bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adaptation, acclimation, addiction, remedy, etc.
Authors: Bateson Gregory
Published: September 2007

Purpose

This piece seeks to reflect upon the nature of adaptation and our usage of it with relation to design, addiction, and final cause.

Design/methodology/approach

This previously unpublished document was found amongst the manuscript papers for Mind and Nature in the Bateson Archives at the University of Santa Cruz Library Special Collections.

Findings

It appears that “adaptation” was a concept generated by lineal thinking and that as we move forward into a world of causal circuits, i.e. of mental process as that notion is here defined, we discover that “adaptation” is only another face of addiction.

Originality/value

It reflects on the issue of adaptation from a very different angle than in the usual scientific discourse.
Bateson's cybernetics: the basis of MRI brief therapy: prologue
Authors: Ray Wendel A.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To provide direct access to original documents relevant to the emergence of applied constructivist and cybernetic epistemology in the behavioral sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs hermeneutic analysis

Findings

Direct evidence of the cybernetic, interactional theory articulated by Gregory Bateson provides the theoretical foundation for the problem formation, problem resolution model set forth by research associates at the Brief Therapy Center of the Mental Research Institute.

Originality/value

This is a rare, never previously published address by a principal founder of communication/interactional theory
The influence of Gregory Bateson: legacy or vestige?
Authors: Thomas Frank N. , Waits Rebekah A. , Hartsfield Gail L.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To assess the recent influence of Gregory Bateson on publication within the field of psychotherapy.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature survey of all accessible literature from 1996 to 2006, utilizing citation search engines for identification purposes followed by reading and evaluating the most relevant publications.

Findings

Research that investigates Bateson's ideas is promising but scarce, and theoretical development that builds on his constructs is rare. Apart from frequency in citation, his contributions seem to be more durable than generative.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to the volume of data, a complete survey of literature was impossible, focusing our work on psychotherapy for this paper. Other projects surveying fields such as management and sociology should be undertaken to assess Bateson's influence.

Practical implications

Practice should be tied to theory‐building and ongoing research rather than nostalgia, myopic commitment to ideals, or myth. Purposeful commitment to cybernetic theory and practice development is needed.

Originality/value

Few literature reviews have attempted to conduct a survey this broad. It is believed this has been successful in addressing actual publication practices.
Batesonian epistemology, Bushman n/om‐kxaosi, and rock art
Authors: Keeney Bradford
Published: September 2007

Purpose

Aims to define the conceptual tools of Gregory Bateson's epistemology – the nature of difference, logical typing, and recursion – and to apply this to understanding how we can approach the analysis of ethnographic reports of the Bushman n/om‐kxaosi (shamans) and the Bushman rock art of Southern Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper argues that kinesthetic interaction with n/om‐kxaosi provides a vehicle for learning their way of construing the world.

Findings

The n/om‐kxaosi have a kinesthetic lexicon and a set of dominant metaphors rooted to their ecstatic body expression that provide coherence to their ways of healing and spiritual understanding. The previously assumed incoherent nature of Bushman religious views noted by anthropologists is argued to have been the consequence of underestimating the importance Bushman thinking gives to circularity and transformation of all aspects of their experience.

Originality/value

Illuminates the analysis of the Bushman culture.
Toward Batesonian sociocybernetics: from Naven to the mind beyond the skin
Authors: Guddemi Phillip
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To construct, from Bateson's social ideas ranging from Naven to the 1979 Mind and Nature, a Batesonian sociocybernetics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper considers Bateson's ideas about the delineation of systems by the observer, as they were taught to his classes in the 1970s and as they were expressed in the so‐called first, 1936 Epilogue to Naven, and shows how these ideas led Bateson to a skeptical, anti‐reificationist social cybernetics.

Findings

Bateson de‐emphasized system boundaries, instead seeing systems as creations of the observer and as arbitrary cuttings of a continuous web of cybernetic processes.

Research limitations/implications

Bateson's argument in Naven, a work originally published in 1936 and partially based in a sociological tradition which also forms some of the roots of Luhmann's thought, is surprisingly relevant to contemporary issues in second‐order cybernetics and sociocybernetics.

Practical implications

Bateson's skepticism about reification, and emphasis on the observer's role in the construction of system boundaries, can point a way for sociocybernetics to address those cybernetic systems which do not fit Luhmann's or Maturana's strict criteria for autopoiesis.

Originality/value

This paper attempts to show the sophistication and relevance of Bateson's social thinking to the field of sociocybernetics.
Towards aesthetic seduction using emotional engagement and stories
Authors: Bilson Andy , Thorpe David
Published: September 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to provide principles and to give a case study of the application of Bateson's ideas to promote epistemological change in organisations to deal with problems which many governments in English speaking countries currently attempt to address by control through detailed performance indicators and top‐down monitoring. It suggests that epistemological change requires an approach that goes beyond rational argument and provides an example of the way that emotional engagement and story telling can be built into action research based on cybernetic ideas.

Design/methodology/approach

Bateson stresses the need for an epistemological change to embrace an understanding of the implications of circular causation to underpin our approach to problems and policy making. The case study shows how research using systemic principles can address epistemological change at all its stages including data collection and dissemination. In this way the research aims to become a conversation in which participants can reflect on the epistemological assumptions that underpin their actions.

Findings

Following Maturana and Bateson it is found that a reflexive conversation that engages participants through emotion and story telling as well as demonstrating reflection on the researcher's own assumptions can powerfully engage participants in changing how they see problems and what they do.

Originality/value

Whilst rational argument can be used to develop and expand a rational domain such as cybernetics, the paper suggests that the introduction of a systemic or cybernetic understanding to newcomers instead requires aesthetic seduction that can be achieved by promoting reflection on epistemological assumptions through story telling and emotional engagement.
Struggling for a Russian Bateson
Authors: Fedotov Dmitry
Published: September 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the author's efforts to translate and publish books by Gregory Bateson in the difficult conditions of post‐communist Russia.

Design/methodology/approach

The story of this publishing project can be traced back to early 1980s and included the author's personal meeting with Michael Murphy during his visit to Moscow.

Findings

Describes the production of translated version of Bateson's works published in Russian.

Originality/value

Provides information of value to those interested in the human condition.
Batesonian analysis of value hierarchies and the transformation of Russia
Authors: Luksha Pavel , Tkachev Anatoly
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The aim is to analyse changes of mass distributed value hierarchies in the course of social transformations in Russia during the last 25 years.

Design/methodology/approach

The article's approach is development of the model of value hierarchies within the framework of Batesonian thinking and analysis of secondary sociological and economic data on Russia.

Findings

The value hierarchy model, built within the Batesonian approach, provides a framework for analysis of the behavioural alternative choice by social individuals. Crisis events in Russia in the 1990s were related to the demolition of behavioural contexts and mass scale learning‐III of the adult population. New value hierarchy structures were subsequently formed in the early 2000s. Attention of social planners to the structure of mass‐distributed value hierarchies and the need to learn in changing contexts could improve the efficiency of social transformation.

Research limitations/implications

Research findings are limited by the use of secondary data. However, even in this case, the model of value hierarchies has been found a useful tool of sociological data interpretation.

Practical implications

Need for changes in epistemological grounds that underlie the design of massive socioeconomic reforms.

Originality/value

The value hierarchy model was developed as a contribution to the Batesonian tradition of epistemology. Insights were provided into value hierarchy changes as the key driver of chronic crises in Russia in the 1990s. Social scientists and social planners within the system thinking approach could benefit from this paper.
Reflections on learning and addiction: porpoises and palm trees
Authors: Bateson Gregory
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To provide a glimpse into Gregory Bateson's thought processes about addiction and learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This piece is a combination of a transcribed and edited lecture called Civilizations and addiction II, and a previously unpublished piece from the Angel's Fear manuscripts, “Definition of Addiction.”

Findings

Addiction is examined as a relationship between two or more entities.

Practical implications

This paper may provide a different and more integrated understanding of addiction. It may also lead to further research, into re‐thinking the nature addiction, and subsequent courses of action to get through addictive situations.

Originality/value

This paper forms a valuable insight into numerous current cultural, social and individual issues dealing with addiction, and achieving higher levels of learning.
“The logical categories of learning and communication”: reconsidered from a polycontextural point of view
Authors: von Goldammer Eberhard , Paul Joachim
Published: September 2007

Purpose

Bateson's model of classifying different types of learning will be analyzed from a logical and technical point of view. While learning 0 has been realized for chess playing computers, learning I turns out today as the basic concept of artificial neural nets (ANN). All models of ANN are basically (non linear) data filters, which is the idea behind simple and behavioristic input‐output models.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper will discuss technical systems designed on the concept of learning 0 and I and it will demonstrate that these models do not have an environment, i.e. they are non‐cognitive and therefore “non‐learning” systems.

Findings

Models based on Bateson's category of Learning II differ fundamentally from Learning 0 and I. They cannot be modeled any longer on the basis of classical (mono‐contextural) logics. Technical artifacts which belong to this category have to be able to change their algorithms (behavior) by their own effort. Learning II turns out as a process which cannot be described or modeled on a sequential time axis. Learning II as a process belongs to the category of (parallel interwoven) heterarchical‐hierarchical process‐structures.

Originality/value

In order to model this kind of process‐structures the polycontextural theory has to be used – a theory which was introduced by the German‐American Philosopher and Logician Gotthard Günther (1900‐1984) and has been further developed by Rudolf Kaehr and others.
Looking for “scientific” social science
Authors: Montagnini Leone
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The paper studies the participation of Gregory Bateson at the Macy Conferences on Cybernetics, that would prove to be a real turning point in his intellectual itinerary.

Design/methodology/approach

It bases itself on more or less known documents and on the newer studies on early cybernetics, focussing in particular on the earliest Macy meetings.

Findings

Being still an anthropologist, Bateson insisted on the importance and lack of theory in social sciences. Arriving at the first Macy meeting, he hoped that the new researches conducted by Norbert Wiener with others would have helped him to clarify the concept of circular causality that he believed to be a very central theoretical notion in social sciences. Indeed, Wiener was strongly sceptical about the inclusion of social sciences in the new cybernetic programs. Nevertheless, Bateson could learn about negative and positive feedback, about how negative feedback was able to explain finality in a non‐metaphysical way, and discovered the specificity of phenomena concerning information. In addition, he became acquainted with Russell's theory of logical types, which resonated in his mind with his ideas about deutero‐learning. Very quickly, his reasoning about circular processes in society began to include also problems of communication and self‐referentiality.

Originality/value

It wants to explain one of the most important moments in Bateson's scientific evolution, emphasizing theoretical problems in social sciences demanding still now a stable clarification.
Legacy: lessons from the Bateson team meetings
Authors: Ray Wendel A. , Govener Molly R.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To provide direct access to historically significant, original raw data from research conducted by the Bateson Team.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken is hermeneutic textual analysis.

Findings

The communication/interactional theory emerged from the interaction between members of the Bateson Research Team that took place between 1952 and 1961.

Originality/value

Decisively relevant to the origins of communication/interactional theory.
Language games and (hi)stories: Wittgenstein, Bateson and Schapp on the role of language in therapy
Authors: Rudi Fischer Hans
Published: September 2007

Purpose

In Bateson's theory of mind, the adaptation of Russell's theory of logical types is of key importance. Korzybski represented the type‐logical difference between language and reality as the metaphorical distinction between map and territory. The confounding of logical types generates cognitive, and logical problems, which Bateson reflected in his theory of schizophrenia. In Wittgenstein's philosophy, this type‐logical distinction is of equal significance.

Design/methodology/approach

The present paper, through the elucidation of the concept of language‐game and its relationship with grammar, demonstrates the proximity of Wittgenstein's and Bateson's understanding of language, which allows for a productive improvement of possible therapies of insanity.

Findings

For Bateson, schizophrenia is the attempt to escape from a pathogenic learning context, within which the map of thought has become malformed. Insanity can thus be understood as transformed grammar and can additionally be illuminated by both Wittgenstein's and Kant's conception of insanity. Wittgenstein's idea that in madness the lock is not destroyed, only altered is further reflected in connection with Bateson's theory of schizophrenia. On the basis of this conception of language, we develop an understanding of language that allows us to interpret “insanity” as deviating cognition originating in a family's system of communication.

Originality/value

On account of the “reality‐constitutive” character of language, it can be shown that “insane” thinking is based on a change of grammar. Therefore, the aim of therapy must be the change of pathological language‐games and the creation of bridges between inconsistent self‐interpretations of the patient by means of inventing new language‐games (stories).
Toward a science of metapatterns: building upon Bateson's foundation
Authors: Volk Tyler , Bloom Jeffrey W. , Richards John
Published: September 2007

Purpose

Gregory Bateson defined a metapattern as a “pattern of patterns.” But, what did he mean by metapattern (which he used only once)? Can there be a meta‐science, in which metapatterns are its objects or principles? The authors explore these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review examples of Bateson's “great pattern” of “combination,” which the authors call the binary. Bateson showed that binary is the minimal solution to the problem of gaining new characteristics by combining parts into a larger whole. Thus, binary is clearly a metapattern, a discipline‐transcending structural and functional principle. The authors select parts of Bateson's writings to highlight his search for other great patterns, some of which correspond with those developed by T. Volk.

Findings

The authors suggest that the basis for a science of metapatterns is the following: functional patterns that confer advantages on the systems that possess those patterns can converge, in a meta‐realm that includes all of what Bateson termed stochastic sequences, namely, in biological, cultural, and cognitive realms. The convergences are common solutions to the same functional problems that span a wide variety of systems. Other general principles in the organization of systems, such as borders, arrows, cycles, centers, and networks, constitute members of a system of metapatterns, the objects in a Batesonian metascience. The authors show that the metapatterns have implications for research in the humanities and social sciences, as well as for dynamic learning along the lines of Bateson's broadly‐extended concept of epistemology.

Originality/value

As nearly universal functional patterns, metapatterns could serve to create a scale‐bridging form of descriptive scholarship and thus contribute to the quest for a unified body of knowledge, which E.O. Wilson termedConsilience.
How G. Bateson informs dogs
Authors: Todesco Rolf
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To show how Bateson's difference which makes a difference can be interpreted from a cybernetic view, i.e. in terms of control theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Depending on the observer's choice of the system boundaries, communication or structural coupling may be recognized. With the help of Bateson's example he uses to explain his term of information the paper demonstrates how the two perspectives can be related to each other and in which way his metalogical “hypothesis non fingo” reflects this refraction of perspectives.

Findings

Hypotheses describing structural coupling in the perspective of communication become explanations which then in circularity are verified by structural coupling. In his example Bateson describes a structural coupling between a dog owner and his dog in order to explain how he informs dogs.

Originality/value

Provides information on Bateson's theory of explaining
Metalogue: “less than one and more than two: developing a partiality for whole(some)ness”
Authors: Kenny Vincent , Scarino Laura
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To elaborate a systemic view of conducting psychotherapy with twins.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the form of a Batesonian metalogue the authors unpack and illustrate a number of key notions in the systemic psychotherapy of twins, including the ideas of the “exosomatic mind” which makes special reference to Bateson's definition of “mind” “cybernetic complementarity” and the “incarnated narrative”.

Findings

The discussions in the metalogue evidence a number of important systemic conversational features, underlining the fact that a therapist can conduct “systemic therapy” with a single individual.

Originality/value

Therapists are helped to see the need for going “beyond the individual skull” when doing therapy with a single person.
How to understand giants?
Authors: Marian Pawlik Lucas
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The paper is aimed at understanding and investigating Gregory Bateson's and Heinz von Foerster's peculiar relation to knowledge, the unknowable, and research. From this, the question of how to carry on their heritage is raised.

Design/methodology/approach

The whole paper is designed as an epistemological experiment starting from reflections on Gregory Bateson's metalogues and adopting a methodological style of reasoning. A strong focus is laid on the combination of loose and strict thinking which is characteristic of both Heinz von Foerster and Gregory Bateson.

Findings

In order to preserve and further develop their heritage, it is necessary to deal with Bateson's and Foerster's view(s) on the relations between the unknowable and the meaning of research. This has to be done in a manner in which epistemology and research become a personal as well ecological matter in which the relationship between the single individual and its greater context becomes explicit.

Research limitations/implications

This paper refuses to view science and cybernetics within predefined boundaries. It suggests that the form of science and its relations to the individual and the community should be viewed as processes of constant re‐generation.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in viewing the similarities of Bateson's and von Foerster's peculiar style as general guidelines for future research and an understanding of epistemology.
Bateson and the Arts
Authors: Nachmanovitch Stephen
Published: September 2007

Purpose

To elucidate the relationship between science and the arts in Gregory Bateson's thinking, from the viewpoint of an artist‐musician and student of Bateson.

Design/methodology/approach

Synthesis.

Findings

One theme that pervaded Gregory Bateson's lifelong contribution was the rich and complex interface between art and science. Artistry (which may occur in either the arts or the sciences) plays across the interface between conscious and unconscious mind and environment. We come in actual practice to an appreciation and a facility for working with total cybernetic systems rather than the fragmented bits and pieces which are taught in conventional education and media. Through the play and discipline of creativity, we are able to experience this total systemic view of mind and nature.

Originality/value

Shows the reader significant ways of seeing the systems nature of our world through the experience and the practice of artistic creativity.
Coming to terms with Web 2.0
Authors: Oberhelman David D.
Published: September 2007

Purpose – ‐‐ This paper aims to discuss Web 2.0 and its web tools.Design/methodology/approach ‐‐ The paper discusses Web 2.0.Findings ‐‐ Today there is no single author for many works, often by design, and the proliferation of voices has meant that the traditional print‐based criteria previously relied upon have been replaced with a brave new world environment in which anyone can be an authority for 15 minutes simply by hitting the “Edit” or the “Comment” button.Originality/value ‐‐ The paper provides a useful viewpoint on Web 2.0.
Strain range fatigue life assessment of lead‐free solder interconnects subject to temperature cycle loading
Authors: Osterman Michael , Pecht Michael
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The aim is to present temperature fatigue model constants for lead‐free tin‐silver‐copper solder derived from test data and demonstrate the validity of the model using published experimental results.

Design/methodology/approach

Temperature cycle fatigue life data were collected from a controlled set of tests using ceramic leadless chip carriers. Using a regression algorithm, temperature cycle fatigue model constants were derived from fatigue life data. The model was then applied to a variety of package formats including ball grid arrays, quad flatpack and thin small outline packages to determine the validity of the model and constants.

Findings

The temperature cycle fatigue life experimental data were found to be in good agreement with the model with the derived model constants for various package types. Using this model, engineers can determine acceleration factors between test and field temperature cycle conditions.

Research limitations/implications

The technology has been used to ensure inner layer designs with nominal dimensions after the lamination stage. Further, development work should be undertaken to collate measured data from other parts of the PCB manufacturing process and model the material movement around all registration critical processes.

Originality/value

The paper details a temperature cycle fatigue life model and constants that allow engineers to predict field life expectancy and determine the acceleration factor between temperature cycle testing and field use conditions.
High‐cycle fatigue testing of Pb‐free solder joints
Authors: Barry N. , Jones I.P. , Hirst T. , Fox I.M. , Robins J.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The research aims to explore the high‐cycle fatigue performance of Pb‐free alloys and compare them to Sn‐Pb. In doing this, it also aims to demonstrate the viability of a new testing method.

Design/methodology/approach

The method introduced uses existing test equipment in a novel way to combine the speed and applicability of general vibration testing with the control of single, model specimen testing. Model solder joints are constructed in a repeatable manner and repeated tensile stress cycles are applied until failure.

Findings

It is found that in the regime studied, all of the Pb‐free alloys tested show significantly decreased performance compared to Sn‐Pb, at ambient temperatures. No obvious mechanical or microstructural features have been identified as the cause of this discrepancy. The test method employed demonstrates good correlation with existing fatigue test methods despite the known variance of solder mechanical test results.

Research limitations/implications

It is recognised that results pertaining to essentially only a one‐dimensional stress state are obtained, and that practical stresses will vary. The performance difference between Pb and Pb‐free alloys warrants further investigation.

Originality/value

The results obtained are of interest to high‐reliability electronics sectors such as aerospace, defence and automotive, where vibrations in service are encountered. Very little work exists on the subject of solder high‐cycle fatigue performance and to the author's knowledge none comparing Pb to Pb‐free alloys in an objective manner.
Wroe Alderson: father of modern marketing
Authors: Shaw Eric H. , Lazer William , Pirog Stephen F.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that Wroe Alderson's contributions to marketing thought earn him recognition as the “Father of Modern Marketing.”

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive review of writings by and about Alderson, a thorough examination of the history of marketing thought literature, and the personal remembrances of one of the authors, are drawn upon to organize Alderson's numerous contributions to the marketing literature into a small number of categories. Such an organization is expected to provide a big picture overview of Alderson's significant impact on marketing thought.

Findings

Alderson's contributions to the marketing discipline can be organized into three broad categories, which collectively produced a tectonic shift in academic thinking about marketing: from distribution (macro) to marketing management (micro); from economics to the behavioral sciences; and from description and classification to explanation and theory building. These epic transformations have become so embedded in the marketing literature that they are now taken for granted, but they are so significant they represent a paradigm shift in marketing thought. Because of this legacy, the authors argue Wroe Alderson has earned the honorific title: “Father of Modern Marketing.”

Practical implications

This work provides an historical context to understand the origins of modern marketing thought by recognizing the most dynamic marketing thinker of the last half‐century.

Originality/value

This paper organizes the many and varied contributions of Wroe Alderson into broad categories in a context that is useful for researchers studying the history of marketing thought. The organization of Alderson's contributions also provides an historical foundation for scholars working on a general theory of marketing.
Placing Wroe Alderson's contributions to buyer behavior in historical perspective
Authors: Tamilia Robert D.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the contributions of Wroe Alderson to the buyer behavior literature from an historical perspective. His views of the consumer in the 1950s revolutionized the way we now teach and do research in this domain of marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

This research relied heavily on Alderson's own published work and the work of others familiar with his work. The historical research tradition of document interpretation was employed and personal interviews were conducted.

Findings

The findings revealed that Alderson contributed much to buyer behavior thought than is generally believed. This eminent theorist – practitioner was ahead of his time in his conceptualization of the consumer/household purchasing agent as an information processor and a problem solver in the behavioral process of buying and consuming.

Originality/value

A detailed account of Alderson's contributions to the then emerging science of consumer behavior is unique especially in the context of thought contributions originating from other sciences.
An Aldersonian explanation of twenty‐first century “mass customization”
Authors: Goodrich Kendall
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate four of Alderson's key concepts to show how they explain mass customization and extend traditional consumer goods classifications. The four concepts are: heterogeneous markets, transvections, the principle of postponement, and routinized transactions.

Design/methodology/approach

In this exploratory paper, Alderson's main concepts are compared and contrasted with today's marketing phenomena and are used for updating traditional consumer goods categorizations.

Findings

The main concepts of Aldersonian theory discussed in the paper – heterogeneous markets, transvections, postponement and routinized transactions – are a remarkably good fit with today's “mass customization” and logically lead to an enhanced of definition of consumer goods classifications.

Research limitations/implications

This is a conceptual paper meant to emphasize the apparent explanatory power of Alderson's concepts to today's marketing phenomena. Formal propositions have not been developed and tested.

Practical implications

Traditional classifications of goods no longer accurately explain marketing phenomena arising from the growth of the internet and mass customization. Alderson's concepts provide an effective framework for explaining current phenomena and extending outmoded models.

Originality/value

The four main Alderson concepts evaluated in this paper have not been emphasized as a group before, nor have they been utilized to help explain mass customization and extend traditional consumer goods classifications.
A comment on Alderson's intellectual legacy
Authors: Fraedrich John
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain how Wroe Alderson's concepts have been cited and used in the last two decades as well as the gap that still exists for researchers to answer about the grand theory of marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a comment on Alderson's intellectual legacy.

Findings

The practical implication is that Alderson's 150 falsifiable, functionalistic propositions have not been empirically verified.

Originality/value

The paper explains why Alderson's work is still important.
Characterization of commercial clothes dryers based on energy‐efficiency analysis
Authors: To W.M. , Yu T.W. , Lai T.M. , Li S.P.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of commercial clothes dryers based on energy‐efficiency and environmental impact analyses.

Design/methodology/approach

The study consisted of reviewing and examining the energy consumption of clothes dryers. It adopted the US Department of Energy's uniform test method for measuring the energy consumption of electric and gas‐fired commercial clothes dryers. Time efficiency, the cost of drying clothes and the environmental impact caused by the operation of commercial clothes dryers were studied.

Findings

Electric commercial clothes dryers were found to be the most efficiency one in terms of energy per kilogram loadings. However, gas‐fired commercial clothes dryers were found to produce less environmental impact in global terms. Liquefied petroleum gas‐fired commercial clothes dryer was the most cost effective and time efficient.

Research limitations/implications

All tests were conducted using three types of testing loads, namely towels, jeans and thermal clothing. They exhibited homogeneity in the tests but did not reflect the real‐life situations.

Practical implications

The implications of this study include assessing the efficiency of commercial clothes dryers based on standard testing loads for product comparison and increasing the awareness of environmental performance in the laundry industry as well as the clothing industry.

Originality/value

Energy‐efficiency and environmental performance become critical factors in determining competitiveness in all industries. This paper presents a detailed investigation on these aspects and provides insights for the laundry industry and appliance manufacturers.
Application of artificial neural networks to the prediction of sewing performance of fabrics
Authors: Hui Patrick C.L. , Chan Keith C.C. , Yeung K.W. , Ng Frency S.F.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the use of artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict the sewing performance of fabrics. The purpose of this study is to verify the ANN techniques that could be emulated as human decision in the prediction of sewing performance of fabrics.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to verify the ANN techniques that could be emulated as human decision in the prediction of sewing performance of fabrics, 109 data sets of fabrics were tested by using fabric assurance by simple testing system and the sewing performance of each fabric's specimen was assessed by the domain experts. Of these 109 input‐output data pairs, 94 were used to train the proposed backpropagation (BP) neural network for the prediction of the unknown sewing performance of a given fabric, and 15 were used to test the proposed BP neural network.

Findings

After 10,000 iterations of training of BP neural network, the neural network converged to the minimum error level. The experimental results reveal the great potential of the proposed approach in predicting the sewing performance of fabrics for apparel production.

Originality/value

Generally, the fabric's performance in the manufacturing process is judged subjectively by the operators and/or their supervisors. Current methodologies of acquiring fabric property information and predicting fabric sewing performance are still incapable of providing a means for efficient planning and control for the sewing operation. Further, development of techniques to predict the sewing performance of fabric is essential for the current apparel production environment. In this paper, the use of ANN to predict the sewing performance of fabrics in garment manufacturing is investigated.
Anthropometric measurement of premature infants
Authors: Kwok Yi‐lin , Wong Kar‐yin , Ying Bo‐an , Yick Kit‐lun , Yi Li , Chap‐yung Yeung
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present anthropometric measurements on 42 premature infants nursed in the neonatal intensive care unit of Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

Birth information, including maturity, age, gender, birth weight and present weight, were recorded. About 13 body size measurements, including stature, hand girth, armscye girth, chest girth, arm length, max girth, abdomen girth, hand length, thigh girth, shoulder width, head to nape length, inside leg to heel length and foot length, were measured for each infant. Using these data, the body size distribution, the correlation between each body size measurement, and linear regressions of present weight and stature with other body size measurement were analyzed.

Findings

It was found that present weight and stature of premature infants were the most desirable and significant size parameters for the development of a measurement chart for premature infants.

Originality/value

The paper provides anthropometric measurement details of premature infants.
Comparison of body shape between USA and Korean women
Authors: Yim Lee Jeong , Istook Cynthia L. , Ja Nam Yun , Mi Park Sun
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to compare body shape between USA and Korean women. It aims to analyze the distribution and proportion of body shapes of two countries and compare the differences of body shape according to age.

Design/methodology/approach

SizeUSA and SizeKorea measurement data were evaluated using the Female Figure Identification Technique for apparel system developed at North Carolina State University. Once the samples were defined by shape, comparisons were made of the distribution according to age and country through statistical analysis.

Findings

The paper finds that the largest shape category was the rectangle shape in both countries, but the distribution within each shape category for Korean women was different from that of USA women. More body shape categories were found in the USA women than in Korean women. In addition, most body shape categories had different body proportions when comparing the USA women and Korean women. The USA women had the higher measurements in the waist, high hip, and hips height and the larger measurements in the bust, waist, high hip, and hips circumference.

Research limitations/implications

Of the over 6,300 US female subjects in this study, only five failed to be identified by the seven shapes identified. These subjects had over 50.2 in. of hip circumference, over 10 in. larger hips than bust circumference, and over 15.5 in. larger hips than waist circumference. Further refinement of the mathematical definitions or a second group of criteria may be required for sorting the women that have no shape as defined by this study.

Originality/value

The opportunity to compare the body shapes between two very different countries, using national anthropometric survey data, is very rare, indeed. This comparison allows the opportunity to discover ways to improve the sizing systems of each country, as well as impact the development of international sizing standards that could have a significant impact on brands producing product for a variety of international consumers.
The validity of the SERVQUAL and SERVPERF scales
Authors: Carrillat François A. , Jaramillo Fernando , Mulki Jay P.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose is to investigate, the difference between SERVQUAL and SERVPERF's predictive validity of service quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 17 studies containing 42 effect sizes of the relationships between SERVQUAL or SERVPERF with overall service quality (OSQ) are meta‐analyzed.

Findings

Overall, SERVQUAL and SERVPERF are equally valid predictors of OSQ. Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to the measurement context improves its predictive validity; conversely, the predictive validity of SERVPERF is not improved by context adjustments. In addition, measures of services quality gain predictive validity when used in: less individualistic cultures, non‐English speaking countries, and industries with an intermediate level of customization (hotels, rental cars, or banks).

Research limitations/implications

No study, that were using non‐adapted scales were conducted outside of the USA making it impossible to disentangle the impact of scale adaptation vs contextual differences on the moderating effect of language and culture. More comparative studies on the usage of adapted vs non‐adapted scales outside the USA are needed before settling this issue meta‐analytically.

Practical implications

SERVQUAL scales require to be adapted to the study context more so than SERVPERF. Owing to their equivalent predictive validity the choice between SERVQUAL or SERVPERF should be dictated by diagnostic purpose (SERVQUAL) vs a shorter instrument (SERVPERF).

Originality/value

Because of the high statistical power of meta‐analysis, these findings could be considered as a major step toward ending the debate whether SERVPERF is superior to SERVQUAL as an indicator of OSQ.
Customer switching resistance (CSR)
Authors: N'Goala Gilles
Published: September 2007

Purpose

This research attempts to understand why – or why not – customers resist switching service providers when a critical incident occurs. The paper examines how service relationship perceptions, such as perceived equity, trust (perceived reliability and benevolence) and relationship commitment (affective and calculative), enhance relationship maintenance and CSR in many critical situations.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted in the financial service industry on a sample of 1,999 consumers (retail banking) and then conceptualized and measured CSR in several critical situations.

Findings

The paper demonstrates that perceived equity, perceived reliability, perceived benevolence, affective commitment, and calculative commitment do not influence CSR the same way. CSR mainly depends on the type of critical incident which occurs. For instance, calculative commitment, which is an evaluation of the costs associated with leaving the service provider, enhances CSR in three critical situations (service encounter failures, employee responses to service failures, pricing problems), whereas it leads to relationship disengagement in two other critical situations (inconvenience, changes in the consumer or service provider situation).

Research limitations/implications

This research highlights the need to better take into account the different types of critical incident discussed in the relationship marketing literature and to better consider the complementary roles of perceived equity, trust and relationship commitment in the service switching literature.

Originality/value

This research implies that service companies have to anticipate the critical incidents and to develop specific “shock absorbers” to continue doing business with their current customers.
Perception and attribution of employees' effort and abilities
Authors: Specht Nina , Fichtel Sina , Meyer Anton
Published: September 2007

Purpose

Do customers recognize the effort and abilities of employees in service encounters? If so, to what extent do their perceptions influence customer satisfaction? The paper seeks to answer these questions.

Design/methodology/approach

Two empirical studies, including a critical incident study and a video‐based experiment. Theoretically, this paper builds on motivation theory, naïve psychology, and attribution theory.

Findings

Customers spontaneously and explicitly judge service encounters on the basis of service employees' effort and abilities, perceived through certain behavioral cues. The specific, direct impact of perceived effort and abilities on customer satisfaction varies for different service types.

Research limitations/implications

Taking different dependent variables into account (e.g. customer emotions, customer loyalty and brand perceptions) might offer a valuable contribution to the fields of service or brand research.

Practical implications

Companies must examine customers' perceptions of their employees' encounter behavior in depth to evaluate and effectively and efficiently manage perceived effort and abilities as the main determinants of customer satisfaction. They should acknowledge behavioral training represents a significant satisfaction management approach.

Originality/value

The paper offers interdisciplinary theoretical foundation, brings in innovative research methods and combines content and methodology to a new scientific framework for the field of service research as well as practical application for companies.
Multi‐unit management key success factors in the casual dining restaurant industry
Authors: DiPietro Robin B. , Murphy Kevin S. , Rivera Manuel , Muller Christopher C.
Published: September 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the job characteristics or key success factors of current multi‐unit managers (MUMs) in a large casual dining restaurant organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a case study methodology which was used to survey a group of 71 MUMs in one organization regarding characteristics of their job. There were a total of 53 respondents for a 74.65 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine whether any of the 24 characteristics could be condensed into “factors”.

Findings

The paper finds that the eight factors that emerged as key success factors were: single unit operations, standard operating procedures, multi‐unit strategic planning, interpersonal and social responsibilities, travel and visiting units, human relations, effective leadership, and unit level finances, which explained 75 percent of the variance among the individual items.

Research limitations/implications

The paper shows that the current study is limited in its generalizeability as the case study methodology is used. The current study does give researchers a start on categorizing key success factors of MUMs in the twenty‐first century.

Practical implications

The paper can help practitioners to develop training programs for MUMs, as well as to help them recruit people for their MUM ranks that exhibit the skills and knowledge needed to perform the key factors that emerged from the study.

Originality/value

The paper takes the topic of multi‐unit management and develops a model for the key success factors needed for successful operation at that level in an organization. This paper is important for researchers in order to help develop research questions for the future. It is valuable for top management in organizations in order to help them to create development programs and to focus recruitment efforts. MUM is underrepresented in the restaurant industry by females and younger people and this study can help to develop people in these groups.