bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Shaky Foundations of Some Management Training Models
Authors: Roskin Rick
Published: May 2008

A number of management training models use as their foundation some variables which are controversial. Perhaps the most commonly found basis, is the Initiating Structure and Consideration theory. (Fleishman et al., 1955). It forms the central support of such popular management models as the Managerial Grid (Blake and Mouton, 1964); the 3‐D Theory (Reddin, 1970); Contingency Theory (Fiedler, 1967); Life Cycle Model (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969); Path‐Goal Theory (House, 1971) and others.
Releasing the Energy of Others — Making Things Happen
Authors: Knowles Malcolm S.
Published: May 2008

Several years ago I began an intellectual adventure that has paid high dividends in terms of understanding the role of leadership and in selecting more effective leadership strategies. The adventure consisted of seeing what would happen if one conceptualised a social system (family, group, organisation, agency, corporation, school, college, community, state, nation, or world) as a system of human energy.
FLOW PRODUCTION
Authors: Ryden A.J.
Published: May 2008

THE need for mechanical handling, materials handling, mechanization, work study and time and motion study is still apparent in many industries. All these systems and methods are very necessary in themselves, but useless by themselves. It must be realised that to apply any of these systems, there must first be a clear appreciation of what exactly the overall system is intended to achieve and what is its objective.
Methods of Deception
Authors: Mackay Gordon
Published: May 2008

A time study engineer is occasionally faced with the problem of operators attempting deception for the purpose of trying to obtain loose rates on jobs. Considerable ingenuity is often exercised, but the experienced engineer has usually seen the identical method before and has learnt which operators are likely to try and mislead him.
Make or Buy:Factors Relevant to Decision Making
Authors: Dugdale Harry
Published: May 2008

Profit forecasts should be achievable targets. Not only must they project a level and mix of sales for the forthcoming financial year, at competitive prices, but the output requires to be manufactured, and marketed, at economic costs. One area in which cost savings may be effected — or otherwise — is that of subcontracting the manufacture of some items of sub‐product. Assessing the viability of such a decision becomes, inter alia, a matter of rigorous cost comparison with the same items made internally. This article reviews some of the important features arising in make or buy decisions.
An Industry/Education Partnership
Authors: Twomey Daniel F.
Published: May 2008

In today's world the words “strategic”, “networking”, and “synergism” are often used in explaining how to be a world‐class competitor in a knowledge‐based society. With the advent of downsizing and right‐sizing, major changes have been made inside organizations. New structures based on integration and cooperation are replacing rigid hierarchies. Similar changes are taking place at the industry level with firms combining at national and international levels to establish new competencies and competitive advantages. Whether it is Toyota's joint ventures with other auto manufacturers and its special relationships with its suppliers and dealers, or the matrix of cooperative efforts of computer firms, the integration of activities and knowledge is everywhere. Well, it is almost everywhere. In large part, institutions of higher education have not established new ways of integrating the process of knowledge creation and distribution with non‐academic institutions. Even those universities that have expanded external programs continue to use the traditional model of the dispenser of knowledge. For example, many universities have expanded overseas. Fairleigh Dickinson University has a beautiful campus in Wroxton, England. A semester at Wroxton is a treat for any student, but the model is largely traditional with English instead of American professors dispensing knowledge to students. Between academia and business there is a lack of interactive learning, what Argyris calls double‐loop learning.
INDUSTRY FOCUS: SMITH & NEPHEW
Authors: Sparks Ron
Published: May 2008

Perhaps the best place to start is to tell you something about our business. Smith & Nephew is a British firm, founded in 1856 by a pharmacist named T.J. Smith. Mr. Smith was an entrepreneur with one significant product—cod liver oil, which he imported from Norway.
DEVELOPING INFORMATION SYSTEMS OUTSIDE THE U.S.
Authors: Capozzoli Ernest A. , Malley John C. , Balsmeier Phillip W.
Published: May 2008

The literature is replete with normative models of system development methodologies. While these methodologies may be sound and workable in the United States, they may not be appropriate for other cultures. This paper proposes that system development methodologies must account for cultural considerations in the development and transfer of Information Systems (IS) outside the United States (US). Planning for overseas system development requires careful assessment and incorporation of cultural implications into the development methodology. How should IS be developed for use in other cultures? What should a system developer consider to be successful in an overseas environment?
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: IT'S THE POLITY, STUPID!
Authors: Boddewyn Jean J.
Published: May 2008

This title is obviously a variation on the major theme of Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992. His emphasis on the state of the U.S. economy underscored the fact that, at times, certain topics have achieved or deserve greater salience. And so, my theme is that the study and teaching of international business must place greater emphasis on political institutions, developments andbehaviors.
NAFTA AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS
Authors: Max Baucus Senator
Published: May 2008

Good morning. I am very pleased to speak here at the Conference on Competitiveness today, because we are approaching a basic decision on trade and competitiveness policy. That is the vote on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
REWARD SYSTEMS IN TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE PACIFIC BASIN
Authors: Knouse Stephen B.
Published: May 2008

Reward systems provide a number of important functions in the organization including motivating active participation of organizational members, meeting role expectations, and motivating innovation and strong commitment to the organization (Steers and Porter, 1991). Organizations worldwide are actively grappling with the translation of Deming's (1986) fourteen principles into their own unique versions of Total Quality Management. As they proceed through the stages of transforming their organizational cultures toward continuous quality improvement, they have evolved a number of reward mechanisms to assimilate workers into the TQM culture and to maintain workers' efforts toward continuous quality improvement goals. The present article examines the reward systems in several organizations in the Pacific Basin, which was chosen because of the increasing emphasis upon quality taken by companies in Australia, Asia, and the western U.S.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE STRATEGIES TO REVIVE CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A RESPONSE TO DECLINING U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
Authors: Wilhelm Paul G. , Treviño Melanie
Published: May 2008

After the Second World War the U.S. emerged as an industrial power and remained the world's dominant economic force for a number of years. Europe, due to heavy infrastructure and capital damage brought about by the war, was in no position to challenge the U.S. in any manufacturing or industrial venture. Thus after the war the U.S. enjoyed its longest period of economic expansion in history. This economic boom was to continue, off and on, well into the early 1970s.
IS U.S. GLOBAL ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS DECLINING? WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE U.S. ECONOMIC GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS?
Authors: Hayajneh Abdalla F. , Udeh Igwe E. , Kedia Sushila S.
Published: May 2008

The decline in the U.S. global economic position has led to widespread concern about U.S. global competitiveness. This declining in U.S. competitiveness is reflected by changes in its standard of living, relative changes in U.S. productivity, investments, and trade balances since 1980. While still ahead of other countries in standard of in income compared with other nations, as real income continues to rise elsewhere.
TOP OF THE POPS AMONG THE GURUS
Authors: Hickson David J. , Pugh Derek S.
Published: May 2008

Want to know who is who among the gurus of management? Want to know who said what?
EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWING IN JORDAN: A STUDY OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS IN THE BUSINESS FIRMS
Authors: Makhamreh Muhsen
Published: May 2008

The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the interviewing practices of Jordanian interviewers in the private sector. One hundred and four interviewers responded to a questionnaire. The study reveals that the interview is the most widely used tool for employee selection, and the structured‐panel interview is the most common type used. Planning for the interview process is found to be broad in nature and lacks rigor and details. Positive verbal and nonverbal behavior of the interviewee is found to be the significant factor affecting the interviewer's selection decision followed by negative verbal and nonverbal behavior. Interviewer's values and attitudes, stereotypes, and interviewee self‐confidence and physical attractiveness are found also to be significant.
MODES OF ENTRY SUBSTITUTION PATTERNS USED BY U.S. MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN WESTERN EUROPE
Authors: Okoroafo Sam C.
Published: May 2008

The patterns used by international firms to substitute modes of entry in foreign product markets could be incremental in the chain from exporting to investment (incremental pattern) or could be haphazard and unpredictable (non‐incremental pattern). This study develops models representing the substitution patterns then tests them using data on exporting, licensing and investments flows of U.S. manufacturing firms to Western Europe during the 1980–88 period. The findings suggest that U.S. manufacturing firms at the aggregate level used the non‐incremental pattern.
JAPAN'S ECONOMIC PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW
Authors: Kumar Kamalesh , Short Robert B.
Published: May 2008

Many academic ankles and much analysis by the popular press and trade journals have focused on selected and rather narrow aspects of Japan's business moves in various markets of the U.S. It is argued in this paper that Japan's presence in the U.S. is based on a long‐range, multi‐strategy system. The paper analyzes Japan's long‐term business strategy in the U.S. by taking an evolutionary approach to the entry modes of Japanese companies in the United States. This approach focuses on how and why the entry modes shifted during the past three decades as a basis for understanding the changes in the character of Japan's economic presence in the U.S. and for anticipating future strategic shifts.
ADVANCING COMPETITIVE POSITION THROUGH GLOBAL AND JIT SOURCING: REVIEW AND DIRECTIONS
Authors: Alotaibi Khalid F. , Fawcett Stanley E. , Birou Laura
Published: May 2008

Increasing competitive pressure over the past 20 years has forced many companies to re‐evaluate their value‐added systems. This re‐evaluation has greatly amplified the managerial attention focused on purchasing. Indeed, many firms have begun to emphasize purchasing in their attempts to improve their competitive positions. Two advanced sourcing practices have been particularly important: global and JIT sourcing. This paper: 1) reviews the literature pertaining to these two sourcing practices, 2) considers potential competitive impact, 3) explores issues of compatibility, and 4) presents future research directions.
Reference Sources and Services: Four Current Issues
Authors: Fisher William , Ingebretsen Dorothy , Portilla Teresa , Waters Marie
Published: May 2008

As information professionals, reference librarians are well aware of the importance of keeping up not only with the volume of professional reading that crosses their desks, but also with recent trends and developments, such as new titles that are issued annually and new databases available from major vendors. The overwhelming tendency is to focus on items of immediate concern and postpone dealing with other matters. The short‐range effect is that the job gets done; the long‐range effect is that we sometimes “cannot see the forest for the trees.” We get so focused on meeting the everyday demands of the job that the “big picture” is missed, or significant issues of concern to the profession are given little thought.
Architectural History: A Core Collection
Authors: Whittington Christine
Published: May 2008

This guide attempts to identify those items that should form the foundation of any collection of reference tools on architectural history and upon which more specialized collections can be built. The core collection suggested here is for a college or university library offering courses in architectural history at the upper undergraduate level and above, but the annotations should enable those developing the collections of other types of libraries to select appropriate items.
Techniques for producing thixotropic paints etc. Part I
Authors: Walton Anne J.
Published: May 2008

Thixotropy can be regarded as the loss of viscosity in a paint or other material that is brought about by mechanical agitation, and where the viscosity continues to decrease provided that this disturbance is continued for a period of time. Conversely, when the mechanical force is removed, the material then increases in viscosity and this recovery toward the initial structure continues to take place over a period of time. Sometimes the time dependency of the viscosity is vanishingly small so that the material is then properly referred to as pseudoplastic. In most of the literature, however, it is not usually possible to differentiate between thixotropy and true pseudoplasticity and therefore both kinds of structure are included in this review as they each are destroyed by mechanical agitation and recover when this is discontinued.
Why I am a Behaviourist
Authors: Honey Peter
Published: May 2008

I am besotted with behaviour! Virtually anything to do with the way people behave, its externalcauses and its externaleffects, has me hooked. I can think of few things more fascinating than unravelling the connections between external events and observable behaviour. Yet I find my enthusiasm is rarely shared by my colleagues in training or personnel. Too often they accuse me of being superficial, manipulative and inhuman. If all else fails they tell me behaviourism is just common sense!
Is There Enough Meat in the Sandwich?
Authors: van Zwanenberg Nigel
Published: May 2008

The research on which this report is based was carried out between 1979 and 1980. The main part of that research concerned the effects of the one year industrial training that constituted the third year of a four‐year degree in Business Studies on the orientations to work of students of this course.
Educational Focuses in Organisational Life Cycles
Authors: Miller Harry G.
Published: May 2008

The increasingly rapid pace of scientific and technological change, combined with unprecedented development of means of communications, poses both challenges and opportunities for the adapting of learning to economic development. On the one hand, this change can increase economic and educational inequalities both within and among countries. On the other hand, the means for faster diffusion of knowledge vastly increases opportunities for specific learning needs, thus enhancing economic development. The need for access, flexibility and quality learning is an essential function of a complex and economically advanced society. The assumptions that people can acquire all the necessary learning in some form from a terminal degree or from compulsory education grade limits are no longer adequate considering the continuous need for social and economic development.
Chemist shops: Professionals behind the counter
Authors: Cox Roger
Published: May 2008

Two major factors distinguish the pharmacy trade in this country: the increasing conflict between the professionally‐trained pharmacists and the merchandising wizards of the multiples and supermarket groups, intent on developing their business in OTC lines; and the huge preponderance of one single organisation ‐ Boots, with over 1,000 branches and over £488m. turn‐over. Independent pharmacies are closing at the rate of about 200–250 a year; the Care voluntary group numbers less than half the independents amongst its members.
The stock situation: The Nielsen view
Authors: Connolly Jim
Published: May 2008

Today's problems ‐ and they include stock levels in grocers ‐ are not unique. I doubt if there is anyone in the trade who, during the past few years, has not used or heard many times that over‐worked euphemism “stock rationalisation”. For the plain fact is that no organisation wants to carry more stock than it has to, whatever the economic climate.
Health food shops: A steady improvement expected
Authors: Cox Roger
Published: May 2008

The current turnover in the health foods market is around £30m. and this has doubled since 1968/69. Inflation has obviously had its effect on recent annual increases; the rate of expansion was 20% per year but now appears to have slowed down.
Your next general manager ‐ Where is he coming from?
Authors: Read BSc ARIC AMBIM John
Published: May 2008

Industry and commerce are today generally very training conscious. The Industrial Training Act of 1964 was a very useful spur to those who had not previously given much thought to the topic. In the retail and distribution sectors there are many examples of firms with excellent in‐house training schemes or, where the situation docs not permit it, of firms who make full use of outside training resources. In the area of management development and training, one sees good examples of forward planning and clear thinking. However, there are many enterprises who have not considered bridging the vital gap between functional and general management.
The use of computers in supermarket groups
Authors: Newman Ron
Published: May 2008

Computers have been used in food retailing groups for the past 13–14 years. Companies such as Sainsbury and Tesco Stores began by implementing distribution and basic accounting systems on mark sense cards and early computing equipment like the Emidec 1100. From these elementary beginnings the large companies have now developed sophisticated and integrated systems based on substantial investment on computer equipment and computer software. The emphasis in computing development however, throughout the last decade, has been on distribution systems. In addition substantial effort has gone into accounting and management information applications. The degree of centralised control of the trading operation within each group, has to a very large extent dictated the data processing policy pursued by individual organisations. Other factors have been the number and size of the retail stores owned by each company and the detailed trading strategy followed by each group, such as the ratio of own label to branded goods. The effect of these factors in practice can best be illustrated by a description of the different computer‐based distribution systems operated by the major groups.
Opportunities in management training
Authors: Philpott W J
Published: May 2008

Each alternate year the Distributive Trades Education and Training Council arranges a conference for University Careers Advisory Officers. The purpose of the conference is to outline management career opportunities for university graduates in retail and wholesale distribution, and the format usually followed is for a type of distribution to be discussed both by an executive and a management trainee. This year's conference was held at Lewis's store in Birmingham; W.J. Philpott, the writer of this report, was himself one of the speakers.
Fast food‐ An industry in difficulties
Authors: Cox Roger
Published: May 2008

The progression from fish and chips to fried chicken spans an era of radical social change—from smoky street corner fish and chip shops to the fluorescent and chromium American style suburban outlet. Questions of hygiene apart, such a “progression” to an alien and plastic style of eating‐out seems doubtful to say the least. One can therefore view with a certain detachment the pressures on the fast food industry, here discussed by Roger Cox, of inflated raw material prices, decline in custom, and tangles with legislation.
Food supermarketing: A new approach
Authors: Halstead P.K.
Published: May 2008

A more simplified assortment, closer attention to the product, an emphasis on personnel management—these are the essential factors to be borne in mind in operating food supermarkets, whether they be in the United States or in Europe. A paper given to the CIES annual congress in Venice.
The Industrial Society ‐ Its work in retailing
Authors: Tietjen Tina
Published: May 2008

The Industrial Society‐in spite of its name—has for many years been concerned with the retail trade, and now has a thriving retail department headed up by Tina Tietjen. Some very distinguished retail companies utilise the Society's training services, as she explains in this article.
Don Quixote visits a London library
Authors: Snaith Stanley
Published: May 2008

THE Children's Department proved to be a neat and cosy little room, somewhat sparingly furnished with books (“Overstocking was the bane of the old children's libraries,” said my companion) but with pictures (“Kindly donated by the L.N.E.R.”), cardboard models, and flowers much in evidence. In the centre of the room a tall sallow individual in a baggy suit, which might have been designed by Omar the Tentmaker, was wearing himself to the bone to amuse the young. A rabbit and the historic ruins of a top‐hat appeared to be the leading motifs of this entertainment. The former disappeared and reappeared four or five times while I watched, and I reflected that its views on serialism would have been of great value to Professor Dunne. I asked the meaning of this phenomenon.
A Tube Shelter lending library
Authors: Snaith Stanley
Published: May 2008

Libraries in converted shops, in village halls, in mobile vans, are common enough on both sides of the Atlantic—and from America we even hear the majestic news of a library on a peanut handcart. But libraries in tube shelters are something new under the sun—or moon. Who could have foreseen such things ? Yet they had to come. When Londoners, undergoing the heaviest bombardment in history, defied all laws and rules by taking possession of the tube platforms and stairs—not by storm, but by the mildest of infiltrations—it was quickly evident that a new social situation was in being. People spending from eight to fourteen hours a night on a station far below ground had to have food, sleeping facilities, medical attention, recreation both physical and mental. A new organisation had to be created, and created it was, partly by central planning and partly—it is our English way—by brilliant improvisation.
Books and the public
Authors: Kersley Holmes W.
Published: May 2008

Nobody who, like myself, is in some way intimately connected with publishing, can stand either at the counter of a lending library, or with the knot of treasure‐hunters round a second‐hand book‐barrow in the street, without a certain melancholy.
Management teams: Have they a role now?
Authors: Mitchell John
Published: May 2008

The British National Health Service (NHS) is a vast, complex and bureaucratic organisation which enjoys a wide degree of popular support across the political spectrum. However, despite these shared aspirations, the NHS induces a high level of controversy; the difficulties experienced on agreeing policies, aims and objectives, defining priorities and realising changes cause profound frustrations and these were a major factor in stimulating the reorganisations of 1974, 1982 and 1984. The appointment of a management and organisational framework that will allow agreement to be reached and decisions to be taken and implemented in this apparently monolithic bureaucracy has been an aspiration that ministers from different political backgrounds have shared since 1947. In this paper I shall review the role and function of management teams between 1982 and 1984 before examining the possibilities and potential accruing from the introduction of general management.
The economics of home care for the elderly
Authors: Bielawska C. , Rai G.S.
Published: May 2008

Elderly population We all have a vested interest in the care of our elderly, whose needs and expectations are as important as those of younger people.
Introduction of a management structure in group general practice
Authors: Williams Robat W.
Published: May 2008

Why does a group general practice need a formal management structure? During my 14 years in general practice, it has become increasingly recognised that GP's do need skills in managing what is, after all, a business. This has led to an increased emphasis on this aspect of general practice in vocational training and to a variety of courses and seminars for GP's in aspects of it, particularly financial ones. There seems, though, to have been very little discussion on the actual structure of management within general practice and, with the increasing complexity of GP practice, it seems to me that a clear management structure is necessary both to utilise skills already possessed and to develop further skills within a practice for the future.
Managers and power in organisations
Authors: MacNamara M. , Rounsefell V.
Published: May 2008

The aim of this paper is to look at power and job‐related dependencies in organisations. A list of the references cited is given at the end.
Quality assurance in clinical care: A guide for managers
Authors: McCarthy Mark
Published: May 2008

One of the best results of Mr Griffiths' review of the UK National Health Service has been the increased attention being given to issues of quality. Not everyone agrees that the NHS can learn from management of the nation's retail trade, but many would acknowledge that a strong selling point for the Sainsbury's chain has been the consistent quality of its products. Quality also exists in the NHS, but not consistent quality. British Governments have recognised that one side of the equation for quality is a reasonable distribution of resources. Thus political parties have supported the Resource Allocation Working Party's formula for the distribution of NHS funds. Now the other side of the equation — improving the quality of care — has become a priority.
Stress in the NHS : Cause, effect and prevention
Authors: Eskin F.
Published: May 2008

It is possible that stress has always been a major hazard of organisational life. However, it is only relatively recently that this condition has been recognised in terms of its enormous potential for both personal and organisational damage. A substantial and well‐established literature now exists in relation to stress and some practical effort is being expended on its amelioration, based on the knowledge and understanding accrued to date.
The National Health Service: The trials and tribulations of resource allocation
Authors: Haywood Stuart , Yates John , Harley Mike
Published: May 2008

The London teaching hospitals' case for a larger slice of National Health Service (NHS) funds is gaining ground. The House of Commons Social Services Committee has already made a special plea on their behalf in its 1986 report on expenditure on the NHS. More money has been earmarked for Thames Regions in 1987–88 and 1988–89 and the formula on which the present policy of more equal allocations to English regions is based is under review.
Clinical trials — some medical, ethical, legal and practical problems
Authors: Brahams Diana
Published: May 2008

The last 60 years have seen unprecedented advances in medical treatment. Patients' expectations for a successful outcome are now higher than at any previous time. More and more patients are ready to sue for damages if the result is disappointing, since there is less readiness to accept that failure may not be the result of medical negligence.
Are improvements in the quality of care incompatible with savings in resources?
Authors: de Dombal F.T.
Published: May 2008

This presentation argues that improvements in the quality of care are perfectly compatible with resource saving — but, in order to achieve these desirable aims, doctors' performance must change. An example is cited relating to acute abdominal pain. In a recent multi‐centre study, doctors aided by a small desk‐top computer system appeared both to improve clinical care and save resources. It is argued that quite profound resource savings and improvements in care can be achieved by relatively simple changes in doctors' behaviour. More attention should be paid to this aspect of health care management.
Crown set‐off in insolvencies and health authority obligations
Authors: Morris Christopher
Published: May 2008

Health authorities are among the major spenders of Government funds in Britain. At any given time any health authority (like any other large purchaser of goods and services) will owe substantial amounts to suppliers and to contractors; and inevitably, upon occasion, some such creditor of a health authority becomes insolvent. The situation arises the more frequently from the fact that much health authority expenditure is on the construction and renovation of hospitals and other buildings — and the rate of insolvency in the building industry tends to be rather higher than the average.
Ethics and health care management
Authors: Evans Donald
Published: May 2008

While it would be foolish to deny that morality is co‐extensive with the whole range of human activity, it is nevertheless true that some areas of that activity raise moral questions in greater numbers and with greater density than others. It follows that there will be considerable variation in the degree to which moral considerations permeate management of such activity. A good case can be made for the claim that management of the provision of health care comes high in the list of those areas where moral values shape and identify the character of the decisions to be made in the most intimate and penetrating way.
Financial problems for districts and units — What can managers do?
Authors: Paton C.R.
Published: May 2008

The purpose of this paper is to present a number of opportunities and strategies which UK district authorities and units should consider in the light of financial constraints and shortage of resources. Irrespective of party politics and the political complexion of the government of the day, the British National Health Service will always have less resources than it can employ to address issues of health need and demand in the population. Innovative means of mobilising resources should be considered, and the following topics are treated below:
Response to the Government's ‘Agenda for Discussion’ on primary health care: An alternative view
Authors: Cumberlege Julia
Published: May 2008

The coming of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948 was a visionary act to provide for people in a changed world. It was based on idealistic principles in tune with a more egalitarian society that was being created. The concept was a triumph and gave Britain a lead in the provision of health care.
Management in medicine
Authors: Hallett J.N.
Published: May 2008

Along with all the other challenges facing managers and clinicians in the National Health Service (NHS) in the latter part of the 20th century is the conundrum of how to respond to the politicians' (of whatever party) exhortations to provide comprehensive health care, set against a backcloth in real terms of a deteriorating financial climate. The paradox becomes real when a district health authority (DHA) responds to the challenge and, on the basis of performance indicators, appears to perform well and finds that it is penalised for its success.
Public Perceptions of Differences Between NHS and Private Health Care Facilities
Authors: Lee Jennifer J. , Moores Brian
Published: May 2008

The steady growth in the number of British people covered by private health insurance and the associated growth in hospital beds in private facilities, prompted a study of the perceived differences between NHS and private health care facilities. The data were collected via a detailed questionnaire which was eventually completed by 196 respondents, of whom 162 were not covered by private health insurance. The items featured in the questionnaire were , to some extent, based on the work of previous researchers, this work being reviewed here . However, the topics included also reflected earlier research which had been focused on patient satisfaction with their hospital stay. In addition other names were developed on the basis of a series of interviews. The eventual questionnaire features 72 items and this paper is concerned with the first 48 of these which, in addition to soliciting differential assessments of aspects of the two different environments, also sought an assessment of the importance attached to that topic. The results presented here show not only the simple response patterns, but also the results of a factor analysis which identified six readily interpretable factors. The scores on these six factors were found to differ significantly between groups of respondents.
Changing the Financial Incentives for Israel's Sick Funds: An Analysis of Policy Options
Authors: Ellencweig A.Y.
Published: May 2008

Reimbursement of the Israeli sick funds, whose status as both insurers and providers of health care is unique, warrants much attention. The paper deals with the issue in detail. Four main channels for reimbursement are discussed: premium payment from members, co‐payments from members, parallel tax payments from the members' employer, and direct government subsidies. For each source, pros and cons are evaluated and suggestions are made for improvement of the reimbursement process in the future.
Community Organisation as an Approach to Community Health
Authors: Yesudian C.A.K.
Published: May 2008

This paper deals with the effectiveness of using the community organisation approach in a community health programme. It describes a pilot project in one of the slum pockets in Bombay in India where the municipal health post workers were helped to adopt the community organisation approach to implement an immunisation programme. The various strategies used to demonstrate the usefulness of the community organisation approach, and the process of training the health staff towards adopting this approach, are described in the paper.
Avoidable Mortality
Authors: Wolfe MRCOG Charles
Published: May 2008

Standard Mortality Ratios (SMR) for certain diseases from which death is considered avoidable can be used as outcome indicators, measuring the effectiveness of health service intervention. The interpretation of SMRs for diseases such as stroke, asthma and cancer of the bladder will be discussed. The responsibility of health service managers and clinicians in the investigation of avoidable deaths is outlined in order that district health authorities (DHAs) can begin to reduce the number of unnecessary deaths from these diseases.
Teaching Health Economics in Medical School: Experiences and Observations from the US
Authors: Schifrin Leonard G.
Published: May 2008

Michael F. Drummond, in a recent paper in this Journal, has pointed out the usefulness and even necessity of physicians in clinical practice understanding certain key concepts of economics that apply to the provision of medical care. While the clinical practice of medicine and economic theory may appear to be quite unrelated, in fact they share a basic purpose: that of maximising the benefit society as a whole receives from the limited productive capability at hand. Viewed in this way, choices in the provision of medical care are but a subset of all choices that society must make in allocating this limited capability among many competing uses. ‘Economising’ thus is applicable to each component of economic activity, including the provision of medical care. ‘Scarcity’ and ‘opportunity cost’, as defined by Drummond, are the anchors of the bridge joining medical care and economics, and represent the fundamental concepts in the teaching of economic ways of thinking to those who determine the allocation of resources between medical care and other sectors of production, and within medical care. This paper builds on Drummond's ‘teaching approaches’ — his suggestions about where, when, what, and how to proceed until the infusion of this sort of economics education into the medical curriculum — with observations derived from 16 years' experience in teaching health care economics, in many settings, in the United States. It offers them, with due qualification for the differences between the US and UK medical care delivery and financing systems, in the hope that they may prove useful in expanding the teaching of economic concepts to future clinical practitioners and managers in both countries.
Team Midwifery — The Scunthorpe Experience
Authors: Swan Mary
Published: May 2008

The House of Commons Select Committee Report (1992), and more recently the Changing Childbirth report (1993), suggest that the lack of continuity experienced by women and professionals within the traditional system of maternity care is no longer appropriate nor desirable. Informs the reader how Scunthorpe Maternity Services had already recognized the need to reduce fragmentation and raise standards and how a strategy was developed, in response to these deficiencies, which planned to replace the traditional model of care with one of integrated team midwifery. Also describes the process undertaken in the transformation of services, highlights the impact of such changes on the midwives and midwifery practice and discusses developments for future consideration.
Sustaining Health Management Development Initiatives: Lessons from Zambia
Authors: Stefanini Angelo
Published: May 2008

Discusses the lessons learned from a two‐year, WHO/DANIDA funded health management development project at district level in Zambia. The project was implemented by the Zambian Ministry of Health whose active interest and political commitment ensured the continuation and the country‐wide expansion of the management development process. After describing in detail project objectives, implementation and evaluation findings, suggests some factors which are likely to have contributed to the sustainability of the management development process after the end of external assistance. The most important of these factors was the right “fit” between donors' and recipients' policies. Donors showed a long‐term perspective and a conscious attention to avoid actions which might induce dependence. This matched very well with the recipient's strategic vision, political will, and the project's pattern of “ownership”.
Comment
Authors: Hartley Dick
Published: May 2008

There has been a considerable investment of time, money and effort in recent years in the creation of bibliographic records of books. The results are clearly visible. We now have AACR2, MARC records and a whole range of library networks—whether OCLC, RLIN et al in the States, or BLCMP, SWALCAP et al in Britain. We have a new edition of the Dewey Classification Scheme and a new edition of the Bliss Classification scheme. Yet despite all this effort, the databases created, whether an individual library's catalogue or the full set of MARC records on BLAISE, are of strictly limited value.
The Shallow end
Authors: Shallow Robert
Published: May 2008

Winston Churchill once wrote: ‘It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.’ An educated man would, no doubt, remember that passage from his reading of Churchill's My early life. I culled it from a dictionary of quotations.
Interview
Authors: Walter Roger
Published: May 2008

When, after NLW/LAR to‐ing and fro‐ing about a successor to Peter Labdon as editor of NLW, I took on the job, Roger Walter suggested that he interview me. He reminded me that I had interviewed him for LAR (November 1975) just before he became its first full‐time journalist editor. Some days later, and trying to see if there was something in it for NLW, I sat in the smoke‐filled LAR editorial office, swung about in the advertising executive's swivel chair, adjusted my green eye‐shade and suggested that RW and I interview each other and each publish the result in the other's journal. This whimsy was not pursued, but we did agree a date for a meeting, one or two topics we would discuss, and that the resultant interviews would be published without further consultation between us.
NLW 1000:
Authors: Harrison K C
Published: May 2008

I became editor of The library world at a funeral. It was October 1960 and W C Berwick Sayers, former chief librarian of Croydon, had died, aged 80 or thereabouts. I joined a large congregation at a Croydon church to pay my last respects to one I had known and admired. Impossible to get a seat, so I stood at the back, finding myself cheek‐by‐jowl with Clive Bingley, then a friend of two years’ standing.
Back burner: A looking glass world
Authors: Denim Sue
Published: May 2008

“Excuse me, I'm a new student here”, said Alice, approaching an elderly gentleman with a bushy m'stache and prominent teeth. “Could you show me your Catalogue?”
Shallow returns: Not drowning but waving
Authors: Shallow Robert
Published: May 2008

In the 1940s the teams of the BBC's Transatlantic quiz included such formidable intellectuals as Thomas Bodkin, Christopher Morley and Denis Brogan; and once they were joined by David Niven. On that occasion it was almost midway through the programme before the London questionmaster said with obvious surprise and relief:
Hypervariations of a Protease-Encoding Gene, PD0218 (
pspB
), in
Xylella fastidiosa
Strains Causing Almond Leaf Scorch and Pierce's Disease in California
Authors: Chen J. , Civerolo E. , Tubajika K. , Livingston S. , Higbee B.
Published: May 2008

Xylella fastidiosa
is a gram-negative plant pathogenic bacterium that causes almond leaf scorch disease (ALSD) and Pierce's disease (PD) of grape in many regions of North America and Mexico. Of the two 16S rRNA gene genotypes described in California, A genotype strains cause ALSD only and G genotype strains cause both PD and ALSD. While G genotype strains cause two different diseases, little is known about their genetic variation. In this study, we identified a putative protease locus, PD0218 (
pspB
), in the genome of
X. fastidiosa
and evaluated the variation at this locus in
X. fastidiosa
populations. PD0218 contains tandem repeats of ACDCCA, translated to threonine and proline (TP), upstream of the putative protease conserved domain. Among 116
X. fastidiosa
ALSD and PD strains isolated from seven locations in California, tandem repeat numbers (TRNs) varied from 9 to 47, with a total of 30 TRN genotypes, indicating that
X. fastidiosa
possesses an active mechanism for contracting and expanding tandem repeats at this locus. Significant TRN variation was found among PD strains (mean = 29.9), which could be further divided into two TRN groups: PD-G
small
(mean = 17.3) and PD-G
large
(mean = 44.3). Less variation was found in ALSD strains (mean = 21.7). The variation was even smaller after ALSD strains were subdivided into the A and G genotypes (mean = 13.3, for the G genotype; mean = 27.1, for the A genotype). Genetic variation at the PD0218 locus is potentially useful for sensitive discrimination of
X. fastidiosa
strains. However, TRN stability, variation range, and correlation to phenotypes should be evaluated in epidemiological applications such as pathotype identification and delineation of pathogen origin.
Effect of Growth Temperature on Crl-Dependent Regulation of σ
S
Activity in
Salmonella enterica
Serovar Typhimurium
Authors: Robbe-Saule Véronique , Carreira Ingrid , Kolb Annie , Norel Françoise
Published: May 2008

The small regulatory protein Crl favors association of the stationary-phase sigma factor σ
S
(RpoS) with the core enzyme polymerase and thereby increases σ
S
activity. Crl has a major physiological impact at low levels of σ
S
. Here, we report that the Crl effects on σ
S
-dependent gene expression, the H
2
O
2
resistance of
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium, and the resistance of this organism to acidic pH are greater at 28°C than at 37°C. Immunoblot experiments revealed a negative correlation between σ
S
and Crl levels; the production of Crl was slightly greater at 28°C than at 37°C, whereas the σ
S
levels were about twofold lower at 28°C than at 37°C. At both temperatures, Crl was present in excess of σ
S
, and increasing the Crl level further did not increase the H
2
O
2
resistance level of
Salmonella
and the expression of the σ
S
-dependent gene
katE
encoding the stationary-phase catalase. In contrast, increasing the σ
S
level rendered
Salmonella
more resistant to H
2
O
2
at 28°C, increased the expression of
katE
, and reduced the magnitude of Crl activation. In addition, the effect of Crl on
katE
transcription in vitro was not dependent on temperature. These results suggest that the effect of temperature on Crl-dependent regulation of the
katE
gene and H
2
O
2
resistance are mediated mainly via an effect on σ
S
levels. In addition, our results revealed that σ
S
exerts a negative effect on the production of Crl in stationary phase when the cells contain high levels of σ
S
.
Extracytoplasmic Processes Impaired by Inactivation of
trxA
(Thioredoxin Gene) in
Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Möller Mirja Carlsson , Hederstedt Lars
Published: May 2008

The
trxA
gene is regarded as essential in
Bacillus subtilis
, but the roles of the TrxA protein in this gram-positive bacterium are largely unknown. Inactivation of
trxA
results in deoxyribonucleoside and cysteine or methionine auxotrophy. This phenotype is expected if the TrxA protein is important for the activity of the class Ib ribonucleotide reductase and adenosine-5′-phosphosulfate/3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate reductase. We demonstrate here that a TrxA deficiency in addition causes defects in endospore and cytochrome
c
synthesis. These effects were suppressed by BdbD deficiency, indicating that TrxA in the cytoplasm is the primary electron donor to several different thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases active on the outer side of the
B. subtilis
cytoplasmic membrane.
Fossil dinoflagellate diversity, originations, and extinctions and their significance
Authors: MacRae R. Andrew , Fensome Robert A. , Williams Graham L.
Published: May 2008

Dinoflagellates, single-celled protists at or near the base of the food chain, showed remarkable patterns in species diversity in the Mesozoic–Cenozoic. First appearing in the mid Triassic, they rapidly increased to a Jurassic maximum of 420 species in the Kimmeridgian. After a minor decline, diversity rose to an all-time peak of 584 in the Albian, followed by a significant drop to 315 in the Coniacian: this may in part reflect the short duration of that stage. Diversity then recovered to a second Cretaceous peak of 568 in the Maastrichtian, followed by a major decline in the Early Paleocene (361 species), although relatively few of these species appear to have become extinct at the Cretaceous–Tertiary boundary. Other than a major peak of 518 in the Early Eocene, there is a continuing decrease through the Tertiary. Our plots are based on over 30 000 records of age ranges from a major database. Although previous studies show similar plots, these were based on manually compiled records of substantially fewer species. Nevertheless, the resemblance between our plots and earlier ones is striking, supporting the premise that the patterns reflect natural events and processes rather than artifacts of literature or methodology. The present species diversity plot shows some similarity to the long-term sea-level curve, which may reflect the preference of dinoflagellates for shelf environments. Keywords: dinoflagellates, diversity, plankton, extinctions, fossils, paleoecology.