bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Managers' perceptions of tacit knowledge in Edinburgh's Indian restaurants
Authors: Abdullah Faurouk , Ingram Arthur , Welsh Rita
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to explore tacit knowledge and managers’ supervision styles in a sample of Edinburgh's Indian restaurants.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports a qualitative fieldwork of managers’ perceptions of their role in directing tasks, supervising operations and staff recruitment.

Findings

The research findings describe tacit knowledge contexts derived from restaurant owner‐managers directing operations.

Research limitations/implications

This is an exploratory study of views and perceptions of a small sample of ethnic managers. It asks questions of tacit knowledge within Scottish‐based Indian restaurants, and attempts to place these within a cultural context of kinship networks.

Practical implications

The research questions how academic researchers may make nebulous concepts such as tacit knowledge accessible to practical hospitality managers, policy‐makers, students and teachers.

Originality/value

The research findings describe the context to relationships in small ethnic hospitality businesses. Conceptual development emerges from deductions made from literature, fieldwork, shadowing, interviews, and by asking questions.
Breaking the virtuous cycle
Authors: Abeles Tom P.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to outline the challenges that the current forces of technology change pose for the traditional K‐16 education system and to assess whether the rise of the social networking web 2.0 internet provides the opportunity and sufficient power to influence the change.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is discusive and explores the key issues.

Findings

The paper finds that technological change is in motion throughout education, but the majority of efforts are simply transferring brick spaced learning into “click” or internet space which validates the possibilities of educational technologies, but scarcely realizes them. Real change will happen outside of the system.

Practical implications

There exists a strong possibility that the existing K‐16 system will fragment into a variety of overlapping pieces, including a divide between the “haves” and “have‐nots” and a fragmented curriculum.

Originality/value

This paper highlights some of the challenges that the current forces of technology change pose for the traditional K‐16 education system.
Customer‐centric relationship management system development
Authors: Yen Teoh Say , Pan Shan L.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This study aims to create and deploy new configurations of resources via understanding issues concerning generative knowledge integration (KI) to create a customer‐centric relationship management system.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study of a public‐listed housing developer was conducted to analyze its main issues and conceptualize the underlying generative knowledge integration process.

Findings

Issues concerning generating KI were identified from the case study. The conceptualization of generative KI encompasses three main generative KI mechanisms, knowledge conceptualization, knowledge convergence, and knowledge assimilation, that are connected by three generative KI processes: accessing and exchanging knowledge, articulating and exchanging knowledge, and combining and exchanging knowledge.

Practical implications

The importance of understanding the concept of generative knowledge integration for practitioners is emphasized, and suggestions are given to promote the deployment of knowledge integration generation throughout system development.

Originality/value

The research conducted is unique in that a new model of generative knowledge integration is proposed, contributing to the knowledge integration literature in terms of the uncovering the three new generative KI mechanisms and processes.
Case study illustrations of a scorecard to measure IT strategy improvements in UK SMEs
Authors: Williams John , Rowlands Hefin
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a means of measuring information technology (IT) strategy improvements in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal study of eight SMEs was carried out over a two‐year period, applying an IT development scorecard which uses a Likert scale to measure changes during the study period.

Findings

The paper finds that seven of the eight companies assessed during the period of the study showed improvements in their IT development, with only one company showing negligible improvement. The company that made negligible improvement went into receivership 12 months after completion of the study.

Research limitations/implications

The key limitations were that only eight companies were prepared to participate fully in the study, and the diversity of type of company was large. Future research should include a larger sample size and use of companies from within the same industry/sector.

Practical implications

The scorecard has practical implications in that instead of having to choose complicated IT planning systems or pay high consultancy charges, SME owner managers can use the scorecard themselves at no cost and make informed decisions on IT investments.

Originality/value

This particular design of scorecard has not been used before, it is original, and will be of use for SME owner managers and IT practitioners, as it provides an easy‐to‐use tool to help plan and measure IT development within SMEs.
Enhancing the curriculum: shareable multimedia learning objects
Authors: MacKenzie Niall , Walsh Andrew
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on an action research initiative designed to facilitate the creation of shareable multimedia learning objects at a UK higher education institution. The use of multimedia learning objects in educational settings has been the subject of much interest in recent years. However, it has been suggested that a significant barrier to the uptake and use of these resources has been the lack of technical ability and support available to teachers. The Faculty of Health at Birmingham City University (BCU) was committed to the use of learning objects in the university's learning environment. However, creating innovative and exciting resources had been out of the reach of most lecturing staff due to time, financial and technical barriers. The Centre for Enhancing Learning and Teaching (CELT) at BCU collaborated with the Department of Community Health and Social Work in the Faculty of Health to produce a number of shareable learning objects to be used for enquiry‐based learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper begins by discussing some theoretical background and existing studies before going on to outline the collaboration and the pedagogy that inspired the creation of the learning objects and the processes involved in creating the resources.

Findings

The paper discusses some preliminary research results and plans for future development.

Originality/value

The objective of this initiative was to explore ways in which we could overcome barriers to the creation of pedagogically sound learning objects.
Social constructionism and entrepreneurship
Authors: Lindgren Monica , Packendorff Johann
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to develop a social constructionist approach to entrepreneurship and to discuss its consequences for entrepreneurship research.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a review of current methodological debates in the entrepreneurship field concerning the need and implications of explicit references to basic scientific assumptions in research texts, a social constructionist perspective is outlined and its theoretical and methodological consequences are discussed.

Findings

A social constructionist perspective may contribute to the development of entrepreneurship research both through opening up possibilities for the inclusion of new theoretical fields, and through the demands on new methodological approaches following such theoretical inclusions.

Originality/value

Based on an identified lack of research literature discussing underlying scientific assumptions within entrepreneurship, the paper provides a thorough discussion and summary of existing and future social constructionist developments.
Assessment practice in enterprise education
Authors: Pittaway Luke , Hannon Paul , Gibb Allan , Thompson John
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce current debates on assessment practice in higher education and to explore educational research on assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper progresses by exploring a number of outcomes and highlights their role in helping one to understand the potential reasons for engaging in enterprise education. The paper then applies this outcomes framework to assessment practice. It does so by reporting a series of focus groups undertaken at the International Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference in 2005.

Findings

The focus groups engaged over 40 entrepreneurship and small business academics in a brainstorming exercise, which explored forms of assessment that could be used to meet particular outcomes in enterprise education. These results are presented according to different potential entrepreneurial outcomes.

Originality/value

The concluding part of the paper categorises these practices to develop and present the views of the participants and it provides a detailed analysis of assessment practice in enterprise education.
Evaluating informal entrepreneurs' motives: evidence from Moscow
Authors: Williams Colin C. , Round John
Published: January 2009

Purpose

Recently, distinctions between “necessity‐driven” entrepreneurs who have limited options for work and “opportunity‐driven” entrepreneurs pulled into the exploitation of a perceived business opportunity have been transcended by commentators displaying the co‐presence of opportunity and necessity in entrepreneurs' motives and how their relative importance shifts over time. This paper aims to evaluate, critically, whether this re‐theorisation is also valid when considering the motives of informal entrepreneurs.

Design/methodology/approach

A household survey of entrepreneurship is reported conducted in Moscow during late 2005 and early 2006. In the 313 households surveyed, 81 entrepreneurs were identified who had started‐up a business venture in the past 42 months, all of whom reported that they were operating wholly or partially in the informal economy.

Findings

For some 80 per cent of informal entrepreneurs, both necessity‐ and opportunity‐drivers were co‐present in their decision to start up an enterprise. There was also a clearly identifiable shift in their motives away from necessity‐ and towards opportunity‐drivers as their ventures became more established.

Research limitations/implications

Akin to recent literature on mainstream (legitimate) entrepreneurs' motives, the survey thus displays the need for a less bifurcated understanding of informal entrepreneurs' motives that recognises the co‐existence of necessity‐ and opportunity‐drivers and the temporal changes in their relative importance.

Originality/value

The study reveals the need to transcend the currently dominant simplistic portrayals of informal entrepreneurs as either universally necessity‐driven or universally opportunity‐driven.
Internet adoption by Saudi public relations professionals
Authors: Al‐Shohaib Khalid , Al‐Kandari Ali A.J. , Abdulrahim Masaud A.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of individual, organizational, and social contexts on internet adoption by Saudi public relations professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the diffusion of innovations model, this study investigates the responses of 354 Saudi public relations professionals to a survey about internet adoption in public relations‐related tasks.

Findings

The paper finds that only 46 per cent of Saudi public relations professionals adopted the internet for public relations. Organizational context variables were the influential predictors of internet adoption.

Research limitations/implications

In the light of the intense bureaucracy in Arab organizations, scholars should be cognizant of the roles played by Arab organizational structures in the adoption of innovations.

Practical implications

While the adoption of innovations in Western organizations is more likely to be influenced by commercial needs, organizational structures play more defining roles in Arab organizations' adoption of innovations.

Originality/value

The study is one of the few to investigate the influence of organizational contexts on the adoption of innovations in Arab societies.
The role of branding in public health campaigns
Authors: Basu Ambar , Wang Jian
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of branding in public health campaigns.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews public health campaigns, and their goals and objectives vis‐à‐vis the current health market conditions. The imperatives for branding public health campaigns are enumerated. The paper then discusses salient features of branding that can be applied to health campaigns before drawing on an exemplar to illustrate how branding can be effectively harnessed in the realm of public health campaign theorizing and praxis.

Findings

Given the clutter of campaigns and their messages in a saturated health consumer market, uptake and sustained use of health campaigns needs alternative pathways to keep consumers interested and gainfully engaged with the products being offered. Branding, as a communicative strategy, can meet this need.

Originality/value

As the fundamental goal of a public health campaign is to induce and sustain health behavior among the public, efforts must be kept up to theorize about improved modes of delivering campaign products to consumers. This paper takes the initial steps in that direction.
Spatial concentration in institutional investment in the UK
Authors: Byrne Peter , Lee Stephen
Published: January 2009

Purpose

Geographic diversity is a fundamental tenet in portfolio management. Yet there is evidence from the USA that institutional investors prefer to concentrate their real estate investments in favoured and specific areas as primary locations for the properties in their portfolios. Work done in the UK, focusing on the office sector, has drawn similar conclusions. The present paper seeks to examine the extent of real estate investment concentration in institutional Retail portfolios in the UK at two points in time; 1998 and 2003, and to present some comparisons with equivalent concentrations in the Office sector.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine this issue two datasets are used at two dates, 1998 and 2003. The analysis is confined to England and Wales because of data considerations relating to the availability of comparable data for the rest of the UK. The first dataset relates to floor space and rateable value statistics for the so‐called “bulk classes” of commercial property at Unitary Authority and District (local authority area, LA) level. The more specific institutional real estate investment data for the study come from the IPD analysis “UK Local Markets”. This provides a detailed view of the performance of institutional real estate investment, by sector, in a number of localities across the UK. For the purposes of this study, IPD made data available showing (but with much less detail) other LAs where the number of properties held was greater than zero, but fewer than the four required normally for disclosure. The approach taken is to map the basic data and the results from a standardising measure of spatial concentration – the Location Quotient.

Findings

The findings indicate that retail investment correlates more closely with the UK urban hierarchy than that for offices when measured against employment, and is focused on urban areas with high populations and large population densities which have larger numbers of retail units in which to invest.

Originality/value

Using data sets that account for the entire “population” of observations at these two dates the paper demonstrates the relationships between economic theory and the market performance of the sector. The comparisons with the Office sector also show the differences that would be expected between the sectors, emphasising the point that these markets are dynamic and that their structure, form and content can change dramatically even over quite short periods.
Client influence on valuation: does language matter?
Authors: Yao Chen Fong , Ming Yu Shi
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to analyze client influence on valuation in both Taiwan and Singapore. Both countries are chosen because of the similar level of economic development as well as professionalism amongst valuers. However, although both are Chinese‐dominated by population, the culture and language used are substantially different.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a survey questionnaire to sample valuers' response to client influence in both Taiwan and Singapore. The questionnaire is organized into five parts: social economic data, client influence situation, potential factors, influence method, and influence abilities. The survey findings were analyzed using SPSS and subjected to a number of standard procedures to check for missing values and multivariate normality. Mean difference and F‐test were used to judge whether the valuers in the two countries have significantly different views on client influence.

Findings

The results show that client influence on valuation practices does exist in both Taiwan and Singapore. This is despite the differences in the market structures, development background and modes of doing business. Furthermore, the study finds that the degree and extent of the problem are different. These differences, as reflected in the differing views and opinions on the causes and factors leading to client pressure, are largely due to the systemic differences in the two countries, particularly, in the way businesses are conducted as well as the medium of communication being used.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the research on client influence on valuation through a comparative study of two countries with substantially different business environments and language of communication. These differences seem to have an impact on how valuers view client influence despite their similar economic, educational and professional backgrounds.
Do Asian real estate companies add value to investment portfolio?
Authors: Hiang Liow Kim , Adair Alastair
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of Asian real estate companies with regard to their “value‐added” performance and portfolio diversification benefits in Asian mixed‐asset portfolios, as well as in international real estate securities portfolios over 1996‐2005.

Design/methodology/approach

First the risk‐return performance for all 13 Asian as well as the US and UK real estate securities markets is compared. For each country, next the correlation profiles between real estate, common stock, bonds and cash are assessed. The value‐add benefits of Asian real estate securities in an unconstrained and constrained mixed asset portfolio are then assessed in relation to portfolio return, risk and terminal wealth. Finally, the paper explores whether there are benefits derived from international diversification with a universe of Asian real estate securities from the perspectives of the US and UK investors.

Findings

It was found that, whilst there is little evidence of diversification benefits and superior risk‐adjusted performance of Asian real estate companies in Asian mixed‐asset portfolios, diversification into Asian real estate stocks can provide positive portfolio implications for international investors. Thus investing in Asian real estate securities portfolios rather than investing in Asian mixed‐asset portfolios may be seen to be the more effective diversification strategy over this period.

Originality/value

The study has provided some interesting and important insights into the dynamics and performance of Asian real estate securities. With an increased emphasis on international property investment and as the regional upturn becomes more evident, Asian real estate companies potentially provide an important real estate investment opportunity for international property fund mangers.
Defining strategic processes in investment companies
Authors: Hanafizadeh Payam , Rezaei Mehrdad , Ghafouri Alireza
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to define the strategic processes or processes with strategic nature of investment companies (ICs). This goal is achieved by proposing a methodology for selecting strategic processes among the processes of ICs based on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework and the statistical analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

Ten leading Iranian Investment Companies (ICs) were selected whose processes represented those in the field. Through administration of a questionnaire, the processes under study were ranked based on their degree of contribution to the IC's strategy.

Findings

This paper defines the common ICs' processes based on surveying the literature review. By using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework, ICs are able to define the processes which are critical in achieving organizations' objectives. These processes are ranked based on company strategy using a statistical survey which finally leads to defining strategic processes. Determining strategic processes in business process reengineering (BPR) is of great importance owing to time and budget limitations.

Research limitations/implications

This research is based on multi case studies. It therefore has its limitations which should be taken into consideration in interpreting and/or generalizing the results obtained from the study. The paper is partially based on previous findings of a literature review. Furthermore, the strategy considered in this study is a competitive one and the strategic processes are chosen according to this strategy which can be changeable. In interpreting the result, these limitations should be kept in mind.

Originality/value

Defining the strategic processes for ICs helps them to allocate their resources to the processes which directly contribute to the company's strategic goal. This paper builds a portfolio of ICs' processes highly related to organization strategic goals. Therefore, these processes are the appropriate candidate in BPR project investment.
The role of culture in e‐commerce use for the Egyptian consumers
Authors: Refaat El Said Ghada , Galal‐Edeen Galal H.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to systematically research and characterise the cultural response of a particular culture in the use of e‐commerce systems. The research paper highlights the roles of trust, uncertainty avoidance (UA), internet store familiarity, and reputation as the main salient factors affecting the perception of the targeted group toward e‐commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs a laboratory experiential survey with 370 Egyptian internet users during an internet shopping experience. The results are analysed using a number of statistical techniques including structural equation modelling.

Findings

The research highlights the significant role of the internet store's perceived familiarity and reputation as the main antecedents of online trust. The relationship between trust and its two antecedents are found to be culturally sensitive; the high UA of the consumer is found to be associated with a stronger effect of the store's reputation on trust, and a stronger effect of the store's familiarity on trust.

Research limitations/implications

This research deals with intentions, not actual e‐commerce behaviour. However, there is a general consensus amongst researchers to assume that the degree to which people express their intentions to buy from an internet site is a reasonable predictor of the actual purchase behaviour. Also, UA, which is posited in this research as an important element of e‐commerce adoption, may have a different effect on the actual purchase behaviour.

Originality/value

The paper examines the interaction of a certain sub‐type of the Arab culture with various elements that are assumed to affect on‐line purchasing behaviour, which has not been examined in this depth elsewhere in the literature.
Managing the process of channel alignment
Authors: Wehmeyer Kai , Kipp Alexander , Riemer Kai
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework and a reference process for achieving channel alignment in companies that use traditional and electronic marketing channels. Instruments for gathering and structuring of information on channel deployment are proposed and integrated in the process of strategy formulation.

Design/methodology/approach

The research grounds on a conceptual model of strategic channel alignment (MSCA) that is a recently proposed modification of the well‐established strategic alignment model (SAM). Framework, instruments, and reference process were developed by drawing on results from literature analysis and experiences gathered in a research and consulting project at a large multinational corporation. The case context is explicated.

Findings

The developed management tools were successfully applied in strategic business units of the case company. They were found to be useful for facilitating strategic channel alignment by fostering processes of communication and collaboration between managers across organizational units. The framework helps to implement a common “strategy language” on multi channel management. The instruments support the creation of a shared information base on a company's multi channel strategy and operations.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to research on strategic alignment processes and discusses model‐driven alignment as social process that aims at the construction of a common understanding of multi channel issues. The beneficial role of management tools in such processes is spelled out.

Practical implications

The generic nature of the proposed management tools makes further practical applications possible. Companies that strategically address the alignment of their marketing channels can utilize the methodology and adapt it to their specific needs.

Originality/value

The paper translates a conceptual management model into a practical methodology. Models like the SAM and the MSCA are frequently discussed but research and reports on their practical value has been scarce. This paper contributes to filling this gap and develops tools of practical value in a particular domain of strategic management.
A cause‐effect‐cause model for sustaining cross‐functional integration
Authors: Emery Charles R.
Published: January 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify prerequisites for sustaining effective cross‐functional integration as well as their temporal inter‐relationships. Once this type of information is known, a “cause‐effect‐cause” model is constructed to identify constraints and improve effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

A case research approach was used to explore the relationships between various prerequisites of integration and to understand “how” or “why” their presence may influence the success of sustaining integration. The study focused on 13 companies from the US aerospace defense industry which were in the process of implementing TQM programs.

Findings

Organizations which successfully attained “sustained” integration indicated that the reward/performance system based on cross‐functional or process objectives was the major driver behind: forcing employees to understand the organization's processes; providing dedicated time for employees to reflect on process improvement; ensuring employees are rewarded for process improvements; and increasing accountability for integration. These organizations believe that the employee's understanding of the strategic processes acted in conjunction with the process improvements rewards to improve the employees' understanding that cross‐functional relations play a critical role in success.

Research limitations/implications

The findings provide a valuable linkage between the organizational constraints, integration and the organizational learning literature.

Practical implications

Study results suggest both a construct for measuring levels of organizational integration and a cause‐effect‐cause relationship to identify prerequisite constraints.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies that examine 13 corporations to clarify both the prerequisites for sustaining integration and their temporal inter‐relationships. Additionally, a “cause‐effect‐cause” model based on the Theory of Constraints is used to identify prerequisite constraints.
Approximate dynamic programming for management of high‐value spare parts
Authors: Simao Hugo , Powell Warren
Published: January 2009

Purpose

An aircraft manufacturer faces the problem of allocating inventory to a set of distributed warehouses in response to random, nonstationary demands. There is particular interest in managing high value, low volume spare parts which must be available to respond to low‐frequency demands in the form of random failures of major components. The aircraft fleet is young and in expansion. In addition, high‐value parts can be repaired, implying that they reenter the system after they are removed from an aircraft and refurbished. This paper aims to present a model and a solution approach to the problem of determining the inventory levels at each warehouse.

Design/methodology/approach

The problem is solved using approximate dynamic programming (ADP), but this requires developing new methods for approximating value functions in the presence of low‐frequency observations.

Findings

The model and solution approach have been implemented, tested and validated internally at the manufacturer through the analysis of the inventory policy recommendations in different network scenarios and for different pools of parts. The results seem promising and compelling.

Originality/value

The uniqueness of this research is in the use of ADP for the modeling and solution of a distributed inventory problem. Its main value resides on the incorporation of the issue of spatial substitution in demand satisfaction within the problem of determining inventory levels in a distributed warehouse network.
An exploratory survey of current practice in the medical device industry
Authors: Eatock Julie , Dixon Dorian , Young Terry
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This study seeks to examine the extent to which mainstream tools and strategies are applied in the medical devices sector, which is highly fragmented and contains a high percentage of small companies, and to determine if company size impacts on manufacturing strategy selection.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed and disseminated through a number of channels. Responses were received from 38 companies in the UK and Ireland, describing 68 products taken to market in the past five years.

Findings

Because of the limited scope of the survey, the findings are indicative rather than conclusive, and interesting trends have emerged. New to the world products were much more likely to exceed company expectations of market success compared to derivative products. It was found that the majority of these innovative products were developed by small companies. Large companies appear to favour minor upgrades over major upgrades even though these prove – on the data presented – to be less successful overall.

Practical implications

These results provide those engaged in this sector with comparative information and some insights for further improvement. The reported trends with respect to company size and product complexity (or degree of novelty) are particularly illuminating. Academically, this sets some expected trends on a firmer footing and unearths one or two unexpected findings.

Originality/value

It is believed that this is the largest survey of determinants of success in UK medical device companies and it provides a comparison with other sectors.
A cladistic classification of commercial aerospace supply chain evolution
Authors: Rose‐Anderssen Christen , Baldwin James , Ridgway Keith , Allen Peter , Varga Liz , Strathern Mark
Published: January 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to address the advantage of considering an evolutionary classification scheme for commercial aerospace supply chains. It is an industry wide approach. By going beyond the performance of the single firm and considering the whole supply chain for a product a better understanding of present states and performances of the firms within the chain can be achieved.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is presented as evolutionary steps by introduction of key supply chain characters. These steps are brought together by applying cladistics to classify the evolutionary relationships between supply chain forms.

Findings

Key character states define the change of supply chain forms in the evolutionary adaptation to market realities and to proactive responses to increased competition.

Originality/value

The potential benefits of this approach include a benchmark of best practice, a strategic tool for policy development, and the creation of future scenarios.
Selection of lean manufacturing systems using the analytic network process – a case study
Authors: Anand G. , Kodali Rambabu
Published: January 2009

Purpose

Lean manufacturing (LM) has attracted the attention of industries all over the world. Many operation managers have implemented or will be implementing LM because of the benefits reported by other companies or because their customers have demanded it. This paper aims to present a case study of a medium‐sized valve manufacturer in which the decision of implementing LM is made by analyzing the capabilities, practices, tools and techniques of alternative manufacturing systems apart from understanding its effect on the decision areas of the operations department.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi attribute decision making (MADM) model, namely, the analytic network process (ANP) has been used for this purpose, which structures the problem related to selection of alternative manufacturing systems in a hierarchical network form. In this problem, it links the performance measures or competitive priorities, decision areas, and the elements with alternatives available to the decision maker and provides a holistic framework for the selection of alternative manufacturing systems to achieve the competitive priorities of the organisation under study.

Findings

From an extensive analysis of the results, under the given circumstances, it is evident that implementation of a lean manufacturing system (LMS) is a better alternative, as it would result in overall improvement in the performance of an organisation in comparison with the alternatives.

Practical implications

This paper demonstrated a step‐by‐step approach of the ANP model using a case study of a small‐ and medium‐sized enterprise, which makes it more suitable for managers to learn and adopt such MADM models to support their decisions.

Originality/value

To the author's knowledge, there is no paper available in the existing literature that discusses the application of ANP in the field of LM.
Convergence of fish communities from the littoral zone of reservoirs
Authors: GIDO KEITH B. , SCHAEFER JACOB F. , FALKE JEFFREY A.
Published: January 2009

1. Understanding factors that regulate the assembly of communities is a main focus of ecology. Human‐engineered habitats, such as reservoirs, may provide insight into these assembly processes because they represent novel habitats that are subjected to colonization by fishes from the surrounding river basin or transported by humans. By contrasting community similarity within and among reservoirs from different drainage basins to nearby stream communities, we can test the relative constraints of reservoir habitats and regional species pools in determining species composition of reservoirs.

2. We used a large spatial database that included intensive collections from 143 stream and 28 reservoir sites within three major river basins in the Great Plains, U.S.A., to compare patterns of species diversity and community structure between streams and reservoirs and to characterize variation in fish community structure within and among major drainage basins. We expected reservoir fish faunas to reflect the regional species pool, but would be more homogeneous that stream communities because similar species are stocked and thrive in reservoirs (e.g. planktivores and piscivores), and they lack obligate stream organisms that are not shared among regional species pools.

3. We found that fish communities from reservoirs were a subset of fishes collected from streams and dominant taxa had ecological traits that would be favoured in lentic environments. Although there were regional differences in reservoir fish communities, species richness, patterns of rank abundance and community structure in reservoir communities were more homogonous across three major drainage basins than for stream communities.

4. The general pattern of convergence of reservoir fish community structure suggests their assembly is constrained by local factors such as habitat and biotic interactions, and facilitated by the introduction of species among basins. Because there is a reciprocal transfer of biota between reservoirs and streams, understanding factors structuring both habitats is necessary to evaluate the long‐term dynamics of impounded river networks.
Gravity gradiometer systems – advances and challenges
Authors: DiFrancesco Daniel , Grierson Andy , Kaputa Dan , Meyer Thomas
Published: January 2009

The past few years have witnessed significant advances and unparalleled interest in gravity gradiometer instrument technology as well as new deployment scenarios for various applications. Gravity gradiometry is now routinely considered as a viable component for resource exploration activities as well as being deployed for global information gathering. Since the introduction of the torsion balance in the 1890s, it has been recognized that gravity gradient information is valuable – yet difficult and time‐consuming to obtain. The recent acceptance and routine use of airborne gravity gradiometry for exploration has inspired many new technology developments. This paper summarizes advances in gravity gradient sensor development and also looks at deployment scenarios and gradiometer systems that have been successfully fielded. With projected improved system performance on the horizon, new challenges will also come to the forefront. Included in these challenges are aspects of instrument and system intrinsic noise, vehicle dynamic noise, terrain noise, geologic noise and other noise sources. Each of these aspects is briefly reviewed herein and recommendations for improvements presented.
Reconstruction of the layer anisotropic elastic parameters and high‐resolution fracture characterization from P‐wave data: a case study using seismic inversion and Bayesian rock physics parameter estimation
Authors: Bachrach Ran , Sengupta Mita , Salama Antoun , Miller Paul
Published: January 2009

Wide‐azimuth seismic data can be used to derive anisotropic parameters on the subsurface by observing variation in subsurface seismic response along different azimuths. Layer‐based high‐resolution estimates of components of the subsurface anisotropic elastic tensor can be reconstructed by using wide‐azimuth P‐wave data by combining the kinematic information derived from anisotropic velocity analysis with dynamic information obtained from amplitude versus angle and azimuth analysis of wide‐azimuth seismic data. Interval P‐impedance, S‐impedance and anisotropic parameters associated with anisotropic fracture media are being reconstructed using linearized analysis assuming horizontal transverse anisotropy symmetry. In this paper it is shown how additional assumptions, such as the rock model, can be used to reduce the degrees of freedom in the estimation problem and recover all five anisotropic parameters. Because the use of a rock model is needed, the derived elastic parameters are consistent with the rock model and are used to infer fractured rock properties using stochastic rock physics inversion. The inversion is based on stochastic rock physics modelling and maximum a posteriori estimate of both porosity and crack density parameters associated with the observed elastic parameters derived from both velocity and amplitude versus angle and azimuth analysis. While the focus of this study is on the use of P‐wave reflection data, we also show how additional information such as shear wave splitting and/or anisotropic well log data can reduce the assumptions needed to derive elastic parameter and rock properties.
Effects of Gonadotrophin‐Releasing Hormone Outside the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Reproductive Axis
Authors: Skinner D. C. , Albertson A. J. , Navratil A. , Smith A. , Mignot M. , Talbott H. , Scanlan‐Blake N.
Published: January 2009

Gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) is a hypothalamic decapeptide with an undisputed role as a primary regulator of gonadal function. It exerts this regulation by controlling the release of gonadotrophins. However, it is becoming apparent that GnRH may have a variety of other vital roles in normal physiology. A reconsideration of the potential widespread action that this traditional reproductive hormone exerts may lead to the generation of novel therapies and provide insight into seemingly incongruent outcomes from current treatments using GnRH analogues to combat diseases such as prostate cancer.
Examining the Intersection of Sex and Stress in Modelling Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Authors: Goel N. , Bale T. L.
Published: January 2009

Sex‐biased neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder and schizophrenia, are the major cause of disability in the developed world. Elevated stress sensitivity has been proposed as a key underlying factor in disease onset. Sex differences in stress sensitivity are associated with corticotrophin‐releasing factor (CRF) and serotonin neurotransmission, which are important central regulators of mood and coping responses. To elucidate the underlying neurobiology of stress‐related disease predisposition, it is critical to develop appropriate animal models of stress pathway dysregulation. Furthermore, the inclusion of sex difference comparisons in stress responsive behaviours, physiology and central stress pathway maturation in these models is essential. Recent studies by our laboratory and others have begun to investigate the intersection of stress and sex where the development of mouse models of stress pathway dysregulation via prenatal stress experience or early‐life manipulations has provided insight into points of developmental vulnerability. In addition, examination of the maturation of these pathways, including the functional importance of the organisational and activational effects of gonadal hormones on stress responsivity, is essential for determination of when sex differences in stress sensitivity may begin. In such studies, we have detected distinct sex differences in stress coping strategies where activational effects of testosterone produced females that displayed male‐like strategies in tests of passive coping, but were similar to females in tests of active coping. In a second model of elevated stress sensitivity, male mice experiencing prenatal stress early in gestation showed feminised physiological and behavioural stress responses, and were highly sensitive to a low dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Analyses of expression and epigenetic patterns revealed changes in CRF and glucocorticoid receptor genes in these mice. Mechanistically, stress early in pregnancy produced a significant sex‐dependent effect on placental gene expression that was supportive of altered foetal transport of key growth factors and nutrients. These mouse models examining alterations and hormonal effects on development of stress pathways provide necessary insight into how specific stress responses can be reprogrammed early in development resulting in sex differences in stress sensitivity and neuropsychiatric disease vulnerability.
Cross‐Talk Between Membrane‐Initiated and Nuclear‐Initiated Oestrogen Signalling in the Hypothalamus
Authors: Roepke T. A. , Qiu J. , Bosch M. A. , Rønnekleiv O. K. , Kelly M. J.
Published: January 2009

It is increasingly evident that 17β‐oestradiol (E2), via a distinct membrane oestrogen receptor (Gq‐mER), can rapidly activate kinase pathways to have multiple downstream actions in central nervous system (CNS) neurones. We have found that E2 can rapidly reduce the potency of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen and mu‐opioid receptor agonist DAMGO to activate G‐protein‐coupled, inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels in hypothalamic neurones, thereby increasing the excitability (firing activity) of pro‐opiomelanocortin (POMC) and dopamine neurones. These effects are mimicked by the membrane impermeant E2‐BSA and a new ligand (STX) that is selective for the Gq‐mER that does not bind to ERα or ERβ. Both E2 and STX are fully efficacious in attenuating the GABAB response in ERα, ERβ and GPR 30 knockout mice in an ICI 182 780 reversible manner. These findings are further proof that E2 signals through a unique plasma membrane ER. We have characterised the coupling of this Gq‐mER to a Gq‐mediated activation of phospholipase C leading to the up‐regulation of protein kinase Cδ and protein kinase A activity in these neurones, which ultimately alters gene transcription. Finally, as proof of principle, we have found that STX, similar to E2, reduces food intake and body weight gain in ovariectomised females. STX, presumably via the Gq‐mER, also regulates gene expression of a number of relevant targets including cation channels and signalling molecules that are critical for regulating (as a prime example) POMC neuronal excitability. Therefore, E2 can activate multiple receptor‐mediated pathways to modulate excitability and gene transcription in CNS neurones that are critical for controlling homeostasis and motivated behaviors.
A comparative study of teachers' attitudes in the teaching of undergraduate medical students
Authors: DAVIS R. HARVARD , STOTT N. C. H.
Published: January 2009

Senior staff of the departments of medicine, surgery and general practice in each medical school in the United Kingdom were asked to annotate the same case studies which had been prepared by medical students. Analysis of the annotations showed that general practitioners demanded much greater consideration by the student of the patient, his family and his environment, whereas physicians and surgeons tended to be more disease orientated. Nevertheless, expectations and attitudes of teachers in similar departments are remarkably diverse and this highlighted the potential role of the case study as an educational tool for staff and students alike. Many departments need to clarify the difference between undergraduate and postgraduate teaching objectives.
Instruction on death and dying for the medical student
Authors: BLOCH S.
Published: January 2009

With instruction on death and dying beginning to be included in the curricula of many medical schools and the likelihood that this development will spread, it is timely to examine the best ways in which the subject can be taught. The most important need at this stage is the creation of objectives. Nine objectives have been briefly outlined which have either been reported on by teachers in the field or which seem to be pertinent to death education. The focus on objectives rests on the premise that the format and content of courses will follow largely from the goals that are selected. Questions of who should teach death and dying, when it should be taught and what format should be used, are discussed.