bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a Philosophy of HRD Consulting
Authors: Bell C.R.
Published: March 2008

A popular line we frequently hear in our society today goes something like, “When you understand where he's coming from, then what he does makes sense”. The implied message is that a relationship exists between belief and behaviour; that is, the assumptions we have about life colour, our perception of our environment and shape our actions in our environment. The importance of the linkages among assumptions, perceptions and action cannot be overstated.
Training Events and Data Collection—
Authors: Whitelaw Matt
Published: March 2008

Using a case study, this article sets out to explore the issues surrounding the use of data collected during in‐plant training events—data which may have organisational implications far beyond the limited learning objectives associated with any particular event
Developing Appraisal Skills: an Indian Experience
Authors: Trafford Vernon N.
Published: March 2008

This article describes the background, design and conduct of a short programme on Staff Appraisal and Development which was held at Bhopal, India, during May 1976. It indicates that when the identification of training needs is legitimised, subsequent support for a programme of development affects the learning process
Using CCTV in Management Training
Authors: Smallwood Robert H.M.
Published: March 2008

Closed circuit television allows people to see themselves as others see them. It is that blend of sophisticated electronics which provides a picture of what has happened before, with the facility to observe, re‐observe and observe again. In training, when used correctly, television is a device for enabling the trainer to illustrate in the most powerful way different learning areas. Without it the trainer is left to communicate his points by word of mouth only, a most inadequate process when concerned with behavioural training.
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training: a conference report
Authors: Russell Russ
Published: March 2008

Although the Commission of the European Economic Community has been firmly established for some while now, the Governments and Departments of member states remain, quite naturally, somewhat suspicious of its recommendations. Its ability to influence action is therefore limited. Even quite reasonable reports and recommendations may not penetrate the suspicions. One technique used by the Commission is to establish fairly independent study and research institutes, so that work that is the result of impartial study of common problems may be received without the taint of the more directly political Commission at Brussels. One such organisation established late last year is the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, set up with its Headquarters in Berlin. At the present time its staff are few in number and their first few months have been spent in making and developing contacts throughout the member states and establishing what the priority areas for study and evaluation are.
Matching Individuals to Form Effective Syndicate Groups
Authors: Langham Mike J. , Jukes Adam
Published: March 2008

Most management courses, these days, embody syndicate group exercises, discussions or projects of one sort or another. The division of a large group into sub‐committee or syndicates gives the advantage of a high level of participation in discussion plus the opportunity of considering and comparing different sets of findings. One of the tasks facing the trainer is to group course members in such a way that the syndicate composition provides for an effective working group. In some cases this will mean drawing together individuals with compatible personalities or similar “views of the world”, because the learning objectives are related to an expertise in technical or systems areas, such as work study or accountancy techniques.
Training Implications of Work Preferences
Authors: Margerison C.J. , Lewis R. , Hibbert C.
Published: March 2008

Think of the first job that you had. Was it the basis upon which you have built your career? If not, how did you come to be doing your present job?
Tools for Helping Self‐Development — Part 1
Authors: Hague Hawdon
Published: March 2008

My last article (JEIT Vol. 1 No. 6) talked of what the catalyst or tutor could do to get self‐development started, both at organisational and individual levels. This article and the next one will look at what can be done to help self‐development along, once the climate is right and the managers have started to run with the ball. I will look at such tools as projects, job rotation and line manager coaching.
An Unstructured Workshop as a Training Compromise
Authors: Moore R.J.
Published: March 2008

The meat industry is a key industry in the economy of New Zealand and is one of the country's major sources of export earnings. Employing over 27,000 people in 48 establishments, the industry is also one of the largest employers of labour and some of its plants are among the largest in the country.
FILMS
Authors: Jones Clive
Published: March 2008

British production companies continue to be prolific in their output of new films and other audio visual programmes for training purposes. As the annual British Sponsored Film Festival, just held in Birmingham, has testified, films for training, accident prevention and other human relations purposes are not just being made in large numbers—they are also being produced to really high creative and technical standards. And by good “technical” standards, I mean both cinematographically and in terms of their training content.
Tools for Helping Self‐Development — Part 2
Authors: Hague Hawdon
Published: March 2008

I mentioned in one of my previous articles that one of the ways of showing that the organisational climate was right for the sort of risk‐taking implied by self‐development was to run a coaching workshop at which the principles and techniques of coaching by the boss were explained, but, more importantly, top management could take part and thus demonstrate their informed support for the concept. John Menzies (Holdings) Ltd and Ciba Geigy Ltd are companies which have run a series of workshops, with the managing director and other main board directors taking part, and there is no doubt that this fact took the exercise out of the realms of “Trainer's Fantasy” and showed that coaching was going to be part of the company's philosophy.
The July 21st Workers Colleges:
Authors: Haas Adrian R.
Published: March 2008

This article reviews an attempt by Chinese industry to train skilled technicians during the past ten years. It discusses an alternative to formal tertiary education and comments on the success of the July 21st Colleges.
FILMS
Authors: Jones Clive
Published: March 2008

The October deadline for the appointment and functioning of safety representatives in the UK, under the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Act, puts the current focus upon safety films. There have been a goodly number of new releases on both specific and general themes, but none more timely and appropriate than Something To Do With Safety Reps(colour, 18 minutes). Made by Millbank Films—asserting themselves again as masters in this field — the film presents a dramatised case study of a company's early experiences with its new safety representatives.
A Re‐Appraisal of Creativity Techniques in Industrial Training
Authors: Rickards Tudor , Freedman Brian
Published: March 2008

Training departments have tended to include in their general management courses some slot for problem‐solving techniques, or else to offer some such topic as “Creative Problem‐solving”. These courses tend to operate by discovery learning on real or model problems using techniques such as brainstorming or lateral thinking. In this article we argue that trainers involved in such courses should consider designing in more opportunities for personalised learning. This, in turn, will be linked via the real needs of the participants to significantly more creative behaviour in the long term.
Should We Do Some Joint Training?
Authors: Smith Peter A. , Leary Malcolm
Published: March 2008

In the first two articles in this series we covered the development of a joint training strategy and gave an account of that strategy in practice. In that account we outlined the areas that we covered during the two sets of courses—separate/parallel training and joint training. In this the concluding article on the development of joint training strategies we cover the key elements of the training design in more depth and provide examples of the methods that we use.
FILMS
Authors: Jones Clive
Published: March 2008

The first ever festival of training films in the US was held last December in New York. It was mounted in association with Training 78, the second Annual Conference and Exposition organised by Training, the American magazine of Human Resources Development, attended by over 2,000 delegates. The festival, with some 55 entries, was interesting as an opportunity to compare the nature and standards of US productions with our own training films.
Tools for Helping Self‐Development
Authors: Hague Hawdon
Published: March 2008

The subject matter for this article is on‐the‐job coaching by the tutor/catalyst, as opposed to coaching by the boss. In some ways this is a revolutionary tool in that it is virtually unknown for management teachers to go and sit alongside a manager at his place of work and seek to help directly. And yet a visitor from Mars would not be surprised. He would think, quite naturally, that a management teacher would be a highly experienced manager and would teach management, in the main, where the managing was done. We have come to expect otherwise but I can suggest, with tongue only part in cheek, that a management teacher ought to be capable of teaching managers on‐the‐job, and that ought to be the qualifying test of his competence?
The Organisation of Management Education in East Germany
Authors: Edwards V.
Published: March 2008

Education and training play a vital role in the maintenance and development of economic systems. Industry and other sectors of the economy must be certain not only of obtaining the necessary number and quality of staff, but also that staff operate effectively, with optimum use of available knowledge and techniques.
Closing a Factory—Managing Termination
Authors: Janssens L. , Vansina‐Cobbaert M‐J.
Published: March 2008

When N. V. Sphinx Hemiksem in Hemiksem, Belgium, closed on 31 December 1978, it had produced glazed wall‐tiles for 80 years.
IR Training for Expatriate Managers:
Authors: Brewster C.J.
Published: March 2008

Multinational corporations have become increasingly important in the course of this century. There have been many investigations of their effects on such issues as national and international economic performance, the effects of transfer pricing and comparative labour costs. There are fewer studies of management‐employee relationships in the multinationals. One aspect of management‐employee relationships which is unique to them and which has received little attention in the UK concerns the problems created when foreign managers have to deal with indigenous workers.
Using Quality Circles in the Health Service
Authors: Rendall Elaine , Maser Marjorie
Published: March 2008

Intrigued by brief references to Quality Circles in various articles in Personnel and Training publications, we began a search for more definitive information on the structure, use and value of Quality Circles in the US. We found numerous articles in journals and periodicals describing implementation in the US of this Japanese concept. The articles described successes and often referred to consulting firms as further resources. Literature was obtained from consulting firms specializing in the implementation of Quality Circles plus data and impressions from companies that have instituted Quality Circles. One consulting firm mentioned application to health care facilities, but we were unable to locate a hospital which has implemented the process.
A Problem Solving Approach to Structural Change
Authors: Thorpe Bernard , Smith Bryan
Published: March 2008

This article describes how structural change took place within United Biscuits (Foods) Ltd, a subsidiary of United Biscuits (UK) Ltd, between 1976 and 1978. It was initiated by the authors who were then senior training advisers with the Food Drink and Tobacco Industry Training Board. Subsequently Bernard Thorpe joined United Biscuits as a manager in the Personnel Department. More recently he has joined the Coverdale Organisation as an associate consultant.
Films
Authors: Jones Clive
Published: March 2008

The British Sponsored Film Festival, the finals of which were held recently in Brighton, confirmed both the quality and expertise of current British training film production, and provided clear evidence of the increasing use of the audio visual media for training and industrial communication purposes in the widest sense.
IR Training for Expatriate Managers:
Authors: Brewster C.J.
Published: March 2008

With the increasing overseas penetration of the UK economy occurring at the same time as the spread of trade unionism in this country the potential for differences in national background leading to labour‐management disputes is greater now than ever before. Part 1 of this article developed a continuum for managers from abroad who have to deal with British subordinates and hence risk such disputes. It suggested that managers could be placed in three broad categories according to the degree of difference between their home country's culture system and that of the UK. This second part of the article examines the different training needs of each category and shows how, in the air transport industry initially, different forms of training were developed to meet these needs.
Utilizing Volunteers in Human Resource Systems
Authors: Schindler‐Rainman Eva
Published: March 2008

In the immediate and more distant future there is clearly opportunity and challenge for better, more creative, and more expanded utilization of human resources in the business, private and public sectors. This means a change in the way in which human beings are attracted to and utilized by private, business and public systems. But also undoubtedly it means changes in the way managers and other decision makers look at the ways in which the services and/or products they create can be developed and delivered.
Andragogy in Action
Authors: Jones Merrick
Published: March 2008

In a previous article I attempted to relate training practices to some theories of learning. I concluded that although trainers may not, for a variety of reasons, consistently base their training methods on particular theories, nevertheless it does seem that theories do influence practice. I believe this reflects the concern for a more professional approach and a growing appreciation among trainers of the practical relevance of theories of learning.
Training Personnel Professionals
Authors: Pitfield Michael
Published: March 2008

The Institute of Personnel Management, founded in 1913, is the professional personnel management organisation in the British Isles. The IPM's expanding membership of over 22,000 includes qualified practising personnel, industrial relations, training and salary administration managers. Membership of the IPM is available through a blend of qualification by examination and practical experience. The role of the Institute's education programme leading to its qualification therefore has a key role in providing appropriate professional training for personnel managers.
Is Training Really the Answer? —
Authors: Hayes John , Dunn Tony
Published: March 2008

A common approach towards enhancing managerial effectiveness is to focus attention on improving the knowledge and skill of the manager, i.e. training. This approach assumes that the main barrier to effectiveness is some deficiency in the individual. It is possible, however, that the problem lies not with the manager, but with the structure within which he operates and/or the role he is expected to perform.
Ideology and Safety Representative Training — An Exploratory Study
Authors: Oram S.A.J.
Published: March 2008

In 1972, the broad findings of the Committee of Enquiry into Safety and Health at Work, chaired by Lord Robens, recommended a different approach to health and safety from the previous system of ever increasing, detailed statutory regulation monitored by external agencies such as the Factory Inspectorate. An improved system was felt to be one which was based on self regulation by employers and work people jointly, the implication being that references to, and reliance upon, external agencies would reduce. The requirement for a change in attitude to health and safety was identified as being essential for this approach to succeed.
Teaching Small Business Management in the UK
Authors: Birley Sue , Gibb Allan
Published: March 2008

This is the second and final part of an article which considers the role of the UK education sector in small firms management, education and training. The first part reviewed the changing pressures on the higher education sector which provide opportunities for its greater involvement with the owner‐managed company. It also looked closely at the needs of the “customers” for small business training and discussed how these might be usefully segmented. We now discuss the contribution of the education sector along with the “supply side” problems. The data is drawn from a survey of 80 ex‐participants of the UK Small Business Management Teachers Programme. The survey was undertaken in 1982. The objectives of this programme and its importance in the field of the small business management were discussed in the first part.
Better Performance through Better Training
Authors: Bryan Leslie A.
Published: March 2008

The training function in most organisations is a continuous and never‐ending demand on time. Not only must organisations deal with new employees having no skills, but also with old employees having obsolete skills, transferred employees having different skills, and present employees having poor or undeveloped skills. However, consider the pay‐off of an effective training programme. A supervisor can loosen supervisory control, performance increases and operational problems decrease. The trainee finds increased job performance and satisfaction, greater freedom from close supervision, increased personal growth and development, and higher morale, confidence and self‐esteem. The total organisation gains increased productivity, and operational problems, such as turnover, absenteeism and malingering, decrease. Thus, all who are involved benefit from effective training—the organisation, the supervisors and the employees.
Business Development Needs Management Development
Authors: Glassock Les
Published: March 2008

The Market Context. Most of what we buy, we purchase in a retail outlet of some kind. Whether it is a staple food, like flour, a convenience product or meat, we must find a stall, shop or supermarket to buy it.
Computers in Education and Training
Authors: Jay David
Published: March 2008

Because the computer is something of a universal machine, there are few practical contexts it does not support. The fields of education and training are among the most vital and absorbing of these. Here the microcomputer has come into its own. Economic, portable and easy to use, the micro has set teachers and lecturers free from dependence on the centralised restrictions of largely administrative mini and mainframe systems.
Team Training: Towards an Integrated Approach
Authors: Lusher Brian
Published: March 2008

Managerial jobs are episodic, fragmented and action based. Training has attempted to reproduce this reality in the contents and methods used. It is possibly more sensible to allow fragmentation of time for training but to integrate subject matter in short blocks. This leads to the desirability, possibly the necessity, of integrating the efforts of the trainers to produce a consistent, coherent and unified approach to contents, methods and style. A means of using a team approach is suggested so that training resources, whether internal or external, are seen by the clients as being owned by the manager responsible for the supply of training activities in the organisation.
The Corporate Response to YTS—Part II:
Authors: Joyce Paul , Woods Adrian , Hayes Mike
Published: March 2008

In the 1970s there was a growing realisation of a need to prepare young people for work. It was hoped by many that public policy initiatives in vocational preparation would enable Britain to catch up with the more systematic youth training practices of its European neighbours. Ironically, the development of vocational preparation has really been fostered by the employment crisis of the 1980s. As unemployment began to climb in the late 1970s and surged in the early 1980s, the scale of training measures, paid out of public funds, likewise expanded. The YTS programme is a product of these trends.
Sales Mythology—Implications for Training
Authors: Midgley Bernard
Published: March 2008

Doing More of the Wrong Things. In a time of recession, when markets are tougher than usual, one could be forgiven for assuming that sales strategies would be developed to respond to the different demands facing vending organisations. For example, in a tighter, more competitive, market place with more limited sales opportunities, the need is for improvement in the success rates of the sales force. One would expect that an activity analysis of the first‐line sales manager or supervisor would show more time being devoted to field activity—supporting, motivating and developing the sales team to better efforts. With buyers being more discriminating about what they buy, and who they buy from, investment in improving the quality of the sales interface would seem to be a logical step.
Reseach report
Authors: Kirby David
Published: March 2008

This article reports the results of a training programme intended to help women re‐enter the labour market and to create a pool of female labour skilled in the methods of modern business management using new technology. The course, which was sponsored by the Manpower Services Commission, promoted by Antur Teifi (a community‐based development association based in Dyfed, Wales) and provided by St. David's University College, Lampeter, was directed at unemployed women resident in the Teifi Valley of Mid Wales.
Training for Organisational Excellence
Authors: Zenger John
Published: March 2008

Overwhelmingly, the research on excellent companies shows that they are the result of excellent management. It is not technology, geography, labour pools, government intervention or any other external factor that makes the significant, long‐term difference. It is the performance of management. It is the individual managers alone in their offices, in one‐on‐one interactions, and in their roles as group and team leaders, defining and transmitting the values and vision of the organisation.
The New Facilitative Role of the HRD Practitioner
Authors: Silverfarb Howard
Published: March 2008

One of the greatest challenges confronting the HRD practitioner is both gaining, and then maintaining, the credibility and support of top and line management in his organisation.
Training for Hospitality
Authors: Bright Sarah , Johnson Keith
Published: March 2008

Readers of this journal will be well aware of the turbulent, complex, dynamic and competitive nature of today's business environment. As a sizeable and significant part of the British economy, the hotel industry has not escaped this reality. Often characterised in the past as an old, traditional and reliable business, this industry is changing as it matures. For example, patterns of ownership are evolving from a fragmented collection of small independently owned businesses towards large corporate organisations, such as Trusthouse Forte and Ladbroke Hotels. Competition has intensified as a result of this industrial concentration and, confronted by this increasingly hostile and competitive environment, all hotel operators have been forced to take stock and to search for new directions. This, in turn, has produced a fundamental reassessment of the nature of the industry and the path along which it is heading.
Diagnosing Optimum Learning Situations
Authors: Smith Barry
Published: March 2008

Have you ever had an experience similar to this? Having decided to use appropriate adult learning theory principles, you have just employed an experiential learning technique with a group of trainees. So far as you can ascertain, the trainees successfully identified the important learning points. You have just started congratualting yourself on a well run session, when a trainee approaches you. “That was a waste of time,” the trainee says. “I understand the main points listed after the discussion, but I don’t see how those points developed out of the exercise we did.”
Making More of your “Prospects” —
Authors: Lansman Michael
Published: March 2008

Salespeople over the years often develop a regular pattern for dealing with prospective customers (prospects). They try out an approach — it works — so they continue with it. At least, it works with most people, and it works in most situations. In order to make effective use of their time, salespeople learn to recognise and avoid time‐wasting prospects and unpromising situations. Perhaps they are missing a lot of business.
Training for Quality — The Italian Experience of Quality Circles
Authors: Ferrari S.
Published: March 2008

According to the most commonly used definitions, quality circles are small groups of workers who join together spontaneously in order to identify, analyse and propose practical solutions to technical or administrative problems in their particular operating sector.
How to Develop Successful Goal‐oriented Managers
Authors: McConalogue Tom
Published: March 2008

Goal setting as a process is a little like participative management — most managers believe in it, but few practise it. Though the work of researchers like Locke has shown fairly conclusively that people who set specific goals achieve more than those who do not, there has not been any significant translation of the findings into practice[1]. More popular works like The One Minute Manager, in attempting to bridge the gap between theory and practice, may have over‐simplified the process of goal setting.
Making Factory Management Come Alive in the Classroom
Authors: Parker Brian , Mackness John
Published: March 2008

It is always difficult to relate classroom teaching to practical problem solving in any area of management. This difficulty is even more pronounced in a factory where there are so many different activities going on at any one time. Above all else, the factory manager needs to know how to co‐ordinate the different activities, and this requires from him a good understanding of how these activities relate to each other and how they affect the overall performance of the company.
Chairmanship at Negotiations in Organisations — A Model to Facilitate Decision Making
Authors: Mastenbroek Willem F.G.
Published: March 2008

When subordinates start negotiating among themselves, managers may find themselves in an awkward position. As a senior executive, a department head, a division manager or as the president of a company — at all levels in organisations, managers sometimes find themselves presiding over negotiations. These meetings normally do not have the explicit label of negotiations. Participants are together to take decisions about budgets, office space, computer‐time, responsibilities or the allocation of personnel. These, on first sight, widely differing decision areas have in common that they deal with scarce resources. Claims often exceed what is available.
Management Learning Contracts:
Authors: Boak George , Stephenson Mac
Published: March 2008

In Part 1, we described the basis for the development of the Management Learning Contract at the Northern Regional Management Centre at Washington, Tyne and Wear. The contract method is a powerful tool for the acquisition and enhancement of relevant knowledge and skills. We suggested there were six key advantages in using the mechanism:
Changing a Bureaucracy into an Open Organisation
Authors: Blanksby Margaret
Published: March 2008

The controlling Labour Party in Sheffield changed leadership in the early 1980s and introduced policies aimed at “working jointly with council employees and those who use council services, to improve the quality and value of those services and to extend democracy, in a way which provides real choice for those who otherwise would be denied access to power and decision‐making. We will change the experiences of bureaucracy and centralised control which confuse and disappoint those on the receiving end of our efforts by developing a concept of decentralisation which brings services and those working for the council closer to the people”.
Educating Australian Engineering Support Personnel
Authors: Haas Adrian R.
Published: March 2008

This article seeks to review the provision of vocational education available to para‐professional‐level engineering personnel in Australia. This stratum of personnel corresponds to those described as technician‐engineers in the UK.
THE NATURE AND CONTEXT OF TRAINING FOR SUCCESS
Authors: Bennett Roger
Published: March 2008

This special issue is about how to make training more successful. It offers practical guidance and ways of thinking about the work of trainers that will lead to improved training and performance. It makes the assumption that trainers are still an important part of any organisational or economic activity. Although it may seem that this assumption is sometimes stretched in today's world economic, financial and political climate, it is still the case that trainers and training are much needed.
INCREASING ADULT LEARNING
Authors: Stuart Ricky
Published: March 2008

Since I left full‐time education many years ago, it has often struck me that whenever I return to a learning situation, whether it is a formal course or a half‐day workshop, I immediately adopt the role of a student — or at least the role I was taught to adopt by my Yorkshire schoolmasters. I find myself seated behind a desk and waiting for my intellectual batteries to be recharged with knowledge. Expecting to be taught, I am always wrong‐footed by other students, who enter the room with a confident flourish and launch into an animated discussion or explanation of what they expect to get out of the day, and where they can contribute. Often the trainer responds to this approach, leaving me way behind and scrambling to catch up. As a result of a number of such experiences, it struck me that there may be other adult learners in a similar position who would enjoy an opportunity to explore some of the issues of adult learning, as a survival strategy for future use. Equally, there may be trainers who would wish to examine the adult learner more closely, to find out more about this peculiar animal and to develop strategies that are effective.
Measuring Purchasing Performance
Authors: Dale B.G. , Powley R.H.
Published: March 2008

This article discusses the main performance measures used by five different companies. In the four private‐sector companies studied, the emphasis is on finding ways to measure purchasing contribution to profitability — hence accounting measures form the basis of the main control tools, coupled with a management by objectives programme to reduce costs — whereas in the Government‐owned factory, purchasing appears to have a service function and accounting measures to control overall performance are difficult to identify. It is also pointed out that formal vendor rating schemes are not used mainly because performance in the areas of quality, delivery and service cannot be quantified in terms of the financial implications.
Is UK Manufacturing Industry Really Overstocked?
Authors: Waters C.D.J.
Published: March 2008

Inventory control has been an area of constant research for many years and most fundamental problems are now well understood. Despite some difficulties relating theory to practice, good solutions can be found for most inventory problems, especially with increasing availability of computers. Against this background it is disturbing when British management is criticised for its poor record of stock control. It has been suggested that stock levels in this country are, as a whole, far too high. Some criticisms have attempted international comparisons and concluded that other industrialised countries control their stocks more rigorously, hence reducing costs, increasing efficiency and improving competitiveness.
Production‐inventory Systems: Some User‐oriented Studies to Improve Performance
Authors: Mohanty R.P. , Mathew Saji
Published: March 2008

While numerous mathematical models of production‐inventory systems have been developed and are in operation there is no commonly accepted approach to guide the professional in managing the system effectively and comprehensively. A higher proportion of these models are not readily acceptable as they are strictly technical and canonical in form and content. This article attempts to develop a hybridised information system while recognising the existing operational problems and planning for the accommodation of change. The attempt here has been specifically to derive some factual premises to facilitate professionals to develop meaningful insights into the solution process.
Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe
Authors: Caird James B.
Published: March 2008

EVEN TO THOSE who profess to have made a study of Scottish literature, Sharpe's name is comparatively unknown. He is often thought of as an obscure antiquarian friend of Scott's, the original of Malachi Malagrowther, an eccentric in a city always famed for its eccentrics. Yet one cannot go very far in the study of ballads and of Scottish popular poetry without coming across his name: it was he who contributed one of the finest and most tersely expressed of all the ballads to Scott's Minstrelsy—‘The Twa Corbies’—as well as giving Scott his version of ‘The Douglas Tragedy’ and ‘Bessie Bell and Mary Gray’. A great deal of the material in Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland—that pioneering work which, like most of Robert Chambers's, has not received the attention it deserves—was provided by Sharpe. In the field of demonology and the study of witchcraft, too, he was an authority: his edition of Law's Memorialls was enriched by copious and erudite footnotes and in his introduction, amounting to 254 quarto pages, he wrote a lively and informative historical survey of witchcraft in Scotland from the earliest times until the end of the eighteenth century.
Sir Winston's Library
Authors: Day A.E.
Published: March 2008

‘Nothing’, Winston Churchill assured the readers of Nash's Pall Mall Magazine in 1925, ‘makes a man more reverent than a library’, and to prove his point, imagined a day spent browsing amongst a really large collection of books. Such a day could end only in despair at the sight of the ‘vast, infinitely‐varied store of knowledge and wisdom which the human race has accumulated and preserved’; to read, to admire and to enjoy even a few of the treasures of saints, historians, scientists, poets and philosophers is beyond our time on earth. ‘But if you cannot read them’, he continued,
The Castaways and the Mariner
Authors: Braybrooke Neville
Published: March 2008

IN THE WILLIAM GOLDING CANON, his first novel Lord of the Flies (1954) remains his most famous, and his third Pincher Martin (1956), his most controversial. Both are concerned with castaways and their fight for survival.
Some Manchester Chroniclers
Authors: Brill Barbara
Published: March 2008

MANCHESTER, like most of our provincial cities, is undergoing a transformation as its grimy Victorian buildings crumble beneath the demolition squads. In their place rise faceless blocks of offices and shops, whose glass and concrete soon lose their early gleam and smoothness and become streaked and shabby. They do not mature with the same charm as the brickwork and the carved and moulded stonework of the buildings they replace, for in spite of its reputation for ugliness and the accepted view of a drab city of umbrella‐carrying citizens and shawl‐clad and clog‐footed millworkers, there was an aura of romance about the older Manchester, something that prompted a man who was not a native of the city, Howard Spring, to write:
Auld Robin and the Lady
Authors: Connon Sylvia
Published: March 2008

TO HAVE HER NAME PERPETUATED in the cocktail bar of a plush modern South African hotel may seem an odd fate for an eighteenth‐century Scottish poetess. You may not even be able to guess her identity. For there are certainly not many women's names to be found in the pages of Scottish literature before the twentieth century, and none in retrospect comparable in stature with George Eliot, Elizabeth Browning, Jane Austen or the Brontes south of the border.
Cost‐Benefit Analysis and Public Library Budgets
Authors: Pitt Francis D.
Published: March 2008

RECENT YEARS have witnessed the proliferation of applications of cost‐benefit analysis to public sector expenditure. Cost‐benefit analysis is a method of decision‐making which seeks to quantify the benefits that are obtainable from a given course of action, to express them in financial terms (or in terms of financial equivalents) and then to deduct the estimated social and financial costs so that the results of the course of action may be assessed, valued and expressed in monetary terms. Quantification of actual financial costs and benefits poses no difficulties, but it has been shown elsewhere that the quantification of social costs and benefits often poses considerable problems. Some social benefits, such as the value of time‐saving, can be quantified reasonably successfully (using, for example, financial equivalents of time saved in terms of average wages or average salaries of the individuals concerned), but others, such as the measurement of alleviation of suffering or the assessment of degrees of incapability in nursing care, have no adequate financial equivalents.
From Collected Biography to Prosopography
Authors: Sturges R.P.
Published: March 2008

TO THE LIBRARIAN biographical dictionaries are useful works of reference, but to their compilers they can mean a great deal more. Take for instance the Rev. Henry Isham Longden, who when he died at the age of 83 in 1942 was in sight of the end of publication of Northants and Rutland Clergy: From 1500 (Northampton, 1938–1943) 15 vols. That a clergyman should spend such time and effort on an obscure historical project may seem a little strange to us, but it should not. Recently a friend who had been leafing through Crockford's expressed her surprise at the number of clergymen who had written books and how their subjects were immensely varied but only occasionally on religious topics. To someone from the last century the idea of a clergyman as an author would hardly have seemed strange, and examples of great books that have been written in country parsonages—such as Malthus' Essay on the Principle of Population or White's Natural History of Selborne—are not hard to find.
Analysis of Plane Braced Frames
Authors: Cornish M.Sc. R.J.
Published: March 2008

The term “braced frame” is here understood to mean one which has at least enough members to ensure stability, i.e. it must either be “just‐stiff” or “redundant”. The analysis of such a frame on the assumption that the joints are frictionless, so that each member is free to turn at both ends, enables one to calculate primary stresses. In practical frames the connexions at the joints are more or less rigid; bending moments are therefore induced in the members when the joints are displaced. The resulting bending stresses may be of the same order as the primary direct stresses. In addition, the direct stress in any member is itself slightly modified by the shear forces in the other members connected with it, though this effect is usually small.
Working with children in a rural library
Authors: SHEPHERD JENNIFER
Published: March 2008

SHROPSHIRE is one of the few remaining rural counties in England—there are parts where nothing appears to have happened for 20 or 100 years; where the people are leisurely in speech and manner and one can catch a glimpse of England as it was before the industrial revolution. And yet Shropshire was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Abraham Darby and his foundry are proudly spoken of; soon the new Dawley will be built over that industrial shrine.
Activities in children's libraries
Authors: SILCOCK ANNE
Published: March 2008

ALL activities in children's libraries are designed to increase the use and knowledge of books, so that children will learn to read for enjoyment and so that books will help the child's development and education. Libraries are in a privileged position and their activities should be directed in such a way that they are not merely an extension of the school curriculum, nor only recreational. This can be achieved by other media not related to books or knowledge.
A Children's librarian goes east
Authors: HILL JANET
Published: March 2008

I WAS of course tremendously excited when I was invited to join a group of people mainly working with children in theatre, books and art, for a brief visit to the U.S.S.R. and Poland at the beginning of this year. However, I had no idea what a rich and fascinating experience this would turn out to be.
Comment
Authors: USHERWOOD BOB , HAGLER RONALD
Published: March 2008

PORN IS IN THE NEWS AGAIN. The Bishop of Coventry has suggested that good citizens form vigilante groups (literary lynch mobs?) to fight ‘the rising tide of filth’, while Lord Longford has announced the names of the people to serve on his very own enquiry into the subject of pornography. One would suggest that the membership of the committee would invalidate any conclusion that it might reach. A sanctified pop singer, an ageing tv guru and assorted clergymen cannot be said to be a representative selection of the community. Not one member of the unofficial commission appears to have an open mind on the topic.
In‐service training: a new dimension
Authors: LEWIS DAVID T
Published: March 2008

‘THE WORLD is becoming so complex that if a man stops his education when he leaves school, college or even professional school he is doomed to educational mediocrity.’ James B Conant, President, Harvard University.
What library school, friends, is this?
Authors: BATTY CD
Published: March 2008

Dr Munford, as he recounted in the March LW, began his commuting with a pleasant walk, and so he continued throughout his career. I began mine at a dead run, and I haven't broken the habit yet. Unfortunately, I was never able to reconcile the optimism of midnight revelry with the morning reality of a railway station a mile away, and I held the local record for the four minute agony; fortunately, the commuter diesel was usually so packed as to afford me twenty minutes of vertical slumber.
Bremen branches out
Authors: MEVISSEN WERNER
Published: March 2008

THE CITY OF BREMEN stretches for thirty miles along the river Weser and nowhere is it more than ten miles wide. It has more than 600,000 inhabitants, divided into seventeen districts with about 40,000 people in each. The very shape of the city means that many places are far from the centre, which has necessitated decentralisation wherever this is at all possible. This in turn has been favoured by the relatively strong and even concentrations of population in the individual districts. To me 40,000 people seems an ideal number! So this decentralisation applies to public administration, schools, hostels, kindergarten, playing fields and swimming baths and to the whole network of public libraries.
Hatfield Polytechnic's new library
Authors: BAGLEY DAVID
Published: March 2008

ON 24TH APRIL 1971, a new library building was opened by the Rt Hon Lord Snow cbe. Taken by itself, that bald news items does not seem particularly surprising; new libraries are not uncommon and C P Snow a most appropriate choice as a distinguished guest for such a function. However, the significance lay in the fact that this was a polytechnic library, and may well be the first of many as the polytechnics receive building funds to allow them to expand in their official role as a distinctive sector of higher education.
The polytechnic library explosion
Authors: HARRIS KGE
Published: March 2008

ABOUT TEN YEARS ago were born a number of colleges of advanced technology, based on technical colleges of the highest quality and intended to begin a revolution in higher education. About five years ago the CAT'S became universities, and are now carefully working their way towards respectability in the university sector. From the ashes have arisen the polytechnics, made up of another batch of colleges, but with certain differences. The polytechnics, surprisingly enough, are less committed to science and technology. The ex‐CAT'S grew from single technical colleges whereas the polytechnics have usually risen from an amalgamation of colleges of technology, art, commerce and, occasionally, of education. A result is that many polytechnics are cursed with split sites and as one wanders around Bristol or Portsmouth, it is easy to understand the problems of fragmentation. There is a lack of cohesion because of the immense difficulties of effective integration. Libraries possibly suffer most having to duplicate all sorts of services, to employ extra staff, to buy additional books, and to make time‐consuming selection decisions.
Comment
Authors: DAVINSON DONALD , PEARSALL RONALD , DOVE JACK , SMITH KENNETH , ELLIOTT JON , CARTER EDWARD , WINDRUSH FRANK , MUSIKER REUBEN , SYKES PAUL , PEARCE MICHAEL
Published: March 2008

HOW WORTHWHILE is research in librarianship in the uk at present? Is it making a contribution to the solution of our current problems? If it is making a contribution, is this contribution sufficiently significant in relation to the amount of effort and money expended?
Comment
Authors: TOMLINSON NORMAN , RUSSELL JOHN , BUCHANAN E , SMURTHWAITE JOHN , WALLIS RUTH , WALLIS PETER , HOUGHTON BERNARD , ROBERTS NORMAN , FRANCIS SIMON , SYKES PAUL , NOYCE JOHN
Published: March 2008

THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S worsening financial position is a matter of general concern, and any constructive suggestions will no doubt be helpful to the Honorary Treasurer and others who plan our finances. The present Library Association structure is workable in practice, but it is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, and a little thought begins to show the possibilities of economy, without any loss of effectiveness. The most important associated factor at the present time is the possibility of drastic local government reorganisation in 1974, only one year after the earliest date when Library Association subscriptions can be increased. The effect of this reorganisation, as at present proposed, on Library Association structure, needs to be borne in mind.
And Jan came too!
Authors: SMITH GEOFFREY
Published: March 2008

Jan's my wife, and the tale of my devious progress through the profession that the editor asked me to write for your amusement is really in two parts—before and after 1958, the year in which I married Jan, moved back to Hertfordshire and into library management, and acquired a respectable car. Thinking about writing a ‘Talepiece’ I wondered if a ‘Guide to young librarians to the route to the hot seat’ based on my experience would be welcome to the NEW LIBRARY WORLD readers. I doubt if it would help anyone setting out now to try to find a way to the chief officer's bench, for my 24 years in librarianship has seen change at a very rapid pace, and not only in libraries. Local government has changed as much, if not more.
Comment
Authors: WHITE LIONEL , HUDSON CAROLE , HOUGHTON BERNARD , ROWLAND GLYN , PEARCE MICHAEL , ARNOLD BRIAN C , PRESS LTD NOSTALGIA
Published: March 2008

THIS IS A polemical statement, not intended to inform, but to argue a case and try to get some sense of reality into the mass of recent writing on the purpose of the public library service. It is taken for granted that the reader is already familiar with a good deal of the general background.