bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Getting More from Diskette Storage
Authors: Almquist Arne J.
Published: March 2008

In today's world of microcomputing, there is one given: however much disk storage space you have today, you'll need much, much more tomorrow. Just four years ago Arthur Naiman wrote about microcomputer hard disk storage in Word Processing Buyer's Guide (BYTE/McGraw‐Hill, Peter‐borough, NH: 1983. p.235). He related that “An optional 8.4MB hard disk drive is available for S4500. In fact, you can connect up to three of them, although what you'd need 26 million characters worth of storage for is beyond me.” Today, 20MB of storage is available on an expansion card for under $500 and 20MB is considered to be the minimum acceptable hard disk capacity by most experts.
Microcomputers and LANs:
Authors: Schmidt Sandy
Published: March 2008

At the recent ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco, I attended the LAMA Systems and Services Section program “Microcomputers and LAN's: Are They a Viable Part of Your Future?” The speakers were Robert Walton, Texas State Library; Carol Wilson, Cleveland County Memorial Library (NC); and Corryn Crosby‐Muilenburg, Humboldt State University (CA).
An Introduction to Local Area Networks
Authors: BCR  , NELINET
Published: March 2008

Local Area Networks (LANs) are becoming more prevalent in library automation systems. What is a local area network? A LAN is a collection of microcomputers and peripheral equipment linked by a short‐range, common, dedicated communications path contained within a single building, building complex, or campus.
Paths and Piping
Authors: Marshalek Sonja
Published: March 2008

The problems encountered in using the DOS TYPE command when trying to view a file on the screen, either because you don't have a printer connected to your PC or because you want to see if you really want a hard copy, can be solved using the DOS PATH and PIPE commands.
Interlibrary Loan, Dial Access, and ProComm
Authors: Smith Nancy
Published: March 2008

Erwin Welsch's article in the April OCLC Micro described an automated OCLC dial access procedure using an IBM XT, AT, or compatible, a Hayes 1200‐baud modem, and ProComm communications software. Using the command file and keyboard macro capabilities of ProComm, the procedure streamlines access to the OCLC On‐line Catalog and eases the pain of microcomputer‐to‐OCLC keystroke translation. Using Welsch's online catalog searching procedure as a model, we created an application for our interlibrary loan staff.
Not for Novices
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

Sometimes I wish that the DOS COPY command (or the DIR command) would accept multiple arguments. For instance, how do I copy all the .EXE files and all the .COM files from the current directory to drive A? One way is to use COPY *.EXE A:, then COPY *.COM A:. Here's a way to do the job with just one command. At the DOS prompt, type:
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

You've probably heard of the ASCII code, but do you know what it is? ASCII (pronounced ask‐ee) is an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It's a standard way of assigning unique numbers to each alphanumeric character and punctuation mark used in the English language. For example, a capital A is assigned 65 as its ASCII code. Standard coding ensures that any machine using the ASCII code will display a capital A in response to a code 65. Of course, there are other, incompatible coding schemes to accomplish the same thing (ask an IBM mainframe user about EBCDIC— another acronym, pronounced eb‐suh‐dick), but in the micro world, ASCII reigns supreme.
Radio Shack: One for the Road
Authors: Woody Janet
Published: March 2008

To expand our computer resources and provide our staff with access to computers outside of the library, we decided to purchase Radio Shack[i.e., Tandy] model 100 computers, which cost approximately S400 when we purchased them. The low cost made it possible to purchase enough microcomputers to distribute them to many divisions throughout the library. Their portability and ease of use made them appealing to all levels of users.
DUBLINes
Authors: Weitz Jay
Published: March 2008

In Cataloging Service Bulletin No. 38 (Fall 1987), pp. 2–10, the Library of Congress announced that headings for computer programs and software should be treated as uniform titles. In subjects, therefore, they would be assigned the tag 630, with a second indicator of “zero.” Computer programming languages and computer systems (including specific model names) continue to be established as 650s, with a second indicator of zero.
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

Here's a little tidbit I came up with the hard way a few weeks ago. I was backing up my hard disk, making a neat pile of diskettes as the BACKUP program filled them with data. I decided to label them (♯1, ♯2, etc.) after the BACKUP process was complete. Suddenly, an imaginary mouse skittered across my desk, followed by my very real, bounding cat. Disks flew everywhere! Once the dust settled, I realized I had a problem. Which disks were which?
ILLFILE, ILLSORT, & ILLCOUNT Automate OCLC ILL Record Keeping
Authors: Levin Carol , Nolte Jim
Published: March 2008

This article describes a record‐keeping software package for ILL developed by the authors and programmed by Michael DeCorte and Gary Levin. ILLFILE can pick up information from any field of the OCLC ILL workform so that data for CONTU copyright compliance and other needs can be collected by computer (through included sorting and duplicate‐detection software) rather than manually.
Save That Screen!
Authors: Maricic Steven J.
Published: March 2008

An electronic archive of ILL requests is just a SaveScreen away for libraries with M300 Workstations. At New Jersey Institute of Technology we save each outgoing ILL request to a diskette by simultaneously pressing . The process of saving takes about 5 seconds per record and we can fit about 300 records on a 360K diskette.
The First Wave: CD‐ROM Adoption in Offices and Libraries: II
Authors: Paisley William , Butler Matilda
Published: March 2008

CD‐ROM products that have been introduced to replace online, microform, or print information products perform “as advertised”—they cost less to use than online, are more convenient to use than microform, and retrieve information more precisely than print. Still, they are only retrieval systems designed to replace retrieval systems.
CAT ME Use Doubles Production
Authors: Millsap Larry
Published: March 2008

When the University of California, Santa Cruz was established in 1965, it was decided that the library would have a computer‐produced book catalog. Thus, we have always had machine‐readable records for all library materials. Originally, records for the catalog were all keyed locally; since the MARC II format had not yet been established, the early records were not tagged to that standard. Now MELVYL, the online union catalog of the University of California, is our primary catalog. Each record we produce on the OCLC system is entered into that catalog by tapeload.
Spell Checking OCLC‐MARC Records
Authors: Landrum Mollis
Published: March 2008

In an attempt to reduce typing errors when producing records in the OCLC Online Union Catalog, our Technical Processing Section is using a spelling checker on our PCs to check records in the Save file before taking final action on our record in the OCLC system.
ANSEL Character Set for the Macintosh
Authors: Deemer Selden
Published: March 2008

Research libraries typically acquire materials written in many languages. Providing effective bibliographic control of these materials requires using an extended character set, often referred to as the extended ALA character set, to represent special characters and diacritical marks found in languages other than English. This character set is more specifically known as the American National Standard Extended Latin (ANSEL) character set.
The Care and Feeding of the Personal Computer
Authors: Sherman David H.
Published: March 2008

Following the tips in this article can prevent problems, dramatically increase your use of your personal computer, and lengthen your computer's lifespan.
Not for Novices
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

One of the most distinctive features of the M310 Workstation is the 16‐character blue‐on‐blue liquid crystal display (LCD) panel mounted at a 45‐degree angle on the front of the system unit. One reason it's at that angle—aside from aesthetics—is that it can be read equally well (or poorly) with the system unit mounted in a vertical position. Normally, the LCD panel displays the time of day and the current processor speed setting (8 or 12.5MHz; see DOS‐tips). The last character position is used as a disk drive access indicator, so you will see letters appearing there: C when it accesses the hard disk, A when it accesses a diskette (in drive A), etc. In addition, Wyse has provided a special DOS command, LCDPANEL, which allows you to control the LCD panel. Let's look at some of the options LCDPANEL provides.
Improving on “The One‐Disk Approach to Many SAVEKEY.DATs”
Authors: Wisneski Martin E.
Published: March 2008

Our method for increasing the speed of batch file execution, is based on Paul Carnahan's article in OCLC Micro, June 1988, pp. 23–24 and 28. It also includes several other techniques that I've used in our batch files.
Computer Programs and Cataloging:
Authors: Schultz Lois
Published: March 2008

In August, 1987, the Cataloging Department at Duke University began a series of changes in workflow and procedures that increased our production while retaining traditional cataloging standards for authority control. Since January, 1988, we've processed almost all of our cataloging using the Cataloging Micro Enhancer software (CAT ME) in order to take advantage of computer programs designed to speed up cataloging processes. We accomplished this because of a fortunate combination of talent in the department, a series of experiments with the CAT ME, and a mandate to increase production. I offer this description of what we've done to encourage others to find a way to make computers serve their needs in a flexible and timely manner.
Project Management in a Special Library with Claris’ MacProject II
Authors: Valauskas Edward J.
Published: March 2008

In many ways, the use of project management software makes a computer resemble James Martin's idea of a comprehensive machine, a device “that enables management or their staff to understand better the possible effects of their decisions.”
WordPerfect 5.0 Macro Capabilities and an Accessions List Macro
Authors: Sprunger Kent
Published: March 2008

WordPerfect version 5.0 has been widely praised for its enhancements with programmable macros. Based on a tradition of macro support since version 2.23, WordPerfect 5.0 allows users to manipulate text in ways previously possible only with more advanced programming languages. The new version, for example, allows for the assignment of variables, conditional testing, advanced looping, sub‐routines, and error handling. It also includes a macro editor as part of the basic software package. With the editor, you can easily modify existing macros—a feature particularly useful with large macros created with the new programming features. In this article I will provide a basic introduction to these macro capabilities and their uses. I have also designed a simple accessions list macro (ACCLIST) that demonstrates some of the new features. A later article will illustrate more complex possibilities.
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

Like many regular PC users, I've developed a number of small batch files that automate various DOS processes. Many of these have appeared in this space over the years, but for the benefit of new readers I'd like to bring them all together. DOS‐tips veterans will find a few new ones in here, too—so let's get to 'em!
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

Here's something we should have mentioned long ago. Say you want to copy a file from the disk in Drive A to the disk in Drive B. You enter COPY A:MYFILE B: as usual, but to your surprise, you get a message from DOS:
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

Here's a tip about labels for your disks. (No, not the ones you stick on the outside of the disk.) I'm talking about the internal disk label (one for each disk) that DOS keeps track of. When you issue a DIRectory command at the DOS prompt, the resulting display begins with something like Volume in drive A is DATA25 or, more commonly, Volume in drive A has no label. What is this label and where did it come from?
Let's Play Tag: The Promise of SGML
Authors: Kaysen Jesse
Published: March 2008

Imagine a document you want to read is available on disk. The publisher can readily supply it to you with no concern for computer system compatibility. If the publisher doesn't happen to have your brand of computer, they can send it to you over the phone lines without losing any of its format. Once you get it, the format is immediately obvious. You can identify all the headings, you can instantly find the tables and lists, and you have no doubts about italics or other font changes. If you want a braille edition, you don't have to worry about stripping out control characters or changing some word processor's commands to those appropriate for braille. If you're using a large print display system, you needn't worry about how the text is broken into lines.
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

I'm not sure why you would want to do this, but I saw a neat way to create a file of zero length (whatever that might mean, metaphysically). You use a command like: REM >ZERO.NUL
NETWORdsUse
Authors: Kent Joel , Mundell Jacque
Published: March 2008

Ever since libraries began installing microcomputers, we've heard the admonitions to plug the power supply cord of the micro into a surge‐protected outlet or a power strip that has a built‐in surge suppressor. The point is to protect the hardware from damage to sensitive circuitry and to reduce the potential for loss of data. Such surge suppressors aren't expensive and are readily available. These devices are designed to accommodate any standard three‐prong grounded power supply plug, so that not only micros, but other peripherals such as external modems, printers, and monitors [and other expensive electronic equipment such as CD audio players and VCRs] can also be protected.
The Kindness Cut of All
Authors: Ballard Terry
Published: March 2008

Has this problem happened to someone you know? A SaveScreen file compiled on Monday wasn't erased. All of Tuesday's work was added to the existing file and the problem wasn't discovered until the file was printing or downloading into the Cataloging Micro Enhancer software. The result? A pile of unwanted printouts, or ME records that must be deleted one at a time (If you notice the problem early enough, you might elect to delete the entire file and try again.)
DOS‐tips
Authors: Bendig Mark
Published: March 2008

Like most PC users, I frequently need to display a text file on the screen. Sometimes I just need to find out what the heck the file is. (What could be in a file called AXOLOTL?). Other times, I just need to get some particular information out of a text file, perhaps the documentation file for a new program.
A Closer Look at…
Authors: Welsch Erwin K.
Published: March 2008

In the first installment of this three‐part examination of national networks for information access, I discussed some of the background and implications for librarians of this comparatively new use of technology. The following “dialog” uses specific searches I performed to illustrate the process.
Software up in Flames
Authors: Machrone Bill
Published: March 2008

What happens when you lose your investment in software to a natural catastrophe? The answers will surprise you.
MicroMARC:amc Version 2.11
Authors: Hohnhart Fred
Published: March 2008

IN JULY, 1990, Michigan State University released the latest version of the MicroMARC:amc archives and manuscripts cataloging software, version 2.11. [Earlier versions were discussed in OCLC Micro 3(3):14–16 and 4(3):14–17.] Enhancements to the system that further increase its flexibility include the ability to import and export records in any of the MARC formats. This means records in the books, serials, visual materials, music, machine readable, etc., formats can now be loaded onto the MicroMARC:amc system. Once on the system, the user has the same ability to search and create reports with these records as with the records in the Archives and Manuscript Control Format.
A Closer Look at…
Authors: Welsch Erwin K.
Published: March 2008

If “In the Movies” seemed to be the theme of my 1990 columns for OCLC Micro, then the motto for 1991 should read something like the title of one movie, “Network.” I don't intend to deal with the machinations of TV news, even though I think the scenes in that black comedy sometimes bear a frightening resemblance to some of today's offerings. Instead, I'm going to focus on the expanding opportunities—from an information provision, not technical, standpoint—that librarians have available through networking.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

The 16,000‐record inventory of some 19,000 stolen books confiscated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and used as evidence in the recent trial of Stephen Blumberg has been mounted on the EPIC service, OCLC's online reference system. The database, which contains a bibliographic description and a list of holdings for each recovered item, helps libraries determine whether any of the stolen materials are from their collections.
OCLC in Europe
Authors: Buckle David
Published: March 2008

OCLC recently celebrated its first decade in Europe. On January 1, 1981, OCLC opened its Europe branch in Birmingham, England, with three staff members; an office in the home of its managing director; no network to connect it to its corporate headquarters, systems center, and bibliographic database; and no library users.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Don
Published: March 2008

The big news this month was the collapse of negotiations between OCLC and the Research Libraries Group (RLG). More precisely, it was the decision by the RLG board to discontinue the negotiations.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has become the first institution to link its internal network with the new OCLC telecommunications network using the X.25 Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standard. The telecommunications link will connect NYPL research libraries and branch libraries to the OCLC system for cataloging and resource sharing.
Getting to Know William Gray Potter
Authors: Melin Nelson Nancy
Published: March 2008

Academic librarians seeking a role model will do well to study the career of William Gray Potter. Presently the director of libraries for the University of Georgia in Athens, Potter has risen through the ranks of the profession, serving in every important capacity he's set his sights on.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

If you've been keeping up with what's going on in the world of electronic networking, you're probably aware that both the library and the publishing communities are becoming more involved in this arena.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

French Libraries Sign Retrospective Conversion Contract with OCLC OCLC will convert to machine‐readable form more than 600,000 bibliographic records for six French academic libraries. The records will also be loaded into the PANCATALOGUE, France's national union catalog of monographs.
OCLC Users Council
Authors: Bierman Kenneth J.
Published: March 2008

The OCLC Users Council comprises sixty delegates elected by the regional OCLC networks. Delegates serve three‐year terms; on average, twenty new delegates are elected each year. The Users Council is one of many ways that OCLC members have input into OCLC planning and decision making. Each Users Council year (June‐May) consists of three meetings that revolve around a common theme.
Interlibrary Loan
Authors: Kaufman David
Published: March 2008

Potpourri. Now, there is a word. I have always wanted to start off a column titled “Potpourri” in some slick magazine. Now that I can it sounds a little silly. Affected, or maybe dainty, like a word a librarian might use. Whatever.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

OCLC has recently installed searching enhancements to its PRISM service online authority file. The new features include:
Public Services
Authors: Townsel‐Winston Melinda
Published: March 2008

If you are a religious reader of this column, then you know that I do not write all the articles. No, that would be just too boring. So to add “spice” to the column I often entertain the works of guest columnists. Actually, the reason for including guest columnists has less to do with “spice” than it does with general interest. When I receive articles from column readers, it gives me insight into their professional experiences, and in turn I share what I have learned with you.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

The Online Journal of Current Clinical Trials, the world's first peer‐reviewed medical journal distributed by computer, began publication on July 1. OJCCT is a joint venture of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and OCLC. AAAS developed the editorial content and focus of the journal, and OCLC developed its programming and technology.
Public Services
Authors: Townsel‐Winston Melinda
Published: March 2008

Well I'll tell you what's new. Here is a potpourri of items pertaining to the EPIC Service and/or the FirstSearch catalog that should be of interest to Public Services librarians.
DEBUGging Old Printers: DOS, Double‐Strike, and PASSPORT 1.0
Authors: Corbly James E.
Published: March 2008

One of the true milestones of library history was reached last year when OCLC introduced the new PRISM service to its member libraries. PRISM was everything OCLC, promised it would be: easy to use, fast, and efficient. Like many libraries across the country, McMullen Library at St. Ambrose University registered a significant increase in productivity last year, thanks in part to the new PRISM system.
OCLC News
Authors: Marmion Don
Published: March 2008

Harvard University Library officials signed a six‐year, multimillion‐dollar contract with OCLC that will involve computer processing by OCLC of bibliographic records for some 5 million monograph and serial titles in Harvard's library collections.
International News
Authors: Marmion Dan
Published: March 2008

Bibliographic information from one of the world's most celebrated botanic library and archive collections, the Library and Archive of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, will be added to the OCLC On‐line Union Catalog through a conversion project by OCLC's RETROCON Service.
Open a Window and Let in Your PASSPORT
Authors: Carter Judith A.
Published: March 2008

Congratulations are in order! There's a new arrival in my house. My husband and I have welcomed into our lives an active, fully operating, 386DX 40MHz computer. Don't laugh, I'm serious. We built it from the mini‐tower and motherboard on up. We planned for months which components we wanted, what peripherals, and how much memory. We purchased furniture for its own little corner in the living room. It is beautiful. It has a modem, two disk drives, a hard drive. We are very proud techies.
OCLC Users Council Meeting Report: February 7–9, 1993
Authors: Ostendorf JoEllen
Published: March 2008

The effects of electronic access on the provision of information continue to be the focus of the OCLC Users Council. Building upon the Internet theme of the last Users Council meeting in October, Economic Aspects of the Electronic Information Community, this meeting continued to highlight the necessity of cooperation between vendors, publishers, and librarians. The problems faced by each of these groups is often a variation on the same theme. The most pressing issues are pricing, distribution, and copyright.
OCLC News
Authors: Nelson Milo
Published: March 2008

A summary of OCLC's strategic plan that will guide the organization in the years ahead is set forth in a new brochure, “Journey to the 21st Century.”
OCLC Users Council Meets: Report to Users
Authors: Ostendorf JoEllen
Published: March 2008

“Values and Visions = Policies and Actions” was the focus of the May OCLC Users Council meeting, continuing the theme “Transforming Technologies: Reconstructing Libraries for the New Information Community.” During the period between the February Users Council meeting and the May Users Council meeting, a “Trends in Library Services Survey,” also known as the values survey, was mailed to 390 OCLC member libraries: 330 libraries that belong to the OCLC Library Market Research Panel and the 60 Users Council delegates by the OCLC marketing and sales division.
ILL‐Conceived Ideas
Authors: Raschke Susan
Published: March 2008

Welcome to The Column concerning interlibrary services in the OCLC universe! Dare if you will to join me in my continuing mission to infuse new life, explore strange new visions, and boldly go where no humor has gone before. In this episode we begin with yet more tips for using PRISM…
ILL Conceived Ideas
Authors: Raschke Susan
Published: March 2008

This month's column concerning interlibrary services in the OCLC universe begins with a “surfing” trip through the Internet where you may learn to capture wild, unsuspecting documents…
Micro‐Madness:
Authors: Welsch Erwin K.
Published: March 2008

In the classic film Citizen Kane, Orson Welles, after many re‐writings, began his newspaper career with a “Declaration of Principles” to serve readers as a promise or guide for the future. While perhaps not so lofty, this inaugural installment of my new regular column in OCLC Micro also seems an auspicious moment to outline my intentions for this column. Given the march, or run, of technology, perhaps this statement will end up shredded as Kane's did, but the opportunity to put on paper, particularly at the start of a decade, a few notes about microcomputer directions is irresistible.
Blow hot, blow cold
Authors: Burke James
Published: March 2008

The refrigeration industry in this country has been having a rough time for the past ten years, and “only now”, it is hoped, is it “poised on the edge of a great leap forward into the biggest untapped market in Europe”.
Threat to Britain's ‘hidden’ trade
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

Each month, Britain can breathe either a sigh of relief or one of added satisfaction as its “invisible” exports take the balance of payments position not‐so‐badly into the red or straight into the black. Regularly as clockwork, the import‐export situation is brightened with the news that the earnings from shipping, banking, insurance and the like have chinked‐up another £40 million on the national cash register.
The ‘employed drop‐out’
Authors: Belcher Keith
Published: March 2008

Dorset folds itself away like the green silk lining of a cloak. Just a tea‐break county on the road to Devon and Cornwall, it hides away from the main roads in case a stray tourist should glimpse its real country, and choose to stay. It is here that Kenneth Allsop, television journalist, author and writer of renown, takes refuge from the streets of London and becomes, in his own words, “an employed drop‐out.”
The car itself — Triumph
Authors: Fordham Eric
Published: March 2008

In the recently introduced Triumph 1500 the Triumph Motor Co. have followed their policy of providing a carefully matched combination of lively performance, high quality finish and the refinements so often normally seen as optional extras. The 1500 package is a natural development of the 1300 and offers extra power and more space in a distinct body line which bears a family likeness to the rest of the Triumph car range.
A stepping stone to the unknown
Authors: Ryder Don
Published: March 2008

Peter Drucker has contributed so much to our thinking on management techniques and as a practising manager I have always been indebted to him for not being a “lost academic” but recognizing and stressing the part—and only the part—each scientific tool has to play in the business operation. With this admiration and large fund of goodwill I approached his latest volume with the anticipation of a further advance in the knowledge of management science. In the event I found it to be disappointing; disappointing because the subject(s) with which it deals are vital to scientists, to technologists, to educators, to the man in the street, to students, to managers and to all thinking people … and this is not a valuable contribution.
Shipping forecast—fair and foul weather
Authors: Eglin Roger
Published: March 2008

The profits of Britain's shipping giants are as different as their interests. The story of luxury liners is still a sad one, but containers, bulk carriers and particularly supertankers are proving to be the soundest floating investment possible. Progressive companies who had put much money into development have been hit hard by the Barber measures of last year—and the Rising Sun of Japan does not shine warmly on them, threatening the strength of the country's ‘invisible’ exports.
New twist to lasers
Authors: Wright Pearce
Published: March 2008

In the past ten years a so‐called ‘communication explosion’ has placed an immense demand on the world's telecommunications industry for more and more equipment to carry telephone messages, radio and television programmes, and a flood of automatically generated information between computer and computer.
Nuclear leaks checked
Authors: Wright Pearce
Published: March 2008

British technologists have eliminated the possibility of nuclear ‘leaks’ at power stations during the critical refuelling stages—using the same process that controls the mixing of the secret recipe of Coca‐Cola drinks. This particular development is a good example of the way many advances in technology hinge on a marriage of existing engineering principles, rather than the application of some new fundamental principle.
The hidden rules
Authors: Mitchell Ewan
Published: March 2008

MANY YEARS AGO, an executive called Addis was wrongfully dismissed by the Gramophone Company. He sued, claiming damages. He maintained that he was entitled not only to the remuneration which he would have received, had he been given his proper notice, but also money to compensate him because as a result of the wrongful dismissal he had lost status and was in fact permanently out of work.
Our mutual friends
Authors: Watts Bill
Published: March 2008

This substantial and scholarly work by Professor Milton Derber deals with the concept of industrial democracy and its evolution in the United States during the period from 1865–1965—a momentous century that included the ending of the Civil War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, World War I, the slump of 1929–34, World War II, conflict in Korea and Vietnam and ironically enough the assassination of John F. Kennedy. It also includes the emergence of giants on the U.S. economic scene—Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, Vanderbilt and John L. Lewis the prominent labour leader.
Plotting a new dimension
Authors: Wright Pearce
Published: March 2008

A scale plan of Nelson's Victory has been made by taking a photograph of the ship. Describing the workings of the complex photogrammetric process in such a basic way is perhaps to do it an injustice. But that's it. A click of a shutter, strictly speaking two of them, and the end result is a detailed drawing showing how something was built or how it has changed over a period of time. The possible applications in industrial terms are tremendous. Photographic techniques developed originally for making maps and carrying out land surveys are beginning to offer a new dimension, almost literally, for other types of engineering design and construction work. This has largely come about by the need to develop new uses for sophisticated equipment, which has involved quite high research and development investment, for the comparatively specialized business of photogrammetry—or the process of making maps with the aid of photography.
Riding the cycle of violence
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

Calvin Coolidge first brought himself to national attention when, as Governor of Massachusetts, he denounced a strike by Boston police: “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” The dictum went unheeded this winter when the bulk of the New York police force broke the law, and stayed away from work for six days.
Trusting in Joe Bloggs
Authors: Hilton Tony
Published: March 2008

The biggest challenge the industry faces is tapping the ‘cloth cap’ market. It is the unit trusts problem that having been designed to suit the needs of the small saver, managers and advertisers alike have found it impossible to make any significant breakthrough into this market.
The futility of power
Authors: Woodcock George
Published: March 2008

CONTRARY TO WHAT many people imagine, I don't foresee the Industrial Relations Bill causing any great upheavals; in fact, I see it falling into disuse. You cannot effectively introduce legislation which does not have majority support. Perhaps at a later date, when industrial relations have improved, there could be laws to bring a minority of persistent troublemakers into line, but the present proposals are wholly impractical.
The unwritten alliance
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

Americans like the House of Lords. Consequently, it showed a good sense of touch to appoint Lord Cromer as Ambassador to the United States. The Baring family have a history of association with America; one helped finance Thomas Jefferson's purchase of Louisiana from Napoleon. Another, Lord Ashburton, expedited the negotiations over the New Brunswick‐Maine border by forwarding almost £3,000 to Secretary of State Daniel Webster. The resultant Webster‐Ashburton Treaty is recorded as ‘a diplomatic triumph—against Webster's own country’.
Four men on a rope
Authors: Smith David
Published: March 2008

Everybody knows that a picture of four men pulling on a rope means Taylor Woodrow. There surely never was a more effectual symbol, serving as it does the double function of promoting success by teamwork among the group's own people, and of presenting the same image to the public. Not everyone knows that Taylor Woodrow is a group of 100 companies in five continents, or how it came to be so. Now is the time to find out, in 212 well‐written pages by Alan Jenkins published on the occasion of the group's fiftieth birthday.
Thesis of doom
Authors: Hunt Kenneth
Published: March 2008

This is an ‘alarming book’, says the blurb on the jacket, about ‘the relation between science and technology, war and peace’, uncovering ‘a number of ways by which we may bring about the fate that history predicts for us’. It turns out, however, that it is really the author who is predicting and not history, and often intemperately at that: some of the premises on which the arguments rest are not always capable of bearing the weight.
The multinationals
Authors: Tugendhat Christopher
Published: March 2008

Whether or not this is a critical moment in the relationship between governments and multi‐national companies, as Christopher Tugendhat suggests, he has succeeded in the difficult task of documenting many aspects of multi‐national company operation in an extremely readable way. Tugendhat argues that the time has come for governments everywhere to decide what to do about the great multi‐national companies that have grown up in the last 25 years.
Factory spies under close scrutiny
Authors: Novak Paul
Published: March 2008

Reginald Maudling will have the ugly problem of industrial spying thrust under his nose next year. Officials at the Home Office are already hinting at registration for security firms—having noted that those which have gone beyond pure security and into espionage are small operators with backgrounds and qualifications which in themselves would not bear much investigation.
High speed gas slows down prices
Authors: Eglin Roger
Published: March 2008

With a gross revenue fast nearing £700 million, 115,000 employees and over 13 million customers, the gas industry is a vast enterprise, and discovery of natural gas in the North Sea has transformed it.
Spirotechnics…
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

John Nance Garner, twice Franklin Roosevelt's Vice‐President, came to the conclusion that ‘the vice‐presidency isn't worth a pitcher of warm spit’. At least, that is the way his remark is recorded by scholars, though anyone who knew the sage of Uvalde, Texas, will believe that his turn of phrase was probably more basic.
The naked giants
Authors: Dobson Richard
Published: March 2008

MULTI‐NATIONAL BUSINESS has suddenly become a highly fashionable topic. It is a safe subject for any businessmen's seminar; it is a safe target for criticism from almost any quarter; academics pontificate about it and found fellowships to study it—indeed, I should not be surprised to find that there was by now a Chair of multi‐national business in at least one university somewhere.
Davies stands by for Moscow trade talks
Authors: Novak Paul
Published: March 2008

To Russia with trade. Now that the alleged Russian spies have gone and relations between Britain and the Kremlin are gradually returning to what passes as normal, John Davies is standing by for an invitation to Moscow. The Trade and Industry Secretary, with order forms in his briefcase, was due in the Soviet capital in January. But following the mass expulsions of Russians and their families by the Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas‐Home, the situation—to quote a DTI man—got a bit ‘saggy’. In retaliation, the Russians promptly cancelled plans for the second meeting of the Anglo‐Soviet joint commission on applied science, technology, and trade. Now the department is expecting an invitation any time to enable the meeting—the inaugural gathering was in London in January last year—to take place in the autumn, probably in October. The result, according to information flowing back from our men in the British Embassy in Moscow, could be a dramatic stepping up in Anglo‐Soviet trade for British manufacturers willing to plunge in to what the ministry stress is a tough market place (fainthearts should stop at home).
Chequered Boards
Authors: Callard Jack
Published: March 2008

INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES tend to be larger than national ones, but I think the real distinction between the two is likely to be one of complexity rather than sheer size. In an international company the decisions that have to be made by the board may be individually no weightier, but the factors that affect the decision‐making process will certainly be more numerous. For every country in which the company operates, or considers establishing a business, there will be a separate set of factors—economic, political and social, for example—to consider. Often there is interaction between these sets of factors, and at any point in time their relationship can be radically changed by a single new factor with international implications, such as the ‘Nixon package’. All this makes for complexity of organization, finance, investment planning and personnel development.
Year of the Fat Cats
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

‘Politics has gotten so expensive it even takes a lot of money to get beat with,’ said Will Rogers, a full 40 years ago. The remark is at least as true today.
Shying away from the Trojan horse
Authors: Hoadley Walter
Published: March 2008

‘Thus, you are going to see a retreat by American companies overseas. Unless a business can stand the test of profitability it is not going to be expanded and, indeed, it might be restricted.’
Soft touch for concrete
Authors: Phillips Chris
Published: March 2008

AS YOU STEP from the concrete pavement into your concrete factory block, pause before opening the wooden office door. At any time now that door could be made of concrete—as could your chair, desk and window frames.
Inside Westminster
Authors: Novak Paul
Published: March 2008

Autumn PT cuts will yo‐yo car prices MPs have come to expect Autumn mini‐budgets under both Tory and Labour Government and the Chancellor is unlikely to disappoint them this year. After the 1971 and 1972 give‐away Spring budgets, cynics might be forgiven for thinking that Tony Barber has little left to hand out. Not so; in fact, speculation is growing both at Westminster and in the City that Barber will act in October or November to cut still further the 25% purchase tax rate which came in at midnight on March 21.
Regenerating the Regions
Authors: Dawson Fred
Published: March 2008

THE DEVELOPMENT REGIONS want prosperity and jobs and it begins to look as though they will be getting a policy to do just this. Acts of Parliament make policies but only conviction can make them work. For too long governments have applied expedients and palliatives but the conviction on which a policy is founded has not always been there.
JOBS FOR THE ALL‐AMERICAN BOYS
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

It is hard to fix on a date when the Vietnam war started. It will be equally difficult to decide when American participation ended. Most wars end with a massive demobilization of troops, a decline for war‐related industries, and a surge in consumer‐spending. Yet America's defence companies could foresee the diminution of the Vietnam war as early as 1968, and made their adjustments early.
Run the gauntlet—and pace the world
Authors: Kircheis John R.
Published: March 2008

IT HAS BEEN SAID that our basic society—including big business—is now facing a changed attitude from the young, a general unrest.
ELEPHANTS among the chickens
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

‘The relative failure of the antitrust laws proves yet again that legislation is only as strong as the will that enforces it. Since the end of the New Deal it has made little difference to antitrust enforcement whether the Republicans or the Democrats held the White House. Republicans are considered pro‐business and cannot afford to be too soft on mergers; Democrats are considered to be hostile to business, and cannot afford to confirm this impression by being too harsh.’
When shell‐shock pays off
Authors: BARNFATHER MAURICE
Published: March 2008

David Stark (opposite) is one of a trio who got together and, in a textbook ‘shell’ operation, turned a sleepy commodity dealing company—JH Vavasseur—into a thrusting organization with a current market capitalisation of £20 million.
In defence of the ‘Plastic Society’
Authors: McElhoes Robert D.
Published: March 2008

‘What plastic is doing is providing an aesthetically acceptable alternative to older established materials at a price which invariably is that much cheaper. If a man has the money to buy a Rolls Royce, he wants, and gets, real walnut on the facia. If a man who can't afford this wants a passable imitation, why shouldn't he get it?’
Licence to cure
Authors: Phillips Chris
Published: March 2008

An idea hatched in the days of horse‐drawn travel is now a front‐runner in the race to find a pollution‐free car engine.
MP's ‘PRODUCE˜YOU˜KOWN˜POWER’ PLAN TO THWART BLACKOUT THREATS
Authors: Novak Paul
Published: March 2008

COMPANIES ARE BEING urged by Trevor Skeet, chairman of the Tory MPs' Trade Committee, to install their own electricity generating plants to thwart militants in the power supply industry and save cash in the long run.
Whatever happened to Taft˜Hartley?
Authors: Mayes Keith
Published: March 2008

With the IR Act still the subject of seething discontent among Britain's trade unionists, Keith Mayes takes a timely look at the US Taft‐Hartley laws, aimed at putting a rein on the power of organised labour. He reports that they have fallen largely into disuse as more and more workers—among them professional people hitherto against the idea of unions—see the need for collective strength.
A refined case for dearer energy
Authors: Hill Jim
Published: March 2008

‘No company, no matter how big on paper, can continue to show the kind of meagre return on investment that a number of oil companies have been showing over recent years. They are simply not generating anything like enough profit for reinvestment.’
The brain in your pocket
Authors: Wright Michael
Published: March 2008

Suddenly, in less than two years, a new high‐technology consumer product has swept world markets—the electronic pocket calculator. Such machines range from the relatively simple type that will add, subtract, multiply and divide up to six numerical digits, to the highly sophisticated ‘electronic slide‐rule’, with its instant calculation of square roots, logarithms, trig functions and other scientific esoterica.
Inside Westminster
Authors: Novak Paul
Published: March 2008

Post Office considers rebate scheme for code users. CASH INCENTIVES MAY be offered to large business users of Britain's mail services to persuade them to use the postal code system—and perhaps undertake some pre‐sorting of their letters before they go into the post box.
HUNT THE NIMBLE
Authors: BARNFATHER MAURICE
Published: March 2008

The takeover moves by TACE—the printing‐to‐crane safety engineering group — represent a comeback for a one‐time City star, Jock Mackenzie. But the man largely responsible for TACE's expansion is Simon Hunt, a 29‐year‐old ex‐factory foreman, whose management philosophy is one of ‘mild intervention’.
Distillers could be hit by ban on trading pacts
Authors: O'Dwyer Colin
Published: March 2008

ANYONE WHO DOUBTED the European Commission's serious intention with its anti‐trust policy will now realise that Director‐General Willy Schlieder and his Competition Department mean business.
THE MAKING OF HAY'S
Authors: Barnfather Maurice
Published: March 2008

With planning consent for the redevelopment of its Southwark dock site virtually assured, Hay's Wharf has a property potential that is awesome even by today's standards.
Mrs Castle accuses Macmillan of ‘back‐pedalling’ on equal pay
Authors: Novak Paul
Published: March 2008

BARBARA CASTLE, ARCHITECT of the Equal Pay Act, is firing warning shots at employers who drag their feet or try to evade this issue.
When ‘ramps’ hoist those all‐paper bids
Authors: Barnfather Maurice
Published: March 2008

Shareholders in a company which is about to be taken over should be wary of an ‘all‐paper’ bid, where there is no cash alternative. For there is evidence to suggest that the practice of ‘ramping’—where the bidder gets acquaintances to buy heavily in his own company's shares to artificially boost the offer value—is on the increase.
Spinelli wrestles with jobs versus profits in shipbuilding dilemma
Authors: O'Dwyer Colin
Published: March 2008

A RADICAL NEW look at the European shipbuilding industry is being greatly influenced by the recently‐published Booz‐Allen Report.
Reading the small print
Authors: Wright Michael
Published: March 2008

Weir Pumps is a medium‐sized engineering company with several factories in the Glasgow area. It has between 29,000 and 30,000 stock parts, and for a number of years has been keeping, and up‐dating, information on these by computer. The system has worked pretty efficiently, allowing the firm to keep tabs on where stocks of the various parts are held, their quantities and prices, and so on.
‘Make parent company liable for a subsidiary's losses,’ urges report
Authors: O'Dwyer Colin
Published: March 2008

A FEW WEEKS AGO, Harold Geneen, chairman and chief executive officer of the now famous International Telephone and Telegraph Company, formally opened the giant 23‐storey ITT tower. It is the new headquarters of the corpora‐tion's European activities, on Brussels' well‐to‐do Avenue Louise. In banner headlines, the house magazine proudly announced ‘We're in! Europe under one roof’. It went on to praise the multinational effort involved in perfecting the new building (Bell Telephones—Belgium, Standard Elektrik Lorenz of Germany, LMT Pompes Salmson of France, Barking Brassware—UK, IVAC of Belgium, ITT Controls—UK), each one part of the worldwide network.
THE WINNING WAYS OF WEETABIX
Authors: PHILLIPS CHRIS
Published: March 2008

Seven million Weetabix biscuits are produced every day. The company is private and all‐British and the product is number two in the cereals charts.
Do contests boost sales?
Authors: Phillips Chris
Published: March 2008

ABOUT 2,000,000 people in Britain enter a consumer competition every month. Another 2.000,000 are reckoned to take part at least once a year.