bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Are child prostitutes child workers? A case study
Authors: Montgomery Heather 
Published: April 2009

PurposeBased on a case study of a small community in Thailand, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the explanations that child prostitutes give for selling sex. It looks at whether child prostitution can be considered as a form of labour and if children themselves understand what they do as work or exploitation. It focuses on children's relationships within their families and argues that international legislation calling for child prostitution to be abolished, while well meaning, is too simplistic and does not deal with the complex social relations underpinning prostitution and the lack of alternatives for many children.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation among a small group of child prostitutes in Thailand.FindingsCertain children have very different understandings of prostitution to those campaigning to end the practice. They do not see prostitution as a form of work or necessarily as a form of abuse. Instead they claim it as a way of fulfilling perceived social and moral obligations to their families.Research limitations/implicationsThe importance of listening to children themselves, even on such sensitive and emotive issues, is paramount as it reveals a gap between ground level realities and proposals put forward in international legislation.Originality/valueThe growing literature on child prostitution rarely takes into account children's own perspectives. This paper engages directly with children and takes seriously their own justifications and rationalisations.
Child labour and cocoa: whose voices prevail?
Authors: Berlan Amanda 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide ethnographic data on the lives of children working in cocoa‐producing communities in Ghana and to illustrate the importance of contextualisation in understanding the phenomenon of child labour.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on anthropological fieldwork carried out in Ghana using participant observation and child‐focused participatory research methods. It also includes an analysis of media sources and policy documents.FindingsIt shows that the children involved in this study worked freely and willingly on family cocoa farms. It also shows that research and interventions must be context‐based and child‐centred as forms of child labour in cocoa are not uniform across West Africa.Research limitations/implicationsUnfortunately, the scope of the paper does not allow for a discussion of recent interventions and progress relating to child labour in the West African cocoa industry.Originality/valueThis paper challenges many of the assumptions made about child labour in cocoa and offers new insights into the lives of children in these communities.
Child labor and mothers' work in Brazil
Authors: DeGraff Deborah , Levison Deborah , Robison Mary 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore associations between children's and mothers” work.Design/methodology/approachBrazilian household survey data are used to examine characteristics of children's and mothers' work in tandem.FindingsChildren are more likely to be in the labor force if their mothers are working, especially girls, younger children and rural children. There are strong connections between mothers' and children's employment characteristics, including industry and sector, location, commute times and whether paid. Employed children are more likely to work long hours if their mothers do, or if their mothers are not employed.Practical implicationsConnections between women's and children's work imply that changes in women's employment can change the work activities of their children. Policies and programs designed to influence women's labor force participation, such as micro‐credit programs, should consider their effects on children's time. Moreover, programs, laws, and international conventions that address only child labor ignore the family context of child work, limiting their potential impact.Originality/valueThe paper uses quantitative techniques and survey data to examine a topic usually investigated through small qualitative studies.
Adolescent work experience and self‐efficacy
Authors: Cunnien Keith A. , MartinRogers Nicole , Mortimer Jeylan T. 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between high school work experiences and self‐efficacy.Design/methodology/approachOrdinary least squares regressions are applied to longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study to examine work experiences and self‐efficacy.FindingsThe analyses indicate that employment fosters self‐efficacy in multiple realms. Occasional and sporadic workers exhibit less self‐efficacy than steady workers. Supervisory support may be especially important in enhancing adolescents' confidence as they anticipate their future family lives, community participation, personal health and economic achievements.Research limitations/implicationsThis research includes only a small set of the work dimensions that may be important for adolescents. Ethnography and in‐depth interviews are recommended to further explore the subjective and emotional dimensions of youth work experiences.Practical implicationsIn developing policies and guidance, educators, parents and employers should be aware that steady employment and supervisory support enhance the development of adolescent self‐efficacy.Originality/valueThis paper finds evidence that adolescent work experiences spill over to influence youth's developing confidence in the realms of family life, community and personal health. It also suggests that sporadic and occasional work patterns can impair the development of self‐efficacy in adolescence.
Exploring risks faced by child workers in Britain
Authors: Hobbs Sandy , Anderson Seonaid , McKechnie Jim 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of accidents amongst child workers and to test the hypothesis that the tendency to have an accident is related to low perception of risk.Design/methodology/approachOver 700 Year 10 school students answered questionnaires concerning their experience of employment. The school students completed another questionnaire in year 11; from these 55 working children were selected to be interviewed and respond to a new tool, the Job Risk Card Sort.FindingsWhereas 45 per cent of the interviewees had reported having had an accident in the questionnaire, this rose to 80 per cent in the interview. Those who stated in the questionnaire that they had had an accident tended to have lower perception of risk on the card sort than those who did not, thus supporting the hypothesis.Research limitations/implicationsPrevious questionnaire‐based research on accidents amongst young workers may have underestimated their extent. Further investigation of risk perception and accidents should be undertaken with a larger sample and more sophisticated techniques.Practical implicationsProcedures to safeguard young workers against accidents should be strengthened.Originality/valueThis is the most detailed study of accidents to child employees so far undertaken in Britain.
School pupils' firms and mini‐companies in Germany
Authors: Liebel Manfred 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the emergence of pupils' firms in Germany since the beginning of the 1990s.Design/methodology/approachThe exploratory study is mainly based on a survey conducted with 88 projects that were presented at a pupils' firm fair in Berlin in November 2005, where pupils' firms from all over Germany presented themselves. During the fair, pupils, teachers and representatives of supporting organisations were interviewed. Furthermore, a comparison of other pupils' firms and supporting organisations' information material was undertaken.FindingsThe paper concludes with questioning the exclusive conceptualisation of the pupils' firms as educational projects within school and renders problematic their emphasis on providing business ideas and management skills. The paper argues for more reflection on the wider social and political implications around issues to do with pupils' autonomy and makes a case for preferred forms of self‐determined and cooperative working.Originality/valueThe paper discusses the goals and interests pursued in founding and promoting pupils' firms. It asks what experiences, opportunities and risks are involved for the pupils and what further approaches are becoming apparent, or are thinkable. In Germany, pupils' firms have not been systematically analysed.
The PSO triangle: designing product, service and organisation to create value
Authors: Pawar Kulwant S. , Beltagui Ahmad , Riedel Johann C.K.H. 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of product‐service systems (PSS). It uses a multiple method approach to analyse literature and cases and synthesise a framework for the understanding and investigation of PSS. It demonstrates the need to consider the “organisation” or network, of firms involved in defining, designing and delivering value through the PSS. This is conceptualised as a product‐service‐organisation (PSO).Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses three complementary methodologies: a road‐mapping analysis, investigating industrial challenges for collaborating enterprises, a multidisciplinary literature review of PSS concepts and analysis of two cases.FindingsThe paper finds that value can be most effectively delivered by networks of collaborating firms, integrating the products and services they offer to create the value which customers seek. In short, creating value requires the simultaneous design of product, service and organisation – the PSO triangle.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper offers a new classification of PSS related literature, drawing on a broad review of research in marketing, design and operations management related to service and PSS. The framework helps researchers understand the organisational challenges of PSS and provides suggested future research directions and questions.Practical implicationsThe framework provides the foundations for a process to develop PSS. It highlights the organisational challenges and suggests that a systematic yet iterative process can be devised to create and deliver value. This means defining customer value which can be profitably delivered; designing the PSS to create this value and identifying the required capabilities; and finally creating and managing the network of partners responsible for delivering value.Originality/valueThe major contribution is a link between the emerging PSS literature and previous research on virtual enterprises and other types of organisational networks. The paper argues that PSS often creates the need to identify and access capabilities through a collaborative network. This is conceptualised in the PSO triangle.
Towards an operations strategy for product‐centric servitization
Authors: Baines Tim , Lightfoot Howard , Peppard Joe , Johnson Mark , Tiwari Ashutosh , Shehab Essam , Swink Morgan 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to present a framework that will help manufacturing firms to configure their internal production and support operations to enable effective and efficient delivery of products and their closely associated services.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the key definitions and literature sources directly associated with servitization of manufacturing are established. Then, a theoretical framework that categorises the key characteristics of a manufacturer's operations strategy is developed and this is populated using both evidence from the extant literature and empirical data.FindingsThe framework captures a set of operations principles, structures and processes that can guide a manufacturer in the delivery of product‐centric servitized offering. These are illustrated and contrasted against operations that deliver purely product (production operations) and those which deliver purely services (services operations).Research limitations/implicationsThe work is based on a review of the literature supported by data collected from an exploratory case study. Whilst it provides an essential platform, further research will be needed to validate the framework.Originality/valueThe principal contribution of this paper is a framework that captures the key characteristics of operations for product‐centric servitized manufacture.
Machine vision advances and applications
Authors: Connolly Christine 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the progress of machine vision as it applies to automated assembly applications.Design/methodology/approachA series of technological developments is described: 3D vision, smart cameras, near infrared (NIR) imaging and LED illumination. Associated with each are relevant assembly applications.FindingsAdvances in multi‐core processors are facilitating the development of 3D image processing algorithms for robot guidance and product inspection, which in turn enable the automation of skilful and labour‐intensive tasks. Machine vision products are becoming more capable, yet simpler to use. NIR imaging is useful for inspecting semiconductors and bottle filling. Advances in LED lighting address difficult inspection tasks at the macro and microscopic levels.Originality/valueThe paper recognises the emergence of 3D machine vision as a new tool in assembly automation. Updates engineers on other relevant machine vision advances.
Agent‐based framework for pre‐contractual evaluation of participants in project‐delivery supply‐chains
Authors: Ilie‐Zudor Elisabeth , Monostori László 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce an agent‐based model for partners' selection in inter‐organizational supply‐chains. Screening activities undertaken by the main contracting organization for the case of large project deliveries and parameters to be considered are identified, a multi‐level quantitative framework to support the decision‐making process in effectively selecting an efficient and a compatible set of partners is proposed. Different agent behaviours are introduced and modelled; their impact on the results of the bidding processes is analysed through a simulation model specifically developed for this purpose.Design/methodology/approachAmong the biggest challenges, companies confront with is the finding of appropriate action lines, methods or IT tools to overcome problems introduced by the saturation of the market, fierce competition and downfall of entry‐barriers. The paper uses a paradigm that is seen as one of the most promising in responding to the needs of modern companies: the agent‐based paradigm.FindingsDesigning an efficient supply network greatly influences the level of uncertainty that a company is encountering. An agent‐based model may efficiently help the inter‐organizational networks partners' selection process. To operate effectively in open environments such as supply chains, agents must be adaptive. System/agents performance can be improved by doing what‐if simulation runs.Research limitations/implicationsA further possible work direction, considering that nowadays a society must find a compromise between being internationally competitive and having a healthy environment, would be the introduction in the model of a special type of agent, namely the project delivery waste management agent.Practical implicationsIn addition to contributing to the scientific literature, this research also aims at supporting practical business situations in the industry by creating a normative decision‐making model based on an agent‐based approach. The simulation model developed supports the tuning of parameters used in the evaluation process and makes possible analyzing the effect of different agent behaviours.Originality/valueResearch that identifies means to constrain the pre‐contracting selection problem for specific delivery chains as bridge constructions is needed. The paper details the particularities of such chains, and makes a presentment of roles of actors with impact on the assessment process. One specific of the approach is that in addition to participants as suppliers and main contracting organization also issues (goals) relevant in the supplier's appraisal process are represented by independent agents.
Variation propagation modeling and analysis at preliminary design phase of multi‐station assembly systems
Authors: Wang Haixia , Ceglarek Dariusz 
Published: April 2009

PurposeDimensional variation management is a major challenge in multi‐station sheet metal assembly processes involving complex products such as automotive body and aircraft fuselage assemblies. Very few studies have explored it at a preliminary design phase taking into consideration effects of part deformation on variation propagation, since early design phase involves the development of imprecise design models with scant or incomplete product and process knowledge. The objective of this paper is to present a variation model which can be built into the preliminary design phase taking into consideration all of the existing interactions between flexible parts and tools in multi‐station sheet metal assembly process.Design/methodology/approachThe paper addresses this problem by first, presenting a beam‐based product and process model which shares the same data structure of the B‐Rep CAD models, and therefore can be embedded in CAD systems for automatic product skeletal design; second, determining the influence of part deformation, for various, differing joining and releasing schemes, on variation propagation; and third, utilizing this information to generate a vector‐based variation propagation model for multistation sheet metal assemblies.FindingsThis paper presents a beam‐based product and process model which shares the same data structure of the B‐Rep CAD models, and therefore can be embedded in CAD systems for automatic product skeletal design; determines the influence of part deformation, for various, differing joining and releasing schemes, on variation propagation; and utilizes this information to generate a vector‐based variation propagation model for multistation sheet metal assemblies.Originality/valueA truck cab assembly is presented to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed model over the state‐of‐the‐art approach used in industry for sheet metal assemblies.
RFID‐enabled supply chain systems with computer simulation
Authors: Zare Mehrjerdi Yahia 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review key points about the radio frequency identification (RFID) and the fundamental concepts of supply chain management (SCM). To understand important supply chain (SC) strategies for a complete success, main strategies are identified. Some applications of RFID in SC are briefly reviewed and three large cases of RFID implementation in SC are discussed.Design/methodology/approachProvides key elements of SCM, a brief background on RFID, and the integration of SC and RFID to generate new systems with higher level of profitability and efficiency. Three cases using computer simulation techniques for system evaluation are reviewed.FindingsThe paper finds that to make the SCM functional and successfully operational, management must be committed to high standard of performance including competitive lead times to customers, significantly reduced inventories, world‐class product quality, and reduced process and product complexity.Originality/valueOwing to the fact that a better management of a production system is related to the full understanding of the technologies implemented and the system under consideration, sufficient background on the RFID technology is provided and a SCM system including its appropriate strategies are discussed.
How using an allocation formula changed funding allocations at Long Island University
Authors: Guarria Charles I. 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe how the Brooklyn Campus Library of Long Island University evaluated the present budget allocation process and took corrective action regarding the distribution of the materials budget (books, CDs, DVDs, and VHS).Design/methodology/approachA literature review is conducted to discern which (if any) budget allocation formulas would be useful in updating the budget allocation process.FindingsThere is some controversy in the literature about the value of using a mathematical equation or formula to distribute the materials budget. Within the group of librarians who favor using these equations there is a debate as to which model is the most effective. Further, there is a division over the best approach to an allocation. The efficacy of allocation formulas, historical spending and circulation statistics are a few of the issues that are debated in the literature.Practical implicationsThis article provides useful information for acquisitions librarians in analyzing a budget line – in this case, the materials budget that in many libraries is being restricted or reduced. It serves as a reminder that processes need to be reviewed periodically as opposed to simply accepting the process because “that's the way it's always been done”.Originality/valueThe paper provides insight into an urban mid‐sized library's acquisitions department efforts to manage more effectively the monies allocated to the department. Peer institutions may gain a new perspective that helps in their budget allocation process.
Selection criteria for mobile library collections
Authors: Davidson Glenn , Dorner Dan 
Published: April 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discover the criteria upon which selection decisions are made in six mobile libraries in New Zealand.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative study data were gathered from interviews with six mobile librarians. The study is guided conceptually by the perceived need for a collection development policy and a selection procedures statement to guide selection, and the needs versus wants debate.FindingsThe data suggest that there is no universal approach to the selection of material for mobile library collections; mobile librarians achieve a balance between users' needs and wants to some extent when selecting; and there is no relationship between the nature of mobile library services and the serving of needs and wants. The researchers contend that mobile librarians' selection decisions are influenced by various criteria other than users' needs or users' wants.Research limitations/implicationsThis qualitative research is based on the analysis of the selection practices of six mobile librarians in New Zealand. Future research might seek to replicate this study's methodology using a larger population or investigate the lack of emphasis on reference services on some mobile libraries or the management of fixed, floating, and integrated mobile library collections.Originality/valueOnly a slight amount of literature exists about the selection of mobile library collections. This study will be of interest to mobile librarians in New Zealand and elsewhere who wish to obtain a better understanding of current selection practices. It will also act as guiding literature to help mobile librarians to make better informed selection decisions.