bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Surprise and sense making: undergraduate placement experiences in SMEs
Authors: Walmsley Andreas , Thomas Rhodri , Jameson Stephanie
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper seeks to explore undergraduate placement experiences in tourism and hospitality SMEs, focusing on the notions of surprise and sense making. It aims to argue that surprises and sense making are important elements not only of the adjustment process when entering new work environments, but also of the learning experience that placements provide.

Design/methodology/approach

In‐depth interviews were conducted with 20 students who had recently completed a 48 week placement.

Findings

The paper finds that the surprises students encountered were not as dramatic as the literature on organisational entry suggests. This is partially explained by students already having gained substantial amounts of work experience prior to the placement. A number of SME‐characteristic employment experiences were confirmed while others were questioned.

Research limitations/implications

Further detailed research is required that takes a more holistic account of the placement experience in order to understand more fully the impact of placement on learning and career choices.

Practical implications

The paper raises important questions about the value of undergraduate placements in an age of mass higher education where many students work part‐time.

Originality/value

An apparent lack of reflection hindered the sense making process, which raises questions as to whether placements are achieving their potential for experiential learning.
Collaborations, courses, and competitions
Authors: Chapman David , Skinner Jeff
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper aims to detail a range of collaborative programmes developed by University College London (UCL) and the London Business School (LBS). These schemes have been developed to exploit synergies between the two institutions with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship within the fields of science and technology.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports on the organisation and delivery of programmes drawing upon a detailed attendance statistics for UCL participants in the programme between 2,000 and 2006.

Research limitations/implications

Many of the UCL research students who have participated in these programmes are only now reaching the end of their study or research programmes. Thus, it has not, as yet, been possible to complete a longitudinal survey to consider the impact of these programmes on entrepreneurial outcomes. These analyses will be reported in subsequent papers.

Practical implications

Staff and students of both institutions report great enthusiasm for these collaborative activities and the authors are now focussed on their extension beyond the end of the current funding regime. It is believed that the collaborations described may form a model that can be adapted to other partnerships between science and engineering faculties and business schools.

Originality/value

This scheme is original in its focus on support for post‐graduate activities between two proximate yet quite separate world‐class institutions with radically different student intakes, and operational/business models. It is believed that the paper presents a useful model for those seeking to implement similar collaborative programmes.
Career advancement of hotel managers since graduation: a comparative study
Authors: Garavan Thomas N. , O'Brien Fergal , O'Hanlon Deborah
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To investigate the factors predicting the career progression of hotel managers working in international hotel chains in Ireland, Europe and Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a cross‐sectional questionnaire design consisting of 337 respondents. It investigates individual‐ and organisational‐level factors that potentially explain the career progression of hotel managers.

Findings

The study reveals significant differences in managerial progression in the three sub‐samples. A multiplicity of factors explains differences in advancement. These include demographic, human capital, psychological characteristics of the manager and organisational characteristics. The model developed in the paper explained significant variance in three measures of managerial advancement: salary level, number of job moves, and position reached in the hierarchy.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on self‐report data and the response rates are slightly below those reported for behavioural science research. The study does not gather the perceptions of the managers' superiors. The findings indicate that managerial advancement is explained by a complex set of factors, which would benefit from further investigation.

Practical implications

The study findings suggest important practical implications for the provision of training and development, individual and organisational career strategies, the role of networking in advancement and the respective roles of managers and organisations in managing careers.

Originality/value

The paper has a cross‐cultural dimension which to date is largely absent from this area of research.
Postscript to change: survivors' retrospective views of organizational changes
Authors: Chreim Samia
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To analyze lower level employees' retrospective views of their experience with organizational changes introduced by management; to provide a typology of change responses based on employees' interpretations.

Design/methodology/approach

Canadian bank employees' accounts of their experience with change were obtained in interviews and analyzed using established guidelines for qualitative data analysis. A typology of change responses (acceptance, resigned compliance, avoidance/opposition, and ambivalence) was derived from the data. Links are made to the literature on readiness for, compliance with and resistance to, change, and to the literatures on framing and on identity as they inform responses to change.

Findings

Among others, the findings indicate: that changes that are compatible with employees' role identity or that are viewed as enhancing organizational identity tend to be easily embraced; the extensive prevalence of the “resigned compliance” response; that lack of participation in change decisions may be a common expectation among employees of large bureaucratic organizations that seek uniformity across widely dispersed geographic units; and opposition to change may be functional from an organizational standpoint.

Research limitations/implications

Several research implications are outlined including the need for theories to consider that change has been ubiquitous and that its pervasiveness can place its legitimacy beyond questioning. Research limitation includes the fact that the study focused on change survivors and did not have access to employees who had willingly left, or were asked to leave the organization as changes were being implemented.

Practical implications

The study provides an understanding of the dynamics that underlie different responses to change. Understanding such dynamics is essential for the performance of the change agent role.

Originality/value

Unlike much of the extant literature that tends to focus on the managerial view of change and on managerial framing, this study contributes the lower level employee perspective on, and framing of, change. In contrast with other studies of change that attend to a specific change situation, this article focuses on experiences with multiple changes and on the general view of change held by participants. The study also addresses a gap in the literature, as empirical studies have failed to tie responses to change to identity dynamics.
The internal labour market and the employment of temporary help workers in Spain
Authors: Matías‐Reche Fernando , Mar Fuentes‐Fuentes Maria
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To ascertain whether any relationship exists between the main processes of human resource management involved in the internal labour market (training and internal recruitment) and the use of temporary help workers (THW) in Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

Take into account the perspective complementary between internal and external employment systems, a questionnaire was sending by mail to a selected sample of companies to get information.

Findings

The results confirm that a relationship does exist between the use of THW and training and internal recruitment. Also reveal the effects of the size upon these processes and the use of THW.

Research limitations/implications

The main drawbacks are that of not using a wider sample. The findings will not be fully extrapolable to other countries. Future works could be directed towards testing a model of the relationship between the use of THW and a greater number of parameters, and a wider sample of miscellaneous countries.

Practical implications

The training effort (TE) per employee and internal recruitment may be positively influenced by the employment of THW, which may be a source of motivation and increased productivity on the part of the regular staff.

Originality/value

This paper shows that the use of THW could favour the appearance and development of an internal labour market, supporting the perspective that internal and external employment systems are complements.
Collaborative reference work in the blogosphere
Authors: Pomerantz Jeffrey , Stutzman Frederic
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper explores the use of blogs as a platform for providing reference service, and discusses Lyceum, an open source software project from ibiblio.org, for this purpose.

Design/methodology/approach

The following topics are explored: the evolution of libraries' uses of blogs, the advantages of conducting the reference transaction as a collaborative effort, and the use of blogs as an environment that fosters collaboration. The argument is made that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services

Findings

It is argued that blogs may be used to good effect in reference services. Lyceum, an open source blogosphere application, is discussed as an environment for blog‐based reference service.

Originality/value

To date, blogs are not being used by a library reference services, and by few online reference service unaffiliated with libraries. This paper will be useful to libraries and other reference services interested in conducting the reference transaction as a community effort.
Visual information literacy via visual means: three heuristics
Authors: Harris Benjamin R.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper offers definitions and application scenarios for three interdisciplinary heuristics designed to encourage a more holistic view of texts with the objective of raising awareness and enhancing the information literacy of student researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the thesis that visual texts and images should be considered in information literacy theory and practice, a selection of three visual heuristics found to be useful in instruction session situations are explained and described in a practical teaching situation.

Findings

These three heuristics can be used in a number of ways for different audiences to encourage critical thinking about the context, components, and the communication process involved in presenting texts used by students (from books, to journal and newspaper articles, and web sites).

Research limitations/implications

There are other useful heuristics that have not been considered within the scope of this study. Other readers and researchers may locate and discuss other means by which these ends can be achieved.

Originality/value

A number of texts in the professional literature have discussed whether or not visual literacy and images should be considerations for information literacy advocates. Few have offered specific interdisciplinary examples that might be used to experiment with or achieve such an aim.
Information commons at Brigham Young University: past, present, and future
Authors: Whitchurch Michael J. , Jeffrey Belliston C. , Baer William
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that the idea and implementation of information commons' is becoming more prevalent in the academic library community. Many of these have been implemented in what were once General Reference areas of libraries. This paper discusses the process and experience of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University, including concept development, acceptance and implementation. In addition, the first 18 months of operation and our visions for the future of our implementation are contained herein. One of the major themes of the paper is that change in an information commons is inevitable.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a case study of the information commons implementation done at Brigham Young University.

Findings

The paper shows the implementation of the information commons at Brigham Young University has been very successful and it will continue to adapt as higher education practice at the University continues to change.

Practical implications

This paper shows that the jury is still out as concerns “best practices” in information commons' design, Brigham Young University's experience constitutes a case study, which may very well emerge as an example of “best practice.”

Originality/value

Shows that the experience at Brigham Young University will help other academic institutions as they contemplate implementing an information commons or changing a current implementation.
RFID 101: the next big thing for management
Authors: Wyld David C.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This article examines the phenomenon of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology and its implications for both management practice and research over the next decade.

Design/methodology/approach

The article examines RFID, incorporating the latest information and research findings on how the technology is being utilized today and planned for in the future. The article uses both academic and practitioner‐oriented resources to support its findings.

Findings

RFID is an emerging technology that is forecast to grow exponentially in use over the next decade. RFID, which uses radio waves to identify objects, is projected to rapidly supplant bar code technology as the principal means of identifying items in the supply chain and in a wide variety of applications. This overview of the fundamentals of RFID is presented to give the reader a working knowledge of the technology.

Research limitations/implications

The article looks over the horizon at implications for management research, outlining how this represents a greenfield opportunity for research directed at a wide variety of topics and settings in the broad management discipline.

Practical implications

The article concludes with a look at RFID's implications for our day‐to‐day business and personal lives, including a number of cutting‐edge applications for the technology.

Originality/value

In this article, the author gives the history of RFID technology, how it works, how it differs from bar codes from a technical and operational perspective, and how RFID provides organizations with a unique opportunity to create value through the use of this new media technology.
Can a project champion bias project selection and, if so, how can we avoid it?
Authors: Lefley Frank
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper sets out to empirically investigate whether a “project champion” can have an undue influence at the project selection stage and, if so, how this can be both identified and controlled.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology is based on a single case study and is part of a much wider research investigation.

Findings

The case clearly shows that a “project champion” can have a biased influence on project selection. It was shown that in this particular case the “project champion” deemed the project‐specific risks to be lower than that suggested by other appraisal team members and that the strategic benefits to be derived from the project to be higher. Both these influences make the project look more attractive and can result in a project being accepted, which may not be in the best interests of the organisation. By using the financial appraisal profile (FAP) model the organisation was able to identify this bias and reduce its influence.

Research limitations/implications

Generalisability is an issue with case studies. It is believed that this paper not only provides empirical evidence confirming what may have intuitively been suspected, but also provides a solution to the problem.

Practical implications

By empirically identifying the adverse influence a project champion may have at the project selection stage will allow practitioners to take account of this bias.

Originality/value

This paper presents a model and case study that shows how project champions play a role and how this role may be used in evaluation of projects. Project champion roles in this environment have been only rarely studied.
What managers should know about ERP/ERP II
Authors: Beheshti Hooshang M.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of enterprise resource planning (ERP) on organizations and discusses critical issues that should be considered by managers and decision makers who are considering implementing an ERP/ERP II system.

Design/methodology/approach

Extensive literature review and the author's professional experience on the topic provide the foundation for this article.

Findings

ERP/ERP II are designed to improve competitiveness by upgrading an organization's ability to generate timely and accurate information throughout the enterprise and its supply chain. The goal of an ERP/ERP II is to integrate all business units of an organization and to create a system that is capable of providing up‐to‐date and relevant information for the corporation's decision makers and employees as well as business partners. The investment that is required is significant, sometimes running into the hundreds of millions of dollars and the decision to purchase and implement an ERP system is one of the most important decisions a manager will have to make.

Practical implications

Implementing ERP systems often requires organizational change and commitment by top managers. Participation by decision makers and executives from the acquisition phase to the end is essential to the success of ERP/ERP II. Factors that managers should consider are outlined in the study.

Originality/value

This paper provides useful information to both academicians and practitioners who are interested in ERP.
Single startup's failure to reshape individual/institutional memories to create a pen computer world
Authors: Chacko George K.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The singular success of Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. in rescuing IBM from dismemberment and destruction in terms of his shifting the institutional memory of 300,000 employees from corporate politics to customer service focus, has been expalined memory management explain failures as well?

Design/methodology/approach

Chacko (memory management in survival decisions of corportions 1956‐2003, Barmarick Publications, UK, 2006) published a sequence of ordered procedures (protocol) of memory management: memory management disequilibria dimensions (MD)2 protocol. This paper applies the protocol to the birth and death of the GO computer.

Findings

The memory management disequilibria dimensions (MD)2 protocol analyzes accurately the Jerry Kaplan narrative of founding on August 14, 1987, the GO corporation to AT&T firing the last remaining employees of EO, the spin‐off of GO on July 29, 1994. (MD)2 Step 1: Chief Ntrapreneur officer will to win became a casualty, founder CTO/CNO Kaplan reflecting that money wasn’t the problem, but loss of faith of the chief financial officer on the viability, of the Software VP on the development schedules, of the CEO on market momentum, and of the CTO/ECO on the “stick‐to‐itveness” of the new management team.

Orginality/value

The habit patterns of thought and action that make a corporation/country unique are instructed/inscribed in individual/institional memory. This paper demonstrates that the (MD)2 protocol explains both success and failure, providing a basis to make memory management effective.
Off the rails: factors affecting track worker safety in the rail industry
Authors: Baldry Chris , Ellison James
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to focus on the serious but under‐examined incidence of fatalities and injuries among rail trackworkers. It identifies the pressures on trackwork, locating them within an analysis of the economic structure of the privatised rail industry and illustrates the consequences of these pressures at the operational level.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of semi‐structured interviews was held with management representatives of the infrastructure and maintenance companies, rail safety bodies and officials and representatives of the RMT. These were supplemented by focus‐group style discussions with track maintenance workers in Scotland and the North of England. The paper then relates these qualitative data to the analysis of recent major incidents which have involved fatalities of rail employees.

Findings

Within the structure of the post‐privatised industry, improvements to the safety regime are always in danger of being constrained by countervailing economic and organisational pressures. There is a marked discrepancy between the higher level safety structure and the experience of employees at track level.

Practical implications

There is virtually no workforce input into the construction of safety procedures despite the fact that rail workers' commitment to the industry represents a large untapped resource for safety improvement.

Originality/value

The rail industry in general, and trackwork in particular, have been conspicuously under‐researched since privatisation.
Job retention and return to work of ill and injured workers
Authors: James Philip , Cunningham Ian , Dibben Pauline
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to put forward a conceptual framework which details the policies and practices that can potentially contribute to the effective management of long‐term absences, and hence the return to work and retention of ill and injured workers, and considers how far UK employers currently do have in place management arrangements which accord with those detailed in this framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework detailed was developed by reference to secondary literature and the outcomes of a conference of relevant stakeholders. Available research evidence was then utilised to test the validity of this framework and to assess how far employers make use of the types of policies and practices identified in it.

Findings

The research evidence reviewed lent a good deal of support to the propositions put forward in the conceptual framework as to the processes and practices that are central to the development of effective workplace rehabilitation programmes, as well as the internal and external factors that potentially influence the adoption and operation of them. It also indicated that there is a good deal of scope for employers to do far more to support the continued employment of ill, injured and disabled workers, particularly in smaller organisations.

Practical implications

More needs to be done to encourage employers to adopt the types of policies and practices detailed in the conceptual framework and careful thought needs to be given to whether this encouragement is best provided by legislative or non‐legal means.

Originality/value

The central issue addressed, namely the management of long‐term absence, is one that has been little explored in the existing human resource literature.
Libraries and environmental management
Authors: Rowley Jennifer
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper opens the debate on the contribution that libraries can, and might, make to their environment.

Design/approach/methodology

Analyses libraries' explicit commitment to environmental issues in their public statements. Suggests that they may be lagging behind major businesses. Challenges for libraries in relation to environmental management are discussed both in relation to strategic and policy issues, and in relation to the issues posed by digitization of information resources.

Findings

This paper finds that libraries' commitment to environmental issues is significant but implicit rather than explicit and there is scope for more coordinated debate, policy‐making and actions in this arena, especially in the face of some of the challenges that digitization poses.

Originality/value

The information contained in this article will be of interest to those involved in library management and specifically those committed to environmental issues.
An analysis of Independent Schools Inspectorate reports to assess the state of school libraries in the independent secondary school sector in England and Wales
Authors: Turner Richard
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This research paper is part of a PhD research project into the management of secondary school libraries in the independent sector in England and Wales. It aims to demonstrate one method of providing qualitative evidence of library provision in such schools.

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper uses the inspection reports of independent schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) as a qualitative source of information about the provision of school library services within the independent secondary school sector in England and Wales

Findings

The reports indicate that there is a wide range of quality in independent school libraries, just as there are in those schools run by local education authorities.

Research limitations/implications

This paper outlines just one method of assessing the state of school libraries in independent secondary schools. Other methods are being used in the wider PhD research project.

Practical implications

Because independent schools are by their very nature self managed and independently run, the use of ISI reports provides an autonomous, external appraisal of individual schools which will contribute to providing a clearer picture of the whole sector. The research will eventually provide practical advice and guidance to school library practitioners as well as the wider school librarianship and independent school sectors.

Originality/value

The use of inspection reports as a qualitative appraisal of independent schools will be original. While the general school library sector is researched, there has been very little done specifically on independent secondary schools, which educate 7 per cent of the secondary school population in England and Wales.
Self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies and team performance
Authors: Politis John D.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Examines the relationship between the dimensions of self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies, job satisfaction and team performance. It also evaluates the extent to which job satisfaction mediates the influence of self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies on team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Involves a questionnaire‐based survey of employees from a manufacturing organisation operating in Australia. A total of 304 useable questionnaires were received from employees who are engaged in self‐managing activities. These were subjected to a series of correlational and regression analyses.

Findings

There are three major findings in this research. First, the relationship between self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies and job satisfaction is direct, positive and significant. Second, the relationship between job satisfaction and team performance is positive and significant. Finally, the results have clearly shown that job satisfaction mediates the relation between self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies and team performance.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional nature of the study renders it vulnerable to some problems so that future studies should measure self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies, job satisfaction and performance using longitudinal data and/or data from multiple sources.

Practical implications

The study suggests that organisations emphasising empowerment should utilise training programs aimed at developing employees' self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies that focus on self‐assessment, self‐reward and self‐discipline.

Originality/value

The paper is the first to examine self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies influences through a covariance structure analysis. It also clarifies the mediating affects of job satisfaction on the self‐leadership behavioural‐focused strategies/team performance relationship.
Organization communication, job stress, organizational commitment, and job performance of accounting professionals in Taiwan and America
Authors: Chen Jui‐Chen , Silverthorne Colin , Hung Jung‐Yao
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To further understand the impact of organizational communication and commitment on job stress and performance. Over the past 20 years, the constructs of organizational commitment and communication have been studied extensively but little attention has been paid to the relationship between them and other organizational variables such as job performance and stress. Also, differences between employees either in managerial or full time accounting positions and between respondents from the USA and Taiwan were evaluated.

Design/methodology/approach

Differences and relationships were assessed using standardized and valid instruments measuring four organizational variables in Taiwan and the USA.

Findings

No country level difference in stress and communication levels were found but organizational commitment and performance levels were higher in the USA. At the same time, higher levels of organizational communication led to higher levels of organizational commitment and job performance in both countries. Rather surprisingly, stress levels were not found to be related to either organizational communication or job performance. Further, the only measure that indicated a difference between those in managerial and full time accounting positions was work performance which was higher for those doing full time accounting.

Practical implications

The results are discussed in terms of their importance and implications for organizations, particularly those utilizing employees with professional training and operating in different cultures. The finding that stress levels were not reduced by increased organizational communication and had little impact on job performance suggests that in the accounting field stress may play a different role than it does in other professions.

Originality/value

Furthers our understanding on the impact of organizational communication and commitment on job stress and performance.
Examining the relationship between leadership, emotional intelligence and intuition in senior female managers
Authors: Downey L.A. , Papageorgiou V. , Stough C.
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To assess the relationship between leadership style, intuition, and emotional intelligence (EI) measured by a general and a workplace specific measure of EI in female managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study consisted of 176 female managers from several industries across Australia who completed a questionnaire battery consisting of the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ), the cognitive style index (CSI), the trait meta‐mood scale (TMMS), and the workplace Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (workplace SUEIT).

Findings

The results indicated that female managers displaying transformational leadership behaviours were more likely to display higher levels of EI and intuition than female managers displaying less transformational leadership behaviours. The workplace measure of EI was found to be the better predictor of transformational leadership behaviours than the general measure of EI, which was attributed to the workplace specific nature of the workplace SUEIT.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of this research suggested the greater utility of workplace specific EI measures when concurrently assessing workplace outcomes. Research into leadership, EI and intuition may increase our understanding of effective leadership and could lead to the development of better tools for the selection, training and development of leaders.

Originality/value

This paper extends upon prior research that has identified a relationship between transformational leadership and EI, and also explores their relationship to the construct of intuition in female managers. It also addresses the important issue of the utility of two measures of EI in light of the workplace nature of the research.
Plotting future UK robotics research programmes
Authors: Rooks Brian
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To report on a workshop, “Future UK Robotics Research Opportunities and Challenges”, held at Salford University in November 2005.

Design/methodology/approach

The driver for the workshop was fear that the UK could miss out on future opportunities in the robotics market, which recent figures suggest could be six times larger in 20 years' time compared with today. The workshop was split into two main sessions. In the morning, the theme was funding sources currently available for research programmes, with presentations from representatives of the European Commission, EURON (the European Robotics Research Network), EUROP (European Robotics Platform) and the UK EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council). All these bodies can provide support to UK researchers for appropriate projects. In the afternoon, the focus was on the technical challenges for robotics particularly in the service domain, which is forecast to be the big growth area. Three areas were discussed: human‐robot interfaces, robot modularisation and field robotics. Finally, the outcomes from a final “break out” session are given, the main proposal being a UK national “Grand Challenge” that would reinforce the relevance of robotics to future everyday life.

Findings

There are many opportunities in both the funding of and the challenges to UK (and other European) researchers in robotics, particularly in service environments.

Originality/value

Provides a review of the current status of European robotics research programmes and the fundings available to UK teams.
Learning to plan for robots using generalized representations
Authors: Pisokas John , Gu Dongbing , Hu Huosheng
Published: July 2006

Purpose

Robots operating in the real world should be able to make decisions and plan ahead their actions. We argue that learning using generalized representations of the robot's experience can assist such a ability.

Design/methodology/approach

We present results from our research on methods for enabling mobile robots to plan their actions using generalized representations of their experience. Such generalized representations are acquired through a learning phase during which the robot explores its environment and builds subsymbolic (connectionist) representations of the result that its actions have to its sensory perception. Then these representations are employed by the robot for autonomously determining task‐achieving sequences of actions (plans),for attaining assigned tasks.

Findings

Such subsymbolic mechanisms can employ generalization techniques in order to pursue plans through unexplored regions of the robot's environment.

Originality/value

Subsymbolic motion planning can autonomously determine task‐achieving sequences of actions in real environments, without using presupplied symbolic knowledge, but instead generating novel plans using previously acquired subsymbolic representations.
On distributed mechatronics controller for omni‐directional autonomous guided vehicles
Authors: Sylvester Tlale Nkgatho
Published: July 2006

Purpose

In this paper, two omni‐directional mobile vehicles are designed and controlled implementing distributed mechatronics controllers. Omni‐directionality is the ability of mobile vehicle to move instantaneously in any direction. It is achieved by implementing Mecanum wheels in one vehicle and conventional wheels in another vehicle. The control requirements for omni‐directionality using the two above‐mentioned methods are that each wheel must be independently driven, and that all the four wheels must be synchronized in order to achieve the desired motion of each vehicle.

Design/methodology/approach

Distributed mechatronics controllers implementing Controller Area Network (CAN) modules are used to satisfy the control requirements of the vehicles. In distributed control architectures, failures in other parts of the control system can be compensated by other parts of the system. Three‐layered control architecture is implemented for; time‐critical tasks, event‐based tasks, and task planning. Global variables and broadcast communication is used on CAN bus. Messages are accepted in individual distributed controller modules by subscription.

Findings

Increase in the number of distributed modules increases the number of CAN bus messages required to achieve smooth working of the vehicles. This requires development of higher layer to manage the messages on the CAN bus.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of the research is that analysis of the distributed controllers that were developed is complex, and that there are no universally accepted tool for conducting the analysis. The other limitation is that teh mathematical models of the mobile robot that have been developed need to be verified.

Practical implications

In the design of omni‐directional vehicles, reliability of the vehicle can be improved by modular design of mechanical system and electronic system of the wheel modules and the sensor modules.

Originality/value

The paper tries to show the advantages of distributed controller for omni‐directional vehicles. To the author's knowledge, that is a new concept.
Exploring adaptive locomotion with YaMoR, a novel autonomous modular robot with Bluetooth interface
Authors: Moeckel Rico , Jaquier Cyril , Drapel Kevin , Dittrich Elmar , Upegui Andres , Jan Ijspeert Auke
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper aims to present a novel modular robot that provides a flexible framework for exploring adaptive locomotion.

Design/methodology/approach

A new modular robot is presented called YaMoR (for “Yet another Modular Robot”). Each YaMoR module contains an FPGA and a microcontroller supporting a wide range of control strategies and high computational power. The Bluetooth interface included in each YaMoR module allows wireless communication between the modules and controlling the robot from a PC. A control software called Bluemove was developed and implemented that allows easy testing of the capabilities for locomotion of a large variety of robot configurations.

Findings

With the help of the control software called Bluemove, different configurations of the YaMoR modules were tested like a wheel, caterpillar or configurations with limbs and their capabilities for locomotion.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates that modular robots can act as a powerful framework for exploring locomotion of a large variety of different types of robots. Although present research is limited to exploring locomotion, YaMoR modules are designed to be general purpose and support a variety of applications.
Using signs for configuring work tasks of service robots
Authors: Heikkilä Mikko , Terho Sami , Hirsi Minna , Halme Aarne , Forsman Pekka
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe how signs can be used as a part of the work task scenarios with service robot.

Design/methodology/approach

The signs are used to control a work task of a mobile service robot. Tests are done in real outdoor and non‐structured environments with the WorkPartner robot. In the test scenario the signs are used to define the boundaries of a working area. Two different kinds of signs are tested: passive and active.

Findings

The signs can be used as a simple way to define the parameters of a work task. One of the advantages is usability. For example, the signs can just be carried to the working area and no other actions are needed.

Research limitations/implications

The tests focused only on bounding the working area with signs. Using the signs for pointing a direction, marking a route, or defining a location of a single target will be tested in the future.

Practical implications

Signs are an easy way to configure work tasks of service robots. The concept can be applied to various kinds of mobile robots.

Originality/value

The signs are introduced as an alternative or complementary tool for passing information of the task plan of a work task from the human operator to the service robot.
Central city socio‐economic characteristics and public participation strategies
Authors: Silverman Robert Mark
Published: July 2006

Purpose

This article aims to examine the mechanisms used by municipalities to stimulate public participation and, in part, to argue that contrasts between the socio‐economic make‐up of central cities in the USA and Canada explain these divergent techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is based on a survey of planning departments measuring the types of public participation strategies used by local governments.

Findings

The article's findings indicate that Canadian municipalities adopt a broader range of public participation techniques related to: voluntarism and public engagement, neighborhood and strategic planning, and e‐government. In contrast, the article's findings indicate that US municipalities are more likely to promote public participation through mechanisms such as annual community meetings and referendums on public issues.

Research limitations/implications

The conclusion of the article offers recommendations for expanding the scope of public participation and developing strategies that maximize citizen input in community development activities in both countries.

Practical implications

The survey was conducted to identify the scope of public participation techniques used by local governments in the Niagara region. One limitation of this methodology is that it does not gauge the effectiveness of the participation techniques used by local governments or the intensity of public engagement. However, the results from this study provide future researchers with a mechanism for focusing future analysis.

Originality/value

The findings can assist in identifying new directions for enhancing public participation in the USA and Canada.
Employee stock option plan and employee attitudes
Authors: Selvarajan T.T. , Ramamoorthy Nagarajan , Flood Patrick , Rowley Peter
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The objective of this research is to present a causal model of the influence of stock options on psychological contract and employee attitudes, and report results of an initial empirical examination of this model.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the model, data were collected using a survey methodology from 98 employees in a large financial services firm. Multiple‐regression equations were used to derive the path coefficients.

Findings

The psychological contract variable of met expectations mediated the relationships between stock options and tenure intent and organizational commitment thus providing support for the intrinsic value model. Equity perceptions mediated the relationship between stocks exercised and met expectations. Equity perceptions, however, did not mediate the relationship between stock options and employee attitudes. Similarly, stock earnings also had a direct effect on external career intent indicating that employees who had exercised their stock options were looking for outside career opportunities contrary to our hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies should attempt to reconcile the intrinsic versus extrinsic value stock options may have on employee attitudes. These results should be considered tentative and interpreted with caution due to the cross‐sectional nature of data. The support for the intrinsic model suggests that organizations that use stock options may expect positive attitudes from their employees.

Originality/value

This is believed to be the first study that attempts to develop and test a causal model.
IT use in supporting TQM initiatives: an empirical investigation
Authors: Sánchez‐Rodríguez Cristóbal , Dewhurst Frank W. , Rafael Martínez‐Lorente Angel
Published: July 2006

Purpose

To provide insights into current IT and total quality management (TQM) theory and practice on operational and quality performance, in particular the use of IT in supporting TQM policies and practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses derived from the key features of TQM and IT presented by previous authors are tested using structural equation modelling through field research on a sample of 234 manufacturing companies in Spain.

Findings

The results indicate that the sampled firms make considerable use of IT to support their TQM initiatives and that overall such efforts generate significant positive gains on operational and quality performance. The few exceptions to this are noted and discussed.

Research limitations/implications

The implications and limitations of the survey together with suggestions for further research are fully discussed.

Practical implications

A survey of IT in support of TQM initiatives on operational and quality performance in manufacturing suggests how firms and other organisations should focus their IT investments to improve performance.

Originality/value

Both information technology and TQM have had, and continue to have, a significant impact on most organizations. Although each paradigm has been widely researched there is little empirical research on the relationship between the two and how they both relate to business performance.
Using learning networks to enable industrial development
Authors: Morris Mike , Bessant John , Barnes Justin
Published: July 2006

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of inter‐firm learning and the ways in which “learning networks” can be established and facilitated. Underlying this is the argument that significant traction on the problem of organizational learning – in this case around process innovations – can be gained through deploying structured and purposeful inter‐organizational learning networks.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on three case studies drawn from the experience of firms in South Africa, covering both vertical (supply chain) and horizontal (cross‐sector) groupings in automotive components and timber products.

Findings

The paper reports on the ways in which the learning networks were set‐up and operated, mapping this experience against a model framework which emphasizes a number of core operational processes. It suggests that the success of both the automotive component groupings and the failure of the timber products network can be explained through reference to this model and the different approaches taken to managing these core processes.

Research limitations/implications

The research reported here draws on a small number of detailed cases and further work is needed to verify the model and the guidelines for action.

Practical implications

The paper highlights guidelines for policy agents – for example, in business support agencies or regional development authorities – in setting up and running effective learning networks.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to theory around inter‐organizational networking and organizational learning and provides micro‐level detail of how learning networks can be established and sustained.