodox form of politics' while the informal type is the real process for decision making. Formal and informal politics undermined the political input of the mass in Macao and triggered political irregularities involving money politics. It concludes that the dynamics of formal and informal politics did not possess enhancement but corruption in forging a genuinely democratic MSAR polity. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

According to the Energy Strategy of the Russian Federation, the generation of electric energy by nuclear power plants has increased by 25% over the past decade. Floating nuclear power plants (or FNPP) are promising technology in the field of using atomic energy in low–power nuclear installations. Compactness and mobility are the main advantages of the NPP, which make it possible to provide thermal power to consumers in the most remote territories, including in the Russian Federation, without the need to build an integrated nuclear infrastructure. The only Russian FNPP in the world, «Academic Lomonosov», is stationed in Pevek, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. EU countries and China are interested in building their own thermal power plants. Russian Federation has planned the construction of several new FNPPs to ensure the operation of the Baimsky GOK. The emergence of a multifaceted and relatively new facility for the use of atomic energy calls for the need to analyze the current international and national legislation capable of ensuring environmentally safe operation.

Substantiated cases of child maltreatment have declined more than 20% since a peak in 1993. However, although sexual abuse and physical abuse showed significant declines during the 1990s (47% and 36%, respectively), neglect fluctuated, with only a small overall decline during this period (7%). Available data suggest that at least part of the declines in sexual and physical abuse is likely to be real. Some evidence also suggests that a decline in neglect may have been masked in some states. Possible sources for declines in child maltreatment include direct prevention efforts, economic improvements, more aggressive criminal justice efforts, dissemination of psychiatric medication, and generational changes. Public health models suggest that population-level prevention initiatives are the most promising options for further reducing maltreatment rates. However, better epidemiological and evaluation research will be needed to identify the key factors.

Bringing together historians, political scientists, and literary analysts, this volume shows how biographical narratives can shed light on alternative, little known or under-researched aspects of state power in African politics. Part 1 shows how biographical narratives breathe new life into subjects who, upon decolonization, had been reduced to silence - women, workers, and radical politicians. The contributors analyze the complex relationship between biographical narratives and power, questioning either the power of biographical codes peculiar to western, colonial origins, or the power to shape public memory. Part 2 reflects on the act of (auto-)biography writing as an exercise of power, one that blurs the lines between truth and invention. (Auto-)biographical narratives appear as politicized, ambiguous stories. Part 3 focuses on female leadership during and after colonization, exploring on how women gained, lost, or reinvented "power". Brought together, the contributions of this volume show that the function of biographical narratives should no longer oscillate between romanticized narratives and historical evidence; their varied formats all offer fruitful opportunities for a multidisciplinary dialogue. This book will be of interest to scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds working on the African postcolonial state, the decolonization process, women's and gender studies, and biography writing.