Service Reward Research Articles

Chapter 8 Was It an Embarrassment of Rewards?: Possible Relationships between Religious Devotion among Participants in the Second Crusade, 1145–1149, and Their Losses in the Field

Chapter 8 Was It an Embarrassment of Rewards?Possible Relationships between Religious Devotion among Participants in the Second Crusade, 1145–1149, and Their Losses in the Field Jilana Ordman According to the chroniclers who recorded the events of the Second Crusade (1145–1149) and the bulls, letters, and sermons of its organizers, this expedition was conceived with the goal of replicating the First Crusade of 1095–1099. But these were very different undertakings with very different outcomes.1 Unlike the 1095 expedition, that of 1145 initially focused on the East but expanded during recruitment to include additional missions to Iberia and the Baltic.2 While the 1095 crusade had achieved a dramatic victory in the East, only the 1147 Siege of Lisbon, part of the Iberian mission undertaken to aid Alfonso VII of Castile and Leon (1105–1157), was entirely successful. Military efforts in the Baltic resulted in slight territorial gains, while those undertaken in the East failed entirely. This article examines two elements shared by the First and Second Crusades: the rewards for service offered to participants, and the expressions of religious devotion among them during their recruitment and in the field. Spiritual rewards in the form of papal grants of forgiveness of sin and penance were offered both to those who set out in 1146 and to those who did so in 1095. In 1146 these rewards were in fact presented as based on those that had been promised in 1095. But in 1146 to these rewards was also added the protection of participants’ families and possessions during their absence, as well as limited permission for looting. This expansion suggests that the Second Crusade’s organizers recognized and sought to appeal to a wider range of motives among participants. Given the success of the First Crusade, and the purely spiritual motives that clerical chroniclers and secular epistolary authors presented in the expression of religious devotion by its participants, it must be asked whether the Second Crusade’s chroniclers and epistolary authors presented evidence of similar levels of devotion as evidence of participants’ motives. Or could chroniclers have presented the material rewards offered to participants as lessening the spiritual purity of their motives, thus suggesting an explanation for their defeat? [End Page 113] Historians have long examined the spiritual rewards offered to the First Crusaders. The 1095 expedition was not the first military expedition for which the papacy had granted spiritual rewards to participants.3 But many agree that Pope Urban II’s (1088–1099) grant of remission of penance and/or sin to those who participated in the First Crusade was a culmination of this practice, successfully combining the ideas of holy war and pilgrimage.4 The pope’s influential call for knights to travel to the East occurred at the Council of Clermont in November 1095. This stop was halfway through his tour of Frankish territories, a journey he initially undertook to garner lay aristocrats’ support for his papacy during a period of unrest in Rome.5 Clerics and prominent laymen attended the meeting at Clermont, an event similar to others at which bishops and abbots had sought aristocrats’ and their vassals’ participation in the Peace or Truce of God movements.6 The pope’s recruitment sermon for the expedition to the East was delivered at the end of the council. Segments of this sermon survive in the works of secular and regular clerical crusade chroniclers. Whether authors reported this sermon from their own memory or wrote according to others’ texts, their accounts provide the details that they sought to portray as having resonated most strongly among the pope’s audience.7 Chroniclers described Pope Urban II presenting the motives that he wanted to drive Christians’ participation in the expedition, as well as the rewards they would be granted. They were to be motivated to action by personal ties to one another, by the desire to defend all members of the faith throughout greater Christendom, and by their devotion to God and Christ. Speaking to an audience familiar with organized military action, the pope fit these human relationships into a secular framework of duty to superiors and fellow knights, as well as of responsibility to the weak...

A Study On the Che-A-Jik in the Early Chosŏn

The Che-A-Jik(遞兒職) was a kind of position for officials including soldiers who had no regular official stipend(Nok-bong: 祿俸). They could get the official stipend in turn by holding the Che-A-Jik. Every official posts could be distributed as the Che-A-Jik, if only the post had its own stipend finances. The military position was the typical case. In addition to military officialdom, however, even miscellaneous technical post with its own financial allowance could be used as Che-A-Jik.<BR> The Che-A-Jik was a convenient office title, through which several public officials could get their official stipend in turn for one vacant position. In so doing, the government could cut down on expenses for official stipend.<BR> The Che-A-Jik was categorized according to its recipients. One was the incumbent Che-A for officials holding their posts and the other was the Geogwan Che-A for the officials who were temporarily out of service(San-Guan: 散官).<BR> The Che-A-Jik, as vacant office post held by several incumbents or standbys simultaneously, was helpful for relieving the problem of public post shortage and reducing government expenditure. Officials, expecting to hold Che-A-Jik, were encouraged to do their jobs more sincerely and earnestly. This post could also be conferred as a reward for exemplary or meritorious services. After the law(Jik-Jeon Beob: 職田法), restricting the tax collection rights only to the current office holders, was implemented in 1466(Sejo 12: 世祖 12年), the Che-A-Jik remained the only way of compensating San-Guan.

Structural Estimation of Callers' Delay Sensitivity in Call Centers

We model the decision-making process of callers in call centers as an optimal stopping problem. After each waiting period, a caller decides whether to abandon a call or continue to wait. The utility of a caller is modeled as a function of her waiting cost and reward for service. We use a random-coefficients model to capture the heterogeneity of the callers and estimate the cost and reward parameters of the callers using the data from individual calls made to an Israeli call center. We also conduct a series of counterfactual analyses that explore the effects of changes in service discipline on resulting waiting times and abandonment rates. Our analysis reveals that modeling endogenous caller behavior can be important when major changes (such as a change in service discipline) are implemented and that using a model with an exogenously specified abandonment distribution may be misleading. This paper was accepted by Assaf Zeevi, stochastic models and simulation.

A Study of the Effects of Internal Marketing on Customer-oriented Social and Prosocial Behaviors (Case study: Hotels in Isfahan city)

The present paper, titled ‘A Study of the Effects of Internal Marketing on Customer-oriented Prosocial Behaviors’ investigates the important role of internal marketing on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and, finally, role-prescribed customer service and extra-role customer service (prosocial behavior) among hotel employees in Isfahan city. A main hypothesis (speculating the significant effect of internal marketing on customer-oriented prosocial behavior) and eleven sub-hypotheses (speculating the significant effect of empowerment, service training and service reward on organizational commitment and job satisfaction as well as speculating the significant effect of organizational commitment and job satisfaction on role-prescribed customer service and extra-role customer service (prosocial behavior), are presented. This research, in terms of its purpose, is an applied one; and in terms of implementation method, is a survey with a correlation approach. The population includes 140 experienced managers, vice-presidents and employees of the hotels in Isfahan city. The data were collected using questionnaires with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient calculated as 0.91, which includes personal data and main, specialized questions for examination of research hypotheses. From 155 distributed questionnaires, 140 (90%) were returned. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software programs through statistical tests at descriptive (frequency, percentage, accumulated percentage, average and standard deviation) and inferential (t-test, regression modeling, variance analysis, non- parametric Kolmogorov and Smirnov test, and Freedman non-parametric test) levels. The findings supported all research hypotheses. The results indicated that the ninth sub-hypothesis, with a path coefficient of 0.69 is of the highest importance, and that the seventh sub-hypothesis with a path coefficient of

The effect of catastrophes on the strategic customer behavior in queueing systems

We consider the single server Markovian queue subject to Poisson generated catastrophes. Whenever a catastrophe occurs, all customers are forced to abandon the system, the server is rendered inoperative and an exponential repair time is set on. During the repair time new arrivals are allowed to join the system. We assume that the arriving customers decide whether to join the system or balk, based on a natural linear reward-cost structure with two types of rewards: A (usual) service reward for those customers that receive service and a (compensation) failure reward for those customers that are forced to abandon the system due to a catastrophe. We study the strategic behavior of the customers regarding balking and derive the corresponding (Nash) equilibrium strategies for the observable and unobservable cases. We show that both types of strategic behavior may be optimal: to avoid the crowd or to follow it. The crucial factor that determines the type of customer behavior is the relative value of the service reward to the failure compensation. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013

Incorporating human resource management initiatives into customer services: Empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

The existing operations management literature has extensively investigated the associations between customer satisfaction and firm performance. However, how to improve customer satisfaction through employee empowerment, service reward, and service training has rarely been investigated. In this research, we tied human resource and service operations management to each other and examined the relationships among employee empowerment, service reward, service training, employee satisfaction, customer service and customer satisfaction based on empirical study of 214 Chinese manufacturing companies. Using structural equation modeling, we found that both employee empowerment and service training have significant impacts on employee satisfaction and customer service, while service reward only has significant impact on customer service. We also found that both employee satisfaction and customer service have significant impact on customer satisfaction. However, the impact of employee satisfaction on customer service is insignificant. The findings suggest that employee empowerment, service reward and service training are important considerations for operations managers to boost employee satisfaction and customer service, which in turn improve customer satisfaction. We provide empirical evidence that employee empowerment, service reward and service training play significant roles in increasing customer satisfaction in the context of manufacturing businesses.

Tales From the Sea: Critical Care Nurses Serving Aboard the USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy

During the springs and summers of 2009 to 2012, military and nongovernment organization nurses served side by side on hospital ships USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy to offer free humanitarian clinical services to developing nations in Central and South America and Southeast Asia. Translators were engaged to facilitate communication on shore and off. Host nation patients came on board for prearranged surgery and then were returned to land within a few days for follow-up care with local clinicians. Nurses had opportunities to go onshore to assist in clinics, teach as subject matter experts, or participate in construction/remodeling projects. Weather and other environmental conditions influenced the availability and services of the ships, which could also be deployed to provide support for global disaster relief. Professional and personal preparedness and flexibility were essential for operational effectiveness. The authors, both critical care nurses, learned many lessons in teamwork, education, and life at sea. Readers are encouraged to consider the challenges, hard work, and vast rewards of hospital ship service.

Absence Of Transformational Leadership In Greek Enterprises Results In The Inability Of Forming Learning Organizations

Transactional leadersemploy transactions in which they use their legitimate reward and coercivepowers to give commands and exchange rewards for services rendered. Transformationalleadership makes subordinates aware of the importance of their jobs andperformance to the organization as well as to their own needs for personalgrowth which precipitates motivation for them to work for the good of theorganization. Learning organizations are characterized by total employeeinvolvement in a process that is collaboratively conducted and collectively accountablewithin a planned and meaningful change that is directed toward shared values orprinciples. Traditional organizations exist within stable environments, havevertical structures, and have a strategy that is formulated at the top. Additionally,they have a centralized decision-making process; tasks are rigidly defined andspecialized; the organizational culture is rigid and resistant to change; andthey have formal systems of filtered communication pivoting around the verticalhierarchy. Learning organizations cannot be formed in the Greek privatebusiness sector because the leadership of said sector is not transformational.Greece failed to develop an advanced industrial complex because of the largenumber of small enterprises in the form of proprietorships and partnershipsthat have dominated the economy.Additionally, Greek industry experienced the profound absence of thecorporate form of business that necessitates medium and large businessenterprises for the attainment of effective and efficient factors of productionand economies of scale that precipitate transformational leadership and learningorganizations.

Gender Differences in Perceptions of Work Experiences and Service Quality Provided By Front-Line Service Workers in Four- And Five- Star Hotels in Turkey: A Research Note

Two studies considered possible gender differences in work experiences and service quality behaviors of front-line service employees working in hotels in Turkey.. The first study examined perceptions of servant leadership provided by their supervisors/managers and worker’s reports of service quality provided to clients by their hotels of male and female front line workers employed in four- and five –star hotels. Data were collected from 221 front-line employees, 122 males and 82 females, a 37% response rate, using anonymously completed questionnaires. Previously developed and validated measures of servant leadership (Liden, Wayne, Zhao & Henderson, 2008) and service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1998) were used and both were found to be highly reliable in this study. Males and females were similar on five personal demographic items. Males tended to report higher levels (p<.10) on two dimensions of servant leadership (Emotional support, Conceptual skills) than did females. In addition, males rated the quality of service provided higher on three dimensions (Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, and tended top rate the quality of service higher on the composite score (p<.10) than did females. The differences on perceptions of service quality might be attributed to the departments in which males and females were more likely to work, males tended to work in departments having greater direct client contact. The second investigation examined gender differences in levels of service rewards provided by their hotels and employees engaging in in three prosocial service behaivors:estra0role, role prescribed, and cooperation (Bettencourt & Brown, 1997). Data were collected from241` employees, 151 males and 88 females working in 18 different hotels in the Cappadocia region, using anonymously completed questionnaires, a 60% response rate. There were no differences in perceptions of service rewards or in prosocial behaviors. In essence, male and female front-line service workers generally indicated more similar than different appraisals of their work experiences in both investigations. .

BJOG Editor's Choice

BJOG Editor's Choice

Gamified physical activation of young men – a Multidisciplinary Population-Based Randomized Controlled Trial (MOPO study)

BackgroundInactive and unhealthy lifestyles are common among adolescent men. The planned intervention examines the effectiveness of an interactive, gamified activation method, based on tailored health information, peer networks and participation, on physical activity, health and wellbeing in young men. We hypothesize that following the intervention the physical activation group will have an improved physical activity, as well as self-determined and measured health compared with the controls.Methods/designConscription-aged men (18 years) attending compulsory annual call-ups for military service in the city of Oulu in Finland (n = 1500) will be randomized to a 6-months intervention (n = 640) or a control group (n = 640) during the fall 2013. A questionnaire on health, health behaviour, diet and wellbeing is administered in the beginning and end of the intervention. In addition, anthropometric measures (height, weight and waist circumference), body composition, grip strength, heart rate variability and aerobic fitness will be measured. The activation group utilizes an online gamified activation method in combination with communal youth services, objective physical activity measurement, social networking, tailored health information and exercise programs according to baseline activity level and the readiness of changes of each individual. Daily physical activity of the participants is monitored in both the activation and control groups. The activation service rewards improvements in physical activity or reductions in sedentary behaviour. The performance and completion of the military service of the participants will also be followed.DiscussionThe study will provide new information of physical activity, health and health behaviour of young men. Furthermore, a novel model including methods for increasing physical activity among young people is developed and its effects tested through an intervention. This unique gamified service for activating young men can provide a translational model for community use. It can also be utilized as such or tailored to other selected populations or age groups.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01376986

Courage and Cowardice in the Roman Imperial Army

This paper examines the courage and cowardice of Roman soldiers in the period from the late first century bc to the fourth century ad, set within a broader chronological context of service in standing armies. The specific sources for Roman warfare are evaluated together with features of service in the Roman armies. Discussion of courage is based on Roman concepts of virtus and disciplina, and examines religious and ritual observance, standing formations, regional cultural traditions, diet, medical support, training and skills development, military equipment, and service rewards. Cowardice and its consequences are investigated in the contexts of surrender, desertion, and enslavement, with particular reference to the literary sources and archaeological evidence for the defeat of Varus’ army in Germany (ad 9).

Teaching, Research, and Job Satisfaction of Prosthodontic Faculty Members in Indian Academic Dental Institutions

The aim of this study was to determine prosthodontic faculty members' satisfaction with their roles of teaching, research, and service in academic dental institutions of India. The head of the prosthodontic department of each institution was informed of the study by telephone and asked to invite his or her staff members to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire used a rating scale of 1=very dissatisfied, 2=dissatisfied, 3=neutral, 4=satisfied, and 5=very satisfied. The satisfaction score for each of the three categories was determined by summing the weights for all items related to the variable. In the study, 386 prosthodontic faculty members from 184 dental institutions were invited to participate, and 341 faculty members from 139 dental institutions completed the questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using statistical software. Most of the respondents were satisfied with their teaching and service items. Neutral responses were made for institutional teaching rewards, institutional financial support for research, release time offered by the institution, support for sabbatical leaves, technical assistance in analyzing data, secretarial and technical assistance, institutional research rewards, in-service training opportunities, and institutional service rewards. Dissatisfied responses were made regarding financial and academic support for making scientific presentations and attending conferences and seminars.

Benefit distribution across scales to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) in Vietnam

At very high policy levels, efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) are considered to be innovative and cost-effective ways to make forest more valuable standing than cut. In response to climate change, international funding to support reductions in emissions needs to balance conservation and development. The Government of Vietnam is currently coordinating the design of a comprehensive benefit-distribution system, with the ambition to convert certified net emissions reductions into REDD+ revenue and distribute it to local partners in a transparent, equitable and cost-effective manner. A pilot scheme is underway in Bac Kan province. With forest cover of 56.6% and a poverty rate of 36.6%, Bac Kan is among the most heavily forested and poorest provinces of Vietnam, making it a potential site for pioneering REDD+ schemes in the country.Research questions were how to incorporate international, national and local stakeholders’ investments into any distribution scheme; and how to sustain and manage an efficient, effective and equitable funding scheme for environmental services, including REDD+ revenues. Multiple data collection and analytical methods (including participatory approaches) were used to answer both research questions. Additionally, for the second question, we employed cost-benefit, opportunity cost and economic analyses.Three key concepts formed the research frame for this paper: (1) benefit-distribution systems; (2) reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus conservation (REDD+); and (3) the broader concept of payments or rewards for ecosystem services; as well as lessons learned from existing, similar schemes.This results shows that an appropriate benefit-sharing system for REDD+ revenues can be developed in such a way that meets international regulations as well as national and sub-national circumstances, particularly for the environmental services’ providers who directly protect forests. Vietnam's payments for forest environmental services’ and integrated conservation schemes (where conservation and rural development are integrated) serve as a base for the development of a REDD+ benefit-distribution system.We discuss ways of bundling such schemes with REDD+ ‘service’ payments and income streams from forestry and agroforestry ‘goods’ to provide short-term food-security/economic return and long-term environmental benefits. This combination is expected to provide sustainable incentives, but further effort is needed in the use of participatory methods and a ‘bottom-up’ approach to provide a strong base for an effective and equitable REDD+ mechanism at landscape level.Experience drawn from Vietnam, in general, and in Bac Kan, in particular, can be replicated and directly contribute to reducing carbon emissions globally.

A more permanent homeland: land tenure in Guthlac A

AbstractTo a greater extent than other saints' lives, Guthlac A is a poem about a land dispute. Through contextualizing the central ‘battle for the beorg’ within Anglo-Saxon practices of land tenure, this article shows that Guthlac A represents the spiritual conflict between Guthlac and the devils as a land dispute between unworthy tenants who have been given temporary tenure of the land and a warrior of God who is granted permanent tenure as his reward for faithful service. By portraying the devils' loss of the beorg and Guthlac's acquisition of it through the framework of Anglo-Saxon customs of land-holding, the poem dramatizes replacement doctrine, the teaching that the number of the saved would equal the number of fallen angels and replace them in the heavenly kingdom.

Who uses tips as a reward for service and when? An examination of potential moderators of the service–tipping relationship

Consumers in many countries often give voluntary payments of money (tips) to the workers who have served them. These tips are supposed to be a reward for service and research indicates that they do increase with customers’ perceptions of service quality. This paper contributes to the service–tipping literature by examining numerous potential moderators of this relationship in two studies. Results indicate that the service–tipping relationship is robust across meal type, day of week, sex and race of server as well as customers’ alcohol consumption, education, income, race, worship frequency, and hospitality work experience, but that it is stronger for older consumers than for younger ones and for parties with large bills than for parties with smaller bills. The practical and theoretical implications of these and other findings are discussed.

A conjoint analysis of landholder preferences for reward-based land-management contracts in Kapingazi watershed, Eastern Mount Kenya

Unsustainable land-use decisions and agricultural practices have become the key drivers of deteriorating watershed services in developing countries. However, landholders may have little or no incentives to take these impacts into account in their decision-making process. In recent years, reward-based provision of environmental services has emerged as an important market-based incentive for motivating landholders to adopt environmentally friendly land-use changes and agricultural practices. In this regard, for instance, the Pro-Poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa (PRESA) project has emerged as a large network to support and facilitate reward mechanisms in Africa. However, in many African rural settings, little is known about landholder attitudes and preferences related to the alternative land-management schemes.Using locally identified sets of six key land-management attributes, this paper applies conjoint methods to evaluate landholder preferences towards alternative land-management schemes aimed at enhancing the provision of watershed services in the River Kapingazi catchment in central Kenya. Data were collected from primary sources through focus groups and a questionnaire based conjoint survey. Three conjoint models were used; a traditional conjoint ratings model, a binary logit model, and an ordered logit model.Results from the focus groups indicated that shortage of water for both domestic use and irrigation was perceived as the most acute environmental problem in the area. Deforestation, poor river bank management and agricultural practices were identified as the major causes of the problem. Results from conjoint models show that the three principal attributes influencing landholder’s ratings and probability of adopting the proposed land management options were 'size of land area to be committed’, 'length of contract period’, and 'granting or prohibiting rights to harvest environmental products from the committed land’. Thus, these attributes should be the focal points in designing land-management contract for watershed services in the study area.

The Identity, Rights and Challenges of Catholic Knights in the Church.

The desire for honours is prevalent in the human societies and also in the Church. Knighthood is of ancient origin. It is always a reward for both civil and military services. It is within the context of recognition for distinguished services and as a means of rewarding loyalty rendered that the Catholic Church considered it expedient to appropriate within the ecclesiastical circle what was of secular origin. In the Church we have Knights of Papal and diocesan/local status. They are lay members who are outstanding in their defence of faith and the Church. Since these knights enjoy dual citizens in both the Church and civil communities, we intend to see the order of knights in their identity, typology, rights and challenges in both the Church and civil society.

Assessing the effects of industrial unrest on Ghana health service: A case study of nurses at Korle-Bu teaching hospital

This paper assessed the effects of industrial unrest from the perspectives of a cross-section of fifty nurses and patients at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Accra, Ghana in West Africa, spanning the period of 2004 to 2008. The deductive study was based on descriptive analyses of statistical data gathered from the data subjects, who were randomly selected. The study revealed that strikes by the nurses in Ghana sent signals to the international community about workers’ unrest in Ghana and increased the national and household expenditure. It also revealed that when the nurses went on strike the health of the patients deteriorated which brought about reduction in the revenue generation of the economy of Ghana. The study recommended that to reduce the frequency of nurses industrial unrests and its impact on Ghana, the Government should take steps to reduce the high wage disparity among the health workers, educate the nurses on the repercussions of their strike actions on patients, put in place crises interventions committee at the hospitals and provide special rewards for the night services of nurses. Key words: Strike action, ADHA, KBTH

What should we expect after the next attack?

A test of any science is its ability to predict events under specified conditions. A test for the psychology represented in this special issue of the American Psychologist is its ability to predict individual and social behavior in the aftermath of a next terror attack. This article draws on that science to make such predictions. These predictions are conditioned on both the nature of the attack and our institutional preparations for it. Some attacks will test our resilience more than others. Whatever the attack, we will reduce its impacts if our institutions take advantage of psychological science. That science can reduce the scope of attacks by limiting terrorists' ability to organize their operations and by enhancing our ability to restrain them. It can reduce the impacts of any attacks that do occur by strengthening the institutions and civil society that must respond to them. Realizing these possibilities will require our social institutions to rely on science, rather than intuition, in dealing with these threats. It will require our profession to provide psychologists with rewards for public service, applied research, and interdisciplinary collaboration, as demanded by complex problems. Responding to these challenges could strengthen society and psychology.