bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changing industrial relations in the Swedish public sector
Authors: Thörnqvist Christer
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to provide an overview of changes in the context of the Swedish public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

It reviews the main literature on the topic and relevant policy texts.

Findings

In short, even though the last decade and a half has been a most turbulent period in the history of the Swedish public sector, with its peak in two great strikes, the framework has remained substantially intact. Swedish path dependency has been so strong that the system has largely survived; it has moved towards “organized decentralization”, but it has not dissolved. It is probable that the end of that move has not yet been seen; the Swedish system is still transforming.

Research limitations/implications

It is a general overview of key developments.

Practical implications

It is relevant for a discussion of the general trends and dynamic of public sector industrial relations in Sweden.

Originality/value

This article manages to take an overview and point to the uncertain development of a new market approach.
The progress of female police officers?
Authors: Dick Gavin , Metcalfe Beverley
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish empirically whether there is any foundation in the premise that female officers' lesser tenure and/or lower levels of commitment than men explain their lack of career progress. Although the number of women in UK police forces has grown rapidly, it appears that they continue to be under‐represented in senior ranks.

Design/methodology/approach

Using whole population surveys of two county police forces in the UK the paper compares the promotion of men and women police officers controlling for tenure. The paper then compares the organisational commitment of male and female officers and analyses whether female officers experience managerial and organisational influences that undermine their organisational commitment compared to men.

Findings

The findings refute some of the widespread beliefs about reasons for female officers' lack of progress in their policing careers since the analysis indicates that gender differences in length of tenure and organisational commitment can be discounted as possible explanations for lack of advancement in these two police forces. Overall, the results clearly show that female officers are just as committed as male officers and thus cannot be justified as a reason for lack of career progression.

Research limitations/implications

It is accepted that survey methods such as ours do not capture the entirety of employee feelings and responses since they tend to homogenise male and female working experiences. However, survey methods do have the advantage that it is possible to generalise from the results and thus these two studies allow us to suggest that our findings can be viewed as providing insights to other UK police forces.

Practical implications

The relatively low levels of organisational commitment found should be a cause for concern for senior managers in the Police. The key importance that management has in influencing organisational commitment has been shown by our findings and this indicates the importance of the current Police Leadership Development Board's agenda to improve workforce management skills to encourage transformational leadership styles.

Originality/value

The paper make an original contribution by refuting widely held assumptions about the reasons for under‐representation of female officers in senior ranks. It also contributes to the sparse literature that examines organisational commitment in the police and its antecedents.
Introducing quality assurance: an exercise in audacity
Authors: Vuori Hannu
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine commitment to quality assurance within health authorities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses approaches to achieving the requisite changes, including what to change and how to increase readiness for change; motives for change, where to start and prerequisites for change.

Findings

The paper finds that health authorities have a tendency to look at quality assurance as a professional luxury which deals with the subtleties of care rather than with its essence and that a strategy for change is needed.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful information on the development of quality assurance in health care.
Of mergers and cultures: “What happened to shared values and joint assumptions?”
Authors: Riad Sally
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper signals departure from a theoretical perspective on organizational culture in mergers and acquisitions based on a binary opposition between coherence and pluralism. The paper aims to outline another, dialogic perspective on cultural transformations in mergers and acquisitions, based on an assumption that individuals occupy temporary positions in dynamic dialogue, negotiating equally transitory, but temporarily cohesive allegiances.

Design/methodology/approach

The dialogic perspective derives from a constructionist approach and involves ethnographic research methodology. It is developed to track the complex contests of interests in post‐merger pluralist cultures and to reconstruct their dynamics. While some events in the merger process contribute to cultural pluralism and contest of interest, others appear to render allegiance to cohesive cultural elements seductively appropriable.

Findings

Two situations are presented. The first poses a view of culture during mergers in which contest over meaning is central and whereby the representation of a cohesive organizational culture is appropriated for political purposes. The second situation illustrates cross‐cutting cultures in action, presenting the development of a “working culture” a notion based on flitting cross‐organizational allegiances in the interest of confronting a central team.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to critical work on organizational culture in merger integration. It points to the inseparability of binaries, the limits of cultural attribution and the tension instigated by the conflation of culture's “differences”. In closing, it points to a future direction with a relational emphasis to merger integration.
A history and review of the European Quality Award Model
Authors: Conti Tito A.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

Through the analysis of a crucial period of the history of quality in Europe – the creation of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) and the development of the European Quality Award – the author, who was a protagonist of the narrated events, aims to reveal some historical aspects that are generally ignored and that should explain some of the peculiarities of the award model. Taking stock of the present situation, some directions taken in the TQM/Excellence Model's development and use are questioned, and the author reasserts his views on the whole matter.

Design/methodology/approach

For the historical part the author has based his research on public documents, EFQM Newsletters and internal documentation and personal correspondence with the protagonists of the events that are mentioned. The author will be glad to share with students who want to conduct research in this area his personal records. The following discussion is mostly based on the author's findings and experiences, compared with the most common practices.

Findings

Since the purpose of the paper is to tell a story which the author was a protagonist of, to derive from it some lessons that are important for the future, the first part of the paper is dedicated to narrating those aspect of the European Quality Award Model's development that are crucial to understanding why such a model, initially developed following the Malcolm Baldrige Award scheme, suddenly changed dramatically. In this part the author relates some personal anecdotes to make the story more alive and complete. The second part of the paper presents the author's views on organisational improvement models and self‐assessment and explains why he believes that the present course should be changed, if the risk of negative impacts on quality development is to be avoided.

Originality/value

The paper tells a story of an out of the box approach that strongly affected the development of the European Quality Award Model, now the EFQM Excellence Model; and explains why, in the author's view, further innovation is needed in quality management, if we really want to pursue continuous organisational improvement.
Indian culture and the culture for TQM: a comparison
Authors: Ranjan Kumar Madhu , Sankaran Shankar
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to argue against the conventional wisdom in the current TQM literature that hierarchy is not conducive for TQM. It aims to identify the cultural dynamics that can aid TQM implementation in a hierarchical country like India.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reflects on the existing literature on culture and TQM and develops a mechanism that explains why hierarchy hinders TQM implementation in Western culture and how it can support TQM implementation in Indian culture.

Findings

In a people oriented culture like those of Japan and India, nurturance is the juice that sustains hierarchy that finally morphs into collectivism. In these social systems, there need not be conflicting impact of hierarchy and collectivism on TQM implementation if the nurturance aspect of hierarchy is understood. Thus, in the Indian context, hierarchy, operationalised through the guru‐shishya (teacher‐student) relationship between the boss and the subordinate can develop a learning orientation among the organisational members and facilitate TQM implementation. Similarly, by superimposing the element of “equity” on the “personalised relationship” dimension of hierarchy, in a collectivistic society like India, it is possible to elevate the aspect of “personalised relationship” between superior and subordinate to the status of “individualised consideration” dimension of transformational leadership provided it is bestowed only upon the satisfactory completion of “task” by the subordinate.

Practical implications

This paper shows how the cultural aspect of TQM implementation should be handled in a high power distance country like India.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the two Indian cultural aspects that can facilitate TQM implementation in India notwithstanding the hierarchical Indian values.
Intelligent evaluation of fabrics' extensibility from robotized tensile test
Authors: Koustoumpardis Panagiotis N. , Fourkiotis John S. , Aspragathos Nikos A.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The paper aims to propose an approach to intelligent evaluation of the tensile test. A robotized system is used that performs the fabrics tensile test and estimates the extensibility of the samples using a feed‐forward neural network while trying to imitate the human expert estimation.

Design/methodology/approach

The specifications of the tensile test are derived by an extensive observation of the respective experts' estimation performance. The fabric sample size and the experimental conditions are specified. Linguistic values of the term “fabric extensibility” are extracted through a knowledge acquisition process. The tensile test is performed by a robot manipulator with a simple gripper and the experimental measurements (force, strain) are fed online into a neural network. The network is trained according to the extensibility estimations of the experts. The trained network is tested in estimating unknown fabric's extensibility.

Findings

The results demonstrate that the system is capable of estimating the extensibility of new fabrics.

Originality/value

This work can be integrated in the robotized sewing process with intelligent control where the fabric's extensibility in terms of linguistic values is necessary. The proposed system initiates a new approach, in which the fabric properties are expressed and used in a way that will facilitate the introduction of the artificial intelligence methods into the clothing industry.
Fit evaluation within the made‐to‐measure process
Authors: Chen Chin‐Man
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate fit of the basic garments made for Taiwanese female students with various figure characteristics. The basic garments are produced according to patterns derived from the PDS 2000 and APDS‐3D systems.

Design/methodology/approach

This study recruited ten Taiwanese female subjects who represented various figure characteristics. After scanning each subject, the body measurements with additional functional ease were manually entered into the APDS‐3D system accompanied with the PDS 2000 system to generate the block patterns. These patterns were used to make basic garments worn on the subjects for fit evaluations. T‐test and one‐way ANOVA were employed to investigate if any statistically significant differences between figure characteristics of subjects exist.

Findings

After statistical analysis, results showed that the percentage of tolerance allowed by the system in preventing incorrect measurements has to be revised and more measurements have to be included into the APDS‐3D system. Furthermore, female students who exhibit multiple figure variations complicate fitting problems. For example, sloped‐shoulder subjects with narrow shoulders and forward stance generate the problem of extra fabric gathering at the shoulder tips as well as looseness at the upper chest. Therefore, figure variations have to be analyzed in a future study.

Research limitations/implications

The convenient sample with limited size does not allow generalization of figure variations associated with fit problems in all colleges or universities located in Taiwan.

Originality/value

Few researchers have analyzed fit problems on garments made for females with figure variations, but none of them use 3D body scanners in combination with computer‐aided design systems to test fit on basic garments for females with various physical characteristics.
Fifty years of archives administration in Nigeria: lessons for the future
Authors: Abioye Abiola
Published: February 2007

Purpose

In commemoration of the 50 years of archives administration in Nigeria, the purpose of this paper is to look at the establishment of the National Archives of Nigeria, its expansion and development over the years and its role in coordinating records management in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on published literature and documentary evidence from records.

Findings

The paper discusses the gains of the past, particularly the high hopes of the 1970s and the expansion and consolidation of the 1980s which rolled into the early 1990s. Notes the decadence of the 1990s and highlights the problems that bedevilled the institutions and archives and records management in the country among which are poor funding, lack of appreciation of the importance of archives, obsolete equipment and high staff turn over.

Originality/value

The paper identifies the challenges and sets the agenda for the future.
Consumer price knowledge in the market for apparel
Authors: Kenning Peter , Evanschitzky Heiner , Vogel Verena , Ahlert Dieter
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The aim of this study is to analyze consumers' price knowledge in the market for apparels.

Design/methodology/approach

After reviewing earlier attempts at assessing the construct, the price estimation error “PEE” was used, a measure based on explicit price knowledge stored in long‐term memory, as a valid indicator of price knowledge.

Findings

The results, including data from about 1,527 consumers on 66 products from the German apparel market, indicate that price knowledge is relatively low.

Originality/value

Although, in the literature, there are several studies on price knowledge in the food industry, little is known about price knowledge in other industry sectors. This is quite surprising since pricing strategy is a concept which is vitally important to all retailers. Therefore, this study is a first contribution to extending the concept of behavioral pricing to the apparel market.
Legislation and SME retailers – compliance costs and consequences
Authors: Schmidt Ruth Ä. , Bennison David , Bainbridge Stephen , Hallsworth Alan
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The introduction, implementation and enforcement of new laws governing the conduct of business can result in substantial additional costs to retailers. Focusing on small to medium sized (SME) retailers in rural areas and market towns, the study reported here aims to provide an understanding of perceptions of potentially disproportionate implementation costs and the resulting consequences.

Design/methodology/approach

A three‐stage design was used. An exploratory focus group with representatives of the Rural Shop Alliance was followed by seven semi‐structured depth‐interviews with SME retail representatives. Thematic analysis of the qualitative findings formed the basis for a survey of SME retailers in five market towns.

Findings

Findings show SME retailers' perceptions of the differential burden related to the impact of new legislation, with the key factors of direct cost, time costs and information costs. Consequently, business growth and the formalisation of staffing arrangements, in particular, can be obstructed. Generally, good relationships with Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officers are often driven by a need for reactive compliance rather than offering a proactive information and support mechanism.

Practical implications

Findings clarify the nature of the differential burden of legislation to retail SMEs. The need for an “outcomes‐for‐business” driven proactive stance by local delivery agencies is highlighted. Ongoing support visits, telephone help lines and leaflets and the press rather than the internet are identified as key information sources.

Originality/value

Both qualitative and quantitative evidence is brought together in the assessment of an area of concern to retail SMEs.
Securing the doors: bouncers and the British licensed trade
Authors: Pratten J.D.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the social and legal requirements of the job of bouncer in British alcohol retailing outlets and to consider the impact of the Security Industries Authority (SIA) requirements.

Design/methodology/approach

There is little literature on the topic. Thus, the objectives have been achieved with reference to the limited material and by asking a selection of stakeholders.

Findings

The work uncovered the attempts to create a formal career structure within the job, and thus to make a potentially violent occupation more respectable. It would appear that those involved perceive little difference to have resulted.

Research limitations/implications

The interviews involved only one small town. There may well be regional differences, and towns and cities may offer different findings.

Practical implications

From the limited work undertaken, it would appear that door staff themselves feel that the lack of a practical element within the qualification is a serious omission. Moreover, if the development of professional door staff is to succeed, the SIA needs to make its aims clear to the public at large.

Originality/value

Studies of the licensed trade neglect the work of door staff. More research in this area could improve the service offered, and thus benefit all of those who frequent licensed premises.
Applying platform design to improve the integration of patient services across the continuum of care
Authors: Meyer Marc H. , Jekowsky Eliot , Crane Frederick G.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide the results of a case study that examined the application of platform design to improve the integration of patient care services across the continuum of care. This paper is designed to spark discussion and encourage further research in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

The research in the paper involved a case study of a large health care provider in a major metropolitan area. The authors of this paper worked with directors of case management departments and other managerial personnel within the enterprise to study the case management interface services between different inpatient and outpatient facilities to examine existing processes, identify deficiencies, and to recommend improvements in case management.

Findings

The paper finds that the current case management system of the provider, as structured, was not fulfilling its potential for achieving medical quality, operational cost, or patient satisfaction. A number of areas where improvements could be made were identified, and an integrated case management approach based on modular platform design was recommended as a key approach to realize such improvements.

Research limitations/implications

The paper shows that this study involves only one major provider and therefore the direct application of an integrated case management approach based on platform design to other providers would have to be further researched. However, the proposed integrated, cross‐continuum model of case management appears to be a novel way to both improve care and achieve financial cost efficiencies.

Practical implications

The case study in this paper demonstrates how innovative thinking and the use of techniques typically associated with “Platform architectures” can have direct application in the health care sector.

Originality/value

The paper shows that as health care providers are continuously working to improve the quality of care within specific areas of clinical care, improvement in the interfaces between these specific areas may also improve the quality and cost of care. This case study applies modular services design to show how the planning and delivering patient services across the entire “Continuum of care”, which includes the transfer of patients, care coordination, and medical information management can achieve that desired result.
Classification of quality attributes
Authors: Witell Lars , Löfgren Martin
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the different approaches to the classification of quality attributes deliver consistent results.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation includes four approaches and enables comparisons to be made from a methodological perspective and from an output perspective. The different approaches are described, analyzed, and discussed in the context of an empirical study that investigates how 430 respondents perceive the performance of an e‐service. The theory of attractive quality rests on a solid theoretical foundation and a methodological approach to classify quality attributes. Recently, various authors have suggested alternative approaches to the traditional five‐level Kano questionnaire – including a three‐level Kano questionnaire, direct classification, and a dual‐importance grid.

Findings

The classification of quality attributes are found to be dependent on the approach that is utilized. The development of new ways to classify quality attributes should follow rigid procedures to provide reliable and consistent results.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt to compare alternative approaches to classify quality attributes. For managers, our results provide guidance on what approach to choose based on the strengths and weaknesses with the different approaches.
kεα: a three‐equation eddy‐viscosity model of turbulence
Authors: Ghirelli Federico
Published: February 2007

Purpose

To provide an eddy‐viscosity turbulence model that accounts for the non‐equilibrium shape of the energy spectrum and for the effect of velocity correlation on turbulent viscosity.

Design/methodology/approach

The turbulence model is built using the standard kε model as the starting point. It is suggested that the character of turbulence depends on the time elapsed since its generation. Therefore, a local variable named “age of turbulence” or α, is defined and its transport equation is derived. Two hypotheses are formulated. The first one is that the shape of the energy spectrum depends on α. The second one is that also the effect of velocity correlation on turbulent viscosity is a function of α, in analogy with the dispersion coefficient of a particle in a turbulent flow. Hence, expressions for the characteristic time scaleτT and the turbulent viscosity νT are proposed and they are integrated in the standard kε model, resulting in a three equation model named here kεα. The expressions of νT and τT reduce to those of the kε model in decaying turbulence, and deviate from them in recently produced turbulence. The empirical constants are calibrated and various benchmark experiments are simulated.

Findings

A comparison between computed results and experimental data show that the kεα model is generally more accurate than the standard kε model.

Originality/value

The “age of turbulence” has not been used previously to characterise turbulence. The work is especially relevant for combustion/reacting applications, where the expression of the characteristic turbulence time scale is crucial for the estimation of the reactant mixing rates.
An evaluation of synthetic jets for heat transfer enhancement in air cooled micro‐channels
Authors: Timchenko Victoria , Reizes John , Leonardi Eddie
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The development of novel cooling techniques is needed in order to be able to substantially increase the performance of integrated electronic circuits whose operations are limited by the maximum allowable temperature. Air cooled micro‐channels etched in the silicon substrate have the potential to remove heat directly from the chip. For reasonable pressure drops, the flow in micro‐channels is inherently laminar, so that the heat transfer is not very large. A synthetic jet may be used to improve mixing, thereby considerably increasing heat transfer. This paper seeks to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

CFD has been used to study the flow and thermal fields in forced convection in a two‐dimensional micro‐channel with an inbuilt synthetic jet actuator. The unsteady Navier‐Stokes and energy equations are solved. The effects of variation of the frequency of the jet at a fixed pressure difference between the ends of the channel and with a fixed jet Reynolds number, have been studied with air as the working fluid. Although the velocities are very low, the compressibility of air has to be taken into account.

Findings

The use of a synthetic jet appreciably increases the rate of heat transfer. However, in the frequency range studied, whilst there are significant changes in the details of the flow, due primarily to large phase changes with frequency, there is little effect of the frequency on the overall rate heat transfer. The rates of heat transfer are not sufficiently large for air to be a useful cooling medium for the anticipated very large heat transfer rates in future generations of microchips.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to two‐dimensional flows so that the effect of other walls is not considered.

Practical implications

It does not seem likely that air flowing in channels etched in the substrate of integrated circuits can be successfully used to cool future, much more powerful microchips, despite a significant increase in the heat transfer caused by synthetic jet actuators.

Originality/value

CFD is used to determine the thermal performance of air flowing in micro‐channels with and without synthetic jet actuators as a means of cooling microchips. It has been demonstrated that synthetic jets significantly increase the rate of heat transfer in the micro‐channel, but that changing the frequency with the same resulting jet Reynolds number does not have an effect on the overall rate of heat transfer. The significant effect of compressibility on the phase shifts and more importantly on the apparently anomalous heat transfer from the “cold” air to the “hot” wall is also demonstrated.
Computational investigation of turbulent jet impinging onto rotating disk
Authors: Benim A.C. , Ozkan K. , Cagan M. , Gunes D.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The main purpose of the paper is the validation of a broad range of RANS turbulence models, for the prediction of flow and heat transfer, for a broad range of boundary conditions and geometrical configurations, for this class of problems.

Design/methodology/approach

Two‐ and three‐dimensional computations are performed using a general‐purpose CFD code based on a finite volume method and a pressure‐correction formulation. Special attention is paid to achieve a high numerical accuracy by applying second order discretization schemes and stringent convergence criteria, as well as performing sensitivity studies with respect to the grid resolution, computational domain size and boundary conditions. Results are assessed by comparing the predictions with the measurements available in the literature.

Findings

A rather unsatisfactory performance of the Reynolds stress model is observed, in general, although the contrary has been expected in this rotating flow, exhibiting a predominantly non‐isotropic turbulence structure. The best overall agreement with the experiments is obtained by the k‐ω model, where the SST model is also observed to provide a quite good performance, which is close to that of the k‐ω model, for most of the investigated cases.

Originality/value

To date, computational investigation of turbulent jet impinging on to “rotating” disk has not received much attention. To the best of the authors' knowledge, a thorough numerical analysis of the generic problem comparable with present study has not yet been attempted.
Modeling natural convection with the work of pressure‐forces: a thermodynamic necessity
Authors: Pons M. , Le Quéré P.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to present and then resolve the thermodynamic inconsistencies inherent in the usual Boussinesq model, especially with respect to the second law, and to highlight the effects of the correction.

Design/methodology/approach

The Boussinesq model (i.e. still assuming ▽v=0) is made thermodynamically consistent by maintaining in the heat equation, primarily the work of pressure forces, secondarily the heat generated by viscous friction. Numerically speaking, the modifications are very easy and hardly affect the computing time. However, new non‐dimensional parameters arise, especially the non‐dimensional adiabatic temperature gradient, ϕ.

Findings

There are presented and interpreted results of systematic numerical simulations done for a two‐dimensional square differentially‐heated cavity filled with air at 300K, with Rayleigh number ranging from 3,000 to 108 and ϕ ranging from 10−3 to 2. All configurations are stationary and the fluid is far from its critical state. Nevertheless, the pressure‐work effect (similar to the piston effect) enhances the heat transfer while diminishing the convection intensity. The magnitude of this effect is non‐negligible as soon as ϕ reaches 0.02.

Practical implications

The domain where the thermodynamic Boussinesq model must be used encompasses configurations relevant to building engineering.

Originality/value

Exact second‐law analyses can be developed with the so‐corrected model.
Feminizing leadership in Arab societies: the perspectives of Omani female leaders
Authors: Al‐Lamky Asya
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The recent appointment of a number of women to leading policy making positions in the Arab Gulf State of Oman marks a significant departure from the traditionally exclusive male dominated decision‐making arena, and ushers an end to an era of exclusive patriarchal dominance in leadership positions. This study aims to shed light on this evolving phase of women's empowerment in Oman, and attempts to capture their traits, experiences and challenges as women leaders in conservative, male dominated work environments.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzes the views of ten Omani women who achieved extraordinary levels of career success. In depth interviews were conducted using an interview guide purposely designed to solicit responses pertaining to their early socialization patterns; personal traits; work/family role conflict and their vision of the challenges facing working and professional women in Omani society.

Findings

Contrary to social perceptions and stereotypes, Omani women in leading positions are highly motivated and ambitious. Their successful transition to elevated positions can be attributed to their early socialization experiences which valued education, supportive parents (particularly the father), and equal treatment with their male siblings. They are challenged by the incongruence of their roles as female leaders relative to the prevailing social values and expectations towards women and their traditional role in society.

Research limitations/implications

The study does not investigate the extent to which such appointments may have transformed gender relations in Oman nor its impact on women's roles in Omani organizations.

Practical implications

Empowering women requires policies and human resource programs that support this goal. This paper has implications for gender policy development as well as diversity and leadership training for women.

Originality/value

Given the dearth of research on this topic, the study contributes to understanding the dynamics of female leadership in this increasingly important world region, and raises awareness among women (and men alike) regarding the unique experiences and challenges of Arab women leaders.
Barriers to acceptance, satisfaction and career growth
Authors: Chovwen Catherine
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This study aims to examine the barriers to female executives' experience in terms of perceived acceptance, growth and job satisfaction in male occupations in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is a descriptive survey design involved with the exploratory and interpretive investigation of factors associated with female executives' perceived acceptance, growth and job satisfaction in male‐oriented occupations. The data were interpreted in the light of existing career development grounded theories.

Findings

The findings indicated that subtle discrimination expressed in form of exclusion and perception women as incompetent signified lack of lack of acceptance, perceived lack of job satisfaction was influenced by low self confidence and lack of support. Personal and organizational factors negatively influenced career growth.

Originality/value

The results provide further evidence supporting earlier findings on the hostile climate of male dominated occupations and recommendations were made on enhancing the work climate the retention and attraction of new entrants.
Gendered division of labour in construction sites in Zanzibar
Authors: Eliufoo Harriet K.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how the gendered division of labour in construction sites in Zanzibar influences earnings, resource ownership and wellbeing of female and male construction workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Case studies were made in five construction sites in Zanzibar where informal interviews and questionnaires were used to collect information; a total of 150 construction workers participated.

Findings

Finds that through the gendered division, women are subordinated; and that the social position of women, subjects women to a vicious cycle that hampers acquisition of construction skills.

Research limitations/implications

The research has limited itself to Zanzibar, a society with an influence of Arab culture. Future research in other cultures could be of interest in order to investigate the influence of culture on such studies.

Practical implications

Women need to acquire technical training that would improve their employment situation. Women working on construction sites should not consider themselves as compelled to be in a “fit‐in situation” rather they should reject discriminatory values. The acquisition of construction skills and training should be a strong initiative from women themselves.

Originality/value

This paper establishes how gendered divisions of labour in construction sites influences earning, resource ownership and wellbeing of female and male site workers.
Professional doctoral theses by explication as professional management development
Authors: Zuber‐Skerritt Ortrun
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the nature, and identify the quality criteria of a doctoral thesis by explication for professional management development.

Design/methodology/approach

A working definition of a professional doctoral explication thesis (DET) is proposed and substantiated by five experts. The paper takes a practical, educational approach to senior executive development through action learning and explication writing; and it briefly explains the philosophical assumptions underpinning the practice of explication writing, including grounded theory, personal construct theory, critical theory, and systems theory.

Findings

The paper identifies the main principles affecting the quality of a thesis, the main characteristics of a DET, the differences between a DET and a PhD thesis, and the differences between “researching” and “writing” an explication.

Research limitations/implications

Length of a journal article severely restricts capacity to explain in detail how to write, supervise and examine a DET. With these limitations, this paper presents a rationale for, and new conceptual models of, both knowledge creation and a thesis by explication.

Practical implications

The paper offers a practical checklist for candidates, supervisors and examiners for evaluating the quality of a DET, the published works supporting it, and the oral examination.

Originality/value

The contributions relate to first, conceptual models of knowledge creation, explication research activities and explication writing; and second, a practical checklist mentioned above.
Are students customers? TQM and marketing perspectives
Authors: Eagle Lynne , Brennan Ross
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper seeks to evaluate the arguments for and against the proposition that students in higher education are “customers” and should be treated as such.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical review of the relevant literature from the domains of total quality management and marketing.

Findings

The debate is polarised, with advocates regarding it as self‐evident that students are customers and should be treated as such, while critics regard it as self‐evident that the incursion of the “customer” concept into higher education degrades educational standards and damages educator/student relationships.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers should investigate whether the adoption of the terminology, systems and processes of the “student‐as‐customer” leads to a degradation or improvement of the quality of education and level of service delivered to higher education students.

Practical implications

Ways are recommended in which the careful adoption of the term “customers” to refer to students could retain positive aspects – promoting the legitimate interests of students in the higher education system – while avoiding such potentially negative aspects as the problematic idea that “the customer is always right”.

Originality/value

The paper points towards a “middle way” by which educational policy‐makers and managers can obtain the benefits associated with a “customer orientation” while avoiding the difficulties associated with a simplistic interpretation of the customer concept.
Assessing quality experience and learning outcomes
Authors: Tam Maureen
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper is the second part of a comprehensive report about a research study that aims to assess the relationship between the university experience and student outcomes as a means of determining a university's success in meeting its educational goals.

Design/methodology/approach

While Part I has described the process of how data were collected and the various methods of analysis to examine relationships among variables discussed, Part II provides a summary of the findings and the discussion to synthesise evidence pertaining to the impact of university on a range of outcomes associated with university attendance.

Findings

This paper gives a detailed report and a comprehensive summary of the major findings. The results of the study are reported systematically, guided by the four research questions. Answers to each of the research questions address those major concerns raised by the said question. Detailed analyses using tables and figures are presented for data summary and interpretation.

Research limitations/implications

While the research has identified a web of interrelated factors in the university environment that affect learning, it may have omitted other influences on university outcomes such as institutional governance, culture, and context. Therefore, the research may have fallen short of accounting for variables such as campus culture, governance arrangement, leadership style, teaching methods and assessment schemes, and so forth.

Practical implications

The research provides improvement data for university administrators and practitioners to shed light on policy and practice that make up the institutional environment.

Originality/value

The rich fund of research data on the effects of university on student outcomes promotes critical self‐examination and discussion among practitioners in higher education for a better understanding of what causes changes in students and what conditions in the university environment will facilitate or inhibit student growth and development.
“Considerate construction”: case studies of current practice
Authors: Glass Jacqueline , Simmonds Mark
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on the extent to which major contractors are delivering what can be termed “considerate construction”, using case studies of housing and education projects in the UK, identify areas for improvement, particularly in the area of community engagement practices used by contractors.

Design/methodology/approach

A list of key themes relating to community engagement is developed and used as a framework for case studies of projects being built by a major, multi‐disciplinary contractor that routinely registers projects with the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Findings

This research found evidence of a range of effective practices, but there is still scope for improvement. Seemingly better examples were found in projects in which the contractor took a partnered approach with both client and community, retained community relation expertise on staff, and took appropriate, timely action.

Research limitations/implications

The case studies are based in the Southeast of England and focus on housing and educational projects, so the lessons learned may not apply in all instances. Practices may also vary from one contractor to another.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for community engagement procedures used in construction projects. There are specific recommendations relating to the professional training of construction project managers, who need to be better equipped to deal with the local general public.

Originality/value

The research complements the existing academic and industry literature on considerate construction and makes both strategic and practical recommendations to enhance on‐site community engagement practices. Thus it is of interest to both researchers and practitioners.
Intrinsic value and the permanent record: the preservation conundrum
Authors: Westney Lynn C.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the lack of attention to the preservation of intrinsic value in original artifacts by archivists and librarians with implications for the preservation of the permanent historical record.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a selective review of the recent literature about intrinsic value, the current situation is evaluated.

Findings

The paper finds that, in order to ensure the preservation of intrinsic value in both paper and digital documents, archivists and librarians must act immediately before substantial portions of the historical record suffer further permanent and irretrievable loss.

Originality/value

The issues involved in determining the presence of intrinsic value are examined. Recommendations are given for preserving the permanent historical record.
The “MayDay” project: promoting disaster preparedness
Authors: Pearce‐Moses Richard , Yakel Elizabeth
Published: February 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to make readers aware of the MayDay effort, an annual event, begun in 2006, designed to be the one day each year that emergency preparedness is concentrated on fully, and to encourage participation in MayDay 2007. The article also lists some general resources for disaster planning and preparedness.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a viewpoint article discussing the MayDay initiative, and ways to enhance disaster planning and preparedness in cultural institutions.

Findings

The article finds that MayDay 2006 launched a new initiative for disaster preparedness and planning. The idea is that this will become an annual time when cultural institutions dedicate the day to emergency preparedness and planning. Selected results of the first MayDay are described and the ideas for MayDay 2007 events are listed.

Practical implications

This article provides information and examples of appropriate MayDay activities by describing MayDay 2006 events and providing pointers to online resources to assist archives and museums identify activities for MayDay 2007.

Originality/value

Since Hurricane Katrina, substantial focus has been placed on disaster planning and preparedness in cultural organizations. This article promotes concrete actions that can be taken to enhance disaster planning and preparedness in cultural institutions and identifies resources on the Internet to help archives and museums in this endeavor.
Building partnerships among social science researchers, institution‐based repositories and domain specific data archives
Authors: Green Ann G. , Gutmann Myron P.
Published: February 2007

Purpose

In developing and debating digital repositories, the digital library world has devoted more attention to their missions and roles in supporting access to and stewardship of academic research output than to discussing discipline, or domain, specific digital repositories. This is especially interesting, given that in social science these domain‐specific repositories have been in existence for many decades. The goal of this paper is to juxtapose these two kinds of repositories and to suggest ways that they can help build partnerships between themselves and with the research community.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken in the paper is based on the fundamental idea that all the parties involved share important goals, and that by working together these goals can be advanced successfully.

Findings

The key message is that by visualizing the role of repositories explicitly in the life cycle of the social science research enterprise, the ways that the partnerships work will be clear. These workings can be seen as a sequence of reciprocal information flows between parties to the process, triggers that signal that one party or another has a task to perform, and hand‐offs of information from one party to another that take place at crucial moments. This approach envisions both cooperation and specialization.

Practical implications

If followed, the recommendations offered in the paper will allow those implementing various kinds of repositories to work together with others in new ways, thus both enhancing the amount of information preserved and its value for the community.

Originality/value

This is one of the first times that the mutual possibilities of institutional and domain‐specific repositories have been brought together.